My fellow Coupe owners,

Got my new Coupe a few weeks ago (silver/black/moonroof) and, as you all know, it surely is BIG TIME FUN even during breakin!!

But I'm also a bit of a maintenance enthusiastwith my cars. And I'm just wondering what exactly in the interior is real leather. The stiched areas on console sides & door handles are obvious. But what about the material on top of the instrument pod, covering the area above the glove compartment & air bag cover on passenger side, and also on the top edges of the doors? Is this the real thing?

Also, I think I read on this board that there's a moonroof shade for the M coupe available from BMW (#82110021741)- anybody have this? Does it work OK? I'm not a big sun fan but I was too late to order a non-moonroofed car. Thanks for any info. Gotta go look at the car now!!

-Brian

Sup Brian,

dope.. another m Coupe owner, not enough people posting in these parts of the board. I got my weekend toy about a month ago as well, it's broken in now (2300 miles), but I'm still treating it like a baby. As for the sunshade for the moonroof, I wouldn't go with BMW OEM since I heard bad things about their sunshade for the whole front windshield was 2 inches short. I went with the Z3solutions sunshade and it was a perfect fit, doesn't even need the sun visors to hold it up.

For the sunroof, go with leatherz.com 's sunshade. They will have one in leather and alcantra soon, but the one for now is plain vinyl which I'm sure is significantly cheaper.

The material on the dash is all plain plastic. The pod I believe is still vinyl, I know for sure it isn't leather.

-peace out mah nigs-

2k2 Steel grey
'91 CRX Si daily

Hey IIIM...

Thanks for the info man- I'm definitely gonna get me some a those shades

Yeah, the participation does seem thin here- partly that's the price of owning a rare car, I guess. Also, our cars are still fairly new- aside from the bad batch of engines, there's shou;dn't be much going wrong yet. I had Alfas for years until just recently- had to make space for the coupe! This here seems like a whole different scene. ?There, it was all technical issues, sourcing parts & DIY maintenance w/o a dealer network, some racing, a lot of arcana, and the idea of owning a BMW was apostasy! This is different. Honestly, I'll probably buy another Alfa some day, they're interesting cars. Maybe even a new one if GM actually ever brings them in- I lost track of that plan. But the coupe is ridiculous- it IS a keeper that I'll be playing w/ for quite some time. Sorry about all the "off-topic" stuff! Thanks again- talk to you later

-Brian

hi brian and congrats on your car purchase. you will love it! i envy you guys w/ the new engine.:thumbsup:


:beer:

Thanks Roadrunner. Can't wait till she's broken in!

Speaking of which, the transmission seems exceptionally notchy. Its sometimes a small struggle to get it into first, and you really have to press hard to the left to access the reverse slot- is that normal on a new coupe? I've never driven a car w/ such stiff shifting. I saw a recommendation about switching the transmissuion to Redline, but aren't these units essentially lubed for life? That surprised me too. But I do love the car, although I had a lousy dealer experience, which surprised me. I had heard that BMW dealers delivered theroyal treatment. Oh well, that's (almost) history at this point. Drive on :D

-Brian

hi brian. sorry for the late reply........works been crazy lately.
to answer your 1st question- yes the shift is VERY notchy....you'll grow to love it. i've changed my shifter to a bit heavier one to make it a little smoother. Yes, i have the sunshade. love it. it works great plus the sunroof stays functional. enjoy the car.:thumbsup:

Hi guys,

I have been lying low for a while. The gearbox on my 2002 coupe was incredibly stiff for the first couple of thousand miles. Its much better now. Regarding the reverse sticking - gently pull the gear lever to the left 'reverse' position until you feel the resistance - then nudge it left again into the gate. It takes some getting used to but there is definitely a technique required.

FYI, I just replaced my Hartge exhaust system for the OEM exhaust. The deep grunt of the Hartge system became little over bearing for everyday use - causing resonance in the cabin in lower gears. The OEM system has transformed the car back to its cultured self. However, for whatever reason, the car is certainly quicker with the Hartge system. I think it must develop alot more torque.

Regards

yeah i notice alot more go with the ss exhaust. i took it off for awhile but ended putting it back on. try supersprint....very similar to stock sound w/ slight deeper note.

p.s. love your car!:beer:

Roadrunner,

Did you chip your car?? If you did what kind of performance differences have you noticed? Is it worth me doing it too?

FYI, the Hartge exhaust sounds like an absolute beast. I have never heard anything quite like it. Im tempted to put it back on just for the performance. However, for now Im going to enjoy the peace and quiet...!

yes, i did upgrade the software. on mine i did notice a good bit increase in performance, mostly throttle response.......remember i have the s52 engine. i think the combination of software, intake and exhaust is a good investment toward fun. for your engine, i think the only real expectations from a chip is better throttle response. i'm not really sure who makes a upgrade for european models in the states. but i'm sure you can find some in europe. your car is pretty fast already.:thumbsup: