Considering Purchase, Have a couple of questions

[woody1385]

Hello everyone. I'm looking at buying a 135i. It may be a daily driver for 2-3 months, but my hope is to pick up an older Accord or something to daily drive and move the 135 to weekend/track toy.

That said, I'd like to hear pros and cons on the 6 speed manual vs the 7 speed auto. I'm specifically looking at 2011-2013 models, as we have a twin scroll motor in our X1 and have been happy with it. I have read that there are a couple of tuners who can tune the N55's auto trans to get rid of the lag and shift delays. I'm not opposed to stick shift, as I recently had '14 5.0 Mustang with a 6 speed and have owned other Mustangs in the past with manuals. Is this the only way to go if I want to track it at all, or is the tuned auto an equally viable option? The car will only see a track once or twice a year, so it definitely won't be the main use of the car. It's just that when I do track it, I don't want the trans to be a debilitating factor to have to work around. I want the only debilitating factor to be me, haha. Does one of them hold up better to additional power? I won't go crazy on the power upgrades, but 330-360 would be nice.

Next questions. I have been only consider M-Sport packages, mainly because I want the Sport seats and steering wheel. If a car is listed as having "M-sport Package," does that mean it also has the stiffer Sport suspension, or is that a different option entirely? I wouldn't be opposed to putting coilovers on it, and probably will at some point within 6-12 months anyway.

Is there any reason to consider an "is" version over the regular "i" aside from being more rare? I read a couple of reviews that said the exhaust that comes on the "is" drones pretty bad at highway speeds. I've had cars with aftermarket exhaust that droned, and I'm over that. Coming from V8 muscle, I don't particularly enjoy the sound of a loud 6 cylinder anyway. I have heard that there are exhaust options that make it sound more exotic though, so I would consider those.
Reviews also said the "is" suspension is real stiff and not enjoyable other than on a nice flat freeway or on the track. Is it different than a normal "i" with M-Sport package? I had aftermarket suspension on my 5.0 and it was firm, but not bad. My Brother's '15 5.0 on the other hand, has Eibach but he didn't change the shocks/struts. While it rides fine on the highway, even running over a road joint in a neighborhood jolts the car a little too much to put up with long-term.

Finally, is the HK sound system worth narrowing my search for? I have been only considering cars with HK up to this point, but would love to hear opinions on it vs non/HK. I do like good sound, as I'd consider myself an entry-level audiophile (only because I don't have the kind of money to spend on the high-end audio equipment that a true audiophile does - I have too many other hobbies). I realize good sound isn't necessary to those of you who track their cars often, but like I said, it won't be the main purpose of this car. It'll get driven to work on Fridays. It'll be something for the wife and I to go to dinner in or spirited drives in the hills of San Antonio. I like my music.

I'm sure I'll have other questions, but having answers to these will really help me narrow my search and choices down.

Thanks in advance!

[ExigeS]

You may want to test drive the car first to see if you get the dreaded throttle lag or not. It's the sole thing that I currently hate about my car (2012 135i) and wish I could fix; the throttle literally does not respond to me until at least 1/4 second has elapsed most times, sometimes as bad as a few seconds. At best it's annoying since it's hard to roll on the throttle at the apex of a turn, and at worst it's insanely dangerous trying to merge onto a road and not getting the acceleration that I expect.

I'm still continually surprised that BMW allowed this past their QA department, but I'm hopeful that the MHD flash might be able to fix the problem once the DME has been unlocked.

[woody1385]

Originally Posted by ExigeS

You may want to test drive the car first to see if you get the dreaded throttle lag or not. It's the sole thing that I currently hate about my car (2012 135i) and wish I could fix; the throttle literally does not respond to me until at least 1/4 second has elapsed most times, sometimes as bad as a few seconds. At best it's annoying since it's hard to roll on the throttle at the apex of a turn, and at worst it's insanely dangerous trying to merge onto a road and not getting the acceleration that I expect.

I'm still continually surprised that BMW allowed this past their QA department, but I'm hopeful that the MHD flash might be able to fix the problem once the DME has been unlocked.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I've tried to autocross a manual-shift auto before, and did not like it. Figured BMW would be much better though. Another owner told me that both Dinan and COBB have tunes that fix that lag. Is that not true?

[greenthumb]

2012 DCT 135i here. I can attest that flashing MHD has completely cleared up the DCT throttle lag for me. Do a VIN lookup on any prospective purchases to see which ECU it has. I can't comment on Cobb or Dinan flashes.

Either tranny should be able to hold 360 ft lbs wtq without issue.

To my knowledge all 135i and 135is sold in the USA market got the same sport springs. Even ones without the M-sport Package.

135is also gets you the PPK2 which adds a beefed up radiator fan and auxiliary water cooler.

[woody1385]

Originally Posted by greenthumb

2012 DCT 135i here. I can attest that flashing MHD has completely cleared up the DCT throttle lag for me. Do a VIN lookup on any prospective purchases to see which ECU it has. I can't comment on Cobb or Dinan flashes.

Either tranny should be able to hold 360 ft lbs wtq without issue.

To my knowledge all 135i and 135is sold in the USA market got the same sport springs. Even ones without the M-sport Package.

135is also gets you the PPK2 which adds a beefed up radiator fan and auxiliary water cooler.

Thanks for the reply. While you said to look up which ECU IT HAS, you didnt say what that means. What am I looking for?

[greenthumb]

Go to realoem.com, enter VIN, click Browse parts --> ENGINE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. There will be 2 groups under "CONTROL UNITS": MEVD172 and MEVD 1726. For any given car, there should only be parts available in 1 of the 2 groups. Whichever ECU has parts available for, is the one that's installed on the car. You want the MEVD172 ECU if you want the ability to flash MHD or Cobb. I believe Dinan can be flashed on either ECU.

[tomcat0071]

Worth noting MEDV1726 will be unlocked and able to flash MHD soonish (within the next few months)

[zx10guy]

For the money, I think the IS version might be worth it for you. The significant differences between the IS and the I are: 313 wheels, BMW performance exhaust, PPK software, and the PPK stage 2 cooling upgrades which add a heavy duty radiator fan and an auxiliary radiator which goes into the driver's side void in front of the left front wheel. The PPK software is good for an additional 20HP and 17 ft lb and adds a bit better driveability. With the Performance Exhaust, if you don't like it, you can unbolt it and sell it on this forum. There are plenty of people who are looking for a good used one to install on their regular I cars.

With regards to the DCT lag, I experienced it early on when I bought my car new. Doing the PPK stage 2 install on my car helped the situation out until the throttle lag and lurching came back with a vengeance about a year ago. I had the DME update applied which others have said fixed their problem. That didn't entirely eliminate the problem. I had the Dinan S2 flash put on about 2 months ago and so far it's helped the situation immensely. The lag is still there but it's bearable and predictable when it does appear.

As far as the audio is concerned, I'd skip the HK system. I also initially wanted the HK system but now I'm glad I didn't get it. The HK system limits any upgradeability you might want if something doesn't work for you. The base system allows a bunch of different options. I went with the Bimmertech amp and the Focal BMW plug and play speakers. Couldn't be happier.

[Esteban]

I have a 2011 135i with the DCT and I added PPK soon after I got the car. I never experienced the issues that some others have (throttle lag, idle fluctuation, lurching forward) and I attribute that to PPK, but that doesn't work for everybody and might not help you if you bought a 135i with the DCT and have the issues mentioned above.

If you're planning on tracking the car once in a while I would recommend PPK2 because of the extra cooling, just know that PPK2 isn't cheap. As zx10guy said, the 135is comes with PPK2 plus some extras like the beautiful 313 wheels and the Performance exhaust (as mentioned in the post above). BTW, I have the Performance exhaust and get little, if any, drone. It sounds great and I highly recommend it.

If you want some extra power and don't want to go JB4 or if your ECU is the one that can't be remotely flashed for MHD I also suggest Dinan Stage 2. I have it and I'm very pleased with it. You get 355hp and 401 lb-ft torque at the peak. Also not cheap but you can have it flashed at any Dinan authorized BMW dealer or indy shop. Very smooth power and very reliable. Check Dinan's website for more info, including the dealer or indy shop closest to you.

[zx10guy]

Esteban brings up a good point about the PPK2. Since you're looking to track the car, the extra cooling might be beneficial/appealing to you. But if you plan on going this route, Esteban is correct that it's a costly option as I did this. I bought my 2013 right at the tail end of whatever was left in dealer inventory after production stopped. So I didn't have a choice with selection. There are those that tried to source the individual cooling parts without buying the whole package and found it difficult. That was before I posted the parts list that came with the PPK2 kit I bought. I'm not sure even with the parts list that it'll be easy to buy the needed parts.

[julienjj]

The PPK2 is extra useless for the price, a good mishimoto radiator will provide better performance for about 700$. Also the oil cooler benefits from an updrade with a lower temps thermostat and larger heat exchanger.

Personally i'd get a manual, I found the dual clutch to be annoying to use (it creeps like a slushbox, unlike the one found on the M3 that does not slip the clutch all the time) and not really engaging to drive.

[01svtL]

Good input.

[sandlion]

Originally Posted by julienjj

The PPK2 is extra useless for the price, a good mishimoto radiator will provide better performance for about 700$. Also the oil cooler benefits from an updrade with a lower temps thermostat and larger heat exchanger.

Personally i'd get a manual, I found the dual clutch to be annoying to use (it creeps like a slushbox, unlike the one found on the M3 that does not slip the clutch all the time) and not really engaging to drive.

mine doesn't creep