The Post-Car-Crash ***BLUE...***
As some of you know 3 months ago, a door was closed on my ZHP. But another door was presented which I finally got the time to open after some international travel. It's been a long wait but also a wait that I was willing to make to find something special that would fit into my life. I am so grateful and blessed that I have access to other family vehicles. When I needed transportation, there was never a time where I was stuck without a car after my ZHP went to heaven to live among BMW giants. I can already feel her playing on a canyon road with a twist, corner, bend, hairpin, chicane, or dip every few seconds. She's been set free to do what she honored me with for 10 years of ZHP ownership. But now was the time to up my game and challenge myself to the next step. Something outside of my box, something I fear, something that I respect, and something to be more responsible with. Most of all, something that will become an extension of who I am now rather than 10 years ago when I bought my ZHP.
My close friend (E92 335i owner) said that the next car I find will fall into my lap with no difficulties.
After an amazing trip to Guatemala where I had the intimate honor to be a partner in country transformation with leaders of their beautiful country, that became a reality when I landed back into Vancouver airport. I received an email to a Craigslist ad with a vehicle for sale locally. I've been planning to set sail for something in America where the car I want is more plentiful but as my friend said, it'll come easy. And that it did. Within 24 hours of contacting the seller, seeing the vehicle, test driving it, and getting an extensive 2 hour pre-purchase inspection....the money was withdrawn and this blue unicorn was deposited into my ownership. That missing ZHP extension will always be a scar in between my newer extension of who I'd like to introduce to my ZHP family....
She was 100% OEM when I bought her. Born as a 2004 with only 52K miles. The interior: a 9/10 with little wear marks on the black nappa leather. To my knowledge, she is the only Estoril Blue M3 Coupe in Vancouver...maybe in the province along with another convertible in the city somewhere. She's a BMW Individual and for most of her years she lived a rockstar life driven by Biff Naked. Since I'm no rockstar like her previous owner it's my job to make my car look like one. It'll be a process that I'm looking forward to making her individual to me as her colour is individual to the BMW community.
First she needed some coloured shades to show how hot she is at special angles while making a new friend in the background:
Then I needed to match her BMW Individual shadow line window trim:
BEFORE /// CHANGING TO
NOW:
Now I'm trying to decide on the front signals. I need them to be smoked to match the grille but not sure if I get the OEM look but smoked, or crystal smoked version of the signal housings. I'd like to get glossy black side gills too! I've already got clear reflectors on order to replace the amber which already look OK against blue.
Well since I got her she wanted to get down and dirty already. These ///M's are a bit kinkier than the ZHP!! Because she's still OEM ride height I agreed...LOL.
Not the most flattering angle but dat ass......
This is my dilemma....smoked front corners or smoked crystal front corners as OEM clear is too bright and contrasty with the grille:
She wanted to play in the dirt with the big trucks and dirt bikes but I told her maybe another day....LOL
As the relationship goes on we are already making new friends as this next part of the journey goes on...
I can for sure say this decision has opened doors that has already inspired others to dream bigger and share why I am so in love with the BMW brand. I hope that as BMW introduces an extra 10,000 new models to their lineup, they remember who they were 10 years ago so that their customers do not just become a selling volume statistic but rather someone who can help carry on the legacy of what we E46 owners feel towards the brand.
Comparing this ///M3 to my ZHP?
The ZHP in it's OEM state is just super amazing. It's street quality ride to handling ratio is near ideal for that sporting driver who doesn't want a race car harshness. The M3 has great dampening on dips but a sharp rebound which you will instantly feel in the cabin, for example bridge separations and sharp bumps on the street. I'm sure the bushings are more firmer on the ///M. It's directional confidence is just a tad more quicker than a ZHP but both cars instill a confidence that is easy to turn into over confidence. The S54 likes to rev higher to feel smoother. It's much more raw sounding than the M54. The S54 has a more metallic machine sound to it compared to the smooth refined M54. The S54 sure can rev match in an eye blink compared to the heart beat of the M54 and the scream at 8000RPM is rockstar music quality!
One thing I'm not used to is how quickly gears fly through this machine compared to my ZHP. At WOT, first gear is done so quickly and violently you hardly get to enjoy it! Think of the right pedal as opening the devil's door. It's soooo bad but you want it and crave it. A shift into second gear gets the devil's attention and now he peaks out and you see his eyes. Half way through second you feel a fear as your stare into the devil's eyes while you're thinking you're going to die while feeling happy and excited at the same time. Once into third, you feel your heart throb out of your chest and your breath rate has increased from not breathing to panting. Then it's time to close the devil's door and reflect the emotions that this ///M has shared with you. This all happens in under 5 seconds and you will never forget that virgin euphoric feeling ever again...
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