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07-14-2017, 01:10 AM | #1 |
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[VIC] 135i member signing in
Hey everyone,
I've been lurking these forums so long I feel embarrassed to say I’m a new member, but yeah I'm long overdue to say hi . I’ve previously owned a BB4 VTEC Prelude and then a DC2 Type R so I’m one of those Honda fanboys. The Type R is absolutely fantastic - practical, robust, economical, light, raw and fun - so it was really hard to let go. But after a long ownership it was time to try something new and a bit more comfortable (thinking rear doors would be good for the school run with 2 kids). I always wanted to own one of these renowned BMW inline 6’s (with a manual) so kept my eye out for a 130i - twice came close but didn’t work out. Then saw my N54 135i last year in Alpine White with Coral Red (same combo as my R) in good condition and low ks and surprised the wife gave the go ahead, despite no rear doors. Purchased after a BMW inspection came clean and happy days. My R was quite modded, overly stiff competition TEIN coilovers, forged wheels, Spoon brakes, full I/H/E etc. A stock 1500kg 135i just doesn’t compare handling wise… but it's so much more refined as a daily and that smooth 6 with plentiful torque is bliss! It’s been observed and discussed many times but those rock hard runflats and wobbly rear end are pretty bad. I expected going from a 1.8 to a 3.0TT, fuel usage would be very different (13 l/100km vs 9 l/100km), but I didn’t expect the range to be even lower (350-400 vs 420-450). I can almost work out the employee shifts at my local BP Of course with a new ride the mod bug bit immediately: - JBSpeed Black front Grills (metallic stripes - maybe still not subtle enough) - LED Angel Eyes (outer rings are still a problem) - Tune2Air Bluetooth adapter - Blackline tail lights - CF diffuser - Interior refresh (wrapped fake wood trim in 3M 1080 Carbon wrap, handbrake & shift suede boot, ZHP knob) - Apex ARC-8 w/Michelin PS4 (a few weeks ago) Was going to do MHD but wanted to get to learn the car first - plus my Nexus 7 usb port went iffy so I’m scared to brick the ECU. Also a few months after owning it, I started noticing uneven idle and even had a CEL with a misfire. Got myself Carly and the bluetooth adapter and replaced coils on first 3 cylinders and the car was purring again. Few months later another episode and I started worrying about injectors. Luckily found this thread http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...8#post15189668 and after a couple of tanks I’ve been fine since (touch wood). Might need to do a walnut blast before I look at MHD. I am a newbie when it comes to turbocharged mods, so I’m still wrapping my head around charge pipes, BOV, DV, DP’s, Intercoolers etc. Have to say threads here like @vtl’s incredible one has helped heaps. Didn’t know the intercooler change was such a simple DIY. Also very impressed with CIC (mine doesn’t have idrive/nav). Main priority now is to sort out the suspension though. The Michelins are great and have softened/smoothed the ride with increased grip, although I’m still having some rub issues with 235/265 setup (that APEX said wouldn’t rub on stock suspension - to be fair the tolerances are very tight). Rears have been rolled by the famous and awesome Athid Robert, but fronts probably need some camber plates / stiffer springs. Ohlins / Bilsteins? Still deciding as it’s primarily a daily. Maybe I just need a bit more stock camber - haven’t done the front alignment pins yet. Did buy the Whiteline KDT917 subframe bushings from the eBay sale recently. Anyway I’ve overdone this for a first post. Hope to meet and discuss these fantastic cars with you all in the future Cheers Andy |
07-14-2017, 01:24 AM | #2 |
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Welcome! Good to see another Melbourne member as 135is aren't that common at meets and events here.
In my experience the Alignment pins are best used for alignment, you'll probably get .3-.4 of camber at best. To fix the rub up front you can just go for Dinan camber plates which simply offset the struts inwards and gives you more clearance to the fender and improves the handling. Very simple and does not impact the ride quality or create any clunks of nasty noises.
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07-14-2017, 02:16 AM | #4 | |
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Thanks! Yeah the Honda had been ridiculously trouble free mechanically and handling wise so forgiving at the limit. I'm not comfortable pushing the 135i anywhere near its limit yet.
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07-14-2017, 08:40 AM | #5 |
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I think bilstein b14s would be a good choice along with kW V1/V2 if you can get them for a good price. See how much it is from demontweeks UK. Bilstein B14 has better springs than B12 (eibach sit low and are soft) and is height adjustable, and doesn't sit too low on max height in e82.
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07-15-2017, 10:44 AM | #6 | |
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07-17-2017, 10:02 PM | #9 | |
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I'm biased so no comment PG's blue looks so nice. And I had a Black 135i as a wallpaper for ages. |
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10-17-2017, 08:35 AM | #10 |
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Have been looking at suspension recently, as well as a Wagner intercooler but the dreaded misfires returned. The first time I had a misfire and CEL it was cylinder 3, I replaced first 3 coils and it went away for a couple of months.
Then two separate CEL with codes cylinder 2 and then 3 again. Ok I'll do spark plugs even though they haven't done 20,000km (according to service book), and the other 3 coils while I'm at it. Picture of the plugs: #1 smelt of fuel and looks pretty bad #2 looked iffy #3 looked surprisingly ok. #4 smelt a bit like fuel from memory #5 looks horrible. any ideas why it looks messed up? not sure if it's engine oil #6 looks normal Ran fine for another month or so. Then I noticed regular rough idling in the mornings that smoothed out when warm. Research says it's probably leaky injectors - plus I smelt fuel on two of the spark plugs. So bit the bullet and ordered a set of Index 12 injectors from FCP Euro. Bit of a long story but FCP came good. Last week got a CEL with both #2 and #3 misfiring in the morning - car wasn't driveable. Finally got them today and just finished putting them in. They're a pain to remove, particularly #6! I now realise why there's a tool for the job. Never done coding with INPA before but have been reading up on e90 forums and particularly V3 lite. Got it set up with my macbook and virtualbox. For anyone attempting the same thing, here are some of my learnings from tonight when following the various guides and videos 1. Set the USB device to emulate COM1 (even if it says COM1 is in use). I tried modifying ini files to use the defaulted COM3... it's just easier to go with COM1. 2. Car needs to be ignition on, otherwise INPA will error on the injector screen (gave me a heart attack, wondering if it was my cable, COM setting, or because the VM was 64bit) 3. E87 chassis didn't have the engine selection MSD80 for N54. I read that you use E90 chassis instead and it worked. |
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03-27-2018, 12:56 AM | #11 |
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Return of the misfires
Since replacing the injectors the car was running ok as a daily but when pushed would still misfire and shut down cyl 2 and 3 with CEL. It was disheartening to say the least.
Advised by vtl to get the MHD logging module to do some logs - which was impossible when anything over 40% throttle would cause a CEL. So he advised to try resetting the adaptations and try again. To my complete surprise everything is sorted! Hadn't previously read that you should reset most of the adaptations when coding new injectors but there you go. Thanks heaps vtl ! Now I can enjoy that beefy N54 midrange. Not sure if it's normal but I feel like power tapers off noticeably past 5000rpm? Cleaned the car last weekend and haven't posted pics with the ARC-8's so here are some. |
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04-05-2018, 10:51 PM | #12 |
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Looks great on the ARC8s
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04-26-2018, 08:56 PM | #16 |
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Thanks!
They say good things come in threes - Noticed a vibration driving home after dinner last week. Annoyed but thought it was borderline repairable. Tyre shop said it couldn't - fair enough. So I order a new $$$ tyre go home and change it to spare and noticed TWO more If only it were the fronts I would've had the opportunity to go two 225/40 fronts and cost roughly the same as 1 rear. But I guess I'm lucky only 1 tyre is damaged. |
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04-26-2018, 09:37 PM | #17 |
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Looking good.
TIL, there are specialised tools for removing and installing the injectors. After replacing all 6 I found it pretty straight forward and didn't have any issues.
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08-11-2019, 09:04 PM | #18 |
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Haven't posted in a while, but thanks again vtl for helping me do some mods and maintenance items:
- Rear subframe bushings - new engine mounts - walnut blast Rear subframe bushings were definitely noticeable on this car, I did notice a bit of extra harshness but solves the rear 'wobble'. Shocked at the improvement with new engine mounts, gear changes are so much smoother. Vince noticed some oil leaking from OFHG so I've tackled that along with a new water pump and thermostat. Not a fun job but DIY'able. Next up Valve Cover :\ |
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