Hello! New F11 B5 Owner

[Frosty]

Cheers Paul.

Ordered, I just checked mine again and the nsf has got stuck, grrr.

[ScooBeeFive]

Cheers Paul.

Ordered, I just checked mine again and the nsf has got stuck, grrr.

Nice one. The emblems on mine had started to deteriorate slightly, so that along with the sticking issue made it a no brainer for me.

I mentioned on the other thread, but I just tapped on the 'P' using the handle of a screwdriver (using some foam to protect the badge) and a hammer. I'd tried all sorts to free them, but they just needed to be tapped to shock them free. Good luck!

I've not built mine back up with the new parts yet, but I'm hoping they will be like the new set I bought with my winter wheels - they move so freely, you can't even imagine them getting stuck. I'll post some photos when I'm done.

[Lizard Lounger]

A few nice goodies there, Paul. I’m especially liking the wallet. Did you get that and the key rings from the ALPINA shop on their website? Last time I looked there was a big notice saying they weren’t delivering to the UK at the moment, for some reason...’

[ScooBeeFive]

A few nice goodies there, Paul. I’m especially liking the wallet. Did you get that and the key rings from the ALPINA shop on their website? Last time I looked there was a big notice saying they weren’t delivering to the UK at the moment, for some reason...’

Hi Jason,

No, I got it all from Alloy Wheels Direct. They had the centre cap parts listed, but I also noted they had one of the key rings and a hat on their site too. I dropped them a mail to see if they could supply other items from the Alpina shop and they said they could. I just sent them links to what I wanted and they sent me an invoice and a link to pay. They also checked to make sure I'd got the part numbers correct for my wheels, so a great service all round.

Delivery took a little while as they shipped direct from Germany and UPS managed to deliver to the wrong house on the other side of town, but apart from that it was plain sailing!

[ScooBeeFive]

I'll post some photos when I'm done.

As promised - I swapped the badges over today....

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The old ones cleaned up really well once they were off. The badges aren’t perfect but they are more than serviceable. If anyone needs one just let me know. According to the website they will fit C01/07/09/10/11/13.

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[ScooBeeFive]

My friend popped over earlier to re-apply the front wing decals on my car. They were the first set he'd done and he was never happy how they sat around the front arch. Only a slight difference but a big improvement - I'm really pleased.

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[Metrics]

Looking good and very clean Paul!

[ttrill]

Looks fantastic, how are you finding the pilot alpin 5’s?

[Lizard Lounger]

Looks great Paul

[ScooBeeFive]

Thanks Guys

Toby, I've been really pleased with the tyres. I've tried a fair few winters over the years and I'd say these are the best. Obviously most of the time through a British winter it's single figure temps and damp - the main thing for me is that they remain close in feel dynamically to a summer while giving the benefits of a winter tyre. I've found a lot of tyres feel compromised in this area, with the softer compounds, but these do feel really good. I've probably not done as many miles on them as usual due to the lockdown, but we did have a good drive out over Christmas in very cold, wet, and in parts icy conditions and I was very impressed. I've only done very limited driving on snow with them too but again I was pleased with how they felt. Obviously most importantly, they look really cool and left great tyre tracks in the snow!

[ttrill]

Glad to hear you’re getting on with them, I had similar impressions with my Pilot Alpin 4’s. The tread pattern on those certainly looks “aggressive”

[190Colditz]

Missed this. I've an F11 B5 (nr 15) but mine has the steering wheel on the correct side

Nearly at 5 years owned and the things to watch out for:

Rear air suspension units. Wears out at 100k km on all F11s

I've also had new rear adaptive dampers but that's more to do with London having dire roads

Comfort access: handles fail as the wires corrode. I have soft close as well and they've never gone wrong.

Door moisture barriers fail (but maybe because mine lives outside on the west side of the house they got pummelled a bit more than most) and you get wet carpets. But.......

..... the RHD ones have this same wet carpet syndrome where the hole and drain where the steering wheel and / or pedal box should go (ie on the left) gets bunged up and it finds its way to the rear carpets.

I also bought new wheel badges due to them being knackered.

Nothing else has gone wrong aside from someone stealing my door mirror glass (heated and dimming). Just the glass. Arsehole.

[ScooBeeFive]

Missed this. I've an F11 B5 (nr 15) but mine has the steering wheel on the correct side

Nearly at 5 years owned and the things to watch out for:

Rear air suspension units. Wears out at 100k km on all F11s

I've also had new rear adaptive dampers but that's more to do with London having dire roads

Comfort access: handles fail as the wires corrode. I have soft close as well and they've never gone wrong.

Door moisture barriers fail (but maybe because mine lives outside on the west side of the house they got pummelled a bit more than most) and you get wet carpets. But.......

..... the RHD ones have this same wet carpet syndrome where the hole and drain where the steering wheel and / or pedal box should go (ie on the left) gets bunged up and it finds its way to the rear carpets.

I also bought new wheel badges due to them being knackered.

Nothing else has gone wrong aside from someone stealing my door mirror glass (heated and dimming). Just the glass. Arsehole.

Hi 190, appreciate you posting. With these cars being so rare, it's always valuable to get other people's experiences.

As you probably read, I had another F11 prior to this and had to do the rear air suspension at around 60k miles. I also started to see some dampness in the rear footwells just before I sold it which I think was due to the door membrane.

I've actually started to see the same on the B5 so need to investigate. It can get misted up inside when parked and there is tell tale dampness on the n/s/r sill when opening the back door. Did you replace the membranes on yours yourself or get a garage to do it?

Soft close doors are a sore point - my old F11 had them but the B5 doesn't. I really miss them too!

It's great to know the car has been reliable other than these general F11 issues - fingers crossed mine will be the same.

Paul.

[Frosty]

I have just read and noted these dampness comments from you both. Just need directing in, so I need to check the drivers footwell and rears if I understand correctly.

FYI my car had the air suspension units replaced when I bought it. I do have some replacement rear suspension arms due to be fitted shortly.

Cheers

Paul

[ScooBeeFive]

I have just read and noted these dampness comments from you both. Just need directing in, so I need to check the drivers footwell and rears if I understand correctly.

Hi Paul, it tends to be the rear footwells that get damp, regardless of where the leak is.

I checked the bulkhead on my old car first, but the drain was clear. However, I did seal the steering column hole cover just to be sure. However, you'll probably see that the rear sills are wet when you open the back doors if the membranes are failing. This is what I'm starting to see on the B5.

Interestingly, it was the near side on both of mine, but that might just be coincidence.

I'm going to give Sytner Coventry a shout to see if they will sort this. They still owe me a centre cap as well - been 6 months now!