BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      07-16-2018, 03:49 AM   #23
schmick325
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You are close to one of the only shops where you're likely to have an uneventful install.

My car had a full going over at Simply Tuning just to get it right after many install issues at a well known Sydney shop.

As for the RB's, they are awesome. I do however have a suspected exhaust leak somewhere between the manifold and turbo that I am hopefully getting pinpointed on Thursday. If it's confirmed, i guess one will need to be uninstalled to rectify. The Turbo's were installed in Sydney so its none of Simply Tuning's doing. May even be a pin hole leak in the manifold - time will tell.
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      07-16-2018, 05:51 PM   #24
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...only another 3k...heard that many times in 10 years of mods on this platform. Hmmm

Big power will bring a whole lot of spend. If you have the coin, go for it.

If you only have 10k, stick to fully tuned stock twins then upgrade suspension and brakes with the balance.

It'll be a much nicer car.
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135i - RHD Bottom Mount Single Turbo - GTX3584RS

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      07-16-2018, 06:23 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by 135i2 View Post
...only another 3k...heard that many times in 10 years of mods on this platform. Hmmm

Big power will bring a whole lot of spend. If you have the coin, go for it.

If you only have 10k, stick to fully tuned stock twins then upgrade suspension and brakes with the balance.

It'll be a much nicer car.
Yeah, I know.

In another few years of ownership of this car I recon' I could've bought a Porsche 911. (though that little bastard would probably cost just as much to keep on the road).

Bilstein B8's, M3 control arms & Dinan camber plates are high on the shopping list (I've decided not to do springs since I live on a road with speed humps and have scraping issues at the stock ride height). ... they would be in now, but I'm not really unhappy with the handling now with MPS4's and a proper LSD - it's night and day difference from when I got the car. I guess handling is a bit different in the vert - the extra 200kg and fact that you don't have a roof means it is already pretty planted in almost all situations below 130kph, and doesn't seem to have excessive body roll.

My only justification for all this cash is I still can't think of any four-seat convertible for less than $100k that I'd choose over the E88.
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      07-17-2018, 11:02 PM   #26
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Save your money. I'm not exactly sure why you'd make it handle with LSD, M3 arms, B8s, camber plates... It's a vert which you pointed out.
E93 M3 >
F83s are probably around 100k now as well.
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      07-17-2018, 11:33 PM   #27
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Save your money. I'm not exactly sure why you'd make it handle with LSD, M3 arms, B8s, camber plates... It's a vert which you pointed out.
E93 M3 >
F83s are probably around 100k now as well.
Yep. Nobody understands why you would bother making a convertible handle... yet one of the most popular amateur racing cars is what? A Mazda MX 5 convertible.

I don't understand why anybody would buy an XR8 ute, let alone modify it to make it go faster. Visibility is piss poor, traction is non-existent and I get you don't need back seats but you can't even recline the front seats. Sure, there's a case for a V8 ute, it's nice to have torque on the farm, but a "sports ute".. WTF?

Yet, if you get on carsales and look for a Supercharged BA, there's not a sedan in sight, they're all bloody utes.

The M3 is a nice car, no doubt it's superior to the E88. But it's a boat. The S65 has a lovely growl, but it just feels lacking. I'm a huge fan of the S63, but BMW don't put them in small, or even medium cars.

Suffice to say, I have a very irregular taste in performance cars.

I'd love to drive a S65/E93 with a Harrop Supercharger attached, but at the end of the day you're driving a full size car. ... also, it'd be a $40k changeover cost for me ... and you get a lot of performance and handling out of an E88 if you spend $20k on mods.

It's the classic 1M vs M3 vs M5 debate... Bigger isn't necessarily better.
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      07-18-2018, 03:03 AM   #28
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An MX5 is lighter and probably stiffer than the flexy E88. It was designed as a roadster first and foremost.
No one modifies XR8 utes except tradies that need the primary functional purpose a ute offers and are fed the koolaid by that stupid support series for V8SC. Thank fuck it's defunct.
E88 is just as much as a boat.

Is this your first car? You seem to have a huge emotional attachment to it. Only you will get it. Or it's a Sunshine Coast thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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      07-19-2018, 03:37 AM   #29
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I had a convertible once. When you start loosing your hair you quickly sell for a coupe
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      07-19-2018, 04:06 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by gmx View Post
An MX5 is lighter and probably stiffer than the flexy E88. It was designed as a roadster first and foremost.
No one modifies XR8 utes except tradies that need the primary functional purpose a ute offers and are fed the koolaid by that stupid support series for V8SC. Thank fuck it's defunct.
E88 is just as much as a boat.

Is this your first car? You seem to have a huge emotional attachment to it. Only you will get it. Or it's a Sunshine Coast thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
oh that's not nice

yes I am emotionally invested in a convertible at this stage, it helps that we get about 300 days of "roof off" weather a year. I'm also stuck with four seats because I have 2 kids in primary school.

My commitment to this car is largely financial. If I part it out, fix it up and put it on the market I'm likely to net about $20k for what I'm holding. But then what do I buy?

Apart from swapping over to an E46 M3 for $25 -$30k with its own bunch of issues, The cheapest E93 M3 on the market goes for $45k ..

Thats a full $25k out of pocket to go to a stock E93 M3.

(Then in no time flat I'll be trying to spend an extra $12k to give it a Harrop, and probably $2-4k of repairs for all typical BMW shit that breaks the second you start tuning)

Alternatively, another $15k on the current car would give it M3 control arms, Bilstein shocks (or full coilovers), 500whp twin scroll single turbo - in addition to all the mods below.

I'd say that would be more fun to drive than a stock E93 M3.

Quote:
Originally Posted by schmick325 View Post
I had a convertible once. When you start loosing your hair you quickly sell for a coupe
As soon as I'm out of the "school run" stage of my life it'll be replaced by a proper sports car - one with 2 seats.
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      07-19-2018, 05:39 AM   #31
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You mentioned 100k above?

I don't know dude, you just need to be rational and honest with yourself.
You are considering 15k minus shocks/controlarms just to save on the cost of labour. Our neighbours in the land of cheap, and over consumption love to harp on about "while you're there". It's a trap.

No one can make the decision for you, and no one can talk you out of it when you're mind seems to be already made up. There's numerous warnings in this thread.
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      07-20-2018, 02:41 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmx View Post
Is this your first car? You seem to have a huge emotional attachment to it. Only you will get it. Or it's a Sunshine Coast thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well, this forums is called 1Addicts.
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      07-25-2018, 04:04 AM   #33
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Judging by the responses in this thread, once my turbos clap out I might just replace the engine for one with low kms and sell my block.
My engine is 160xxxkms fwiw
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      09-04-2018, 08:01 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schmick325 View Post
You are close to one of the only shops where you're likely to have an uneventful install.

My car had a full going over at Simply Tuning just to get it right after many install issues at a well known Sydney shop.

As for the RB's, they are awesome. I do however have a suspected exhaust leak somewhere between the manifold and turbo that I am hopefully getting pinpointed on Thursday. If it's confirmed, i guess one will need to be uninstalled to rectify. The Turbo's were installed in Sydney so its none of Simply Tuning's doing. May even be a pin hole leak in the manifold - time will tell.

What tuning shop was that in Sydney 😳😳😳😱😬😬 I can throw a wild guess
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      09-05-2018, 03:50 AM   #35
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Originally Posted by FLYN55 View Post
What tuning shop was that in Sydney ������������ I can throw a wild guess
haha, you probably don't have to. It isn't Hills thats for sure. Wish it went there.

So after initally hoping it was a simple issue, turns out the turbo's are cactus.

Here's my RB Next Gen plus's after 2000 kms.

Front one has compresser blade damage and the rear has oil getting past the seal.
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      09-07-2018, 06:35 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by schmick325 View Post
haha, you probably don't have to. It isn't Hills thats for sure. Wish it went there.

So after initally hoping it was a simple issue, turns out the turbo's are cactus.

Here's my RB Next Gen plus's after 2000 kms.

Front one has compresser blade damage and the rear has oil getting past the seal.
Yeah, that's scary. I'll be driving around with a broken turbo for the next 12 months or so while I save up for a Single Turbo conversion at Simply Tuning.

I was worried about the extra turbo lag of a ST over OEM twins, but they've had some pretty impressive results with a small single. Dyno of a N54 (not my car) with stock HPFP and no PI is attached.

Last edited by xQx; 02-13-2023 at 09:15 PM..
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      09-07-2018, 08:18 PM   #37
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Originally Posted by xQx View Post
Yeah, that's scary. I'll be driving around with a broken turbo for the next 12 months or so while I save up for a Single Turbo conversion at Simply Tuning.

I was worried about the extra turbo lag of a ST over OEM twins, but they've had some pretty impressive results with a small single. Dyno of a N54 (not my car) with stock HPFP and no PI is attached.
Yeah i have seen that too and already asked him. Honestly if i hadn't forked out for these shit RB's i would be going the ST way with that as well. Simply Tuning are confident they have a long term fix for these unreliable hybrids though, so we'll see in a few weeks.
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      09-11-2018, 08:37 AM   #38
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Buy a cheaper car as a daily

Hi,
Why dont you buy a cheaper car as a daily and enjoy this n54 on weekends if you are concerned about dropping coin on it.
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      09-11-2018, 05:56 PM   #39
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Hi,
Why dont you buy a cheaper car as a daily and enjoy this n54 on weekends if you are concerned about dropping coin on it.
The short answer to that is my wife would never understand the 'requirement' for two cars; and the second I did that I'd be under pressure to sell one of them. (Guess which one!)

So, as a result of this thread I've found out:
  • Replacing with OEM Turbos is the safest option ($4k - $6k AUD)
  • Replacing with Aftermarket Twins is a very risky option ($5k-$7k AUD)
  • Taking it down to Simply Tuning and doing a ST swap will be the best performing option, is safer than aftermarket twins but is the most expensive ($10k AUD)

Since starting this thread, as a result of extensive testing, logging and daily driving; I've found that driving the car with one turbo out of two working and a JB4 set to Map 5, is actually a safe(ish), reliable and mechanically sound option.
The car has roughly stock power, with a massive power drop-off at high revs but a peak of about 8psi boost. On the plus side, the exhaust sounds great because of the always-open wastegate. So the cheapest option is to simply not repair the fault.

Which - given my current financial situation - is the option I've chosen - until I can afford to fix the problem properly (most likely scenario), or trade the car in for a better one (rather unlikely. I like this car, I've fixed all the common N54 issues, and there's nothing else in its class for anywhere near the price).
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