E82 135i "build" by JD

[JD75]

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

In regard to comments about prices for parts or labour, you only ever hear from people who *know* they can buy it cheaper or install it cheaper. But do they?

Hey mate,

that is sooo true.

With regards component costs, I challenge anyone to purchase the exact same parts for any less than I did.

As for installation costs, perhaps you could spend less if that is your primary concern.

However I am quite certain you could also spend a lot more.

For me it is about ensuring the "build" is done to the highest possible standard.

I am SUPER picky and very hard to please, as critical as they come.

I do not believe in cutting corners, nor does Peter and Dale at Advan Performance.

Regardless of the time of day, Peter is always more than happy to have a lengthy and detailed conversation, regarding the progress of the car.

He is not in the business to purely make a buck, nothing could be further from the truth.

He is a die hard enthusiast and this is evident by his attention to detail and the respect he shows for both the customer and their vehicles.

[woosh]

Whilst we're on the topic...
The same could be said about Peter from Bodyform (different individual/company) who deals mainly with vehicle aesthetic alterations. He's developed a reputation for such high quality and workmanship that people will happily wait 6 months to have a body kit fitted, for example. Even with prices in the northern end of the spectrum.

If you are passionate about what you do and you know what you're capable of, there's no need to charge any less. And trust me, as seen evident in this thread, the customer flow does remain constant, if not increasing.

*popcorn*

[CrustyNoodle]

Justin, I really appreciate the information you have provided here - it serves as very good reference material.

can you elaborate on this entry?

BC “custom” 135i double adjustable coilovers.
Component cost: $1,680.00
Installation cost: $750.00
Supplier: Bor-Chuann Enterprise.

Does your set up include their camber plates or any other equipment?

How does their stuff stack up - I'd never heard of them before your post (not that that is all that surprising).

[1q2w3e4r]

They look like a trick bit of gear (I saw a set on the weekend at Advan).

Think the prices have come back a bit as well from what I understand.

[BBK]

Originally Posted by JD75

ER charge pipe with Synapse Synchronic BOV & 2 meth bungs.
Component cost: $657.24
Installation cost: $300.00
Supplier: Evolution Racewerks.

ar design catless downpipes with Satin Black CC & O2/EGT bungs.
Component cost: $1,056.08
Installation cost: $450.00
Supplier: ar design.


Macht Schnell intake charge scoops.
Component cost: $170.00
Installation cost: $110.00
Supplier: European Auto Source.



Coolingmist VC2 Methanol Kit with 2.7 gal integrated tank, 2 x CM7 injectors, flow sensor, standalone filter, stainless steel solenoid.
Component cost: $946.61
Installation cost: $850.00
Supplier: Burger Motorsports.



BMW E93 M3 28mm front anti-roll bar.
Component cost: $297.49
Installation cost: $225.00
Supplier: United BMW.

I just wanted to comment on the things that I have personally done to give more reference.

ER Charge pipe/BOV, install probably sounds about right. $100/hr labour that's 3 hours. I did mine myself with the help of some other members and watched them do theirs first. It wasn't that hard on my car, but for a proper mechanic doing it for the first time I would say 2-3 hours is fair.

AR DP's, mine were installed at a shop, cost $350. Someone else on these forums also did theirs there and they were the first, and still charged $350. So $450 for a first time is a little on the high side, but not bad.

Charge scoops, this is a 30min job, very easy. I did mine myself with very basic tools. Anything more than $50-$60 for this is probably a bit of a rip...

Coolingmist Meth kit, mine took 3 days to do and cost me $1000. Mine was the first they've ever done and probably one of the first meth kits full stop they've done. If I had all the instructions at the begining it would have been much quicker and easier, but we didn't so I had to find a lot of info during the install which costed time and money.

M3 swaybar, mine cost $220 to be installed, so this seems fair.

[JD75]

Originally Posted by JB4135

FARK!!!!!! Over $40k. Well done Justin that is an amazing car you have.
Personally I would get a GTR and flash it with a COBB for $800 and have a low 11 second car that's handles like a dream. Each to their own.
It's great to see you've documented everything in this thread and im sure it will be very informative for future 135 owners.

Ummm, I hope to have a low 11 second car soon enough and it already handles very well, haha.

Well maybe not low 11's.

I do like the R35's, they are sleeping giants.

However I bought my 1'er from the factory in late 2009, at that point in time there was a huge disparity in price between that of a new BMW 135i and a new Nissan Skyline R35 GTR.

If I was shopping for a second hand car right now, that I did not want to modify, perhaps I would go down that path.

But you know what, what we are doing on my 135i has not been done in Australia before, well not to this level anyway.

I am confident this level of modification is unsurpassed.

As Ben said we are "trail blazers" and I kinda' like that, it's cool.

[JD75]

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

Justin, would like more information about the above. A detailed breakdown of components and other parts considered?

Hey Kenny,

I will do so shortly.

[JD75]

Originally Posted by JB4135

Justin you have far too much money.
If your thinking of handing any out I'll PM you my bank details.

Ummm, correction.

I HAD "far too much money".

Check out the "Spec" list, it should be quite apparent where it disappeared to.

[JD75]

Originally Posted by mattyv

That's hot

Cheers mate.

[DMM]

Nugget

This car has cause me many late nights, lack of sleep and plenty of cuts and scrapes!

BUT....i must say, its fun

[JD75]

Originally Posted by CrustyNoodle

Justin, I really appreciate the information you have provided here - it serves as very good reference material.

can you elaborate on this entry?

The Bor-Chuann Enterprise (BC) Coilovers were a custom build for my 1'er.

According to Peter of Advan Performance, BC had developed a Coilover for the 335i, but had nothing in the pipeline for the 135i.

Both the damper valving and spring rates, had to be carefully calculated prior to them manufacturing the prototype Coilovers for my car.

As it stands right now,

they are a "special order item" only, directly from BC in Taiwan.

However Advan are working quickly to rectify this, they hope to have them readily available soon.

The spring rates in my application are as follows:

7 kg/mm or 392 pounds on the front.

12 kg/mm or 672 pounds on the rear.

The front shock assembly is supplied with a camber plate.

The front shock assembly can be physically lengthened or shortened to accommodate various ride height requirements, without having to alter spring pre-load.

The rear shock assembly uses a threaded platform, similar in design to that of the KW's.

The kit can also be optioned with a spring perch spacer for the rear.

The above adjustments allow for a vehicle to be lowered, as much as 65mm over OE ride height and raised 20mm above.

Both front and rear shock assemblies use a top mount spherical bearing.

This improves damper efficiency somewhat as there is no bush distortion.

However the deletion of the bush means that the Coilover system is more prone to transmitting noise vibration harshness (NVH), throughout the cabin of the car.

Having driven on both KW V2's and the BC's I can say that the KW's are certainly quieter, but of course with everything there are trade offs.

"Horses for courses", as they say.

They will be available in the near future for approximately $1,550 (inclusive of shipping and GST).

For further details regarding technical specifics and availability,

please contact Peter Hopkins at Advan Performance on (02) 9648 3366.

Cheers,

Justin.

[JD75]

Originally Posted by 1q2w3e4r

They look like a trick bit of gear (I saw a set on the weekend at Advan).

Think the prices have come back a bit as well from what I understand.

Hey Ben,

Yep they are most certainly a very well engineered component.

To quote Peter,

if you were to "slap a swastika on them", you could charge $10,000.

Well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I think you get the idea.

Hey Gents FYI,

if you desire the spring rates for the front and rear can be ordered to spec, based on driving requirements.

Also the the shock/damper assembly within the Coilover is a fully serviceable item.

According to Peter they can be rebuilt at any time for minimal cost.

I believe Dale is even toying with the idea of replacing the hydraulic oil, with a higher grade fluid.

Lastly they will be available for somewhat less than I bought mine for.

I obviously had to pay a premium to have the prototype 135i Coilover system made as a one off, in preparation for the "Hot Tuner Shootout".

Cheers,

JD.

[Unkie]

Hi Justin, just wondering why you changed over to the BC coilovers from the KW's?

[JD75]

Originally Posted by DMM

Nugget

This car has cause me many late nights, lack of sleep and plenty of cuts and scrapes!

BUT....i must say, its fun

Yep,

Dale has certainly been very much involved with the progression of the "build".

Much like Peter he is always readily available, to have a chat concerning any aspect of the car.

Dale is also more than happy to discuss the ongoing modification of the car after business hours, providing he is not "entertaining".

I hope you have "fun" mate, when you are tearing arse down the WSID come Wednesday night.

[mcmn]

Peter,

Keen on understanding the availability of the BC suspension. I contacted BC and they said there supplier in .au is Just Jap - Are you planning on setting up a direct relationship with them? potentially via whitelabel agreement?

Anyway, when availability and $$ becomes available I'm keen to be informed

Paul

[JD75]

Originally Posted by Unkie

Hi Justin, just wondering why you changed over to the BC coilovers from the KW's?

Hey mate,

my biggest issue with the KW's was the reduction in ride height.

If you are running the OE 18" wheel and tyre combo, I suspect you will get away with the 25mm drop just fine. You could perhaps go further.

However as I am running 19" wheels with 225's on the front and 255's on the rear, the minimum reduction in ride height of 25mm was just far too much.

Tyre scrubbing was excessive to say the least, sigh...

FYI,

if you were to hold the front KW Coilover assembly in one hand and the equivalent BC Coilover in the other, you would be saying WTF!

I hate to say it, but the KW Coilover looks and feels like a toy component in comparison to the BC.

The double adjustable BC looks and feels every bit, a race spec product.

The valving of the BC allows for far superior dampening characteristics and in turn the ability to run a much higher spring rate, than the KW V2 or V3's would ever be capable of controlling.

The only negative associated with the BC Coilover system, is that they are certainly more audible than the KW.

You know they are there, where as with the KW Coilover system they are much less intrusive.

That being said the car feels substantially better on the road with the BC's installed and from a track perspective I suspect the LESS EXPENSIVE BC is light year's ahead.

With the KW Variant 2's I was somewhat underwhelmed, in particular when considering what they SHOULD cost.

N.B.

I paid $2,178.70 for the KW V2's delivered to my door, which if you have done your research is a bargain.

Pete believes he will be able to sell the single adjustable BC's for no more $1,550 once he secures availability.

If you can live with a bit of NVH in the cabin of the car, the BC's are a no brainer.

Nuff' said.

[mcmn]

NVH = ?

[Smiley1175]

Originally Posted by mcmn

NVH = ?

Noise, Vibration, Harshness

[JD75]

Originally Posted by mcmn

NVH = ?

NVH=noise vibration harshness.

To be honest it is not technically correct to describe the extraneous noise, made by the Coilover system as NVH.

It is more like a creak, but either way it is something that is undesirable.

[DMM]

I should just say the BC coilovers are Single damper compression adjustable monotube.

Double adjustable arent available in an external reservoir model.

I have been using these BC's for years, i swtiched to BC from products like Tein.

[JD75]

Moving away from the topic of the BC Coilovers for a minute if I may.

I wanted to post up some dyno graphs from a previous tuning session, on the part of both Peter and Adrian.

We are hoping to get back onto the rollers tomorrow night, as a few more upgrades have taken place that could see an ever better result.

FYI,

the boost taper beyond 150 km/h on the rollers was in lieu of an intermittent miss-fire, we were experiencing in the upper rev range.

We have since changed all 6 spark plugs and have implemented a hardware change, that will provide for more stable control of the ignition system.

Anyway, here ya' go.

Oh,

lastly one of the pulls saw a peak tractive effort of 8,200 dynanewtons.

Cheers,

JD.

[Kiwi Peter]

Originally Posted by mcmn

Peter,

Keen on understanding the availability of the BC suspension. I contacted BC and they said there supplier in .au is Just Jap - Are you planning on setting up a direct relationship with them? potentially via whitelabel agreement?

Anyway, when availability and $$ becomes available I'm keen to be informed

Paul

Hi there Paul
Yes we order through Just Jap and they send our order to BC, the system is sent directly back to Advan. If you want the same system as fitted to Justins car with or without the M3 lower arms same spring setup etc, it would take around 2 weeks, And thanks to Justin the price will get cheaper with every order. It may even show up as a standard list item in time to come.