My BMW 128i Project

[livewire85]

I am almost wrapped up with my BMW 128i (for a while anyway...). Below are some pics and a summary of my mods so far.

Exterior Mods:
**********s Matte Black Grilles, German Front License Plate, De-Badged, 5% on rear 3 windows/30% front windows, Smoked tail lights, Seibon BM Carbon Fiber Hood, Depo V1 Headlights, BMW Carbon Fiber Roundels (not yet installed)

Wheels/Tires:
MSR 18x8 wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport Tires

Suspension:
Eibach Pro-Kit Plus

Engine/Drivetrain Modifications:
Muffler Delete with 2.5" pipe from cat-back and black tips, Injen Short Ram Intake, AA tune, **********s CDV Valve, BMW SSK

[631twentyeighteye]

Looks good! Add the disa manifold to your list, then throw in a drop and i'd say its perfect.

[Dafttt]

Originally Posted by 631twentyeighteye

Looks good! Add the disa manifold to your list, then throw in a drop and i'd say its perfect.

x2

Cool project, throw some smoked side markers on to finish her off.

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by 631twentyeighteye

Looks good! Add the disa manifold to your list, then throw in a drop and i'd say its perfect.

I have he n51 so I have the disa. My eibach pro kit plus should be installed in a week or so to take care of the drop. I will definitely check out some smoked side markers.

[Dafttt]

Originally Posted by livewire85

I have he n51 so I have the disa. My eibach pro kit plus should be installed in a week or so to take care of the drop. I will definitely check out some smoked side markers.

Ah, N51. Replace "manifold" with "SS headers", lol.
Mod*bargains has some decent smoked LED ones for about fifty bucks. They would wrap up the black & red scheme nicely. But just my $.02

[livewire85]

I definitely would live to do super sprint headers but unfortunately I live in CA so I don't think I could get around emissions with them installed. I will check out those smoked side markers. I was going for red and black theme so I agree it would be a nice finishing touch.

[cmcdonald]

Car looks awesome! I really do love those hoods. Does it use the stock latch and shocks, or do you have to use some kind of prop rod to hold it up? How did you smoke your tails? Was it a spray or a film? The whole thing works together really well though. Will look amazing once you get your springs installed. Good job!

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by cmcdonald

Car looks awesome! I really do love those hoods. Does it use the stock latch and shocks, or do you have to use some kind of prop rod to hold it up? How did you smoke your tails? Was it a spray or a film? The whole thing works together really well though. Will look amazing once you get your springs installed. Good job!

Thank you. It has been a lot of work and $ but I'm happy with it. It uses all the factory latches and bolts and the fitment is really nice. Seibon products are excellent so this will be the case with all of their products. Only issue was the holes for the windshield wiper fluid were a bit small so I had to file them a bit to get them to fit. Not too bad tho. Saves 30+ lbs over stock hood and the vents should help keep underhood temps down. You can get the hood on eBay with taxes and shipping for about 800-900.

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by cmcdonald

Car looks awesome! I really do love those hoods. Does it use the stock latch and shocks, or do you have to use some kind of prop rod to hold it up? How did you smoke your tails? Was it a spray or a film? The whole thing works together really well though. Will look amazing once you get your springs installed. Good job!

Oh and the tail lights use film. I had spray for a while but I didn't like the way it looked. Local tint shop did them for $125.

[Kgolf31]

Nice car! Looks mean.

How do you like the AA Tune w/your N51?

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Nice car! Looks mean.

How do you like the AA Tune w/your N51?

I really like it. It's definitely a noticeable gain, especially if you have other mods. It really smoothes out the power delivery. There used to be a dead spot right around 3500 that is totally gone now. Breaks the tires loose with ease now too, even with the wider stickier tires I installed. The intake and exhaust sound is also more aggressive. The handheld programmer stores multiple tunes so you can also flash back to stock for servicing which is nice. AA currently only tuner with a n51 specific tune. I highly recommend it. I'm hoping to get a dyno run in pretty soon to document gains.

[mechavore884]

Sir that red looks BEAUTIFUL!!!

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by mechavore884

Sir that red looks BEAUTIFUL!!!

Thank you!

[Chandon]

such beauty, wow
gl with your build

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by livewire85

I really like it. It's definitely a noticeable gain, especially if you have other mods. It really smoothes out the power delivery. There used to be a dead spot right around 3500 that is totally gone now. Breaks the tires loose with ease now too, even with the wider stickier tires I installed. The intake and exhaust sound is also more aggressive. The handheld programmer stores multiple tunes so you can also flash back to stock for servicing which is nice. AA currently only tuner with a n51 specific tune. I highly recommend it. I'm hoping to get a dyno run in pretty soon to document gains.

+1 for the AA tune

[Stupenal]

.

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by Stupenal

Never understood the german plate thing. I ran my german zoll plates from my european delivery on my z4 for awhile once the car was redelivered to me in the US, but those plates were actually came on the car when I took delivery in Munich, then the car and plates were driven by me some 1000 miles in europe. It was a reminder of the adventure and journey, and also a signal to other folks who did ED and recognized the zoll plates.

To put a random german plate on your car for a car that wasn't driven in Germany doesn't make sense to me. To each their own.

Yeah we all have our own taste. I did my build to make me happy, not to impress others.

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by viciousgook

such beauty, wow
gl with your build

Thanks! Appreciate it. I will post some pic updates once short shifter and suspension are installed.

[livewire85]

Installing my short shifter and modified CDV valve after work today. My suspension finally came in last night so it will be installed next Tuesday. Will post additional pics when everything is in.

[MarkkyyMan]

You should do a before and after side shot of the car.

[livewire85]

Originally Posted by MarkkyyMan

You should do a before and after side shot of the car.

I definitely will post some before/after pics. It came with the sport package so it should be about a 3/4" - 1" drop with the eibach springs.

I got the short shifter and modified CDV valve installed. So much nicer to shift now. The CDV valve is a must for anyone. The stock clutch setup lags behind what you are doing and makes for clunky shifts with shifting even moderately quickly. With the modified valve, quick shifts are butter smooth. The short shifter has great feel, nice short throws (probably about 30%-40% shorter by my guess), and looks great as well. For less than $250 for both, I highly recommend.

[livewire85]

Installed the suspension. Handles great. Really reduced body roll, no more under steer, feels more composed, and looks really nice. Not too aggressive of a drop, and the ride quality is still very good.