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

[Edrift]

Did an oil and filter change yesterday (just under 50,000km on my 2008 n54 135i) and painted the rims black today.

Pulled off the charge pipe to explore the sound generator. It's weird because the outlet looks like it should vent to the atmosphere but the big drum in the middle is sealed. It differs completely to the sound generator on the Z4. There is no dampening material to be removed.

After putting everything back together I start getting misfires on cylinder 3 for the first time.
After some basic diagnosis it turned out the coil pack died (a swap to cylinder 4 and the misfire followed).
So now I gotta wait till new coil packs arrived. They were still the original Bosch ones from 2008 according to the manufacturing date stamp.
Hopefully new coil packs make everything run better than before.

[christofis135i]

Originally Posted by Petro135

Put my Maddad whisper on today. Was anxious to see how it fits and sounds.
Now it vibrates, tomorrow I need to get some washers and drop that middle brace down to stop it.
But it sounds amazing, cold start is really loud. But mellows and is a deep growl maybe quieter than oem at idle. My car had most of its drone at idle and a little in 6th at highway cruise speeds and both of those drones are completely gone. I still need to try all different rpms and see if I can find any drone. But that's after I get rid of the vibration.
It has less pops and burbles on decel than oem but I'm guessing that is due to it releasing alot of the back pressure . Better for the new turbos I'm sure.
The right tip is rubbing the side of my diffuser and I need to try to center it better tomorrow as well

There's a group buy post for these and I'm interested to know more about the drone. Do you have a catless downpipe? Did you ever fix the vibration issue.

[Petro135]

Originally Posted by christofis135i

There's a group buy post for these and I'm interested to know more about the drone. Do you have a catless downpipe? Did you ever fix the vibration issue.

I have vrsf catless dp's and oem n54 midpipes. I tested the drone at all different rpms today. Only drone I could find was just under 2k rpm in D which I only use until the car warms up. My horrendous idle drone is gone. I smile when I'm stopped at a traffic light now. Lol . Couldn't find any other drone.
This exhaust sounds great, if I didnt already have one I'd be in that group buy for sure.
The vibration is gone. I had to drop the exhaust to get a longer bolt and spacer in the center driver side portion of the v brace and 2 big washers on each side of the brace to get clearance between it and the exhaust pipe. After doing it I'm thinking heating it up and bending it a bit will probably work also.
One more thing, my car is a convertible and I think there is a part of the roof brace under there and the exhaust pipe needs to be dented to fit. Luckily I bought mine from someone who had a vert and the dent was in the perfect place.

[crowtrobot]

DE season starts in a few weeks at NJMP, put a set of Quickfit Pro harnesses in. Great fitment, easy install.

Looking forward to putting them to the test in March!

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by mdk135i

The plastic on my steering wheel looks terrible and the leather is starting to dry out and crack. What are good DIY options or even refurbishment options? I want to keep a very OEM look and feel but would be open to tasteful mods. Has anyone tackled this recently with great results?

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Tiny piece of leather on the left side of my M-Sport steering wheel has been bugging me for a year. Last month, out of the blue, a massive chunk fell off.

I did notice it’s at 9:00 both where the sun hits when she’s parked at the office, and where my hand pretty much always is.
I have a Redline shift boot, and ZHP shift knob. So seriously considering a Redline steering wheel wrap. But don’t have a puller, and am unsure of my ability to sew it on decently.

"Mewant" is the other seller on ebay and I think Amazon as well, that sells the DIY covers. Plenty of good reviews as long as you take your time, and take the steering wheel off to get the proper alignment and stretch.

[duder13]

Originally Posted by low135

9002 which is what BMW used on the 1M. they use a darker color for the Performance stuff which I think stands out too much against our interior plastics

It's interesting you say that. I just got the performance shift and brake boot, and it really doesn't seem too dark to me at all (at least in person.) I wonder if your interior plastics have faded a little in the sun (I'm in Oregon, so not a ton of sun.) Have you seen it in person?

I'll be excited to see how you fit the dashboard strip trim. I got some Redline leather for it, but I had a heck of a time getting a clean fit with the folds at the end, so I gave up.

[low135]

Originally Posted by duder13

It's interesting you say that. I just got the performance shift and brake boot, and it really doesn't seem too dark to me at all (at least in person.) I wonder if your interior plastics have faded a little in the sun (I'm in Oregon, so not a ton of sun.) Have you seen it in person?

I'll be excited to see how you fit the dashboard strip trim. I got some Redline leather for it, but I had a heck of a time getting a clean fit with the folds at the end, so I gave up.

Just peed nap preference really. 9002 is "Dark Charcoal" where the Performance stuff is listed as Black. I've seen a lot of comparisons on the two in our interior and preferred the dark charcoal. The black just stood out too much and looked aftermarket to me

[low135]

Test fit for the first piece was pretty good. Still need to pull, tuck and trim a couple spots

[low135]

Not 100% on the alcantara stuff but it's more on my work than the product. It's really just a pain in the ass to put on without more material. there isn't a lot to "grab" when putting this stuff on. There's also some upholstery glue spots that I have to get out from having to handle it after glue got on my fingers. Hoping that isn't a terrible task to get that stuff off.

Oh and don't mind the filthy interior and missing trim pieces lol

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by low135

Not 100% on the alcantara stuff but it's more on my work than the product. It's really just a pain in the ass to put on without more material. there isn't a lot to "grab" when putting this stuff on. There's also some upholstery glue spots that I have to get out from having to handle it after glue got on my fingers. Hoping that isn't a terrible task to get that stuff off.

Oh and don't mind the filthy interior and missing trim pieces lol

How'd you do the door card accent piping?

[low135]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

How'd you do the door card accent piping?

Simple but effective. I saw some guys had done it on other cars and figured I'd give it a shot. I actually really like the way it came out and everyone (that doesn't know better) thinks it's a factory option

[JM98]

Got a little something in the mail today, should make things interesting


Attachment 2247325

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by JM98

Got a little something in the mail today, should make things interesting


Attachment 2247325

Need a JB4 to control it all?

Be careful! N54 doesn't like nitrous as much as other cars I've owned.

[JM98]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Need a JB4 to control it all?

Be careful! N54 doesn't like nitrous as much as other cars I've owned.

LOL... I'm flash only and going to run a window switch with it.

I ran a 150hp shot on my Mach 1 years ago and it was a blast at the track - Not planning on going much more than a 35-50hp shot on this car.

I've seen too many horror stories of bent rods and broken ring lands. People don't realize that Nitrous produces a massive torque hit when it engages, I plan on running it only to supplement the very top end of the RPM range.

[Skotcoop]

Updated front brakes to slotted stoptech rotors and pads. I noticed on both rotors a notch near the vents. I figured it was for balancing. Anyone know?

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by Skotcoop

Updated front brakes to slotted stoptech rotors and pads. I noticed on both rotors a notch near the vents. I figured it was for balancing. Anyone know?

Most if not all rotors have this notch. No need to worry IMO.

[TboneS54]

They all have it. Could be "witness marks" from machining or some other manufacturing need.

[1and1]

Rotor notch-
https://www.powerstop.com/mill-balan...e-rotor-notch/

[b1aze]

Starting yet another project 😉 it’ll take a bit of work but I think it’ll go in!

[bobowar135]

Originally Posted by low135

Simple but effective. I saw some guys had done it on other cars and figured I'd give it a shot. I actually really like the way it came out and everyone (that doesn't know better) thinks it's a factory option

Thanks for the idea low135. The 1 thing about my 1er that has bugged me since day 1 (apart from the bonnet/bumper panel gap) is the...blackness of the interior. This should break up the black nicely. I have just ordered a roll of red.

[Ric in RVA]

Originally Posted by bobowar135

Thanks for the idea low135. The 1 thing about my 1er that has bugged me since day 1 (apart from the bonnet/bumper panel gap) is the...blackness of the interior. This should break up the black nicely. I have just ordered a roll of red.

pictures?????

[bobowar135]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

pictures?????

I haven't done it yet, it should arrive mid-next week.