Bimmer-Bob's 128i Belated Build Thread

[swagon]

BMW Performance FTW.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

So if the car is more or less done cosmetically, I think I'm getting closer as far as performance mods go. I've got a few suspension tweaks to make, but the only other really big thing is an LSD. I want to live with the headers for a while before I decide, but I'm strongly leaning towards doing a more aggressive final drive at the same time. The torque multiplication just seems too good to pass up, especially at the lower end, which is sort of this car's Achilles' Heel, IMO.

I always thought myy car (N51 engine) had ample low end torque. I'd love to increase my mid and top range more; or maybe I'm expecting too much from this car

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Of course, I will probably never be done modding this car, but the only performance stuff after an LSD is sort of the crazy stuff: stroker kits (I'd love to stroke this thing to a 3.2L...too bad the Noelle Motors kit doesn't seem to be around anymore, although IIRC it was stupid expensive) and superchargers (the ESS kit is somewhat tempting, but besides being spendy is sort of anathema to the spirit of this car, I think...but then again...).

It just doesn't end

[Bimmer-Bob]

Minor change today, but took care of something that's been bugging me for a couple of weeks.

As you know, I switched over to clear-corner Euro-spec headlamp assemblies not too long ago, and then a short time later put in silver-finish turn signal bulbs and did the "Euro corner delete," using NCS Expert to code out the use of turn indicators as always-on sidemarkers. The amber corners were never a big bother to me in the first place, but switching headlamps to Euro-spec had me sort of obsessing over the stock behavior of the indicator lamps.

Well, one thing lead to another and I started to get annoyed with the way that, when you unlock the car, the angel eyes and rear LED light bars fade on, and the front side, and read turn signals flash twice - but then, for some reason, the front indicators remain on. I wanted them to flash along with all the other indicator lamps, but then to stay off like all the others, too.

I found out that BMW refers to this function as the "Welcome Light," and that there are all sorts of parameters governing the behavior of the function which can be manipulated by coding. You just need to access the footwell module with NCS Expert, and then you can choose exactly which lamps come on, you can set them to do do a "hard" or "soft" on, and other things (it looked like you can probably set the time they remain on, set the turn signals to flash or not flash, etc. - I didn't dig around too much because I was really only after one thing, and all the settings are in abbreviations of German).

I took a short video below to demonstrate the small change:

If you care to read a little more about the coding aspect, I have a thread on 1Addicts and a slightly more technical one on BMW Coding (link blocked, but try this with "tiny url.com" in place of asterisks: http://************/WL-Coding).

[Mister_E9Two]

I love the way you documented your journey with this beautiful car.

Are you getting any drone from the magnaflow cat back paired with AA headers?

I have AA headers, and their exhaust with no secondary cats. I added a magnaflow glass pack resonator and it stopped the raspy sound but the drone is still there so I'm looking to go with the magnaflow cat back now.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by Mister_E9Two

I love the way you documented your journey with this beautiful car.

Are you getting any drone from the magnaflow cat back paired with AA headers?

I have AA headers, and their exhaust with no secondary cats. I added a magnaflow glass pack resonator and it stopped the raspy sound but the drone is still there so I'm looking to go with the magnaflow cat back now.

Thanks!

I don't really think it drones too much. There is a slight buzzing at ~900 RPM, but it sounds more like a loose heat shield or something. I haven't had time to look for it as I've been training in TX, but I'm on my way home now and hope to get the car up on a lift to take a look soon. I may also try to take a better exhaust video, since a lot of people have been asking, but I just need to figure out how to secure the camera inside the car (I don't have a GoPro or anything).

[Mister_E9Two]

Awesome! Can't wait to hear a better exhaust video.

[E91WAG3N]

Great build thread! The aero bumper really suits the color well.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Maybe the nicest time of year to go for a drive...

[swagon]

I want your color and Performance aero stuff. Gorgeous.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Maybe the nicest time of year to go for a drive...

Attachment 1304239

I like the front camber

[850tgul]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Maybe the nicest time of year to go for a drive...

Attachment 1304239

Damned if that isn't one of the nicest, cleanest shots of an e82 that I've ever seen. I'm such a sucker for red and the oem+ look.
Red + aero bumper + euro lights = perfection.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Maybe the nicest time of year to go for a drive...

Attachment 1304239

Damn right, I drove the piss out of my car tonight!

[Dafttt]

There's BMW's LCI, and then there's bimmerbob's own LCI. Well done man, your car is stunning.

[Alow]

What did you do about the brake ducts? I also have a 128 with performance brakes and aero bumper and would love more air into the brakes. Curious about your solution.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by Dafttt

There's BMW's LCI, and then there's bimmerbob's own LCI. Well done man, your car is stunning.

Thanks!

Yeah, it really was quite a facelift. I've owned the car for 5 1/2 years now, and I wasn't bored of it at all, but I just felt like it needed an update. It's nice to have a little bit of that "new car" feeling without having to buy a new car to get it. And I've always wanted a project car but don't have the garage space, so I figured why not make my paid off DD my project? I guess it has been for years already, but I wanted to raise the bar a little and finally take the plunge on the body kit, which I had been putting off. And then it seemed like the perfect time to update the headlamps as well, which oddly had never been super high on my list until I got the ball rolling on the aero kit. I'm really pleased with the end result, though.

Originally Posted by Alow

What did you do about the brake ducts? I also have a 128 with performance brakes and aero bumper and would love more air into the brakes. Curious about your solution.

I haven't done anything about the brake ducts yet. Not sure I'll get around to it, but if I do it looks like it's just a matter of buying the cold air package for the 135i and the appropriate M-sport fender liners (if you don't already have those). You can also just cut your stock liners, as some have suggested.

The cold air package consists of brake ducts and oil cooler ducts for the aero bumper. Obviously, for the 128i you wouldn't use the oil cooler ducts.

I have part numbers, if you're interested.

[Alow]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

I haven't done anything about the brake ducts yet. Not sure I'll get around to it, but if I do it looks like it's just a matter of buying the cold air package for the 135i and the appropriate M-sport fender liners (if you don't already have those). You can also just cut your stock liners, as some have suggested.

The cold air package consists of brake ducts and oil cooler ducts for the aero bumper. Obviously, for the 128i you wouldn't use the oil cooler ducts.

I have part numbers, if you're interested.

I am interested. If you don't mind sending me part numbers I would appreciate that. I don't have the m-sport package as mine is a 2009

[Suhb]

This is the cold air pack: https://www.ecstuning.com/ES206642/

Or you can buy just the brake ducts and save ~$50
Right: https://www.ecstuning.com/ES262159/
Left: https://www.ecstuning.com/ES262158/

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by Alow

I am interested. If you don't mind sending me part numbers I would appreciate that. I don't have the m-sport package as mine is a 2009

Originally Posted by Suhb

This is the cold air pack: https://www.ecstuning.com/ES206642/

Or you can buy just the brake ducts and save ~$50
Right: https://www.ecstuning.com/ES262159/
Left: https://www.ecstuning.com/ES262158/

Yup, those are the p/n's. And if you want the proper fender liners (with the brake duct cut-outs), it's 51118045961 (left) & 51118045962 (right).

And, since this is my build thread, let me just say GD! my car is lookin' sexy lately:

[Chandon]

Great looking car.. Very jealous of your side skirts

[kobeballer96]

I seen it in person this weekend and I can tell you, there is no short cuts on this car! She is beautiful!!!!! Good job @bimmer-bob

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by viciousgook

Great looking car.. Very jealous of your side skirts

Yeah, I'd never seen the side skirts in person before and wasn't all that into them - in fact, I only got them because I wanted to change out my front bumper and I felt he that if I was going to go the Performance aero route, I ought to do the whole kit. But seeing them on my car and living with them for a while, I think they look really good. They add a nice little visual detail and some extra depth without being over the top (which I was a little bit afraid of, to be honest).

[Bimmer-Bob]

I had a problem - aging side markers with yellowing lenses and grungy rubber seals:

It's a small thing, for sure, but it's been bothering me lately. It's one of the ways that the years have undeniably taken their toll on the car, and once you notice it, you can't stop seeing how dingy it looks. It seemed especially obvious after updating the headlamps.

I figured it was an opportunity to upgrade from the OEM lenses, and I considered a third-party solution. I shopped a few smoked-lens LED side markers I've seen on the boards - they seemed like a subtle way to update the look and go a little more aggressive - but the more I read the more I kept hearing about all kinds of fitment issues and sub-par quality. I was worried about ending up with cheap parts and a ricer look, so I nixed that idea.

I thought about just smoking the OEM corners myself, but decided that if I didn't do it just right - i.e., exactly matching the tint of the black line reverse lamps - the car would end up too busy-looking, with differing levels of tint on the front, rear, and side lights.

Then I stumbled upon these on RealOEM:

They're OEM chrome-finish side indicator bulbs (p/n 63212352229), just like the chrome-finish turn signal bulbs I fitted a few weeks ago, and they're a European accessory, so they fit well with my Euro-spec theme. From the back of the box:

A flash of exclusiveness. The BMW Chrome Lamps WY5W let the switched off side direction indicators appear in a stylish silver. When in operation the lamp generates an orange/yellow blinker light in the familiar intensity. The blinker light reflector is fully chrome-plated and entirely without any annoying "fried egg effect."

Yeah, that's just a bunch of marketing speak, but I find it really funny that BMW designs cars with a "fried egg effect" built in and then sells you an accessory to get rid of this "annoying" phenomenon.

I decided to just pair these bulbs with some new OEM clear lenses, and figured it would be a nice refresh. Sure, it's not as drastic as smoked side markers would be, but it retains OEM quality and matches my Euro clear corners well. The new lenses are <$20 apiece, so it's not too terrible to consider them a wear item and just replace them once they're UV-damaged beyond recognition.

Here's a side-by-side of the chrome bulb and the stock orange bulb:

And here's the old lens with stock amber bulb compared to the brand new lens with the chrome bulb fitted:

And then installed on the fender:

With one last shot to show the harmony between the clear corner and side marker:

It's a subtle change, and kind of hard to capture in a photograph, but I think it is an obvious improvement in person.

Being a Euro-only part, these bulbs were sort of a pain to get a hold of. I had to go through Schmiedmann, which has become my go-to source for Euro parts, but the problem is that shipping is expensive from Germany - for these, they wanted $25 (more than the cost of the bulbs)! So I did the only sensible thing and took advantage of the currently favorable exchange rates and bought something else, too: a Euro headlamp switch to enable rear fogs.

This is something that has been on my list for a while, not only for the novelty but because I think it actually adds a useful functionality, but I've never been that willing to fork over the $125 that ECS wants for the part. But it turns out that, with the falling value of the Euro, Schmiedmann sells the switch for only $100. I figured if I was saving $25 off the cost of the item I could apply that to the shipping cost and I'd still be coming out ahead (and the bulbs would essentially ship for free).

Another bonus is deleting my front fog lamp button, which I no longer need now that I have the aero bumper.

Interestingly enough, the new bulbs seem to flash brighter than my old ones - whether that's due to a differing design, the bulbs being newer, the lenses being clearer, or just my own imagination, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I'll try to get a better pic of the car with the new side markers and bulbs up in the next few days, and you can decide if it's noticeable and worthwhile or not.