BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      12-23-2010, 11:18 AM   #133
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Well, after a several step process and being without the car for almost two days, I got the wheels re-done. I went black this time, as the gunmetal color only looked good when darkened by brake dust (so I thought). The only darker color was black though.

Crappy cell phone photo from the parking garage



Also, despite the beefy and loud Hotchkis sway bar, taking an off-ramp at high speeds today I noticed it rubbing for the first time (further shown by the line in my tire where it was making contact)
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-23-2010, 07:03 PM   #134
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Holiday success story

Managed to order the alcantara steering wheel cover, shown here:



Ordered from my local dealer today.

Price, with tax and holiday savings was $21.37

List price is $81.32
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-24-2010, 01:14 PM   #135
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Based off yesterdays off ramp rubbing, and knowing the hotchkis should have mitigated the body roll, i decided to check the sway bar this morning. Sure enough, the four end link nuts had backed themselves off the bolts; end link was easily movable by hand with the car on the ground. Surprisingly, there has been little to no noise recently, which should have been the opposite. When the endlinks are tight, noises a plenty; but when theyre only loosely attached, theyre quiet. I must live in topsy turvy land.
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-25-2010, 04:54 PM   #136
MPFit
Second Lieutenant
MPFit's Avatar
4
Rep
251
Posts

Drives: 2012 BMW 135i CSM
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Gulf Coast, FL

iTrader: (1)

Great looking car.
I'm getting mine in same color.
Black looks better than gunmetal imho.. WAY better!
Appreciate 0
      12-27-2010, 12:51 PM   #137
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Managed to get the car back in the air and tighten up the endlink nuts today. There's no way to get them tight enough using the lame-ass allen ended bolt system they gave me, but luckily I was able to get a crescent wrench on the back of the bolt to get some real torque on it.

So far, no noises
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-27-2010, 01:04 PM   #138
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Also, got the iCarbon spoiler installed finally.

Honestly, somewhat disappointed with the quality of it. After laboriously prepping and painting it and the diffuser, when I installed in, many surface imperfections showed up. Leading to many light-distortion regions on the surface.

I know it's only fiberglass, but still.

Here's a bit plateau right in the middle of it:



Which you can see as the warp in the middle in this photo:



Which wasn't there during prep/painting:



__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-27-2010, 04:14 PM   #139
Nfuego
New Member
United_States
0
Rep
19
Posts

Drives: 2008 - BMW M3 Convertible
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Springfield, Illinois

iTrader: (0)

Thank You

I just wanted to thank you for your post. What a fantastic read.

I currently have an 08 Z4. Thinking of getting a new or slightly used 135 next. I'm sure I'll be going through this thread again when I get it.
Appreciate 0
      12-29-2010, 08:37 PM   #140
iCARBON DESIGN
Lieutenant
iCARBON DESIGN's Avatar
61
Rep
400
Posts

Drives: 135i
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: South Florida

iTrader: (0)

Mitch,

Hard to input too much on the situation. We do what we can to prep the FRP as best as we can before shipping, in contrast to most companies which give you a purely fiberglass piece that has NO prep on it whatsoever, or very poor prep at the best. FRP pieces require quite a bit of prep before shooting it with paint, and we’d be more than happy to prep it for you, but I know you prefer to do all the prep and paint yourself.

Honestly, we’ll probably discontinue doing FRP because of situations like this – it leaves our customers with a sour taste in their mouths, which leaves us feeling the same, when in reality what we do and do better than anyone else is carbon fiber. Carbon Fiber is nice and smooth when painted, so we’ll just offer that in the future.

If at any point you want us to prep and paint, we can definitely do that for you - our offer still stands
Appreciate 0
      12-29-2010, 08:57 PM   #141
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by iCARBON DESIGN View Post
Mitch,

Hard to input too much on the situation. We do what we can to prep the FRP as best as we can before shipping, in contrast to most companies which give you a purely fiberglass piece that has NO prep on it whatsoever, or very poor prep at the best. FRP pieces require quite a bit of prep before shooting it with paint, and we’d be more than happy to prep it for you, but I know you prefer to do all the prep and paint yourself.

Honestly, we’ll probably discontinue doing FRP because of situations like this – it leaves our customers with a sour taste in their mouths, which leaves us feeling the same, when in reality what we do and do better than anyone else is carbon fiber. Carbon Fiber is nice and smooth when painted, so we’ll just offer that in the future.

If at any point you want us to prep and paint, we can definitely do that for you - our offer still stands
Thanks for the response.

Just for the record, I don't fault anything iCarbon did in terms of production, it's just sort of the nature of fiberglass pieces sometimes. Can't always tell how any inside structures may become visible on the outside when the piece is conformed during installation.

iCarbon is a great company to deal with, and for a less-than-carbon price for these pieces, I'd still recommend anyone contact them

In other news, I got the alcantara steering wheel cover tonight.

Here's a crappy out of the box photo:



Hope to get some daylight installed photos soon
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-30-2010, 08:22 PM   #142
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Endlinks clunky as hell already again

These fucking things are the worst at having the nuts back themselves off.
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-30-2010, 09:49 PM   #143
AussieRacer
Major
AussieRacer's Avatar
Australia
24
Rep
1,058
Posts

Drives: 2008 135i
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Aust

iTrader: (0)

Something's wrong if that happens. Put some threadlocker on.
__________________
Current: 135i Auto, Le Mans Blue - w/ Bridgestone RE-11 rears, GP Thunder 7500k angels, & "golf tee" mod plus a few M3 suspension bits and pieces...
Appreciate 0
      12-30-2010, 09:52 PM   #144
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieRacer View Post
Something's wrong if that happens. Put some threadlocker on.
Something's wrong alright. Bought a fresh tube of blue threadlocker last time I tightened them up
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-30-2010, 11:39 PM   #145
AussieRacer
Major
AussieRacer's Avatar
Australia
24
Rep
1,058
Posts

Drives: 2008 135i
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Aust

iTrader: (0)

Try the stonger red stuff. If using the OEM links, maybe trying doing a little over the tightening torque, and check your torque wrench too. Otherwise the nut might have stripped to. Nuts are almost always made of a softer material than the stud to the nut strips first as it can easily be replaced.
__________________
Current: 135i Auto, Le Mans Blue - w/ Bridgestone RE-11 rears, GP Thunder 7500k angels, & "golf tee" mod plus a few M3 suspension bits and pieces...
Appreciate 0
      12-31-2010, 01:38 PM   #146
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieRacer View Post
Try the stonger red stuff. If using the OEM links, maybe trying doing a little over the tightening torque, and check your torque wrench too. Otherwise the nut might have stripped to. Nuts are almost always made of a softer material than the stud to the nut strips first as it can easily be replaced.
Yeah, busted out the red threadlocker today, we'll see if the clunking dare show it's ugly head again.
__________________


Appreciate 0
      12-31-2010, 06:51 PM   #147
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
After the end link tightening, and following a weeks worth of rain, the 135i got a much needed wash and wax today. Took a few photos from the Happy Cow Carwash (awesome name ).







__________________


Appreciate 0
      01-04-2011, 02:39 PM   #148
The1
Major General
Canada
76
Rep
5,114
Posts

Drives: white 135
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: KW ontario/vancouver temporarily

iTrader: (0)

are you happy with the alcantara steering cover?
Appreciate 0
      01-04-2011, 03:01 PM   #149
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by The1 View Post
are you happy with the alcantara steering cover?
It's a good and cheap alternative to getting some more tactile alcantara to match the shifter. Doesn't look as good as the performance steering wheel, but at 10% of the cost it's still a good alternative.
__________________


Appreciate 0
      01-05-2011, 11:19 AM   #150
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
3-day report: red threadlocker also ineffective at keeping endlinks happy. Passenger side lower end loose again

Called Hotchkis to ask for advice on what to do about the like-clockwork 3 day loosening of the endlink nuts. They told me I should buy new locknuts until the new endlinks become available; which is scheduled for March new, instead of February.
__________________



Last edited by Mr. Clarkson; 01-05-2011 at 12:40 PM..
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2011, 10:55 PM   #151
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Well, that's it. I'm done with aftermarket front sway bars for my car; going back to stock.

Going over a speedbump tonight I heard what sounded like a gunshot from my front end. Upon stopping, I checked the endlinks (as usual), and the bar just moves around under the car. It either broke in half from the tension of one side being compressed at a time over the bump, or (despite having grease and teflon tape) transferred it's force through the poly bushings and sheared off the chassis mounting bolts.

Taking it in tomorrow to tear it apart, inspect, and (fingers crossed the mounts are fine) mount the stock bar back up.

__________________


Appreciate 0
      01-06-2011, 11:36 PM   #152
HondaGoneRogue
They like my Swag...
HondaGoneRogue's Avatar
431
Rep
3,762
Posts

Drives: 15 GSM 435i GC
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Dakota

iTrader: (4)

Garage List
Wonderful thread. Very enjoying read. Sorry to hear about the hiccups, one must expect them though. With every new car I tell myself that if I just spend the money everything will work the way it's supposed to. Sadly, the credit card machine is usually the only thing that is 100% mission capable. Looking forward to your future (hopefully brighter) posts.
__________________

2015 435i Gran Coupe - Current
2008 AW 135i - Sold
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2011, 11:47 PM   #153
Mr. Clarkson
Lieutenant
Mr. Clarkson's Avatar
41
Rep
541
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Diego

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2011 135i  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by HondaGoneRogue View Post
Wonderful thread. Very enjoying read. Sorry to hear about the hiccups, one must expect them though. With every new car I tell myself that if I just spend the money everything will work the way it's supposed to. Sadly, the credit card machine is usually the only thing that is 100% mission capable. Looking forward to your future (hopefully brighter) posts.
Thanks. After UUC and now Hotchkis, I think it's going to go back to stock unless I want to try H&R...

Something must be different for 2011+ (N55) 135i's, as all these bars (which came out for N54 135's) are failing on me.
__________________


Appreciate 0
      01-06-2011, 11:55 PM   #154
HondaGoneRogue
They like my Swag...
HondaGoneRogue's Avatar
431
Rep
3,762
Posts

Drives: 15 GSM 435i GC
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Dakota

iTrader: (4)

Garage List
Have you bumped the part #'s on the online catalogs?
__________________

2015 435i Gran Coupe - Current
2008 AW 135i - Sold
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:15 AM.




1addicts
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST