Jake's Epic BMW 135i Build Thread! (5+ Years of Ownership)

[suspenceful]

It's been a while since I've updated this thread. A few things have changed...

I wasn't planning on driving this car through the winter months, but the unexpected always seems to happen. My winter beater threw a rod within 1 week of driving it. At the time, we were getting pretty heavy snow so I had no other choice but to drive the 1-series through winter.

The rear tires were bald and I knew they wouldn't get through snow, so I bought a new set of winter wheels and tires from TireRack.

• 17×8″ Gunmetal MSW Type 85 wheels
• 225/45/17 General Altimax Arctic tires
• OEM TPMS sensors

You can see my blog post about them here. It includes more some more details, review, and a few more pictures.

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

The car was due for some maintenance so I spent a weekend tidying things up.

• Returned to factory pump gas flash for winter season
• Replaced broken hood latch and stretched hood cable
• Oil change with Motul 8100 5W-30 and MANN oil filter kit
• Replaced faulty front brake pad sensor
• Installed missing jack pad (front, passenger side)
• Replaced broken dome light bulb holder

After getting the car back on the road, it's performed flawlessly. The wheels are great and it purrs like a kitten.

[Bobdudeman1988]

Going though this thread and i was like, hey thats my garage! Lol glad to see its going well jake, currently defucking a 135 in my garage now lol

[suspenceful]

Bobdudeman1988 said:

Going though this thread and i was like, hey thats my garage! Lol glad to see its going well jake, currently defucking a 135 in my garage now lol

Yup! Glad to have your help.

That's too bad about Ben's 135i. Glad you're sorting it out.

[Bobdudeman1988]

Just wait till im done, it will be mint and lci like

[i_love_cars]

damn, i wish i woulda known sooner that your beater died. I have a buddy here in Waukesha that does primo work and he just put a new long-block and transmission into a 1994 Civic hatch with a stick, only 124k miles on the car, and he's flipping it for like 2000 bucks. I was tempted to buy it myself but my beater is still functional.

[suspenceful]

Again, it's been a little while since I've updated this thread.

After 4 weeks, my LCI Blackline taillights were delivered straight from Germany!

See more details and comparison shots on my blog post about them.

New Blackline (left) vs. OEM taillight (right) - OFF

New Blackline (left) vs. OEM taillight (right) - ON

I bought a front splitter from fmxomar (see this thread). I've always felt like the front end needed something more aggressive, and this splitter was perfect. Paired with APR support rods, I think it looks great and it's also functional.

I got a pair of side splitters as well, but those will go on in a few weeks.

You can read about the full install (with more details/pictures) in my blog post.

Also, I converted all of the interior lights to LEDs. Front dome light, map lights, rear dome light, trunk, and glovebox.

You can read the details on my blog post about them.

After all of this, I performed the $2 DIY blow off valve mod for cool noises. With my exhaust, I can't hear much of a difference.

[suspenceful]

(See bottom of previous page for most recent updates/pictures!)

Continuing on from that post... I also sold my BBS LM replica wheels! Stay tuned for something more 'track-worthy' in the upcoming months.

I have a Rieger rear diffuser and those side splitters waiting to be installed once the weather gets a little nicer.

My 335is/550i clutch and MFactory SMFW will be installed next week, along with a fresh transmission fluid flush. The car should be able to hold the power it's putting down this summer!

[i_love_cars]

approved.

[YoungCR]

What years did the LCI lights start? Looks great.

[suspenceful]

i_love_cars said:

approved.

Thanks!

CYoung said:

What years did the LCI lights start? Looks great.

Started in 2012 for the E82.

[patsbimmer1]

Looks good!  This is similar to something I am working on for my car right now.

[suspenceful]

Update: As I posted above, I sold my BBS LM replica (ESM) wheels. I ended up getting a deal on a set of APEX AERO-7 wheels locally, so I bought them this weekend. I test-fitted them right away and decided I really didn't like them, whatsoever. See below:

I took them off right away and listed them for sale. The wheels sold right away, but I still have like-new Nitto INVO tires and TPMS sensors for sale.

I found a set of wheels across the country on Craigslist and convinced the seller to ship them. So, I sent him money last night and hope to have them by this weekend or early next week!

Anyone think I made a mistake by selling the LM reps or APEX AERO-7s?

[ClassE]

I think it's always a mistake to put black wheels on black cars, and I have no issues with remakes/cast wheels/reps as long as they don't have fake bolt heads... But that's just me.

Some people get way too caught up in "wheel elitism" in the car scene today. I've had absurdly rare 3-piece wheels, and I've had cast "knock-offs" (still do) and I'll happily rock the cast wheels any day. I love rare wheels and will certainly buy more, but bending/cracking lips can happen regardless of what ultra-hip or rare name is on the face. Id rather pay to replace the readily available cast wheel for cheap, then cry like a schoolgirl because I ruined a face on a unobtainium set of rare wheels.

Short Version: Do what you want because it's how you like it... And screw anybody who says otherwise.

[suspenceful]

ClassE said:

I think it's always a mistake to put black wheels on black cars, and I have no issues with remakes/cast wheels/reps as long as they don't have fake bolt heads... But that's just me.

Some people get way too caught up in "wheel elitism" in the car scene today. I've had absurdly rare 3-piece wheels, and I've had cast "knock-offs" (still do) and I'll happily rock the cast wheels any day. I love rare wheels and will certainly buy more, but bending/cracking lips can happen regardless of what ultra-hip or rare name is on the face. Id rather pay to replace the readily available cast wheel for cheap, then cry like a schoolgirl because I ruined a face on a unobtainium set of rare wheels.

Short Version: Do what you want because it's how you like it... And screw anybody who says otherwise.

I agree, I really didn't like the set of AERO-7s above.

I've never owned a set of "legit" wheels, simply because I can't justify spending that much on wheels alone. As much as I'd love to, I drive the car a lot and it gets driven hard. I really liked the look of the BBS LM reps, but they didn't allow me to fit very much tire because of the offsets. The car puts down a lot of power and I need as much tire as I can get.

The set of wheels I just bought are the most expensive wheels I've ever bought and they should allow me to fit some wide tires. Stay tuned

[suspenceful]

It's been a while since I've updated this thread, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on my 1-series! I'll make a few posts to divide up the stuff I've been doing.

As you know, I got rid of the BBS LM replica wheels. I wanted to be able to fit more tire, so I found some APEX ARC8s. They're pretty hard to come by because they've been sold out for over a year, but I nabbed a set on Craigslist from across the country!

At the same time, I got an APEX 75mm stud conversion kit. Finally no messing around with lug bolts. I hate those things. Read my installation guide http://my1series.com/2015/03/23/how-to-install-apex-stud-conversion-kit/'>here.

Anthracite APEX ARC8 wheels

Front: 18x8.5" +45 with 235/40/18

Rear: 18x9.5" +62 with 265/35/18

I added a 5mm spacer in back and will probably try squeezing a 10mm back there instead pretty soon.

[suspenceful]

A few weeks later, I started to hear a squeaking noise under the hood. Here is what I found:

Serpentine belt started shredding, so I started replacing stuff. Ordered a new belt and tensioner, along with oil filter housing gaskets (#1 & #2) because mine were leaking.

Oil filter gaskets going in... what a mess.

I put everything back together and assumed all was good. Wrong. About 50 miles later, the belt started shredding again. This time it started wrapping around the alternator pulley and burnt up the backside of the brand new tensioner pulleys.

Something was clearly causing the problem. Unsure where to start, I looked at the alternator because the belt wrapped around that specific pulley. The alternator pulley has a sprag clutch inside that allows it to spin one way, but not the other. This video shows how to test yours. After watching the video, I went out and tested mine. I carefully lodged a screwdriver into the fan to lock it from spinning:

Once the alternator was locked, I tried spinning the pulley by hand in either direction. It was seized and would not move. So, I assumed that was the problem. This time I ordered another new belt, tensioner, as well as an upper idler pulley, a lower idler pulley, an alternator pulley, and an alternator pulley removal tool.

All of the parts arrived and we installed everything for a second time. The new alternator pulley spun smoothly in one direction as it was supposed to. I thought everything went great and drove the car around for 2 days until the belt shredded AGAIN! This time the belt started tearing and worked itself off of the pulleys. I was shocked.

I went online and starting reading up on the repeating issue. I saw a lot of discussion about the power steering (PS) pump pulley coming into contact with the subframe. The pulley would hit the subframe and shred the belt or break the pulley. This was caused by worn motor mounts, allowing the motor to flex and sag when accelerating.

However, this issue only affected N54 cars produced up until 04/2008. Apparently BMW addressed the issue at that point. My car was built in 08/2008 so I didn’t think it was my issue, but I took a look anyways. While underneath the car, I noticed that this was NOT my issue. My PS pulley was NOT coming in contact with the subframe. But upon further inspection, this is what I noticed:

1 of my PS pump bolts was missing and the other 2 were loose! This is not on the pulley, but on the pump itself. After doing a little more research, a few others reported the same thing. Maybe it’s because the bolts are attached to the oil pan, become coated in oil, and eventually work themselves loose… I’m not sure.

Either way, I removed the 2 loose bolts and found another bolt that fit perfectly in the missing slot. I added a drop of thread-locker to each bolt and reinserted them. I couldn’t find the torque specs, but I torqued them down to 40 ft/lbs.

This time around the tensioner and all pulleys were still in good shape, so I just bought another belt (for the 3rd time). I installed the belt and everything has been running smooth for over 5,000 miles now.

Important Notes:

• Check all pulleys the first time around! Make sure there is no play or movement in any of them. They should all spin freely.
• If your N54 was produced before 04/2008, check to see if your PS pulley is coming in contact with your subframe. I’ve read that you can install 335is motor mounts (passenger side, driver side) to fix the problem. You can also notch the subframe.
• If your belt has started to shred, pull over immediately! If the belt works its way around the crankshaft pulley, it can break through the front main seal and even work its way into the timing belt. Best case scenario: the main seal needs to be replaced (oil leak). Even worse, the main seal continues to leak and you run the motor dry. Much worse, the belt causes the motor to jump timing and self-implode. No one wants that, so be sure to check behind the crankshaft pulley for belt fragments. If the belt wrapped around the backside of the pulley, remove it and carefully inspect the front main seal.

[suspenceful]

After adding my aggressive E85 flash last summer, the factory clutch started to slip. I decided it was time to upgrade so I could enjoy the car to it’s full potential this summer. I decided to go with the 335is/550i clutch upgrade on ECSTuning.

It feels fantastic. The clutch pedal is slightly stiffer, but retains an OEM feel. The gear changes are nice and smooth with the new Redline fluid. Everything grabs like it should and I’m very satisfied with the new setup! I have over 5,000 hard miles on the setup and haven't had a single issue.

-------------

Here is a little more information about the process:

This clutch comes factory in the F10 550i, which puts down 443 tq and weighs a whopping 4552 lbs. DINAN doesn’t offer a clutch upgrade for their different stages of 550i’s, so apparently they feel that it is adequate. Their Stage 3 550i puts down 580 tq and they kept the factory clutch. Also, someone on the forums is using this clutch and claims that it is holding at over 620wtq on aftermarket turbos. To me, it sounds like the clutch is severely underrated.

My 135i won’t see more than 500 tq anytime soon. I’d guess that it is currently around 420whp/465wtq, but only weighs 3300 lbs!

I decided to give it a try. Here is my parts list from ECSTuning:

• 335is/550i 6-speed Clutch Kit

• Manual Transmission Service Kit

• Flywheel bolts (8 of them)

• Downpipe exhaust gaskets (2 of them)

• Aluminum Transmission Bolt Set

• Pilot Bearing

• Rear Main Seal

Total ECSTuning parts cost: $544.17

When replacing your clutch, I highly advise that you also replace the factory dual-mass flywheel (DMFW). The springs wear over time and will eventually let go. I chose to go with a lighter, single-mass flywheel (SMFW) from MFactory for $499.95 shipped. This brought my total parts cost to $1044.12, not bad.

Some pictures, from start to finish.

Still some life left on the friction disc, but some slipping spots with heat damage on the pressure plate. Everything else was ‘okay’. The new rear main seal was installed and the transmission was removed.

See those two bottles of Redline D4 ATF on the table? We drained the old fluid out and added about 1.5 quarts until it started overflowing. After that, the new clutch and flywheel were bolted on.

Lastly, everything goes back together in reverse order. Obviously I didn’t get pictures of everything during the install, but it all went together flawlessly. Big thanks to my buddy Kevin, who did an awesome job with the install. He took great care of the car!

[suspenceful]

Next up, installing my Rieger diffuser and fxomar side splitters.

I bought the Rieger diffuser used and the carbon fiber hydrodip was fading. So, I sanded it down with some high-grit sandpaper and setup a ghetto booth in Ben's shop bathroom. Plan was to prime it and then spray it with Plastidip.

I put a bunch of coats of Plastidip on and it looks great! The finish is a real nice matte black and it seems very durable. The diffuser didn’t come with any mesh, so I went to Home Depot and bought a roll of black gutter guard. It was really cheap, only like $2 or $3. Cut it to size and hot glued it to the back.

Once I installed the diffuser, the exhaust tips were sunk in behind the bumper. Since this is an aggressive diffuser, I had to get them extended. The tips were always a bit crooked, so this was a great excuse to get everything straightened out.

Here is a picture I took shortly after buying the car. You can see that the exhaust tips were melting the factory diffuser because they were pushed up against it.

And here are some photos I took after installing the Rieger diffuser. You can also see the side splitters that I installed at the same time.

[suspenceful]

After all these mods, it was time to hit up the drag strip! I only got one video of a pass, but my best time was 12.9 @ 112mph with a 2.15 60ft on street tires. I was heat-soaking really bad and was only able to get 15psi out of the turbos. I guess that is what happens when you sit in the staging lanes for 20 minutes before each run. Next time I'll have an aftermarket intercooler and a more aggressive tune.

After the races, I went to the streets with a few friends of mine. One of them has a Pontiac G8 GT with intake, headers, exhaust, mild cam, and a tune. He was on drag radials with an LSD and automatic transmission putting out 12.2 time slips. I asked if he'd be down to run on the street because I knew I would have better IATs. I put about 2 or 3 car lengths on him from 60MPH to 130MPH. Then we did a 20MPH roll and were dead even up until about 100MPH. I know I have a 12 second car, it'll just take a bit to get there on the track.

Here is the only video I have from the track:

[REKIII]

Very cool updates!!  Still a cute car.