My Yas Marina Blue 6mt f80 - At a Marina (Update: C Quartz Finest & 18% Tint)

[mikeyr0x]

Picked up the car on Tuesday and couldnt be happier. My last M car was an e90 and I had it for about 5 years. Loved every moment with it and it was emotional for me letting it go. Haha. Had an s4 to kick around in between model changes and now I'm back with the f80.

Views and my Impressions
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Color and Interior
I was pretty sure what I wanted in my order in terms of all options. No color regrets or back and forth decisions. I previously had fox red extended (full) in the e90 and I knew for sure I didnt want SO interior in this car. Nothing against it, its beautiful but after 5 years with red interior and 1.5 years with 2 tone red/black interior in the s4 I was done with red. I wanted black leather badly after the e90, even with the s4 but I took a lot car that had 2 tone red/black. I went with black extended in the f80 and I am very happy with it. BMW did a good job at making the extended leather option a fair deal. There is enough leather on the doors and around the radio/ac. Having had extended leather in my e90 and not having it in my s4 I knew I could deal without adding full leather to my build. If you havent had full leather before and know you will enjoy the maximum premium cockpit experience go for it. Personally I do not miss it.







I have previously only owned black and silver cars before the f80. For this car I wanted something different. Seeing the YMB demo cars that were floating around earlier this year at I was real intrigued. After looking at the paint options I went with YMB with no hesitations. Having SSII before in my e90 and loving that color and its hue's in different lighting I just wanted something a little bolder in this car. YMB changes in direct and indirect lighting from pastel baby blue to a deeper blue in shade. Great color. YMB turns heads as most of the cars on the road are black, silver, and grey lately.

Packages
Executive package was a must for me for sat radio, CA, and the HUD. I love the HUD and how it displays the speed limit next to the current MPH. Very nice to see who's calling and entertainment information on the windshield in your line of sight. This version of iDrive brings time shift and favorites to Sirius radio. Time shift is like DVR for satellite radio letting you rewind. Favorites allow you to store favorite artists and songs and iDrive will alert you when they are on another station. You can even add you favorite sports teams. I havent had a chance to see these notifications yet but I was impressed by these iDrive sat radio updates. I love iDrive and think its much more refined and feature rich vs Audi MMI.

Drivers assist was also a must for me once I saw what it included. The side and top view cameras are excellent for parking and I welcome any additional safety features on new cars I own. When I park or back into a spot I toggle between the 360 deg and camera rear views for an informed accurate parking result. Living in Miami I'll take all of the safety and driving information I can to protect myself, my car, and people I'm driving. The HUD displays warning information from the drivers assist package and the lane departure warning vibrate notification on the wheel and active blind spot detection will help keep me safe. Great package and well worth the cost.

Lighting. This is the only package I added at last minute (before submitting initial order). I added this after seeing the dazzle and euro coding capabilities bmw promo video. Had to have it. I'm a technology guy and appreciate every moment of R&D that was put into making this package happen. The automatic high beams are bad ass and the adaptive LEDs are amazing. Worth the cost as well in my opinion.

HK. After hearing this system in the demo I sat in when I put down my deposit I just added this option without much thought or comparison to the stock system. It has nice equalizer options, and I guess if you like music, you should add this one. .

6MT. Here goes it. Everyone on this board can be so loyal and defensive to their transmission choice. Bottom line for me is that I want to feel a connection to the car and have the richest possible experience in this type of automobile. I'm a purist and appreciate rowing gears and the involvement with the car that the manual transmission brings. I guess I like the margin of error that is there and that I have to be engaged to drive the car properly. My s4 was s-tronic and it was so boring. I needed to get back to manual on this car. I liked hill assist on my e90 and this car adds rev match which makes me seem like a professional at heel toe throttle blipping. Its pretty amazing. Seeing the gear I'm in on my instrument cluster is pretty neat I guess. Its cute how it suggest the optimal gear. haha. I'm sure the DCT is fun but manual was not even a question in this car. When I picked up the car 3 sales people said something to me about getting it in manual. One said, "Its the only way you can get this car". Another sales guy peeked in the window at my delivery when I was in finance and gave me a thumbs up. Even one of the valet guys in my building asked if it was manual. Som3 people on this board say the car is made for the DCT trans and I can tell you this guys, you are completely wrong. The gearbox and clutch feels reminiscent to my e90's but with a completely different power band behind it. I do not know all of the real technical analysis behind the 6mt so my expression of the experience is limited. The 6mt on this car is awesome.

18's. I didnt care for the 19's in photos I saw before I ordered and I really liked the spoke design and color of the 18's. Towards the end of my e90 ownership I started to really dislike the stock 19's. The paint was chipping on them and there was little concavity on those wheels. So for this car I went with the 18's and I am very glad I did. Whoever said they look much better in person v photos was right. The tires are beefier and the ride is very nice. I love the color of these wheels. On the bmwusa configuration they look silver, in person they are more of a gunmetal grey-ish. The wheel gap in the front is there, and in the back it looks just right to me. No regrets with this choice and I think the 18's give the car more of track inspired look.

CF Roof. Its nice to have a moonroof but the CF roof option on the m3 sedan this year seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up. I do not miss having a moon roof one bit. The contrast with the paint looks great.

Other views
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Electric steering. No issues. I like the sport plus mode. Feels heavy. Comfort is comfortable and feels a bit loose in comparison.
Adaptive suspension. I did not get this option and its one of my very small only regrets. For $1k you get additional comfort and sport configurability on the car. Get this option if you are deciding on it. After seeing the configurability with throttle and steering modes I kinda wish I had added it. Passive suspension feels solid and perfect to me.
Seats. Comfortable for me at 5'11" 165lb average frame. I do not miss the thigh extenders. Leather feels great, M illuminated logo on the seats rocks.
Sound. The car sounds great. I have been trying to keep it below 4500 during break in so I havent yet had a chance to experience the full engine audio experience.

The car feels very solid and sticks to the road in every way. The car has tons of technology and feels improved in every way from the e90. I cannot believe I even tested out Audi for the year and half before picking up this car. I needed something new at the time and nothing in the BMW fleet in Jan 2013 stuck out to me. I probably should have kept the e90 post warranty expiration but I thought I had to get something to hold me over until this car was available. I will say the Audi S4 was a very and solid safe car. I got rear ended in it and the car held up very nicely. I felt safe.

I love the practicality of the f80 and the body styling. I've always had something for BMW 4 door sport sedans since I was little. I have a memory from my childhood of riding in a friends 4 dr 328i and just being so impressed by the BMW styling and experience. I do not think I could go for a coupe right now unless it was a P-car or something Italian. But for now the f80 fits me and pairs very well with my driving passion.

I ordered my car on August 9th and took delivery on Oct 7th. About 2 months of waiting. It was an awesome experience waiting and tracking the car. I knew where it was before my SA at every step and even informed him of the dealer final delivery the morning I picked it up. Loved calling the 800 number 3-4x+ a day, waiting for each step of the process, and tracking the ship with marinetraffic like a maniac. I was fortunate that my dealer had a week 36 build allocation and that my options didnt cause any delays. Very cool experience ordering the car exactly like I wanted it and taking delivery. I am sure I will do ED in the future and I'm planning on doing the 2 day M school in early 2015.

I already have a few IND parts waiting install (painted grill and reflectors) and I will pickup some M perf parts (mirrors, side gills, rear CF spoiler) in the next few weeks. Taking it easy with the mods and want to enjoy the car completely stock for a few weeks. I'm thinking of going C Quartz for paint protection and may skip the clear bra. Need to consult with my detailer. I'll eventually get 20% tint all around.

So this being my first weekend with the f80 m3 I needed an first real photo shoot. I tried to capture the color at different angles and lighting. See the link in my sig for more pics. Have a good weekend guys.

[idocm4]

Your M3 looks awesome! Congrats!

[haynstyleM2]

great write up! thanks for taking the time to share. ymb is a great color and those 18's look sweet! 6MT is a definite winner! congrats and enjoy!

[TravyTrav]

Nice! Hope to see it in person one day driving down the turnpike

[mikeyr0x]

Thanks guys

[Lynchmob6]

Very nice!

[fortressmaximus]

Congrats!!

[Maxis]

Now I know for sure 18' inch'',, is the way to go,,,, thank you sir,,,

[nbennettksu]

nice write up!

[YMB-M3-J2]

Congrats!! Glad you finally got it!

[alexc93]

Nice! love that you went with the 6MT, & good candid shots at Monty's haha

[991brothers]

Looks great. Congrats!

[GOLFFRR]

fantastic! congrats OP

[mike@x-ph.com]

Looks really good!!

[UH_TX]

Great Write! Similiar combo ordered, but I feel a need to add lighting package now

[dmk08]

Great write up Mikey. Car looks great buddy. I'm super jelly. Fix that full leather comment tho it ain't the same :P

[mikeyr0x]

Originally Posted by UH_TX

Great Write! Similiar combo ordered, but I feel a need to add lighting package now

Lighting package rocks, if you crave the latest tech and appreciate good lighting, these are a must.

Originally Posted by Mere

Now I know for sure 18' inch'',, is the way to go,,,, thank you sir,,,

Glad to have helped.

[VMRWheels]

Great pick up, congrats! Thanks for sharing

[m3rxn]

Nice post my friend. SOOOO glad I chose YMB + 6MT!

[Vectors2final]

18'' was the way to go. I'll be doing the same.

[mikeyr0x]

Update--

Added:

• Full detail and paint protection. Decontamination, 2 stage paint polish, and C Quartz Finest done by Dom @ http://scheerdetailing.com/
• 18% Suntek Carbon Tint

Thoughts:

I am VERY happy with C Quartz Finest. Everything seems to come off the paint with little effort. This is the first coating i've ever had done on any of my cars. Super happy with it.
I switched from Adams detail spray to Ultima Waterless Wash for cleaning bugs, spots, and bird bombs per my detailer. Great stuff. It took my detailer 2 rounds of paint correction to correct the horrendous job the dealership did during their 'new car prep'. I highly recommend having your dealer SKIP the new car prep/ first detail if you plan to get paint protection like opticoat or c quartz . Most dealers will only screw up your paint causing you extra expense or frustration down the line...

With that being said if you live in south florida and need a good detailer, trust your car with Dom at http://scheerdetailing.com/. I am a highly detailed person and he may surpass my level of detail and care for cars. PM me if you have any questions but hands down, this guy is the man for any detailing needs in South Florida. Check him out: http://instagram.com/scheerspeed

I had the 18% Suntek done on my last car and I think its pretty good film. No issues with it.
I usually get 20% all around, Florida sun is brutal, but Suntek only has an 18" in the carbon film. Had it done at World of Auto Tinting. I'm pretty sure this is the best Tint shop in Miami, a city usually known for lousy service, this Tint shop is excellent. My car was done in around an hour and the owner Paul stands by all of his work. http://www.yelp.com/biz/world-of-aut...ng-inc-miami-3

Other thoughts:
I love the 18's. The brake rotors fill nearly the entire wheel. The rear tire is really fat at 275 and 255 in the front.

Tint changes the car a lot on YMB. Looks great contrasting with the CFRP roof and with the blackline moldings. I'm planning on adding the M Perf mirror caps in the next few weeks and maybe eventually I'll put on the rest of the IND stuff I have sitting around . Installing my Mini 803 dash cam in the next few days as well.

Pics:

After full detail and paint protection:




More on http://instagram.com/scheerspeed

After 18% Suntek:

[JTO24]

Looks good! I really am growing very fond of YMB again lol