Proud New Owner of a 2016 M6 GC - Tracking My Journey

[LJohnson32]

Background

Over the weekend I finally pulled the trigger on my first BMW and a car I've dreamt of owning since I first drove one 4 years ago: a 2016 BMW M6 Gran Coupe

I purchased the car CPO from BMW Austin on Saturday May 9th. I took a one-way flight from Minneapolis down to Austin on Friday to pick the car up on Saturday morning and drive it 15 hours back to Minnesota -- something that I felt was fitting to do given that this car is built to excel when it comes to effortlessly eating up the miles.

It was (still is) a surreal experience to finally own this car. I'll use this thread to canvas out the different details about the car as well as my plans for it as time goes on.

About the Car

2016 BMW M6 Gran Coupe
Purchased at ~45,000 miles
Certified Pre Owned

• 7 Speed DCT Transmission (2MK)
  
• 475 Black Sapphire Metallic
  
• X3SW Black Full Merino Leather
  
• ZDB Driving Assistance Plus
  • 5AG Active Blind Spot Detection
  • 5AS Active Driving Assistant
  • 5DL Side and Top View Cameras
  • 8TH Speed Limit Info
• ZEC Executive Package
  • 248 Heated Steering Wheel
  • 415 Power rear sunshade
  • 416 Rear sunshades
  • 453 Front ventilated seats
  • 455 Active front seats
  • 496 Heated rear seats
  • 610 Head-up Display
  • 6F2 Bang & Olufsen Sound System
• 2TY 20" M wheel 343M w/perf nonrft
  
• 2VB Tire pressure monitor
  
• 323 Soft-close automatic doors
  
• 4NB 4-zone climate control
  
• 5AC Automatic High Beams
  
• ZEB Enhanced USB & Bluetooth

A few quick photos after I got it home and washed:





Plans For the Car

Completed:

• OEM M Performance Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser (51-19-2-347-848) Jump to Post
• OEM M Performance Carbon Fiber Rear Deck Spoiler (51-62-2-327-610) Jump to Post
• OEM M Performance Black Kidney Grilles (51-71-2-352-809 & 51-71-2-352-810) Jump to Post
• OEM Competition Mufflers/Tips (Interim Solution) Jump to Post
• iND Painted Front Reflectors (475 - Black Sapphire Metallic) Jump to Post
• Match Front Window Tint to Rears (20%) Jump to Post
• Replace Plastic Lip Spoiler Underneath Front Bumper (51-12-8-054-346) Jump to Post
• Replace '///M' decal on brake calipers Jump to Post
• Add Red Start/Stop Button Jump to Post
• Ceramic Controls Jump to Post (iDrive+Front Climate) Jump to Post (Rear Climate)
• Spacers (10mm Front, 10mm Rear to Accomodate Sizing Up to 305 Rears in Spring)
• OEM M Performance Stainless Steel Pedal Covers (35-00-2-232-276) Jump to Post
• OEM M Performance Carbon Fiber DCT Knob (61-31-2-343-709) Jump to Post
• Re-Spray Front Bumper (Rock Chips) and Rear Bumper (Load Edge wear) and XPEL Film Jump to Post
• OEM M Performance Carbon Fiber Steering Wheel Trim (32-30-2-345-203) Jump to Post
• Replace underside components that are cracked/worn along with hardware
• KW H.A.S. Suspension Install Jump to Post
• Refinish Wheels and Ceramic Coat

To Do:

• OEM M Performance Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps (51-14-2-351-091 & 51-14-2-358-656)
• OEM M Performance Exhaust System (18-30-2-351-490)
• Re-Spray Rockers, Hood, & Fenders (Rock Chips) in preparation for XPEL Film
• Paint Correction + Ceramic Coating
• DCT Service (Fluid + Filters)

And lastly I wanted to thank everyone on this forum for providing a wealth of knowledge to search through and learn from -- there is a ton of useful info that I was able to do research on prior to making the purchase and it made me even more excited to own this car and become part of the community. Looking forward to returning the favor!

[LJohnson32]

First order of business ended up being the rear diffuser. I was able to source an OEM M Performance Diffuser from the community here
(thanks Celoq23 ) .

Three simple Torx T27 screws on the underside and a pair of plastic expanding rivets are all that hold the diffuser in (aside from a few tabs) and the swap was completed in 15 minutes start to finish. Nice quick and easy change to give the car a more aggressive look at the back. OEM Carbon Rear lip is going on the car Thursday and will add to the look for sure!

Before:



After:



PS: The OEM diffuser that I took off is available for sale here

[SisuM6]

congratulations

[ind_can]

Congrats on the purchase! A fine looking car

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Congratulations! I just picked up a nearly identical M6 in Singapore Grey! Where did you order the competition pack exhaust tips? Mind sharing the part numbers as well?

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by SisuM6

congratulations

Originally Posted by ind_can

Congrats on the purchase! A fine looking car

Thank you both! Appreciate the kind words

Originally Posted by Kr0m3assass1n

Congratulations! I just picked up a nearly identical M6 in Singapore Grey! Where did you order the competition pack exhaust tips? Mind sharing the part numbers as well?

Congrats! Singapore grey was the other color that was an option for me, really brings out the lines of the car nicely. Would love to see some pics

I'm purchasing the entire comp pack muffler setup from a friend locally who just put an Eisenmann setup on his F10 M5. If you're looking to order the tips though the part number is 18-30-7-849-341 and can be found here

[XSTAR_007]

Awesome road trip and seems you have done your homework to get to t set-up as you like!

Congrats

[tab]

Congrats! My 2016 M6 GC has 43,000 miles now. Picked it up in August 2015 in Munich. Have fun!

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by XSTAR_007

Awesome road trip and seems you have done your homework to get to t set-up as you like!

Congrats

Thank you! Definitely did a lot of research prior to buying and the stars aligned on this one so it felt right. This community helped a lot as I was new to the BMW

PS: If you decide to go lower than you are now, you have a buyer for your Eibach springs

Originally Posted by tab

Congrats! My 2016 M6 GC has 43,000 miles now. Picked it up in August 2015 in Munich. Have fun!

Now that is the perfect way to pick up your M6! It's a shame BMW is discontinuing the European delivery program even though I get why -- it would be nice if they continued it for M cars at the very least, I can only imagine what a special experience that was picking up your M6 over there

[LJohnson32]

Yesterday I had a few items on my to-do list taken care of for the car:

• OEM M Performance Carbon Fiber Rear Deck Spoiler (51-62-2-327-610)
• OEM M Performance Black Kidney Grilles (51-71-2-352-809 & 51-71-2-352-810)
• iND Painted Front Reflectors (475 - Black Sapphire Metallic)
• Comp Muffler/Tips
• Replace Plastic Lip Spoiler Underneath Front Bumper (51-12-8-054-346)
• Match front window tint to rear (20%)

I also figured I'd buy a simple black plate frame and some black sapphire touchup at the time I picked up the OEM pieces from my local BMW dealer.



Tint helped match up the look from front to back.

The dot matrix on both the rear edge of the front windows and the front edge of the rear windows is tricky to have seal up well but nonetheless an improvement in how the car looks I think.

Side windows & rear are 3M 20%, and I had the windshield done in a very light tint mostly for the purpose of reducing solar energy inside the car which was 3M 55%.

Given that the interior is black full merino leather, I wanted to take the extra precaution to reduce the amount of heat hitting the dash to prevent any issues with warping.



The black kidney grilles and the painted reflectors along with the new soft lip underneath was a huge improvement towards cleaning up the front of the car




* OEM M6 Kidney Grilles are for sale here

Out back, the addition of the comp mufflers & tips as well as the carbon rear lip really added to the refined aggressive look of the car




In closing I'm really happy with how these changes enhanced the look of the car. The side markers and door handle trims are still chrome and I initially wanted to black those as well.

But, now that the grilles and rear tips are black, I sort of like how the chrome side markers, door handle trims along with the silver in the headlights and badging at the back create a sort of contrasting beltline around the car to break things up a little.

I'd be curious to get people's feedback on that piece

[MMMM6GC]

Nice build thread - appreciate the attention to detail and looking great so far!

It's a shame you have the exact same issue on the tint as I (and a lot of us owners) do.

The dot matrix is a nightmare to cover and sticks out like a sore thumb to me everytime I look at my car. It's been on my list to address but haven't had chance yet. I know it's been covered on the forum in the past, but the only solution I found was to get the tint done again by an OCD installer who could try different films, and really spend the time to do the job properly. I'm certainly not a fan of the "sand down" or "paint over" solutions suggested by some...was thinking of having a go at it with a heat gun but don't really hold much hope.

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by MMMM6GC

Nice build thread - appreciate the attention to detail and looking great so far!

Thanks for the kind words! I'm a pretty detail-oriented person and I figure being detailed with this thread can only help others

Originally Posted by MMMM6GC

It's a shame you have the exact same issue on the tint as I (and a lot of us owners) do.

The dot matrix is a nightmare to cover and sticks out like a sore thumb to me everytime I look at my car. It's been on my list to address but haven't had chance yet. I know it's been covered on the forum in the past, but the only solution I found was to get the tint done again by an OCD installer who could try different films, and really spend the time to do the job properly. I'm certainly not a fan of the "sand down" or "paint over" solutions suggested by some...was thinking of having a go at it with a heat gun but don't really hold much hope.

Yeah the tint is frustrating, rear window I can handle it a bit better than the side windows just because it does jump out at you that much more at profile.

Next week I think I may be bringing it back up to the place that did the tint to address some small bubbles down by the HUD that don't seem to be disappearing. Perhaps I'll see what (if anything) can be tried to achieve a better seal on the dot matrix.

[LJohnson32]

Today I decided to tackle a cosmetic issue that seems to plague a lot of F chassis M cars:

The faded off 'M' on the front calipers



After lots of searching I arrived at two conclusions:

1. I order some on eBay from an international seller, wait 2-3 weeks for them to arrive with no guarantee that the size or color will be a match
2. I have a local shop print them and charge me $75 for two tiny stickers

Since I'm impatient and have enough sense to not pay $75 for two tiny decals, I decided to see what I had available to make my own.

In her retirement, my mom has taken up arts and crafts as a hobby, and she has a simple Cricut Maker that cuts decals. She happened to have some nice heat resistant Oracal 751 on hand in #090 Silver Grey that couldn't have been more perfect for the application

This vinyl had a satin finish to it with a subtle shine in it to recreate the missing 'M' letter, while being able to sustain high heat. I poked around online, found an ///M logo, and in a few minutes I trimmed it down to a clean hi-res .png file of just the 'M' to import into Cricut's design space application. I then asked nicely if I could borrow mom's decal cutter (important step ) being a BMW fan since she once owned a 6MT E92 335i, she was excited to be able to help.

After the initial print was a fraction too small, I dialed in the sizing almost perfectly (0.66" tall exactly). I prepped the caliper with an alcohol solution, lined it up to the colored stripes and stuck it on.




For a home made decal I'm pretty happy with the result! In the future I think I might order the corresponding colors for the stripes and refresh those as well given how well this turned out.

Additionally, even though I didn't take any before/after photos, I did touch up some light oxidation (hardly noticeable unless you really looked - but I knew it was there so it had to go) on the drivers side B&O speaker grilles, potentially from some rain splatter. Since these grilles are aluminum, some white vinegar and a soft bristle brush took the oxidation off effortlessly. Wiped them clean and they are looking flawless

[MMMM6GC]

More awesome work - loving this build thread!

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by MMMM6GC

More awesome work - loving this build thread!

Thanks! More to come still

[Havy]

Very nice locking car. I like all those small little mods

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by Havy

Very nice locking car. I like all those small little mods

Thank you! I'm a believer that many small subtle changes can add up to create something special

[ind_can]

You've done a great job! Generally not a fan of the played out "murdered out" look but the black stealthy look is fantastic here

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by ind_can

You've done a great job!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by ind_can

Generally not a fan of the played out "murdered out" look but the black stealthy look is fantastic here

It's funny you mention this because I tend to agree actually. Originally I was looking for a Singapore Grey or Space Grey to steer away from that look and then do all black accents and trims since I do like that look. But on the sapphire black paint with the small contrasting chrome pieces (emblem's, door handle trims, side markers, roundel borders, even the silver/chrome in the headlights) I think I haven't fallen fully victim to the overdone blacked out look. Before doing the black elements that I have done, I thought I would at least do the side markers and door handle trims in black, but I think I've struck a nice balance the way it looks now.

I could just be drinking my own Kool-Aid on that but it's the rationale I'm going with

[LJohnson32]

Providing a little update here after some interior additions to the car.

Swapped out the stock black Start/Stop button with a gloss red piece from iND. This install was surprisingly easy and took no more than 6-7 minutes from start to finish.

I like the pop of color on the button for a sporty touch for the M cars. I held off on the steering wheel buttons because both of the M Drive buttons are on the same side of the wheel and my OCD wouldn't allow for it to be asymmetrical I wish they were set up on opposite sides of the wheel like the F90 M5



I also decided to take the plunge on ceramic controls as documented in a separate thread but I thought I would post a pic in here as well to keep things all in one place. Rear controls are on the way from the UK at the moment. Love the look and feel of these controls and once the outgoing controls are sold, the net out-of-pocket should be pretty minimal.



I'll refer to this as 'Interior Facelift Stage 1' as I still am keeping an eye out in the classifieds for the M Performance Steering Wheel trim, DCT Trim and Pedals. Also thinking about Autotecknic Carbon Paddles as well but not sure if that would be carbon fiber overload

[TinCanSailor]

congrats, the car looks gorgeous and the front tint really helped balance the color out.

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by TinCanSailor

congrats, the car looks gorgeous and the front tint really helped balance the color out.

Thanks, I appreciate it! A bit darker than I would've probably done if I was starting from scratch but I didn't want to go through the trouble of redoing the back half of the car. Keeps the car nice and cool anyways