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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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#2 ·
Looking good... Any plans for the chassis?

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#4 ·
sootyvrs said:
Looking good... Any plans for the chassis?

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk
Thanks, yes chassis mods will be getting some attention when i get chance, probably starting with simple mod to shorten rear bumpstop and set of my camber plates on front, then in new year most likley go with my favoured Koni Sport dampers coupled with the BMWP/Koni bumpstops combo i developed on last car, spring choice is as yet not deceided!.
Quaife or Wavetrac LSD at some point im sure and some F series Brembo calipers if i can pick some up at right money.
 
#5 ·
mikeyscott said:
Very nice and do like the 3 door shape

PSS on 225/245 I assume, again nice additions. When mine are done i'll Be trying PS4 225/255
I like the 3door shape but prefer the practicality of 5door, still this is a lot easier for access and better space in rear compared to the GT86!

PSS are 225/40 front and 245/35 rear yes, nice tyres although weather isnt best for them!

Ian
 
#6 ·
THETYRANT said:
mikeyscott said:
Very nice and do like the 3 door shape

PSS on 225/245 I assume, again nice additions. When mine are done i'll Be trying PS4 225/255
I like the 3door shape but prefer the practicality of 5door, still this is a lot easier for access and better space in rear compared to the GT86!

PSS are 225/40 front and 245/35 rear yes, nice tyres although weather isnt best for them!

Ian
I agree re practicality and i'm In a coupe! If I went to a hatch it'd be a 3 door all day long.

Same setup as me, but I think my PSI wrong, but weather with PSS and car is Miss daisy weather, which is fine tbh.

With my wife's 3 door Cooper S I miss the space from my R32
 
#10 ·
GeoffCollins said:
swanny71 said:
Welcome back (again) to ownership of the best BMW from the last decade :)
Looks a good one.
That's quite a statement
Obviously it's a personal opinion but I stand by it. If they'd make me a new one I'd buy it tomorrow.
 
#11 ·
swanny71 said:
GeoffCollins said:
swanny71 said:
Welcome back (again) to ownership of the best BMW from the last decade :)
Looks a good one.
That's quite a statement
Obviously it's a personal opinion but I stand by it. If they'd make me a new one I'd buy it tomorrow.
:lol2: we all have that one car!
 
#14 ·
Be good to see how you work your magic on this one , also it's nice to see you have bought the best colour :spotman:
 
#19 ·
ajl00 said:
What you done with the Toyota ian ?
Put it back to stock and sold it to Arnold Clarks, worked out i broke even after 6 months which makes a change!
 
#22 ·
Todays project was to retro fit Lumbar support to front seats, I bought a used kit from ebay out of an E90 after reading it fits these cars as well, it came with all the bags for seat back including side bolsterss (will be selling those as a kit with pump etc if anyone needs them) also all wiring, pumps, controllers, switches for lumber/bolster pinch and power seat adjustment (which I don't need).

I knew it might be a little bit of a challenge as the parts I bought came out of a car with power seats but not heated, mine has manual seats and heated so a few changes to the harness would be required, thankfully wasnt too difficult and managed to pick out the power seat section and add in my heated wires to the underseat harness, getting side cover off was a bit fiddly but managed in the end, hardest part and which took most time was getting the seat back harness swapped over for the extra units, its very tight getting wires up from underseat connector to the pump and controllers etc, in the end I removed the wires from 10pin connector and taped them up then slotted it downwards using a skewer to help, tried a few things before this but now I know its easy this way I will do same when I tackle passenger seat tomorrow!

Took me all afternoon to do drivers seat but mainly as just being cautious and making sure all wiring was perfect in both connections and routing to no problems further down the line, all powered up and working which will make long journeys much more comfortable for my ageing back!

Will have a complete kit ( pump, bags, wiring, switch etc) available if anybody needs the inflatable side bolsters just get in touch.

Ian
 
#23 ·
Congratulations with your nice 130i, an e81 in sparkling graphite is rather unique.
I have the same tires with the same dimensions. Are you going to put spacers on it?
I am thinking to put spacers on mine, i wonder what size can be used with PSS 225/245.
 
#24 ·
deelite said:
Congratulations with your nice 130i, an e81 in sparkling graphite is rather unique.
I have the same tires with the same dimensions. Are you going to put spacers on it?
I am thinking to put spacers on mine, i wonder what size can be used with PSS 225/245.
Thanks, my 1st E87 130i was this colour and really like it, although quite a common colour on many cars now it still looks good I think.

Not sure on spacers yet, with the wider rubber I don't think wheels don't look quite a sunken as stock sizes and there is more chance of scrubbing on arches etc, but will see once I get other bits done on suspension etc

Completed the Lumbar retrofit yesterday, drivers seat i did on saturday and took best part of 6 hours, taking my time with removal and being very careful while working out which parts of wiring harness to swap/modify and feed into place, passenger seat which pretty much identical job just 1 extra connector due to occupacncy sensor took just over 2hours on sunday, easy when you know how! car is much more comfortable for me now with the lower back support inflated.

Next mod it to fit rear spoiler and rebadge bootlid :D

Ian
 
#25 ·
Watching with interest which path you go down with suspension, mate. Been reading your suspension quest thread and am slowly gathering my ideas or looking at suppliers that can get the bits to Aus. Please keep us updated!

It may be in your suspension thread, but did you ever fit the E82/88 rear under-body brace?
 
#26 ·
walkie86 said:
Watching with interest which path you go down with suspension, mate. Been reading your suspension quest thread and am slowly gathering my ideas or looking at suppliers that can get the bits to Aus. Please keep us updated!

It may be in your suspension thread, but did you ever fit the E82/88 rear under-body brace?
I never tried the brace no, once I had done the suspension and subframe inserts etc on last car I never felt it needed any further stiffening at the rear.
 
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