[1speedbike]

Welcome to the boards! I hope you enjoy your future 1er!

Originally Posted by geared

I am ordering a 6MT - jet black ( was on the fence between jet vs sapphire - any reason to change?)

Jet black will look nicer when clean. BSM has little sparkly bits which keep it looking nice when the car is a little bit dirty or messed up, but it doesn't look as deep black as jet black when fully clean and nice. It depends on your preference. If you're the type of guy that washes the car every weekend, JB would be fine. If you don't have the time or the resolve, then BSM looks better most of the time.

Active Steering - yes or no?

I don't have it and I don't miss it.

Performance Suspension - opted for no, because I will be installing lowering springs or coils

Good choice. I'd say coils over lowering springs.

• Lower Ride Height - what is needed? will I rub?
  
  All you really need is a set of coilovers or springs, but as I said coilovers will give you better performance and ride quality in most cases. As for what kind.. it really depends. If you're not really going to track the car, KW V1 are height adjustable only, but pre-set to be balanced between comfort, safety, and sportiness. I have ST coilovers, they are made by KW and are pretty much the exact same as KW V1, and I am very happy with them. If I went for KW V2 or something that is dampening adjustable, I don't think I would ever touch the setting, so these are fine for me. If you're looking for something that performs a little better, Ohlins, Bilstein, and AST make more expensive, sportier coilovers. There are cheaper systems out there, like from Meghan Racing, but those aren't very good compared to the brands listed above. Also, if you're used to the feel of the Z06, you will probably find the 135i to be very soft and not very precise. For that I'd recommend installing M3 parts, specifically front control arms for steering feel and turn response, a front anti-sway bar to stay flat in the corners, and rear subframe bushings to keep the car planted during acceleration. The stiffer coilovers will help keep the rest of the car stiffer, too. The suspension is overly soft because it is meant to dampen the stiffness of the stock run flat tires, and it kind of sucks.
  
  
• wheels - like ccw classics, bbs lm's, some strasse I am looking at...are spacers needed? i want them to slightly pop.
  
  A lot of the nicer wheels are hard to come by. You can always get custom wheels like DPEs or HREs that are tailor made for your car and they don't release the offsets.. but since the 1 series has such weird offsets and a very limited selection of sizes that fit us, we have lots of sets of wheels in the $1200-1500 range and below, and not very much in the higher end of things. If you're looking for higher end wheels, I would get in touch with wheelsto, you can contact them here on the forum or go to wheelsto.com. If you're looking for wheels in the price range above, Breyton, Forgestar, and Alufelgen are in that range, with VMR wheels being slightly below a grand for a set. They're all good quality wheels, but nothing too crazy.
  
  As for the spacers, rubbing concerns, etc. look around the wheels/tires subforum to get a feel of what can fit and what can't with/without fender rolling and camber adjustment. I have F: 19 x 8.5 ET 35 and rear 19 x 9.5 ET 45 with 215/35 in front and 235/30 in back, slightly lowered no camber plates or spacers, a little less than -2 degrees camber on stock equipment all around, and I don't rub, but I don't have much room for bigger tires or lowering. I also poke very very slightly. I was lowered much more before and I rubbed pretty terribly up front so I had to raise it.
  
  
• quad exhaust - love it - what do I need other than a diffuser (want carbon) and whats the best source for quads? are their downsides to running this setup power wise?
  
  No real downside power-wise, the only thing is that quad exhausts obviously weigh more. They look great though! There's a few options for quad exhausts, and some various diffusers available..
  
  Hartge: http://www.hartge.de/e/bmw_auspuff_4915.html
  Remus: http://www.remusexhaustshop.com/prod...m/default.aspx
  3D Design: http://www.3ddesign.jp/english/pro_e...101-18212E.htm
  (with rear diffuser): http://www.3ddesign.jp/english/product_aero_E82.htm
  Eisenmann: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=631340
  
  
• front lip - I love jzhangs, but I guess that was custom??? I dont really know for sure - but it seems like its a 3d design / LTBMW collab?
  
  Not sure about JZ's front spoiler, but I see a few that resemble it. This page has quite a list of different companies and the various exterior / body parts they produce:
  
  http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/b...&c9=5553&r=422
  
  There are a few lip spoilers on there.
  
  
• Tune - Want POWER that is streetable, but safe - whats my best bet here
  
  The big 3 are JB, Procede, and Cobb. JB and Procede are chips, and offer a lot of functionality. You have to plug them into the ECU yourself though, which is why many people go with Cobb. I have had a JB2, JB+, and now a JB4 and I loved them all. The chips (JB and Procede) aren't really "canned tunes".. they've been around the longest out of any of the tunes out there, and have many options that even complete reflashes like Cobb and GIAC do not. I especially like the steering wheel controls I get with the JB4, and the gauge hijacking so I can't have my fuel gauge double as a boost meter and my Oil temp gauge tell me my IAT . However, you can't really go wrong with any tune, they all have their benefits and their weaker points. If you post a thread on here "JB vs Cobb vs Procede" etc, though, you'll likely get a bad response because the topic has kind of been beaten to death. Just do a search and you'll find lots of info.
  
  
• Kidneys - Best place to get semi gloss/gloss black ones?
  
  Anywhere but BMW! BMW will overcharge for them. Almost ANY reputable shop will have them. Vivid Racing, J Levi SW, Mod Bargans, JBSPEED, are all here on the forum (you can PM them and usually get a better price than on the website!).
  
  
• love the sound of BOV's - is there a BOV i can purchase that awakens the sound of the turbo?
  
  Yes, there's a few options. Most people go with either
  Stett: http://www.shop.stettperformance.com...c?productId=10
  or Active Autowerke: http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/a...i-p-59500.html
  
  
• front mount intercooler - how difficult are these to install
  
  It really depends. There are quite a few intercoolers available for the 135i and some of them require little to no trimming of the plastic pieces inside of the bumper at all, while others require some extensive cutting and squeezing. There are lots of options, and I have honestly seen people happy with every single one. From what I recall, the ETS one doesn't require any cutting, but the HPF and Helix ones are two of the most popular ones. But like I said, you're better off searching on the forums because there are lots of options.
  
  
• short shifter - brand? I like the OEM BMW performance manual shifter
  
  I'd go with the OEM BMW one, both because I hear it's great, and because you won't run into warranty issues if you do that.
  
  
• side skirts? choices?
  
  There's pretty much three choices. The OEM BMW Aero side skirts, Hartge Side Skirts, and Kerscher side skirts
  
  
• angel eyes - Can you order the car with them? what are the nicer ones? best place to get?
  
  The 135i automatically comes with the amber/yellow looking angel eyes with Xenon headlights. You can replace them to get nicer white/blue lights. The popular options are:
  
  LUX Leds - very white and even light distribution, but expensive and harder to see during the day than other options. Out of all the LED options these are the easiest to see during the day.
  
  Alpine HID kit - I have this. VERY bright and easy to see during the day, less expensive than LUX, but the inner ring ends up slightly brighter and some people complain it's too bright. I like them though. They're a little more complicated to install because you have to hook them up to your battery terminals in engine bay. Come in any color you want, really, from yellow, to white, blue, and even purple.
  
  BMS Leds - Cheaper than LUX and made by the same guys that make the JB chips, but I can't vouch for their brightness.
  
  DEPO/SONAR/LS1 kits - Full replacement headlights. The best looking option because it allows the rings to be made nice and white/blue without worrying about anything else, but this is the most expensive.
  
  
• what other performance mods will support the tune/quad exhaust/ FMIC/BOV and bring about nice power?
  
  Intakes are a matter of debate on the forum, but downpipes the biggest power adder after a tune. If you run a downpipe you will also be able to run a more aggressive tune than you would without them. Other than that, it's pretty much supporting mods. Methanol will add a lot of power, but it's up to you if you want to run it. It's much safer than something like nitrous and adds almost as much power. You just have to take it off every dealership visit and not get caught with it! JB4 and Procede both offer very safe integration with methanol systems.
  
  
• Spoiler/Trunk - love the rounded trunk look - source? brand?
  
  The BMW performance one is a ripoff. You'll do great with any brand except some crap off eBay.
  
  
• 1M side view mirrors - how difficult are these to source/install? like jzhang had....
  
  Not sure about install difficulty (can't be THAT bad, though, right?), but you can get them from Tischer BMW (getbmwparts.com) or Dan@UnitedBMW here on the forums.
  

Thanks gents. I look forward to making this little thing haul some major ass, and look good doing it. Given this is my first European car, I will need help

I hope I helped a little bit at least! Enjoy your future ride, and again, welcome to the forums! Some people here are more helpful than others (as you can already see), but we all share the same love of cars so don't be afraid to ask anything (just use the "search" first if you're unsure if a topic has been beaten to death, though)