First Road Trip - 2012 135i DCT M Sport

[blschaefer1]

Hi gang,

Took my first road trip in the new 135i this week. About 850 miles in three days up the Central California Coast and backroads. What a great road trip car for two people this is. Just the right amount of luggage space, easy ingress / egress, and taut but comfortable ride. Coming from an M Coupe, these three attributes were a great improvement. In the M Coupe, we had to basically share a suitcase, and forget buying wine along the wine tasting route - no room!

I averaged about 25.5 mpg for the trip. I was admittedly driving her easy as I eclipsed the 1200mi break in period on the trip. The DCT worked flawlessly, always seeming to know the right gear to be in when exiting a corner. I used Sport mode most commonly, liking the throttle response. The torque from the N55 was awesome when needing to pass on two lane roads. Handling and grip - great - though not up to the level of my old M Coupe. Worth the tradeoff for the improved ride quality.

Quibbles - the AC seemed weak at times, and difficult to position the vents so that they moved the right amount of air at you. Heard the typical 'pops' originating from the dash as the AC cooled the ductwork, but nothing too obtrusive. Audio quality from the Sirius radio seemed off at times - I wonder if I should have waited to find a unit with the H-K package? That's about it - she ran perfectly.

The more time I spend with this car - the more I am impressed !

[MPFit]

Congrats on the ride!
Out of curiosity, did you have a general cleaner and/or bug cleaner to keep bugs from sticking all over your car? Or just let em hangout until trip was over?

[doublevanosrc]

Whats with the mudguards? You planning to go off road or something?? Ha nice ride.

[blschaefer1]

Originally Posted by MPFit

Congrats on the ride!
Out of curiosity, did you have a general cleaner and/or bug cleaner to keep bugs from sticking all over your car? Or just let em hangout until trip was over?

I took some Meguiar's Quick Detailer along with some microfiber cloths, wiped it down to start the day. Also, am a big fan of the Armor All Wheel Protector spray to reduce brake dust. It really works !

[blschaefer1]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

Whats with the mudguards? You planning to go off road or something?? Ha nice ride.

Those were the first accessory I installed. With the 18" wheels being wider, just rolling through a wet parking lot would leave a mess on a clean car. BMW says they won't fit on an M-Sport equipped car, but they are flat wrong. Easy to install, and I actually like the way they look.

[ken1137]

Nice ride and excellent road trip for a 135. Did you stop at the cafe ? Nepenthe around Big Sur?

[freshwhite335]

The AC in this car sucks. It has something to do with the Efficient Dynamics system.

[Walt White Coupe]

Originally Posted by freshwhite335

The AC in this car sucks. It has something to do with the Efficient Dynamics system.

Anyone know how that system works?

[New21er]

Nothing wrong with mud flaps!! Helps keep the sides from rock dings and stuff.

[Tom K.]

Our break-in trip for my '08 128i 'vert was in August, 2008. We drove from MD through New Mexico, Las Vegas, crossed Northern CA and took the Coast road through Oregon & southern Washington. The return route involved Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, etc. back to MD. We covered 8,000 miles - less than 1/4 of which was on interstates - averaged 28 mpg, and the A/C was fine.

BMW air conditioners are rather sensitive to the degree of system charge. They function very well as long as they have the right amount of refrigerant.

I also notice occaisional poor audio (including what sounds like old fashioned tape wow & flutter) on some Sirius channels - but the unit in my wife's Ford sounds similar, so I doubt it's a BMW issue.

Enjoy your new coupe!

Tom

[blschaefer1]

Originally Posted by ken1137

Nice ride and excellent road trip for a 135. Did you stop at the cafe ? Nepenthe around Big Sur?

Not on this trip - but I am familiar. A great stop.

[L8*Apex]

Originally Posted by freshwhite335

The AC in this car sucks. It has something to do with the Efficient Dynamics system.

????
Guess I got the one good AC system then. It's been between 108 and 115 here in Phoenix for the last 4 months. No problems with my AC. Cools the car off super fast even in my black on black set up.

[freshwhite335]

Originally Posted by L8*Apex

????
Guess I got the one good AC system then. It's been between 108 and 115 here in Phoenix for the last 4 months. No problems with my AC. Cools the car off super fast even in my black on black set up.

you have an 09, before Efficient Dynamics was being put in BMWs in the US.

My parents have an 09 F01 and the AC is great, while in for service one day at my dealer a guy who had just bought an F01 a couple of days earlier and was complaining about the weak AC.

Efficient Dynamics has the worst effect on the AC in traffic. Which, living in LA, can sometimes make the car unbearable. I often just leave the AC on MAX, which totally defeats the purpose of trying to be "Efficient"

[Pangloss]

Satellite channels will make any car stereo sound awful. They say "CD quality" but, meh. Hook up your iPod or USB stick (or shove a *gasp* CD into the slot) and you'll hear a big difference.

Thanks for the tips on Armor All Wheel Protectant and mud flaps.

[808_m]

Were the mud flaps a dealer installed option or did you pick them up aftermarket? If the latter, how much did they run you? I think I might need some... My paint is getting torn up! :P

[meg180]

Congrats on the ride and nice pics!

[blschaefer1]

Originally Posted by 808_m

Were the mud flaps a dealer installed option or did you pick them up aftermarket? If the latter, how much did they run you? I think I might need some... My paint is getting torn up! :P

I ordered them from eBay, but they are OEM BMW parts. Not expensive, less than $70 for the set of four if I recall. Do a thread search and you can find more details. They were simple to install, took about an hour, but I needed to obtain some longer push-type fasteners from the autoparts store. The ones I removed that were on the car during install got a little jacked up when I popped them. Not a big deal though.

They really help keep the sides of the car clean and deflect dirt/gravel.

[blschaefer1]

Originally Posted by Pangloss

Satellite channels will make any car stereo sound awful. They say "CD quality" but, meh. Hook up your iPod or USB stick (or shove a *gasp* CD into the slot) and you'll hear a big difference.

Thanks for the tips on Armor All Wheel Protectant and mud flaps.

I hear you (no pun intended), satellite will never be 'CD' quality, whatever that is these days. I have Sirius in our other cars, and it just seems a little more clear in those for whatever reason. I did notice the sound from an iPod is pretty darn good though.

[135i Demon]

Originally Posted by blschaefer1

I took some Meguiar's Quick Detailer along with some microfiber cloths, wiped it down to start the day. Also, am a big fan of the Armor All Wheel Protector spray to reduce brake dust. It really works !

That seems to be a big problem with me... Brake dust... I take it you just spray and leave it on...

[blschaefer1]

Spray it on after you clean the wheel, and it creates a coating which 'repels' the brake dust. You reapply it after each washing, but it keep the wheels much cleaner in between the washings.