Bimmer-Bob's 128i Belated Build Thread

[Suprgnat]

Finned diff cover?

[chris82]

It's from Schmeidmann, so I think it could be headlights or taillights

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by chris82

It's from Schmeidmann, so I think it could be headlights or taillights

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Picked up the LCI black lines from Schmiedmann a while back, and always wanted to do the Euro LCI headlamps to complete the look. Of course, the cost is damn near prohibitive, but with all the body work about to happen it just seemed like a good time. I'll be able to take the old bumper off without worrying too much about scratching or breaking it, and I think the total "look" with the BMW Performance aero kit plus Euro LCI heads and tails will be pretty great.

Stay tuned for pics, of course.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Attachment 1263524

Picked up the LCI black lines from Schmiedmann a while back, and always wanted to do the Euro LCI headlamps to complete the look. Of course, the cost is damn near prohibitive, but with all the body work about to happen it just seemed like a good time. I'll be able to take the old bumper off without worrying too much about scratching or breaking it, and I think the total "look" with the BMW Performance aero kit plus Euro LCI heads and tails will be pretty great.

Stay tuned for pics, of course.

Which ones are they?

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by chris82

Which ones are they?

They're OEM Euro LCI adaptive headlamps, if that's what you're asking.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Wheels arrived today from the powder coater. I took them all out of the box to inspect the finish, and I'm quite happy with the result.

I snapped a pic outside - it's overcast, so diffuse natural light. I popped an APEX center cap in for comparison. The center cap is a "carbon fiber look" sticker, so I thought it would be helpful to compare the gray to the bronze. It would've been better if I had an extra BMW center cap laying around, since the roundel would've provided a reference we could all understand, but no such luck. Anyway, here it is:

I still feel like the pics don't quite do the color justice. In certain light and from certain angles, the color can look almost gunmetal-ish, but other times it's a nice, rich bronze. So far, though, it doesn't seem too gaudy or shiny, although I imagine they probably will look more "metallic" in bright direct sunlight. I'm eager to see the finished product and really see how they work with the car's paint.

Wheels are back in the box for now. I won't have them mounted until this winter at the earliest, and possibly not until next winter. The autocross season here runs until early December, and last year I heard temps dropped pretty low afterwards, even freezing and lightly snowing a couple of days. So if this year is a repeat of last, I would think about retiring the RE-71R's until it warmed up again.

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

They're OEM Euro LCI adaptive headlamps, if that's what you're asking.

Can I ask you a big favour?

I want to know how LCI euro front light look on our pre LCI bumpers !!!
I've seen the e87 Msport bumper and LCI front and its sweet.

Maybe when installing and have lights secure . Simply place oem bumper and zip tie it?

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

Can I ask you a big favour?

I want to know how LCI euro front light look on our pre LCI bumpers !!!
I've seen the e87 Msport bumper and LCI front and its sweet.

Maybe when installing and have lights secure . Simply place oem bumper and zip tie it?

No problem. I should have the Euro LCI headlamps on with the old bumper for 2 or 3 days before I have the new aero bumper mounted.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Wheels arrived today from the powder coater. I took them all out of the box to inspect the finish, and I'm quite happy with the result.

I snapped a pic outside - it's overcast, so diffuse natural light. I popped an APEX center cap in for comparison. The center cap is a "carbon fiber look" sticker, so I thought it would be helpful to compare the gray to the bronze. It would've been better if I had an extra BMW center cap laying around, since the roundel would've provided a reference we could all understand, but no such luck. Anyway, here it is:

Attachment 1264146

I still feel like the pics don't quite do the color justice. In certain light and from certain angles, the color can look almost gunmetal-ish, but other times it's a nice, rich bronze. So far, though, it doesn't seem too gaudy or shiny, although I imagine they probably will look more "metallic" in bright direct sunlight. I'm eager to see the finished product and really see how they work with the car's paint.

Wheels are back in the box for now. I won't have them mounted until this winter at the earliest, and possibly not until next winter. The autocross season here runs until early December, and last year I heard temps dropped pretty low afterwards, even freezing and lightly snowing a couple of days. So if this year is a repeat of last, I would think about retiring the RE-71R's until it warmed up again.

I thought it was gunmetal at first, but regardless they look good. What did your powder coating cost? The job looks nice

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by chris82

I thought it was gunmetal at first, but regardless they look good. What did your powder coating cost? The job looks nice

It really doesn't look as gunmetal-y IRL, but I suppose it's good that the bronze sometimes looks subtle because I really didn't want it to be over the top.

The refinishing was expensive - $600 - partly because I had to custom order powder and partly because I had very few choices in my area, and I went with the one that looked like the best. I could've shipped further for less expensive work, but then shipping costs would've gone up, obviously. If I were in a large metro area I would've had a number of local places to choose from.

[andrey_gta]

Correct me if I'm wrong. Your wheels are. 4x 18x9?

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

Correct me if I'm wrong. Your wheels are. 4x 18x9?

Current wheels are 17x8.5" square. My new, second set is 18x8" in front and 18x9" in the rear.

[andrey_gta]

When do you plan to install the header and muffler combo?

any video you post will be great!

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

When do you plan to install the header and muffler combo?

any video you post will be great!

Headers and exhaust should go on middle of next week. I'll try to make a vid, but I'm not sure how to capture a really accurate representation of the sound.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Headers and exhaust should go on middle of next week. I'll try to make a vid, but I'm not sure how to capture a really accurate representation of the sound.

Dyno!!!

[andrey_gta]

why not both... dyno + vid

I'm sure you will tell us how civil the sound is compared to the PE that everyone knows

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Dyno!!!

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

why not both... dyno + vid

Not gonna happen, unfortunately. Dynoing just adds more time and money to the equation, and it's honestly not a huge priority for me.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it would be really nice to have an objective measure of just how much power each mod is worth, but it means I need to make an hour-long trip to some shop with a Dynojet, wait around for who knows how long, and fork out $100 or so. And I need to do that before and after each upgrade. And in this case, I'd never even know how much each individual piece (headers, tune, cat-back) was contributing anyway.

[Taskmaster]

Before and after? I'm sure there is a local shop in your area, 2 dynos should be enough- 1 for baseline, and one after all your mods.

[TheSt|G]

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the headlights. The US spec Xenons are total garbage. I thinking about selling them and getting a set of used Halogens to hack up and mount proper xenon projectors in.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the headlights. The US spec Xenons are total garbage. I thinking about selling them and getting a set of used Halogens to hack up and mount proper xenon projectors in.

What is the difference? (I honestly don't know...I don't wven know what 'LCI' lights look like)

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the headlights. The US spec Xenons are total garbage. I thinking about selling them and getting a set of used Halogens to hack up and mount proper xenon projectors in.

I would use euro spec LCI Halogen's the Eyelid will hide some of the work.
What projector would you want to?

I think Q45 would be wild.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the headlights. The US spec Xenons are total garbage. I thinking about selling them and getting a set of used Halogens to hack up and mount proper xenon projectors in.

What's wrong with the US-spec xenons vs the Euro ones, besides the cosmetics (amber vs clear corners)?