130i

[swanny71]

yonex said:

Hifly130 said:

I quite often look at auto trader looking other options too trade in my 130i but I have a feeling it would be something I would regret. It's got a fantastic engine, handling is great, some space for the kids but also build quality feels solid. Something not all French and Japanese alternatives can offer but as always everything is a comprise.

I would love to be doing mods such as yourself but as always seems to be other domestic things to spend the money on. Mines going through 100k miles now but still feeling strong. Was tempted to visit Birds but knew it would be an expensive visit.

It is, but it depends how you look at it. I considered loads of cars, let's take the Cayman S for example. If, and it's a bloody big 'if' the engine was perfect it would be about 10K to change. in 3 years I would have lost about half of that I would think. My M3 lost £7K in 15 months roughly, pure depreciation.

Also good point on the build. Mine is the earlier car so not as plush as the LCI. But, I drove a wonderful FD2 Civic Type R and whilst it felt bolted to the road I hated the understeer (it was wet) and the rattles.

If this sum lets me keep the car for three years or so it's not that much in the great scheme of things. It can always go back to stock and the parts sold if needed?

lewisf182 said:

I'm exactly the same as you. Constantly looking at other options but it just seems anything that's genuinely an 'improvement' would be at least £10k on top of my car, and i just can't see it being worth that! I wish I could bring myself to spend some money like the OP has to improve it but given it's still depreciating and not worth that much I just can't justify it to myself.

Hitting 94k miles this month so approaching the big milestone.

I have exactly that mileage on the clock! I owned an E90 M3 and it was quick(er) and made all the right noises. Handled superbly and despite the weight had incredible body control. The big problem for me was its ability made it quite dull at anything below 100mph. Also it wasn't that practical. I got bored of it to be honest.

The straight 6 is a far better road engine and although the 130 isn't fast by today's standards it seems to be enough of everything wrapped up in a really fun package. The stock brakes and suspension are built to a price but as a used example is 5-8K it's just brilliant value.

Travelling back tomorrow from France to pick it up. Genuinely excited

Edited by yonex on Wednesday 1st March 18:44

Always said the 130i is a better daily driver than my old E90 M3, the things I miss most about it are the noise and DAB.

Don't worry about racking up the mileage, I'll hit 139k this weekend and it still feels bullet proof. God knows how but it's still on original water pump & battery which should be long dead by now. Clutch, wheel bearings and coil packs which can give up early are also original. Love it.

[Polarbert]

yonex said:

Polarbert said:

I've heard a lot of contradictory information about the CDV, I was thinking about binning it on my Z4M, but a lot of people say they dont feel any difference.

I heard it was like a safety measure for yanks that cant drive manual gearboxes to save the life of the box. Any truth behind that?

Yes, a lot of truth. Remove it, then enjoy.

Basically it's a little shuttle valve which restricts your flow. If you let up the clutch harshly then, as per its name the CDV softens the engagement, it was supposed to protect the DMF from abuse. The trouble is it gives an inconsistent bite everywhere, it made you work for slower changes, I always felt the box was just that way previously. I guess I committed the cardinal sin of doing two things at once, but the clutch feel is positively different without it, it just feels normal instead of this wooly thing. If you notice any of the things I have said, even slightly then bin it.

I quite often find I have trouble in the 1>2 gear change. I put it down to me being stupid and wanting to change gear quickly. I think I'll get rid of it the next time I'm at the garage.

Thanks for the information! :-)

[anonymous-user]

Polarbert said:

I quite often find I have trouble in the 1>2 gear change. I put it down to me being stupid and wanting to change gear quickly. I think I'll get rid of it the next time I'm at the garage.

Thanks for the information! :-)

And definitely change the gearknob for something heavier, I used Storm but there are other options out there. That really helped the smoothness of my gearchanges.

[Mr Tidy]

Stumbled across this fascinating thread again!

I keep looking at these as a sensible option to replace both of my cars - an E86 with the 3 litre N52 engine same as the 130i, and a 325ti for the vaguely practical stuff!

Or do I keep the Z4C and upgrade the 325ti to a 130i - decisions, decisions! But if I do that, do I take the Z4C or the 130i to Birds for a Quaife?

Only time will tell, but I'm looking forward to the updates - thanks everyone, especially yonex.

[tgr]

Yonex please do give us feedback on your experiences with the new suspension and diff!

[tgr]

It may be a pig, but it's your pig

[DoubleSix]

Sounds good mate.

Useful to have an idea of costs if you don't mind, cheers

[anonymous-user]

Hi,

Ignoring the brakes as they aren't strictly necessary and they add a fair lump. Budget roughly £3000 for the full package of diff, ARB's and dampers, Roughly half of that without the diff. On top of what they quoted they did an inspection FOC to see if there was anything on the car which needed attention and not make the best use of the package. It was very thorough, much more than any main dealer I have used before to be honest.

More info here

[anonymous-user]

Well, st. We have issues. Dropping the car back in tomorrow as the diff is weaping and there are few odd noises. The leaking is annoying, but these things happen when you piss about with an old car. Still feels awesome on the road but inclined to dial it back until everything is sorted.

[Podie]

yonex said:

Well, st. We have issues. Dropping the car back in tomorrow as the diff is weaping and there are few odd noises. The leaking is annoying, but these things happen when you piss about with an old car. Still feels awesome on the road but inclined to dial it back until everything is sorted.

Frustrating

[anonymous-user]

I'm not too unhappy. They've been very good in arranging the return. The only problem is a 120d sat outside

[Podie]

yonex said:

I'm not too unhappy. They've been very good in arranging the return. The only problem is a 120d sat outside

Yeah, but it's borrowed.... so much quicker

[CombineHarvester]

Reading this thread has inspired me to go out an buy a 130i, going to look at one later

Edited by CombineHarvester on Wednesday 15th March 14:44

[anonymous-user]

So, it's back again. The leak was from one of the diff seals, maybe damaged on install. Both were replaced so all good. The noises all came from the monster calipers/pads. Applying more tension (i.e. bending) the retainers everything is sorted. Handing back the 120d wasn't a problem! The drive home was nice, really missed the little thing. Best of all they gave it a wash, looks better than it has in a very long time, top job.

Now to get back on with the job of enjoying it

[mikeyscott]

Great thread and I'm another with a 1 series wanting to replace, but then baulk at spending £10-15k to a M3/RS4/??

I have the 135i but only with birds suspension and keep looking at
LCA
CDV
M3 bushes
£800 to fit and supply M3 bushes + other stuff

Time means I haven't done it.

I was mulling Quaife LSD, but mulling a Wavetrac, but ££££

[cerb4.5lee]

Love the new brakes. I bet it's a cracking car to have some fun in with the choice upgrades, enjoy it.

[mikeyscott]

Did Birds do the work?

[anonymous-user]

mikeyscott said:

Did Birds do the work?

Yes, Birds did everything. I looked at doing some here and then using DM for other bits but when the AP's came up I thought sod it!

[anonymous-user]

cerb4.5lee said:

Love the new brakes. I bet it's a cracking car to have some fun in with the choice upgrades, enjoy it.

When we picked it up the other half said 'what's that writing on the brakes?'. Given that I had explained the car had gone in for a 'service' I had to think pretty quickly

Although she was driving it the other week and made a few observations which I guess would lead her to draw her own conclusions

Looking forward to the next spell of wet weather.

[mikeyscott]

I've already got Birds suspension, but stupidly didn't do LCA and bushes at the same time.