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

[Jdesign]

Jelly of that snow beater.

[suspenceful]

A lot has happened since I posted here last. I ordered a set of 700+whp capable turbos. 2 more fuel pumps and 6 more injectors. Clutch has to be ordered yet. I'm shooting to crack 700whp by July. The car is currently leaking coolant from a cracked water pump. I just put one in last fall, so I have a new (free) pump on the way.

I've been neglecting the car because I've really been enjoying my daily. I picked up this 2010 328i M-Sport 6-speed manual (pretty rare combo) in Alpine White a few months ago. It came on some huge 20" wheels that looked like garbage. I put some 19" ARC-8s on it to match my 135i and lowered it on an H&R Sport Cup Kit. Got a new front bumper without side reflectors or 4 large license plate holes. Polished the oxidized headlights and added LED angel eyes and foglights. Also painted the kidney grilles black and debadged the 328i. Even bought a fender roller to roll the fenders because I always find myself having to borrow someones. Overall, I'm very happy with the car!

[Jdesign]

Saw this gem in person, very nice. Now I will just await pics of the 1series awesomeness once all the parts come in.

[YoungCR]

car looks great!

[patsbimmer1]

Needs more 335i.  Looks good!  I love Alpineweiss!

[Earl]

Not a bad looking daily=)

[Iceddragon]

This thread pushes the argument for a 135i over an M3 for me. Super cool build

[B C]

YoungCR said:

car looks great!

So do you, Chris!

[YoungCR]

patsbimmer1 said:

Needs more 335i.  Looks good!  I love Alpineweiss!

328i's are great for daily duty.

[patsbimmer1]

YoungCR said:

328i's are great for daily duty.

But 335i's are better...

[Earl]

If you have a back up daily for when the n54/n55 acts up once a week=P

[B C]

The mighty N54 doesnt act up, it just likes to play "hard to drive"

[i_love_cars]

I'm very excited to see the results from the turbo upgrade. 

What are you doing for tire? Assuming you got the ARC-8 with the higher offsets that can fit *some* brands of 275 tire - are you looking at any sort of 1M rear conversion or has some company developed something that allows you to run wider tire?

[patsbimmer1]

In for pics of tubbed rear end.

[Earl]

Ditto

[GunMetalGrey]

patsbimmer1 said:

In for pics of tubbed rear end.

I would love to take a grinder and body saw to the chassis of something of this nature. 

Hey Jake.... I just got some new blades and grinding wheels..... Can I test them out?

[bk335]

Iceddragon said:

This thread pushes the argument for a 135i over an M3 for me. Super cool build

I would suggest driving both back to back, I can almost guarantee you'll want the M3. All the N54 (except maybe for the 1M - though I can't comment on that)  cars just don't feel special compared to the E9x M3. Sure they're very quick but that's about it. They don't handle all that well and can't put the power down.

[Earl]

bk335 said:

I would suggest driving both back to back, I can almost guarantee you'll want the M3. All the N54 (except maybe for the 1M - though I can't comment on that)  cars just don't feel special compared to the E9x M3. Sure they're very quick but that's about it. They don't handle all that well and can't put the power down.

Hmm....

[suspenceful]

patsbimmer1 said:

Needs more 335i.  Looks good!  I love Alpineweiss!

YoungCR said:

328i's are great for daily duty.

Earl said:

If you have a back up daily for when the n54/n55 acts up once a week=P

Trust me, I've been tempted to sell/trade for an N54 car. But I tell myself not to because this car has been deadnuts reliable. The 328i is a great platform that doesn't seem to have many issues. While it isn't all that fast, it is somewhat torquey for an N/A car. Only thing that bothers me is that the rear seats don't fold down. Other than that, I love it.

[suspenceful]

i_love_cars said:

I'm very excited to see the results from the turbo upgrade. 

What are you doing for tire? Assuming you got the ARC-8 with the higher offsets that can fit *some* brands of 275 tire - are you looking at any sort of 1M rear conversion or has some company developed something that allows you to run wider tire? 

I don't plan on hooking on high boost and anything below 60mph on the street. I'm going to try Federal's 595 RS-R tire because it's cheap and see what happens. I can always limit boost by gear until I find the sweet spot if I need to hook up.

No 1M conversion. I could do a rear hub swap to gain an additional 10mm of clearance and do a smaller rear brake conversion to fit a 16" wheel/tire setup. None of that is on my radar yet though. I want to install parts and save for an LSD first.

bk335 said:

I would suggest driving both back to back, I can almost guarantee you'll want the M3. All the N54 (except maybe for the 1M - though I can't comment on that)  cars just don't feel special compared to the E9x M3. Sure they're very quick but that's about it. They don't handle all that well and can't put the power down.

This is true, sadly. Still a great car for the price though.