Out with the old toy, in with the new(ish).

[Fishee]

Hi all, new here, and new to BMW.

After a couple of months of searching and debating a '19 Golf R, I decided to switch gears and go after something a little older, and with a lot more character and driving appeal. Obviously, unlike a newer Golf R under warranty, this car will be more of a hobby, to which I'm looking forward. Also looking forward to learning about a different brand, architecture, and "quirks". I've been a VW driver for my 20 years of daily driving; the Alfa was a weekend car for the last 5.

...of course, it doesn't hurt that I kept quite a few thou in my pocket over buying an R, plenty to deck out my garage and set aside for spares, upgrades, etc.

Ideally, my criteria was for something with driving charm, a manual transmission, equipped with as many factory "sport" options as possible, a good amount of power, and something I wasn't about to get tired of any time soon; as this will likely be my last IC powered car, and one that I want to cherish until environmental regulations, what have you, put the final nail in the IC coffin.

More to come as I tinker.

Well, here it is:

'09 135i n54 - all original, unmodified
Black sapphire metallic
Boston korall red interior
6 speed manual

Spec:
S710 M Leather Steering Wheel
S337 M Sports Package
S704 M Sports Suspension
S442 Drink Holder
S4AS High-Grade Wood Trim,Varieg.Poplar, Grey
S431 Interior Mirror With Automatic-Dip
S4NA Interior Mirror With Digital Compass
S494 Seat Heating Driver/Passenger
S473 Armrest Front
S459 Seat Adjustment, Electric, With Memory
S481 Sports Seat
S488 Lumbar Support, Driver And Passenger
S430 Interior/Outside Mirror With Auto Dip
S403 Glass Roof, Electrical
S663 Radio BMW Professional
S677 HiFi System Professional DSP
S6FL USB/Audio Interface
S655 Satellite Tuner
S540 Cruise Control
S522 Xenon Light
S524 Adaptive Headlights
S521 Rain Sensor
S502 Headlight Cleaning System
S534 Automatic Air Conditioning
S563 Light Package
S249 Multifunction F Steering Wheel
S2MR BMW LA Wheel, M Double Spoke 261
S3AP Windscreen With Grey Wedge
S319 Integrated Universal Remote Control
S321 Exterior Parts In Vehicle Colour
S823 Hot-Climate Version
S322 Comfort Access
S775 Headlining Anthracite
S760 High Gloss Shadow Line

[asbrr]

Nice ride & welcome, fancy seeing you here ha...(it's Ash!)
You'll find the N54 drivetrain, suspension+brakes, forums pretty active here and full of good info.

The car is as nice as I imagined, we should get together when it warms up

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by asbrr

Nice ride & welcome, fancy seeing you here ha...(it's Ash!)
You'll find the N54 drivetrain, suspension+brakes, forums pretty active here and full of good info.

The car is as nice as I imagined, we should get together when it warms up

Thanks Ash!

Lots of reading and playing catch up.
Upgrades are in the plans.

Down for getting together when it's warm, the car is sitting patiently in the garage in the meantime.

[mrexcuse]

Beauty!

Nice find and congratulations.

[fast1eddy]

Congrats. Beautiful car. You'll get lots of good advice here. I've had mine for over 8 years and lots of mods so I know what works on these cars and what enhances the driving experience. Hands down I'd say suspension and rear subframe bushings first.

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by fast1eddy

Congrats. Beautiful car. You'll get lots of good advice here. I've had mine for over 8 years and lots of mods so I know what works on these cars and what enhances the driving experience. Hands down I'd say suspension and rear subframe bushings first.

Thanks!
Pretty happy so far with this choice for weekend duty.

For sure.
#1 Tires
#2 Suspension

I'm reading more about the subframe bushings.
A) mine are now 12 years old
B) i think traction could use some enhancement

Headlight lenses need some cleaning up too.

[mrexcuse]

+1 to the rear subframe bushings
low cost - good upgrade b12 pro kit and dinan camber plates with an apex staggered fitment completely changes the car.

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by mrexcuse

+1 to the rear subframe bushings
low cost - good upgrade b12 pro kit and dinan camber plates with an apex staggered fitment completely changes the car.

Yeah, suspension is a bit of a quest.
A lot of permutations and combinations out there.
I've had luck with Bilstein/H&R in the past, but we're talking a completely different suspension design and vehicle manufacturer.
I've noticed that plenty of the kits for the E82 seem to be VERY low in front, or all around.
If anything, I'm looking to maintain current ride height (about a 10mm gap) - less than a finger.

Any opinions on keeping factory M sport springs paired with new shocks and struts?

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by Fishee

Yeah, suspension is a bit of a quest.
A lot of permutations and combinations out there.
I've had luck with Bilstein/H&R in the past, but we're talking a completely different suspension design and vehicle manufacturer.
I've noticed that plenty of the kits for the E82 seem to be VERY low in front, or all around.
If anything, I'm looking to maintain current ride height (about a 10mm gap) - less than a finger.

Any opinions on keeping factory M sport springs paired with new shocks and struts?

I think paired with upgrades shocks is an option, some have said the car sits higher with B6 even on stock springs, not sure about Koni. One other thing I'll say is I think the strut mounts (front) tend to compress with age and mileage so I would bet your car is lower now than it was a few years ago. When you refresh everything you should refresh the mounts as well. So it may be the extra height people find when pairing a new shock with a factory spring is actually due to a refreshed upper mount lol, or maybe both that and the updated shock.

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by asbrr

I think paired with upgrades shocks is an option, some have said the car sits higher with B6 even on stock springs, not sure about Koni. One other thing I'll say is I think the strut mounts (front) tend to compress with age and mileage so I would bet your car is lower now than it was a few years ago. When you refresh everything you should refresh the mounts as well. So it may be the extra height people find when pairing a new shock with a factory spring is actually due to a refreshed upper mount lol, or maybe both that and the updated shock.

Can confirm, Bilsteins will actually add height... I had to compensate for this by going with H&R Race springs (vs Sport). Was kind of a stiff setup in the end. This was on a GTI.

Konis tend to not have this issue, from what I can tell.

[mrexcuse]

I gave up on trying to maintain the factory ride height. To maintain that there are compromises the B12 kit was a well calibrated setup. Height is lower than i would want for Toronto roads, but they way it is setup eliminated a lot of the "bounciness" present in the factory setup. I also refreshed all of the related suspension mounts and components. Dinan camber plates also helped raised the front a bit and were required to get rid of the rubbing due to the wider APEX setup.

That being said m sport with a b16 may be a good start. You can always add the Eibachs from there.

[asbrr]

You can likely get close to OE M-SPort height with Ohlins I'd say, not cheap, that's the main thing.

Some users (fe1rx and others) have developed custom spring/stack plates to add some height, that would be the other option.

[Olgeezer1]

Welcome. Spring can't come soon enough. Tons of info. out there, and this forum isn't a bad place to start. Tires and suspension, especially the rear sub-frame bushings, is always a great place to start. If you're planning on keeping the car I can't recommend a LSD highly enough, especially with N54 power. I put in a Wavetrac Torsen style diff. this year and (along with M diff. mounts and Whiteline poly 2pc. subframe bushings) the difference coming out of a corner is amazing. Admittedly, less expensive in a 128i because of the bolted ring gear vs. the welded gear in your car but believe me, it's probably the single best mod you can make to a 135i.

[Fishee]

Thanks! Those are great recommendations... lots of warm weather projects!

[Fishee]

Spring project #1.

[fast1eddy]

Looks great. How difficult was opening the lights and getting that side reflector out ? I have light smoked reflectors that I need to install but not looking forward to the job.

[Fishee]

It was a bit of a pain, better with learning curve. Feel free to dm me if you want some tips.

[Fishee]

Fresh windshield, seals, condensation sensor, etc.
And can I say, this makes the car feel nearly brand new... holy.
Guessing my car has mostly highway use, good deal of sandblasting on the windshield.

[Fishee]

Factory 261M wheels refinished.
Powder coated in BMW hyper silver and clear, then ceramic coated.
New centre caps, little M stickers, and OEM valve caps.
Fresh Michelin PS4S in 225/40 and 255/35.

[Fishee]

Building an OEM space saver kit (if anyone knows where I can find the tool holder foam, pls lemme know) since I'm not using run-flats.

[Fishee]

Installed the fresh set, gave the suspension, fender liners, and brake components a really good scrubbing. Used steam on the fender liners and a detail brush on the brakes to get them all spic and span.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Fishee

Installed the fresh set, gave the suspension, fender liners, and brake components a really good scrubbing. Used steam on the fender liners and a detail brush on the brakes to get them all spic and span.

Really liking the pics. What did you decide on for suspension?