So after years of deliberating and dithering I've decided to finally commit to 'enhancing' my 130i into what I am calling my Clubsport 130i.
So the potted history to this point is that I acquired a 944 Turbo as a track / weekend car but got a bad one. After a year and a bit of expensive labour i decided on a reliable 130i to replace it as a track / fun car. I'd always wanted a Cayman S but had never found myself willing to commit the readies.
So I got this car from Bird's with just over 60k in the clock and the full set of bmwp bits - brakes, intake, exhaust. I then had them fit the quaife and birds arb's for collection. I ran that set up for a bit, doing the odd track day, by which time I had decided finally to get myself that Cayman S. Had to make a difficult decision here - keep the 130i or the e91 335i touring we had (54k). We both decided on the 130i which suddenly became the family car. Wife hated the rear suspension whence the opportunity arose to fit the B1 Springs and shocks. That left her happy. Me, however, not so after a track day at Brands where the front end was just too soft for my liking. Hours of research later I happened upon a chap in the states who was some major engineering whiz (fel1x) who created this epic study on suspension and in particular the right spring rate for the 135i he had. Whilst he had Ohlins, I didn't have that budget so after making the rough assumption that the two cars weighed the same, discovered that Meister R's entry level coil over had the same spring rates so I got them for a handy discount from this forum on the basis that it was only £600 if it didn't work. They did, Problem solved.
After a year and a bit of the missus running the 130i and treating it poorly, with a very excellent stripped out ep3 in between for a Ring trip and a few track days, I got her an e53 x5 after she bent a shock and hub on the 130i by running into a kerb at 30.
So, what to do? I've a nice Porsche sitting in the shed for weekends etc, and I miss the rawness of the ep3. The answer is to rerun the 130i to its original intention of a track focused car, just not as raw as the civic. I want some comforts and some safety. Hence a caged yet carpeted 'Clubsport' feel with a radio and air con. Let's see how long it stays like that but that's the current plan.
So, it's got some decent running gear already which I'm happy with. The things On the immediate do list are:
Bucket seats (have one in, second required)
Rear cage (booked for 15th Feb)
Harnesses
Stud conversion
M3 rear arms (on way from Germany - front four already on)
Make a rear seat delete ( really not sure how much interior to put back and or take out)
Bonnet vents (met an e46 engine builder who recommended the N52 gets a shed load of cooling if it's being tracked)
MPS4 tyres for road and wet track days (got this weekend in the 208m's)
Cup2's for dry and damp track days. (Got this weekend on the ultraleggeras)
The wish / lotto list is :
Cae shifter (mmmm)
Splitter and rear wing (for some presence- we're all a little tarty)
Single mass lightened flywheel (came across a chap on the Facebook forum tracktime with a n52 powered z4 who fitted one and said the improvement on in gear acceleration was epic)
Brake cooling
Remap?
135i y-pipe (noise regs?)
So this weekend I began by stripping the rear interior so I can plan the cage install with the chap doing it. Who knew the rear carpet weighed 6kg?! And who knew how good the n52 sounds at full chat without all that sound deadening between you and the exhaust. [emoji106]
And as we sit here today I have what is perhaps the worlds first 1 seater 130i[emoji23][emoji23] I really need to Find a second bucket seat pronto. A few pics of the weekends work.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So the potted history to this point is that I acquired a 944 Turbo as a track / weekend car but got a bad one. After a year and a bit of expensive labour i decided on a reliable 130i to replace it as a track / fun car. I'd always wanted a Cayman S but had never found myself willing to commit the readies.
So I got this car from Bird's with just over 60k in the clock and the full set of bmwp bits - brakes, intake, exhaust. I then had them fit the quaife and birds arb's for collection. I ran that set up for a bit, doing the odd track day, by which time I had decided finally to get myself that Cayman S. Had to make a difficult decision here - keep the 130i or the e91 335i touring we had (54k). We both decided on the 130i which suddenly became the family car. Wife hated the rear suspension whence the opportunity arose to fit the B1 Springs and shocks. That left her happy. Me, however, not so after a track day at Brands where the front end was just too soft for my liking. Hours of research later I happened upon a chap in the states who was some major engineering whiz (fel1x) who created this epic study on suspension and in particular the right spring rate for the 135i he had. Whilst he had Ohlins, I didn't have that budget so after making the rough assumption that the two cars weighed the same, discovered that Meister R's entry level coil over had the same spring rates so I got them for a handy discount from this forum on the basis that it was only £600 if it didn't work. They did, Problem solved.
After a year and a bit of the missus running the 130i and treating it poorly, with a very excellent stripped out ep3 in between for a Ring trip and a few track days, I got her an e53 x5 after she bent a shock and hub on the 130i by running into a kerb at 30.
So, what to do? I've a nice Porsche sitting in the shed for weekends etc, and I miss the rawness of the ep3. The answer is to rerun the 130i to its original intention of a track focused car, just not as raw as the civic. I want some comforts and some safety. Hence a caged yet carpeted 'Clubsport' feel with a radio and air con. Let's see how long it stays like that but that's the current plan.
So, it's got some decent running gear already which I'm happy with. The things On the immediate do list are:
Bucket seats (have one in, second required)
Rear cage (booked for 15th Feb)
Harnesses
Stud conversion
M3 rear arms (on way from Germany - front four already on)
Make a rear seat delete ( really not sure how much interior to put back and or take out)
Bonnet vents (met an e46 engine builder who recommended the N52 gets a shed load of cooling if it's being tracked)
MPS4 tyres for road and wet track days (got this weekend in the 208m's)
Cup2's for dry and damp track days. (Got this weekend on the ultraleggeras)
The wish / lotto list is :
Cae shifter (mmmm)
Splitter and rear wing (for some presence- we're all a little tarty)
Single mass lightened flywheel (came across a chap on the Facebook forum tracktime with a n52 powered z4 who fitted one and said the improvement on in gear acceleration was epic)
Brake cooling
Remap?
135i y-pipe (noise regs?)
So this weekend I began by stripping the rear interior so I can plan the cage install with the chap doing it. Who knew the rear carpet weighed 6kg?! And who knew how good the n52 sounds at full chat without all that sound deadening between you and the exhaust. [emoji106]
And as we sit here today I have what is perhaps the worlds first 1 seater 130i[emoji23][emoji23] I really need to Find a second bucket seat pronto. A few pics of the weekends work.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk