Can a 200,000 km F30 320d Still Be a Good Buy?

Clint@MMS AUTO

BMWFanatics Advertiser
Official Advertiser
I haven't done the EGR delete as yet. I haven't actually done any performance mods to the car as yet. Only creature comforts like the apple car play, sports gear shifter, paddle shift steering wheel retrofit and the digital climate control cluster replacement (That was a pain to code but works beautifully) and the E89 msport 19" Rims and headlight cover replacement, but in terms of performance stuff, stock as it came from the factory.

With regards to the sports shifter, yea I don't think it does anything differently but I did set the cars transmission to the sports transmission in ProTools when I installed it which made a big difference. From how it was to how it is now it almost feels like I put an XHP flash on the car.

I do definitely also need to do suspension next though.
Okay cool man, I also enabled Sport Auto Trans when I coded the Start/Stop memory and I agree with you, It makes a massive difference in the shifts. That coupled with the transmission service and EGS Adaptations really transformed the way my car selects and changes gears now. It’s chalk and cheese.
 

Clint@MMS AUTO

BMWFanatics Advertiser
Official Advertiser
THIS WEEK’S UPDATE - STEERING WHEEL, ANDROID SCREEN & COOLING SYSTEM PREP

First up, the steering wheel. This one was long overdue.

The steering wheel is probably the one part of the car you’re constantly interacting with whenever you drive, so fitting a fresh one always makes the whole driving experience feel that little bit better.


The MQS terminals and wire finally arrived, so I made up the missing paddle signal wire and ran it from the FEM to the steering column.

1.jpeg
2.jpeg


The old steering wheel was removed and the new M Sport wheel with paddles fitted.3.jpeg
4.jpeg

I also added the harness for the M1/M2 buttons, which allows me to cycle through the driving modes from the steering wheel, and connected that into the iDrive controller circuit.


5.jpeg


Once everything was wired up, I coded the car to enable the paddle shifters.
Tested everything afterwards and I’m happy to report that it all works exactly as intended.


Paddles are working, the M1/M2 buttons are changing the driving modes, and the new wheel has made the interior feel much fresher.
6.jpeg



Next up was something I’ve been waiting a while for.
I recently ordered a full aluminium oil filter housing from the US. I specifically wanted this particular version because it is properly aluminium throughout, rather than some of the versions I’ve seen being sold locally which use an aluminium outer housing but retain a plastic centre thermostat section which I've noticed always fails around the brass thermostat valve when the plastic cracks as shown in the pics below from another N47 we worked on recently.
WhatsApp Image 2026-10-09 at 19.38.1234.jpeg
WhatsApp Image 2026-10-09 at 19.38.122.jpeg

new one looks like this
WhatsApp Image 2026-10-09 at 19.38.12.jpeg


While I was ordering, I also added:

  • Aluminium coolant flange
  • EGR delete kit
  • Swirl flap delete kit

Then, while browsing through the cooling-system parts, I made the mistake of seeing a 12.3-inch Android screen for the F30. 😂
It looked really good, so naturally I ordered that too.7.jpeg


What I didn’t consider was that the dashboards on LHD and RHD F30s are different.

The advert didn’t mention anything about LHD or RHD compatibility, and I’m assuming that’s because it was being sold primarily into a left-hand-drive market.


Needless to say, I discovered this the hard way...

At around 21:30… About 50% of the way through the installation. 😂


8.jpeg


Since I was already that far into it, there was no chance I was putting everything back together.

So I modified the mounting panel and made it work for now.

It’s not the final solution, though. I’ve already asked a friend to check for the correct RHD version when he goes to China at the end of the month.

If he can’t find one, I’ll order a RHD housing from another version and modify the two pieces to make one that fits and looks the way it’s supposed to. For now, though, I’m just happy to have Waze and my music working nicely on the larger screen. I still need to run and wire the reverse camera, but I’ll get to that soon.
9.jpeg
10.jpeg

Now onto the next major job…
At this point, pretty much every fluid in the car has been switched over to its Motul equivalent, with the exception of the engine coolant. That’s next.

I now have everything required for a fairly comprehensive cooling-system refresh:

  • Motul coolant
  • New thermostat
  • New thermostat housing
  • Aluminium coolant flange
  • Full aluminium oil filter housing with Thermostat assembly, Both oil coolers, New cooler gaskets and seals
11.jpeg
12.jpeg

I’m not replacing the water pump because BMW replaced it last year, along with the coolant expansion tank and cap, so there’s no point replacing perfectly good recent parts just for the sake of it.

This cooling-system job looks like it could easily turn into a two-day affair if I want to do everything properly, clean everything up while I’m there and make sure there are no leaks afterwards.


So when I get another decent gap in my schedule, that will be the next big job.

Still making progress whenever I get the chance but looks like there there isn't much else left to do after this besides rack up mileage and enjoy it.
 
Top