Daily driver + Auto-X Q's.

[ModuLR]

First time poster and lurker... hopefully this is the right spot!

I recently picked up an '08 135i of which I'd like to make a few adjustments. My overall goal is to keep the car factory'ish, but still improve it's handling for daily driving and autox. I formerly autox'ed my ol' GTi pretty heavily then picked up a Miata years later at which point I eventual stopped autox'ing. The miata pretty much spent it's life commuting and occasionally running thru the canyons. The GTi had tons of upgrades, and I don't think there was one part that didn't get swapped out for something better, stiffer, you name it. Anyway, I'm long over that wrenching throughout my weekends phase, but I still want to dip back into autox. I'm not looking to go all out in an attempt to compete, but rather just enjoy a bit of racing.

My first priority is ditching the run flats, and running a square setup. However, I like the idea of the car remaining stock looking. I met a fella named Chris at the last Cal Club Autox in Fontana CA (maybe you're here on this forum?), and he ran 245's front and rear on factory M Sport wheels. He had picked up and extra set of rears and with a spacer put them up front on an otherwise stock sport suspension. What I don't recall is if he had M3 control arms installed as well. Seems he had no rubbing issues tho which is the goal.

So... is the alignment pin removal alone enough to squeeze 245's (type 264 18x8.5 rears) up front with no rubbing? on an otherwise stock sport suspension.

If I was forced to use camber plates, can I get a 255 up front with reasonable camber for daily driving and no rubbing? again on stock sport suspension... (probably asking too much, I know).

Are 235's an option all around? tho it seems the tire sizes are slightly off, meaning 235/40's which are a little larger diameter wise.

Seems like the tire sizes in general are awkward for the 135. I'd love a set of Direzzas on all four corners, but 255/35 is the closest to the proper diameter. 245/40 seems tall, no?


Anyways, it sounds like for these minor changes I'd get thrown in STU. Looks like you can go red pill or blue pill in this class... alignment pin removal + M control arms OR camber plates alone. I'm leaning away from camber plates only because it's the first step toward moving outside of factory parts. I'll likely add a M3 front sway bar along with the tire swap... and would consider the M rear bushings + quaife some time the future. Basically I want it factory but a tightened up + more grip.

Ok, let me stop babbling. Sorry if this is rambling on endlessly. Nice forum btw!

[Xaeryan]

Welcome! My suggestion: don't jump in too fast.
STU with the mods listed and you will be far outclassed. Yeah, it's still fun, but it's nice to be relatively competitive.
My suggestion is to start off with mods that keep you in stock class.
Get yourself wider/stickier tires and the M3 sway bar as you already mentioned. (watch the spacers, .25 inch is max allowable in stock) Find a shop that will let you spec your alignment so you can go aggresive on the front negative camber.
Experiment with tire pressures
Controversially, you can drill out the front alignment pins (to be elgible for stock, this needs to be listed in a factory manual as a normal adjustment procedure - to date, it is in a TSB for the 335i, but not the 135i even though it is an endorsed method (verbally) by BMW technicians.
With the alignment pins out, you can drive to the track on your normal alignment, then dial in more negative camber + toe out once at the track by shifting the shock tower a bit inward. Reverse for the drive home.
(Some other mods allowed are cat-back exhaust, replacement struts, better brake pads/fluid.)
Since these are all easy, relatively inexpensive, easily reversible, and keep the car looking stock (and make quite a difference), I suggest trying those out first. With a driver mod, you can be pretty competitive in D stock (although the Integra Type Rs still rule this class - weight is the biggest enemy of the 135).
If you are still itching for more, you can go STU, but be forewarned - once you get the bug again you're gonna keep going, and STU can be expensive. Plus you are up against Evos and STis which pretty much dominate this class.
Good luck!

[jb2178]

With my local SCCA D Stock competition being ruled by Cooper S's with R compounds and one E30 with a good driver and race rubber I can say the D Stock category isn't going to be easy in a 1 but 300 HP should give you an advantage over me... the only thing I've done is upsize my tires but I'm on 17s (staggered, 7inch wide fronts and 7.5 inch wide rears) that originally came wrapped in 205/50s and 225/45s to 225/45s and 235/45s with star specs. It's been great but I'm still lacking when compared to R compounds. Not sure what options you have with the 18 inch wheels but I would look for R compounds as my #1 mod.

[larryn]

GREAT advice here... One more thing though... You also may want to check out your local chapter of the BMW CCA, who usually class cars differently than the SCCA does. The LA Chapter of the BMW CCA is a little more lenient when classing cars.

[bluesunit]

ModuLR, I'm in the exact same boat. I picked up an '08 135i a few weeks back and am planning on campaigning it in D-stock.

I'm coming from an '06 Civic Si, which I ran for two years in STX and then another year as a DSP car on Hoosier R6s. With limited mods (basically a good alignment and some mild suspension work), the car was super quick on R-comps . . . I pulled a couple of FTD finishes out and was generally in the top few spots for the time I was on the R's (much to the chagrin of some very competitive drivers).

Eventually, I got to the point where modifications on the Civic for DSP were going to be too expensive/compromise driveablity and I would probably not be competitive I tried to do higher level events. I considered going back to G-stock . . . but the Civic is boring in stock trim.

First race for the bimmer is coming up this weeked. I'm staying bone stock for the first couple of races (except for the trailer hitch) to get a baseline. From there, I'll start looking at what modifications I can do.

I'm still not sure that the 1 can compete with the MINI's/ITRs in DS, but only trying will tell.

Anyway, for tl,dr; . . . I'd say, find a second set of rims in stock size and some R-comps (used R6's can be super cheap) and start there. Spend some time on street tires first, it'll help keep you from developing bad habits.

[ModuLR]

Thanks for the responses and advice so far. My focus is pretty much on grip and the thought that I'd rather not do things multiple times like in the past...lol. The run flats will be discarded eventually, so I'll have to replace all four corners. In order to run DS, I'd have to keep the 7.5" on the front, which means 225s all around to run square. That seemed like a bit of a waste, hence my questions. The M3 front sway is a definite in the near future, so I figured I might as well tend to any front suspensions adjustments at the time of install, thus camber plates or alignment pin + M control arms.

I just found this thread (larryn's)...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...light=235%2F40

which kinda put it all in perspective in terms of what can fit, and what sort of camber one would have to run in order to make it all fit. 255s square would be really nice.

Anyway, I don't really have much of a competitive personality. My old GTi ran Street Mod. It was never going to be competitive, but for a GTi it was insanely fun to auto-x. That's my primary goal, grippy fun but stock'ish.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by ModuLR

I just found this thread (larryn's)...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...light=235%2F40

Don't listen to that buffoon...

[bluesunit]

I will say the car is in need of some front grip stat.

I'll be maxing out the front camber and upsizing the front tires to 225s or 235s. Wider tires on a narrow rim will bulge which can be helpful on front camber challenged cars.

I'm going to reduce the rear camber to somewhere in the -1 degree range or less, hopefully that will provide more grip in straight line acceleration and promote rotation in the turns.

Running a 235 square setup on stock size rims might be a possibility.

I need to break out the pyrometer and see how things look before I start screwing around too much.

Also, for double street/autocross duty, if you run less than 2 degrees negative camber and 0 toe all around, you should have no issues with tire wear. I had -1.7 in the fronts, 0 in the rear on my Civic and they wore flat across the contact patch . . . and that was a heavy FWD car.

[ModuLR]

@larryn... lol!

@bluesunit - here's another link I stumbled on...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...are+235&page=2

235 on stock front 7.5" ... doesn't look to be ballooned too much. DS option for sure.

[cpt97m3]

Originally Posted by ModuLR

My first priority is ditching the run flats, and running a square setup. However, I like the idea of the car remaining stock looking. I met a fella named Chris at the last Cal Club Autox in Fontana CA (maybe you're here on this forum?), and he ran 245's front and rear on factory M Sport wheels. He had picked up and extra set of rears and with a spacer put them up front on an otherwise stock sport suspension. What I don't recall is if he had M3 control arms installed as well. Seems he had no rubbing issues tho which is the goal.

So... is the alignment pin removal alone enough to squeeze 245's (type 264 18x8.5 rears) up front with no rubbing? on an otherwise stock sport suspension.

If I was forced to use camber plates, can I get a 255 up front with reasonable camber for daily driving and no rubbing? again on stock sport suspension... (probably asking too much, I know).

That was me you were talking to in Fontana. 245/35-18 Kumho XS on all four corners. But this is really my daily driver. I normally autoX an E36 M3, so for the 135i, I don't worry about rules since I just use it to instruct at SCCA and BMWCCA events, and when the M3 is not available.

I do have M3 front control arms, and the pin is removed. It's still a tight squeeze. I'd be inclined just to get camber plates, and go with 255 Dunlops on all four corners next time. That should still be streetable if you run zero toe.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Chris

[bluesunit]

Had my first race yesterday with the 1.

Course was on concrete and was fairly fast and flowing . . . no real serious pinch points. I'm still on stock runflats. Only modifications are the trailer hitch and the free front camber from the pin removal. Stability off, of course.

First Impressions

The bad:

Needs grip, especially in the front. Very prone to understeer at the limit. Fairly certain that I was alternating between exceeding available traction in either the front or rear at all times.

The good:

Brakes are fantastic and will only get better with more grip. Car has plenty of power (duh). Car is easy to drive and has a general tendency to do what you ask of it, even if the tires can't fulfill the request. This can can definitely be fast in stock trim.

The Results:

Pulled a 54.9 on my first run (subsequent runs were slower . . . tires don't like heat).

Fastest time of the day for a "real" car was an Elise on A6s, which pulled a 50.2.

I'm very satisfied with the first performance. Can only get better from here.

[Little1er]

I did my first autox 19 hours after I bought my 1. I agree with everything you said about the handling. I am going to put on z1 tires when I need to change the runflats, but I have already done the swaybar and that seemed to improve turn-in and a bit of body roll without compromising the ride.

***Bought car used with 8000 miles, so break in was already done.

[ModuLR]

@cpt97m3 - Thanks for the info! it was definitely helpful... I'm now leaning towards just getting the camber plates and calling it a day. (tangent) You know a friend of mine, Ryosuke (Bill). He used to run a SM M3 as well... just spoke with him a few days ago.

@bluesunit - I'd pretty much agree based on my initial run as well. Just needs to control the roll a bit more, and lots more stick up front. Definitely lots more fun to be hand while remaining relatively stock.

[cpt97m3]

Originally Posted by ModuLR

@cpt97m3 - Thanks for the info! it was definitely helpful... I'm now leaning towards just getting the camber plates and calling it a day. (tangent) You know a friend of mine, Ryosuke (Bill). He used to run a SM M3 as well... just spoke with him a few days ago.

Yep, Bill and I have known each other for a while. You will like the camber plates. I'd add a front bar also, since it's easy and cheap, and you will be working on the same area.