No 128i Love :(

[andrey_gta]

hmm, i just want to increase power and tourque in the low end.
To get this does it make sense to use DISA or Headers ?

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

hmm, i just want to increase power and tourque in the low end.
To get this does it make sense to use DISA or Headers ?

DISA should be good for ~20ft/lbs, no idea on headers. DISA valves would certainly be cheaper if you could source them off a wrecked car.

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

DISA should be good for ~20ft/lbs, no idea on headers. DISA valves would certainly be cheaper if you could source them off a wrecked car.

Headers with a muffler sound pretty good.

I have been looking at DISA dyno's and i dont know if I like the choppiness of TQ and HP as the DISA open

[andrey_gta]

Just found out about a Sound Generator from BMW.

What is this sorcery?

[flinchy]

Headers (catless) add a LITTLE down low, but they REALLY shine opening up the top end breatheability.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

What is this sorcery?

It's piping that goes between the intake and the firewall to pipe intake noise into the cabin. The mod is removing some of the sound deadening foam from the pipe.

The BMW Performance Intake for our car retrofits a similar piece, as seen in the top right here:

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...89&hg=13&fg=95

Or in this picture, item on the right replaced with left:

[Obioban]

Originally Posted by flinchy

You know that even aa's tune for example sets max lift? It helps with response as well as flow

They only adjust for efficiency, not for wear compensation

Higher limit would increase wear like that if you held it on the limiter sure..

It's certainly true that raising the limiter won't hurt anything if you don't rev it out, but what's the point of raising it if you're not going to run the engine there?

Increased redline increases bearing wear across the board (biggest issue), cam/follower wear, heat generated, and can float valves depending on if the springs/valves can handle the increased revs.

Valve floating you'll find out about pretty quickly, so if they're good for 7400 then you're fine there.

Bearings, however, wear out faster at higher RPM. The question is how fast are they wearing stock, and how fast at higher RPM. Generally manufacturers set redlines where they think wear is acceptable for engine life. Increasing it will shorten rebuild interval. Up to you to decide where your sweet spot is.

Extra heat generated would scare me a bit in an alu/mag engine.

[maupineda]

For those thinking a higher rev limiter overkills the engine let me tell you this. I used to have a RenaultSport Clio 172, I put hotter cams and remap to suit, the limiter was set at 7,600 wheras the original setting was 7,200. The car is still out there punching all its power, it has 156,000 km, the last 50,000 are with cams in, plenty of trackdays and as said, in a dyno day it was still going very strong. I don't see the modern N52 engine being any weaker than the old F4R from Renault. In Erope the 130i cuts around 7,100, so 300 more nothing!

[alvitdk]

Originally Posted by maupineda

For those thinking a higher rev limiter overkills the engine let me tell you this. I used to have a RenaultSport Clio 172, I put hotter cams and remap to suit, the limiter was set at 7,600 wheras the original setting was 7,200. The car is still out there punching all its power, it has 156,000 km, the last 50,000 are with cams in, plenty of trackdays and as said, in a dyno day it was still going very strong. I don't see the modern N52 engine being any weaker than the old F4R from Renault. In Erope the 130i cuts around 7,100, so 300 more nothing!

Hey maupineda, I just yesterday arrived in Mexico City, what's up with that crappy weather , I did not even bring a jacket

Anyway, I agree, I am very certain the limit set on the engine is a absolute safety measure with some room to go up. They would not set the limit to the exact highest possible range, but quite a bit below. 200-300rpm's will most likely do nothing to the engine wear, unless you redlining it more than not.

[TheSt|G]

Frankly, a case study of one proves nothing. I could easily counter that the raised rev limiter on my E36 M3 likely accelerated its engine that eventually blew.

[TheSt|G]

Unrelated topic, came across this article today and I was amused:

http://www.carthrottle.com/10-surpri...reliable-cars/

[BimmerEnthusiast99]

Hey all! Good thread. Love my wife's 128, my favorite of the three bimmers we own currently.

I do however find the stock brake setup, a tad on the weak side. Was thinking about going with the BMW Perf Brake kit, but wanted to hear some opinions.

Are these progessive enough to be feasible for normal daily driving or are they mainly for tracking your car? i.e., would they simply put you through the windshield every time you tap the brake in normal street driving scenarios? Any maintenance problems associated from using them?

My problem with the stock setup is that they start to fade a bit when driving pretty hard in fast moving, fast stopping traffic, and would like a setup that will save my bacon when the jackass in front of me slams on his breaks because he didn't see the guy in front of him at a dead stop. Have had a few too many close calls in similar situations---and barely got the 1er stopped in time.

Any pros/cons would help.

Let me know your thoughts---much appreciated!

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by BimmerEnthusiast99

Hey all! Good thread. Love my wife's 128, my favorite of the three bimmers we own currently.

I do however find the stock brake setup, a tad on the weak side. Was thinking about going with the BMW Perf Brake kit, but wanted to hear some opinions.

Are these progessive enough to be feasible for normal daily driving or are they mainly for tracking your car? i.e., would they simply put you through the windshield every time you tap the brake in normal street driving scenarios? Any maintenance problems associated from using them?

My problem with the stock setup is that they start to fade a bit when driving pretty hard in fast moving, fast stopping traffic, and would like a setup that will save my bacon when the jackass in front of me slams on his breaks because he didn't see the guy in front of him at a dead stop. Have had a few too many close calls in similar situations---and barely got the 1er stopped in time.

Any pros/cons would help.

Let me know your thoughts---much appreciated!

Long story short, they would be a waste of money.

BMW performance brake kit is not a BBK in any sense of the word. They are merely a gold window dressing. If you are having fade, I would upgrade to a more aggressive pad than the car has and take it from there. If you continue to experience fade on the street, spend the money you have saved not wasting it on the BMW PBK and get a proper Brembo or StopTech kit.

As a side note, what tires are you running?

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

Long story short, they would be a waste of money.

BMW performance brake kit is not a BBK in any sense of the word. They are merely a gold window dressing. If you are having fade, I would upgrade to a more aggressive pad than the car has and take it from there. If you continue to experience fade on the street, spend the money you have saved not wasting it on the BMW PBK and get a proper Brembo or StopTech kit.

As a side note, what tires are you running?

Bmwp brakes are still 6pot up front, exactly what the 135 gets, so you would certainly find more force applied

Brembo an stoptech are too exxy though, brembo being about 7k) stoptech being about 5.5k - remembering the bmwp kit is brembo made.

Ima try out ksport myself,

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by flinchy

Bmwp brakes are still 6pot up front, exactly what the 135 gets, so you would certainly find more force applied

Don't get carried away with piston numbers, generally a pretty useless stat. Brembo 355mm kit for our car for example uses a 4 pot setup, 135i uses a 6 pot. You and I both know they aren't even in the same ballpark.

For the money, the BMW PBK just doesn't make sense. You can match the advantage with more aggressive pads, and easily exceed it with a proper BBK.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

Don't get carried away with piston numbers, generally a pretty useless stat. Brembo 355mm kit for our car for example uses a 4 pot setup, 135i uses a 6 pot. You and I both know they aren't even in the same ballpark.

For the money, the BMW PBK just doesn't make sense. You can match the advantage with more aggressive pads, and easily exceed it with a proper BBK.

You can easy find the front and rear setup <1k second hand off these forums even.. All you need to fit rear (i think) are new handbrake lines or something.. More pistons usually means more equal braking force application at the very least

As far as i'm aware the bmwp kit which is brembo only falls down with smaller rotor size (heat holding capability), and the fact the drilled rotors crack easily.

I mean, using your own logic.. Bmwp kit + better pads is still better than oem+pads lol

So $1500 for used bmwp kit with uprated pads vs at least 5k for something proper high end

Even a simple pad and rotor replacement for the oem setup (uprated pads and discs of course) isn't much under like $800 or something from memory

On another topic: does anyone know oem 128i or 130i exhaust diameter? Most aftermarket kits go 2.75 so im guessing 2.5 maybe 2.25? Google is no help..

Ed: magnaflow kit aftermarket cat back is 2.5, and thats an upgrade?

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by flinchy

You can easy find the front and rear setup <1k second hand off these forums even.. All you need to fit rear (i think) are new handbrake lines or something.. More pistons usually means more equal braking force application at the very least

As far as i'm aware the bmwp kit which is brembo only falls down with smaller rotor size (heat holding capability), and the fact the drilled rotors crack easily.

I mean, using your own logic.. Bmwp kit + better pads is still better than oem+pads lol

So $1500 for used bmwp kit with uprated pads vs at least 5k for something proper high end

Factory Brembo, like the stock 135i brakes or the BMW PBK having nothing to do with actual Brembo BBKs. It's purely a marketing stamp.

And yes, I would agree the BMW PBK+better pads would be better than OEM(aside from the cracked pistons/melted rings as it is just the 135i kit), but not from a dollar to upgrade ratio.

BMW PBK is ~$1900, better pads are $200-$400, bringing your total to $2100-$2300.

A real StopTech BBK which would provide a substantial performance increase over the aforementioned setup would be $3200.

The numbers just aren't there to justify the half assed BMW PBK.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

Factory Brembo, like the stock 135i brakes or the BMW PBK having nothing to do with actual Brembo BBKs. It's purely a marketing stamp.

And yes, I would agree the BMW PBK+better pads would be better than OEM(aside from the cracked pistons/melted rings as it is just the 135i kit), but not from a dollar to upgrade ratio.

BMW PBK is ~$1900, better pads are $200-$400, bringing your total to $2100-$2300.

A real StopTech BBK which would provide a substantial performance increase over the aforementioned setup would be $3200.

The numbers just aren't there to justify the half assed BMW PBK.

Hm? It not just marketing ecause there is NO brembo stamp, you actually have to research it to find theyre made by brembo an branded bmwp

$3200 link? The 130i one for me is 5.5k total

Like i said, just get 2nd hand 135i brakes for $1000, new pads etc and you're set unless you want a MAJOR upgrade

Ed http://www.suspensioncenter.com/c-73-big-brake-kit.aspx?SectionFilterID=490 starts at 3k front only

I personally would love to try eitherthe 13 or 14" ksport procomp

Heaps of jap car owners on google saying ksport is pretty solid value for money, takes all aftermarket pads and discs too

[Obioban]

I'd rather have the stock 128 brakes than the stock 135 brakes-- no need to feel cracking pistons or melting dust boots.

The purpose of more pistons is to have a larger pad, which gives you longer pad life-- NOT to apply more force. The stock 128i brakes can't lock the wheels (aka, what happens every time you engage ABS), so there is zero benefit to applying more force. The benefits of BBKs are:
More heat capacity
better pedal modulation
longer pad/rotor life (largely due to the increased heat capacity)
reduced unsprung/rotating mass
pad swaps without removing the caliper from the car (useful if tracking and changing multiple times per year).

The 135/performance kit may have increased heat capacity, but it's useless because heat cracks the pistons... so if you use it for anything serious, where you'd need the capacity, it's a terrible choice. It doesn't come with stainless lines, so you still don't have good feel/modulation. It doesn't have lighter rotors, so you're not decreasing rotating mass. And, I'm not positive, but I'm fairly certain you still have to remove the caliper to change pads, so you don't gain that.

I completely agree with Stig-- I'd stick with stock or go to a real BBK. The BMW performance kit/135 setup is worse than the stock 128 setup, imo.

[Obioban]

I'd rather have the stock 128 brakes than the stock 135 brakes-- no need to feel cracking pistons or melting dust boots.

The purpose of more pistons is to have a larger pad, which gives you longer pad life-- NOT to apply more force. The stock 128i brakes can lock the wheels (every time you engage ABS that's what's happened), so there is zero benefit to applying more force. The benefits of BBKs are:
More heat capacity
better pedal modulation
longer pad/rotor life (largely due to the increased heat capacity)
reduced unsprung/rotating mass
pad swaps without removing the caliper from the car (useful if tracking and changing multiple times per weekend).

The 135/performance kit may have increased heat capacity, but it's useless because heat cracks the pistons... so if you use it for anything serious, where you'd need the capacity, it's a terrible choice. It doesn't come with stainless lines, so you still don't have good feel/modulation. It doesn't have lighter rotors, so you're not decreasing rotating mass. And, I'm not positive, but I'm fairly certain you still have to remove the caliper to change pads, so you don't gain that.

I completely agree with Stig-- I'd stick with stock or go to a real BBK. The BMW performance kit/135 setup is worse than the stock 128 setup, imo.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by flinchy

Hm? It not just marketing ecause there is NO brembo stamp, you actually have to research it to find theyre made by brembo an branded bmwp

$3200 link? The 130i one for me is 5.5k total

Generally, in terms of actual performance, you only need a BBK in the front. People tend to do the rear as well for style. And since the original question was about street driving, a front BBK would more than cover him. If he is overheating that, he just needs to stop daily driving Spa.

[SkinnyVT]

BBK for daily driving

There is nothing wrong with the stock brake hardware for anything except racing, assuming you aren't two-footing it in an automatic and riding the brakes in traffic just get some decent pads and fluid. If I (and many others) don't get fade on the track with stock brakes with upgraded pads/fluid you shouldn't be getting it on your daily commute.