Baby BMW Forum banner

Modding my 123d - Betty Boost:ST XTA coils! (pg. 9)

27K views 137 replies 23 participants last post by  jgalea324 
#1 ·
Hi everyone! As you can see from the topic title, this is my first Bimmer and so far, no regrets whatsoever :) I bought it with 27k miles on the clock, 2010 model, loved every second with it so far. Some points to note so far:

- Pulls like a train from late 2nd gear onwards, not so quick off the line... Not so fussed about it, mid-range torque is what matters for me (and boy does this have it)
- Very, very stable on the road, and that's with a set of run-flats which need changing soon. Can't understand how some reviews slam the Msport for being uncomfortable... it's not a Rolls but neither is it a quad-bike
- Satisfied with the fuel costs so far - I'm managing between 35-36 MPG on strictly city-runs, which isn't too bad from what I've read?

Just a couple of questions before the pictures :p

1. Should I be doing something to run-in the engine, since it still only has 27k miles? Heard it takes at least 40k for the engine to be considered as truly run in
2. Anything else to look out for, as in, any stuff I should do to make sure it's running at its best?
3. Any notorious problems with the 123d which I should be aware of? I heard the flywheel won't stand much abuse
4. Which oil's best for the engine? And which tyre brand should I consider when it's time (soon) to change? I won't go for the run-flats, was looking at some Michelins

Anyway, here are some pictures of my baby :)









 
See less See more
5
#4 ·
Thanks for the helpful advice and the compliments :) I wasn't aware of the timing chain issue, I'll check on the current oil and make sure it's up to standard to minimise the probability of such issues happening. Might just go for an oil change straight away just for peace of mind. My motto always was a stitch in time saves nine... better fork out some money now and save a truckload later

Hahaha @ the M badge... whenever people comment about it, I really stress the fact it's an Msport not an M! Have to agree that the godly M badge should just be reserved for the top-tier beasts, but hey... I wasn't the one who put the badge on, BMW did it :p

Since we're on the subject... I saw a link stating that the link between owning a BMW and being an asshole has been scientifically proven, was funny seeing BMW owners owning up to that haha
 
#5 ·
jgalea324 said:
I wasn't the one who put the badge on, BMW did it :p
Haha oh dear someone tell him?

Ok ok let me.

BMW wouldn't even fit a 'genuine' correctly coloured //M badge to your car let alone a colour coordinated fake eBay special. Whoever you bought it off was an //M badge w@nker. Sorry. Lose it. Quick [emoji2]

Apart from that your car looks stunning mate [emoji2] White car black wheels? Epic.

E82 2010 125i modded by babybmw.net
 
#6 ·
Twenny said:
jgalea324 said:
I wasn't the one who put the badge on, BMW did it :p
Haha oh dear someone tell him?

Ok ok let me.

BMW wouldn't even fit a 'genuine' coloured //M badge to your car let alone a colour coordinated fake eBay special. Whoever you bought it off was an //M badge w@nker. Sorry. Lose it. Quick [emoji2]

Apart from that your car looks stunning mate [emoji2] White car black wheels? Epic.

E82 2010 125i modded by babybmw.net
My bad, told you I was new to this! I'll have it removed straight away then. Thanks for the compliments :)

By the way does Stop-Start put additional strain on the engine? If that's the case I'll just turn it off
 
#8 ·
jgalea324 said:
I'll have it removed straight away then.
You my friend are going to fit in nicely [emoji2]

I would look on You Tube before just prising it off though mate.

And yes turning off stop/start reduces strain all round.....for you and your car [emoji2]

E82 2010 125i modded by babybmw.net
 
#10 ·
Congrats. Lovely example. As above get rid of the M badge if you haven't already, and maybe the 123D? Would make the back look really clean. Easy to do. Hair dryer to make the glue tacky. Some dental floss and some Autoglym super resin polish to clean off any leftover residue.

Enjoy!
 
#12 ·
J1SUA said:
Congrats. Lovely example. As above get rid of the M badge if you haven't already, and maybe the 123D? Would make the back look really clean. Easy to do. Hair dryer to make the glue tacky. Some dental floss and some Autoglym super resin polish to clean off any leftover residue.

Enjoy!
^^^ this [emoji3]

E82 2010 125i modded by babybmw.net
 
#13 ·
Bought the polish, I just need to find some spare time now to get down on the job. I'll leave the 123d badge on though, most people think the max diesel's the 120d, it's fun to get asked about the 123d :)

Just another question - any difference between the AS2 V1 and the AS2 V1 XL? How are the EfficientGrip Perform ones? The rating on the left refers to efficiency (F very bad, A very good) while the one on the right is the grip measure (same ratings). Price is per tire

 
#14 ·
Welcome to the forum fellow 123d owner. You got yourself a nice low mileage example there, dont be put off but the dredded timing chain issues that everyone goes on an about. Is you have full bmwsh it might be wise on investing in the warranty though just so you have piece of mind as i have read this has saved a few peoples bacon. I picked mine up with 27k on the clock about 15 months ago and is now on 40k still no signs of noise from the chain but there is still time for that. Enjoy as i do mine daily Ps a good remap transforms this engine dramatically
 
#15 ·
Twenny said:
roshambo said:
Another one saved.

Matt
Haha one car at a time [emoji2] feels good lol

E82 2010 125i modded by babybmw.net
Hurrah!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#19 ·
Thanks, it's a great honour! :p

Another mortal sin which the previous owner committed was to spray the rims with a semi-matte black paint without first blasting/removing the standard OEM silver paint on the rims, so, surprise surprise... it's now all peeling off, and looks downright terrible after I fitted on some new Michelin tyres. I'll be having the rims professionally redone some time next month, and in the meantime I was considering which shade of black I'll have on them. Came across this colour which really caught my eye. It has a blue tinge to it in the sunlight.

Here are a couple of examples (focus on the paint, not the cars haha):





I was also considering wrapping the mirrors in the same colour too. What do you think? It'd look black under normal light and at night, but when the sun's out, it'll have a slight very dark blue tinge to it
 
#21 ·
Greg79 said:
Is that second one BMW Carbon black? If so the black/blue effect depending on the light conditions is really apparent. I like it a lot. Does seem to highlight scratches/imperfections - though I suppose that's true of most black paints.
That's the one. Yes I'm rather concerned about that but no rims ever remain unscratched, so those will be expected... the only visual mods I'll be doing are the rims, mirror caps (wrap only, same colour as rims) and maybe, just maybe, the OEM aero spoiler on the back, although I'm still on the fence on that one. Other than that - I like things to remain standard. The M Sport kit already looks great as it is
 
#22 ·
It was never my original intention but it seems I'll be turning this into a build thread, bit by bit. A few more visual mods on the way; so far, these have been added on:

Before:



After:



And... the love-it-or-hate-it mod:



Next up: L7 tweeters, Original BMW Aero spoiler, and more. Still undecided between a rim re-spray and changing the rims altogether
 
#25 ·
So the L7 tweeters are going to be fitted in tomorrow most probably, looking forward to hear the difference in sound! The BMW Aero spoiler I bought is in for spraying, and I've been told it will be fitted next week. I also decided to get new rims altogether instead of touching up the 207's which I have, which means that those will be refurbished, stripped back to their original colour and sold together with a set of 1-month-old Michelin Primacy 3 tyres for whoever's interested (205/50/17 fronts, 225/45/17 rears - OEM sizes. "A" wet rating and "C" fuel efficiency rating) - I'll be selling them at a low price even with shipping to the UK included, as the sterling's really strong against the euro at the moment. So watch the "for sale" section in the upcoming weeks as I have my eyes on a set of rims which I'll gladly take if the price is right :)

In the meantime, here's another shot of my car:

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top