Quote:
Originally Posted by minirips2
I'll never understand why there is any infighting about engine choice for a 1er. ALL 1 series cars are cool, from automatic 128i's to tire smoking 500+hp turbos. People buy what they want. If a 128i is good enough for some, then that's all you need to know. I daily drive mine. A Lot. I just don't feel the need for the power of the turbo, nor want the complexity or some of the known issues that come with it. I love the way NA engines make you work to get power out of them. I come from motorcycles and cars with little four bangers, so revving is what I'm used to, and I love it. It is a blast to drive with an engine that purrs along until about 4500 rpm, when the party starts!
Our N52's are indeed stout units. Well proven by use in many BMW platforms.
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All true, but when i track my 125i on Nürburgring or GP track, i am constantly forced to moved aside and take the "wrong line", brake earlier and harder to allow much faster cars by.
When i was at the Mending airfield track, i only moved aside once, despite F80 M3, C63 AMG, 911 turbos etc since they were still trying to explore the limits of their cars.
My point is, as a daily, i love the 125i, really gives me that E30 323i/325i classic typical BMW feeling. But trying to have fun on a track....it makes me think twice, most likely i have to pay €800+ for a track day at Nürburgring to get some breathing room, but even then some track days slicks (full slicks) are allowed and the noise limit is raised from 90db on TF days to 130 dbs and race cars are allowed....see my dilemma?
If the 135i can be turned into a serious track competitive car (if you search, you will see how stock engined E92 and E46 M3s are capable of achieving sub 7:20 on the Ring which is very close to GT3 RS) then i maybe consider a second car as a track/street car (N54 135i) but i really wish to avoid turbos since they constantly run hot and you do not need the mid range torque on the ring (again NA cars are always sitting between 5K and 8K rpms using all max hp). But this falls into which tracks do you do most and if a mid torque car/engine is better suited to you or not.
As i said, if these 125i/128i cars were 200kgs lighter from the factory and capable of 300+hp with small mods, it would definitely be a contender. But to get that, a shit ton of money needs to be invested and it would not really be comfortable as a daily.