BMW Spotlight: Hera Mica Blue F80 M3

Did you order your car or find it in stock? If ordered, why did you choose the color you ultimately picked, and what was your order timeline like? I ordered my car mainly because I wanted it to be unique, considering F80’s are becoming quite common in whites and greys in my area. I had seen Hera Mica Blue online, but never in person before ordering. The beautiful hue that I saw in the photos, combined with the rarity made it the color of choice for me. My order took about 6 months from the color request to delivery day. I’ve outlined the full timeline in another post, here. Why this car? What drew you to the specific model that you picked? Amongst the BMW M lineup, the M3 was the clear choice for me. While I am a fan of coupes in general, the rear end of the M4 leaves much to be desired in my opinion. The fenders are just wide on the M4, they are much more noticeably flared out on the M3. The M2, while an extremely competent and fun car, ultimately left much to be desired in the way of options and color, especially considering BMW did not offer Individual on the M2. Against other manufacturers, the appeal of a manual transmission and a more driver-centric vehicle that didn’t sacrifice driving feel for comfort is what drew me away from the C63. As far as Audi is concerned, the RS5 at full spec is nearly $10,000 more than the spec of my F80, and would not have leased nearly as well. I also am not a fan of Audi’s lack of design differentiation between their normal, S, and RS models. They look largely similar on the road in my opinion. What modifications have you installed?: Status Gruppe Rear Diffuser Status Gruppe Diffuser Extensions Mode Carbon M4 Style Trunk Spoiler Supreme Power 90mm Exhaust Tips Front Reflectors and Keyhole Delete Painted to Match OEM Black Grills and Side Vent Gills Full Car Clear Bra in SunTek PPF-C with Ceramic Pro coating SunTek Carbon Tint, 40% Did you face any challenges modding the car? Any tips or tricks for anyone looking at purchasing some of the same items you’ve installed? With quality parts, most of the installation went fairly smooth, I do however have a few tips for some of the specific parts. Trunk Spoiler: Prep the trunk with an IPA/water mix before taping the spoiler down. Any contamination will stop the tape from fully adhering, and you might risk losing your spoiler. Having a friend around to make sure its centered is also very helpful. Exhaust Tips: The installation is incredibly straightforward. However, the removal of the stock tips can be challenging. The easiest removal method I’ve come across is hitting the tips out from behind using a wood block and a hammer. This knocks them all out fairly easily and quickly. Front Reflectors: This can really be a pain, especially if you have Side View Cameras, but patience is key. Once you have the fender liner opened up, use a heat gun to heat the stock reflector, keeping the heat gun constantly moving so as to not overheat one area. Do this for about 30-45 seconds consistently. Once done, try pushing on the reflector from the top using your thumb. This might hurt a bit, but it should pop the reflector out at the top. From here, use a credit card or similar to cut the tape from the outside in, making sure to avoid damaging the bumper. Lastly, clean up any leftover tape on the inside by rolling it up with your finger, and then wipe the area inside with an IPA/Water mix to ensure proper adhesion of the new reflector. All of the other modifications installed fairly easily and in the manner you’d expect or come to see on many of the DIY guides available on F80post.