Hey everyone! New F25 owner, just picked it up Wednesday. After 3 E46 Tourings it was time for something a little taller and a little more modern. New ride is a 2016 X3 Xdrive 35i M Sport with 87k miles. Carbon Black over Saddle Brown, well optioned with front and rear heated seats, heated steering wheel, HUD, LED headlights, etc. No radar cruise, but I'm ok with that. I'm a BMW tech, so first order of business was to update the car to the latest software. Next was an oil change, all air filters, and I have some silicone wiper inserts on order. Kinda pissed BMW has discontinued the inserts! Picked up some used 19x9.5 ESR wheels for it yesterday. Other plans include and upgraded charge pipe, BootMod 3 tuning, a trailer hitch, and maybe a mild drop. It's got a few minor booboos, but it's likely to get more as my daily and family road trip vehicle. I grabbed some touch-up paint and will work on some paint correction, as well. Next order of business is to mount some correct size tires on the new wheels and perform an alignment before our first road trip in it for Thanksgiving this coming week.

Lovely motor 🤩

Congrats, sir! Your X3 looks very sharp.

Nice lookin' car, and a sharp interior

Congrats man! Great spec!

Thanks, everyone! Been working on the basics. Fluid and filter changes and further detailing/cleanup. Got the wheels mounted and they look fantastic. Ordered some Koni Special Actives on a Black Friday deal and will pair those with some H&R springs. Picked up a hitch off Amazon and waiting on the BMW wiring to come in from Germany. I replaced all the clips for the A-pillar/windshield trim and have that sitting nicer, now. I also picked up some aftermarket crossbars off Marketplace, and they are actually whisper quiet, which I'm really happy about. We also took up to the finger lakes area of NY over the holiday last week. Nice and smooth on the highway, no hiccups, which was great.

Depending on what rear hitch you got you might lose the rear tow hook location.

F25N20 wrote

Depending on what rear hitch you got you might lose the rear tow hook location.

This one looks like it should mount inside the original beam, but I haven't looked at the instructions or pulled the bumper cover, yet. If it doesn't, then the hitch becomes the tow point. Hopefully, I never need the tow point!

Mind sharing what you paid?

mwat wrote

Mind sharing what you paid?

Out the door at a dealership I paid $18k.

yjsaabman wrote

Out the door at a dealership I paid $18k.

About what I expected, thanks!
Thinking about selling my Melbourne red almost same spec as you 68k miles.

mwat wrote

About what I expected, thanks!
Thinking about selling my Melbourne red almost same spec as you 68k miles.

Oh, man! I would have loved a Melbourne Red one! Provided it didn't have an Oyster interior! Black was not my first choice. Or my second choice! 🤣 The Saddle Brown interior was my first choice, though, and compliments the Carbon Black nicely. And the blue flip to the metallic is nice.

The trailer harness finally came in, so hopefully I'll get to the hitch install soon. Still need to order the tow module, though.

yjsaabman wrote

Oh, man! I would have loved a Melbourne Red one! Provided it didn't have an Oyster interior! Black was not my first choice. Or my second choice! 🤣 The Saddle Brown interior was my first choice, though, and compliments the Carbon Black nicely. And the blue flip to the metallic is nice.

I got the black interior, I'm still waiting to see a Melbourne red on saddle brown -- that's probably the best spec for an F25. Enjoy the car

mwat wrote

I got the black interior, I'm still waiting to see a Melbourne red on saddle brown -- that's probably the best spec for an F25. Enjoy the car

One came up at the local Carmax while I was shopping, but it was ultra low miles and over $20k, which was out of my budget. It also sold instantly.

So I dug into the hitch install last night. Got the basics covered with the hitch itself installed and wiring to the external plug installed. Not exactly step-by-step, but I'll hit the highlights.

So the hitch does mount with the original bumper beam, so no loss of the tow hook attachments. Drawtite p/n 76226. It even came with 8 plastic rivets to reattach the rear wheel arches once the bumper is back on.



Next was getting the wiring through the grommet. The installation instructions from BMW don't really give you much information. In the end there are two dimples on the outboard side of the grommet for the PDC and RDC antenna wiring. I used a 5/16" drill bit and opened one of the dimples. Then, with a little lube, I fed the wires from the outside in, where you assemble the connector to the rest of the harness.





Final position of the assembled connector in the battery well area.



Next up was trimming the underside support piece for the bottom of the bumper. I also decided to mount the trailer plug into this piece, facing downward, since I don't have the BMW hitch beam and bracket. First I made a cardboard template, and then transferred that to the plastic panel. I used stepped drill, an air body saw, and a die grinder with a burr to make the opening, gradually working up to a nice fit.









Overall I'm happy with the end result. Now I need to finish up the wiring install, order the module, and then finally code the car for it.

Installed a VRSF charge pipe last night. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be on initial inspection. BMW repair instructions for removing the charge pipe are a joke. Warranty time is 0.9 hours, just remove the belly pan and the airbox with snorkel, unclipped everything, then remove! I ended removing the throttle body and tank vent valve and was able to wiggle it out from the top. I thought the two piece nature of the VRSF pipe would make it easier, but getting the short piece at the TB in was still a bit tricky. Overall it took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Some big changes to Herman this week. Finally got the suspension assembled and on. H&R Sport springs, Koni Special Active struts, and all new mounts, isolator, etc. I did run into a small problem. Once installed the ride was horrible. I've had several sets of H&R springs before, and the ride has always been great. I poured over the paperwork that came with them a second time making sure I didn't miss the info on trimming the bumpstops, nothing said to. I inspected the car and found it sitting on the bumpstops. Fortunately, I was able to trim them installed on the car, and the ride is exactly as I expected. I did e-mail H&R and shared my findings. Maybe a piece of paper got missed in my set, maybe not. Just wanted to share here, as well. Herman also got a decent bath today and the Amazon Special lip installed. Really happy with how he's starting to look.

YAY HERMAN!!!

I would get Black BMW Kidney grilles to complement the Black paint.

slowblackx3f25 wrote

I would get Black BMW Kidney grilles to complement the Black paint.

I actually prefer the contrast the grilles provide. I'm not a "murder it out" kinda guy. Herman will never have black wheels. And the grilles on the F25 aren't so giant as to need to be hidden!

Cool thread! I am following! I too just picked up an F25 in November. 110k. Great records including 5k mile oil changes and a glowing review of ownership from the Indy who serviced it.

Nonetheless, I am collecting parts. I am interested in your experience with VRSF and the catless downpipe. I understand that with a tune, the CE light will stay out. Has this been your experience or do you have a similar one?

I have the charge pipe and am looking for the biggest/best intercooler available. Do you have a recommendation?

The KW's are here as well as the Powerflex bushings for anything they make on an F25.

I am considering refreshing the things like transmission mounts, exhaust hangers? and other otems that seem to fail after 110k. Engine mounts await install.

Belts, pulleys, hoses and a larger radiator are also on the list. Nissens makes one that is twice the capcity I think I read. We have one in my daughter's E82 and it's been rock solid over 45k miles now.

I LOVE the tow hitch. It would be the thing I miss most about the outgoing E53. What am I missing that you would replace proactively?

I did do the radio. I missed CarPlay.