Minnesota M535i

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wkohler
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Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by wkohler »

Wow. Beautiful car. Keep up the great work. I'm a huge fan of the m-tech wheels. My first M535i didn't come with those (had the E24 Fuchs), but my '87 did. Maybe someday I'll bite the bullet on some 220/55s and get my chrome wheels stripped and refinished.
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

Thank you all for the kind words. My car is certainly not at the same level as vinceg101's, but hopefully someday I’ll be able to get close :)
davintosh
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Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by davintosh »

vinceg101 wrote: Aug 31, 2020 11:57 AM
cek wrote: Aug 30, 2020 9:54 PM It appears you are in the running with @vinceg101 for the most clean m535. Well done..
Certainly with those M-Tech's his is looking the most authentic.
(I covet those rear window shades)

Very sharp looking M535i you have. Keep up the good work.
Dang; nice looking car! I covet the window shades and the wheels.
Kowalskicw
Posts: 54
Joined: Aug 29, 2020 8:56 AM
Location: Minnesota

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by Kowalskicw »

Holy cow that is sweet! I'll have to come up for one of those lake calhoun meets next season. What exhaust is on that? I need a lot of mine replaced and fixed next week. Lots of bits need replacing and you sound like a good source. Hopefully that's ok. Down in Rochester.
Bonsaibacker
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Location: Palatka FL

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by Bonsaibacker »

Such a clean car with great and rare bits. Keep the pictures coming.
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

I thought I’d share some pics from a recent road trip with the E28. After having my cars sit around for several years, I made a decision in 2020 to make the time to use them more. Annual roadtrips started last year when I took my E30 to the Rockies and South West. This year a buddy (with an E30 iX) and I took 10 days or so to explore the PNW and NorCal. After a day of Interstate to get from MN to eastern MT, we took 2 lane roads from then on wherever possible. Car performed well for the most part although I did have a few issues:

- Due to higher than average temps throughout most of the trip, I experienced the melty fuse box issue from running AC ALOT. I did some terminal tightening, cleaning and fuse replacement on the road and made it home without any further problems. I have since ordered the Holy Grail Labs blade fuse kit and look forward to upgrading.
- My SI board began to act up in MT. While this had already been replaced about 10 years ago, I guess it was time again. I had one sent to a family member in CA so it was replaced halfway through the trip.
- Windshield was cracked from a rock in MT. This is unfortunate as it was a relatively new OEM windshield and we all know they are not available in NA.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite pics from the trip. I can’t wait to do this again in 2023 :)


Western Montana:

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On the approach to Mt Rainier:

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Seattle:

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Mt. St. Helens:

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Evergreen Air & Space Museum (Highly recommended!):

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Astoria, OR:

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Heading south on Hwy 101:

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Drive Thru Tree, Leggett CA:

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Bay Area, CA:

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Western Utah on the way home:

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5280 JB
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Joined: Apr 15, 2008 10:39 PM
Location: 5280' altitude: Denver, CO

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by 5280 JB »

Great pics, and a big congrats to you for exercising the car and getting it out to stretch its legs. I recognize several of the pic locations having grown up in the PNW.

If your travels bring you and your car to the Denver area, please contact me and we can get a picture of two M535i's (Black and White) together!

Jim

PS: I remember seeing your car at O'fest in Beaver Creek, Colorado in 2014 - Beautiful!
dsmith
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Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by dsmith »

So cool! I almost took mine on a 2k mile trip this month, but chickened out and took the new car. Not because I was afraid it would have mechanical issues, but items like a cracked windshield haha! Guess I should just sell it, if I won’t drive it.
Adam W in MN
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Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by Adam W in MN »

Great pics and stories! How many miles did you put on the M535i?

Will you be at the Nordfest here in the twin cities the weekend of Sept 8th?
vinceg101
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Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by vinceg101 »

I think it would be pretty cool to someday have an M535i-only gathering in the US; would make a pretty epic group photo.

This car looks great and would love to see it in person one day. Hats off to you running the TRX's; you're braver than me.
reesesboot
Posts: 493
Joined: Jun 28, 2009 8:29 PM
Location: Costa Mesa, CA

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by reesesboot »

Beautiful car. What luck you had coming across that NLA shift knob - I would kill for one of those.
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

5280 JB wrote: Jul 13, 2022 7:48 PM Great pics, and a big congrats to you for exercising the car and getting it out to stretch its legs. I recognize several of the pic locations having grown up in the PNW.

If your travels bring you and your car to the Denver area, please contact me and we can get a picture of two M535i's (Black and White) together!

Jim

PS: I remember seeing your car at O'fest in Beaver Creek, Colorado in 2014 - Beautiful!
Thanks Jim! I remember your car too, a magnificent example. In the last year I've actually been through Denver in my E30, E38, E28 and the wife's MB :) I'll definitely keep you in mind the next time I'm in CO.
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

dsmith wrote: Jul 13, 2022 10:57 PM So cool! I almost took mine on a 2k mile trip this month, but chickened out and took the new car. Not because I was afraid it would have mechanical issues, but items like a cracked windshield haha! Guess I should just sell it, if I won’t drive it.
Man, I was distraught for a few hours after this happened, but after some reflection it's just another story to go with the car. And I did make some great memories on the rest of the trip. Blunttech was able to get me a replacement already from Europe. While it doesn't have the BMW roundel, I believe it's from an OE supplier so fit should be better than other aftermarket options available here.
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

Adam W in MN wrote: Jul 20, 2022 10:35 AM Great pics and stories! How many miles did you put on the M535i?

Will you be at the Nordfest here in the twin cities the weekend of Sept 8th?
Hey Adam, we ended up with about 5k miles all together. The most exercise the car has had in the 9 years I've owned it.

I haven't been very close to the local CCA activities recently, but will try to get to the German car show at least. Are you planning to bring the E12?
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

vinceg101 wrote: Jul 20, 2022 11:19 AM I think it would be pretty cool to someday have an M535i-only gathering in the US; would make a pretty epic group photo.

This car looks great and would love to see it in person one day. Hats off to you running the TRX's; you're braver than me.
Count me in for an M535i gathering. Mileage no object at this point :)

With regard to the TRX tires, I bought this set new a couple years ago, but haven't put more than a couple thousand easy miles on them around town here on summer weekends. I was impressed (relatively speaking) with how well they did on some pretty aggressive mountain roads on this trip and plan to keep them on the car long term (I'll likely list my Alpina wheels soon). In summary, for what I do with this car, any performance trade offs are well worth it to me to be able to use the M Tech wheels.
irl-mn
Posts: 133
Joined: Mar 05, 2012 8:08 AM
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by irl-mn »

reesesboot wrote: Jul 20, 2022 6:28 PM Beautiful car. What luck you had coming across that NLA shift knob - I would kill for one of those.
Ha, one of the few times my daily trawl of eBay paid off :)
travisj
Posts: 1150
Joined: Nov 05, 2009 10:09 PM
Location: Arvada, CO

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by travisj »

Great trip! Drive that bitch!
Another M535i here in Denver. I drove mine over 4000 miles in May to Chicago, Michigan, Indiana and then to Vintage in North Carolina. Did fantastic the whole way, despite no A/C or cruise control!
I wasn't willing to payout for new TRX rubber, so I have been reluctantly running stupid RC090 wheels. They look good, but too big. I really need to get my M5 16" style 5s on this thing.

Definitely need a meet up next time you come through Colorado!
travisj
Posts: 1150
Joined: Nov 05, 2009 10:09 PM
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Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by travisj »

Great trip! Drive that bitch!
Another M535i here in Denver. I drove mine over 4000 miles in May to Chicago, Michigan, Indiana and then to Vintage in North Carolina. Did fantastic the whole way, despite no A/C or cruise control!
I wasn't willing to payout for new TRX rubber, so I have been reluctantly running stupid RC090 wheels. They look good, but too big. I really need to get my M5 16" style 5s on this thing.

Definitely need a meet up next time you come through Colorado!
Mdreamer
Posts: 526
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Re: Minnesota M535i

Post by Mdreamer »

The pictures you shared from this year's trip are very cool. Thank you for sharing.
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