Brought a friend to the Dark Side!

[Matticus91]

Skip to the bold text if you don't want story time lol

My friends all see me as the "car guy" and it's pretty common that they reach out for help when looking to get something new. A buddy in NY who's been coming to the DC area has been wanting a new car for a while now and was originally on the hunt for an Impreza or similar. The one thing he was adamant about was having a manual transmission, which narrowed the scope quite a bit.

We went and test drove a very, very basic Impreza on Sunday and he wasn't thrilled. Then went and drove a much nicer Passat that was only a couple hundred more but less miles and newer. However he still wasn't sold and started questioning his criteria, deciding that he wanted something he'd enjoy driving more. So I opened the search to manual cars in his price range, excluding AWD.

Sure enough, a 2011 128i 6MT with 83k on the clock popped up about 20 mins from the other cars we were driving. A bit higher mileage than he wanted but not too bad. From the pictures it looked "OK". He was all for it so we hopped in the car and headed there. The place was sketchy on the outside but inside was a sight, new M4s, a clean e30, an M6, a few very nice Mercs, and even a Z3M cabrio.

Me, already drooling, tried to get to the point and we walked right to where I thought the car might be. I immediately took notice of a 1/2 car clear bra (hood, front bumper/fenders/mirrors/etc.) and the overall cleanliness. This car was VERY well taken care of. Carfax indicated it was a one owner lease to buyout, after around 15k miles.

Everything in the engine bay was free of oil or stains, not a single drop around the engine or on the undertray. But there was a light dusting on everything which indicated it hadn't simply been stripped/cleaned to hide foulment. The dealer only had the car since Thursday so not much had been done.

The classic things were immediately noticeable, discoloration of the vent slats, peeling of steering wheel trim, and unfortunately a hiss from the speakers even with the stereo off which is fairly common apparently.

Everything else was perfect, test drive revealed zero issues, everything in the suspension and steering felt tight and responsive, clutch was in great shape. Seats had zero wear and same for the shift knob and other trim/touch points. The outside of the car was overall in great shape except the back bumper which had pockmarks from city parking. Driving it was like a flashback to before my car was tuned, felt very responsive and linear, pulled strong with no hiccups. I could see a long-time owner wanting something new but everything was just right with this one.

We brought it back and talked some numbers, came to an agreement and my friend put a deposit down while I drooled on the e30 some more. Heading back to pick it up this week!

Specs on the car!:
2011 BMW 128i 6MT Coupe
83k Miles
Heated seats
White w/Black leather interior and wood trim (plans to wrap white or black)
Sunroof

The car has brand new brakes and tires all around which is a massive bonus.

Immediate post-purchase plans:

• Oil/Filter Change
• Spark Plugs
• Full fluids check
• Battery test

Immediate mod plans:

• Full M-Sport Suspension Swap
• Wrap wood interior trim white or black
• CAI
• Exhaust
• Blackout front grilles
• Some Carly adjustments
• To fix the stereo issue we're planning to do a DIN swap like this one

Some pics:
Happy new 1Addict!
20181021_140917 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
20181021_140541 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
20181021_140810 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
20181021_135924 by Matt Steele, on Flickr

[desertman123]

That already has M-Sport suspension my friend, it's a (Non-M) sport package! Bolstered seats + shadowline trim along the windows.

Also instead of a CAI, grab a 3-stage intake manifold+free Bimmerlabs tune Probably a similar cost lmao.

Congrats on your friend's purchase though!! I love seeing the bone stock car next to yours - which is anything but!

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by desertman123

That already has M-Sport suspension my friend, it's a (Non-M) sport package! Bolstered seats + shadowline trim along the windows.

Also instead of a CAI, grab a 3-stage intake manifold+free Bimmerlabs tune Probably a similar cost lmao.

Congrats on your friend's purchase though!! I love seeing the bone stock car next to yours - which is anything but!

Oh wow that's great to know! Shows what I know about these 128's lol.

We'll look into the intake too! How's the install on that?

Any other work you'd suggest or things to check on/do right after purchase?

[NorthernDancer]

I've checked realoem.com and all sport and MSport pkgs in 128 from 2008 to 2013 use same struts & shocks and I believe this suspension is same for standard 135. Also I think same suspension (shocks/struts) as 135 with sport pkg. I'm thinking MSport in a 135 is visual items only but could be wrong.
With 83K miles, I would change ign coils along with plugs. I have almost identical car. I'm at 60K miles in a 2008.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

I've checked realoem.com and all sport and MSport pkgs in 128 from 2008 to 2013 use same struts & shocks and I believe this suspension is same for standard 135. Also I think same suspension (shocks/struts) as 135 with sport pkg. I'm thinking MSport in a 135 is visual items only but could be wrong.
With 83K miles, I would change ign coils along with plugs. I have almost identical car. I'm at 60K miles in a 2008.

Awesome will look into Ign coils too, easy swap while doing the plugs.

[________]

Originally Posted by desertman123

That already has M-Sport suspension my friend, it's a (Non-M) sport package! Bolstered seats + shadowline trim along the windows.

Also instead of a CAI, grab a 3-stage intake manifold+free Bimmerlabs tune Probably a similar cost lmao.

Congrats on your friend's purchase though!! I love seeing the bone stock car next to yours - which is anything but!

This!

Very nice, a manual sport-packed 128i!!!! Oh I miss my 328i sport.

Kudos to your friend!
When is he signing up here?

[desertman123]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Oh wow that's great to know! Shows what I know about these 128's lol.

We'll look into the intake too! How's the install on that?

Any other work you'd suggest or things to check on/do right after purchase?

Well 135i's were ALL blessed with good parts. 128s are a different story - they chopped that car up into as many trim levels as they could

Intake manifold is cake, everything bolts on and plugs in. Hard part is finding a good manifold with working DISA valves for a reasonable price lol. Car-Part is your friend there, along with eBay. Flashing the tune is super easy, I'd recommend a BimmerGeeks cable to do it. You gain about 30hp doing this.

Eh you pretty much got it covered. Not many issues with these cars at all.

Again congrats on finding a manual sport 128, they're pretty rare tbh. I keep an eye on Cars.com to see how the markets doing - right now you can barely find manual cars let alone sport/M-sports.

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Oh wow that's great to know! Shows what I know about these 128's lol.

We'll look into the intake too! How's the install on that?

Any other work you'd suggest or things to check on/do right after purchase?

Just an FYI - bolstered seat can be had in a non-sports package car. Don't know about shadowline trim.

[chris_flies]

Congrats to your friend! When's he joining the asylum?

Looks like a really clean car! There's a leather steering wheel wrap kit (Xuji, I think) on Amazon that really cleans-up that ugly, shiny old stuff, and gives the wheel some extra heft. For the steering wheel trim, I just sanded the old finish off the trim and spray painted it, pretty easy to do.

It was nice of the dealer to give him a fresh VA inspection sticker I didn't get that luxury...

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

I've checked realoem.com and all sport and MSport pkgs in 128 from 2008 to 2013 use same struts & shocks and I believe this suspension is same for standard 135. Also I think same suspension (shocks/struts) as 135 with sport pkg. I'm thinking MSport in a 135 is visual items only but could be wrong.
With 83K miles, I would change ign coils along with plugs. I have almost identical car. I'm at 60K miles in a 2008.

Correct.

M Sport for the 135i is the same as Sport, plus:

• ///M on each door sill

• ///M dead pedal

• Anthracite headliner

• 261M wheels instead of 264 wheels

IIRC.

PS - Matt, ask your friend to sign up, as mentioned above. A new member is always welcome here.

[desertman123]

Another way to check - are the wheels staggered? Base cars came with a square set of 17x7 style 262, but sport adds 7.5" rears.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

This!

Very nice, a manual sport-packed 128i!!!! Oh I miss my 328i sport.

Kudos to your friend!
When is he signing up here?

Haha not sure he's the forum type but I've let him know about the site!

Originally Posted by desertman123

Well 135i's were ALL blessed with good parts. 128s are a different story - they chopped that car up into as many trim levels as they could

Intake manifold is cake, everything bolts on and plugs in. Hard part is finding a good manifold with working DISA valves for a reasonable price lol. Car-Part is your friend there, along with eBay. Flashing the tune is super easy, I'd recommend a BimmerGeeks cable to do it. You gain about 30hp doing this.

Eh you pretty much got it covered. Not many issues with these cars at all.

Again congrats on finding a manual sport 128, they're pretty rare tbh. I keep an eye on Cars.com to see how the markets doing - right now you can barely find manual cars let alone sport/M-sports.

Awesome info, I'll likely reach out to you about this again in the future. But I know you have more details in another thread somewhere so i'll check that out too.

Originally Posted by gjm120

Just an FYI - bolstered seat can be had in a non-sports package car. Don't know about shadowline trim.

That's good to know, need to get the VIN and do some digging

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Congrats to your friend! When's he joining the asylum?

Looks like a really clean car! There's a leather steering wheel wrap kit (Xuji, I think) on Amazon that really cleans-up that ugly, shiny old stuff, and gives the wheel some extra heft. For the steering wheel trim, I just sanded the old finish off the trim and spray painted it, pretty easy to do.

It was nice of the dealer to give him a fresh VA inspection sticker I didn't get that luxury...

Steering wheel will be a quick fix, good to know about the leather kit too he'd probably like that.

Originally Posted by Esteban

Correct.

M Sport for the 135i is the same as Sport, plus:

• ///M on each door sill

• ///M dead pedal

• Anthracite headliner

• 261M wheels instead of 264 wheels

IIRC.

PS - Matt, ask your friend to sign up, as mentioned above. A new member is always welcome here.

Thanks Esteban and I'll be sure to force him into setting up an account lol

Originally Posted by desertman123

Another way to check - are the wheels staggered? Base cars came with a square set of 17x7 style 262, but sport adds 7.5" rears.

Good question I'd have to look closer, would they be the same style if they're staggered? I thought this style wheel is always square.

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Haha not sure he's the forum type but I've let him know about the site!



Awesome info, I'll likely reach out to you about this again in the future. But I know you have more details in another thread somewhere so i'll check that out too.



That's good to know, need to get the VIN and do some digging



Steering wheel will be a quick fix, good to know about the leather kit too he'd probably like that.



Thanks Esteban and I'll be sure to force him into setting up an account lol



Good question I'd have to look closer, would they be the same style if they're staggered? I thought this style wheel is always square.

My 2011 Sport 128i has staggered 262s.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

My 2011 Sport 128i has staggered 262s.

Wow TIL. I'm learning more and more about these 128's it's great haha

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Wow TIL. I'm learning more and more about these 128's it's great haha

The N52 is lighter than the 4-Cylinder in early E36's (M42), and has a better power-weight ratio than the S54. (IIRC)

Not as powerful as the 135i, but it's pretty cool, the lengths BMW went to to reduce weight (in the engine, at least)

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

The N52 is lighter than the 4-Cylinder in early E36's (M42), and has a better power-weight ratio than the S54. (IIRC)

Not as powerful as the 135i, but it's pretty cool, the lengths BMW went to to reduce weight (in the engine, at least)

So turns out he has N51, how different is that?

Tagging desertman123

[________]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

So turns out he has N51, how different is that?

Tagging desertman123

N51 is the N52 with longer emissions warranty and a 3-stage manifold stock!

All he needs is a tune and he should start pushing close to 270hp.

[chris_flies]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

So turns out he has N51, how different is that?

Tagging desertman123

As OnerDriver pointed out, it is a SULEV vehicle, therefore it has a 150k mile warranty on emissions equipment, it does already have the 3-Stage intake manifold, which is a huge plus for daily drivability (low end torque and mid-range power), it is a lower compression engine (pistons are different), but, it does carry around a bit of extra emissions equipment, and is a bit harder to be tuned well, rowsdower.

It would be easier to boost

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

As OnerDriver pointed out, it is a SULEV vehicle, therefore it has a 150k mile warranty on emissions equipment, it does already have the 3-Stage intake manifold, which is a huge plus for daily drivability (low end torque and mid-range power), it is a lower compression engine (pistons are different), but, it does carry around a bit of extra emissions equipment, and is a bit harder to be tuned well, rowsdower.

It would be easier to boost

If your friend is in a state that originally sold SULEV cars, there are some major warranty perks. Anything emissions related, plus stuff you wouldn’t think like oil pan and valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, maybe even coils, are covered for a crazy long time and mileage. Moving to a non-SULEV state, dealers no longer warranty those parts so it is location dependent.

The 3-stage intake, secondary air injection system, and different pistons are the only N51-specific hardware that come to mind. Oh and the SULEV sticker under the hood!

And yeah... skip the tunes...

[________]

Why are you guys saying skip the tune?

What am I missing?

N51 Upgrade Path? https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1399620

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Why are you guys saying skip the tune?

What am I missing?

N51 Upgrade Path? https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1399620

I installed AA headers and a BPC tune about a year ago and have had problems with idling ever since. The car has more power and sounds great but is very frustrating to drive on the street. I should really say skip the headers. A tune only might be fine but not really worth the money without headers in my opinion.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by chris_flies

As OnerDriver pointed out, it is a SULEV vehicle, therefore it has a 150k mile warranty on emissions equipment, it does already have the 3-Stage intake manifold, which is a huge plus for daily drivability (low end torque and mid-range power), it is a lower compression engine (pistons are different), but, it does carry around a bit of extra emissions equipment, and is a bit harder to be tuned well, rowsdower.

It would be easier to boost

I wouldn't doubt he might try to boost it in the future lol.

Originally Posted by rowsdower

If your friend is in a state that originally sold SULEV cars, there are some major warranty perks. Anything emissions related, plus stuff you wouldn’t think like oil pan and valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, maybe even coils, are covered for a crazy long time and mileage. Moving to a non-SULEV state, dealers no longer warranty those parts so it is location dependent.

The 3-stage intake, secondary air injection system, and different pistons are the only N51-specific hardware that come to mind. Oh and the SULEV sticker under the hood!

And yeah... skip the tunes...

That's interesting, and super cool to know about the emissions benefits!

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Why are you guys saying skip the tune?

What am I missing?

N51 Upgrade Path? https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1399620

Appreciate that link, some good information in there

Originally Posted by rowsdower

I installed AA headers and a BPC tune about a year ago and have had problems with idling ever since. The car has more power and sounds great but is very frustrating to drive on the street. I should really say skip the headers. A tune only might be fine but not really worth the money without headers in my opinion.

desertman123 I know you have the same headers, have you had idle issues? Curious if it's isolated to the headers, tune, or the combination of both. I don't know that he'd want straight pipes 24/7 but I think headers, tune, and a cutout would be great assuming no issues.

Also rowsdower are you 6mt or auto? Wondering if it could be trans related?