Sport Package or Coilovers

[WhiteOut]

I will be ordering my 135i in the near future. I am tempted to go with a base model 135i and use the money saved for coilovers. However, I'm trying to figure out exactly what's included in the sport package so I can make a more informed decision. Does sport package even modify anything suspension wise?

As far as I can tell sport package only includes: Shadowline trim, M Steering Wheel, and sport seats?


Previous cars: E46 ///M3, B7 Audi S4 (sale pending)

[m3bs]

No suspension change, but the speed limiter is bumped to 155......

[WhiteOut]

Originally Posted by m3bs

No suspension change, but the speed limiter is bumped to 155......

Otherwise it's set at? Curious if that would be a concern for track days.

[chewablechain]

I thought it was already at 155 without the sport package for the 135i..

[m3bs]

I believe without the sport package it is about 130. The printout I got from my dealer for my car lists:

ZSP Sport Package

481 Sport Seats
710 M Steering Wheel
760 Shadowline Trim
840 Increased Top Speed Limiter

[WhiteOut]

Thanks, I will try to find more info about the speed limiter. Also, do sport seats look different or just adjustable in additional ways? Thinking about getting bucket seats but not sure if I can find a pair of bucket seats that would be comfortable for daily use as well.

[chewablechain]

Originally Posted by m3bs

I believe without the sport package it is about 130. The printout I got from my dealer for my car lists:

ZSP Sport Package

481 Sport Seats
710 M Steering Wheel
760 Shadowline Trim
840 Increased Top Speed Limiter

As per bmwusa.com specs the top speed is limited to 150mph without sport package.....
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...fications.aspx

[chewablechain]

I think they may have mixed up the cars, because the 128i has it limited to 130mph, but with the upgraded sport package on that car it can get to 150mph
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...fications.aspx

[WhiteOut]

I would be surprised if the 135i was limited top speed w/o sport package. The BMW website only listed the things I noted earlier as whats included in the sport pack for the 135i. Will have to speak with the stealership about it when I'm ordering the car.

[Ty Vil]

I would NOT buy the car without sport package.

[UberDTM]

the brochure form the dealer i got says the

128i = 130mph
135i = 150mph

personal i'd save the $1000 and drop the car wit some coilovers

i dont know if u'v seen the accessories catalog but they offer some bad ass racing seats wit a carbon fiber back, a baller ass steering wheel with carbon fiber, and a lower suspension and i do believe they are coilovers.

[sndprssr]

Originally Posted by UberDTM

the brochure form the dealer i got says the

128i = 130mph
135i = 150mph

I sure am glad a guy re-posted what a girl said to solidify the fact...

[gargoyal]

Are you looking to drop it for looks or to improve the suspension ?

I can't see dropping it for performance. It already rides low and hugs the road. You may what to drive it a bit before you choose to mess with the suspension, if it for performance. I was very surprised at how balances it was in my test drive. I only had 20 min behind the wheel so take this post with a grain of salt. But for the record, I have lowered every car I have ever had dating back to the early 80s when we had to cut the springs to lower a car.
If it’s for looks only, go for it ! About a 1 ½ inch drop would look hot on a 135.

[WhiteOut]

Originally Posted by Ty Vil

I would NOT buy the car without sport package.

Why not? No suspension difference btwn sport & non-sport. Different trim, seats, and steering wheel = $1000? Not so sure it's worth it if I can find more functional seats for cheaper.

Originally Posted by UberDTM

the brochure form the dealer i got says the

128i = 130mph
135i = 150mph

personal i'd save the $1000 and drop the car wit some coilovers

i dont know if u'v seen the accessories catalog but they offer some bad ass racing seats wit a carbon fiber back, a baller ass steering wheel with carbon fiber, and a lower suspension and i do believe they are coilovers.

I haven't seen the accessories catalog yet. Where did you get it? Dealer has it? What do you mean by racing seats? Do the seats hold you in more than the standard sport seats?

Originally Posted by gargoyal

Are you looking to drop it for looks or to improve the suspension ?

I can't see dropping it for performance. It already rides low and hugs the road. You may what to drive it a bit before you choose to mess with the suspension, if it for performance. I was very surprised at how balances it was in my test drive. I only had 20 min behind the wheel so take this post with a grain of salt. But for the record, I have lowered every car I have ever had dating back to the early 80s when we had to cut the springs to lower a car.
If it’s for looks only, go for it ! About a 1 ½ inch drop would look hot on a 135.

I don't care about dropping it. Would be done primarily for performance purposes. You are probably right about having to drive the car more. I will have to make it over to the dealer again soon so I can drive it again. The more civil thing to do would be to leave it stock since I plan on using it as a daily driver.

Either way, seems I don't need the package unless the seats are a big improvement over the non-sport seats (and I decide not to go for after market bucket seats).

[Impulse]

the wheel, seats, shadowline trim would cost alot more if you wanted it after. i highly think the sport package is worth the money

[randomquickness]

most will agree sport pack is a must...and the coilovers will just make an already awesome car that much more awesome. just my .02

[WhiteOut]

I can't seem to see a difference in the steering wheel between the sport package wheel and non-sport package wheel on the "build your own" portion of the bmwusa site. Anybody have pics of the diff? Also diff between sport / non sport seats?

Further, even when sport's package is unchecked, the "M" steering wheel is still checked (and there is no way to remove the check).

[redwood]

Owning an E46 without sport package and with a completely revamped suspension, I would have to say that I still miss having grippy sports seats even though I have the handling. Unless you're planning on replacing the seats, I would get the sport package.

From what I saw on bmwusa.com yesterday, the steering wheel does change when the sport package is selected, but it didn't go away when unselected. You might need to start over. The wheel is thicker looking, the shifter (on manual cars) changes from a partially aluminum knob to a leather (ahh) M knob, too.

[MVF4Rrider]

Would be nice if someone with a non-sport pkg 135i would go do a quick test to see if there's a 130 mph limiter. I could take care of that task in about 10 minutes (provided I had a car to do it with).

My dealer has all the US spec 135i's in hidding at the moment, waiting for the launch this weekend. I'll attend and if they do I'll take a non-sport pkg 135i out on the Autobahn real quick to see where the limiter is. I pegged the German spec 135i I test drove at 155 mph. I'm thinking the US spec pegs at 150 mph. My dealer also told me to have the 150 mph limiter, you have to have sport package. That was among my motivation as only being able to go 130 mph is torture!

[Fair]

Originally Posted by m3bs

I believe without the sport package it is about 130. The printout I got from my dealer for my car lists:

ZSP Sport Package

481 Sport Seats
710 M Steering Wheel
760 Shadowline Trim
840 Increased Top Speed Limiter

Hmm... I think for resale value and the addition of the M steering wheel and Sport seats (the are always sportier), its worth the paultry $1000 bump (is that all?) for the Sport package. Remember: sometimes the sport seats are too snug for "very large people", so sit in both before ordering if you are worried about fitting in them (seen some big folks that were miserable when sitting in my old 5 series with Sport seats).

Still, for track or competitive autocross use (in anything other than "Stock" class) I'd wager a large amount of money that a good set of shocks and springs will drop several seconds off of any road course lap times vs. even the stock "Sport" suspension. :biggrin: And I would bet that the Sport seats (or any BMW OEM seat) are going to tip the scales in the 70 pounds/each region...

So if you are building a track terror or Street Prepared autocross set-up the Sport suspension and OEM power seats will be the first things to go into the attic for storage, and get replaced by proper aftermarket bits. Fixed back racing seats are usually 15-20 pounds each, and can make for a solid 100 pound curb weight drop (and will hold you in place better than any OEM seat ever reamed of - while making the back seat all but useless). That's a bit extreme for street driving, of course....



...but a good set of adjustable shocks/coilovers can be very livable on the street and transform the handing of the always (relatively) softly sprung OEM suspension set-ups. On our first E90 set-up the difference in handling between the stock Sport and our AST4100 set-up was "night and day", yet the ride was still very comfortable and "wife approved." We'll be testing our first 1 series AST coilover set-up in a few weeks (waiting for a tester's car to arrive) and I suspect it will have similar improvements.

FIA approved fixed back racing seats usually cost $700/each or more, and name brand reclining aftermarket seats can cost more as well. Its rarely a good financial move to avoid the relatively cheap Sport option and "just get better seats later". If you want sporty seats get them from the factory for a lot less coin, if available.

So again, yes, get the Sport suspension for enthusiast driving and resale value (its a relatively cheap upgrade) as well as the sportier seats and M steering wheel. For track use you're going to want to upgrade the suspension for better lap times and tire wear, of course. For competition use most if not all of the Sport suspension bits and seats will be removed, so if you don't care about the steering wheel and you're building an extremely competition biased 1 series, don't bother with the Sport suspension. Since that might total "1 person" on this board right now, that means the rest of the 1 series buyers should check that Sport suspension option! :smile:

edit: as for the potential for a 130 mph speed limiter... how many of you even approach the top speed in your sports cars? On most tracks the terminal speed on a straight is rarely above 130 mph (but I suspect that's really just the 128's limiter, not the 135). My 2005 Corvette would hit 186 mph in stock form, but it only saw north of 175 once, and that was just for a few seconds (I quickly thought to myself - wtf am I doing this for again??). Every other time I drove it the car was under 120 mph. My M3's speedometer never swings past 120mph either, even in competition use. We don't have autobahns in the USA and even if we did, traveling faster than 130mph on public roads is "less than smart".

Cheers,

[UberDTM]

Originally Posted by WhiteOut

Why not? No suspension difference btwn sport & non-sport. Different trim, seats, and steering wheel = $1000? Not so sure it's worth it if I can find more functional seats for cheaper.



I haven't seen the accessories catalog yet. Where did you get it? Dealer has it? What do you mean by racing seats? Do the seats hold you in more than the standard sport seats?



I don't care about dropping it. Would be done primarily for performance purposes. You are probably right about having to drive the car more. I will have to make it over to the dealer again soon so I can drive it again. The more civil thing to do would be to leave it stock since I plan on using it as a daily driver.

Either way, seems I don't need the package unless the seats are a big improvement over the non-sport seats (and I decide not to go for after market bucket seats).

i found a PDF of it on this site the thing is its in german but i can read pictures pretty well and w00t a ton of sweet shit OMFG

Originally Posted by sndprssr

I sure am glad a guy re-posted what a girl said to solidify the fact...

your welcome buddy

[Impulse]

Do it!!!! You won't regret it