M2 vs 135Is thoughts

[VR-Tech]

Most of my life I have mainly own bimmers, from the E46 M3, E92 M3, F82 M4, and just recently sold my F87 M2.

For me there is no argument, that the greatest driving car I have own is the E46 M3. Problem is finding one manual with low milage and great condition. Until that day comes, I wanted a daily toy. Some changes in my life required me to move into a family car hence why I sold my other M cars.

The M2, I had the 2017 Mineral Grey with the DCT transmission was an awesome car and lives up to the hype!. What a great car, very fast with very good throttle response, especially considering that is not a NA engine. Nice torque pull all throughout the powerband, I would say very similar to the M4 in power delivery until 5500 RPM where I can clearly feel the M4 continues to pull harder (that S55 engine is a beast). Despite the M4 having a more powerful engine, the M2 was more fun and is a testament of how good BMW tuned this aging N55 Engine. I was sad to see the M2 and M4 go, but off they went to a nice new homes.

Recently I couldn't hold myself and had sport car anxiety and needed something that could appease my urges, without breaking the bank of course. I had set my eyes on a Lotus Elise, but I didn't want to reach 30k budget. Most new cars would depreciate in the first 3 years and in reality not many are that fast. WRX are nice, Subaru BRZ, Focus ST etc.. I wanted a used car that already had major devaluation yet be a special car. I decided on getting the E89 Z4 Sdrive35i or 35Is. Problem was that the day I was going to start going to see them, all of the ones on my price range sold out. But luckily have remember the 1M. I remember seeing people turning the 135i's close to 1m's and I have been a fan of it. I was surprised to find out that there was a '135Is' made for one year, and surprisingly the cheapest listed in the entire country was in LA.

My new ride, the 2013 135Is, Black with Red Interiors.
I called the dealer and asked about it, they said that it was available but that 2 people had time slots to come and test drive it and that it was prioritized to the first customer. I hope into Uber and got there 30 minutes before the first tester.
I was very impressed at how good the paint quality is, and the interiors are basically brand new and RED, I LOVE RED interiors. The previous owner babied this car and it showed. Honestly speaking I am not in love with the front of the car but I have to admit that seeing it in person made me realise is not really that bad of looking car, granted this has nicier body panels than the 128i.

The ride, upon grabbing the steering wheel, I was, what the hell, this is AWESOME, HEAVY!!! I love heavy steering and it was NOT ELECTRIC!!!! One of the main problem I had with the M4 and the M2 is that both had Electric steering. My M4 was a little dead on center where you move the steering and there was no registration on it but barely noticeable, the M2 was better on this respect. The M2 Steering always felt a light to me and squishy. But the steering on the 135is was like heck yes, I missed this from my old E92 and E46. It just felt better than the M2 in that respect.

Speed wise the 135IS it is fast, does not have the overboost of the M2, but I wasn't expecting it either. But I have to say that the power delivery and feel is very, very, Very similar to the M2. I feel I have better visibility on the 135Is also, not sure why, maybe i just like the sitting position a little better. The 135 is bloody fast and I was very surprised that this bad boy was listed at 20k. I really couldn't comprehend it, and this is a legit clean car and a big dealer.

The not so good, although the car feels similar to the M2 and sound very similar with the exhaust burbles and all, I am very disappointed on one aspect that I hope I can get fixed. LAG!!!!!!!!!! I was like, what is this lag, it's a N55 engine, I have driven N55's before and the lag hasn't been near this bad!

I have been searching and I have read that it may be the DCT, I don't believe that for a second. Upshifts and downshifts are one thing, but throttle response is another (to my knowledge). I think of all of the problems has to be governed by the ECU software. Something must be holding back the output. Maybe downpipes, going catless and a tune will solve it. It feels like the software is choking the engine, nothing to do with the shifting from the DCT transmission. I had 3 DCT vehicles and nothing of the behavior of the lag is related to the DCT that i can perceive.

My final thoughts. If you you not want to pay a premium on a M235,40i or an M2, grab a 135I for two years and wait until the 2 series drops in price and try get an M2, or just keep this bad boy (As long as you can fix this terrible lag). The difference in performance and price doesn't justify purchasing the newer model. The only thing is that the newer do look better but that is subjective.

Excuse the long post and the bad grammar, Cheers

[The Wind Breezes]

Lag just means you need to drop a gear (or several). This turbo is very small and if you're over 4K like on the track there's almost no lag.

Neither of the cars in your OP is an "amazing driver's car" without mods and setup. I would take the 1 series over any of the twos if you're willing to mod. It has the looks and size (imo) plus hydraulic steering. Or you could just spend around the same amount and get a E46 M3 with a huge maintenance budget included.

[AGAV13]

Dinan stage 2 tune and a DCT reset adaptation from the dealer will fix the majority of your lag issues. The only lag I now experience is when I immediately jump on the throttle (0-50%+) from a dead stop.

[VR-Tech]

Originally Posted by AGAV13

Dinan stage 2 tune and a DCT reset adaptation from the dealer will fix the majority of your lag issues. The only lag I now experience is when I immediately jump on the throttle (0-50%+) from a dead stop.

Have you gotten the latest software update?

[AGAV13]

Originally Posted by VR-Tech

Have you gotten the latest software update?

Yes it helped but the lag was still present. When I brought my car in for the last service I had the "reset" the DCT and after a few days of "learning" everything is now fine. I'll experience a small hiccup every once in a while but it is now 100x better than it was before hand. There are a few threads here about it. I'll look for the link to post later.

Edit: search for the thread "My DCT lag, idle issue, and lurching problems."

[angler]

One of the main reasons for me to keep my 135 out of lease was the steering.

[c1pher]

Love my 135is so much I decided against swapping for an M2, kept it and bought a Stingray to add to it.

Put a Dinan tune on it. It will fix most of your concerns and probably give you about the same shove in the back as the M2. You might want some more suspension mods, but honestly I am happy with just the tune and better tires. I don’t plan to do anything else to it. If you really want to hear how wonderful the exhaust is, get the Dinan tune, hit the sport button and push the shifter to the left. You will never want to get rid of the car after that. 135is is severely underrated.

[c1pher]

Also, do you know what number 135is you have? Mine is #399.

[Hankdoll]

I went the other direction, 135is to M2. I agree with everything you said, the cars are very similar. Mine was a DCT and if it was a MT i would've kept it and been happy. I reached the point where I couldn't take the DCT lag any longer.

[zx10guy]

Here's the thread AGAV13 mentioned about a fix for the DCT lag:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1402323

[Ngo135is]

Originally Posted by VR-Tech

Most of my life I have mainly own bimmers, from the E46 M3, E92 M3, F82 M4, and just recently sold my F87 M2.

For me there is no argument, that the greatest driving car I have own is the E46 M3. Problem is finding one manual with low milage and great condition. Until that day comes, I wanted a daily toy. Some changes in my life required me to move into a family car hence why I sold my other M cars.

The M2, I had the 2017 Mineral Grey with the DCT transmission was an awesome car and lives up to the hype!. What a great car, very fast with very good throttle response, especially considering that is not a NA engine. Nice torque pull all throughout the powerband, I would say very similar to the M4 in power delivery until 5500 RPM where I can clearly feel the M4 continues to pull harder (that S55 engine is a beast). Despite the M4 having a more powerful engine, the M2 was more fun and is a testament of how good BMW tuned this aging N55 Engine. I was sad to see the M2 and M4 go, but off they went to a nice new homes.

Recently I couldn't hold myself and had sport car anxiety and needed something that could appease my urges, without breaking the bank of course. I had set my eyes on a Lotus Elise, but I didn't want to reach 30k budget. Most new cars would depreciate in the first 3 years and in reality not many are that fast. WRX are nice, Subaru BRZ, Focus ST etc.. I wanted a used car that already had major devaluation yet be a special car. I decided on getting the E89 Z4 Sdrive35i or 35Is. Problem was that the day I was going to start going to see them, all of the ones on my price range sold out. But luckily have remember the 1M. I remember seeing people turning the 135i's close to 1m's and I have been a fan of it. I was surprised to find out that there was a '135Is' made for one year, and surprisingly the cheapest listed in the entire country was in LA.

My new ride, the 2013 135Is, Black with Red Interiors.
I called the dealer and asked about it, they said that it was available but that 2 people had time slots to come and test drive it and that it was prioritized to the first customer. I hope into Uber and got there 30 minutes before the first tester.
I was very impressed at how good the paint quality is, and the interiors are basically brand new and RED, I LOVE RED interiors. The previous owner babied this car and it showed. Honestly speaking I am not in love with the front of the car but I have to admit that seeing it in person made me realise is not really that bad of looking car, granted this has nicier body panels than the 128i.

The ride, upon grabbing the steering wheel, I was, what the hell, this is AWESOME, HEAVY!!! I love heavy steering and it was NOT ELECTRIC!!!! One of the main problem I had with the M4 and the M2 is that both had Electric steering. My M4 was a little dead on center where you move the steering and there was no registration on it but barely noticeable, the M2 was better on this respect. The M2 Steering always felt a light to me and squishy. But the steering on the 135is was like heck yes, I missed this from my old E92 and E46. It just felt better than the M2 in that respect.

Speed wise the 135IS it is fast, does not have the overboost of the M2, but I wasn't expecting it either. But I have to say that the power delivery and feel is very, very, Very similar to the M2. I feel I have better visibility on the 135Is also, not sure why, maybe i just like the sitting position a little better. The 135 is bloody fast and I was very surprised that this bad boy was listed at 20k. I really couldn't comprehend it, and this is a legit clean car and a big dealer.

The not so good, although the car feels similar to the M2 and sound very similar with the exhaust burbles and all, I am very disappointed on one aspect that I hope I can get fixed. LAG!!!!!!!!!! I was like, what is this lag, it's a N55 engine, I have driven N55's before and the lag hasn't been near this bad!

I have been searching and I have read that it may be the DCT, I don't believe that for a second. Upshifts and downshifts are one thing, but throttle response is another (to my knowledge). I think of all of the problems has to be governed by the ECU software. Something must be holding back the output. Maybe downpipes, going catless and a tune will solve it. It feels like the software is choking the engine, nothing to do with the shifting from the DCT transmission. I had 3 DCT vehicles and nothing of the behavior of the lag is related to the DCT that i can perceive.

My final thoughts. If you you not want to pay a premium on a M235,40i or an M2, grab a 135I for two years and wait until the 2 series drops in price and try get an M2, or just keep this bad boy (As long as you can fix this terrible lag). The difference in performance and price doesn't justify purchasing the newer model. The only thing is that the newer do look better but that is subjective.

Excuse the long post and the bad grammar, Cheers

VR TECH,

Your post is hella long.....LOL
But I like the details....Here is my input on the 135is, I have had mine for 14 days.....I am very surprised by the pull for a stock N55 engine ...The lag is very minimal in my DCT, I am waiting and maybe will go with MHD with a one time flash from Twisted Tuning or Wedge Performance

I have owned a 997 911 C2, C6 6sp MT, E60 M5 SMG, E92 M3 DCT
The steering for the 135is is the heaviest of all those cars and surprisingly handles very well for a stock car except comparing it to the 997.....Porsche has the best handling of ALL cars I have owned.

It's definitely bang for the buck with the 135is/ 320Hp/317T stock car.....

[c1pher]

Or 360hp/400tq with a safe tune :-). Essentially gives you stock M2 power output numbers, plus a little extra torque without any other mods.

[dm874]

^But then if you tune an M2...

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by dm874

^But then if you tune an M2...

But then you can go to stage 3 on the 135is. Don't forget they are the same N55 engine with variations in some of the components. Now I wouldn't even make that comment if the M2 was using an S55. They inherently have similar limits. Ultimately, yes, the M2 can put out more power, but you'd have to spend a lot of money to get there.

[tmfstyle]

Perhaps not a relevant comparison: A couple of months ago I test drove an automatic M240 I was thinking about trading in my stick 135is which will go out warranty in a couple of months. Could not see paying up for a car that did not feel as good as the one I had. Steering and transmission of the M240 were biggest drawbacks. Hopeful my 135is holds up post warranty (only 10K miles on my car) only warranty issue so far was blown charge pipe.

[Gamb1t]

Some of the posts here reminds me of the good 'ol tuned WRX vs an STi or 335i vs M3. Do note that the M2's superiority is a sum of its parts. Engine tuning is but just one aspect.

I enjoyed reading OP's thoughts on these two cars. Got me thinking about the 135is only because the M2 is beyond my budget.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

Some of the posts here reminds me of the good 'ol tuned WRX vs an STi or 335i vs M3. Do note that the M2's superiority is a sum of its parts. Engine tuning is but just one aspect.

I enjoyed reading OP's thoughts on these two cars. Got me thinking about the 135is only because the M2 is beyond my budget.

I agree. It's what makes an ///M car special.

[c1pher]

The M2 is definitely an improvement over the 135is. I would already have one if it weren't so difficult to find one and not get jerked around in the process. It was much easier to get a dealer to take $10k off a Stingray and buy that instead.

I will wait until the right CPO one shows up and then trade the 135is in......maybe lol.

[asbrr]

...and don't forget the visual aspect of the M car....those fender flares really dial out the frumpiness inherent to the 2 series design....as much as I love my E82, the 1M with flares really sets it apart.

So tuning and all that can get you good power, and handling can be adjusted to M levels, but the bodywork required is big bucks and as much as I like performance over looks as the next guy, there's something about those beefy fender flares that is so appealing

[Esteban]

I'll take the 1M's flares over the M2's bulges any day.

[YearOneOne]

6mt and no lag bud

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Esteban

I'll take the 1M's flares over the M2's bulges any day.

I guess it's safe to say you're an ass man....