Matt's 2012 Alpine 135i Build

[Fender13Bender]

Did my 1st Autox in the 135i Sunday. It POURED during my run! Learned a lot about the car though. Feel pretty confident driving it after 4 runs.

2018-05-14_11-22-14 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

Below is the video from one of my runs. I have an external mic so turbo noises are present and sounding awesome! Gopro placement was not optimal. I had ordered a suction mount but it arrived broken. So I put it on the passenger side head rest and the passenger/instruction promptly blocked it lol!!

My intercooler and downpipe put me in a weird class (ASP) with a bunch of cars much faster than mine. I'd like to be a little more competitive so I want some suggestions for mods. (driver mod is obvious) I'm thinking adding camber up front will help. I was thinking Dinan camber plates and the strut mod. Next I was looking at sway bars front and rear. What are people using and what do you guys like?

[Fender13Bender]

Ordered Dinan camber plates and will be doing the alignment pin mod along with a fresh alignment.

I also modified the armrest so I can actually put my phone in it. It came out decent, not perfect but at least it's useful.

20180516_172901 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

20180516_181514 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

20180516_184721 by Matt Bender, on Flickr


20180516_185450 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

[Fender13Bender]

Dinan camber plates arrived. Also, looks like my alignment pin was already removed.

Stopped because I need spring compressors which I didn't know I needed. Will finish tomorrow and going for an alignment Friday.

What camber and toe specs are you guys using?

20180521_141235 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

20180521_141246 by Matt Bender, on Flickr






I also got magnetic numbers for autox so I don't need to use tape.

20180520_213238 by Matt Bender, on Flickr


20180520_213930 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

[Fender13Bender]

Alignment done, need to get a picture of the results. Basically, front end now has -1.2 degrees of camber.



20180522_000842 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

20180522_003328 by Matt Bender, on Flickr


Second autox with the 135i complete. Car is understeering badly!! Thinking of sway bars, thoughts? I don't want to swap out struts and springs. Video is below, enjoy!

2018-05-28_08-46-09 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Fender13Bender

Alignment done, need to get a picture of the results. Basically, front end now has -1.2 degrees of camber.

Second autox with the 135i complete. Car is understeering badly!! Thinking of sway bars, thoughts? I don't want to swap out struts and springs. Video is below, enjoy!

Assuming you don't have an LSD here, I'd do the front bar first, especially when you need the rear end grip to accelerate in an AutoX (I've never done AutoX; I'm a sad human). It (Eibach 28mm) made the car feel much more planted and "ready", and seems to have significantly reduced understeer (base 128i bar before).

I've got ECS rear bar, Eibach front bar, Dinan plates, Koni yellows, Eibach Springs, and all the M arms, FWIW. I'll see how the bar does at the track in two weeks...

[Fender13Bender]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Assuming you don't have an LSD here, I'd do the front bar first, especially when you need the rear end grip to accelerate in an AutoX (I've never done AutoX; I'm a sad human). It (Eibach 28mm) made the car feel much more planted and "ready", and seems to have significantly reduced understeer (base 128i bar before).

I've got ECS rear bar, Eibach front bar, Dinan plates, Koni yellows, Eibach Springs, and all the M arms, FWIW. I'll see how the bar does at the track in two weeks...

I've read to do both bars at the same time. Is this not correct?

And no LSD for me at this point.

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Fender13Bender

I've read to do both bars at the same time. Is this not correct?

And no LSD for me at this point.

Just doing the rear bar first (and only the rear for 9-odd months) didn't make the car any worse handling. It was much more eager to rotate on-throttle and got through corners more eagerly, but it did lose a good deal of mid-corner acceleration due to the inside wheel unloading more. While the front bar has made it a little more neutral on-throttle, it's still just as ready to rotate, and is so much fun to play with on those cloverleaf highway ramps.

But, honestly, I wouldn't do an upgraded rear bar until you put in an LSD, especially since the 135i already has a rear bar (my base 128i didn't have anything) and has a lot more power than the eDiff can handle, even with a flimsy bar...

[Fender13Bender]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Just doing the rear bar first (and only the rear for 9-odd months) didn't make the car any worse handling. It was much more eager to rotate on-throttle and got through corners more eagerly, but it did lose a good deal of mid-corner acceleration due to the inside wheel unloading more. While the front bar has made it a little more neutral on-throttle, it's still just as ready to rotate, and is so much fun to play with on those cloverleaf highway ramps.

But, honestly, I wouldn't do an upgraded rear bar until you put in an LSD, especially since the 135i already has a rear bar (my base 128i didn't have anything) and has a lot more power than the eDiff can handle, even with a flimsy bar...

I have some spacers laying around I may throw on the front end as well. I'm hoping that will help, if only a little, with the understeer.

I will research front sway bars. Finding a lot of different opinions though. Maybe I'll post in the suspension or racing threads.

[Fender13Bender]

So i go to install my whiteline rear subframe inserts today and see this:




20180531_164459 by Matt Bender, on Flickr


I was wondering what crazy rear end shimmying all of you guys were complaining about, I never felt it. I guess that's what M3 bushings are for haha. THANKS PO!!!



If anyone needs these let me know....lol


20180530_194259 by Matt Bender, on Flickr


I also bought this firefly bluetooth setup.


20180531_185728 by Matt Bender, on Flickr

Still wondering what to do about understeer. Seems that a thick front sway bar will hurt. I may try a different rear sway bar instead.

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Fender13Bender

So i go to install my whiteline rear subframe inserts today and see this:

Still wondering what to do about understeer. Seems that a thick front sway bar will hurt. I may try a different rear sway bar instead.

Hmm, I thought the M ones only went in the front position. Interesting, and saddening, since I had M ones, but didn't put M ones in when I was installing them.

[Fender13Bender]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Hmm, I thought the M ones only went in the front position. Interesting, and saddening, since I had M ones, but didn't put M ones in when I was installing them.

What did you put in then?

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Fender13Bender

What did you put in then?

I put in fresh stock ones in the rear position, and then put in the Whiteline inserts...

[BimmerAg]

For local autocross events, even though you have a downpipe and intercooler, I doubt anyone would be too mad if you ran in STU and flashed back to the stock map. If you start winning a lot then people might protest, but it should be fine while you're just starting out. Unfortunately, the 135i just isn't very competitive against the top cars in any autocross class (FS, STU, or ASP), so focus on improving your driving and most importantly, having fun!

[Fender13Bender]

Originally Posted by BimmerAg

For local autocross events, even though you have a downpipe and intercooler, I doubt anyone would be too mad if you ran in STU and flashed back to the stock map. If you start winning a lot then people might protest, but it should be fine while you're just starting out. Unfortunately, the 135i just isn't very competitive against the top cars in any autocross class (FS, STU, or ASP), so focus on improving your driving and most importantly, having fun!

Thanks!

I'm really just trying to get better. The understeer is super annoying though.

I have another auto x this weekend so we'll see how it does!! I really should get stickier tires though.

[Fender13Bender]

Well, clutch started slipping yesterday on the highway.


What are my options? Want to keep factory flywheel but hold more power.

[Droptop986]

Racing clutch kit or maybe a 335is clutch assuming the flywheel is good

[Fender13Bender]

What is racing clutch kit? Is that a brand?

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Fender13Bender

What is racing clutch kit? Is that a brand?

I think he's just saying in general, a "racing clutch kit", aka aftermarket clutch built for high HP/TQ.

[Fender13Bender]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

I think he's just saying in general, a "racing clutch kit", aka aftermarket clutch built for high HP/TQ.

Right that's what I want but stock flywheel. I wanted specific brands and types though.