What did you do to/for your 1er today?

[Gangplank]

Forgot about it for the day....

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by 1and1

TRW & Lem are both OE manufacturers I believe. When it comes to the M3 arms often they are actual M parts with the BMW M logo ground off

Quality is good? safe to install and abuse on the track?

Had bad experience using ATE discs on track, switched to OE/Genuine BMW ones and problem free, expensive though.

Genuine BMW arms and bushings are sitting at €900 for me, the same parts from TRW and Lemförder are €260, hence me asking.

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by Zombie_Head

Quality is good? safe to install and abuse on the track?

Had bad experience using ATE discs on track, switched to OE/Genuine BMW ones and problem free, expensive though.

Genuine BMW arms and bushings are sitting at €900 for me, the same parts from TRW and Lemförder are €260, hence me asking.

There is a difference between OE and OEM, but the difference is not drastic. Many people are running TRW and Lemforder parts without any problem (me included). You are likely getting parts that miss BMW spec in some way when you go with OEM, but is that difference worth 640 euros to you? Probably not. There are bad aftermarket parts and good ones, and TRW and Lemforder are good. I did find it amusing that the TRW arms had the M logo ground off!

[________]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

There is a difference between OE and OEM, but the difference is not drastic. Many people are running TRW and Lemforder parts without any problem (me included). You are likely getting parts that miss BMW spec in some way when you go with OEM, but is that difference worth 640 euros to you? Probably not. There are bad aftermarket parts and good ones, and TRW and Lemforder are good. I did find it amusing that the TRW arms had the M logo ground off!

That is wrong information.

OP, follow MightyMouseTech's advice.

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

That is wrong information.

OP, follow MightyMouseTech's advice.

What's wrong about it?

[________]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

What's wrong about it?

Saying OEM parts "missed the BMW spec in some way".

They are exactly the same part sans the BMW logo.

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Saying OEM parts "missed the BMW spec in some way".

They are exactly the same part sans the BMW logo.

Maybe. There is some speculation that OEMs run a batch of a certain part, the ones that meet all specs go to BMW as OE parts and the ones that don't are sold as Lemforder/TRW/whatever. Or maybe they make a batch of 1,000 at a time and don't test them at all, and BMW buys whatever they need for their inventory. Who really knows? But in general I agree with you, there is no significant difference, at least not to justify a price of 900 vs 260 Euros.

[NorthernDancer]

Installed Koni SRT.T struts in a 08 128 w/sp pkg. Only 60K on car. Shocks go in soon.

[bmw1racer]

Oil and filter change.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

Maybe. There is some speculation that OEMs run a batch of a certain part, the ones that meet all specs go to BMW as OE parts and the ones that don't are sold as Lemforder/TRW/whatever. Or maybe they make a batch of 1,000 at a time and don't test them at all, and BMW buys whatever they need for their inventory. Who really knows? But in general I agree with you, there is no significant difference, at least not to justify a price of 900 vs 260 Euros.

The ATE discs i got were just €47 each and they really showed why the price was set, when i went on track. The OE discs costed me €137 each, so that is nearly 4x the price and i have covered 6,000 kms on track and they are just fine without any excessive wear or abnormalities as the ATE discs.

If the car was street driven and i see maybe 1 track day a year, i would have seen the TRW/Lemförder parts acceptable. But since i covered 5-6 track days this year, and there more "stress" than your average car sees, i believe going OE would better suit me than OEM. Yes it is a lot of money indeed, no question, but it is a small price to pay when you think about peace of mind on the track (and street) don't you agree?

[________]

Originally Posted by Zombie_Head

The ATE discs i got were just €47 each and they really showed why the price was set, when i went on track. The OE discs costed me €137 each, so that is nearly 4x the price and i have covered 6,000 kms on track and they are just fine without any excessive wear or abnormalities as the ATE discs.

If the car was street driven and i see maybe 1 track day a year, i would have seen the TRW/Lemförder parts acceptable. But since i covered 5-6 track days this year, and there more "stress" than your average car sees, i believe going OE would better suit me than OEM. Yes it is a lot of money indeed, no question, but it is a small price to pay when you think about peace of mind on the track (and street) don't you agree?

Who said ATE is OEM?

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Who said ATE is OEM?

As an OEM supplier to BMW, they make a large number of parts for them including most of BMW's floating calipers. Their logo is cast into the bodies adjacent to BMW's logo.

[________]

Originally Posted by Suprgnat

As an OEM supplier to BMW, they make a large number of parts for them including most of BMW's floating calipers. Their logo is cast into the bodies adjacent to BMW's logo.

Do they make the BMW rotors? If not, they're not these parts OEM.

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by Zombie_Head

Yes it is a lot of money indeed, no question, but it is a small price to pay when you think about peace of mind on the track (and street) don't you agree?

When the difference is a factor of 3 I don’t, but it isn’t my money you’re spending.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Who said ATE is OEM?

They are, hell my dealership offers it as an alternative as well. The calipers are also made by ATE, it is there in the casting.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Do they make the BMW rotors? If not, they're not these parts OEM.

Standard discs are made by ATE, the M/Performance/X-Drilled discs are made by Zimmerman (another OEM supplier).

I am not here to debate, if x brand is better than y. I was curious to know if those TRW arms are the exact same, in every aspect, as the genuine BMW ones.

And i think i just answered my own question, since i am hitting a lot of track days and for a peace of mind, id spend the extra on genuine ones.

[icegrill]

Originally Posted by RNegz

It's definitely off some but not horrible. Pictures make it seem worse than it is.

Don't worry paint on bumpers will hardly ever be a perfect match. It's just the nature of the materials and how the metallics lay down.

[JayPichardo]

Got her a big sister.

[Suprgnat]

I've been wanting to install a fire extinguisher for quite some time and in fact I purchased and installed the BMW P/N 52-10-0-408-186 fire extinguisher mounting bracket back in April of 2015 with the intent of also getting the factory fire extinguisher. Unfortunately, I've only occasionally seen the factory item pop up for sale in the States, and always at 3+ times the list price. I even briefly entertained the idea of importing a batch as novelty items (they are not UL approved), but space in a cargo container isn't cheap and I couldn't get the numbers to work out.

Strangely, my invoice says P/N 52-10-0-408-186, but the part is stamped 52-10-0-390-475. 52-10-0-408-186 is currently listed by RealOEM as being for the 08 to 16 E89 Z4 and 52-10-0-390-475 shows up in RealOEM as "Fire extinguisher bracket" with no application data. Regardless, it (52-10-0-390-475) was a direct bolt in for my factory sport seat.

Flash forward a 3 1/2 years and I decided to switch things up.

I now have a Brey-Krause R-2225 BMW extinguisher mounting bracket, Rennline FE12 2.63 in. quick disconnect fire extinguisher mount, and H3R Performance HG100R 1.4 lb Halotron fire extinguisher. I also purchased the BMW 52-10-0-392-435 "LEFT LEVER SHORT KIT". Everything bolted right up and fits perfectly. The only change I made was replacing the M5 mounting hardware supplied by Rennline with 10-24 hardware to bolt the release base to the Brey-Krause bracket. Brey-Krause offer quick release brackets, too, but not one that mounts the 2.63 in. bottle.

I decided to mount everything on the driver's seat as I wanted quick access to it and didn't relish the idea of having to move an incapacitated passenger to get to it. I selected the smaller 1.4 lb. size because I'm short, and maneuvering space is limited with the seat adjusted to my height. I'll probably upgrade to an H3R Aviation Halon 1211 extinguisher in the same size sometime in the future as it has the same 2BC rating as the 2.5 lb. bottle of Halotron.

The Rennline quick disconnect is a piece of engineering artwork. Beautifully machined out of aluminum, it even has small, spring loaded ball bearings strategically placed to prevent rattling. Firmly holding the extinguisher in place, release is a simple squeeze of the lever.

[Gray_Panther]

Suprgnat you got what looks to be a booger on the corner of your seat in the last pic!

I can't remember, but do you have the Gray Boston leather or the Lemon?

Hot/Cold spigot installed in the garage on Saturday, and today went to Home Depot and picked up some color swatches.
Also...Husky tool chests caught my eye while I was there, will be slowly digesting the thought of that purchase tomorrow while I am at work

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

Suprgnat you got what looks to be a booger on the corner of your seat in the last pic! :

Oh, sh*t!

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

I can't remember, but do you have the Gray Boston leather or the Lemon?:

Oyster.

[chris_flies]

I drove it in the rain. I had WAY too much fun. This thing gets sideways in (almost) a snap, and is so much more composed with the proper diff. I made a right up a hill and was spinning in 2nd for a good 10 seconds, the rear end swaying rhythmically right to left after hitting a paint stripe. This thing is a total hoon, and is ridiculous amounts of fun to drive. U-Turns are interesting, as it locks hard and any slight throttle input is met with slight amounts of rear end dance moves.

Best. Daily. Ever.


I'm still contemplating what to do with the car next. Coilovers are an interesting proposition (externally-adjustable rears would be a blessing, as would an adjustable ride height), as would be a full-poly bushing rebuild...hmmm