This past weekend I tackled some minor paint issues, one on each car. I also changed the oil in my E46 M3, doing it in my driveway since a club DIY got canceled. Neither paint issue was major. My E39 M5 came to me in 2011 with two long scratches on the driver side rear […]
I thought I was done with M3 news after the last DIY event. But the car had other ideas. My alternator died last week while I was driving through Old Town Alexandria, taking the battery with it. After I got that settled I decided to buy a Bluebus Bluetooth device for the car, like I […]
Another National Capital Chapter (NCC) BMY DIY event, more maintenance for my 2006 E46 M3. We were graciously hosted again by BMW of Annapolis. On my agenda was fuel filter replacement, refreshing the passenger side muffler hanger, and a cosmetic repair to my steering wheel. The fuel filter I replaced was not original to the […]
Last week at a club DIY event I installed a Vorsteiner rear diffuser on my E46 M3. I had thought about getting one for a while. But the high cost of a quality piece pushed it down the priority list. That changed after a conversation with a fellow National Capital Chapter member who had no […]
Last weekend I changed the coolant on my 2006 M3 at a club DIY event. BMW of Sterling was our gracious host for the event, giving us access to its large and state-of-the-art facility. I had done the same maintenance in 2018 at Sterling. I went in hoping I could again borrow a fluid exchange […]
I’ve just completed what became a long saga improving my E46 M3 headlight performance. Regular visitors might remember it started about a year ago when I replaced the projector lenses in my headlights. All was fine for a while afterwards. Then last fall I noticed that the passenger side light was much lower than the […]
The last two DIY events have involved straightforward changes of BMW fluids, so I’m combining them into one post. In the first I changed the differential fluid and rear diffuser on my E39 M5, and during the second I changed the power steering fluid in my E46 M3. I had last done the differential fluid […]
Last weekend I replaced the rear brake rotors and brake pads on my 2006 M3. For an amateur DIY enthusiast like myself that’s a pretty big job, and I’m happy to say it went smoothly. Craftsman Auto Care hosted our local chapter at their Chantilly location. Craftsman is a regular sponsor and a great partner […]
About this time last year I reported on a webinar that tracked the appreciation of BMW M Cars. The webinar was organized by Paul Seto, hard-working president of both the National Capitor Chapter (NCC) of the BMW CCA, as well as the director of the M Chapter. The data shared came from Hagerty senior analyst […]
Recently I dove into a DIY project that initially seemed too complicated. If you’re a fan of the Wheels posts you might remember I purchased clear projector lenses to install on my BMW E46 M3. When I realized the ZKW-R lens installation required me to take my HID Xenon headlights completely apart I wondered if […]
Earlier this month I came close to buying a BMW on BaT, the Bring a Trailer auction site. I enjoy my two M cars and until this month hadn’t seen a car I wanted badly enough to bid. After watching the auctions and sharing comments on BMWs since 2016 it finally happened. The car I […]
It’s been relatively quiet on the M car front lately. I purchased new summer tires for my M3, and I had to redo a front sway bar link that blew out shortly after install. I added a far superior, aftermarket drink holder solution to the M5. And unfortunately, I ran into my first DIY fail […]