135i Great road car

[jdoc1949]

I have had the car about 3 months just running around town. Took it on 600 mile round trip from Kansas City to Oklahoma through the Flinthills. This car runs like a champ at around 90mph, comfortable, very responsive and those turbos like the cold air. I had to keep my foot out of it as it was easy to look down and see you were hitting the 100 mark. I was on Toll roads and limits are 75mph so 80-90 was possible without to much worry.
Anyway, great car and I would recommended for a long trip as long as there are only 2 of you .
PS average was 23.2 mpg at those speeds, it was fun

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by jdoc1949

I have had the car about 3 months just running around town. Took it on 600 mile round trip from Kansas City to Oklahoma through the Flinthills. This car runs like a champ at around 90mph, comfortable, very responsive and those turbos like the cold air. I had to keep my foot out of it as it was easy to look down and see you were hitting the 100 mark. I was on Toll roads and limits are 75mph so 80-90 was possible without to much worry.
Anyway, great car and I would recommended for a long trip as long as there are only 2 of you .
PS average was 23.2 mpg at those speeds, it was fun

Glad to hear you're enjoying it! I also love this car for long trips. We (SO and I) take the car on a 250m trip every month. The suspension can be a little brutal on bad roads but for the most part it's very comfortable.

[DarthFader]

I'm agree with you guys. I love taking long trips with the 1er. Last summer we drove from Milwaukee to Spartanburg SC (about 800 miles) in one day and didn't have any aches or pains upon arrival. Drove about 85-95 mph most of the way and still averaged 30 mpg. Good times.

[TridenTBoy]

Originally Posted by DarthFader

I'm agree with you guys. I love taking long trips with the 1er. Last summer we drove from Milwaukee to Spartanburg SC (about 800 miles) in one day and didn't have any aches or pains upon arrival. Drove about 85-95 mph most of the way and still averaged 30 mpg. Good times.

I find that very hard to believe. I'm getting about 22-23.5mpg at 80mph. I know the manual gets better gas mileage but I doubt it gets 2mpg over an EPA rating that is probably meant for 65mph.

I on the other hand, absolutely hate this car for long trips. The horrid exhaust drone drives me up a wall. And with gas mileage being at the low 20s isn't really anything to brag home about. I could easily take my SOs car and get mid 30s and not suffer through exhaust drone.

[DarthFader]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

I find that very hard to believe. I'm getting about 22-23.5mpg at 80mph. I know the manual gets better gas mileage but I doubt it gets 2mpg over an EPA rating that is probably meant for 65mph.

That car was MT and for some reason got ridiculous mileage all the time. My current car is DCT and I get at most 27 mpg on highway.

Engines must just vary in their fuel efficiency. My SO's e90 335 with x-drive has N55 engine gets 30 mpg on highway no problem while going 80 mph, yet it's rated for 25 mpg I believe.

I calculate by miles driven / gallons for refuel, not using the computer which always seems to overestimate the mileage.

[ejm3]

I have a 135i MT and I don't think 22-23 MPG at 80 MPH is unreasonable.

Sounds about right for me and mine's a convertible. If I average less than 80 it gets more like 25+ MPG.

Honestly I have no complaints about gas mileage in my car.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

I find that very hard to believe. I'm getting about 22-23.5mpg at 80mph. I know the manual gets better gas mileage but I doubt it gets 2mpg over an EPA rating that is probably meant for 65mph.

I on the other hand, absolutely hate this car for long trips. The horrid exhaust drone drives me up a wall. And with gas mileage being at the low 20s isn't really anything to brag home about. I could easily take my SOs car and get mid 30s and not suffer through exhaust drone.

We have a whole thread on this, it's not uncommon to see 30mpg in these cars on the highway.

[davis449]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

We have a whole thread on this, it's not uncommon to see 30mpg in these cars on the highway.

I would see a real time 26-27 at 90 (GPS measured) on the 85 MPH toll road in my N55. My current Z4 N54, LMFAO, 25 MPG at 80.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Awesome car

[Schalldampfer1]

I drove the car from Pensacola to Chicago when I first bought her. Great highway car! Took her on several trips in stock tune and got around 28-29 mpg cruising around in 6th gear. Only way to get around 400 miles per tank. Now with Cobb, catless dp's, catless midpipe my mpg is obviously not as good. Oh well, that's the price you pay to play.

[mackeroni]

I love all the trip stories. I must have the genes of a long haul trucker. I love being out on the road in my 135i or on my Yamaha FJR1300. Life is a journey!

I remember that last year a poster expressed his reluctance to leave the city limits for fear of a breakdown. Poor guy. That is no way to live.

Peace

[blue135]

I am with mackeroni, and probably most of us. Love the road trips, especially ones where I can take the 135i.

[atr_hugo]

Originally Posted by jdoc1949

I have had the car about 3 months just running around town. Took it on 600 mile round trip from Kansas City to Oklahoma through the Flinthills. <SNIP> Anyway, great car and I would recommended for a long trip as long as there are only 2 of you

Nice - I posted this a few years ago and think it echoes what you've seen:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...68&postcount=1

[Overpar56]

I average about 28-29 going thru the mountains of WV and VA on I-77 the last three times I drove to VIR. In the heat of August. Love going thru the tunnels in VA with the windows down, sport mode and WOT.

[c1pher]

I was totally surprised that my DCT got 3-4 more mpg than listed on the sticker. I've never been able to beat the fuel economy estimates by that much. Not sure why it was listed so low especially when the manual was listed for 28mpg I think, and the DCT has an extra gear.

The weather was sunny and dry today so drove it to work. I really enjoy just about everything about it except for the stop and go delay sometimes. Can't wait for the Bridgestones to wear out so I can switch to Michelins.

[Dylanize]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

suffer through exhaust drone.

I think you bought the wrong car, or exhaust.

[Vigilante375]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

I find that very hard to believe. I'm getting about 22-23.5mpg at 80mph. I know the manual gets better gas mileage but I doubt it gets 2mpg over an EPA rating that is probably meant for 65mph.

I on the other hand, absolutely hate this car for long trips. The horrid exhaust drone drives me up a wall. And with gas mileage being at the low 20s isn't really anything to brag home about. I could easily take my SOs car and get mid 30s and not suffer through exhaust drone.

The whole EPA rating is BS. They literally have the car on a dyno that they control to simulate real world driving. It is very, very common for any vehicle to have better MPG from the owners. My 06 GTO was in the 27-29 MPG range on long cruises and those cars were rated for 17 city/ 25 highway. Many owners reported the same and even better MPG than me. Vettes owners can get low 30s on a long cruise too.

As mentioned, there is a thread full for this MPG on the 1 series. Just to throw mine in there. I get 24-26 MPG on every fill up on my ~50 mile round trip to work doing ~65 MPH. Thats with being caught in stop and go traffic at times.

One other note, every vehicle has a sweet spot for fuel economy. I still haven't found it in my 135i since I don't really get to do long distance driving but the little ones I do, somewhere around 75 MPH seems to be it. Since the MPG readout on the dash shows 27 MPG or better.

And the exhaust drone.....are you talking about the stock exhaust or after market? Stock has no drone and the BMW performance exhaust doesn't either, unless you have some really sensitive ears.. And if your MPG is that low, you need to change your driving style or do some basic maintenance on the car.

[tommyb13662]

I find the 135i to be fairly economical for the amount of performance it provides. Just drove 400+miles and averaged 27.3 its a 6mt n54. That wasnt granny driving either had a few spurts well past 120 because of a kid in a wrx. Another few from an asshole in a merc amg suv kept doing this super annoying fly up on your tail, get in the fast lane and pace you so you gotta slow down and get behind him every time you hit slower traffic. Pass or slow down. I hate it when you have cruise set and they fly up on you... but take an hour to actually pass. Now if there is slower traffic in my lane i speed up so i dont get stuck behind them for 15 min.

[TridenTBoy]

Originally Posted by Dylanize

I think you bought the wrong car, or exhaust.

The 135is has a rather loud and droneful stock exhaust. It vibrates the whole car and disembowels the passengers at certain RPMs with 100% load. It could be that it's damaged somehow or attached incorrectly. I know it has a significant dent in the rear probably slamming into the road or a driveway at one point. I don't know if that'll change acoustics that much. Although, it might be one the 'stock dents' that BMW likes to incorporate into its exhausts. I don't know. Not many photos online of this exhaust 100% new.

Originally Posted by Vigilante375

The whole EPA rating is BS. They literally have the car on a dyno that they control to simulate real world driving. It is very, very common for any vehicle to have better MPG from the owners. My 06 GTO was in the 27-29 MPG range on long cruises and those cars were rated for 17 city/ 25 highway. Many owners reported the same and even better MPG than me. Vettes owners can get low 30s on a long cruise too.

As mentioned, there is a thread full for this MPG on the 1 series. Just to throw mine in there. I get 24-26 MPG on every fill up on my ~50 mile round trip to work doing ~65 MPH. Thats with being caught in stop and go traffic at times.

One other note, every vehicle has a sweet spot for fuel economy. I still haven't found it in my 135i since I don't really get to do long distance driving but the little ones I do, somewhere around 75 MPH seems to be it. Since the MPG readout on the dash shows 27 MPG or better.

And the exhaust drone.....are you talking about the stock exhaust or after market? Stock has no drone and the BMW performance exhaust doesn't either, unless you have some really sensitive ears.. And if your MPG is that low, you need to change your driving style or do some basic maintenance on the car.

With 135is DCT, I'm barely getting 25mpg even cruising on 100% flat roads with minimal bumps and cruise control set. That's going around 70mph. I'll sometimes see instantaneous read-outs of ~28mpg or so if I'm going 50mph or less on a flat road. I have the 135is convertible, if that matters. Having the top down lowers MPG by about 15%. (From getting 25 to 22-23)

But, for where I live (bay area), it's always going uphill or downhill on terrible roads anyway. I go by the tank and don't pay attention to the instantaneous read-outs often. (I keep track on my phone and use Fuelly too) I also have the top down almost always because... it's a convertible. But for long trips, my best was 24.7mpg (with the top up) and I think I was not really going anywhere fast.

I bought the car at 35k miles and it's around 38k now. I'll be replacing the air filter and spark plugs soon. I doubt that'll do anything but the air filter looked dirty when I took a peak and figured I'd give it a shot. I've already done a 1000+ mile road trip with the car too.

[Dylanize]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

The 135is has a rather loud and droneful stock exhaust. It vibrates the whole car and disembowels the passengers at certain RPMs with 100% load. It could be that it's damaged somehow or attached incorrectly. I know it has a significant dent in the rear probably slamming into the road or a driveway at one point. I don't know if that'll change acoustics that much. Although, it might be one the 'stock dents' that BMW likes to incorporate into its exhausts. I don't know. Not many photos online of this exhaust 100% new.

That description sounds pretty crazy for the BMW performance exhaust it comes with, which is generally regarded as one of the tamest exhausts compared to most aftermarket options.

Are you sure the car is stock throughout the exhaust system? You should 2 sets of catalytic converters(down pipes and midpipes), a resonator, and a muffler form the factory.

There's no way it should be vibrating the whole car and disembowling passengers stock LOL

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Dylanize

That description sounds pretty crazy for the BMW performance exhaust it comes with, which is generally regarded as one of the tamest exhausts compared to most aftermarket options.

Are you sure the car is stock throughout the exhaust system? You should 2 sets of catalytic converters(down pipes and midpipes), a resonator, and a muffler form the factory.

There's no way it should be vibrating the whole car and disembowling passengers stock LOL

I've had the PE on my car since 2011 and I get no drone or vibration to speak of. Just a great tone when I get on it and then it purrs like a kitten when I'm cruising. BTW, the full PE has a y-pipe and the resonator is deleted. I believe the 135is comes with the full PE.