TheRealRidgeRacer's R1

[TheRealRidgeRacer]

Hello all!

I'm new to the forum, despite the fact that I've had the car for almost 2 years. I figured I would stop lurking and contribute!



This is my project "R1"

My goal with every car that I own is to not only personalize it, but to create my version of how I think the car should have come from the factory.

My previous car (below) was a 2010 Lancer Ralliart. Although it was an overall oddball of the Mitsu lineup, I created a really balanced car with greatly improved handling and power.

The car was first tuned by me in Open ECU, and then stretched to ~260 wheel torque on 24psi by one of the top AWD tuning shops in the country, out in Scottsdale.














That being said, the car was a road scalpel but the SST transmission just couldn't handle the power.


From that I moved on to another one of my long time favorites with massive potential, the 135i.


Current


Wheels:

Sportline satin black F=18x 8.5 +45 R= 18x 9.5 +62

Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Size: 225/40/18 255/35/18

Exhaust:

Dinan

Engine:

Dinan Stage 2 custom combined with latest BMW DME


On order at the shop

M3 rear subframe bushings

KW v2 coliovers


From here I hope to detail some of the progress and customization of my car, as well as learning and sharing knowlege with the community.

It's a pleasure to meet you all.









Within the first few months of ownership:




Shortly there after:

[1and1]

Welcome to 1Addicts!
Shame about the trans in the Lancer- I had always assumed they were much more capable than just mid-200's to the wheel

AW on the 135 always looks good, and really shows off the lines of the 1m rep front bumper. Any plans for the fog light holes?

[swagon]

Thank God it didn't come from the factory with that front bumper.

Welcome to the forums, enjoy the car.

[TheRealRidgeRacer]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Welcome to 1Addicts!
Shame about the trans in the Lancer- I had always assumed they were much more capable than just mid-200's to the wheel

AW on the 135 always looks good, and really shows off the lines of the 1m rep front bumper. Any plans for the fog light holes?

Thanks a bunch!

Yeah the Lancer rode on rails and was rocket. Especially in the turns!

Although it's a completely different car, I know the 135i can definitely reach similar levels of aggression and usable performance, but in a slightly more refined way.

As for the fog light holes, I think will either fully remove the mesh, or just leave them be. I still have my my stock ducting there for brake cooling etc. I haven't quite decided yet.

[Matticus91]

Looking really good! Where'd you get your front bumper from? I got mine from **********s but it's not on the car yet.

[Esteban]

Great looking car. I have a Dinan tune as well and I'm very happy with it.

I used to play Ridge Racer many moons ago and it brings back memories. Haha

Welcome to the club!

[TheRealRidgeRacer]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Looking really good! Where'd you get your front bumper from? I got mine from **********s but it's not on the car yet.

Hey Matticus,

Thanks a lot! Yeah, I bought it from mbargains as well. The quality is great, I know you'll love it!

Originally Posted by Esteban

Great looking car. I have a Dinan tune as well and I'm very happy with it.

I used to play Ridge Racer many moons ago and it brings back memories. Haha

Welcome to the club!

Esteban,

Thanks!!!

For sure, it's been a great experience with the Dinan!

Admittedly this is my first BMW so the smoothness and refinement was very different than what I was used to with the Mitsu. The BMW DCT is very different compared to Mitsu's SST tranny. Where the 135i shifts smoothly, the Ralliart was much more aggressive and snappy.

My only overall gripe was the lack of aggressive down shifting when hitting the throttle in normal mode that I was used to with Mitsu's SST. (throttle responsiveness) Obviously this is just a gripe during everyday driving on my commute. Sport mode more than makes up for this, but when I have a sporty car, I want it to feel alert and agile all of the time. When I hit sport mode, I want to be blown away haha.

More specifically in normal mode when I hit the throttle quickly at 1/5 pedal travel while coasting, I wanted the car to drop 2 gears aggressively and power on. (more like what I was used to) The normal behavior was dropping 1 gear and powering on. Most people would say "well just push the pedal down more." To me this is akin to One person talking about the 1M steering rack being faster than the 135i's and the other person just saying, "it's just as fast if you turn the steering wheel more/ faster." haha They are two different things.


Either way To fix/ help this, I installed sprintbooster. Never had one before, but also never needed it. haha Overall it has accomplished what I wanted to. pushing the throttle 1/5 while coasting, the car downshifts 2 gears and gives me the feeling* of a more responsive aggressive car by manipulating the "weight" of throttle values. For me this provides for a more balance/ matched experience for the intention of the car.

Example (obviously this is nowhere near exact it's just to illustrate the point)

Stock throttle input
0-->25-->50-->75--100

Sprintbooster throttle input

0-->40-->60-->80-->100

Also, I love classic Ridge Racer! Such good times back in the day!

[Esteban]

I have the DCT as well and I always drive with the sport button pressed and gear selector to the left in manual mode and do the shifting myself. Makes the car a whole lot of fun for me. Quick shifts up and down and very responsive throttle. Only way to drive the car as far as I'm concerned.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by TheRealRidgeRacer

Hey Matticus,
Thanks a lot! Yeah, I bought it from mbargains as well. The quality is great, I know you'll love it!

Glad to hear it! I noticed you kept the fog light housings empty, were you able to fit your 135i brake ducts in there with just the bracket remaining?

Originally Posted by TheRealRidgeRacer

Also, I love classic Ridge Racer! Such good times back in the day!

Originally Posted by Esteban

I used to play Ridge Racer many moons ago and it brings back memories. Haha

Dudes. Ridge Racer was my absolute jam back in the 90's. I can remember some of the tracks with vivid detail. I played on PS1 and was obsessed! I think that was my first "real" racing game.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Dudes. Ridge Racer was my absolute jam back in the 90's. I can remember some of the tracks with vivid detail. I played on PS1 and was obsessed! I think that was my first "real" racing game.

PS1 FTW!!!

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Esteban

PS1 FTW!!!

I've always been a Playstation kid. I remember when I first got mine, my family didn't have much money but they got me one when it first came out. I told my friends and they didn't believe me lol I was only like 4 or 5 at the time.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

I've always been a Playstation kid. I remember when I first got mine, my family didn't have much money but they got me one when it first came out. I told my friends and they didn't believe me lol I was only like 4 or 5 at the time.

Yeah, I was just a wee bit older.

I had my PS1 reserved along with every single game that came out when it was launched. My favorite PS1 game was Gran Turismo.

[TheRealRidgeRacer]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

I've always been a Playstation kid. I remember when I first got mine, my family didn't have much money but they got me one when it first came out. I told my friends and they didn't believe me lol I was only like 4 or 5 at the time.

Originally Posted by Esteban

Yeah, I was just a wee bit older.

I had my PS1 reserved along with every single game that came out when it was launched. My favorite PS1 game was Gran Turismo.

Haha, see you guys get it!


I loved Ridge Racer, Rage Racer, R4 and the bunch. I was in middle school and high school at the time and they really got me into cars at a younger age. That and the first Need For Speed games. I still have the original on PC. I think I bought it from CompUSA or something back in the day. They were both a lot of fun, and had a lot of character. That's the way I see this car! It's supposed to be fun, and not taking itself too seriously.


I actually have the soundtrack for Ridge Racer Type 4 in my car. I play it when I'm taking scenic drives...Sometimes I listen to the Wipeout XL one too. haha


Esteban I don't blame you at all! In Sport mode, the car is pretty much perfect to me. Especially with the Dinan tune. It's amazing how much power it makes and how much fuel economy it still retains. My Ralliart was about 12mpg. haha.



matticus Yeah I have the stock ducts in there just fine right behind the fog light cover. They actually look pretty comfortable back there. If you removed the bracket though, you would see a gap for sure. I was playing with the idea of mounting brake duct tubing directly to that hole and running it to the brakes from there.

[Esteban]

Loved the Need For Speed games as well. Spent a lot of nights playing the first one and "Hot Pursuit" on the PC. Those were loads of fun. Really takes me back!

[c1pher]

I used to play Ridge Racer on my PSP. I don't really play games on my phone. I play civilization on my iMac and most other games on my PS4 pro.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by MGM135is

I used to play Ridge Racer on my PSP. I don't really play games on my phone. I play civilization on my iMac and most other games on my PS4 pro.

I had the PSP and Ridge Racer. That game was pretty good for a portable. Think I also had a Need For Speed on the PSP. I retired from playing video games a few years ago. It was making me crazy. Now I just drive IRL. Haha

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by TheRealRidgeRacer

matticus Yeah I have the stock ducts in there just fine right behind the fog light cover. They actually look pretty comfortable back there. If you removed the bracket though, you would see a gap for sure. I was playing with the idea of mounting brake duct tubing directly to that hole and running it to the brakes from there.

Ok good to know! I was thinking about the brake duct tubing as well but I think it'd be a bit of a PITA honestly.

Originally Posted by Esteban

Loved the Need For Speed games as well. Spent a lot of nights playing the first one and "Hot Pursuit" on the PC. Those were loads of fun. Really takes me back!

Did you guys ever play NFS Porsche Unleashed? Think it came out around 2000. That was my first real "WOW" moment in gaming I think. I remember the first time I realized it had location and impact-based damage on the cars, I was blown away!

[TheRealRidgeRacer]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Ok good to know! I was thinking about the brake duct tubing as well but I think it'd be a bit of a PITA honestly.



Did you guys ever play NFS Porsche Unleashed? Think it came out around 2000. That was my first real "WOW" moment in gaming I think. I remember the first time I realized it had location and impact-based damage on the cars, I was blown away!

Oh heck Yeah!

I would agree completely! They had NFS 4 High Stakes and not too long after that they had Porsche Unleashed which was even more amazing. Haha, yeah I remember the car damage blowing my mind too, just the same as the full motion video of the cars did in the original Need for Speed. It's always interesting how this version of car culture was vastly different than the Fast and the Furious movie car culture that came out maybe a year later.

[Blueherb]

Originally Posted by TheRealRidgeRacer

I actually have the soundtrack for Ridge Racer Type 4 in my car. I play it when I'm taking scenic drives...Sometimes I listen to the Wipeout XL one too. haha

I also grew up loving the R4 ost. Verrrry smooth DnB sounds!

[TheRealRidgeRacer]

UPDATE: 4/13/17

KW V2 Coilovers installed with M3 stock rear subframe bushings by my favorite shop in Scottsdale. Service is always well informed, professional and it's family owned. The owners are great people and love what they do...It really makes a difference.


The car feels way* better and closer to a more cohesive sporty car. The ride quality has been completely retained as well even on the harder settings in my opinion

[Esteban]

Car is sitting pretty. Like pic 8 & 9 the best.

[Matticus91]

Looks awesome!