Dream M4 Build - Forever Build

[heymarkv]

Ever since I was a little kid, I always dreamt of owning my own BMW M3 one day. The original dream was a E92 M3 but when the F8X was released, I just instantly fell in love with it and knew that I just had to have one. The F82 M4 has been my wallpaper on my PC and work laptop for years, a constant reminder of the goal that I wasworking so hard towards. Friends & Family might not understand, but cars have always been my #1 passion and motivation in life.

Fast forward to 5/15/2022, I finally achieved my dream at 28.

Locally there was a 2018 F82 M4 that had everything that I wanted and it was stock, clean title, with 8k miles that I just needed to have, and well…..😁

[heymarkv]

So, I told myself that I was going to keep it stock (That was a lie)

June 2022 @ 9k Miles:
- Swift Spec-R Lowering Springs
- Burger Motorsports Wheel Spacers – 15mm F, 12mm R
- 1ne Performance Carbon Fiber Diffuser, Trunk Lip, and Lower Splitters
- Active Autowerke Exhaust Tips in Brushed Stainless finish
- IND Paint Matched Rear Reflectors
- OEM Black M4 Badge

Essentially, I just wanted to do a nice OEM+ styling at this beginning phase of modding the car. Just a couple small things to make the car look more aggressive.

I absolutely love the Swift lowering springs, I was genuinely surprised that they had better ride quality than stock. Compared to stock which was very harsh over bumps, the Swift Springs absorbs bumps better, resulting in a smoother and less jarring ride in a car that was already extremely stiff from the factory. For a set of springs that also lets me retain my EDC functionality and isn’t that expensive, I think that it’s a fantastic first mod for the car for an OEM+ phase.

1ne Performance – top tier customer service when I was inquiring about CF parts on their website, they would immediately get back to me on Instagram and tell me what was in-stock, and when other items were coming in. (I’ve been burned by a different company in the past trying to buy a VIS CF Demon Trunk for my old Hawkeye a lifetime ago, so making sure parts are in-stock / ETA when they will be for expensive pieces is very important to me.) 1ne Performance team are super helpful, quick to respond, and their carbon fiber is high quality for a fair price in my eyes, fitment & finish was fantastic.

Linked up with my best friend Derek Palmer who is an automotive & motorsports photographer to do the first proper photoshoot of the car now that it was in a state worthy of a photoshoot and it was definitely worth the 5am meeting time! Here's a BTS I took of Derek while we shot my car together.

[jaylazy2020]

Congrats. It’s a great age to enjoy such a good car.

I had a carbon black E46 M3 with imola red leather when I was 28 and djing.

Happiest 18 months ever!

Cool thing about the F82 is that it’s so tuneable and mega fast for a daily.

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by jaylazy2020

Congrats. It’s a great age to enjoy such a good car.

I had a carbon black E46 M3 with imola red leather when I was 28 and djing.

Happiest 18 months ever!

Cool thing about the F82 is that it’s so tuneable and mega fast for a daily.

That's a great spec, love the E46 M3, I was just too afraid to get one and have to deal with subframe issues, and the cost of them for a clean one has skyrocketed over the years.

Yeah, I love the M4, a great daily indeed and a ton of mod support which makes it a great platform!

[heymarkv]

Enjoy some of the photos from my shoot with Derek Palmer Creative.

The panning shots are some of my favorite photos of all time, it's always so awesome getting to see your car in motion.

[Boznien]

Clean build so far! I'll definitely come back and see the updates on this thread as time goes on.

I would do IND paint matched reflectors next for the front bumper. It'll really tie everything together on the front end.

[heymarkv]

Here are a couple shots that I snagged while Derek was shooting my car. BMW really nailed the design on this car, it looks phenomenal from every angle.

I absolutely love every aspect of this car except for 2 things:

1. The S55 Raspy Sound, or as my friends call it "Bees in a Tin Can" Exhaust Sound.
It's definitely not the best sound out there, however there are definitely worse sounding cars out there though. (VQs) One of the next mods that I want to do is an Active Autowerke's Equal Length Mid-Pipe to eliminate some of the rasp and enhance S55's the exhaust note + make the car a little louder.

2. The other con of the car is the Achilles Heel of the F8X - The Crank Hub.
From my research it's the only real major flaw with the car, which sucks but every generation has their unique major flaws. E9X was Rod Bearings & Throttle Actuators, E46 M3 was Rod Bearings, Vanos, Subframe Cracks; so I'll deal with just 1 potential fatal flaw issue. Which, the crank hub isn't necessarily a fail point until you start upping the power, but I did notice while researching that it's more common to fail in DCT cars with increased power. Sooooooooo, before I ever tune the car with Bootmod3, I will get the crank hub replaced as preventative maintenance. This isn't my first BMW and it surely won't be my last, the key to having a happy BMW all comes down to proper care and preventative maintenance.

But, I'm really enjoying the car at stock power, so until I get bored and want more power, I will just leave the crank hub alone and not utilize the kickdown feature with DCT / try to shift ultra fast & recklessly, thus further decreasing my chances of any potential crank hub failures.

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by Boznien

Clean build so far! I'll definitely come back and see the updates on this thread as time goes on.

I would do IND paint matched reflectors next for the front bumper. It'll really tie everything together on the front end.

Appreciate the kind words! I've had a couple friends say the same thing and I'm on the fence when it comes to them, the front reflectors don't annoy me as nearly as much as the rears do. But a simple mod to do if I ever feel like changing them up!

[m3rxn]

Beautiful and clean car man. Congrats!

[Drifter2090]

Congrats and welcome! Great to see you're keeping it simple oem+, I find especially with the M4's when you do too much it ends up looking like a badly modified F32 haha

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by m3rxn

Beautiful and clean car man. Congrats!

Thanks, appreciate the kind words!

Originally Posted by Drifter2090

Congrats and welcome! Great to see you're keeping it simple oem+, I find especially with the M4's when you do too much it ends up looking like a badly modified F32 haha

Thanks! I like to keep things tasteful, yet aggressive styling, clean execution has always been a top priority for my cars.

[imperfectluck]

As fellow NY resident, glad to see our license plate blend in with your F82 over the previously goldenrod color we had lol.

Tastefully mixed, even if you don’t go for more power, coilovers at least for my F87 I’d say was the most night and day difference along with going from PSS to PS4S.

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by imperfectluck

As fellow NY resident, glad to see our license plate blend in with your F82 over the previously goldenrod color we had lol.

Tastefully mixed, even if you don’t go for more power, coilovers at least for my F87 I’d say was the most night and day difference along with going from PSS to PS4S.

Oh trust me, I'm so happy they got rid of those Macaroni & Cheese looking license plates, those looked so ugly on all cars.

And yes, I really want to do coilovers and go maybe a max half an inch lower all around, but I already struggle getting into my driveway. Ideally want to do air cups + coilover setup one day for both practicality & superior ride quality.

[heymarkv]

Normal people: *Sleeps in on the weekends*
Me: *Wakes up at 5am to go to a spot for photos during sunrise at 6am*

Also hot take: LCI tail lights > GTS tail lights.

[Jayden_F87]

Originally Posted by heymarkv

Normal people: *Sleeps in on the weekends*
Me: *Wakes up at 5am to go to a spot for photos during sunrise at 6am*

Also hot take: LCI tail lights > GTS tail lights.

Agreed. Now that so many people are getting them, GTS tails have reached a point where they look kind of tacky.

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by Jayden_F87

Agreed. Now that so many people are getting them, GTS tails have reached a point where they look kind of tacky.

Seriously, I feel like everyone got the aftermarket GTS tails and now the LCIs are “more special,” since less people have them.

Shadowline euro LCI tails are the GOAT in my opinion, but I argue with myself internally if they’re worth the price just for a slightly darker housing. Lmao

[WordOnRoad]

Pics are excellent. What are you shooting with?

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by WordOnRoad

Pics are excellent. What are you shooting with?

Thanks I use a Sony A7iii and generally a Sigma 35mm 1.4. Cars & photography have always been my 2 strongest passions, but also my most expensive hobbies. lol

[Boznien]

Originally Posted by heymarkv

1. The S55 Raspy Sound, or as my friends call it "Bees in a Tin Can" Exhaust Sound.
It's definitely not the best sound out there, however there are definitely worse sounding cars out there though. (VQs) One of the next mods that I want to do is an Active Autowerke's Equal Length Mid-Pipe to eliminate some of the rasp and enhance S55's the exhaust note + make the car a little louder.

I have the AA EQL mid-pipe and I love it! I would recommend downloading Bimmerlink and turning off the burbles. It makes the car sound so smooth and exotic. I love the car even MORE now without burbles.

However, that being said, exhaust sound is subjective so do as you please!

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by Boznien

I have the AA EQL mid-pipe and I love it! I would recommend downloading Bimmerlink and turning off the burbles. It makes the car sound so smooth and exotic. I love the car even MORE now without burbles.

However, that being said, exhaust sound is subjective so do as you please!

i bet your car sounds amazing! I was thinking of doing the exact same thing, I'm not really a huge fan of burbles either. The AA EL mid-pipe really does wonders for our cars.

[heymarkv]

Year 1 Wrap Up – It’s Just Brilliant.

They say never to meet your heroes, but the F82 M4 has been an incredible ownership experience so far. It’s weird that everyone from young to old, appreciates the car and I get compliments on it everywhere I go, it’s especially weird that my older neighbors appreciate it as they’re a tougher crowd to please. I’m not complaining, I think that’s pretty awesome that different generations of people can all appreciate the same thing.

The M4 is truly an engaging car that feels planted, even with my shitty old tires on there from 2017. I love the interior in this car, it’s simple, everything is intuitive, quick & easy to control while driving and looks clean, plus it has Apple CarPlay which was a must have for me. The seats are nice & comfy even for longer drives / day trips, as that’s extremely important to me, as my previous F10 535 seats left my back hurting after just 40mins of driving. I feel like BMW really nailed the interior in this car with the perfect mix of function and design.

I would say that the biggest con of the car is the fact that comfort mode within EDC doesn’t actually feel comforting, BUT it’s a sports car so I’m not surprised. I drive with all my settings set to Sport Mode, MDM mode with drive logic in setting 2, and it’s my absolute favorite setup for the car.

The only other slight negative feedback that I have is that DCT can be pretty jerky in 1st gear, which you eventually adapt to and identify the sweet spot for the amount of throttle input that you need, but it’s just something that I immediately noticed after purchasing the car. It’s also feedback that my friends have provided as well after they drove the car too. Honestly, I feel like 1st gear is kind of useless in the DCT, and ultimately would love to change boost-by-gear figures in the future to make it a smoother / more linear experience. (At the end of the day it is an inline-6 twin turbo car so it’s going to have a lot of torque down low, but I ideally would love to make the torque curve flatter and smoother throughout the entire powerband via tuning, as I personally feel that would make this car absolutely perfect in my mind.)

And if you’re curious about maintenance, all that I’ve had to do was an oil change and brake fluid flush so far ~ 15k miles.

Ya know, they say to never meet your heroes, but the M4 does everything that I’ve always wanted in a car to do extremely well, from daily driving around town to ripping down backroads and having fun, it’s just brilliant all around.

[heymarkv]

Anyways, enjoy some random photos I had during the 1st year with the car.