[krish69]

Hey Pranav! car looks wicked!
I loved both the interior color choice and the blue!! I had done a (less extensive and definitely less expensive interior redo and exterior paint job on my FTO many years ago so I know how painful yet fulfilling it can be!)

I also have F30 with the M3 body kit (though I kept the fenders stock) and did not get a new exhaust (just modified the existing exhaust with SS extenders to make it fully functional.) Some old pics attached.

been making subtle mods (gloss black M3 wing mirror covers, gloss black Bootlit spoiler, multiple interior bits and bobs, alloys stock but painted gloss black now, Coding upgrades etc).. I travel extensively and with another couple of cars its only done 17k Kms since 2015.

Keen on changing the 6.5" screen to an 10.25" Android HU with reverse parking camera. Plenty of them on sale on Aliexpress and wanted to check:

1. Did you get it from Aliexpress or locally (I am in Mumbai but in Delhi often)
2. Any specific brand
3. Does it work well with your original BMW iDrive?

Any help would be good. I also intend the keep the car for another 5 years atleast so keen to keep adding small mods.

Enjoy your beast !!

[kiku007]

I appreciate your patient and tireless efforts in making the 328i look great. Very tasteful mods.

Originally Posted by pranavmichael

Since I had a particular design in mind, he said he could get customs alloys made in the exact same design. However, being custom made, the alloys would take a lot longer to arrive say approximately 3-4 months but I was ready to wait. I went ahead and paid him the advance and the order for the alloys was placed. After a long wait, I got my hands on the alloys in April of 2018. The specs have been listed below:

• 2 Piece Forged Alloys 8.5Jx18in
• Tyres: 245/45/R18 Dunlop Sportmaxx

The fitment of these alloys was absolute spot on. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Isn't this an replica of the BBS FI-R wheel? I have the same BBS wheels in my car and love the timeless design. I even had the 245/40/R18 Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres as OEM equipment.


Could you please let me know what you mean by custom made alloys and which company made them? I hope it was produced by a reputed company.

With the M3 kit the R18 wheels stand out as not being in sync with the rest of the car. Any plans to upgrade them?

[pranavmichael]

Originally Posted by SDO

Exciting list of modifications, @pranavmichael ! The gunmetal wrap with green calipers had a wickedly cool look. And the latest SMB paint job with roof wrap are so attention grabbing. Darn, those yellow calipers go so well on blue. Perhaps would neon too !

I could fathom your interest on this rebuild by just reading about the extent of going for custom designed wheel to get it fully "right".

Now hold on to this car and enjoy it !

Did you modify the audio/entertainment options as well?

Also, after a full strip down, wouldn't the rebuild cause some rattles? Factory fitment is usually done with robotic precision.

Thanks SDO.

No audio modifications done to the car. The only entertainment option added is an android head unit replacing the stock screen.

I was very particular about the rattles during the build so made sure every time the car was stripped down it was put back better than it originally came. Currently there is not a single part that rattles in the car.

Originally Posted by krish69

Hey Pranav! car looks wicked!
I loved both the interior color choice and the blue!! I had done a (less extensive and definitely less expensive interior redo and exterior paint job on my FTO many years ago so I know how painful yet fulfilling it can be!)

I also have F30 with the M3 body kit (though I kept the fenders stock) and did not get a new exhaust (just modified the existing exhaust with SS extenders to make it fully functional.) Some old pics attached.

been making subtle mods (gloss black M3 wing mirror covers, gloss black Bootlit spoiler, multiple interior bits and bobs, alloys stock but painted gloss black now, Coding upgrades etc).. I travel extensively and with another couple of cars its only done 17k Kms since 2015.

Keen on changing the 6.5" screen to an 10.25" Android HU with reverse parking camera. Plenty of them on sale on Aliexpress and wanted to check:

1. Did you get it from Aliexpress or locally (I am in Mumbai but in Delhi often)
2. Any specific brand
3. Does it work well with your original BMW iDrive?

Any help would be good. I also intend the keep the car for another 5 years atleast so keen to keep adding small mods.

Enjoy your beast !!

Thanks Krish69. Your 3er looks amazing too.

1. I got it locally from Delhi. Aliexpress has plenty of options but it was very difficult to make them work with our cars. So I preferred to buy something locally.
2. I got it installed from Hypersonic. At that time they didn't carry BMW units so I had to get it specially ordered. But the install was seamless after it arrived and has been working great so far.
3. I had the 8.8" stock screen so it easily works on the bigger screen without any dead pixels. But you'll have to get it checked for the 6.5".

My PM's are closed as of now but once open I'll make sure to share all the details with you regarding the head unit.

Originally Posted by kiku007

I appreciate your patient and tireless efforts in making the 328i look great. Very tasteful mods.



Isn't this an replica of the BBS FI-R wheel? I have the same BBS wheels in my car and love the timeless design. I even had the 245/40/R18 Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres as OEM equipment.
Attachment 2058236

Could you please let me know what you mean by custom made alloys and which company made them? I hope it was produced by a reputed company.

With the M3 kit the R18 wheels stand out as not being in sync with the rest of the car. Any plans to upgrade them?

Thanks Kiku007.

This design is not exactly rare. It is produced by many manufactures with slight changes so no, they're not replicas. Also, the alloys I have are 2 piece alloys.

The company I got them from have their own suppliers who make these alloys and I'm very content with them. They're built exceptionally well and since the past 2 years I've got them installed, not faced a single problem.

I think the 18's go perfectly well with the car and anything higher would not be suitable for daily driving the car on our roads so no plans to upgrade them.

[Moontan]

Very nice mod on a F30. But I have a few questions as to it's claim to be a F30 328i. I own one so here goes:

1) The F30 328i sold in India always came with sports seats. In your pics, I see that your car does not have that.

2) If you move to Android display, you lose BMW's HUD, so I'm thinking you did not have BMW's very unique 3D projected HUD. No one who has that would ever lose that for an Android system that makes BMW's HUD not work anymore. Duh!

3) From the pics, you seem to have no front sensors or a rear camera. The button that makes that work on your centre console is missing.

Seeing you bought this in 2014, new, and mine is a year older, I'm confused as it's definitely not one of the 120 units that were CBU'd to our land. From all I know, the India version of the 328i never came in your original trim.

The F30 328i is really rare out here. It came fully loaded but for ventilated seats, heated steering, adaptive suspension and cruise control.

Do let me know. I'm surprised there are other versions that were not part of the initial launch/test cars as I've never come across any deviants from what was spec'd and sent out here at an exorbitant price. CBUs, unfortunately, carry that price tag.

It's looks like a 320i, mate.

Good mod, though.

Peace.

[devilwearsprada]

Originally Posted by pranavmichael

This design is not exactly rare. It is produced by many manufactures with slight changes so no, they're not replicas. Also, the alloys I have are 2 piece alloys.

The company I got them from have their own suppliers who make these alloys and I'm very content with them. They're built exceptionally well and since the past 2 years I've got them installed, not faced a single problem.

Dawn Auto only stocks Reps, pretty sure you got scammed in the name of "OEM suppliers". Its all BS, there's no such OEM supplier, they only stock China supplied Reps. So does Crave. You can find the same alloys dime a dozen in KarolBagh at half the price.

Also, your alloys took longer because they are shipped via sea from China, hence the 3-4 month wait. They aren't forged alloys, but 3 Piece joint, you would know that once you face a bad bump, god forbid you don't.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by pranavmichael

This design is not exactly rare. It is produced by many manufactures with slight changes so no, they're not replicas. Also, the alloys I have are 2 piece alloys.

The company I got them from have their own suppliers who make these alloys and I'm very content with them. They're built exceptionally well and since the past 2 years I've got them installed, not faced a single problem.

Sorry buddy, I don't mean to burst the bubble but I find it strange that a non-rare design that's available with BBS or MOMO needed to be supposedly custom-made for you.

Also, I would not recommend someone to be using custom-made alloys from unknown-suppliers on a 200+BHP BMW. It's just not worth the risk.

Take care and drive safe.

Originally Posted by devilwearsprada

Dawn Auto only stocks Reps, pretty sure you got scammed in the name of "OEM suppliers". Its all BS, there's no such OEM supplier, they only stock China supplied Reps. So does Crave. You can find the same alloys dime a dozen in KarolBagh at half the price.

Also, your alloys took longer because they are shipped via sea from China, hence the 3-4 month wait. They aren't forged alloys, but 3 Piece joint, you would know that once you face a bad bump, god forbid you don't.

That was my doubt as well.

[dealer]

Originally Posted by Moontan

It's looks like a 320i, mate.

Good mod, though.

Peace.

On the contrary, the 328i came in 2 variants to India, a luxury line came and sportline. This looks like the luxury line variant as also seen in quickdraw's 328i thread here -
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...-bmw-328i.html (My pre-worshipped BMW 328i)

Originally Posted by kiku007

Also, I would not recommend someone to be using custom-made alloys from unknown-suppliers on a 200+BHP BMW. It's just not worth the risk.

Take care and drive safe.

+1 Please go in for alloys made by a reputable manufacturer such as Vossen, BBS or the countless others out there. The safety risks that custom alloys pose are not worth the price or looks so definitely go in for authentic alloys.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Moontan

2) If you move to Android display, you lose BMW's HUD, so I'm thinking you did not have BMW's very unique 3D projected HUD. No one who has that would ever lose that for an Android system that makes BMW's HUD not work anymore. Duh!

It's looks like a 320i, mate.

Definitely not a 320i, as those were only available in the facelift. This is probably one of the initial CBU cars that were imported in 2012 when the F30 launched. A bunch of CBU 328s were imported in the luxury line trim, and they didn't have heads up display, nor the paddle shifters and not even sports seats. But they did have keyless entry, which no other F30s in India got.

Also, the android head units run in parallel with the idrive, so you can access the original idrive, and also the android interface. Even if the car had HUD, this android screen would make no difference to its functioning, as the HUD takes its signals from the instrument cluster.

[AD03]

Hey Pranav, I’ve seen your car a few times in Gurgaon when it had the grey wrap on and it looked stunning plus your list of mods is huge. I can only imagine the amount of time, effort and money gone into it.
I got wheels for my 330i from dawn too and I remember Chirag showed me picture of your car, just that I am a sucker for big wheels and I couldn’t wait for a couple of months to get wheels on order so I got a set of 19s from him.
Just a pointer,I saw that you plan to get new headlights I would recommend you give a look at OSS design based in the US. They make OEM plus headlights for almost all BMWs and they look insanely good when fully specced up.I’ve decided the day my headlights go bad I would get them for sure.

[pranavmichael]

Originally Posted by Moontan

Very nice mod on a F30. But I have a few questions as to it's claim to be a F30 328i. I own one so here goes:.

Thanks Moontan.

1. It's a luxury line hence no sport seats.
2. No, the HUD has nothing to do with the Head unit. However, mine didn't have the HUD to begin with.
3. My car does have a rear view camera.

I guess after owning the car for 6 years, I'd know what model my car is. It's a 328i luxury line which was imported as a CBU.

Originally Posted by devilwearsprada

Dawn Auto only stocks Reps, pretty sure you got scammed in the name of "OEM suppliers". Its all BS, there's no such OEM supplier, they only stock China supplied Reps. So does Crave. You can find the same alloys dime a dozen in KarolBagh at half the price.

Also, your alloys took longer because they are shipped via sea from China, hence the 3-4 month wait. They aren't forged alloys, but 3 Piece joint, you would know that once you face a bad bump, god forbid you don't.

Sorry to say but you seem to be misinformed. Dawn Auto and Crave stock replica wheels in conjunction with genuine and custom made alloys because not everybody is ready to shell out large sums of money on a set of wheels. Majority of the population want bigger alloys for fraction of the cost. But people who don't mind paying a premium for quality alloy wheels and are concerned about their safety, chose the latter.

It's no BS, they do actually have their own supplier for custom made alloys which uses materials on par if not better than big brand names. The alloys on my car were made in Taiwan by their supplier using the best available 6061, T6 aluminum forgings. It's the same material used by brands that you might be familiar with.

Also to note, making something in Asian countries doesn't always mean it'll be of bad quality. It all depends on the materials used and the craftsmanship so I'd suggest you to refrain from making such comments in the future. They don't sound tasteful at all.

Originally Posted by kiku007

Sorry buddy, I don't mean to burst the bubble but I find it strange that a non-rare design that's available with BBS or MOMO needed to be supposedly custom-made for you.

Also, I would not recommend someone to be using custom-made alloys from unknown-suppliers on a 200+BHP BMW. It's just not worth the risk.

I was actually inspired by Niche's Sector design but I liked the spokes on the HRE S101 a lot better so I wanted something that combined the individual components of both those alloys.

Trust me, I'm the last person that would want to risk his safety because of using cheap or unreliable alloy wheels.

Originally Posted by dealer

On the contrary, the 328i came in 2 variants to India, a luxury line came and sportline. This looks like the luxury line variant as also seen in quickdraw's 328i thread here -
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...-bmw-328i.html (My pre-worshipped BMW 328i)

Correct, it started out as a luxury line 328i.

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Definitely not a 320i, as those were only available in the facelift. This is probably one of the initial CBU cars that were imported in 2012 when the F30 launched. A bunch of CBU 328s were imported in the luxury line trim, and they didn't have heads up display, nor the paddle shifters and not even sports seats. But they did have keyless entry, which no other F30s in India got.

Also, the android head units run in parallel with the idrive, so you can access the original idrive, and also the android interface. Even if the car had HUD, this android screen would make no difference to its functioning, as the HUD takes its signals from the instrument cluster.

Thanks for clarifying it Akshay!

Originally Posted by AD03

Hey Pranav, I’ve seen your car a few times in Gurgaon when it had the grey wrap on and it looked stunning plus your list of mods is huge. I can only imagine the amount of time, effort and money gone into it.

Thanks AD03. Yes it was a lot of time and effort but it was all worth it.

Haha, you can never go wrong with bigger wheels and i'm glad you were able to find something according to your taste.

Yes AD, I've already seen their products and tbh they're the best in the business. I'll get in touch with them when I'm ready to get the next set of modifications done as updating the headlights is not the only thing on the list.

Mod Note - Please trim posts when quoting them and replying. Also, please use the EDIT or QUOTE+ (multi-quote) button instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

To know how to multi-quote, click here.

[krish69]

Originally Posted by pranavmichael

Thanks SDO.

Thanks Krish69. Your 3er looks amazing too.


3. I had the 8.8" stock screen so it easily works on the bigger screen without any dead pixels. But you'll have to get it checked for the 6.5".

My PM's are closed as of now but once open I'll make sure to share all the details with you regarding the head unit.

Bro guess your PM isn't working. Wanted to check if your 8.8" screen is still available (I am looking to change from the puny 6.5" they gave with the luxury line in 2015).

I don't really need a lot of the other features of an android system as I already got some of the coding upgrades. Just want a better looking and more modern screen.

I am guessing it may be a straight fit.
Lemme know...

[pranavmichael]

Originally Posted by krish69

Bro guess your PM isn't working. Wanted to check if your 8.8" screen is still available (I am looking to change from the puny 6.5" they gave with the luxury line in 2015).

I don't really need a lot of the other features of an android system as I already got some of the coding upgrades. Just want a better looking and more modern screen.

I am guessing it may be a straight fit.
Lemme know...

Yes Krish69, my PM's aren't enabled as of now.

My 8.8" screen developed a few cracks in it, that is why I got an android head unit installed.

If you do want an upgrade, I'd strongly suggest you to go for the android one. You'll get a much larger screen and your iDrive would work normally with it. Additionally you'll get all the android features as a bonus.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by superbad

I'm assuming you didn't get the Nardo grey endorsed in your RC. Would urge you to be more careful, always better to stay on the right side of the law.
Great job on your car, you've great taste & an eye for details.

One doesn't need to / cannot endorse a wrap colour. Only a different colour paint can be endorsed.

[Moontan]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Also, the android head units run in parallel with the idrive, so you can access the original idrive, and also the android interface. Even if the car had HUD, this android screen would make no difference to its functioning, as the HUD takes its signals from the instrument cluster.

How would navigation work on the HUD when swapped to an Android screen? I understand warning displays like Door Open, Seatbelt, etc. But as you input destination into iDrive, the directions are projected on your HUD. All who had HUD and have swapped have noted that the HUD has very limited information displayed after and some, none at all.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Moontan

How would navigation work on the HUD when swapped to an Android screen? I understand warning displays like Door Open, Seatbelt, etc. But as you input destination into iDrive, the directions are projected on your HUD. All who had HUD and have swapped have noted that the HUD has very limited information displayed after and some, none at all.

You are correct, the navigation would be on the centre screen, with google maps or carplay. Of course there is always the option to use the BMW nav, in which case you would get the information on the HUD.