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| 05-16-2021, 02:13 AM | #1 |
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After almost 5 years lurking the forums, I thought it was finally time to share a small build thread for my 2011 Le Mans Blue 135i! Sorry for the lack of photos, I've never been super great at keeping up with them!
Shortly before graduating high school I purchased my parents E46 325i and almost immediately fell in love with the driving experience it had to offer. I took it out every night to do short canyon runs and spent all of my free time trying to figure out how to drive it faster even with the lack of power. After about 6 months of ownership I began looking into forums and getting as much info as I could find to attempt an S54 swap in the car. Realizing that I didn't have the means to dive into a project that size, I began looking into other cars with more power and possibly better platforms to make a "fast car". That was the point I found out about the E82 and the potential that they had in stock form. I immediately put a stop to any modifications I had in mind for the E46 and started saving every penny I had for a lower mileage 135i. While searching I found a local Alpine White 135i with a 6 speed manual (my dream spec), and showed my parents in hopes that they would co-sign on the loan for me. About 2 weeks later the same 135i was sitting in the driveway at home. My parents beat me to it and bought it for themselves.  Probably a good thing though because the car was about $5k over my budget. Another 2 weeks went by and finally after a few failed purchase attempts, a 60k mile, 6 speed manual coupe popped up for sale about 7 hours away from home. I called the same day and put a deposit down, and drove up the next weekend to bring the car home!After bringing the car home a couple things needed immediate attention. The car had a pretty nasty brake squeal that I didn't notice until after the test drive when I was headed home, and the car was on a set of 17 inch wheels with 215 snow tires all the way around. I purchased a new set of brake pads and 18 inch Enkei M52 wheels that I wrapped in Hankook Ventus V12s. This setup was perfect for me and for the next year and a half, the only other mod I did was a new set of black grills. After finally adjusting to the power level, I began looking into ways to bump up the power level a little bit. I started with an Injen CAI and ER charge pipe, and enjoyed driving around for another year before I started getting carried away. I then bought a VRSF down pipe and intercooler, and flashed the car with the MHD stage 2+ map which made the car come to life! Along the way, I only ran into one other issue when the water pump failed, but otherwise the car held up great to this point! The OEM clutch held up great for the first few months with the new power levels, but shorty after I started a new job in a dealerships service department, it started slipping. Luckily enough, I had a few coworkers that were willing to drop the transmission with me and install the new clutch and flywheel in our shop at work. While we had the transmission out, we also installed the BMS SSK to make shifts a little quicker. With the clutch ready to go again, and in desperate need of new tires, I decided to make the jump and purchased a set of 18 inch Apex Arc-8s and upped the tire size to 235s up front and 265s out back. While waiting for the wheels and tires to show up, we also installed a set of ST XTA coilovers that I had sitting around for nearly a year, and completed a tune up with new Delphi Coils and NGK 2 step colder plugs. With new wheels, tires, and coilovers, I found that staying in my seat was a little but difficult when cornering, so I bought a Bride Zeta 4 to help out, and installed it with the bride e87 bracket and slider. At this point I decided to give the interior a little bit of attention finally and installed a BMW performance shift boot and e-brake boot to get rid of the worn leather ones that came with the car, and topped it off with a Macht Schnell shift knob. While heading into the summer months, a few new issues developed. I started having some electrical issues which I initially believed to just be a faulty battery. After replacing the battery all was well for a few days, but when leaving work on a warm day I noticed that I had no cold air blowing through the vents. We were able to track that down to a hole in the A/c condenser, which we replaced quickly, and recharged the system. A few days later I attempted to turn the A/C on and again found that no cold air was coming through the vents. We initially thought this was just bad o-rings, as we did not replace them with the new condenser. After throwing new o-rings on, the system still failed to pass a leak test, which ended up being another hole in the brand new condenser. Thanks to FCP euro, I had another new part within a few days due to their lifetime warranty! We found that the cause for the holes in the condensers was due to the air scoops behind the grill being installed incorrectly, and they ended up rubbing the condenser while driving. While installing the 2nd new condenser, I also decided to take care of the OFHG leak that had developed as well. After the install, the car threw a 2D60 code, which ended up in a couple hours of headaches before we realized that we forgot to prime the motor when reinstalling everything. We added oil to the filter housing, cleared the code and everything was back to normal! A few more days passed with the A/C back up and running, when I began to experience more electrical issues in the car. I got the alternator tested and it ended up showing a faulty voltage regulator, so now it was time to replace the alternator. Having just completed the OFHG, I searched around for alternate ways to replace the alternator without pulling the filter housing off again, before stumbling on a rather "interesting" was to complete the job. Probably not the smartest idea, but we were able to cut the front mounting point of the stock airbox off the intake manifold, which gives just enough room to slip the alternator out without any clearance issues. Probably a good thing we went the sketchy route, because the parts store had ordered an alternator for an N54, and it was just a little too tight for the belt to sit on, which we didn't notice until the car was started and the belt started to smoke. The next day we replaced the n54 alternator with the correct part, which also ended up being faulty and gave out the following day. I returned both parts for refunds, and still reluctant to spend $700 on an OEM part, I found a used alternator off of a wrecked 30k mile e92 for $130. We got the used part installed and everything was back to normal for about another week before I had more electrical codes pop up. These ended up not being a huge deal, as I had just forgotten to code the aftermarket battery when it was replaced. Following these few issues, I was ready to dive back into modifications and purchased an eBay front lip which stayed on the car for a few months before I replaced it with a Flow Designs front splitter. After the front splitter install, the car developed an oil pan leak, which I had taken care of locally by an independent tech that a friend had referred me to, and had the car back the next day! Heading into winter I was ready to switch things up a little, so I pulled the trigger on a set of Advan RZII's. While waiting for the wheels to arrive from Japan, I order the M3 control arms to give the front wheels a little more camber as I had decided to go a little more aggressive with the front offset, compared to the arc 8s. Control arms installed and vehicle aligned, I was all ready for the wheels to show up. During the waiting process I began stocking up and braking components do refresh the system. I ended up choosing Stoptech slotted rotors, Stoptech SS brake lines, Stoptech pistons for the front calipers, Endless MX72 brake pads, and Endless RF-650 fluid. After about a 3 month wait, I finally got the tracking number from the supplier and ordered a new set of Yokohama Advan v601 tires for the new wheels. When everything finally showed up, we dove in and completed the entire install. The car was just about ready to go, but needed a new rear bumper due to a mistake I made driving home tired after a graveyard shift a couple years prior. I was looking around online when a paint matched OEM bumper off of a wrecked 135i popped up at Straight Six Auto parts. I ordered the new bumper and the car was now ready to go. After the car was set up cosmetically, and handled how I wanted it to, I decided it was time to get a custom tune. I reached out to Wedge Performance and was able to get a great tune from Steven, who was super great to work with and super fast with getting maps back to me after I had logged. The car now feels amazing and I have had no issues with the tune at all! This just about brings everything up to date except for the 2 latest mods! I'm currently in the process of waiting for a Revozport carbon hood, and recently deciding to make an upgrade to the steering wheel. Seeing the options out there for re-wrapped OEM steering wheels, or even the BMW performance options, I decided I wanted to try to take a slightly different route. Understanding the dangers, I wanted to install a quick release steering wheel to satisfy the ricer inside me. I knew that it had been done on a couple e9x chassis, but it seemed like there were a few issue that most people found with this mod, aside from the lack of an airbag. I had seen a thread specifying what hubs did not work, but I had not seen anything showing the options that DO work with the OE clock spring. I made a leap of faith and pulled the trigger on the OMP E9x hub, which worked perfectly. Testing it with a friends quick release set up, the only issue that arose was an airbag light, which I ended up coding out with ProTool. After confirming that everything would work, I purchased a Works Bell Rapifix II and a Keys Racing steering wheel. After a couple days of driving with no issues, I had a couple lights pop on the dash, which led me to recalibrate the steering angle sensor, solving the issues. I still have a couple items to address, the VCG is starting to leak, and having just crossed 120k miles I am going to service the trans and diff with some Redline fluids. But otherwise that just about catches everything up to date! Thanks for all the info you all provide as there is no way I would have gotten to this point without the forum! PS: If anyone has any interest in the Arc 8s, let me know! Last edited by Jpelps; 05-16-2021 at 02:20 AM.. |
| 05-22-2021, 01:37 PM | #3 |
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Awesome story! Absolutely love the look of the Advans as well!
couple questions: What clutch did you go with? I've started to get a bit of slippage in mine as well, and I've got a few bolt ons, I'm considering the oem 335is upgrade, which I've gathered is the most cost effective option for a bolt on car, just curious what you went with and how its held up? Also, how was the finish & fitment on that eBay lip? it looks awesome in the pic
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-2002 Orient Blue/grey 330ci 5MT sold
-1998 Steel Blue/Dove Grey 328is 5MT sold -1998 Cosmos Black/red 328is 5MT sold -2011 Space Grey/Coral 135i 6MT |
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| 05-23-2021, 04:59 PM | #4 | |
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Quote:
I ended up going with the oem 335is clutch for the same reason. The only issue was trying to figure out how to use the clutch alignment tool. Feels great and still super close to stock. If I did the job again, I would probably go with a spec stage 2+, just for the sake of a, hopefully, easier install. Fitment was pretty good on the eBay lip, and probably could have been better if my intercooler didn't push down on my bumper. But for the price I can't complain!
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| 06-05-2021, 06:47 PM | #5 |
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Went on a nice drive today with a buddy and his e46. Got stuck behind some slow traffic up and down the mountain but it gave us a good opportunity to pull off and grab some pictures!
Also added a couple of mods this last week! Finally got around to ordering and installing blackline tail lights, and removed the back seats to start building a rear seat delete!
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| 07-20-2021, 05:25 AM | #6 | |
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| 12-04-2021, 06:00 PM | #7 |
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Haven't posted in a while but I do have a couple of upgrades to add to the list!
Finally received my Revozport hood and also installed an RTD shifter! Here's some pics! (including my fiancés 335i and my buddies 135i)
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| 01-21-2022, 07:31 PM | #8 |
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Haven't really been changing much on the car recently, just stockpiling parts to fix some issues (rear main leak and valve cover).
But wanted to share the most recent update! My fiancé and I found something to replace her f30 with… (need to grab some more pictures of the 2 cars together)
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