The odd thing is that after two years of owning the car, it's only the last few months they've started whistling, but maybe it's because some rubber parts have shrunk or something in the meantime... Otherwise, I've made no changes to them myself.

 

The Big Mouth grabs the lower downtube on the frame. I would never do that with one of my bikes. I use the Sidearm if needing to put a DH or other mtb bike on the roof with front wheel on. Otherwise I prefer the ease and more solid fork mount for road bikes.

Usually though all my bike hauling is on the rear of vehicles or inside. I use the Thule for that as well, basically the rear version of the sidearm for 2 or 4 bikes into a 2" receiver.

 

Hey, you're missing a pedal....

Nice to see the oil, how many miles though? I've been wondering with mine as I check every so often and seems like next to nothing in there.

 

As another member mentioned I really like the locking mechanism of the sliding hook that goes OVER the tire. It slides on really quickly and holds really well and the design just logically makes more sense. I am used to racking big heavy DH bikes and the Thule brings me the most piece of mind and hasn't faulted me yet.

They are rubber graphics made by Tred Wear, great product. Prep and install is tedious but it is worth taking the time to do it right.

Nothing would being me more joy than to shift myself and take advantage of the mountain of torque my engine makes...

That was from maybe 10,000 miles? When I first installed it there was hardly more than an oil residue in the can but now that I am FBO and pushing the car hard regularly I have seen the amount of oil increase. I may have some other stuff going on in there. I replaced my valve cover about 500 miles ago and that OCC was emptied shortly after so it will check on it again in another couple thousand miles.

Evan

 

Thanks for the input on the bike rack also.

On the tire lettering, I've seen pens sold, but they don't seem to have great reviews:

http://www.summitracing.com/int/part...t100/overview/

 

I bought a white paint pen and stared to fill in the first H on my tires and immediately aborted mission because I knew it wouldn't give me the look I was going for. A stencil and spray paint is an improvement but both techniques are far superior to the purpose-specific rubber decals/patches that are now available.

 

Went down to Orange County to visit my old roommate and some old teammates, one of which has a FBO R35 so we spent a few hours burning fuel.

 

^^^

Evan, this is the best picture of your wagon yet!

 

Thanks, I like it too.



UPDATE:

My car was a sea of beige when I got it and over time I have slowly replaced some interior parts with black ones. The master window switch and door handle was Plasti-Dipped black a while ago and not surprisingly the Dip has worn through where your fingers normally grab the handle. While searching for a replacement I found that some E6X handles had an additional leather pad in that exact area. This particular master window-switch unit was from a 2010 M5.

The added leather and pad are a welcomed addition since the handle is a frequently touched surface like the steering wheel (and shifter if you have a manual).

Evan

Before with Black Plasti-Dip


Dip Removed


After


BEFORE


AFTER

 

Update:

One of the ballasts for my oem projector was working intermittently so it was time to replace it. I originally had a 55W slim DDM ballast and have never had a problem with it/them until now. I took the opportunity to upgrade both ballasts to newer Morimoto xb35 55w ballasts and while I was in there I decided to replace my wire taps with soldered connections to clean things up a bit.

I am in the process of developing a turbo inlet and intake system for the E6X N54 platform and with the small amount of space available in the engine bay I was forced to relocate my ballasts and various lighting components. Thankfully the new Morimoto ballasts are so thin they fit in the stock location and still cleared the headlight bracket (after trimming a small part), the ballasts for my 2nd set of projectors were placed under the headlight to free up all space in the engine bay.

A fellow member stopped by and I got his E61 updated with a BMS pump backend flash, updated JB4 firmware, and the SAT software. Always a pleasure to meet another E61 owner! I would have had the garage cleared for him but I got a little in over my head with the intake project!

I will start another thread about the inlets and intake when I get around to it, things are moving along and I am excited about the project, E6X N54 guys get no love so I am making some in my garage...

Evan