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Inside Origin Autoworks

Vinyl wrapping vehicles seems to be all the rage these days. The idea is you can make your car any unique color imaginable while preserving the paint beneath. If you’re an owner of a $400,000 Lamborghini, you wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to find rock chips now would you. There’s a reason many hypercars are rocking wraps.

How is this not a factory color? Let’s call it BMW Frozen Dakar

Wrapping has become very popular in the BMW crowd as well. Here in the greater Sacramento area, Tyler Curley runs the company he founded, Origin Autoworks, a premier wrapping and detail service. Tyler started wrapping  two years ago on his own car for fun. After the success of his own creation, his friends asked him to do their cars as well. Soon, he turned his hobby into a fully-fledged business.

Wrapping has brought many a cool car into his studio; His second car he ever wrapped was a Ferrari 360. A huge chunk of his clientele happen to be BMW owners as well. Luckily, Tyler was kind enough to share photos of several  BMW’s he has wrapped the past couple years. M4’s, M5’s, M6’s, he’s done them all.

More recently, a friend had his entire E46 M3 wrapped by Tyler in a stunning electric blue. Originally a Carbon Black car, the striking blue sets it apart from the crowd with a serious whiff of exotica. All panel edges are of a beautiful detail from Tyler with zero signs of bubbling nor stretch marks. This is some professional quality stuff.

Tyler also has recently started detailing cars, providing paint corrections to remove swirls and scratches and ceramic coatings. If you have a Jet Black BMW, you know the pain of swirls. Ceramic coatings have proven to be much more durable than traditional waxes with a serious shine along with it to protect from the elements. They can last several years instead of only several months.

 

Ceramic Coating applied to 2018 M4 Competition Package

I asked Tyler about cost as well. Most full vehicle wraps are in the $2,500 range, a fraction of what more established shops will charge, who can charge upwards of $5,000. Now for those wanting to do simple roof wraps though, it’ll run only about $200. I’m currently trying to talk my friend into having his silver E46 M3’s roof and mirrors done in black. It represents an easy and cheap way to dramatically transform the look of your street fighter.

However, the best part about vinyl is the fact it’s completely reversible and will keep the paint underneath looking like new for years to come. Plus some like to change it up a bit too. Maybe you’ll want your car red for a couple years, grow tired of it, and then try blue instead. The possibilities are endless.

You can find Tyler here at his page: Origin Autoworks

This car was actually chrome before. Wrapping allows ability to change up colors

 

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How are those Cooper’s Doing?

I have not exactly been the best at updating how my Cooper RS-3 G1’s have held up the past several months. So I thought about it: why have I not written more about them? Tires are a pretty important component of the performance car after all. Then it hit me: It’s because they’ve been so damn good. Seriously, it came to a point where I didn’t know what else to say about them.

Last I checked in, it was winter time, and the G1’s handled the California rain onslaught with ease. Credit to the all-season design. Living in the Sacramento region, we received the gift of well over 30 inches last season. Over THIRTY! Normally, Sacramento gets the south side of twenty, so this past year has been wet to say the least. I didn’t mind, however, as I saw more chances to perform subtle oversteer corrections through corners. Yes, they did disconnect a little on roads with an inch deep of standing water, but besides that special circumstance they were quite amiable. Cruising at 70 MPH in the rain? No problem. Even when I did hit the deeper puddles, the car tracked straight and true right through it.

Then summer came with the heat. I literally do not think I ever got these tires to squeal, that’s how much dry grip they possess. My ZHP would show serious body roll in spirited driving and yet the rubber was dead silent, as if they were saying, “oh come on! Let’s go!” They’re named the G1 as to say that they can carry 1 G of lateral grip. And I believe it; They far outperformed the capabilities of my ZHP’s stock chassis and suspension.

Communication through the wheel was terrific as was steering response. The steering could be a bit busy, wandering a bit on the road sometimes but that’s more down to the fact the odometer rolled over 140,000 miles. They were far less meandering than the aging Sumitomo’s fitted prior. Furthermore though, the Cooper’s were dead quiet at speed and comfortable as heck over bumpy roads. Larger impacts of road reflectors and potholes still could cause a shudder throughout though, but that’s to be expected.

But the best part was the tread wear. Even after about 8,000 miles, the tires looked brand new. Wear was very even throughout as well, being not even close to halfway worn. On a staggered setup like on the ZHP, Cooper guarantees the tread life to 25,000 miles, a number that should be attained with ease. On a square patter, that number rises to an astounding 50,000 miles as long as you rotate tires.

So there you have it: Cooper’s Zeon RS-3 G1. For an everyday tire with some serious performance, and longevity, it’s a world class affair. And it’s an all-season compound too, that’s why it works so good in the inclement weather too. Price is quite competitive too and they’re available now on Tire Rack, so if you’re in the market for some rubber, put these on your shortlist. Well done, Cooper.

Car Care

How to Get the Most out of Your BMW’s Engine

BMW has always been known for powerful, high-quality engines, but no engine will keep running forever without a bit of maintenance and some TLC. What do you need to do to get the most of out of your new or new-to-you BMW engine?

Change Your Oil

Changing your oil is one of the most important things you can do to keep your engine running smoothly for as long as possible. You don’t need to change it every three months or 3,000 miles, though — that’s a sales gimmick to make you spend more money than necessary.

You might hear a rumor that you can go 15,000 miles between oil changes for a BMW, but this isn’t true either. While newer models can go up to 10,000 miles between changes, the manufacturer recommends an intermediate oil change somewhere in the middle to make sure everything is running smoothly. Plan on changing your oil every 7,500 miles or so.

Invest in Good Engine Treatments

A good engine treatment can give your oil an edge and help you get the most out of your engine.  Depending on the formula to the individual treatment, it can improve the lubrication of your engine oil, protect your moving parts from dirt and engine debris and even improve gas mileage.

It is important to note that not all engine treatments are created equal and there are tons of them on the market right now. Most auto parts stores have an entire wall dedicated just to engine treatments, so do your research to find out which treatment will work the best for your individual engine needs.

Don’t Buy Cheap Filters

When it comes to filters, you definitely get what you pay for.  Cheap filters clog quickly and have to be replaced more often, which can bog down your engine and, if left in place too long, potentially cause damage.

We’re not saying you have to drop a ton of money on a high-end reusable K&N filter or anything — just don’t buy the cheapest filters on the shelf, because you’ll end up regretting it. Think of car filters as you would shoes: you can spend $100 on a pair of sneakers that will last you a year or you can spend twenty bucks five times on cheap sneakers that hurt your feet and wear out after a month or two.

The same thing applies to filters.

Pick a Specialist, Not Your Neighborhood Mechanic

One of the best things you can do for your BMW is to drive right past your neighborhood mechanic and instead head to a local BMW specialist. Not only will they have a better idea of the kind of treatment your BMW needs, but they’ll also have easier access to the replacement parts and equipment you need to ensure your car keeps running for years to come.

A BMW is a good car to invest in if you want something that will see you through many years of daily driving — but no car can survive if you don’t take care of it. Keep these tips in mind to get the most out of your BMW engine.

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