Near Dream-Spec 128i

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by KNS

I've seen pictures of the 528 oil to water HE and like that option as well. So, with the N52 engine will the 528 cooler work? I assume both styles of cooler have an integrated thermostat - there isn't any software to mess with?

Is there a difference or concern with the radiator capacity of the N51 vs the N52 (I have the N52)?

Yes, yes, yes and I don't know.
The problem with the N51 radiator is that there is no (legal) larger capacity replacement (that I know of) if there was a heat capacity issue after dumping the heat from the oil into the system. Swapping to a (larger) non-Premair treated radiator will cause the car to throw a CEL.

[KNS]

Thanks for the reply. As to any coding or software, did you mean Yes there is or No there is not..? I may also consider a 135i cooler or perhaps a Stett.

It's amazing that BMW will put a small cooler on the N52 engines for Australia and South Africa but not the South Western United States.

Sorry to get this thread off track...

[squidge]

No worries, this is something I'm interested in too!

Suprgnat, good info about the radiator differences. I hadn't ran across that yet, and honestly it wouldn't have occurred to me that the radiator could be one of the SULEV differences. Upon further research, the PremAir coating is pretty fascinating though -- the car is like a rolling carbon offset program! http://www.catalysts.basf.com/p02/US...sions/prem-air

I think sticking with an external oil/air cooler makes the most sense in this light.

[KNS]

I did a little research - I have a manual trans 128i N52 engine. In Europe, Australia, etc, where the 125i and 130i N52s run the small oil cooler mounted on the oil filter housing, the radiator on those cars is the same part number as mine.

There is a water coolant pipe that will have to be changed on my car (from the water pump to the engine block) and an additional coolant hose added.

[squidge]

Replaced my OEM front sway bar with a used E92 M3 piece. I think this mid-range upgrade is the right choice rather than going overly stiff with the E93 bar. Install was a breeze -- about an hour including raising and lowering the car. Removing the belly pan screws with a small cordless impact really speeds the process.

[squidge]

Got an alignment today and I'm super pleased with the results after adding Dinan camber plates.

With the pins pulled and M3 control arms, I only got -1.0, which I was a bit disappointed with. The new plates put me at -2.2 and -2.4, which I had evened out to -2.2. Much better than the .7 gain Dinan advertises!

[Ric in RVA]

What is the thinking on zero toe?

[squidge]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

What is the thinking on zero toe?

Decided on that after reading through several other people's alignment threads.

I'm interpreting front toe in as adding stability at the expense of responsiveness while turning, and front toe out doing the opposite. I see zero toe as a balance of both, good for my mix of driving, mostly spirited pleasure rides and the occasional track day. I also read that the toe can drift slightly out, but not in, so I'd rather be slightly conservative in case that happens.

[Texan Engineer]

squidge, how's your (new-ish, not really anymore) ride treating you, over a year now right?

i wanted to add, there aren't too many properly optioned 128i's out there...but their owners all seem to be on this board! I've got one myself, also a late build near the end of the line. Basically the same options except no mods yet.

[KNS]

Squidge has been busy over on the Rennlist board doing all kinds of work on his 993 and posting some great threads on his progress.