My 2012 128i is here... And some observations

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by tritonx

Very nice car. I too came from an E36 and the 1er was the only viable complement to my garage.

Ah, I can see that under your avatar... I had a 1994 318is as well.

About the clutch pedal, would deleting the CDV help with that problem ? I haven't done that mod yet...

Hmm, I don't think it has to do with the CDV... I think I just need to get acclimated with the clutch.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by AW128i

Two turns to the left to unlock both doors. Or, you can change the option in the BC to include both doors when unlocking. This setting affects the keyless entry behavior as well.

Checked again with the same result: the key only locks and unlocks the driver's door... That action appears to be totally localized to the driver's door, with no interaction with the rest of the car's systems.

More observations:

- Getting into the car this morning, I hear this whirring... Haven't plugged in the fob or anything, I'm just sitting there... It's the CD player. I eject my Eric Clapton CD and the whirring goes away... For a moment. Then it starts up again.

- Likewise, I hear this really low-level hiss from my speakers as if they're on... I don't think they're picking up noise from like a bad ground or something. It just sounds like hiss from an amplifier when there's no input source.

EDIT: Looks like the above are built-in to the car's system: The whirring of the CD player and the hiss of the speakers appear to be part of what BMW calls "Radio Readiness"... I noticed that these noises are in sync with the START/STOP button's background lighting: when it goes off, the whirring and hissing goes away.

Whew.

I've got a lot to learn about these newfangled cars.

[JimD]

Congratulations! I love my AW vert. Clutch engagement is really high. I only notice it when stopped on a hill if I play with the clutch enough that the hill hold goes away. Normally I just move the clutch smoothly through it's travel while shifting and get really smooth shifts.

I debadged my 128i because it was one of the few pieces of chrome on my car and I thought it looked out of place. I put a black license plate frame and have the shadowline trim you have (which holds up well, seems to be anodizing). I put on matte black front grills. I thought about putting a black "128i" on the back but decided I like it debadged.

Another nice little thing was to take the silly lawyer warning off the sun visors. A bit of "goo gone" and a little time and that nonsense was out of my car. I also added the drink holder you get with the iDrive. That was a little more involved but easier than I expected it to be.

Have fun. Mine is very nearly stock too and likely to stay that way but who knows, I may decide to put headers and an exhaust on it.

Jim

[bmw1racer]

^ Thanks, Jim.

I have the opposite feeling about debadging: I don't do it. I see it akin to neutering.

[Fox128i]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

^ Thanks, Jim.

I have the opposite feeling about debadging: I don't do it. I see it akin to neutering.

LOL...

I can see the appeal of debadging and it does offer a cleaner look. It just isn't for me. It's all good though, do what makes you happy.

[bmw1racer]

Any idea what those slotted holes are next to the fog lights?



Too small for machine gun ports.

[Barry45RPM]

Originally Posted by x97Melbourne

I am just curious, why do some de-badge? What is the appeal?

Originally Posted by the1andonly

Really cleans up the back of the car...

...But rarely do you see 135's debadged.

[Greenkirby21]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Any idea what those slotted holes are next to the fog lights?



Too small for machine gun ports.

It's BMW air curtain technology

From their website

"To optimise aerodynamics, the Air Curtain channels the airstream on the front apron and front wheels. This reduces drag and hence fuel consumption, too.
This new technology from BMW EfficientDynamics exploits the laws of aerodynamics to achieve greater efficiency. Two vertical inlets on the front apron guide the airstream along the front wheel housings. The accelerated airstream forms a “curtain� and reduces the braking effect of turbulence. At the same time, the fresh air provides optimum cooling for the engine and additional components such as radiator and intercooler."

[the1andonly]

Originally Posted by Barry45RPM

...But rarely do you see 135's debadged.

why not? people debadge more expensive 328/335/528/535 ect all the time...Id say less than 10% of people know the difference between a 128 and 135 anyway, so leaving it on or off doesn't matter beyond cosmetic reasons

[2012_135i]

VEry nice. I got the same color combo on my 135i. So classy. I really like your fog lights too. That's the one thing I miss. Enjoy your ride.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Greenkirby21

It's BMW air curtain technology

Oops, I meant the little hole next to the fog light, not the air curtain slot.

[Greenkirby21]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Oops, I meant the little hole next to the fog light, not the air curtain slot.

OOOOOOO lol. my bad. no idea. didn't even see it till now!

edit: still could be part of the air curtain. What happens when you look through the hole?

[Barry45RPM]

Originally Posted by the1andonly

why not? people debadge more expensive 328/335/528/535 ect all the time...Id say less than 10% of people know the difference between a 128 and 135 anyway, so leaving it on or off doesn't matter beyond cosmetic reasons

Generally people debadge lesser equiped or lesser powered variants of a model, not the grander variants... remember, this statement is a generalization... and ALL generalizations suck.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by Barry45RPM

Generally people debadge lesser equiped or lesser powered variants of a model, not the grander variants... remember, this statement is a generalization... and ALL generalizations suck.

LOTS of debadged 135i's around here.

It's about the cleaner look, not trying to fool anyone. Anyone who knows the difference between a 128i and 135i can tell them apart regardless of the badges. And those who can't tell them apart don't appreciate the differences, so what's the point in trying to fool them?

[ptack]

I bet the small holes are for a screw driver - foglight adjustment?

[the1andonly]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

LOTS of debadged 135i's around here.

It's about the cleaner look, not trying to fool anyone. Anyone who knows the difference between a 128i and 135i can tell them apart regardless of the badges. And those who can't tell them apart don't appreciate the differences, so what's the point in trying to fool them?

what he said...

[bmw1racer]

Another observation:

- The location of the window controls has thrown me for a loop at the moment: My E36 had the controls on either side of the console where the shifter is and now they're next to the door handle... Out of habit, I keep grabbing at the console for the controls only to find nothing there...


Just finished washing and waxing the car for the first time... What an incredible feeling of joy and satisfaction when you run your fingers across that wonderfully clean and smooth waxed surface... Awesome.


Waxing the car did provide several challenges:

- You have to have a light touch with the wax applicator around the areas where the roof rack covers are, else you'll gunk them up with wax and need to pull out the detailing brush to clean them up.
- Waxing a white car is a little difficult since it's harder to see where you've waxed: I needed to tilt and bob my head to see how evenly I've applied the wax... I suppose if I used Zymol, which is blue in color, maybe it'd be less of an issue.
- I realized that the E82 is taller than my E36: I had to stretch a little more than previous to wax the roof of the car...

[sandman98]

congrats, and love the color! the white was my second choice, but went with lemans blue instead (partly for the reason you mentioned about waxing--my last car was white).

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by sandman98

congrats, and love the color! the white was my second choice, but went with lemans blue instead (partly for the reason you mentioned about waxing--my last car was white).

Thanks!

I did have a Alpine White E30 a while back, but I totally forgot about the waxing problem...

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Another observation:

- The location of the window controls has thrown me for a loop at the moment: My E36 had the controls on either side of the console where the shifter is and now they're next to the door handle... Out of habit, I keep grabbing at the console for the controls only to find nothing there...

Agreed - I miss the console mounted ones on my E46. But it's better than the E90 where the switches are about 8" further forward than the 1, so one is often opening & closing rear windows by misteak.

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

- Waxing a white car is a little difficult since it's harder to see where you've waxed: I needed to tilt and bob my head to see how evenly I've applied the wax... I suppose if I used Zymol, which is blue in color, maybe it'd be less of an issue.

Zymol Carbon and Creame have worked very well for me on my last 4 Bimmers. Easy to apply, lasts a decent amount of time and smells great.

Tom

[TheSt|G]

Looking good. Looks like you got the 128i for the exact same reason I did, you wanted a modern E36 M3.

I miss the centered controls as well, but it's a small price to pay to get a new car. I know you don't really want to mod, but I would definitely do the CDV delete and debadge. THe CDV delete transforms the 6MT into perfection.

And since you got it new, don't forget to change all the fluids at 1200 miles. BMW might not tell you to anymore, but that is for money saving, not for car longevity. Do it.

[ejm3]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

And since you got it new, don't forget to change all the fluids at 1200 miles. BMW might not tell you to anymore, but that is for money saving, not for car longevity. Do it.

Other than oil, what else do you change at 1200 miles?