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      09-07-2016, 12:29 AM   #1
vtl
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vtl's Alpine White 135i

I've had the car for almost 2 years now (Oct 2014) and thought it’s time to have a thread with all the mods to the car.

Came from a 2000 B5 A4 1.8T Quattro, great car but wanted something with better handling and power, while still being a nice car on the interior.

Had my heart set on an E46 M3 manual, but spent 2 year trying to find one with no luck. Theyre mostly SMGs and none for sale were taken care of. After so long, the 135is/335is had depreciated to the point where they were in my price range. Since 335is were so hard to find in manual I ended up going for a 2008 135i in Alpine white, black interior.

This car is my daily driver and all the mods have to be reasonably sensible with regards to comfort and noise. This car does a mix of street daily driving and track driving.

October 2008 build, Alpine White III, black interior, sunroof, heated seats with business idrive, basically had every option I wanted apart from CIC and comfort access.

Car came with Agency Power downpipes, Procede tune and Wagner EVO1 performance intercooler. Happy it came with the aftermarket parts, the intercooler is a direct fit with no cutting and stock couplings, while the downpipes are great quality and I didn't have to endure the pain of fitting them myself.

Initial impressions were generally positive apart from the handling. On one hand the straightline performance amazing and off the line performance is effortless in day to day driving. Interior quality was better than I expected and seating position and control layout is very ergonomic. Manual transmission is very east to heel and toe downshift and is very a very nice driving experience. Very comfortable for long journeys. On the other hand, the handling felt pretty poor. Chassis felt very wobbly, especially under heavy acceleration, understeers a lot, especially when the body rolls. The steering feel and feedback is excellent though, and feels like theres a very good chassis underneath. Turns out I needed to basically replace the entire suspension and tyres to sort it out!

Since purchasing the car this is the complete list of mods done to the car:

- Custom MHD tune
- Agency Power 2.6" downpipes
- Wagner EVO 1 Performance Intercooler
- Fuelit Stage 2 LPFP
- 2008 335i charge pipe, 24x3.5mm thicker diverter orings
- Turbosmart Kompact Plumbback diverters
- DIY PE mod exhaust
- M3 Microfilter cowl with custom 8AN brake booster line
- Custom power steering overflow bottle
- Silicone vacuum lines
- Billet cylinder head ->thermostat hose coolant fitting
- CSF radiator
- 034 Engine mounts with custom billet bottom caps
- AD Engineering oil blockoff


Drivetrain
- BMW performance short shifter kit
- UUC black transmission mounts
- UUC DBO delrin shifter carrier bushings
- Turner motorsport rear carrier shifter bushing
- BMS clutch stop
- 335is/550i clutch
- CDV delete

- M3 E93 3.15 Limited slip differential
- M3 E93 Axles
- Custom M3 propshaft by Knox Driveshaft Services

Suspension
- Dinan front camber plates
- M3 steering rack
- 28mm E93 M3 front sway bar
- 20mm Whiteline rear sway bar with custom end links

- KW Competition coilovers with H&R ID race springs (180mm 60N/mm front, 250mm 105N/mm rear)
- KW Competition lower rear shock mount converted to M3
- M3 lower camber arm conversion with custom headlight levelling bracket

- TRW M3 front control arms
- German Autosport front control arm monoball bushings
- TRW M3 rear guide rods (with rubber joint replaced with Lemforder ball joint)
- TRW M3 upper control arms (with rubber joint replaced with Lemforder ball joint)
- Trailing arm bushes replaced with Lemforder ball joints

- Hardrace rear toe arms
- PLM solid aluminium rear subframe mounts
- M3 front differential bushings
- F30 rear differential bushing
- Dinan rear upper shock mount kit

Brakes and wheels
- Alcon CR6380 355x32mm Front big brake kit
- Project MU Club Racer front pads
- Ferodo DS2500 rear brake pads
- Apex EC-7 8.5" ET45 front, 9.5" ET58 rear
- Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R 225/40/18, 255/35/18

Interior
- E92 M3 Steering wheel
- ZHP Gear Knob
- Schroth Quick Fit Pro harness
- 1M Alcantara Interior
- BMW fire extingusher mount with cup holder attached
- Brodit phone mount
- Aukey Dual QuickCharge USB charger

- BMW CIC Professional retrofit
- Replaced HDD with solid state disc
- Combox retrofit
- BMW Apps retrofit
- High beam assist mirror retrofit
- Garage door opener wired into blank fog front switch
- Arm rest phone cradle replaced with regular arm rest for more storage space
- Full LED interior conversion
- LCI climate control unit retrofit

Exterior
- Mars Performance black gloss outline/matte slats kidney grilles
- LED angel eyes
- 5000k HID bulbs
- Custom reverse LED bulbs
- LED front/rear indicators and brake lights
- LCI Blackline tail lights
- Carbon fibre rear diffuser

Coding

- Dynamic Cruise Control with braking functionality ($544)
- Comfort Eject (eject key when stop button is held down) (KOMFORT_EJECT)
- Oil Service interval coding $988 (12288km, 48 weeks)
- One touch turn signal to 4 blinks (MIND_ANZ_ZYKL_TIPP_BLK_1)
- Disabled aborting of one touch movement of window if door is opened (TUERAUF_STOP_MAUT)

- Disabled e-diff (DIFF_LOCK)
- Disabled engine power reduction (C0F_FLR)
- Disabled ready alert brake (C0F_RAB)
- Disabled brake fade compensation (C0F_FBS)
- Disabled corner braking control (C0F_CBC)
- Disabled dynamic brake control (C0F_DBC_MIN_AUSLOESEDRUCK)
- Disabled corner traction control (C0F_SDR_CTC)

- Disabled idrive legal disclaimer (LEGAL_DISCLAIMER_TIME)
- Enabled video in motion (SPEEDLOCK_X_KMH_MAX_C0E, SPEEDLOCK_X_KMH_MIN_C0E)
- BMW Apps retrofit ($6NR)

Will retrospectively post the info on the list of stuff I’ve done to the car, long list to cover but I’ve taken photos of most of the stuff I’ve done to the car, stay tuned

One of the few pics I have of the car looking stock:
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      09-07-2016, 12:29 AM   #2
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One of the first things I did was to replace the yucky stock angel eyes with LED ones. They're not as bright as i'd like but the illumination is pretty evenly distributed instead of the inner ring being much brighter than the outside ring

Also picked up some mars performance black grills for the car to get rid of the ugly chrome ones. These are gloss grills with matte slats.





Started to replace all the interior lights off ebay. Didn't buy any sort of kit, just bought everything individually

Heres the thread on all the lighting stuff:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1179633

Dome lights I custom made by soldering together 2 different sets of LED dome lights. Very happy with the result, everyone is always amazed at how bright these things are. Also most people with LED dome lights just have a small bulb with a hot spot in the middle of the light fixture, much happier with the dome light that lights up the whole panel.





Really makes them brilliant at night time where you need to find stuff in the car. After all the LED bulbs, there are no halogen interior lights at all on the car.
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      09-07-2016, 12:30 AM   #3
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Got some turbosmart kompact diverters as a preemptive measure to avoid any boost leaks. Was battling some issues with the car. These have awesome fitment and are super high quality. The silicone hoses are preshaped to not put any stress on the stock flanges, unlike the forge ones.

Decided to go for DV and not the dual port ones with trumpets on them. Less hassle setting up spring tension. I did note that the 135i stock charge pipe has an awful elephants trumpet on it which interferes with fitment.

I ended up getting a spare 2008 335i charge pipe that does not have this feature. Much easier for maintenence and declutters that area of the engine. Contrary to popular belief, pre-2009 stock charge pipes are reliable and not prone to cracking. It is made from a stronger plastic with a rubber elbow that reduces stress on the flange that connects to the throttle body. The 2009+ charge pipes are made from 1 piece flexible plastic which is weak and prone to cracking. This car has been tuned for over 3 years now and no issues with the stock charge pipe.
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      09-07-2016, 12:31 AM   #4
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Nolathane rear subframe bushings. This was my first suspension mod, looked at all the options and it is by far the best solution out there. Cheaper and easier to install than the M3 rear subframe bushings.

As with everything on the car this was a DIY. With the help of an indestructable PVC pipe, I pulled out the bushings with just hand tools.

Heres the full thread
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1158856






Really locked down the rear end and stopped the car from steering all over the place when under power. These soft bushings are designed to work with the stock runflats and I did find the harshness over sharp bumps to be more pronounced (I still had runflats on the car). Very good value bang per buck mod if you can find someone to install them for a reasonable price.
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      09-07-2016, 07:44 AM   #5
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Great car with nice mods. Tell me more about the HBA mirror retrofit. What is involved in getting HBA going?
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      09-07-2016, 08:06 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric in RVA View Post
Great car with nice mods. Tell me more about the HBA mirror retrofit. What is involved in getting HBA going?
Thanks!

You just need to make a harness that connects can-high and can-low to the mirror. Normally you only need to code it to make it work but in my case the mirror came out of a really old 7 series and I needed to update the firmware via WinKFP
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      09-07-2016, 08:33 AM   #7
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Angel eyes look fantastic. Do you have a link to the bulbs you bought?

I can't seem to find a reason why some are $200 + and some are $30.
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      09-07-2016, 05:22 PM   #8
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About time you did this Vince.. great write up!

Regarding the "Arm rest phone cradle replaced with regular arm rest for more storage space", where did you source a RHD arm rest? I've looked on realoem with no luck multiple times
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      09-07-2016, 05:30 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dat Aus View Post
Angel eyes look fantastic. Do you have a link to the bulbs you bought?

I can't seem to find a reason why some are $200 + and some are $30.
Thanks! The only reason im running them is because of how the optics work in the angel eye light pipes. It seems like you need a bulb with a particular height and beam angle and while i've spent $70 on really bright ones, they mostly illuminate the inside ring. Somehow the cheap ones I got fluked the formula and work really well in the E82 housing. I have since fitted a higher current power supply from a more powerful angel eye into these bulbs which bumped up the brightness a bit.

The photos make them look really bright and while they're not bad at all, it would be nice if they were a little brighter. I need to get around to buying a spare set and soldering on some really high quality LEDs in them, upgrade the heatsinks and then ill have the perfect angel eyes

The link I bought mine from are long gone (was like my first mod 2 years ago)

These look the same as the ones I got though:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-20W-H8...oAAOSwD0lUdEl4
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      09-07-2016, 05:39 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by totti84 View Post
About time you did this Vince.. great write up!

Regarding the "Arm rest phone cradle replaced with regular arm rest for more storage space", where did you source a RHD arm rest? I've looked on realoem with no luck multiple times
Sourced it from ebay, think it came from latvia out of an E87

Pictures added, its a huge pain getting the arm rest seperated from the centre console. To be honest I don't keep anything really useful in there apart from some charging cables lol, but previously the storage space was completely useless. The only thing I wish is that the compartment was lined with felt or rubber instead of smooth plastic. Makes noise if there are lose things in there.
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      09-07-2016, 05:55 PM   #11
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M3 microfilter cowl

As I do all the maintenance on my car, I found the stock microfilter to be a bit of a pain to work around. Basically anything you want to do to the car this has to come off. Saw a few people had done the M3 cowl and decided to source all the parts for it.

Ulimtately cost way too much money and work but its at least a pretty unique mod with only a handful of people that have it on a 1 series.

I even sourced the cable ducts and RHD specific parts from Schmiedmann and made up a custom 8AN braided hose to run the brake booster line through the cable duct.

Upon receiving the top and bottom sections of the cowl and test fitting it to my car, I realized that it doesn't fit a 1 series

The washer nozzles hit the top of the cowl. The 1 series ActiveE (electric E82 1 series) actually has the M3 cowl fitted so it can clear the electric motor, but that has a massive bulge in the bonnet so its not a problem. People with aftermarket carbon fibre bonnets also noted nozzle clearance was not an issue.

I ended up taking the hard route and decided to cut into the cowls, patch them up, fill with body filler and repaint them:

Cuts




Mocking up on the car with some electrical tape to check clearances


Cut up some plastic enclosure boxes into the right shape and JB welded them on:



Smoothed with body filler


Primed for paint:




Painted



Test fitted






Braided 8AN line to relocate brake booster hard pipe. This would otherwise run across the engine and stick out like a sore thumb. I actually sourced a LHD spare brake booster pipe as mine was broken. The LHD version has a right angle connector that plugs into the brake check valve pipe. This is cruical to get good routing with the really heavy gauge hose.




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      09-07-2016, 05:57 PM   #12
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Sweet ride Vincent.

Car looks super clean.
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      09-07-2016, 06:17 PM   #13
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Was on a cruise up to lake mountain and noticed the clutch was slipping

I'm no stranger to european cars and a clutch usually means big dollars. Dual mass flywheel is tricky to get machined and means downtime.

Heres the full thread for details
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1191143

Ended up getting a 335is/550i clutch with a brand new LUK dual mass. By far the most cost effective solution while retaining stock driveability. I ended up doing it DIY with the help of T1M

Was a huge job ~12hours but was a great accomplishment doing the whole procedure on jackstands.
















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      09-07-2016, 06:21 PM   #14
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Finally got rid of the runflats after over a year of ownership in Nov 2015. Regret not doing it sooner, I went with Yokohama AD08Rs in 225/40/18 and 255/35/18

I am now onto my 2nd set of AD08Rs and very happy with them, massive grip on the track, low noise, works when cold and in the rain (as long as they have tread)

Only downside I can see to them is cost and tyre wear, just over 20,000km is what i would say I get out of them (with a few track days as well)
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      09-07-2016, 06:57 PM   #15
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Top stuff Vince.
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      09-07-2016, 07:28 PM   #16
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Picked up this Schroth Quick fit pro harness from a guy off ebay.

Excellent 4 point harness that is safe to use, has anti submarining which prevents the harness from riding up off your pelvis in a crash and crushing your organs.

The stock seats are pretty good but don't hold you into the seat well enough. This harness really holds you securely and you don't have to hold onto the wheel to support your body, frees up your arms to just do the steering.

Installation is very easy and totally reversable. It plugs into the stock seat belt points plus you bolt in some extra anchors. When not in use, the whole thing unplugs and I leave it in the boot. Can be installed in under a minute.
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      09-07-2016, 08:47 PM   #17
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Awesome build thread, I look forward to following future updates.
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      09-07-2016, 09:10 PM   #18
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DIY PE Mod exhaust

Bought a spare stock N54 135i exhaust from the forums, with the intention on modding it to the PE mod:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=963343

Bought it at the end of 2015 and only got around to doing it the last few weeks. Installed it on the car a few days ago.

Fortunately I saw woosh for sale thread with pictures of the 135i muffler. The N54 and N55 135i exhaust is different. The Y pipe internally is perforated on the N54 but is solid on the N55. This also explains why the exhaust flap on an N54 135i is pretty ineffective, as both pipes are muffled regardless of whether the valve is open or closed.

To do this mod properly, I had to cut open both sides of the muffler and weld up all the little holes in the Y pipe. The Y pipe is perforated on the top and bottom, quite hard to access.

The 3 big holes in the middle pipe I patched up with some small piece of stainless. The 3 big holes are connected up to the exhaust flap. The other pipe in the middle is perforated and I left that one alone to make the exhaust a bit more quiet when the flap is closed. I replaced all of the fibreglass packing.

Then welded it all back up and ground everything flat. I underestimated the amount of work required for this mod, this was my first welding project and was a bit of a learning curve. Also grinding, and smoothing everything took forever. Ended up polishing it all up to make it look a little nicer.

I am very happy with the exhaust. When the flap is closed it is louder but still pretty quiet in the cabin with the windows closed. The exhaust note is a bit more higher pitched and is much louder when under power. The crackles and pops are much clearer and crisper but are not over the top. Blocking off the exhaust valve in the engine bay (effeictly golf tee mod) has a much more pronounced effect, much louder driving around at low loads, but I prefer the automatic exhaust flap control via the DME so i'll leave it connected.
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      09-07-2016, 09:23 PM   #19
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Solid work on the exhaust. It's very tedious hey
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      09-08-2016, 12:22 AM   #20
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Got these Blackline tail lights a few months back, very pricey, bought them from Schmiedmann.

Plug and play, and because the bulbs are 100% identical to pre-lci, all my LED bulbs fit perfectly in the new housings. Apart from the LEDs these were only the 2nd exterior cosmetic mod (after the black grills)

Sold my old lights at a decent price to offset the cost of these so it didn't end up costing me too much overall for these.
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      09-08-2016, 12:33 AM   #21
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Got these 313s a couple weeks ago. These are quite a rare rim and these were the first set of 18" 313s I've ever seen for sale on ebay/gumtree. Most of the 313s ive seen are the 19" ones. Was never a fan of the 261s and most E82s I see driving around have them which make it a bit boring too.

These wheels have the same specs of the 261s, 18" ET49 front / ET52 rear

Took the opportunity to weigh these wheels comapred to the 261s:

I transferred my Yokohama AD08Rs tyres from the 261s to the 313s
261 Front 22.5 kg
261 Rear 24.5 kg

313 Front 21 kg
313 Rear 22.5 kg

2x 1.5 kg weight loss on the fronts
2x 2 kg weight less from the rears

Decent unsprung mass saving there, although I can't say I feel any real difference.
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      09-08-2016, 12:38 AM   #22
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how does the car feel with the subframe bushings and the ADO8 combo? as you said they worked wonders for stock runflats, so they were even better?
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