Picked it up last night!

[Gary@TireRack]

Here's a couple of pics. Apologies for the grime. I got caught in a salt spray mess on the way to work.

I'm going to bullet point some driving impressions because it will work a lot better than trying to write them out. No one should be subject to my writing abilities.

* What can I say. The car is wicked fast, there is no room for discussion on that point. If you drove this car for years and never took it over 4grand you could still waste 98% of the cars on the road. The torque causes ear to ear grins and shakes of the head in disbelief.

* It feels like you're going 30 when you're going 70. It's darn near impossible to drive this at normal highway speeds.

* I'm very happy, as is my wife (trump card) with the auto. The shifts are very smooth and many, many times quicker than my E46 step. There is no shift lag to speak of. I have no interest in a manual vs. auto debate so take this as simple information.

* DS mode in the auto is very aggressive compared to an E46. It has a very "go-cart" feel in this mode. It's revved and ready to move out with a tap on the gas. I used to drive my 330ci in DS all the time because in normal D is would feel very sluggish. DS in the 135i is too much for highway driving. It would be fun for city driving and playing around when you like.

* The car runs 2300rpm cruising at 75 and 2000rpm at 65 in D. I can't remember what it is in DS but it's a lot higher.

* The sport pack seats are perfect and fit like a glove, literally.

* A nice feature on the paddle shifters that some may not know about - when you are in D you can use the paddles to go down and up and the car will switch it back to D for you roughly 5 sec after you stop messing with the paddles. This eliminates the need to use the shifter to do the same thing (E46)

* No turbo lag at all. Someone said, "If I didn't know, I wouldn't know." He's right.

* The RFT tires ride really nice. I'd expected them to be much rougher. That said, I'm ripping them off today or tomorrow for wider Bridgestone RE760's. Hey, someone here will get a brand new set of RFT's for a GREAT deal

* Sedona Red = impossible to describe. 3 parts copper penny, 2.6 parts paprika, .8 parts strawberry smoothie, 2 parts Georgia red clay, 3 parts Utah sunset, 1.5 parts Texas Longhorn orange. Oh yeah, don't forget that all these parts are interchangeable in each and every lighting condition currently known.
Seriously, it's gorgeous (just MHO, of course.) People that see it say it's extremely hard to describe and label. Like it or not, it's an extremely deep, rich, and unique color.

I'll add more later but these are my impressions of the first 100 miles.

Gill

[boostin]

very nice - now lets start test-fitting 19" wheels! :biggrin:

-Chris

[new_one]

FANTASTIC! good job.

[thurst0509]

How's the black leatherette? I keep debating whether the leather is worth the extra coin...

[ChrisK]

It sucks living in the Midwest (Chicago). We are about to get hit with a spring storm so I need to fly home from work.

Very nice car!

[joelk]

nice! more pictures!

[BForbes]

Congrats man!!! woot woot.

[Gary@TireRack]

Originally Posted by thurst0509

How's the black leatherette? I keep debating whether the leather is worth the extra coin...

My E46 leather looks like garbage at 100k. That's why I chose 'ette. I like it. I doubt you'd be unhappy with it. The two-tone look available with the leather was hard to pass up but maintenance decided for me.

Originally Posted by joelk

nice! more pictures!

Let me know what you want to see:iono:

[larryn]

Thanks for posting your impressions Gill! The car looks awesome. I saw Sedona for the first time in person, yesterday. It is a lot nicer than it shows in pictures, and was really cool.

You have to let us know who you subjected to the rear passenger side seat though, and what they thought of it. (noticed the passenger seat flipped forward - maybe you had your camera and gear back there though)

I cannot wait for the springs to settle a bit after having those shipping blocks in it from the factory. Yours looks a bit like mine.. just a wee tad too high.

[1050Wien]

Originally Posted by Gill@Tirerack.com

* The RFT tires ride really nice. I'd expected them to be much rougher. That said, I'm ripping them off today or tomorrow for wider Bridgestone RE760's. Hey, someone here will get a brand new set of RFT's for a GREAT deal
Gill

Thanks for the write up and the pictures! Car looks great! :w00t:

Are you getting new wheels as well or just new tires?

[Templedogg]

Congrats Gill, looks great. Get some really close Macro mode shots of the color please, I have yet to see one in person and am dieing to see the metallic content.

[redwood]

Congrats and let us know if you confirm those previously measured tire fitments. We're especially wondering what size wheels can fit up front. Funny about your E46 leather. My gray E46 leather is immaculate after 148K miles. It looks better than the gray leather in my E36 M3 did after 50K miles.

[MastaMind]

Originally Posted by Gill@Tirerack.com

Let me know what you want to see:iono:

How about some aftermarket wheel/tire combos Mr. Iworkattirerack. :biggrin:

[128er]

Lets get some int pics!!

[Gary@TireRack]

Originally Posted by 1050Wien

Thanks for the write up and the pictures! Car looks great! :w00t:

Are you getting new wheels as well or just new tires?

Just tires right now. I love the stock wheels. I'm trying my ASA AR2 E46 fitment tonight. If that works they may become my winter wheels. The Breyton Race GTS that we are getting in later this spring will be very, very hard to resist. Those wheels are

Originally Posted by Templedogg

Congrats Gill, looks great. Get some really close Macro mode shots of the color please, I have yet to see one in person and am dieing to see the metallic content.

I will try.

Originally Posted by larryn

Thanks for posting your impressions Gill! The car looks awesome. I saw Sedona for the first time in person, yesterday. It is a lot nicer than it shows in pictures, and was really cool.

You have to let us know who you subjected to the rear passenger side seat though, and what they thought of it. (noticed the passenger seat flipped forward - maybe you had your camera and gear back there though)

I cannot wait for the springs to settle a bit after having those shipping blocks in it from the factory. Yours looks a bit like mine.. just a wee tad too high.

My rear passenger today was a 5'10" guy behind a 6'3" 270lb guy. 5'10 guy was cramped with his knees against the seat back but he was surprised with the amount of room for the small size of the car.
I (5'10") sat in the MWerks car yesterday behind a guy the same size as me and I had 4-5" easy before my knees made contact with the seat back. I thought the backseat space was surprisingly ample given the right front seat passenger.

[mergen]

Originally Posted by Gill@Tirerack.com

* It feels like you're going 30 when you're going 70. It's darn near impossible to drive this at normal highway speeds.

Gill

I just picked mine up. This was my first impression too. I think something is wrong with the speedometer. . . has to be.:wink:

[Gary@TireRack]

macro:

[sai08]

nice write up and pics. Congrats!

[Templedogg]

Originally Posted by Gill@Tirerack.com

macro:

Nice, thanks! There is a lot going on there, I can not wait to see one in person!

I also agree you swear you are going only like 30 - 40 when you are going 70 -80. A radar detect is a must in this car even if you never PLAN on speeding....you will.

[asv]

Very nice Gill! I guess the configurator will be up tomorrow.:biggrin:

[E82tt6]

Nice!

Now start doing some measurements so i can get me some wheels! :-D

[TP 135i]

Congratulations.............

And I loved your description of the Sedona........it was brilliant.