Track day in my 135i - first impressions

[Ronin]

Had the 135i out on the big track at Mosport. First things first, as expected, the car was composed and well behaved despite 'dynamic' situations. Stability control didn't ding once despite squealing tires.

Absolutely no high speed stability issues whatsoever.

I didn't push the car past its limits, and in fact, I came here to say that I learned that the car doesn't even come close to being challenged on the street. On the track, we were never close to the redline or limits of adhesion (yes, RFTs). In 3rd and 4th, it kept pace with much more powerful cars.

tl;dr - 135i on the track, no high speed stability issues, performed like a champ, the car has to be abused to get unruly even on RFTs

[BMW86]

I'm surprised with your impressions. Is your 135i stock and exactly how hard were you pushing the car?

Initially when I bought the car I overlooked it's weaknesses because what it lacked in certain areas it made up for in acceleration power. But over time I realised it's biggest weaknesses were it's RFT's, soft suspension and lack of LSD.

I have addressed this by adding Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's 10mm wider in the front and rear, KW V2's coilovers and I've placed an order for a front sway bar. There are no plans for an LSD yet but I can already push the car to a whole new level on the street and track. Very happy with this setup, I couldn't imagine going back to stock.

[MarkR171]

No tracks, only auto-x here but I have had similar experiences. My first few runs with the car, I got some of the understeer and my initial thought was "it's the car, everyone on the forums and reviews complain about understeer." The more I drove it though, I learned the car isn't the problem, I altered my driving and the car started to really shine the more runs I put through it.

Driving smoothly and with the correct line works wonders for maintaining grip and limiting how much the car pushes.

[BMW86]

I agree that you can modify your driving behaviour to adapt to the car but what else can you do? You don't really have a choice. I got used to driving the 135i which had plenty of understeer, huge amounts of body roll and an uncomfortable floaty sensation at higher speeds.

Then I upgraded tyres and coilovers and the car was a whole new beast. The changes were day and night, as much as the car holds it's own in stock form, now it really shines on the track and for everyday driving on the street.

I think everyone is a bit harsh on the 135i in stock form because they expected a bit too much. It's not designed to be an all out sports car and the soft suspension and the preference for RFT's are built for the masses. It's people who bought this car for the engine and drive it hard who pick out the flaws. All I can say is, when you do upgrade these flaws you will notice a huge difference as our 135i's are far from track cars in stock form and have huge amounts of potential.

[Ronin]

My 135 is bone stock. I wasn't even close to pushing the car to the limits. High speed turns were over 100kph and the back straight under 200kph. Well under what a skilled driver could push the car to do but far and away well over what one would expect to encounter on the street. The advanced drivers were pushing 260kph on the back straight.

Agreed - there is body roll (its a daily driver) and the RFTs aren't the greatest. It would be a different animal with upgraded suspension.

Even bone stock, there was no floatyness notable in the back straights.

Point being that the 'limit' of a stock 135 is far and away farther out there than I expected. Happy to hear you reached that limit and fixed any issues, but that wasn't what I wanted to convey - only that in the racing line, you really need to push the car pretty hard to get it to complain.

[IZAGLO]

[QUOTE=BMW86;

I have addressed this by adding Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's 10mm wider in the front and rear, KW V2's coilovers and I've placed an order for a front sway bar. There are no plans for an LSD yet but I can already push the car to a whole new level on the street and track. Very happy with this setup, I couldn't imagine going back to stock.[/QUOTE]

Dude, you put amazing tires on that car and very very good coilovers...no surprise your 1 came alive on the track...But for DD street driving where you have very few chances of stomping on this car, for the most part here in NJ,Pa you have to drive slow most of the time, and it's hard to just get the car in boost in 3-5 gear, let alone it's limits..coming out of 3rd-4th today at ii.4 boost i was 80-85mph before i knew it...then slow down to 60 in 50mph highway and granny the car again so i do not get pulled over...

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by IZAGLO

Dude, you put amazing tires on that car and very very good coilovers...no surprise your 1 came alive on the track...But for DD street driving where you have very few chances of stomping on this car, for the most part here in NJ,Pa you have to drive slow most of the time, and it's hard to just get the car in boost in 3-5 gear, let alone it's limits..coming out of 3rd-4th today at ii.4 boost i was 80-85mph before i knew it...then slow down to 60 in 50mph highway and granny the car again so i do not get pulled over...

I see where you are coming from mate. One of the advantages of living in Brisbane is that it is the largest city in area size in the southern hemisphere so there is plenty of room to put your foot down on a daily basis. Having said that, the OP made the comments in regard to his 135i's performance at the track.

[fboutlaw]

Glad to hear of someone who appreciates the 1 in stock form. However when you burn through your RFT, upgrade and you'll be amazed how much you're missing. Also, if sounds like you have a way to go to get to the limit. Take it to 1 autox and you'll see what people are talking about.

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by fboutlaw

Glad to hear of someone who appreciates the 1 in stock form. However when you burn through your RFT, upgrade and you'll be amazed how much you're missing. Also, if sounds like you have a way to go to get to the limit. Take it to 1 autox and you'll see what people are talking about.

I do take it to autox, but I assume you're talking to the OP.

Personally, I'm planning to swap to Dunlop Star Specs soon, I know I could be faster if the tires were better... but for a street car in stock form with run flat tires, the 135 is great.

[BMW86]

I changed out of my RFT's after about 9 months of use and I upgraded to KW V2's after about about 16 months so it's been a gradual progression. I haven't even touched the engine yet! MarkR171, I've only heard good things about the Dunlop Star Specs.

[MarkR171]

Yea, everyone on this forum and people I've spoken to locally have recommended the Star Specs. Not a bad price for them either.

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

Yea, everyone on this forum and people I've spoken to locally have recommended the Star Specs. Not a bad price for them either.

They seem like a very economical and practical tyre for everyday street/track use. I'd also recommend the Yokohoma S-drive which I am currently using on my 3 series.

[mineo77]

I didnt find the bone stock 135i very impressive in spirited driving, and like BMW86 I was willing to compromise with due to the potential the car has. I put on KW V2's, front sway and the car came alive. I am still running stock RFT's which suck, but will be getting the Bridgestone RE-11 soon.

Dunlops are great too...just run really wide so there have been lots of fitment issues. Talk to Gill @ tirerack and he will let you know what size in the dunlops to order

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by fboutlaw

Glad to hear of someone who appreciates the 1 in stock form. However when you burn through your RFT, upgrade and you'll be amazed how much you're missing. Also, if sounds like you have a way to go to get to the limit. Take it to 1 autox and you'll see what people are talking about.

Yup. I hear you. I'm lusting after a set of RE-11's. If I'm seriously hooked on taking it for track runs, I'll buy proper track tires like the pzero corsas or the advans. There was a little TT (1.8T, no less) that was passing many carrera 4s in corners like they were standing still. The difference is he swapped out streets for track tires before the run, and swapped back to drive home.

I'm not saying there aren't limits to the car... all I'm saying is that those limits were farther out than I expected.

Clearly I drive like a granny compared to most of you!

[SlicktopTTZ]

I run Yokohama AD08s, JB3 and DCI, everything else stock. Two weekends ago at autocross I was only 1.5 seconds behind a C5 Corvette Z06 who set top time of the day on Hoosier A6 racing slicks. (Designed only for AutoX) Ambient temp was 98-101F.

I was shocked by the 1er's performance, but the car needs more negative camber in the front, you have to "un-turn" a bit so your tires don't scrub, and the 180 hairpins were unbearably slow, just pushing and waiting. Also, the body roll really hurts when you make a fast side-to-side transition, such as the slalom or chicane areas.

I think with camber plates on the front, and a matched set of sways designed for nuetral to slight oversteer mid-corner, I would beat the Vette on street tires, which in my eyes is amazing, considering my hp output, weight, ride quality and lack of LSD.

I was 3+ seconds ahead of two e46 m3's, one manual, one SMG. I also beat a 370z, modified Evo VIII, C6 Z06, E36 supercharged M3, 2 s2000's, a Mustang GT and some various other cars that I can't remember.

This is one hell of a car, in a sleeper looking package.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by mineo77

I didnt find the bone stock 135i very impressive in spirited driving, and like BMW86 I was willing to compromise with due to the potential the car has. I put on KW V2's, front sway and the car came alive. I am still running stock RFT's which suck, but will be getting the Bridgestone RE-11 soon.

Dunlops are great too...just run really wide so there have been lots of fitment issues. Talk to Gill @ tirerack and he will let you know what size in the dunlops to order

We're making the same point. Underneath the compromises BMW made to make sure the masses could get in the car and feel like they're experiencing a BMW, there is an incredible platform.

On the track, there was a wide margin of power and performance waiting to be unlocked. I can see where tires and suspension upgrades would be necessary to fully unlock this car, but getting from say, experiencing 15% of the car's potential on the street to even 50% of its potential on the track was eye opening. Understanding there was another 50% on top waiting to get unlocked is icing on the cake.

[Groundpilot]

135 i is a great street car for the money. But if you are serious about tracking this car, than it needs suspension mods. After i changed almost all susp. parts that includes KW3 coils., vorshlag c.plates, rear subframe bushings, i feel like i am driving a different car. Its a beast. With stock engine i was passing everybody in the intermidiate group. ps2 tires let me down at the end of the track day but my next mod. is to step up to r comp tires and move to advanced group. Will be interesting to see how this car will do against better drivers.

[jeremydgreat]

Originally Posted by BMW86

I agree that you can modify your driving behaviour to adapt to the car but what else can you do? You don't really have a choice. I got used to driving the 135i which had plenty of understeer, huge amounts of body roll and an uncomfortable floaty sensation at higher speeds.

Then I upgraded tyres and coilovers and the car was a whole new beast. The changes were day and night, as much as the car holds it's own in stock form, now it really shines on the track and for everyday driving on the street.

I think everyone is a bit harsh on the 135i in stock form because they expected a bit too much. It's not designed to be an all out sports car and the soft suspension and the preference for RFT's are built for the masses. It's people who bought this car for the engine and drive it hard who pick out the flaws. All I can say is, when you do upgrade these flaws you will notice a huge difference as our 135i's are far from track cars in stock form and have huge amounts of potential.

I was going to write some thoughts about my own experience with my 135i, but I really can't say it better than that. Took the words right out of my mouth.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by jeremydgreat

I was going to write some thoughts about my own experience with my 135i, but I really can't say it better than that. Took the words right out of my mouth.

Agreed!

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by jeremydgreat

I was going to write some thoughts about my own experience with my 135i, but I really can't say it better than that. Took the words right out of my mouth.

Originally Posted by Ronin

Agreed!

Thanks guys

[LA-Bimmer]

Originally Posted by mineo77

Dunlops are great too...just run really wide so there have been lots of fitment issues. Talk to Gill @ tirerack and he will let you know what size in the dunlops to order

I run Star Spec 225/40 and 255/35 on the stock 261 wheels with no issues both on stock suspension and now on KW V3s lowered a fair bit. I have a set of APEX wheels with 255 fronts and 275 rears that work great as well. With these fronts I have to dial in -2.25 degrees on the fronts with the Vorshlag plates to avoid any rubbing, but need the extra camber for the track anyway. I've got a set of Hoosier R6s, but after the first track event with the wider Star Specs I really have no desire to swap. I'll just throw the wheels on, drive 4-5 hours to the track, run 2 full days, and drive home without a thought or need to change wheels. Crazy grip and work great in the wet as well. I've run the Star Specs on every car I've tracked in the last couple years and love them.

Sorry for the off topic post....to the OP...glad you enjoyed it. It just gets better from here.