New 128i Owner/Extremely Slow Build

OCDJ · 06-22-2016, 03:25 PM

Hey all, last Saturday I finally picked up a '11 SGM 128i in 6MT. (Sorry if I do anything stupid, as I am a novice forum user)

This purchase was a pretty big deal for me as my previous car was a loaner '12 Honda Civic in auto and my buddies drove/and still drives an e46 m3, e39 540i, and e36 325is all in manual; so I've been itching to drive manual. So far, I love driving and it's a ton of fun revving the 1er to 7k!

For others still deciding whether he/she should consider a 128 for their next car, DO IT! Bmw's naturally aspirated inline 6 and FR drivetrain makes the car a ton of fun to drive. Even though the car only has 230HP and 200 lb-ft of torque, it feels great. And the fact that the N52 motor can get up to ~300HP at the crank with an intake manifold, euro intake box, headers and a tune makes the car even more desirable!

I have a lot of things I want to do but being a 3rd year college student, I won't be able to dish a ton of money into the car. It'll stay stock for now and I will be spending most of my money making the car as reliable as possible (if need be).

Here are some pictures and I look forward to spending more time learning about the car and meeting other 1addicts!

TexSquirrel · 06-22-2016, 03:45 PM

Congrats!
Yeah, the 128i is no slouch in the performance department.
It will hold its own against most other cars on the road.

Mach1er · 06-22-2016, 11:37 PM

Lookin' good!

RedRanger · 06-22-2016, 11:40 PM

Bought it up in chi town area? Tried to get the last owner to sell me the hood haha. Nice buy.

ArmatageShanks · 06-23-2016, 06:46 AM

Awesome! My 2011 128i 6MT looked just like yours when I got it almost two years ago, except that I have all black interior instead of the wood trim. I'm a third year college student as well. This is where my 1er is at right now.

Vinyl wrapped the chrome window trim black
Tinted the windows
18" Beyern Spartan wheels
BMW Msport Suspension
BMW Performance Exhaust
BMW Performance Intake
BMW Black Kidney Grilles
BMW Performance Pedals

You'll love it my friend. It is tons of fun to drive...up next on my list, a 3.64 LSD!

OCDJ · 06-23-2016, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexSquirrel

Congrats!
Yeah, the 128i is no slouch in the performance department.
It will hold its own against most other cars on the road.

Thank you! I'm still getting used to the power (as this is my first car that has over 140HP

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mach1er

Lookin' good!

Thank you! I appreciate it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedRanger

Bought it up in chi town area? Tried to get the last owner to sell me the hood haha. Nice buy.

I'm actually trying to get rid of the hood and replace it with the stock hood. If you can find me a SGM hood, I'd be willing to sell the hood!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmatageShanks

Awesome! My 2011 128i 6MT looked just like yours when I got it almost two years ago, except that I have all black interior instead of the wood trim. I'm a third year college student as well. This is where my 1er is at right now.

Vinyl wrapped the chrome window trim black
Tinted the windows
18" Beyern Spartan wheels
BMW Msport Suspension
BMW Performance Exhaust
BMW Performance Intake
BMW Black Kidney Grilles
BMW Performance Pedals

You'll love it my friend. It is tons of fun to drive...up next on my list, a 3.64 LSD!

First off, great name! I'm not sure if it's a Green Day reference or not though.

My 128i has very similar plans as yours. I'm planning on respraying the interior trim gloss black and vinyl wrapping the chrome ASAP. Did you order the vinyl off shadowline? And if so, did you go with the matte or gloss finish (looks matte from the pictures)? I'm still on the fence.

I have a list of mods pulled up on my word doc but I'm realizing I need to save up a lot of money.. Slowly but surely, it'll happen haha. Also, that diff upgrade is gonna be sweet!

The car looks great, I'm sure the roads in California are a blast to drive. I want to road trip there with mine! Good luck at school!

ArmatageShanks · 06-23-2016, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCDJ

First off, great name! I'm not sure if it's a Green Day reference or not though.

My 128i has very similar plans as yours. I'm planning on respraying the interior trim gloss black and vinyl wrapping the chrome ASAP. Did you order the vinyl off shadowline? And if so, did you go with the matte or gloss finish (looks matte from the pictures)? I'm still on the fence.

I have a list of mods pulled up on my word doc but I'm realizing I need to save up a lot of money.. Slowly but surely, it'll happen haha. Also, that diff upgrade is gonna be sweet!

The car looks great, I'm sure the roads in California are a blast to drive. I want to road trip there with mine! Good luck at school!

It is a Green Day reference, haha! I didn't order the vinyl wrap, I went to a local shop and payed like $150 for them to do it. They had 4 different kinds of black. Matte, Gloss, an in-between of Matte and Gloss, and Carbon Fiber. I went with the in-between of matte and gloss - not too dull, not too shiny. And just slowly start chipping away at that word doc - I have one, too haha! The roads can be nice, when there's no traffic. Especially when I'm driving in LA. Take a roadtrip down here to SoCal and we could get a 1er meet going.

RedRanger · 06-23-2016, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCDJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexSquirrel

Congrats!
Yeah, the 128i is no slouch in the performance department.
It will hold its own against most other cars on the road.

Thank you! I'm still getting used to the power (as this is my first car that has over 140HP

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mach1er

Lookin' good!

Thank you! I appreciate it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedRanger

Bought it up in chi town area? Tried to get the last owner to sell me the hood haha. Nice buy.

I'm actually trying to get rid of the hood and replace it with the stock hood. If you can find me a SGM hood, I'd be willing to sell the hood!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmatageShanks

Awesome! My 2011 128i 6MT looked just like yours when I got it almost two years ago, except that I have all black interior instead of the wood trim. I'm a third year college student as well. This is where my 1er is at right now.

Vinyl wrapped the chrome window trim black
Tinted the windows
18" Beyern Spartan wheels
BMW Msport Suspension
BMW Performance Exhaust
BMW Performance Intake
BMW Black Kidney Grilles
BMW Performance Pedals

You'll love it my friend. It is tons of fun to drive...up next on my list, a 3.64 LSD!

First off, great name! I'm not sure if it's a Green Day reference or not though.

My 128i has very similar plans as yours. I'm planning on respraying the interior trim gloss black and vinyl wrapping the chrome ASAP. Did you order the vinyl off shadowline? And if so, did you go with the matte or gloss finish (looks matte from the pictures)? I'm still on the fence.

I have a list of mods pulled up on my word doc but I'm realizing I need to save up a lot of money.. Slowly but surely, it'll happen haha. Also, that diff upgrade is gonna be sweet!

The car looks great, I'm sure the roads in California are a blast to drive. I want to road trip there with mine! Good luck at school!

Pm'ed

VMRWheels · 06-23-2016, 02:18 PM

Congrats on the pickup!

OCDJ · 06-23-2016, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmatageShanks

It is a Green Day reference, haha! I didn't order the vinyl wrap, I went to a local shop and payed like $150 for them to do it. They had 4 different kinds of black. Matte, Gloss, an in-between of Matte and Gloss, and Carbon Fiber. I went with the in-between of matte and gloss - not too dull, not too shiny. And just slowly start chipping away at that word doc - I have one, too haha! The roads can be nice, when there's no traffic. Especially when I'm driving in LA. Take a roadtrip down here to SoCal and we could get a 1er meet going.

Gotcha, thanks for the input! Haha for sure, I'll let you know once I decide to roadtrip to SoCal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

Congrats on the pickup!

Thank you! Actually planning on picking up some VMR VB3's once I save up enough money.

OCDJ · 06-24-2016, 12:04 AM

Did my first mod today! My buddy was generous enough to give me his ZHP Shift knob.

Had to rip off the plastic part glued to the leather boot.

As you may or may not be able to tell, the stock shift boot didn't fit too well with the ZHP knob. I had to cut some extra leather off of the boot and use a zip-tie to keep the boot in place. The fitment isn't great but it works for now. I'll be getting a replacement boot soon.

Overall, I am very pleased. The ZHP knob has more weight to it so it feels better when shifting. Maybe I'm just crazy noticing such tiny things.

S/O to my friend for giving me the ZHP knob. I always enjoy hanging out over there because I get to see his e46 m3 and his dad's e92 m3. Had to do a little comparison of the SGM color between the e92 and the e82.

Check out his build thread here, you won't be disappointed! http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=533985

06-22-2016, 03:25 PM	#1
OCDJ OCD Cinema 2 Rep 10 Posts Drives: '11 SGM 128i Coupe 6MT Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Chicago iTrader: (0)	New 128i Owner/Extremely Slow Build Hey all, last Saturday I finally picked up a '11 SGM 128i in 6MT. (Sorry if I do anything stupid, as I am a novice forum user) This purchase was a pretty big deal for me as my previous car was a loaner '12 Honda Civic in auto and my buddies drove/and still drives an e46 m3, e39 540i, and e36 325is all in manual; so I've been itching to drive manual. So far, I love driving and it's a ton of fun revving the 1er to 7k! For others still deciding whether he/she should consider a 128 for their next car, DO IT! Bmw's naturally aspirated inline 6 and FR drivetrain makes the car a ton of fun to drive. Even though the car only has 230HP and 200 lb-ft of torque, it feels great. And the fact that the N52 motor can get up to ~300HP at the crank with an intake manifold, euro intake box, headers and a tune makes the car even more desirable! I have a lot of things I want to do but being a 3rd year college student, I won't be able to dish a ton of money into the car. It'll stay stock for now and I will be spending most of my money making the car as reliable as possible (if need be). Here are some pictures and I look forward to spending more time learning about the car and meeting other 1addicts! Attached Images
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06-22-2016, 03:45 PM	#2
TexSquirrel Enlisted Member 3 Rep 46 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Houston Texas iTrader: (0)	Congrats! Yeah, the 128i is no slouch in the performance department. It will hold its own against most other cars on the road. __________________ 2009 BMW 135i \| 6AT \| JB4 G5 ISO \| JB4/MHD 3/14 E85 BEF\| Fuel-It Stage 2/ES-1 \| ADE PI \| PR Inlets \| VRSF DP \| aFe \| Cobb FMIC \| ER CP \| Tial BOV \| M4 Plugs & Delphi Coils
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06-22-2016, 11:37 PM	#3
Mach1er Lieutenant 88 Rep 524 Posts Drives: '13 128i Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0)	Lookin' good! __________________ '13 128i \| 6MT \| SGM \| Black Boston \| Black Gloss \| Lighting \| Premium \| Tech \| HK \| Anti-Theft \| [CDV-Delete \| Clutch Stop \| 30% Pinnacle] Ordered 2.23 \| Production Begin 3.7 \| Ends 3.15 \| Released to carrier 3.18 \| At port 3.19 \| Departed 3.23 (K-line to Brunswick) \| Arrived 4.7 \| Truck 4.12 \| Dealer 4.19
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06-22-2016, 11:40 PM	#4
RedRanger Lieutenant 72 Rep 541 Posts Drives: 2008 128i Sedona Red Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: St. Louis, MO iTrader: (2)	Bought it up in chi town area? Tried to get the last owner to sell me the hood haha. Nice buy. __________________ 2008 Sedona Red 128i Black Chrome powder coated VMR 710's 18's, Carbon fiber engine bay cover and intake, Carbon fiber interior trim, Demon eyebrows, euro intake, performance brace, black grills, Magnaflow exhaust, Stage 3IM, AA Tune
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06-23-2016, 06:46 AM	#5
ArmatageShanks Private First Class 41 Rep 172 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 128i, 6MT Join Date: May 2015 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	Awesome! My 2011 128i 6MT looked just like yours when I got it almost two years ago, except that I have all black interior instead of the wood trim. I'm a third year college student as well. This is where my 1er is at right now. Vinyl wrapped the chrome window trim black Tinted the windows 18" Beyern Spartan wheels BMW Msport Suspension BMW Performance Exhaust BMW Performance Intake BMW Black Kidney Grilles BMW Performance Pedals You'll love it my friend. It is tons of fun to drive...up next on my list, a 3.64 LSD!
	Appreciate 1 Quote

06-23-2016, 02:18 PM	#9
VMRWheels General 2040 Rep 25,989 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Anaheim, CA iTrader: (4) Garage List 2013 BMW M3 [10.00] 2015 BMW M4 [0.00] 2013 BMW F30 [0.00] 2014 BMW F22 [0.00] 2013 BMW F06 [0.00]	Congrats on the pickup!
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06-24-2016, 12:04 AM	#11
OCDJ OCD Cinema 2 Rep 10 Posts Drives: '11 SGM 128i Coupe 6MT Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Chicago iTrader: (0)	Did my first mod today! My buddy was generous enough to give me his ZHP Shift knob. Had to rip off the plastic part glued to the leather boot. As you may or may not be able to tell, the stock shift boot didn't fit too well with the ZHP knob. I had to cut some extra leather off of the boot and use a zip-tie to keep the boot in place. The fitment isn't great but it works for now. I'll be getting a replacement boot soon. Overall, I am very pleased. The ZHP knob has more weight to it so it feels better when shifting. Maybe I'm just crazy noticing such tiny things. S/O to my friend for giving me the ZHP knob. I always enjoy hanging out over there because I get to see his e46 m3 and his dad's e92 m3. Had to do a little comparison of the SGM color between the e92 and the e82. Check out his build thread here, you won't be disappointed! http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=533985 Last edited by OCDJ; 06-24-2016 at 12:10 AM..
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