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My 130i

8K views 37 replies 17 participants last post by  reidtastic 
#1 ·
I've been lurking on here for a couple of months, so I thought I should maybe get round to posting my car, an LCI 5 door 130i. It's a fairly modest spec (no nav) but does have adaptive xenons, black leather and bum warmers so is a nice place to be; most importantly though it has that fabulous engine up front which really makes the car :) .

Here it is the day I collected it. The first time I held 3rd gear up to the redline was rather special!


During a quick blast through the Peak District:


So far my only changes have been to ditch the run flats and replace them with a set of of Eagle F1s and remove the CDV, both of which were a big improvement. Future plans will be to remedy the woeful sound quality offered by the stock speakers (open to suggestions!), and a wheel refurb as the previous owner seemed to park by braille.

My only real gripes are that the steering, while direct and well weighted does not have the feel of my old E46 3 series, and the suspension can get upset on a poor road surfaces - I'm thinking maybe some Bilsteins would solve the latter issue? As it stands though, it's a nice all rounder - comfortable and quiet on a motorway but very quick with a glorious engine note when you open the taps. It also handled an evening session at Cadwell Park without complaint, and has enough space to sling a mountain bike in the back.
 
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#6 ·
Tidy. Adaptive xenons are rare as fook.

Love a bit of third!

The steering you mention may be due to it being electric on the face lift cars as opposed to hydro assisted on pre-facelift (and I guess E46's).
 
#7 ·
I've been tinkering recently. After a bit of ebay trawling I swapped the door mid and tweeters to L7s last year, and fitted 8 inch subs under the seat powered by an ancient 2 channel Sony amp I had lying round in the boot. Big improvement in sound, but this went bang a couple of weeks ago. So, it was an excuse to upgrade to a decent 4 channel amp and amp the door speakers as well. Here it is:



Amp is a JL XD400/4 - lovely bit of kit.

Once the weather warms up I'm going to look at ordering the Birds B1 kit and subframe inserts. Don't fancy doing that in this weather!
 
#8 ·
Really nice. I was making inquiries on a silver E81 before I bought eLliE. This time of year, I wish I had!

The electric steering that we have (amongst other marques too including Porsche) are not as good as the hydraulic systems we used to have when it comes to feedback; all of which can be configured back in, it's just the marketing guys at the manufacturers telling the development people that we don't want it! And who are they again?

I actually find my 130i's steering much lighter than my 123d. I wonder why that is? Maybe there is something that can be tweaked.
 
#10 ·
I've just been shopping...



Birds B1 springs and dampers :D . Went down to Birds at the weekend for a go in their demonstrator and could barely believe how much better it was. Kevin Bird was great to deal with - very helpful and knowledgeable. Can't wait to get them fitted - just need a dry weekend. I couldn't justify the diff and anti roll bars at the moment - maybe next year...
 
#12 ·
I've not driven a car with regular Bilstein B8s, but people who have tried both say these are more compliant. These share the same damper body but have been revalved. Spring rates are different, particularly on the rear and the damping is valved to suit.
 
#13 ·
So, finally got round to fitting the Powerflex subframe bush inserts. Originally I ordered the wrong ones - my car is a 2007, but for whatever reason has the earlier standard bushes - I found I ordered the wrong ones when I first tried to fit them. Anyway, I ordered the correct ones and all is well. Nice easy job (made easier by the practice run!), took maybe 2 hours to fit. I couldn't get hold of an E18 Torx for the subframe bolt so used a 14mm 12 point socket instead, which fits fine (used the same trick when changing the steering UJ on my old E46) - thought this may save people some hassle.



For something so simple I can't believe the difference they've made! Steering is now beautifully precise. You turn and it just goes, no mid corner adjustments in sweeping bends, no feeling of a double turn in when you throw it into a tight corner and you always know exactly what both ends of the car are doing. I can't recommend them enough.
 
#14 ·
sixpistons said:
So, finally got round to fitting the Powerflex subframe bush inserts. Originally I ordered the wrong ones - my car is a 2007, but for whatever reason has the earlier standard bushes - I found I ordered the wrong ones when I first tried to fit them. Anyway, I ordered the correct ones and all is well. Nice easy job (made easier by the practice run!), took maybe 2 hours to fit. I couldn't get hold of an E18 Torx for the subframe bolt so used a 14mm 12 point socket instead, which fits fine (used the same trick when changing the steering UJ on my old E46) - thought this may save people some hassle.



For something so simple I can't believe the difference they've made! Steering is now beautifully precise. You turn and it just goes, no mid corner adjustments in sweeping bends, no feeling of a double turn in when you throw it into a tight corner and you always know exactly what both ends of the car are doing. I can't recommend them enough.
They are an excellent mod, although at the expense of a little more noise, vibration and harshness. Wish I'd have done mine sooner!
 
#17 ·
I had Whiteline subframe inserts fitted yesterday, car feels really well tied down now. There's no increase in noise or harshness apart from an intermittent buzzzzzz from some trim in the back but I'll find and fix that.
 
#18 ·
Picked up some new bits for the car...



H&R anti roll bars. If the weather's ok tomorrow I'll have a go at sticking them on. Front looks easy, the rear will probably be a pig but I reckon I'll be able to fit it without dropping the subframe completely. If I can't I'll get a garage to do it because I can do without the hassle.

Hopefully these will sharpen the turn in up and make it settle quicker into its cornering stance faster (rear bar is 20mm, original is a spaghetti like 13mm so these will be about 5x stiffer, all things being equal; front is 27mm vs 26.5mm original so maybe 10% stiffer). I'm hoping traction isn't too badly compromised, but I'm planning on fitting an LSD in the future anyway.

I considered the Birds anti roll bars but these seemed worth a go for the price - if I don't like them I can buy the Birds ones and flog these.
 
#20 ·
Partial success today. Thought I'd start with the rear as I expected it to be a total b :censored2: d of a job. Wasn't too bad as it turned out. No pics of the rear install as I was at work in the morning and wanted to rattle through as quick as I could given daylight is closing in. I dropped the subframe and disconnected the upper suspension links. The old rear bar came out more easily than the old one went in - the extra few mm affecting clearance and because its so much stiffer you couldn't wiggle it through the tight bits as easily. In the end I removed the rear shocks so I had more wiggle room.

The front was a disappointment because when I put it in it fouled on the EPS motor (see pic), so at the moment I've still got the standard one in - at least it was quick to put back. Never mind.


Anyhoo, a test drive revealed a complete (positive) change in the car's balance. It now has a neutral balance, turn in and front end grip feels much improved and it feels a lot more throttle adjustable in DTC mode up until the point the inside wheel spins. Not sure if I want a stiffer front bar yet to be honest (hoping it doesn't do anything spiteful!) I'm currently on a square 225 setup - might go up to 235 or 245 at the rear next time. Traction is ok as long as you're progressive with the throttle so don't rule these out if you have an open diff.
 
#21 ·
Interested to read on the rear arb install as you know i will most likley be fitting one soon as well, so did you just drop the front part of subframe or the whole lot ?

Shame about the clearance on the front one i had read about the EPS being an issue on some, is there a workaround on it ?

Ian
 
#22 ·
You'll need to lower the whole lot to get enough clearance Ian. You'll probably need to lower the exhaust as the subframe will likely hit this before its dropped far enough, but you might get away without. This was a pain in the arse for me as the rubber hangers didn't want to move, and I couldn't just unbolt them as one fixed to my tow bar. You could probably just unbolt the hangers normally. I also removed the shocks and disconnected the upper arm - because of the shape of the bar you need to wiggle it in every imaginable direction to fit it in. Worth the effort though. Probably took me about 3.5 hours

The standard front bar on the LCI has a crank in the middle to clear the EPS motor - I think you may need something similar for an aftermarket ARB. You may be able to ovalise the holes on the bushing clamps and slide them forward a few mm, but they sit next to a cross member so there's not much room, and I think it would still be tight. To be honest I'm not that bothered - I had a good drive on Sunday and the balance felt really nice as is, steering is way sharper and it corners flat. I'm no longer itching to fit M3 LCAs either.

If you want to buy a H&R front ARB I know someone who might be selling one :wink:
 
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