Coopah

Thanks. Did you actually replace the door handles or wrap/cover them? If you replaced them, is it as easy as it looks in various videos? I'm probably ordering my handles soon and will attempt to replace them myself. Looks like the toughest part is making sure the retaining screw does not fall into the door panel.

Lol. Thanks.

The wheels were the stock silver color. They removed the tires and sensors, did a complete chemical strip followed by a sandblast, bringing the whole rim to bare metal, repaired some minor curb rash (no extra charge), powder-coated (not paint) the entire rim (barrel and all), and remounted and rebalanced all 4 tires. Total cost with tax was right about $700. The powder coat is flawless. I dropped the car off on a Monday and it was ready before noon on Wednesday. I’m totally pleased with the job, the cost, and with NV Coatings.

Here's Coopah on Day 1 (April 2019)and today. Lots of simple mods.

Got Coopah's stock 17" Tentacle rims powder-coated at NV Coatings in Chantilly (great service, great price; highly recommended). I also added the red center caps to break up the black. Next up: gloss black door handles and OEM gloss black belt-line trim. A couple of additional pics...

At some point, I’m going to order the black door handles. They go for about $180. I’d also like to get the complete OEM gloss black belt line (as opposed to the tape/vinyl), but that goes for about $500. A little steep. My wheels are getting powder coated gloss black in January. Good luck with your project. Post pics as it progresses.

I bought some 3M gloss black vinyl and did the headlight and taillight trim in about 30 minutes for less than $30. A hair dryer and an Exacto knife are all you need. For the grill surround, I went to "outmotoring" and ordered the gloss black stick-on plastic trim for about $100. Goes right over the existing trim surround. Very happy with it. Looks original.

This story actually got me a little choked up.

Got my dash cam set up. I bought a Thinkware Q800 and hardwired it using their available OBD II adaptor. The video is amazing. Has night vision, parking mode to monitor the car while it is parked, lane departure warning, etc. Great camera. Easy set-up. See attached video. REC_2020_06_27_17_02_36_F.MP4

I actually decided to buy the Thinkware OBD II adaptor. It plugs directly into the port while still keeping a second port open for regular diagnostics and what not. Thanks for the response though.

Has anyone hardwired a Dashcam to an F56? I just bought a Thinkware Q800 and have it plugged in, but would like to hardwire it so I can use motion detection while it is parked. Looks pretty simple to do, but I have no idea what fuses to connect to. Apparently, one wire goes to an ACC fuse, while the other goes to a constant power fuse. Does anyone know which specific fuses I should connect to? Thanks. Mike

Don't tell my wife. I may use a similar tactic to get my black rims.

I used D&V Auto Body in Sterling with a previous car and was happy. I think they have two shops in Sterling now. Very professional, family-owned / family-run shop.

I think the latch is so sensitive that if you are holding it as you close the hatch, you actually open it as it latches...if that makes sense.