What did you do to/for your 1er today?

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by JM98

Probably not worth the cost honestly - Differential is last on my list in $ for fun factor. Unless you are trying to be competitive tracking, there's other things you can spend your money on that will return more smiles per dollar

I think the differential is the last thing on my list to get me there. Smiles per dollar aside, I feel like a true LSD will let me control the car a lot better/safer in the mountains, at a parking lot autocross, or at my local tracks

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by dtla1

Damn, and MFactory has been top of my list for a while. I saw the other failures and figured it was one off, maybe a leftover from the days of a bad batch of bolts, but now I have major reservations.

Anybody want to recommend a diff for a DCT car? Mostly daily driven, lots of fun mountain/canyon runs, some track/autocross driving for fun here and there.

This wasn't an MFactory issue, TBH. This was me not doing my due-diligence and keeping a close eye on a well-abused part of my car.

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I'd like to know too. I haven't dug deeply into options as I don't have the coin to spend on a LSD at the moment. I would probably do suspension work first before diving into doing an LSD. But I wonder if Quaife or Wavetrac are options.

At one point Dinan had a diff for our cars. But that thing was stupid expensive. $4k if I remember correctly. I guess they didn't sell very many of them as it's been off their website for quite some time.

I'd definitely recommend a helical type differential for a mostly daily driver car. The loss of refinement and smoothness is my biggest gripe with this clutch type diff.

Originally Posted by JM98

Probably not worth the cost honestly - Differential is last on my list in $ for fun factor. Unless you are trying to be competitive tracking, there's other things you can spend your money on that will return more smiles per dollar

It's worth every damned penny, and I'm still saying that after blowing it up. The way it changes the behavior of the car is unbelievable, and it really makes the car feel like the proper sports car it should've always been.

There's almost nothing you can do to these cars that will net you so many smiles per dollar. It was almost the last major thing I did, and I wish so much that it was the first thing I did.

It makes that much of a difference.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

This wasn't an MFactory issue, TBH. This was me not doing my due-diligence and keeping a close eye on a well-abused part of my car.

I'd definitely recommend a helical type differential for a mostly daily driver car. The loss of refinement and smoothness is my biggest gripe with this clutch type diff.

It's worth every damned penny, and I'm still saying that after blowing it up. The way it changes the behavior of the car is unbelievable, and it really makes the car feel like the proper sports car it should've always been.

There's almost nothing you can do to these cars that will net you so many smiles per dollar. It was almost the last major thing I did, and I wish so much that it was the first thing I did.

It makes that much of a difference.

What do you think you could have done to avoid the failure? I'm pretty sure they advertise a lifetime warranty and no maintenance needed? I get it's the bolts that failed and not the actual LSD, but the bolts were provided by MFactory right? Even if it's a third party part, they should still design and QA to make sure those parts also don't fail.

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by dtla1

What do you think you could have done to avoid the failure? I'm pretty sure they advertise a lifetime warranty and no maintenance needed? I get it's the bolts that failed and not the actual LSD, but the bolts were provided by MFactory right? Even if it's a third party part, they should still design and QA to make sure those parts also don't fail.

I could've pulled the cover off for every oil change, which is what I wanted to do originally, but time limited how thorough I could be, and that never happened. Clutch type diffs are far from maintenance-free. You have to replace the clutches every 30-50k miles (depending on usage), and its condition needs to be constantly monitored. Lifetime warranty is on non-wearing parts (hardware, casing, etc.), not installation (unless you buy an assembled differential from them).

The bolts didn't fail. If anything, the Red Loctite is what failed. The bolts weren't damaged (other than one being gouged by a gear). I installed per their and BMW's instructions, and the bolts simply came loose and had a party inside the diff before promptly exiting in a most extravagant fashion.

[iminhell1]

Thurs - Monday
About 2,100 miles.

I did have hickups. With driving slowly through one tourist area (15mph limit) the underhood temps must have been quite high. I got a random (no) coolant light. ECT was 224ish and climbed to 232 before falling. A little high but not troubling.
I turned car off the flash the race pump flash.
Started car and got boost codes right away. Clear and come right back.
Turn engine off and clear. Bingo.
I got the coolant light randomly and really seemed to tie into high underhood temp.
But I also notice the cooling fan running on full blast more than normal.

So I'll be ordering a pump/thermostat shortly.


But other than that the car did great. Cam back with just over 144,000 on the clock.

[iminhell1]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Ring gear bolts let go Bought from MFactory and torqued to their spec, with the required red loc-tite. At least the LSD unit seems undamaged. Now I need to find a low-mile donor diff, and swap the guts over (and maybe rebuild the LSD while it's out).

I need to see if MFactory will do anything about this. I have my doubts...

I see no red on the bolts ...
I used the Red gel pen. Love them.

carpart for a doner diff. Mine was $60.

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I guess my reservations about MFactory isn't so unfounded now.

Sorry both of you all are dealing with this. I stand by my statements earlier that MFactory needs to be held to task on these failures more than what they've done so far with affected units.

Chris did the bolt work himself. This isn't a MFactory issue at all (that I can see).

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

I could've pulled the cover off for every oil change, which is what I wanted to do originally, but time limited how thorough I could be, and that never happened. Clutch type diffs are far from maintenance-free. You have to replace the clutches every 30-50k miles (depending on usage), and its condition needs to be constantly monitored. Lifetime warranty is on non-wearing parts (hardware, casing, etc.), not installation (unless you buy an assembled differential from them).

The bolts didn't fail. If anything, the Red Loctite is what failed. The bolts weren't damaged (other than one being gouged by a gear). I installed per their and BMW's instructions, and the bolts simply came loose and had a party inside the diff before promptly exiting in a most extravagant fashion.

I blindly assumed it was a helical, I made an a... well you know haha. Good write up though!

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by iminhell1

Chris did the bolt work himself. This isn't a MFactory issue at all (that I can see).

I'm sure that will be MFactory's position regardless.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by JM98

Probably not worth the cost honestly - Differential is last on my list in $ for fun factor. Unless you are trying to be competitive tracking, there's other things you can spend your money on that will return more smiles per dollar

Originally Posted by dtla1

I think the differential is the last thing on my list to get me there. Smiles per dollar aside, I feel like a true LSD will let me control the car a lot better/safer in the mountains, at a parking lot autocross, or at my local tracks

I have the same diff as Chris, and like him, I couldn't disagree with this sentiment more. If I bought a new E8x, I'd put a proper diff in before anything else.

Without a diff you're entirely at the mercy of the car's suspension setup around corners. In a straight line, you're entirely at the mercy of the traction of one tire. With the diff, you can control the back and front of the car independently, using the throttle and brake - it gives you the ability to work around the vagaries and understeer bias of the stock suspension.

Fixing the suspension in our cars costs as much, if not more, than a LSD, and you're still one-wheel drive.

Originally Posted by chris_flies

I'd definitely recommend a helical type differential for a mostly daily driver car. The loss of refinement and smoothness is my biggest gripe with this clutch type diff.

[...]

It's worth every damned penny, and I'm still saying that after blowing it up. The way it changes the behavior of the car is unbelievable, and it really makes the car feel like the proper sports car it should've always been.

There's almost nothing you can do to these cars that will net you so many smiles per dollar. It was almost the last major thing I did, and I wish so much that it was the first thing I did.

It makes that much of a difference.

... and I couldn't agree more. A clutch diff is a PITA at times - and the car handles so totally different after you put one in, I don't feel like you could ever get the handling setup so it's 'porsche-like' in corners - unless you had easy access to a track, and a pit-crew who properly knew how suspension works.

But the way the car rewards you for throwing it into a corner and man-handling it out with a bit of sideways action... It's satisfying time, after time, after time, after time.

If you want faster lap-times, invest in coil-overs.
If you want smiles per mile, do the diff first.

chris_flies Sucks to hear about your diff, I hope MFactory look after you.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by xQx

I have the same diff as Chris, and like him, I couldn't disagree with this sentiment more. If I bought a new E8x, I'd put a proper diff in before anything else.

Without a diff you're entirely at the mercy of the car's suspension setup around corners. In a straight line, you're entirely at the mercy of the traction of one tire. With the diff, you can control the back and front of the car independently, using the throttle and brake - it gives you the ability to work around the vagaries and understeer bias of the stock suspension.

Fixing the suspension in our cars costs as much, if not more, than a LSD, and you're still one-wheel drive.

...
chris_flies Sucks to hear about your diff, I hope MFactory look after you.

I can't tell if my post was just worded very poorly, or my English as a Second Language classes are failing me but... What I meant to convey was that I've already done all the other mods I would have wanted to do to the car, except the diff. It's the last thing on my list not because that's where I put it, or that's how I've prioritized it, but because it just turned out to be the only thing left.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by dtla1

I can't tell if my post was just worded very poorly, or my English as a Second Language classes are failing me but... What I meant to convey was that I've already done all the other mods I would have wanted to do to the car, except the diff. It's the last thing on my list not because that's where I put it, or that's how I've prioritized it, but because it just turned out to be the only thing left.

Hahaha no worries, yes, I'd interpreted your post wrong, sorry.

... In other news, I've made zero changes to my car recently because of other financial pressures... it's battery needs to be charged daily now, it lost a Kidney Grill on the road (but fortunately I had a spare set, so that was an easy replacement). ... and frustratingly, the convertible top won't open - which feels serious - I need to go check the electronics, but the way it unlocks but refuses to move might mean it's time for me to spend big money on the hydraulics.

Honestly, I'm no longer joking when I say this car costs 25% of it's value annually to keep on the road.

[chris_flies]

And it works! (Mostly)

Got the Xtrons head unit installed today. Very happy with it. Sound quality is equal to stock (though there is quite a bit of white noise when no music is playing), touchscreen is responsive and accurate, and the system seems stable and well laid-out.

My only issue is that Apple CarPlay isn't working. It needs an activation key that I wasn't provided. Does anyone know how to get it working through the included z-link app?

[1and1]

ordered 10 qts of Liqui Moly 5w40 and a Mann filter today from Amazon. Sadly the oil isn't shipping Prime, so probably won't arrive until next week..., still, whaddya want for $70 and not leaving the couch...

Finally got around to putting a pipe wrench on my passenger side, semi-seized, tie rod... Wee bit of body weight pulling on it & cussing, and !!TING!! it's free(ish). Mostly anyway... A few adjustments later and I have an even steering wheel again!

[PCNewman]

Looking for a set of 18's for my 128i.
OEM 135 staggered set should fit the bill.

[YearOneOne]

Originally Posted by JM98

Probably not worth the cost honestly - Differential is last on my list in $ for fun factor. Unless you are trying to be competitive tracking, there's other things you can spend your money on that will return more smiles per dollar

Originally Posted by dtla1

I think the differential is the last thing on my list to get me there. Smiles per dollar aside, I feel like a true LSD will let me control the car a lot better/safer in the mountains, at a parking lot autocross, or at my local tracks

Originally Posted by chris_flies

This wasn't an MFactory issue, TBH. This was me not doing my due-diligence and keeping a close eye on a well-abused part of my car.

I'd definitely recommend a helical type differential for a mostly daily driver car. The loss of refinement and smoothness is my biggest gripe with this clutch type diff.

It's worth every damned penny, and I'm still saying that after blowing it up. The way it changes the behavior of the car is unbelievable, and it really makes the car feel like the proper sports car it should've always been.

There's almost nothing you can do to these cars that will net you so many smiles per dollar. It was almost the last major thing I did, and I wish so much that it was the first thing I did.

It makes that much of a difference.

I have to agree here. This was my last major modification and I still giggle at how well it behaves. Honestly it's my favorite mod to date and worth every penny.

[CivicDuty]

Ok...so not exactly "for" the 1er but...

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

And it works! (Mostly)

Got the Xtrons head unit installed today. Very happy with it. Sound quality is equal to stock (though there is quite a bit of white noise when no music is playing), touchscreen is responsive and accurate, and the system seems stable and well laid-out.

My only issue is that Apple CarPlay isn't working. It needs an activation key that I wasn't provided. Does anyone know how to get it working through the included z-link app?

I was wondering how this was going for you. Did they end up replacing the first unit due to a defect?

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

I was wondering how this was going for you. Did they end up replacing the first unit due to a defect?

They just replaced it. I haven't heard anything about what went wrong so far.

[crowtrobot]

Box of goodies ready for the long weekend. Oil pan gasket has been weeping for some time now, so I'm using the opportunity and access to complete some other jobs while the subframe is down.

• Oil pan gasket
• Engine Mounts
• Preventative replacement of the Water Pump
• Add OE N52 oil cooler

Hopefully be able to get all this done over the long weekend!

[tjswarbrick]

At 110,000 miles, over the weekend, I had the clutch (to 335is/550i unit), flywheel, transmission mounts, front brakes, and control arm bushings R&R'd, and 4-wheel alignment.
Clutch now engages at the bottom rather than top of travel, and doesn't unravel when I need to make a quick top-gear pass. Nice.
Put on Stop-Tech Street Performance pads, and new rotors. Feel / hear no difference. But peace of mind they'll last me a couple more years.
Car tracks straight and turns in beautifully. So that's great, too.
Biggest difference, I've gotta say, is those bushes. Didn't realize the old ones were shot! No more stuttering over bumps, slamming on expansion joints, shimmying down the road, or hunting at turn-in. Kinda wish I had thought to grab the HPA HD ones ($65/pr instead of $190! But at $500 labor, not going to go back and have it done again.) Shop kept calling them thrust arm and/or tension strut bushings. Took me a while to realize they were talking about the control arms. Regardless, it drives so nicely now that I think I'm going to not worry about that. Feels like new!

[YearOneOne]

Originally Posted by CivicDuty

Ok...so not exactly "for" the 1er but...

I've been watching these for a while but couldn't bring myself to pay the tax so got a regular pair last black Friday for like 40 bucks. My favorite driving shoes to date

[CivicDuty]

Originally Posted by YearOneOne

I've been watching these for a while but couldn't bring myself to pay the tax so got a regular pair last black Friday for like 40 bucks. My favorite driving shoes to date

These were clearance at Marshall's near me for $60. Right place, right time!