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Son of Skippy - Marco's M-Lite - Now with Mini Cooper Exhaust Tips.

53K views 301 replies 76 participants last post by  Triggsy 
#1 ·
Today was the day....

Skippy the (misfiring) Kangaroo has gone back whence it came, and Son of Skippy was collected from Cooper Tunbridge Wells (along with a Red Coral trimmed handbrake handle for good measure - 34402240174). A big thank-you goes to 'TRL' for making the exchange straightforward, & for looking after me - top service as always. :thumbs:

I'm pleased to report Son of Skippy has been a little beauty so far, smooth as a cashmere codpiece.





^ I really like the new pimp steering wheel, you get both Limit and Cruise functions now. :D Check the handbrake. :cool2:

As always, first job was to trim the fat. Rear headrests, manuals, rear mats, towing eye, warning triangle, fob holder inserts, etc, all got relegated to the loft. The black exhaust trims came off too, but chrome versions (or these polished back to metal) might go back on yet.

Let the modding begin....

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#2 ·
#3 ·
Shiny exhausts today, one took 10 minutes, the 2nd an hour?! Unsure why, I'm guessing the powdercoat was put on hotter / better.

Exhaust 001.jpg


Exhaust 002.jpg


EDIT: Don't do it, they're rusty already. Chrome replacements (2 x BMW 18307605041) ordered....
Rusty 001.jpg


EDIT: Chrome 435i chrome trims are the future:
M135i 002.jpg


Bosh, straight on!
M135i 003.jpg


:)

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Next job, remove the patronising Airbag decal....

Steamer, tweezers, and we're off!





Rubbery little bugger!



Now the glue residue. :evil:
After failing with water, I took some brave pills and tried some (mild solvent based) 'Lableclene', no joy. :(
More pills and we stepped up to Acetone (nail varnish remover), success! :D



It's not an invisible job, but 95% gone and no visor damage.

 
#4 ·
Orsam Diadem chrome indicator bulbs today, thankfully they're a lot easier to swap that on my old E87! A pretty minor tweak, but I'm not a fan of the 'fried egg' look:



Diadem's aren't as silver as Philips Silvervision sadly, they've got a slight purple/rainbow hue to them. Still better than standard though:



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Body coloured wing mirrors today. :) No matter how I looked at them, the standard caps just looked like BMW had painted them slightly the wrong colour! The browny-grey Ferric II mirrors just don't quite work on Glacier Silver and Mineral Grey, imo.



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I've just fitted mine with Eibach Pro springs, which has added a touch more neg camber all round. The ride is slightly firmer, and she now corners flatter as you would expect. Feels more '///M'.

Disappointingly, cornering speed really hasn't increased significantly (if at all - gauging via my favourite sweeping bend), despite the increased camber, lower CoG, and increased confidence. I've a funny feeling break-away is a little more snappy too.

Where it has improved markedly is under slalom / 'moose test' conditions, faster average speeds and more stability. Definitely more happy to turn in, with less dive under braking.

Is the juice is worth the squeeze? I'm undecided to be honest.

A before and after pictures, no photoshop:

before and after.jpg


.Standard : Front 352mm and Rear 370mm
Eibach Pro: Front 343mm and Rear 353mm
Difference: Front - 9mm and Rear - 17mm
 
#5 ·
In an attempt to reduce the tyre roar a little, I've been playing with sound proofing in the boot.

Sadly a layer of Dynamat Superlite and some noise absorbing foam hasn't made much difference!

View attachment photo2_zpsd019c7dc.JPG

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GAP insurance today, £299 for 5 years Replacement Vehicle insurance with . Fingers crossed I'll never need it!

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Bought an extra Towing Eye. Blown them over blue so I can look stylish whether I'm getting towed out of a gravel trap backwards or forwards! :redface: :lol2:



They're Galvanised, so Zinc Primer, then Blue top coat.

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As she stands currently:



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WiFi added today, an iCar V-Gate from
Too big for the ODBII cover to close, so I've carefully removed it for now.



Connects to my iPhone via DashCommand, seems very good. :)



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Coming up to 11k soon, so time for a 2nd oil change.

Delivery from Opie Oils: Castrol's finest, plus a 'Gold Plug AP-11' magnetic sump plug this time. It's a strong little magnet!



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More grip today. The floppy 225/40's went off to a good home, and have been replaced with a pair of XL rated 245/35/18 92Y PSS instead. Wider for more grip / ability to resist over-heating.

Look at the size of the grooves in the skinny 225's, there was barely any rubber on the road!!



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And some more grip! LSD fitted today.

Bagged a bargain BMW Performance Drexler LSD 2nd hand from 'Twiggy', thanks for the deal Ian! :D



DIY fitted. Beware, it's not easy finding a 50mm spanner.



No more interfering traction control for me, she just grips and goes now.

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Fitted an M4 underbody brace whilst I was under there too (33312284647) with 6 longer bolts (6 x 07119907189). Bonded the original brace to the new one with a thin coat of Tigerseal adhesive for good measure. Would annoy me if they vibrated and rattled together!
 
#6 ·
Visual tweaks today, GP Splitter & BMWP 'Diffuser', both in gloss black





I like the diffuser, but it does come with a built-in crap shelf. If the mucky boot-lip drives you mad, this diffuser probably isn't for you!

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Bought an A4 sheet of 3M 1080 Gloss Black Vinyl wrap from fleaBay, with the idea of giving the front bumper a bit more presence.

Finally got rid of the last of the Ferric Grey paint (on the blades), and added some detail to the side of the ducts:





I'm pretty happy for £4 and an hours work, and think it complimemnts the GazP Splitter quite nicely

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New gloss black twin-slat grills today:



Old ones removed using nothing more than a cocktail spoon, nice easy job. :)

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Yet more grip today.

A little front neg Camber courtesy of longer Lower Control Arm's from an M4, with nice stiff bushes for feedback / accuracy:

View attachment LCA.jpg

31122284529 & 31122284530, plus the ball joint off 37142283867, and two 33306787062 M14 nuts to be on the safe side. Edit: and an M6 Nyloc from the shed!





I've even got a little steering feel, in an F20! :eek2:

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Light front arch roll to increase the clearance, courtesy of :

arch roll.JPG


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Changed the Diff oil today for some nice new Castrol 75w140 GL5 LSD oil, and fitted a Magnetic 'Dimple' diff plug whilst I was at it (M22x1.5mm, 9mm thread). How to:
photo 2 20_zpsyvqxjttq.JPG


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New air filter today. Having previously bricked a 3er MAF with an oily K&N, I've gone for a dry cotton-gauze filter this time; a Pro Dry S from aFe



You can get these pretty inexpensively now thanks to the new eBay international postage scheme:
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Some coding today, all thanks to a very patient Wibbles. :thumbs: Son of Skippy now has:

Digi Speedo (for SWMBO)
Tyre temperatures and pressures on screen (RDC)
Puddle Lights on when reversing
Stop/start default to Off

I've added RDC as Preset 5, my new favourite toy. :)

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An unwanted side-effect of the M4 LCA's was a drop in nose ride height, so I've swapped the front Eibach's today for a pair of M235i front springs.

4 Coils, 13.3mm, 159mm diameter, 141 lb/inch (approx)



Design roll-centre restored. :)



Ride height is now 345mm front, 350mm rear, and handles very nicely. :)

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3rd oil service today at 20k miles, plus oil filter & cabin Microfilter. An Eye-watering £250! Interesting to see the electronic service history record uploaded instantly from the key.

All four tyres are now wearing evenly, according to BMW. :)

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My 435i tips have gone off to a good home, replaced with Burger Motorsport Exhaust tips today, Angled Chrome:



If you want to fit angled BMS tips to an M135i (not M235i), you need to saw about 1cm off both alignment lugs with a Junior Hacksaw. Allow about half an hour for wriggling around on the floor with hand cramp! :lol2:

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Blind Pugh kindly shared some info from our cousins on 2Addicts, regarding additional soundproofing fitted to diseasil's. BMW part numbers 51487300693 & 51487300694 , which are panel seals, shown below:



First impression is they don't make a huge difference to the road noise to be honest, the noise in the cabin does seem to have shifted rearwards, so maybe they are doing something. I wouldn't say it's significantly quieter though.

But they weigh next to nothing, and only cost a tenner each, so I'm actually reasonably happy! :lol2:

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Brands Hatch Track Day today. Carbotech XP8 front pads, engine cover + engine bay seals removed (to allow heat to escape). Cold tyre pressures of 28 F & 29 R. 1 bottle of NF Race Formula to help prevent any pinking, they claim +6 Ron but I reckon it's nearer to +3, so about 102 Ron when added to V Power Nitro+.

Skippy basically took everything I threw at her. Peak oil temp 115°C, coolant 95°C, front tyres 50°C. When it rained (and became pretty slippery) I was getting a little more understeer through clearways than I would have liked, but she's basically set up quite nicely. :)





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New tyres today, a set of four 245/35/18 Goodyear Asym 3's. They're still scrubbing in, but initial impressions are pretty good in direct comparison to the MPSS (in the same sizes). Not as big a reduction in noise as I would have liked, but they are a little quieter (especially when hitting cats-eyes / pot holes / road imperfections). Definitely going to be better in deep standing water as the drainage grooves are huge.

Interestingly they're a little wider overall (despite being the same width in theory), giving a bit more rim protection, probably +5mm per side:



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Coming up to 30k, so will be getting a 4th oil change shortly. 0W30 Castrol Edge LL04 from Opie Oils, same as last winter.
 
#7 ·
Removing a little rear end slop today, via Powerflex rear subframe inserts (Black Series):




I'm arguably only doing half a job, by only fitting the lower halves. The reason being: I don't want any more NVH than necessary, it makes fitting/removal significantly quicker/easier (as long as you have an E18 socket), and I don't want to have the car re-aligned yet again (only having had it done recently).



After road testing - not a massive difference to be honest, but a bit more stable. Only doing half the job probably doesn't help!

EDIT: Ok, so I couldn't take the harshness any longer! This Black shore has zero 'give' in it, tougher than a granny's fanny. I've carefully cut the ring off as you can see:



Rides better now, 90% of the harshness when hitting cats-eyes / expansion gaps has gone, but the rear end is still stable.

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Son of Skippy has just turned 3 years old (June 15, 2017), so it's time for a coolant change today. Glysantin G48 coolant really doesn't last forever!

Thanks goes to 'mctga' for his guide:
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Fitted some eBay-bargain Mini Cooper tips today ( 2 x 18308615860). Had to make some 304 stainless adapters (as they don't grip the stock 60mm exhaust), 63.5mm x 75mm long:



Once the adapter sleeves were bonded on with exhaust adhesive, this was the result:

photo202208_zpstnredv6o.JPG




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Coming up to 40k, so yet another oil change. Letting BMW do this one (for the electronic stamp), but I'll be supplying the Castrol Edge as usual. Engine service, cabin microfilter, standard scope visual check + SH Stamp - £158 at Arden Maidstone supplying my own LL04.

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New set of spark plugs today, replaced like for like with Bosch ZR5TPP33-S plugs, gapped to the factory 0.8mm. Didn't really need doing in hindsight, I guess my motorway miles means they get an easy life, the old plugs basically looked like new.

Not a bad job if you like to DIY, the only vaguely special tools you need are an E18 socket to remove both strut braces, a thin-walled 12 point socket, and a small torque wrench (they're only nipped up to 23Nm / 18ftlb into the soft alloy cylinder head).

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Custom made longer clutch stop today, used to be a doorstop which I trimmed on both sides with a Stanley knife:



Fitted with a 5mm button-head bolt and nyloc nut:



The clutch still works correctly, so a small win for zero spend. The unexpected bonus is I have now adjusted my seat and steering wheel backward around 8mm, which has improved the cabin ergonomics slightly too. :)

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50,000 oil change today (11/5/201:cool2: - 6.5L of Castrol's finest Edge Titanium 0w30 LL04, plus all Transmission oils:

View attachment Tranny Oils.jpg

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Just over 60k, so yet another oil change (21/2/2019). BMW Arden are doing this one for the electronic 'stamp', but I'll be supplying the Castrol Edge LL04 as usual. Engine service, cabin microfilter, standard scope visual check, valet + SH Stamp - £167.

New set of Bosch wipers fitted today too.

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70k intermediate oil change with Castrol Edge FST 0W30 LL04 per usual (3rd Nov 2019). Might fit the winter wheels soon also.

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73k - New set of Goodyears fitted today, Asym 5's this time. Supposed to be slightly higher performance than the Aysm 3's they replaced, but they don't feel massively different currently/yet (maybe slightly firmer). No bad thing as I was happy on the 3's as a uk all-round tyre.

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75k - Another gearbox oil and differential refresh (18/5/2020), Febi Bilstein and Castrol 75w140 LSD:

75k Box and Diff.jpg


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New Red starter button, admittedly slightly Chav, but at least it's good quality.

Chav Starter.jpg


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Another coolant change today (13/06/2020), a nice bit of preventative maintenance.

June 2020 Coolant Change.jpg


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80k - Big service (spark plugs, etc) carried out today by Arden Maidstone. Covid Lockdown scuppered my plan to supply my own oil so bent over and paid their ridiculous price. :evil:

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90k intermediate oil change with 5L of Millers XF 0W30 LL04 and 1L of Castrol Edge FST 0W30 LL04

90k.jpg
 
#10 ·
Result!!! Let's hope it's not as skippy as the last one.

Top marks to TRL as well.
 
#11 ·
Congratulations for the 2nd time Mark. Fingers crossed that Son of Skippy wasn't born on a Friday afternoon! :)

Looks very smart, inside out!
 
#13 ·
Wow. Just reminded me how good they look in silver and red. Congrats Marco. Hope this one is a better experience.

Nice one our Tone. I might trade my M235i just for the pampering your get from Julie I mean Coopers :redface: :)
 
#16 ·
TRL said:
Erm, I don't suppose anyone on here wants to buy a nice nearly new silver M135i 3 door?
only done 4000 miles. No? No one? really? ..... I did not think this one through did I ?
So, out of interest, what will you do with it?

Marco. Congrats on the new car. Fingers crossed it's everything you wanted the first time around :D
 
#17 ·
Congrats on the new "Skippy". Shame about old one. Missed that story completely!

Love the new steering wheel. The old one is really annoying with its large centre...
 
#25 ·
Nicely played Sir :)

Very nice wheels! Perfect for your colour scheme too :cool2:

I look forward to seeing post 3 and 4 updated soon :wink:
 
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