e61it

Again, thanks to Norsecarnut for his advice.


For now I'm going to leave my both my sways still set to 2. Still feel a bit of understeer both in long and short corners and so far, with the limited rain we've had in Seattle - no nasty surprises. I'll update in the fall on this once we get some hydroplaning weather again.


I went from AS 2s to AS 3s (W rating) a few months ago. In my opinion they're a bit stiffer in the sidewall and also give you more feedback - which I personally like. Again, not a lot of rain so hard to judge them for wet-weather handling. My AS 2s were very good in the rain but didn't provide as much road-feel, which some might like or dislike. They also had a problem with chunking on the outside which led me to replace them. No such problems so far with the AS 3s.


Before my car went off warranty BMW replaced the battery with the new type which has been bullet proof so far. The original style battery was horrible.


Thanks to all.

oclvframe

e61it....I agree...I had AS3s on my Subaru Outback (mtd on 18x8 TSWs) and they were really nice riding tires. They were a good bit stiffer than the Super Sports I had on the Subaru prior to that and they seemed to be a good bit stiffer than the PS2s I have on my e61. Although very sticky, the PS2s are soft enough that I don't get some of the precise turn-in feel I had on my last e61 when it had Eagle RS-As. I would venture to guess that the AS3 will yield excellent treadwear under highway use yet offer funness when pushed into a turn. With my OB, their wet traction was great as well!

-r

e61it

Norsecarnut asked if I was enjoying the "planted feel" and that describes the car after the sway-bar install - perfectly.


Also, the mechanic tried a bunch of lubes, lithium, and a few others but none seemed to quiet the bars. I had read in an article that someone had used Teflon tape to good effect and that's what he wound up doing. So far, no noise at all, fingers crossed it will remain that way for a good while.

5wagon

Technically this was yesterday... But I swapped out the stock intercooler/front bumper with a 7"VRSF fmic and an m5 replica front bumper. I am very satisfied with the results

oclvframe

On Wednesday, I had my local indy shop drain/refill my front and rear diffs, transfer case, transmission including a new pan. As part of the front diff drain/refill, they also replaced the input shaft seal that was leaking and causing my front driveshaft to sling oil. Both the front and rear diff oil services as well as the input shaft seal replacement were all DIY type items for me but the transfer case and tranny services seem daunting to me so I let them do it all at the same time. I need to nut up and try the transfer case service on the next go-round but my goal with these services was to base-line. At 34Kmi, I was no where near needing the tranny service but figured I'd do it since it's a new-to-me 7 year old car! Oil change is coming up this week...I'll do that myself for sure. Both front sway bar end-links are seeping grease so that will be on the list of to-do's at some point.

Today, though, I washed it!!!

-r

oclvframe

Rolled up to 40Kmi yesterday....

...celebrated with a wash while it was warm in the afternoon.

norsecarnut

Completed swapping all of the interior lamps to Philips LED except for the directional 2nd row reading lamps which I think are nice as a warm glow if you're sitting there to read something. I just wanted all of the lamps which come on automatically with doors opening to be LED for almost no power draw when parked and packing for trips or camping.

My Land Rover makes this much simpler by allowing a feature where the interior lamps can be switched to stay off unless intentionally turned on.

The last BMW lamp to swap out was the festoon type in the lower edge of the hatch which functions both as cargo area white lens but also rear facing red when open.

Sure like the Pirelli Cinturato All Season PLUS tires. Doing well so far in lots of rain and great MPG.

wooboodoo

Lol that's funny me too !

ucsbwsr

Installed some LEDs on my tailgate to be used as puddle/cargo lights.

Evan

oclvframe

That looks awesome...can you take some pictures of how you mounted the LEDs?

-r