My 2018 F80 M3 "Unboxing Video" (and build thread) with video and pics!!

[LYTSOUT]

9/19/20, Mud Flaps: Installed custom mud flaps by our very own @tommylgarage. Product arrived nicely packaged and in perfect condition. They even smelled good (like he had wiped them down with Armor All prior to shipping)! He also provides all the necessary hardware including extra pop rivets which was not only a nice touch, but a huge help.

Installation was very straight forward. The fronts are predrilled so they're a breeze. Placement of the rears is more of a preference thing, and I opted to install them a bit higher than he suggested (i.e., not hanging down as low)...mine hang down about 2" below the bumper cover. Depending on how much debris I see on the back bumper once it does start raining and snowing, I may adjust them higher up or further down. The biggest headache was those stupid pop rivets. I actually broke two of them trying to get them back in so I was very happy Tommy included extras.

I haven't yet driven the car in rain, mud, or snow so I can't comment on their effectiveness, but they actually look way better than I expected. In fact, you can barely even see them on the car as the color basically blends-in with the tires. My only compliant would be that the rears don't sit flush against the fender, but that's not the product's fault, but rather how the rear bumper cover is designed. To remedy this, you'd either need to trim back the inside corner of the rear bumper cover or possibly cut a slit into the mud flap for the bumper cover to slide into. I'm not sure I really care enough to do either of those, but it's nice to know I have options.

Now that the car has PPF and some super dope mud flaps, I figure I'm about as protected as I can possibly be.

Thanks again, Tommy, and keep up the good work on the videos! We all really appreciate them!

[CT_M3]

Congratulations on the car! I got mine a few months ago as a weekend fun car. The F80 is just awesome, the right balance of street and track performance. You’re inspiring me to post my build up

Enjoy it in good health!

[LYTSOUT]

10/3/20, Black Grilles: I went back for my two week follow-up appt this week so the PPF folks could take care of any little issues that crept up since the original install (work out any bubbles, heat wrap and/or trim loose edges, etc). While I was there, I had them install the OEM black front grille surrounds and the OEM black side grille inserts.

Note/FYI: you can use the surround from the OEM F32 black grille ($125) and just replace the single slat insert that comes in it with your OEM F80 M3/M4 double slat insert. Going this route is about half the price of replacing the entire setup with the OEM black F80 grilles ($250).

The only chrome left on the car at this point are the exhaust tips, but I'm not sure which route I'll go with those so I'm not in a rush to jump into anything just yet.

[From5toM]

Congrats too OP. I had the same feeling when I unboxed my 2017 loaded F80 with only 8000 miles.

[LYTSOUT]

Originally Posted by From5toM

Congrats too OP. I had the same feeling when I unboxed my 2017 loaded F80 with only 8000 miles.

And you were lucky enough to get it in the daytime with perfect lighting!

[LYTSOUT]

3/5/21, more PPF on the doors

I forgot to update this thread but somewhere along the line (late fall?) I pulled the ECS spacers off my F30 and put them on the F80 (10mm front and 17.5mm rear). They fit perfectly and look awesome, although the rear is arguably a teeny bit too aggressive for my taste. Anyway, once I put on the spacers, as great as TLG's mudflaps are, they really couldn't handle the tire spray from the added width so I recently had more Xpel Ultimate Plus film installed on all four doors. No pics added b/c there's nothing to really see

3/16/21, FTP color-matched YMB charge pipes, NGK 97506 plugs gapped to 0.022", DNA air filters, and removed charcoal filters

Since I'm currently running the BM3 GTS tune with plans to upgrade to Stage 1 93 octane, I decided to go ahead and upgrade the charge pipes, and since I was in there, I also went ahead and replaced the spark plugs with [PTF-recommended] NGK 97506 gapped at 0.022" along with DNA dry air filters and removal of the charcoal filters. This was a MUCH bigger/harder job than I expected, and it took me almost 6 hours to do all of this from start to finish. Once I got it all disassembled (removing the CF boomerang and aluminum upper strut brace, etc) , the plugs went in smoothly, but installing the CPs was a huge PITA. The o-rings that came with the FTP CPs were so tight that I couldn't use them in the reinstallation so I ended up reusing the OEM o-rings. And even with those, the CPs were hard AF to get back on, so after a lot of trial and error, I ended up figuring out that using a little bit of oil to lube both ends of the rubber sleeve that connects the CP to the TMIC helps a lot, and once I did that, they went on easily. Otherwise, the CPs fit well, bolted on smoothly, and look awesome! The color is a spot-on match to the BMW YMB which was a welcome surprise (it looks better in person than in the pics...I think the flash on my iphone made the blue of the CPs look lighter than the body color which isn't the case in real life). The kit included an upgraded aluminum cold-side/J pipe, but I decided to not install that b/c I was running out of time, patience, and unbloodied knuckles (and there are very reports of failure with those) so that seemed like a relative low effort:benefit item.

The DNA dry air filters are great as well. Despite being a newbie to the BMW space, the build quality is super solid and the fitment is perfect. TBH, I'm not sure why more guys aren't using these. I didn't notice any appreciable improvement in performance or sound, but, if nothing else, it's nice to know that my air flow is now [relatively] optimized with a pretty legit air filter setup and no stupid charcoal filters.

I haven't had the chance to pull any datalogs to check for boost leaks or ignition issues yet, but I can say that the car started right up immediately after install of all this stuff and has run perfectly on a few commutes to work and back so I suspect it's all good.

[_E90S65_]

Team 513M

[LYTSOUT]

Finally getting around to updating this thread. Going to have some more [aesthetic/aero] mods coming, so I wanted to get this updated with pics before the new stuff gets installed

4/8/21, M Performance HAS installed

After installing the Bilstein B16 Damptronics myself on my F30 during the covid lockdown last summer, I didn't have the time this year to mess with the suspension on the F80 so I had a local shop do it along with Millway Street camber plates which have a poly bushing instead of the steel monoball like most other camber plates (GC, Millway race version, etc). Fit, finish, and build quality of these camber plates is excellent, btw. Even though you can't see them, I went with the limited edition gold version b/c why the hell not??

https://www.millway.se/camber-plates...mw-m2c-m4.html

Overall, I'm very happy. The ride is basically unchanged from OEM, and there's literally zero NVH from the MP HAS kit nor the camber plates. Height is within ⅛" of BMW recommendation, and it's got -2.5 front camber (and plenty of room left for more, if needed) and -1 rear camber. It's still got the 17.5mm spacers in front, but I upgraded to 15mm spacers in the rear.

If I had to pick any dissatisfaction with the MP HAS (and this is a stretch), it's that the fronts had to be lowered to the bottom of the threads to get to BMW's recommended height, but that's not a big deal b/c I wouldn't really want to go any lower anyway. The only other mildly suboptimal thing is that it's arguably not quite stiff enough. But I say "mildly" and "arguably" b/c stiffness is a double-edged sword. On one hand, I don't really want it to be any more firm for regular street driving so it's great as-is. On the other hand, it does have a bit more body roll when really leaning on it than I'd like. So rather swap springs to something stiffer (and therefore worsen the street/DD comfort), I plan to install Dinan adjustable sway bars soon. Hopefully that'll keep the ride comfortable while also reducing body roll. I'll be sure to update later once that's done.[IMG][/IMG]

[LYTSOUT]

5/29/21, Mode exhaust tips installed

Bought: Wednesday 5/5
Arrived (from Australia): Monday 5/24
$295.75 with tax and shipping

https://modeautoconcepts.com/product...n-exhaust-tips

I finally reached the end of the Road to Dechromification. Installation was straight forward. I didn't have a tip pulling tool, so I used the "lube (I used PB Blaster, but everyone says WD40 works fine too) + a block of wood + a hammer" method. A couple of the tips required some more hammering than I expected, but I got all of them off in several minutes without damaging anything. The new tips went on smoothly and perfectly.

As noted above, shipping took about 2.5 weeks which isn't bad considering they came from Australia. Packaging was great; each tip was shrink wrapped, then wrapped in foam papery stuff, then individually boxed, and all four boxes arrived in a black plastic bag. Build quality and finish is perfect on all four. They're significantly larger than the OEM version, but not too big or obnoxious. The black chrome looks just like the black chrome on the ZCP tips, and they wrap around the inside lip of the tailpipe just like OEM and the original BMS version.

Overall they look awesome, and have a very OEM+ vibe which is exactly what I was looking for. I could see how they may be a bit too large for some guys' taste, but I think they look great, and I think a tastefully modded car can support the look of the larger, OEM+ style pipes.

Of note, some guys have mentioned that they stick out about ½" further than the OEM tips. This was really my only concern, but once installed I think they look fine.

[LYTSOUT]

And here's some more pics, before, during, and after (b/c Bimmerpost wouldn't let me upload all of them in one post)

[LYTSOUT]

6/16/21, Flashed BM3 Stage 2 93 octane
I don't recall when, exactly, but shortly after installing the CPs, I upgraded from BM3 GTS to Stage 1 knowing the new CPs could handle the extra boost. Wow, what a difference! Power isn't quite as linear as GTS, but that extra midrange torque is awesome. Then, after confirming that Stage 2 does not require a highflow or catless downpipe, I went ahead and upgraded to Stage 2 93 octane. Tbh, I couldn't tell much difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2, but at least now I know the car is optimized. With practice, the torque is manageable and usable. But when you really want to let it rip, you can roast the tires through first and second, and sometimes even break them loose in 3rd. PTF and BM3 is awesome!


7/6/21, Painted muffler (aka "ballsack") black

The disgusting wrinkly stainless ballsack hanging under the car always sort of annoyed me, but once I got those glorious chrome black Mode tips installed, the ballsack made me want to rip my eyeballs out. It's one of those "once you see it, you can't unsee it" sort of things. Literally every time my garage door would go up, my eyes would instantly go straight to it, and it was driving me crazy.

So after a TON of research (including waiting for a rare summer day with low/~50% humidity), 7 hours of time, and 3 or 4 beers later, it was done. Here's the steps I took:
1) Jack rear end
2) Remove tips and diffuser
3) Protect painted surfaces from overspray
4) Prep ballsack with steel wool and sandpaper
5) Wash ballsack with water and a little bit of dishsoap
6) Rinse ballsack with plain water
7) Wipe ballsack dry and then let ball sack fully air dry
8) Apply two light coats of Rustoleum High Heat Primer to ballsack and follow curing procedure
9) Apply two light coats of Rustoleum High Heat Paint to ballsack and follow curing procedure
10) Bask in the glory of your freshly painted black ballsack and drink a couple more beers

Admittedly, I probably made this ballsack job longer and harder (pun intended!) than necessary, but there was no way I was going to do it again, so I wanted to do it as best as I possibly could the first time. If it fails, then it fails, but at least I'll know it's not b/c I took any shortcuts or didn't give it 100%. So far, so good tho. It's been 3 months and some hard driving, and it still looks as good as the day I painted it.

Like most things, the vast majority of the time is spent in the prep work, and several hours was spent via downtime while it dried/cured. I followed the directions perfectly.

Here's the curing steps for the primer (so you'll see why the whole process took so long)
-Once dry, High Heat Paint or Primer must be further cured to increase durability. Allow High Heat Paint and Primer to dry 2-4 hours before proceeding to the next steps below. Run vehicle at idle for 10 minutes then allow 20 minutes to cool. Run vehicle at idle 20 minutes then let cool for 20 minutes. Run vehicle at normal operating conditions for 30 minutes then allow vehicle to cool.

And then when that was all done, I did the same with the paint:
-Once dry, High Heat must be further cured to increase durability. Allow paint to dry 1-2 hours before proceeding to the next steps below. Run the vehicle at idle for 10 minutes and then allow 20 minutes to cool. Run vehicle at idle for 20 minutes, then let cool for 20 minutes. Run vehicle at normal operating conditions for 30 minutes, then allow vehicle to cool.

Overall, I'm THRILLED with the result. It looks amazing, and by "amazing" I mean the hideous ballsack just disappears from your view so all you focus on is those gorgeous chrome black tips. If I have any complaints, it's that the color turned out more of a charcoal gray rather than a deep black, but that's a very minor point. All-in-all, it's just about perfect.

[LYTSOUT]

And here's a few more ballsack pics taken this week (three months later) in full sunshine

[LYTSOUT]

9/6/21, flashed GTS steering/LSD/MDM via kubax86

I had previously installed and discussed Thor's GTS steering, LSD, and MDM tunes, but I've since removed that post in this thread b/c it turns out Thor was a complete joke and is now shut down entirely. Their steering was unchanged from OEM, the LSD tune was from an F87, and the MDM was Euro, not GTS.

So I contacted Kubax and had him remotely code it. I can't speak highly enough of him and the process. Here's my assessment/impressions

Steering: MUCH better than OEM. This was the first thing I noticed as soon as I pulled the car out of the garage after the flash. It now feels like a proper power assist setup: at low speeds (parking lots, etc) the wheel is FAR easier to turn, but at higher speeds, it does stiffen up a bit (but not too much like OEM was). I prefer my steering to be very light, so I drive exclusively in Comfort. I can't really comment on GTS Sport/Sport+ steering b/c I don't really care for anything heavier than Comfort so I never use those settings.

LSD: Much better than OEM, but similar to Thor/F87. The car definitely hooks up better in a straight line, and if it does break loose, you can stay on the power without it cutting out and killing your momentum. This was the one thing that didn't change/improve much with Kubax's flash (but that's okay b/c apparently the F87 that Thor installed was still much better than OEM).

GTS MDM: Much less restrictive than American/OEM, but a bit more restrictive than Thor/Euro. American/OEM MDM is a complete joke. It doesn't allow much slip angle whatsoever (not much better than DSC fully on). By contrast, the Euro MDM that Thor installed, allowed way too much slip angle. Tbh, I'd have to lift before it ever kicked-in b/c I was afraid the rear end could continue to come around, and I feared it wouldn't ever save me before I got into trouble. It pretty much felt like DSC fully off. The new GTS MDM is perfect. It's right in the middle between boring American/OEM and insanely loose Euro. It allows the back end to come around, but it does catch you at a reasonable point of slip. It feels much more like Porsche's PSM (which is about as good as traction control can get).

It's also worth mentioning just how cool Kubax was/is to work with. I won't drag you through all the details, but summarize, I have a Mac and didn't have the appropriate Windows software installed to get Kubax's process going as smoothly as it usually does. Rather than simply telling me it wouldn't work on my computer, he actually spent lots of extra time working with me over two different 45 minute sessions (remotely tinkered with my settings, etc) to get it all done. So even more props to Kubax, not just a great product, but also for lots of patience and going the extra mile to get the flash done despite technical challenges.

[LYTSOUT]

9/7/21, Vargas Tuning Crank Bolt Capture and Crank Seal Guard installed (along with oil change, transmission fluid flush, and differential fluid flush)

The potential crank hub issue was starting to bother me a little bit. Sure, it mostly happens on cars pushing 600hp with bigger turbos, meth, etc, but being BM3 Stage 2 is halfway there so I figured the CBC would be a good idea. I'm not worried enough about a SCH to get the full CH replacement, but the CBC is enough to at least be cheap insurance and is certainly better than doing nothing. And the crank seal guard is probably overkill, but the labor was included with the CBC so I had them throw it on.

As for the fluids, it's a bit early for the diff, and the trans is technically spec'd as "long term, no interval" from BMW, but again, the car is tuned and both are cheap and easy so may as well get them done while it's in the shop.

https://vargasturbo.com/product/vtt-...-bolt-capture/

https://vargasturbo.com/product/vtt-...nk-seal-guard/

[apiglue]

Originally Posted by LYTSOUT

6/16/21, Flashed BM3 Stage 2 93 octane
I don't recall when, exactly, but shortly after installing the CPs, I upgraded from BM3 GTS to Stage 1 knowing the new CPs could handle the extra boost. Wow, what a difference! Power isn't quite as linear as GTS, but that extra midrange torque is awesome. Then, after confirming that Stage 2 does not require a highflow or catless downpipe, I went ahead and upgraded to Stage 2 93 octane. Tbh, I couldn't tell much difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2, but at least now I know the car is optimized. With practice, the torque is manageable and usable. But when you really want to let it rip, you can roast the tires through first and second, and sometimes even break them loose in 3rd. PTF and BM3 is awesome!


7/6/21, Painted muffler (aka "ballsack") black

The disgusting wrinkly stainless ballsack hanging under the car always sort of annoyed me, but once I got those glorious chrome black Mode tips installed, the ballsack made me want to rip my eyeballs out. It's one of those "once you see it, you can't unsee it" sort of things. Literally every time my garage door would go up, my eyes would instantly go straight to it, and it was driving me crazy.

So after a TON of research (including waiting for a rare summer day with low/~50% humidity), 7 hours of time, and 3 or 4 beers later, it was done. Here's the steps I took:
1) Jack rear end
2) Remove tips and diffuser
3) Protect painted surfaces from overspray
4) Prep ballsack with steel wool and sandpaper
5) Wash ballsack with water and a little bit of dishsoap
6) Rinse ballsack with plain water
7) Wipe ballsack dry and then let ball sack fully air dry
8) Apply two light coats of Rustoleum High Heat Primer to ballsack and follow curing procedure
9) Apply two light coats of Rustoleum High Heat Paint to ballsack and follow curing procedure
10) Bask in the glory of your freshly painted black ballsack and drink a couple more beers

Admittedly, I probably made this ballsack job longer and harder (pun intended!) than necessary, but there was no way I was going to do it again, so I wanted to do it as best as I possibly could the first time. If it fails, then it fails, but at least I'll know it's not b/c I took any shortcuts or didn't give it 100%. So far, so good tho. It's been 3 months and some hard driving, and it still looks as good as the day I painted it.

Like most things, the vast majority of the time is spent in the prep work, and several hours was spent via downtime while it dried/cured. I followed the directions perfectly.

Here's the curing steps for the primer (so you'll see why the whole process took so long)
-Once dry, High Heat Paint or Primer must be further cured to increase durability. Allow High Heat Paint and Primer to dry 2-4 hours before proceeding to the next steps below. Run vehicle at idle for 10 minutes then allow 20 minutes to cool. Run vehicle at idle 20 minutes then let cool for 20 minutes. Run vehicle at normal operating conditions for 30 minutes then allow vehicle to cool.

And then when that was all done, I did the same with the paint:
-Once dry, High Heat must be further cured to increase durability. Allow paint to dry 1-2 hours before proceeding to the next steps below. Run the vehicle at idle for 10 minutes and then allow 20 minutes to cool. Run vehicle at idle for 20 minutes, then let cool for 20 minutes. Run vehicle at normal operating conditions for 30 minutes, then allow vehicle to cool.

Overall, I'm THRILLED with the result. It looks amazing, and by "amazing" I mean the hideous ballsack just disappears from your view so all you focus on is those gorgeous chrome black tips. If I have any complaints, it's that the color turned out more of a charcoal gray rather than a deep black, but that's a very minor point. All-in-all, it's just about perfect.

Thanks for this. Followed your instructions and turned out great!

[LYTSOUT]

Been a while since I updated this thread, so here goes

7/7/22, New wheels, tires, and aero

XO Luxury Phoenix wheels (9.5x19 and 11x19) wrapped with PS4S 275/30/19 and 305/30/19

Around that time, I also had my shop install M Perf side skirts, an OEM CS carbon fiber decklid spoiler, and a Lightweight lip

[LYTSOUT]

Not much was done after that, so now we're basically caught up to speed and ready for the conclusion...

Late last fall, I money-shifted my 335i xDrive and blew the motor. My mechanic was kind enough to buy it as a roller chassis so I managed to dump it quickly. Luckily, I found a SUPER nice 340i xDrive (build thread now in my sig) shortly thereafter here on the forum from montrokc . The new B58 F30 is so much nicer than my old N55 F30 that it was almost on par with the F80. Considering that, it didn't make much sense to have both. My hot rod needed to be substantially different from my daily.

4/21/23, The End
I decided to go a totally different direction and get back into a Porsche again. Instead of another 911, this time I opted for a 718 Boxster S. Believe it or not, I found a great one at CarMax of all places! 6MT, clean carfax, nicely spec'd, etc. Best of all, the price was a great deal.

Here's where it gets even weirder. I fully intended to sell this F80 to one of you guys. But, for shits and giggles, I told the CarMax dude to appraise it as a trade-in. Assuming he'd low ball me (low-mid 40s) I was shocked that he came back with $49k, and considering I'd save 7% sales tax on the new car by trading this one in (effectively making this worth $52,430), I actually went for it. I had planned to list this for high 50s and hope for mid-50s. Since I was only a couple grand off my target, I figured it was worth saving the hassle and I gave him the keys. This transaction just went down last night.

I will end this by saying ONE OF YOU GUYS NEEDS TO BUY THIS F80 FROM CARMAX!! It is literally perfect, I have all the records, and I forgot to remove the tune so it's still got the Stage 2 BM3 on it. This car is way too nice to go to some dirt bag who won't appreciate it or have any idea how perfectly spec'd and tastefully modded it is. It really needs one of you guys to have it. I'm just sorry the stars didn't align for me to be the one to sell it to you. Again, all of this happened last night, so the car will be listed on CarMax's website very soon.

(Note, the front lip was damaged so I had it removed, and I also had the CS spoiler removed and put on my new F30 so don't be surprised when it's missing those bits)