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Tyrants 3rd 130i!

8K views 49 replies 21 participants last post by  holland130i 
#1 ·
Ok had car a couple of weeks nearly now so thought I best put a thread up :) long story short this is my 3rd 130i and 5th 1series! this time ive gone for 2008 E81/3door in Sparkling Graphite metallic grey which is my favourite colour for these, I ideally wanted another E87/5door for practical reasons and was about to head down south to view another when i was contacted about this car by its owner a BMW tech who was thinking of moving to an M3, as it was local (bonus!) I went for a look the next day and condition etc was amazing and while a fairly basic factory spec it had some nice extras added and with only just over 54k miles it was too good to pass up on, so I bought it :D

I have a few plans for it but below is basic spec for my reference and will add to this as I change things around.

Premium Factory Options
Xenon lights
Cruise control
Black Heated leather

Added by previous owner
Michelin Pilot Supersport tyres
BMWP Exhaust silencer
Alpine Amp/SpeakerUpgrade
BMW Pro Headunit with Handsfree, DAB, Bluetooth and full USB.
Clubsport Gearknob with matching M3 Handbrake cover
Darkline Rear Lights
Gloss Black front grills and smoked side repaters
Rear side and back window tint

Added/adding by Me:
Retro fit BMW Lumbar support driver and passenger (done 26-11-17)
Fit BMW Aero Spoiler - soon to be fitted now its painted
Rebadge with 130i rear badge - bought and fitting soon

I haven't many pictures yet as been driving it too much or weather has been poor, only one so far is just after getting it home on day or purchase so I guess its a good place to start :)

 
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#27 ·
Surely one of these cars must get some Ohlins Ian. You owe it to all of us to try them. Nice looking car and low mileage at that.

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#28 ·
Rustle said:
Surely one of these cars must get some Ohlins Ian. You owe it to all of us to try them. Nice looking car and low mileage at that.

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Been there done that mate :) -
ok it was on the lardy 135 coupe but sure it will be similar on the lighter 130 :D
 
#30 ·
AndyBish135i said:
Lardy??? :eek2:

(Heads out to start stripping excess flab from 'chunk') :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:
Haha yes the coupe is like have a passenger in the back all the time being around 100kg heavier with its fat bum, would be interesting to get real world weights for them though as we know how "flexible" manufacturers claims are! ....at least 135i has the extra grunt to pull the weight along I guess :)
 
#31 ·
THETYRANT said:
Rustle said:
Surely one of these cars must get some Ohlins Ian. You owe it to all of us to try them. Nice looking car and low mileage at that.

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Been there done that mate :) -
ok it was on the lardy 135 coupe but sure it will be similar on the lighter 130 :D
Aha. Been a light user of this forum recently so missed this. Another epic post. So, worth the investment or would you do something different next time?

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#32 ·
I think it depends on usage really, if doing more track or lots of fast road then Ohlins are worth the extra I think, if mainly road with odd track outing then Koni are hard to beat especially for the price.
Main thing with ohlins like all coilovrs is being able to sort best spring rate for use, which isn't so easy with stock fitment dampers like koni etc, might look into custom springs for koni next time, we will see.

Ian
 
#33 ·
Few jobs done this weekend, colour coded roof spoiler fitted and then a trip to collect new wheels/tyres from another BB member, these are my favourite style 264 wheels in very good order and shod with 500mile old Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4, should keep me mobile in winter and I love these wheels which have a decent dish hard to capture on camera.

Quick snaps below while out road testing after fitting.





 
#37 ·
THETYRANT said:
Few jobs done this weekend, colour coded roof spoiler fitted and then a trip to collect new wheels/tyres from another BB member, these are my favourite style 264 wheels in very good order and shod with 500mile old Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4, should keep me mobile in winter and I love these wheels which have a decent dish hard to capture on camera.

Quick snaps below while out road testing after fitting.





Looks lovely with the new wheels and spoiler on. Where are these shots taken btw?

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#40 ·
Ian w said:
Looks lovely with the new wheels and spoiler on. Where are these shots taken btw?

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Thanks guys I like it :)... shots were taken locally as below

1. Dalemain country house driveway
2. My driveway
3. Edge of Ullswater between Pooley bridge and Glenridding
 
#41 ·
THETYRANT said:
Ian w said:
Looks lovely with the new wheels and spoiler on. Where are these shots taken btw?

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Thanks guys I like it :)... shots were taken locally as below

1. Dalemain country house driveway
2. My driveway
3. Edge of Ullswater between Pooley bridge and Glenridding
Ullswater! That's it. It didn't look dissimilar to Loch Earn up my way :)

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#43 ·
OK been awhile since I updated this for various reasons so though about time i brought this thread up to date.....

Jan2018 - First job was to sort the suspension and while the facelift cars do ride slightly better than earlier cars i know from previous 130's that big improvements can be made for not a huge outlay, as per my camber plate thread (link in signature) first job was to fit a set of my stage2 camber plates on otherwise stock suspension to gain some much needed negative camber for front, this mod got me -1.7degree camber on front which is ideal for fastroad/trackday use and should help prevent tyre shoulders wearing so much, improved feel from steering after fitting them was a nice side effect :)

Not long after fitting camber plates i got some of my favourite Koni Sport adjustable dampers purchased, after much testing on last car (as can be seen in my suspension quest thread, link below) these dampers along with BMWP/Koni bumpstops to me is best all rounder setup giving improved ride and handling, this time i initially fitted some uprated BMWP springs to see how it felt but while the handling was amzing the ride was a little firm for my ageing body, so back to Msport springs which give good balanced setup with the Koni dampers etc.

Im also going to play around with uprated ARB's more to follow on that further down thread...

Pics of dampers and camber plates below, see quest thread for more detail..




Next the brakes....
 
#44 ·
Ok into Feb2018 ...... now the suspension was pretty much sorted time to work on the Brakes, stock 130i brakes are pretty decent with good pads and fluid for both road and track use, however the ageing calipers are prone to binding on and also don't look so pretty, last 130 I fitted M135i brembos with good effect to update both the performance and looks so same again this time, picked up some calipers from member on here then refurbed them satin black :)

As I type this only fronts are on but rears are ready to go on and will follow when I get more time, pics below...



 
#46 ·
March 2018 - So car is now handling and stopping as it should, gave it a good service and check over with new engine oil/filter and brake fluid changed to RBF600, made up some of our Carbotech XP8 front pads ready to see how it all goes on track.

Last minute place came up at Croft with Javelin so forecast looking ok I booked it, started of a wet day and was meant to dry out as day went on, but it never improved getting wetter as the day wore on, still I like a wet track and was enjoying myself and learning the car on the MPSS tyres in the wet (should of left my winters on!), front 225 wide was gripping very well but wider 245 rear with its narrow tread cuts was struggling with standing water and had to ease it back as at high speed on back straight it was felling very unsettled, found a pace i was happy with and carried on till lunchtime no issues at all car was brilliant, refuelled after lunch and back out on track but now people were starting to leave as weather wasn't letting up so less cars on track meant the puddles/rivers on track which wer pretty stable were now getting worse!



I should of taken heed and gone home but the nice quiet track was too tempting and will a full tank of vpower I just thought a few more sessions were in order, did a couple of warm up laps to check out the track condition and then as I started to pick up the pace the rear of car just let go violently on back straight which spun me into the Armco, made quite a mess of drivers front corner and tapped rear as well all be it fairly lightly, thankfully its strong little car and most of parts required have just been to bolt off/on which has at least mean I could do it all myself apart from painting the new bumpers which a local body shop did for me last week.

There has been a lot of money spent and a lot of time in my garage getting it all sorted this past month, thankfully its nearly there and all drivable again with just a few minor cosmetics to make perfect again, looks a whole lot better now and yesterday was first proper drive since...

Thanks to those on here who helped with parts including Cotswolds BMW who have been great with new bits I needed.



Time to get back on track and think Javelin Sprint Day at Croft again might be the one.... :D
 
#47 ·
Oh forgot to mention a few new/uprated parts in amongst the repairs.

E93 M3 Front ARB ( the fattest one) - Only just squeezes in next to EPAS rack but its in, car feels nice so far but not pushed it much yet.

Michelin MPS4 tyres - These are to replace my winters on these 264 wheels ( MPSS i had on at Croft are still on the 208 wheels but i think will be flat spotted although i will check when i get chance, one was punctured but others might be ok, or might not!) , this time ive gone 225/40 front and rear and so far impressed, grip feels good in dry and least, comfort good and noise seems less thean MPSS as well.
 
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