So I wrecked my car...

CarsonE3x · 08-30-2016, 03:55 PM

This sounds pretty familiar. My '12 135 got shoved into a wall by an F430 at Sonoma coming out of turn 7 on Sunday. He pointed me by to his right, me and the 4 cars behind me moved over and he apparently had changed his mind and tapped my driver side fender. He got loose but recovered and I put 2 wheels off into the dirt, lost control and went into the wall. My frame is straight but the airbags on my side went off, my LCA broke and went through my midpipe, rear axle, steering rack, knuckle, tie rods and just about everything else is broken, sheared or snapped. My estimate is $22,408.

dcaron9999 · 08-30-2016, 06:08 PM

I bought my 6sp manual 2011 135i in June 2013 and have taken it to the track almost on a weekly basis since then, as Im a volunteer instructor at a couple of clubs.

Ive done several mods over that period of time to address and fix flaws on the E82 platform. Ive always found this car to be very snap oversteer prone with the stock open differential and e-diff wizardy that BMW implemented on this car instead of a proper torsen or clutch-based LSD.

I got myself in a couple of spins on the car with this car, but was lucky enough to have enough run off space to save it each time. Here are my observations on what might have happened to you out there:

(a) the e-diff kicked in if detected a little too much slip in the rear, and apply sending braking to your spinning wheel. Things might have gotten worse if the weight of your car transferred to the front, reducing the weight on the rear wheel and makings matters worse.

(b) the short wheel base of the 135i makes the platform prone to snap oversteer, and its hard to recover smoothyl and elegantly from that.

(c) you haven't mentioned whether you replaced your stock marshmallow rear subframe bushings designed for rock solid sidewall RunFlat tires. The soft bushings do not play nice with no-runflat Extreme PErformace or semi-slick tires. You end up with a very rubbery and skittish rear end under acceleration out of a curve.

I invested in a Quaife LSD after my 1st season of lapping with this car, and stiffened up the rear end (E9x/M3 rear subframe bushings, adjustable Toe arms, springs, diff lock down bracket. I tried a a slew of alignments settings and ended up with a bit of toe in (1/16" each side) and negative camber (-2.2*) in the rear.

I make a lot of torque and power with my custom tune, and the higher final drive ratio on my LSD (went from stock 3.08 to 3.46).

Luckily, I never got myself in a pickle since the mods listed above, and respecting any new track I visit. DSC stays on for first session, as I learn the track, follow a lead car, or ask an instructor experienced with the specific trac) to hop in with me. As I gradually get comformtable with the track, and after I get a bit of heat in the tires, I will turn one level of DTC control off (one quick press). Towards the end of the day, or at tracks Ive riden hundreds of laps on, I turn everything off after I get some heat in the tires (long press of the DTC button after 2-3 laps).

If the track is cold or wet, even on the ones I call my second home, I never go beyond one level of DTC . Call me a whimp, I dont care, the car is a wild horse with its 440 ft-lbs of torque delivered in the relatively short RPM range of 2500 to 5500 RPM, and power delivery is not linear ...

Note to tuj , hats off to you and your wife for owning up to this, and sharing on a public forum.

Rock on and best of luck with your future plans, dedicated track car or not!

Hops128i · 09-05-2016, 05:25 PM

Appreciate the OP sharing, glad he's ok, very informative thread!

Being new to the track (only three events), I've been using DTC (one touch of that button), and only occasionally get the traction light lit. The DTC allows some slip angle, right?, at least that's what i've experienced.

tuj · 09-05-2016, 05:30 PM

Hops128i Yes, 1 press of DTC will allow slip, including significant slip (eg. the system gets behind the car). I had my car in "1-press" mode and I ended up in full-opposite lock, so the slip angle was severe. The DTC clearly couldn't catch the car fast enough.

Normally there is just minor slip, but if you have a low-traction moment, don't count on the DTC in 1-press mode.

08-30-2016, 03:55 PM	#45
CarsonE3x Never Lift 11 Rep 62 Posts Drives: '12 135i, '99 328iS, '70 2000 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Monterey Bay, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 1999 BMW [0.00] 2012 BMW 135i [0.00] 1970 BMW 2000NK [0.00]	This sounds pretty familiar. My '12 135 got shoved into a wall by an F430 at Sonoma coming out of turn 7 on Sunday. He pointed me by to his right, me and the 4 cars behind me moved over and he apparently had changed his mind and tapped my driver side fender. He got loose but recovered and I put 2 wheels off into the dirt, lost control and went into the wall. My frame is straight but the airbags on my side went off, my LCA broke and went through my midpipe, rear axle, steering rack, knuckle, tie rods and just about everything else is broken, sheared or snapped. My estimate is $22,408. __________________ '12 135i - Jet Black/Black, Tracked and Crashed '99 328iS ///iMposter '70 2000NK - Anthracite/Black
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08-30-2016, 06:08 PM	#46
dcaron9999 Major 157 Rep 1,409 Posts Drives: 2011 135i M package Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Mirabel, Quebec iTrader: (0)	I bought my 6sp manual 2011 135i in June 2013 and have taken it to the track almost on a weekly basis since then, as Im a volunteer instructor at a couple of clubs. Ive done several mods over that period of time to address and fix flaws on the E82 platform. Ive always found this car to be very snap oversteer prone with the stock open differential and e-diff wizardy that BMW implemented on this car instead of a proper torsen or clutch-based LSD. I got myself in a couple of spins on the car with this car, but was lucky enough to have enough run off space to save it each time. Here are my observations on what might have happened to you out there: (a) the e-diff kicked in if detected a little too much slip in the rear, and apply sending braking to your spinning wheel. Things might have gotten worse if the weight of your car transferred to the front, reducing the weight on the rear wheel and makings matters worse. (b) the short wheel base of the 135i makes the platform prone to snap oversteer, and its hard to recover smoothyl and elegantly from that. (c) you haven't mentioned whether you replaced your stock marshmallow rear subframe bushings designed for rock solid sidewall RunFlat tires. The soft bushings do not play nice with no-runflat Extreme PErformace or semi-slick tires. You end up with a very rubbery and skittish rear end under acceleration out of a curve. I invested in a Quaife LSD after my 1st season of lapping with this car, and stiffened up the rear end (E9x/M3 rear subframe bushings, adjustable Toe arms, springs, diff lock down bracket. I tried a a slew of alignments settings and ended up with a bit of toe in (1/16" each side) and negative camber (-2.2) in the rear. I make a lot of torque and power with my custom tune, and the higher final drive ratio on my LSD (went from stock 3.08 to 3.46). Luckily, I never got myself in a pickle since the mods listed above, and respecting any new track I visit. DSC stays on for first session, as I learn the track, follow a lead car, or ask an instructor experienced with the specific trac) to hop in with me. As I gradually get comformtable with the track, and after I get a bit of heat in the tires, I will turn one level of DTC control off (one quick press). Towards the end of the day, or at tracks Ive riden hundreds of laps on, I turn everything off after I get some heat in the tires (long press of the DTC button after 2-3 laps). If the track is cold or wet, even on the ones I call my second home, I never go beyond one level of DTC . Call me a whimp, I dont care, the car is a wild horse with its 440 ft-lbs of torque delivered in the relatively short RPM range of 2500 to 5500 RPM, and power delivery is not linear ... Note to tuj , hats off to you and your wife for owning up to this, and sharing on a public forum. Rock on and best of luck with your future plans, dedicated track car or not! __________________ 2011 X3 35i with M pack + 2011 135i w/6SPMT* \| 255 square tire setup \| Quaife 3.46 LSD \| Diff lock down bracket \| Bilstein B8+Swift SpecR springs+H&R FSB \| CDV delete \| BMS Oil Tstat bypass \| ER FMIC & CP \| N54Tuning DP \| GC Street Camber Plates \| M3 FCA +guide rods+RSFB's+Tranny mounts \| Manzo toe arms \| Cobb Stg2 agressive tune \| Hawk DTC70 brake pads \| RB SS brake pistons \| Goodridge SS brake lines \| Custom brake cooling ducts Last edited by dcaron9999; 08-30-2016 at 06:21 PM..
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09-05-2016, 05:25 PM	#47
Hops128i Captain 71 Rep 675 Posts Drives: 2010 128i, manual, sport pkg Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Silver Spring, Maryland iTrader: (0)	Appreciate the OP sharing, glad he's ok, very informative thread! Being new to the track (only three events), I've been using DTC (one touch of that button), and only occasionally get the traction light lit. The DTC allows some slip angle, right?, at least that's what i've experienced. __________________ 2010 128i manual, sport package, performance exhaust, Vorshlag camber plates, Bilstein B6 struts/shocks, 245/40/17 ZIII square on et 40 with rolled rear fenders.
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09-05-2016, 05:30 PM	#48
tuj First Lieutenant 49 Rep 379 Posts Drives: '13 135i Join Date: May 2013 Location: Stamford, CT iTrader: (0)	Hops128i Yes, 1 press of DTC will allow slip, including significant slip (eg. the system gets behind the car). I had my car in "1-press" mode and I ended up in full-opposite lock, so the slip angle was severe. The DTC clearly couldn't catch the car fast enough. Normally there is just minor slip, but if you have a low-traction moment, don't count on the DTC in 1-press mode. __________________ Living the 1-life since 2013. Last edited by tuj; 09-05-2016 at 05:38 PM..
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