New(and old) 135i owner here, looking for a little advice.

[feeshta]

Hello all. Today I put a deposit down on a 2012 CPO 135i. I finally found one optioned like I wanted. It's an Alpine White M-sport Manual car with the coral red interior. It basically has all options except the NAV, which is exactly as I wanted it. I'm not a fan of the NAV system, or the I-drive, so this is just how I like it. The car has not yet been detailed, and there is some minor curb rash that the dealership is taking care of, so I will pick it up on Saturday. The deposit was simply to make sure they don't sell it out from under me.

I'm also actually a prior 135i owner who had to give up his baby due to some unforseen circumstances not long after I bought it My ex girlfriend got herself into dire straights financially just after I took delivery of my 08, and at the time I planned on marrying her, so I sold the car with about 12K on the clock and bought a cheap 540i. I've regretted it ever since, and now I am single again after my Russian ex went cuckoo for Putin propaganda and I regrettably had to end it. I guess an average guy like me only gets to rent the woman of my dreams for a few years.

Anyway, It will be nice to be back in a 135i again, but I would rather have my old girlfriend back, the one who wasn't just insanely hot, but also very sane. I considered going with a brand new M235i and doing Euro delivery again, and I love that car, but in the end I decided that it would be more responsible to save the 15-odd grand and put that towards a down payment on a house, so I went with this direction.

So, now that I nearly have it in hand, of course comes the question of modifications. There are a few things I plan on doing for certain. JB4, chargepipe, and a downpipe are pretty much locks, but I'm having trouble deciphering all of the options when it comes to wheels, tires, and suspension. I'd also be curious to hear opinions on short shift kit options as well.

Here is my main confusion with suspension and wheel and tire choices. My main aim would be to try to correct the push that afflicts the stock setup, but I have almost zero interest in "stancing" my car or anything of that sort. A little lower than stock would be nice, but I will never entertain the idea of things like fender rolling and extreme camber in order to get a big tire to fit. It sounds like it is really difficult to fit anything larger than a 235 tire in the front from what I have been reading, and even that requires a change in wheel rim width to be proper? I do plan on having snow tires for the winter, as I know how god-awful the RE01 RFT's are in snow and suspect PSS's wouldn't be much better. I almost found out how bad the RE01's are the hard way on my Euro delivery trip, when I nearly slide off a mountain side in the Czech Republic. Since I am doing that, I will probably look for a second set of rims, but I need to decide whether those will be for the winter tires or the summer.

Any input on the ideal setup to achieve a neutral handling balance? Ideally I would prefer to go square setup, but it sounds like that is really difficult with this car. Not sure why BMW always wants to run a staggered setup, I personally hate them.

Now, on suspension. I have BC racing coilovers on my 540i, with the 8K/6K springs. they were less expensive than replacing the stock dampers and springs when they wore out, believe it or not. I would say that this setup is maybe just a hair too stiff for my tastes overall, so if anyone is familiar with how this setup rides, maybe they can offer some suggestions on suspension? I'm looking for something that is plug and play so to speak, as in will not require modifications and was designed for the car, and I will have a reasonably liberal budget to work with as I basically plan on taking the money I get from selling the 540i and investing it in the new car. My main aim is the handling balance of the car, as a car that pushes into a tight switchback is simply no fun. Having adjustability is nice, but with the BCs I have found that I spent a few weeks getting them dialed in, and have not touched them since. If a setup were well engineered and properly set up, I could get by without an adjustable system.

I know people will wish I had used the search function etc, but in all honesty I have been lurking on this forum for nearly a month now, reading all kinds of stuff, and I just am having trouble making much sense out of everything. I'm asking that those who wish to help a newbie out to provide a little input, and if you don't feel like having the conversation over again, I completely understand.

So, what would you guys do in my situation?

[hau_nguyen91]

get the 135i and you might end up with another beautiful woman

[mr.fabulous]

What a great story, I hope everything goes absolutely bananas for you. I can't offer you any advice except to be grateful for what you have. A stock 135i is a beast, I'm leaving mine just the way it is. Give 'em hell


(ps: I use Google to plow through this site)

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by hau_nguyen91

get the 135i and you might end up with another beautiful woman

Believe it or not, I met the last one talking about cars online. She used to drag race back in her native Russia, and it is a hobby of hers. The first time I talked to her on chat, I thought she was a dude trying to catfish me. When she sent me a picture, I was CONVINCED I was talking to a dude. LOL! I figured the picture was swiped from someone else, but lo and behold it was actually her.

In her defense, it was not her fault what happened financially. She didn't have health insurance at her job, and something happened health wise that put her in a huge hole. That doesn't excuse her mania when it comes to Ukraine though. She is convinced that the western media is lying through their teeth and the Russian media is telling the unvarnished truth. She even went so far as to say that people like Litvenenko (the guy who got poisoned with Polonium) deserve to die for "lying about Putin".

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

What a great story, I hope everything goes absolutely bananas for you. I can't offer you any advice except to be grateful for what you have. A stock 135i is a beast, I'm leaving mine just the way it is. Give 'em hell


(ps: I use Google to plow through this site)

I can never leave well enough alone. My previous car just had that one extremely annoying tendency, which was the huge under-steer near the limit. Would love to dial that out if possible. So far my searches turn up dozens of results for guys trying to shoehorn insane amounts of rubber under the car, but not much in the way of reasonable ideas.

[methodz]

Pics of her hotness please

And for that I will recommend stiffer subframe bushings. I did m3 bushings and front control arms with performance suspension and I find it to be a whole different car!

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by methodz

Pics of her hotness please

And for that I will recommend stiffer subframe bushings. I did m3 bushings and front control arms with performance suspension and I find it to be a whole different car!

I have read a little about that, and had forgotten about it until you mention it now. What was so different about the handling?

Oh, and ask and you shall receive.

[Ed P]

When I first read your story I thought, who needs a whacko like that!?

Now that I've seen her picture, I gotta say, everyone is entitled to their opinion.





But seriously, how awesome was it when she said "moose and squirrel"?

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by Ed P

When I first read your story I thought, who needs a whacko like that!?

Now that I've seen her picture, I gotta say, everyone is entitled to their opinion.





But seriously, how awesome was it when she said "moose and squirrel"?

LOL! I did love her accent, and she does bear more than a passing resemblance to Natasha. I especially loved how she said my name. My name is Alan, but with her is came out Ahlahn, with the soft A's.

To be clear, she didn't act nuts until the whole Ukrainian crisis kicked off. Prior to that she was completely disinterested in politics and the only sign of female psychosis was a very strong jealous streak.

Also, believe it or not this picture is photoshopped slightly, but not how you would normally see. The photographer took it upon herself to give her a breast reduction LOL!

[MightyMouseTech]

If you want to dial out some understeer, you have to increase front camber and get wider front tires in there.

Wider front tires means wider rims. Apex rims will allow you to go up to a 245 easily in front.

Increased camber is also required to fit wider rubber, win win.

Get M3 front arms and Dinan fixed camber plates, then Apex wheels with wider tires all round.

Done.

[hau_nguyen91]

it is so hard to find a girl like this that can talk about car and drift

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

If you want to dial out some understeer, you have to increase front camber and get wider front tires in there.

Wider front tires means wider rims. Apex rims will allow you to go up to a 245 easily in front.

Increased camber is also required to fit wider rubber, win win.

Get M3 front arms and Dinan fixed camber plates, then Apex wheels with wider tires all round.

Done.

Wouldn't a setup like that eat the inside edge of the front tires though? I'm not really looking for a track day car so much as a competent back road barnstormer that can still behave itself on a long trip. Part of behaving itself is not eating the tires too quickly.

I'd love to be able to fit 245s all around in a square setup, but the offsets are so different front to rear that I'm not sure that is realistic. It would be nice to be able to rotate, as these cars have a tendency to eat rear tires much faster than the fronts.

Originally Posted by hau_nguyen91

it is so hard to find a girl like this that can talk about car and drift

It was really cool that she was into cars. She was a bit all over the place when it came to taste in cars though. One day she desperately wanted a Mini Cooper S, the next she was lusting over a jacked up suburban so that she could see over everyone. Maybe that had something to do with her being 5'3", I don't know.

She had a little Lada hatchback that she drag-raced back in the old country. She apparently won a lot of races with it, as she had it up over 250HP and it weighed next to nothing as she had everything but the driver's seat removed and those things are total tin cans. she guessed it probably weighed about 1900-2000lbs.

She loved all things racing related.

[MightyMouseTech]

Camber is not what wears out tires, it is toe. Although, if you have a lot of camber AND excessive toe, it will kill them fast. I run -2.0 at all four corners, and my tires wear evenly.

[6MT_Addict]

Lol crazy story. #bishesbecray. I feel for you dude. We've all been there. My last two ex's have gone from sane to off the deep end in about ten seconds flat. Bail, and don't look back. Crazy ain't worth your time.

On to cars, ER makes a wide body fender kit that has the same styling as stock. They made it for their track car to widen the front wheel base and eliminate understeer.

http://www.evolutionracewerks.com/?q=node/55

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Camber is not what wears out tires, it is toe. Although, if you have a lot of camber AND excessive toe, it will kill them fast. I run -2.0 at all four corners, and my tires wear evenly.

Hmm, how does the car track with that setup? Does it tramline excessively?

Originally Posted by 1AddictsAnonymous

Lol crazy story. #bishesbecray. I feel for you dude. We've all been there. My last two ex's have gone from sane to off the deep end in about ten seconds flat. Bail, and don't look back. Crazy ain't worth your time.

On to cars, ER makes a wide body fender kit that has the same styling as stock. They made it for their track car to widen the front wheel base and eliminate understeer.

http://www.evolutionracewerks.com/?q=node/55

Don't think I would want to go that far just to fit a 245 tire up front. It's cool that they make it, but 2-4.5K is pretty steep considering you can buy all of the body parts to convert the front end to 1M spec for about a grand. I understand it takes some work to make that fit, but for $1000 and actual factory metal parts, I think I would put in the work should I go that route should I decide it needs it, which is doubtful.

[Speed25]

I have 255 square with this setup: M3 lower arms only, Dinan fixed plates ($120!), 3mm spacers, and slightly rolled the fenders. I believe this to be the cheapest possible way to get 245 or 255 square. I also have about 2.3 - 2.4 degrees camber this way. It's my wife's DD (love that woman), so we have had to dial some toe-in to stop the tram lining you mention. I run close to zero toe when I take it to the track. We haven't seen any abnormal wear issues.

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by Speed25

I have 255 square with this setup: M3 lower arms only, Dinan fixed plates ($120!), 3mm spacers, and slightly rolled the fenders. I believe this to be the cheapest possible way to get 245 or 255 square. I also have about 2.3 - 2.4 degrees camber this way. It's my wife's DD (love that woman), so we have had to dial some toe-in to stop the tram lining you mention. I run close to zero toe when I take it to the track. We haven't seen any abnormal wear issues.

Thanks for the response, Speed. That's something more like what I would consider. I'm a little leary of rolling the fenders, as I am currently dealing with the aftermath of an improperly done fender roll job on my 540. The previous owner apparently rolled the fenders in the rear, and must have cracked the paint in the process. Now I have rust in both rear fenders.

I guess if I had that part done professionally it should be ok.

What other mods are you running on your car suspension wise? Mainly I mean what size wheels with what offset, what tire brand, and what suspension setup? I'm curious because I would like to know all of the factors that went into getting your positive end result. Also, what toe angle do you run to stop the tram-lining?

Howe have the 3mm spacers worked out? I had some on my 540i for a minute to clear the front shock towers when I ran a 265 square setup. I didn't like the way they felt when installing the wheels, and I had a vibration issue, so I went to a set of 15MM ones that have their own extended hub centric section. On these cars, that would not work, so I am curious what you think about the 3MM spacers. With my 540, the vibration turned out to be a bad wheel, so I returned the whole set. Loved how the car handled when they were on there, but just couldn't trust that they wouldn't send me another crap wheel, so I went back to stock.

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by feeshta

Hello all. Today I put a deposit down on a 2012 CPO 135i. I finally found one optioned like I wanted. It's an Alpine White M-sport Manual car with the coral red interior. It basically has all options except the NAV, which is exactly as I wanted it. I'm not a fan of the NAV system, or the I-drive, so this is just how I like it. The car has not yet been detailed, and there is some minor curb rash that the dealership is taking care of, so I will pick it up on Saturday. The deposit was simply to make sure they don't sell it out from under me.

I'm also actually a prior 135i owner who had to give up his baby due to some unforseen circumstances not long after I bought it My ex girlfriend got herself into dire straights financially just after I took delivery of my 08, and at the time I planned on marrying her, so I sold the car with about 12K on the clock and bought a cheap 540i. I've regretted it ever since, and now I am single again after my Russian ex went cuckoo for Putin propaganda and I regrettably had to end it. I guess an average guy like me only gets to rent the woman of my dreams for a few years.

Anyway, It will be nice to be back in a 135i again, but I would rather have my old girlfriend back, the one who wasn't just insanely hot, but also very sane. I considered going with a brand new M235i and doing Euro delivery again, and I love that car, but in the end I decided that it would be more responsible to save the 15-odd grand and put that towards a down payment on a house, so I went with this direction.

So, now that I nearly have it in hand, of course comes the question of modifications. There are a few things I plan on doing for certain. JB4, chargepipe, and a downpipe are pretty much locks, but I'm having trouble deciphering all of the options when it comes to wheels, tires, and suspension. I'd also be curious to hear opinions on short shift kit options as well.

Here is my main confusion with suspension and wheel and tire choices. My main aim would be to try to correct the push that afflicts the stock setup, but I have almost zero interest in "stancing" my car or anything of that sort. A little lower than stock would be nice, but I will never entertain the idea of things like fender rolling and extreme camber in order to get a big tire to fit. It sounds like it is really difficult to fit anything larger than a 235 tire in the front from what I have been reading, and even that requires a change in wheel rim width to be proper? I do plan on having snow tires for the winter, as I know how god-awful the RE01 RFT's are in snow and suspect PSS's wouldn't be much better. I almost found out how bad the RE01's are the hard way on my Euro delivery trip, when I nearly slide off a mountain side in the Czech Republic. Since I am doing that, I will probably look for a second set of rims, but I need to decide whether those will be for the winter tires or the summer.

Any input on the ideal setup to achieve a neutral handling balance? Ideally I would prefer to go square setup, but it sounds like that is really difficult with this car. Not sure why BMW always wants to run a staggered setup, I personally hate them.

Now, on suspension. I have BC racing coilovers on my 540i, with the 8K/6K springs. they were less expensive than replacing the stock dampers and springs when they wore out, believe it or not. I would say that this setup is maybe just a hair too stiff for my tastes overall, so if anyone is familiar with how this setup rides, maybe they can offer some suggestions on suspension? I'm looking for something that is plug and play so to speak, as in will not require modifications and was designed for the car, and I will have a reasonably liberal budget to work with as I basically plan on taking the money I get from selling the 540i and investing it in the new car. My main aim is the handling balance of the car, as a car that pushes into a tight switchback is simply no fun. Having adjustability is nice, but with the BCs I have found that I spent a few weeks getting them dialed in, and have not touched them since. If a setup were well engineered and properly set up, I could get by without an adjustable system.

I know people will wish I had used the search function etc, but in all honesty I have been lurking on this forum for nearly a month now, reading all kinds of stuff, and I just am having trouble making much sense out of everything. I'm asking that those who wish to help a newbie out to provide a little input, and if you don't feel like having the conversation over again, I completely understand.

So, what would you guys do in my situation?

My head is spinning. Which girl? What car? Sliding off mountains in the Czech Republic! Selling your 135i to pay the girl's nebulous debts?! Girl exits stage right. Another 135i enters stage left. Lights come up slowly and now you want to make about every mod ever considered by every 1-Series driver under 30 with more money than common sense.

Man, your life is some sort of crazy story wrapped around a car. Not sure what category is appropriate... espionage, tragedy, comedy, romance... all of the above?

Very entertaining.

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by mackeroni

My head is spinning. Which girl? What car? Sliding off mountains in the Czech Republic! Selling your 135i to pay the girl's nebulous debts?! Girl exits stage right. Another 135i enters stage left. Lights come up slowly and now you want to make about every mod ever considered by every 1-Series driver under 30 with more money than common sense.

Man, your life is some sort of crazy story wrapped around a car. Not sure what category is appropriate... espionage, tragedy, comedy, romance... all of the above?

Very entertaining.

Actually, I'm looking to keep the mods pretty simple if possible, and focused purely on actual performance over looks. I mainly just want to free up a little power and balance out the handling.

The rest of the saga still has me confused, so I can't blame you for being a little turned around.

[1flaguy]

I got back into the BMW family once again after being out for about 8 years. However I have had two E36 M3 an E46 M3 and 2 e30 325is track cars. Now I have my 2012 certified 135 picked it up three weeks ago. First thing I did was have a UUC short shifter installed what a difference love the car even more now
more to follow

[feeshta]

Originally Posted by 1flaguy

I got back into the BMW family once again after being out for about 8 years. However I have had two E36 M3 an E46 M3 and 2 e30 325is track cars. Now I have my 2012 certified 135 picked it up three weeks ago. First thing I did was have a UUC short shifter installed what a difference love the car even more now
more to follow

That's one of the items that I am strongly considering. I'd be curious to hear more of your opinion on it. The stock shifter is both too short in height, and too long in throw. This leads to the feeling that you are almost turning it over, rather than pulling it back and forth as I prefer. I actually slightly prefer the shifter action in my 540i, except that this transmission is balky when it's cold outside. I'm also not a fan of the 135's shift knob, with it's strange high crown in the front. Might need to do something about that while I am at it.

Edit: Was cleaning out out my iphone memory today and came across a few old pics that are relevant to the post.

Here I am picking up my old 135i at the Welt in Munich.





And this is the weather we dove into in the Czech Republic, although this was after we got down off the mountain and there was not as much snow. I was too freaked out to think about taking a picture when it was really bad.



It did make for a pretty picture in Prague though.



Prague is just an awesome place in general.

[JRMorgan]

Wow! Congrats! Mine is 2011 and I feel my best bet is to get another 135i also.

[Speed25]

Originally Posted by feeshta

Thanks for the response, Speed. That's something more like what I would consider. I'm a little leary of rolling the fenders, as I am currently dealing with the aftermath of an improperly done fender roll job on my 540. The previous owner apparently rolled the fenders in the rear, and must have cracked the paint in the process. Now I have rust in both rear fenders.

I guess if I had that part done professionally it should be ok.

What other mods are you running on your car suspension wise? Mainly I mean what size wheels with what offset, what tire brand, and what suspension setup? I'm curious because I would like to know all of the factors that went into getting your positive end result. Also, what toe angle do you run to stop the tram-lining?

Howe have the 3mm spacers worked out? I had some on my 540i for a minute to clear the front shock towers when I ran a 265 square setup. I didn't like the way they felt when installing the wheels, and I had a vibration issue, so I went to a set of 15MM ones that have their own extended hub centric section. On these cars, that would not work, so I am curious what you think about the 3MM spacers. With my 540, the vibration turned out to be a bad wheel, so I returned the whole set. Loved how the car handled when they were on there, but just couldn't trust that they wouldn't send me another crap wheel, so I went back to stock.

The springs and struts are stock (again, wife's DD). The wheels are Breyton 18x8.5s ET48 with PSSs in 255/35/18. We've had zero issues with the spacers; I'm told the PSSs are slightly wider than other tires, otherwise we wouldn't need them (wheels clear the struts fine).