My 128i M-Sport

[_Pants]

Quick update on the new shift knob and boot install. Love the look of the BMWP alcantara boot with the silver/grey stitching. It really compliments the aluminum trim nicely. The ZHP knob is buttery smooth leather and a shape that I prefer. Overall very satisfied with the ease of install and the OEM+ styling of the two pieces together.

[swagon]

Nice. I dig the alu trim with the PP stitching.

[_Pants]

I got a chance to install a set of gloss black kidney grilles this week. I like how well they match the shadowline trim and finish off the front end nicely.

[_Pants]

Quick update on my car. I ordered blackline tails from Schmiedmann on Monday and they arrived today while I was at work. Incredibly fast shipping and nice packaging! I couldn't wait to get these put in so I got right to it when I got home tonight. This was made incredibly easy with the DIY install writeup found on this forum. 100% plug and play for me on a 2011 128i with halogen headlights. I can't believe I didn't do this sooner!

[E91WAG3N]

Looks great, the tails really update the car and tie the back end together. Money well spent

[_Pants]

I'm never good at remembering to post as I update things on the car. Since the last update I've done the following:

-CDV delete (I haven't noticed as much of a difference as I'd hoped)
-Turner Motorsport spacers (10 mm rear, 12.5 mm front)
-New license plates since I moved to Washington, DC
-I found an OEM BMW Performance carbon license plate frame and added that

[Steven135i]

Originally Posted by _Pants

Quick update on the new shift knob and boot install. Love the look of the BMWP alcantara boot with the silver/grey stitching. It really compliments the aluminum trim nicely. The ZHP knob is buttery smooth leather and a shape that I prefer. Overall very satisfied with the ease of install and the OEM+ styling of the two pieces together.

That Shift knob looks so good with the trim you have!

[_Pants]

Quick update:

I decided to skip the dealership and did my own oil change using a lift at my buddy's place. It couldn't have been easier and I can't believe I didn't start changing my own oil sooner. I scored a nice Amazon Prime deal on the Mobil 1 OW-40 5 quart jug and grabbed another pair of single quart bottles as well as the oil filter and oil filter wrench for around $75.

The only issues with the car currently are the dashboard which has developed a bubble and what appears to be an oncoming crack along the middle (previously a Florida car) and the rear passenger side speaker will occasionally have a static hissing that I can't turn off. It randomly goes away all by itself but there isn't any obvious cause. Anybody else experiencing that?

Otherwise I've been enjoying the car immensely and it is the most fun I've had in a car at this price. I still can't believe more people didn't buy these when they were still in production. I feel very lucky to have found mine!

[Matticus91]

Looking good!

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by _Pants

Quick update:

I decided to skip the dealership and did my own oil change using a lift at my buddy's place. It couldn't have been easier and I can't believe I didn't start changing my own oil sooner. I scored a nice Amazon Prime deal on the Mobil 1 OW-40 5 quart jug and grabbed another pair of single quart bottles as well as the oil filter and oil filter wrench for around $75.

The only issues with the car currently are the dashboard which has developed a bubble and what appears to be an oncoming crack along the middle (previously a Florida car) and the rear passenger side speaker will occasionally have a static hissing that I can't turn off. It randomly goes away all by itself but there isn't any obvious cause. Anybody else experiencing that?

Otherwise I've been enjoying the car immensely and it is the most fun I've had in a car at this price. I still can't believe more people didn't buy these when they were still in production. I feel very lucky to have found mine!

Castrol 0W-40 LL-01 has been $22-25 for a couple years now on Amazon. I buy 3-4 jugs at a time along with 3-4 filters. It's the best price on LL-01 oil you can get today.

[KNS]

The bubble in the dashboard is not an isolated problem unfortunately. There is a guy here on the board who fixed his but the only other alternative is a new dash ($$).

[daslan021]

Just stumbled upon this thread on the forum. I have almost the same spec BMW! Picked it up this past summer at 96k miles. BMW 128i M-sport with a couple mods; performance exhaust, stage 3 DISA intake manifold, Active Autowerks tune, blackline smoked tail lights, smoked side markers. Not perfect cosmetically on the outside but still an awesome machine.

I am local to Washington DC as well. What are the odds.

[_Pants]

Sorry for the delay in my reply to this! Just logging in for the first time in quite a while. I can't believe you have a nearly identical car and you're so close by! Would love to see your car in person sometime if you still have it. I still have mine and just rolled over 120k miles. Still going strong and such a joy to drive. I've since added an F31 330i M sport wagon to the fleet but the 128i isn't going anywhere. Did you buy your car with the engine mods or was that something you had done? Looks awesome with the red interior by the way!

[robblr]

Space Gray Metallic DC-area 128i checking in!

[_Pants]

Originally Posted by robblr

Space Gray Metallic DC-area 128i checking in!

We'll have to get all the local 128i's together once the weather improves! A couple of recent pictures of my 128i and her new garage mate, my F31 330ix M Sport.

[Ric in RVA]

Originally Posted by _Pants

We'll have to get all the local 128i's together once the weather improves! A couple of recent pictures of my 128i and her new garage mate, my F31 330ix M Sport.

Make it so!!!

[DönerPorsche]

I'm a little south of Richmond with a 135. Does that count as local?

[robblr]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

Make it so!!!

Whenever Skyline Drive un-freezes.

[m_thompson]

Mine is an '09 128i; Black Sapphire Metallic, Coral Red/Glacier Silver, N51, 6MT, Navigation, Premium Package, M-Sport, Heated seats, Xenon Headlights, iPod, Smartphone.

I did Euro Delivery. It was fun having the cruise control set to 135MPH, legally, and had to stay in the middle lane of the Autobahn to let the fast cars go by. At the time I could plan trips on a BMW WWW page, save the trip on a USB stick, and download it into the Nav. It made the daily excursions painless because they were planned weeks in advance. I still have some of the German routes set in the Nav.

The only modification that I have done is blackline tail lights.

[Thunderguts]

Originally Posted by m_thompson

It was fun having the cruise control set to 135MPH, legally, and had to stay in the middle lane of the Autobahn to let the fast cars go by.

Shouldn't the M-Sport be able to top 150, or were you just taking it easy on the new engine?

[m_thompson]

Originally Posted by Thunderguts

Shouldn't the M-Sport be able to top 150, or were you just taking it easy on the new engine?

The speed limiter should be about 150 or 155MPH. At 135MPH there was still plenty of power left, so I think it could have gotten to the limiter. At the time it only had about 800 miles on it, and the delivery people at the BMW Welt said to take it easy until 1200 miles. They were also very insistent about doing four tire heat/cool cycles before going over 100MPH.