Bagged and Stanced my 135i . . .

[arethirdytwo]

Definitely easy to remove. A few hours labor and an alignment. A good shop can do it quick and an experienced how mechanic can in the same amount of time. A set of coils and rear control arms in an Mk4 R32 takes me around 2.5 hours to finish. Granted I have done a dozen or so Mk4 suspensions but again, once you know what you are doing it is very simple.

Sorry to thread jack.

A suspension job isn't "easily removed." I don't think he did the work himself.

[SchnellFowVay]

Just edited the first page to add this:

Both of my dSLR's are being serviced by Nikon currently, so all I currently have is a RAW-shooting P7100. So I couldn't use any filters, etc. That said, I got a few more shots of my car in the harsh sun. Also, I took a video of how horrible the N55 sounds with a downpipe (it sounds like a farm tractor). It's so bad I may go back to the stock downpipe. This is a known issue among N55 tuners.






Here you will notice my screwed up front bumper, and the BMW Performance Shadowline kidney grills I installed (to replace the chrome-looking ones that came with the car).


Crappy pic, but you can see the BMW Performance Carbon Fiber Lip. I normally hate unpainted carbon fiber, but I like this for some reason.


Here's a crappy picture that illustrates my location. If you look closely, across the desert, you can see the LV Strip.


Here is an old pic from a few months ago of my interior.



And below is the video of my ****ting sounding tractor exhaust.
And to the right, you can see my wife's 128i with the now-infamous navigation system of doom

[Toaster29]

That's cold start exhaust note though, right? It should be much more mellow after it's done with warm up mode.

[SchnellFowVay]

That's cold start exhaust note though, right? It should be much more mellow after it's done with warm up mode.

That was a semi-cold start note. I had parked it for 20-30 minutes and then turned it back on.

The car kind sounds like **** at idle, cold start or not. It's a well known issue with DP'ed N55's (and the N54's didn't sound a whole hell of a lot better).

There are apparently a couple of companies trying to develope specific resonators for exhaust for the N55 to try to cut down on the tractor sound.

[SchnellFowVay]

Bump

[oh noes! cars!]

Tint seems to be a hard split of lovers/haters. I've had vehicles with and without and I have always preferred it...just something about feeling "wrapped in" it better than exposed to the public.

Which Nikons?

[SchnellFowVay]

Tint seems to be a hard split of lovers/haters. I've had vehicles with and without and I have always preferred it...just something about feeling "wrapped in" it better than exposed to the public.

Which Nikons?

D7000 & D40X.

I use APS-C Cameras because the lenses are cheaper and am not a pro.

They are in for service because I just took them on a multi-week trip through the Mediterranean. There is a dark spot on the sensor of the D7000, and the D40x's light sensor seems to be f'd up.

I am hoping the D7000's problem will be covered by warranty. If the D40X cost more than $100 to fix, I will probably just trash the thing and pick up a D3200 as a second camera body.

[titleist1976]

That looks great! I love red BMW interiors. Is the n55 supposed to be better than the n54?

[AggvGtivr6]

There must be some sweet tractors in your area ...

[SchnellFowVay]

That looks great! I love red BMW interiors. Is the n55 supposed to be better than the n54?

This has been debated ad nauseum in the BMW forums. The bottom line is this:

N54:
-2 turbochargers
-less reliable (more oil blow-by, etc.)
-many forged internals (good thing)
-more top-end power and torque, capable of about 10-12% more power than N55 on stock turbos
-worse gas mileage

N55:
-single, twin-scroll turbocharger
-reponds well to mods, and is generally cheaper to mod (only a single downpipe, etc.)
-smoother and less lag than N54 (but less peak power)
-fewer forged internals (not a big deal on stock turbocharger, but probably can't handle 500-600whp like modified N54's can do)
-lighter weight
-slightly better gas mileage
-cheaper to repair (single turbocharger, fewer sensors, etc.)

Hope that sums it up for you.

[6cylVWguy]

Nice looking car--glad you didn't dump the hell out of it by lowering the suspension as far as it can go.

[Toaster29]

I'm looking for another x35 now, and I'm not considering the N55 powered cars. The power just isn't there, and I have friends who have had fuel pump issues with the N55 also. I'd say most of the teething was done on the N54, which now is near parity with the N55 as far as reliability.

[SchnellFowVay]

I'm looking for another x35 now, and I'm not considering the N55 powered cars. The power just isn't there, and I have friends who have had fuel pump issues with the N55 also. I'd say most of the teething was done on the N54, which now is near parity with the N55 as far as reliability.

N55 with tune and dp does about 360whp and 400wtq.

The power is there, but it's no N54.

[SchnellFowVay]

N55 with tune and dp does about 360whp and 400wtq.

The power is there, but it's no N54.

I meant 340whp, not 360. Sorry.

[Toaster29]

I meant 340whp, not 360. Sorry.

No sweat. I think the N55 is a great motor, I'm just a bit more interested in 400+ whp with a little splash of E85

[SchnellFowVay]

No sweat. I think the N55 is a great motor, I'm just a bit more interested in 400+ whp with a little splash of E85

I understand. Although Terry is beta testing E85 tunes now for the n55. Still won't hit 400whp, though.

[Toaster29]

BTW, I forgot to complement you on your 135, it looks fantastic

Terry and I go WAY back. I was actually the first person other than him to run the juice box, then the juice box 2, followed by the JB2H. This was back when the stupid lemmings on the forum thought he was a kook, but his data he provided was solid. I ran the same ET and trap speed with a $50 JB2H as did Shiv's personal car with a $900 procede....and so it began

[SchnellFowVay]

BTW, I forgot to complement you on your 135, it looks fantastic

Terry and I go WAY back. I was actually the first person other than him to run the juice box, then the juice box 2, followed by the JB2H. This was back when the stupid lemmings on the forum thought he was a kook, but his data he provided was solid. I ran the same ET and trap speed with a $50 JB2H as did Shiv's personal car with a $900 procede....and so it began

Thanks!

[SchnellFowVay]

One last bump.

[FACTORYBOOST]

Came all puffed up to roid rage on idiots on the internet.

x2

OP: Very nice car
And it does not sound the best with the DP, but maybe a full exhaust might help?

[dcmix5]

I heard that carbon fiber can throw off navigation systems, so if you can't find your house, start there.

[JCJetta]

Love it. Still very interested in these cars.

What sort of decent LSD solutions are out there in the aftermarket? Have you considered any? Opinions and such?

[SchnellFowVay]

Love it. Still very interested in these cars.

What sort of decent LSD solutions are out there in the aftermarket? Have you considered any? Opinions and such?

Apparently, the earlier 135i's (pre-2010) had the ability to have an LSD inserted directly in place of the E-Dif with little to no fanfare.

The more recent ones are riveted in (I have no idea what this means -- I am just repeating what I have read), so it's a huge hassle to replace them with an LSD.

The easiest and best way, according to most, is just get the entire rear assembly from a wrecked e92 M3 and swap that in -- it's a direct swap.

[Hurt]

[SoLo2pointO]

Cute car.

[SchnellFowVay]

Love it. Still very interested in these cars.

What sort of decent LSD solutions are out there in the aftermarket? Have you considered any? Opinions and such?

To answer the second part of your question, I have considered going with an LSD, but that is a substantial and irreversible mod.

My next step is to buy some lightweight 17's and some track rubber and to start doing drivers ed sessions at Spring Mountain. If I enjoy that enough, and I decide to keep this thing for the long haul, I may go for an LSD.

But I am not going to go through all of that hassle and expense just for road driving.

[FACTORYBOOST]

Apparently, the earlier 135i's (pre-2010) had the ability to have an LSD inserted directly in place of the E-Dif with little to no fanfare.

The more recent ones are riveted in (I have no idea what this means -- I am just repeating what I have read), so it's a huge hassle to replace them with an LSD.

The easiest and best way, according to most, is just get the entire rear assembly from a wrecked e92 M3 and swap that in -- it's a direct swap.

When they are riveted in, that means you have to drill out the rivets the get the E-diff out... would not be fun, not to mention you run the risk of destroying it in the process...
And the swap would probably be easier than trying to drill out and replace a piece of drivetrain that has been riveted in. I imagine BMW uses some fairly hefty rivets

[Dahlphin]

Says the guy with a Boxster!

lololol.

I generally think tint looks ghetto. But it does have use in the Nevada desert.

I disagree. If it's done professionally it looks pretty good. Unless it's some wiener trying to murder his ride.