Mooner's 135i Build Thread (Not Exciting)

[mooner]

Hi All,

After floating around for a few months and gradually becoming more active I thought I might put together a little thread on my 135i, something that I can update along the way during my slow modification process.

The Acquisition: It all started back in 2015 when I finally got bored of slow golfs and decided I wanted a relatively new, nice to drive, rear wheel drive car. There isn't too many vehicles out there that fit this niche... I ended up purchasing a 2012 Toyota 86 GTS.

Not sure how many members on the forums have driven one, great fun, but after a few months I couldn't stand its lack of power... not to mention the label that comes with driving one, my car friends wouldn't let up

I ended up selling it to a dealership for near what I paid and only being out of pocket a few hundred for the 9 months I'd owned it, someone was clearly looking out for me there!

I've always been a big car nut, thanks to my father... and I've always been more taken by European cars, so after a little research I realised that a 135/335 wouldn't be too far out of my budget and so the hunt began...

I knew it had to be manual, ideally sapphire black with the M-Sport pack. So my search window was narrow. As some of you may very well know, when you know exactly what you're after searching on car sales and gumtree becomes something you do every 30 seconds... One day a 2008 Manual Sapphire Black 135i with all the M-Sport goodies and only 62k on the clock popped up at a dealership where a very close family friend worked! Needless to say I was immediately on the phone to tell him I'd be down to have a look that weekend!

A few hours later I receive a call from my friend who advised me that a deposit that been taken and the car was no longer available and so my search began again...

Several months went by and I had viewed a few different examples but nothing quite ticked as many boxes as that first 135i... however one Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my friend asking if I was still interested in the 135i from a few months back I was a little cautious at first, assuming he was just having me on, knowing full well I wanted it, it turns out that the original purchaser had flaked after paying to have the wheels resprayed and the grilles blacked! I went to the dealership the next day and bought it immediately after a test drive, my god the torque was addictive

Modification, Maintenance and Ownership: After a few months passed I had the car serviced and the replaced the rotors with DBC slotted discs, the pads for EBC Redstuffs and the lines with a braided option from Goodridge Motorsports. Shortly after that tyres were purchased, I had heard great things about AD08r's so I decided to give them a go. Whilst on their way I installed Eibach springs as I always felt the car sat a little high for my liking. Nothing else significant occurred from then on until a few weeks ago when I flashed the car to stage 1 with MHD, it was like a whole new world! The power now is amazing, can't imagine what it’s like being FBO!

Currently as far as mods go I have purchased a RTD Shifter as part of a group buy on the N5x owner’s page on Facebook, along with the shifter I also ordered UUC black transmission mounts. I have always wanted a tower shifter and the price on the group buy made it worthwhile, I'm not sure if I'll install it straight away as it feels a little over kill but I probably wont be able to resist once its arrives...

On the maintenance side of things she'll be due for a service in a few thousand, currently looking into walnut blasting too.

As for the plan from here on I will sort the service first and walnut blast, after that I'll have a look at getting an intercooler and probably charge pipe and hopefully stage 1+. Maybe pick up a few things along the way depending on what pops up on here and gumtree etc

TLDR for those who can't be bothered reading (I don't blame you); Billy buys slow car, Billy sells slow car, Billy buys faster car, Billy modifies car at a pace which is boring.

Should anyone need any help with MHD or coding feel free to let me know, I've fiddled with it a few times now and have all the equipment

I will try to get some pictures up shortly of the car.

Thanks for your time!

[walkie86]

Mate, thanks for posting. Nice story and interested in this RTD shifter.

But...






Where are the pics?!

[Simonnn]

Nice little write up! take your time getting to FBO, I did it very slowly and enjoyed the small difference that every small mod made to the car. You'd be surprised at the difference from stage 1 to FBO running Stage 2+

[mooner]

Originally Posted by walkie86

Mate, thanks for posting. Nice story and interested in this RTD shifter.

But...






Where are the pics?!

No worries, I'm actually really excited for the shifter! I have always wanted a shifter in this style (ie the tall, fixed, short throw, almost bolt action) plus anything that increases driver car connection and makes the experience more involving is a massive plus in my eyes

I shall try tackle the pictures tonight!

[mooner]

Originally Posted by Simonnn

Nice little write up! take your time getting to FBO, I did it very slowly and enjoyed the small difference that every small mod made to the car. You'd be surprised at the difference from stage 1 to FBO running Stage 2+

Thanks! That's the plan, I have always had the mentality to take it one mod at a time and really appreciate the difference each modification makes, plus its stops me from getting bored quicker aha

I am really enjoying stage 1 right now, I will definitely need to get comfortable with it first before I jump into any more power mods. I like spending time getting used to the car, makes it all the more fun to me

[OzJustin]

Thanks for posting your story. Was a good read. Definately enjoy the car as it slowly progresses. That's half the fun!