Canadian 318is

[Powling]

I actually said "holy shit" out loud when I saw the second pair of before and afters. Looks so good man!

I second that. I actually said the same thing. :)

Haha thanks guys!

What products did you use?

I don't know the exact product from Chemical Guys, but we used them for both the cut and polish, and I am not sure what wax we used - it was some good stuff from my friend who is a detailer by trade.

Now that the rain has stopped, I was able to get it out into the sun finally. Looks so good in the light! Ignore the front valence and lip - we didn't have small enough pads to get in and do the cutting, polish and wax on these sections. The lip need a complete respray anyways too.

[fresh_TD]

What products did you use?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[mike.bmw]

I actually said "holy shit" out loud when I saw the second pair of before and afters. Looks so good man!

I second that. I actually said the same thing. :)

[wworm]

I actually said "holy shit" out loud when I saw the second pair of before and afters. Looks so good man!

[Powling]

Well last night was a very long and tiring night, but myself and my friend Evan, Paul and Lindsay put in some serious work on the paint correction for the 318.

We started at 6:30pm and ended at 2:30am. It involved a full cut, polish and wax of almost the entire car and I must say, I am REALLY happy with the results. Its completely rejuvenated the paint and the car looks incredible.

There are still imperfections like deep scratches and rock chips, but we didn't have the time to put 26+ hours into the car like Paul did with his old 318is back in the day. At a later date I will deal with filling all the rock chips and wet sanding the deep scratches out, but for now I am just going to appreciate how good it looks!

Here are some before and after pics.

[Powling]

Looks great! I am jealous of the new suspension and exhaust!

Thanks! I couldn't be more happy with both so far.

[mike.bmw]

Looks great! I am jealous of the new suspension and exhaust!

[Powling]

Small update.

FINALLY got my exhaust figured out. Turns out I couldn't get the slip over connection fully seated which is why it was leaking. I simply spread the 'slots' with a flat head screwdriver and it slips right on. Re-clamped it with some vice grips and boom, all good.

Only issue I have now is that the tip hits the valence slightly, but once the brand new rubber hanger donuts wear in a bit it should droop enough to stop rubbing the valence.

Here is where I had to spread to make it fit.



Once that was figured out, I moved on the COMPLETELY BLOWN suspension. Lots of research lead me to getting Koni adjustable Yellow's, and H&R Super Sports. I wanted a bit lower than regular H&R Sports, and Race's were way too low for our Ontario roads.

Ordered everything up and once I had everything I set to work.



No pics of install process at all, but the final outcome I am happy with. I would like to do E90 hats in the front but we'll see how everything settles after a few hundred km's.







I finished the install late at night, and it was raining but I wanted to take it out for a drive to see how everything was.

Next morning I went out for a longer drive. Everything seemed great! Even went down a dirt road to test the ride height. With the M42, the pan sits so god damn low it makes me a bit nervous. I even bought a full spare top and lower M42 pan a while back just in case.



The local E30 club also had a swap meet this past weekend and I got to meet Lucy, which was even better in person than in the pics I've seen online.

[Powling]

So I was able to get the Supersprint installed, although I’m having trouble getting it aligned and sitting correctly in the valence opening.

It’s also leaking at both connections. Odd since the kit didn’t include any gaskets st all, and from RealOEM schematics it doesn’t look like there are any until you connect to the headers.

[Shock(/\)ave]

Couldn't be happier with the fit and finish quality. Can't wait to get it mounted up!

[snip]

Needless to say, the PO did a hack job on the last exhaust they installed.

Wow. I had NO idea the exhaust that was on the car was that bad! I'm pretty sure we could teach a dog to weld better then that. :p

I'm super happy you (and Evan) are going to be running something so nice this coming season. ;D

[TFJR]

Sharp looking car. My personal opinion is that the Supersprint back-box is absolute perfection for an M42 car. I love the sound.

[Powling]

how do you like your supersprint? i found mine to be too quiet and almost like stock but mine is a 325i

Haven’t installed it yet - still waiting for the mounting hardware and brackets to come in before I finish mounting it up.

[rikaro]

Small update here.

Had my new Supersprint catback come in over the weekend (thanks to Paul and Lindsay of course) after picking it up for 50% off on black friday.




Couldn't be happier with the fit and finish quality. Can't wait to get it mounted up!


Needless to say, the PO did a hack job on the last exhaust they installed. The correct mounting brackets weren't even used, no wonder why the tip was always hitting the rear valence. I've already ordered the correct mounting brackets, all new rubber hangers and hardware as well.

how do you like your supersprint? i found mine to be too quiet and almost like stock but mine is a 325i

[Powling]

Small update here.

Had my new Supersprint catback come in over the weekend (thanks to Paul and Lindsay of course) after picking it up for 50% off on black friday.




Couldn't be happier with the fit and finish quality. Can't wait to get it mounted up!


Needless to say, the PO did a hack job on the last exhaust they installed. The correct mounting brackets weren't even used, no wonder why the tip was always hitting the rear valence. I've already ordered the correct mounting brackets, all new rubber hangers and hardware as well.

[Powling]

Been a long time since I have been able to update this. Summer has been slow for progress on the 318. I work in the event industry and we are the busiest in the summer months, so it doesn't leave much time for working on the car. I do get to drive it to work once or twice a week which is great!

Intake boot was looking bad so I replaced it.


Old verses new.


Did my first oil change on it as well. Looks like the previous crush washer had been used 2 or 3 or 100 times by the PO.


I also came across someone local parting out an M42 so I grabbed a spare intake manifold and valve cover. Planning on powder coating them over the winter and replacing the current ones on the engine.


Was able to put in a little time to clean under the hood too. Clean on the left, dirty on the right.


Installed the M Tech 1 wheel that a friend gave to me that he no longer wanted. Over the winter I am going to pull the leather off and learn how to rewrap it myself.


Stopped in to see a friend of mine's BMW collection. This is his EVO II M3, while beside it is his winter 'beater' (rust free E36 M3 sedan) and his euro spec E36 M3 coupe. Not shown here are his 1M daily driver, his Z3 M Coupe and the 996 GT3 his wife daily drives.


I also got to make it out to TedFest for the first time with a car. Have always been a spectator in the past. You can see the rear end of my 318is behind the M3's.


And finally a few shots from over the summer, just out driving and enjoying it while the weather is nice!