Frankfurt IAA Show Coverage / Discussion

[Drillslinger]

Originally Posted by robert

That's all the coverage we are going to have? No new information at all. :-(

I'll be back there within the next 60-90 minutes or so. I'd only had about 12 hours of sleep in my first 3 days here so I slept in a bit this morning

I have a pic of me in the back seat after my 6' friend set the front for himself, so you'll be able to see what I mentioned before about having your feet tucked under the seat.

Other than that I intend to squeeze the BMW folks for all of the info that I can

I'll have more later :wink:

[Drillslinger]

Originally Posted by TheUltimateDriver

The X3 color = 362 Sienna Red II


I would not be at all surprised if Sedona Red is variation of Sienna.

This is a good question and I'll ask (If I remember :redface

[Drillslinger]

Originally Posted by zba857

GET some under car pics of the 135i PLEASE!! THANK YOU!

I will today... I promise
I missed the press conference due to a clusterf**k getting the shuttle buses through traffic :mad: so when I got there I just started taking pics of the 1er Coupe that was there... ASSuming that it was the 135. It wasn't until I looked at the brakes that I realized that something was wrong

[Drillslinger]

OK, the pic of the rear seat rom with the 6' driver didn't turn out (The lighting is kinda harsh for pics) but I have this shot of the rear legroom with the front seat set for a 5'6" driver.



When the seat comes back there's still more room that in my MINI back there and the door is wide enough that, with the front seat moved forward, there's no problem getting in and out. Without the seat moved forward... it's a chore to get in and nearly impossible to get out

More later

[ducati]

Tight, very tight. I wish it had tilt AND slide seats that reset back to the driver's position after returning the seatback upright.

I'm about 5'10", so I assume from your statement above that the seat behind me will be nearly unuseable. And it will be hard to get a baby in and out of the back, unless the seat it scooted forward. HMMN.

[Drillslinger]

There was a guy in the 135 today who was 6'4" and he had enough leg room to drive but the roof just hit the top of his head. The seat behind him was pretty much useless for anything except a child seat (perhaps). I will say that the door is large enough and the seat moves forward enough for me to get out of the back without a problem. If you're, I'd say 5'10" or taller... the front's the place for you

[imported_sbw]

Love the five-spoke alloys! :thumbup:

[Drillslinger]

Oh, and a couple more little tibits (Pics to follow later):

They're staying quiet on when pricing will be released. All that they'll say is Winter.

The (Oh so sweet) 135 brakes ARE INDEED branded "BMW" (Pics to follow)

The exhaust is dual from the manifold, through separate catalytic converters and then they merge mid-ship into one resonator and continue as a single exhaust. The outboard exhaust tip is fitted with what appears to be a vacuum valve similar to the flap on the VW R32. I'd imagine it's closed at low speed to keep things quiet and then opens up at higher revs to flow (and sound) better. It'll probably be the first thing most of us disable

There's only internet support in one location so as I post pics to my flickr account I'll throw a couple up here.

Thanks for being patient

[ChrisK]

Drillslinger

When you see the 135i, please take a good picture of the seats. I want to make sure that the 135i seat bolsters aren't too big.

[Drillslinger]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the 135i I/C is SIDE MOUNTED in front of the right wheel. I don't know yet if the cooler located in the front lower air dam is an oil cooler or what

Oh yeah, and the "Brake Cooling Ducts" are just openings aimed at the brakes. There are no hoses directing flow.

[atr_hugo]

Well the ducts exist - I know about 20 homes in my neck of the woods that we can steal dryer hoses from. ; -)

And Drillslinger, THANKS!!

[Drillslinger]

Originally Posted by chriskurn

Drillslinger

When you see the 135i, please take a good picture of the seats. I want to make sure that the 135i seat bolsters aren't too big.

My friend has an E46 325 and the seats feel almost exactly the same
Oh, and the leather on the outside of the bolsters is smooth whereas the rest is textured. I like it :biggrin:

[CDR_UK]

Thanks for the info! The side mounted I/C sounds a bit dodgy though! Any pics of it?

[Drillslinger]

Yes, I have pics... just give me a few minutes. I'll post them up right before I head back out

[Drillslinger]

Here are a few that I've uploaded already:

135i Front:



123d in Black (front):



and a quick pic of my new favorite (std) brakes :biggrin::



One more thing... for y'all MINI folks, don't forget to thank the guys at MotoringFile (www.motoringfile.com) for helping to make the Press Access possible

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I managed to upload a quick video on Google Video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...96873009&hl=en

[1050Wien]

Drillslinger,

Thanks a ton for all the pics. If there is a chance, I'd love to see the 128i to see the difference the M kit does to the body. Also, do you have an address for your flickr account (just in case more pictures are on there and you are not able to post them all here)? Thanks!

[Drillslinger]

Once I get my "stuff" together I'll put all of my 1er pics together into a set and then let y'all know where that is :biggrin:

I'll go around both the 123 (no 128 here ) and the 135 to see what differences there are between kits

[Drillslinger]

Front right brake/ic duct:





Rear IC duct in wheel well:



Left brake duct:



A couple of other things that I've noticed...

"in the flesh" the shoulder lines aren't as harsh/sharp as they appeared in earlier photos and the Sedona Red (as mentioned by someone else) is more of a burnt orange/red metallic than bronze

That's it for now. I'm heading back out onto the floor and then from there probably head home. I've got more pics (and will still take more) and will be posting them when I get home.

[ChrisK]

WOW! I am impressed with all the pictures. Thanks!

[ChrisK]

Is it me, or does the 135i have flush (pop-up) headlight washers and the 123d's are surface mounted?

[1ster]

Dude, you get the All Star award for doing all this work. You're ahead of everyone with this stuff, including every blog and automotive website I read. Thanks a million.

[dsm9]

Drillslinger is the man! Good work!