1 series build questions
Discussion
Hi guys,
I have been pointed towards the 1 series BMW as being the car to look at for what i need and i cant wait to get out there and get looking, RWD and a small car!
I just have a few questions!
looking at either the 123d or the 130i both in coupe forms, what options do i have in improving each? both in styling and mechanically?
The 1M is a beautiful car and ive been reading it uses the rear end off a M3 to give the rear end a little bit more and that alot of the parts are from other bmw model like the z4 and m3? Is it at all possible to join these parts to different bmw coupe models? Just a thought!
And what options would you recommend to find a 1 series with?
Ste
I have been pointed towards the 1 series BMW as being the car to look at for what i need and i cant wait to get out there and get looking, RWD and a small car!
I just have a few questions!
looking at either the 123d or the 130i both in coupe forms, what options do i have in improving each? both in styling and mechanically?
The 1M is a beautiful car and ive been reading it uses the rear end off a M3 to give the rear end a little bit more and that alot of the parts are from other bmw model like the z4 and m3? Is it at all possible to join these parts to different bmw coupe models? Just a thought!
And what options would you recommend to find a 1 series with?
Ste
Well, firstly you need to decide petrol or diesel.
There is a big difference in refinement, power delivery and of course economy.
You say you are looking for a coupe, well the 6 cylinder petrol powered coupes are either a 125i or turbo charged 135i.
The 125i coupe is 3 litres and is essentially a detuned 130i motor.
It is possible to re-map them back to near 130i power.
As for modifications, a lot of folk say in standard M-sport suspension to be a little choppy and leaves
Room for improvement.
A tempting addition would be an LSD for the rear end rather than trying to fit a whole rear axle.
Birds do diffs and suspension packages.
Specs vary enormously.
Worthwhile options for residuals include leather & navagation.
Personally I'd try and seek out xenon headlamps (which include the angel eye rings) for a more up to date look
and the logic 7 hifi (or HK depending on year) sounds fantastic.
Thought about a 130i 3/5 door or does it have to be a coupe ??
There is a big difference in refinement, power delivery and of course economy.
You say you are looking for a coupe, well the 6 cylinder petrol powered coupes are either a 125i or turbo charged 135i.
The 125i coupe is 3 litres and is essentially a detuned 130i motor.
It is possible to re-map them back to near 130i power.
As for modifications, a lot of folk say in standard M-sport suspension to be a little choppy and leaves
Room for improvement.
A tempting addition would be an LSD for the rear end rather than trying to fit a whole rear axle.
Birds do diffs and suspension packages.
Specs vary enormously.
Worthwhile options for residuals include leather & navagation.
Personally I'd try and seek out xenon headlamps (which include the angel eye rings) for a more up to date look
and the logic 7 hifi (or HK depending on year) sounds fantastic.
Thought about a 130i 3/5 door or does it have to be a coupe ??
3795mpower said:
Well, firstly you need to decide petrol or diesel.
There is a big difference in refinement, power delivery and of course economy.
You say you are looking for a coupe, well the 6 cylinder petrol powered coupes are either a 125i or turbo charged 135i.
The 125i coupe is 3 litres and is essentially a detuned 130i motor.
It is possible to re-map them back to near 130i power.
As for modifications, a lot of folk say in standard M-sport suspension to be a little choppy and leaves
Room for improvement.
A tempting addition would be an LSD for the rear end rather than trying to fit a whole rear axle.
Birds do diffs and suspension packages.
Specs vary enormously.
Worthwhile options for residuals include leather & navagation.
Personally I'd try and seek out xenon headlamps (which include the angel eye rings) for a more up to date look
and the logic 7 hifi (or HK depending on year) sounds fantastic.
Thought about a 130i 3/5 door or does it have to be a coupe ??
Ahh sorry i did mean the 125i coupe, There is a big difference in refinement, power delivery and of course economy.
You say you are looking for a coupe, well the 6 cylinder petrol powered coupes are either a 125i or turbo charged 135i.
The 125i coupe is 3 litres and is essentially a detuned 130i motor.
It is possible to re-map them back to near 130i power.
As for modifications, a lot of folk say in standard M-sport suspension to be a little choppy and leaves
Room for improvement.
A tempting addition would be an LSD for the rear end rather than trying to fit a whole rear axle.
Birds do diffs and suspension packages.
Specs vary enormously.
Worthwhile options for residuals include leather & navagation.
Personally I'd try and seek out xenon headlamps (which include the angel eye rings) for a more up to date look
and the logic 7 hifi (or HK depending on year) sounds fantastic.
Thought about a 130i 3/5 door or does it have to be a coupe ??
I just have a big think for the coupe look, looks alot better than the hatch and you dont see to many of them,
regarding diesel and petrol, i understand why so many peopel have recommended the 3l lump, who wouldnt like a 3.0l petrol v6, lovely sound!
However, the 123d has always interested me the fact its a twin turbo 2 litre, surely alot more playing ability regarding turbos and remaps and the fact they are both quite close performance wise.
I think both models would be very interesting regarding the m3 differential, bringing the spec closer to the 1M, and surely upgrading past the msport will be benifical. Are there any factory brake and suspension upgrade that are available? I notice a few have much bigger bmw branded brakes on them.
stedaley said:
who wouldnt like a 3.0l petrol v6, lovely sound!
It's a straight six, not a V6 
stedaley said:
However, the 123d has always interested me the fact its a twin turbo 2 litre, surely alot more playing ability regarding turbos and remaps and the fact they are both quite close performance wise.
Yes, the 123d remaps well, but they have poor gearing, so, remapped 120d with their better gearing are the better buy if you must have a tractor engine under the bonnet 
Remapped 125i with induction kit will only be about 10-15 brake less than a remapped 123d and you won't need to spend out on uprated intercoolers and what not. Lighter engine as well, and you have that lovely rev range to use....oh and plus the sound
Won't be much difference in fuel use either.
stedaley said:
Are there any factory brake and suspension upgrade that are available? I notice a few have much bigger bmw branded brakes on them.
Yes, there is the BMW Performance front brake upgrade, which is the same as the factory 135i brakes, just a different colour caliper.Plenty of suspension upgrade options, Birds being the best for a road use setup, but not the cheapest.
Other cheaper and better options if you want a harder riding more track focused suspension.
The N52 straight six is just a joy of an engine and not too thirsty.
I have a 330i Touring and my wife a 120d Hatch. There's only about 10-15mpg difference and, unless you're doing big miles, the petrol really is the one to go for. It's the effortlessness of it - there's too much gear changing needed in the diesel to keep it shifting, whereas in the petrol you just keep your foot in 'and enjoy the revs
I have a 330i Touring and my wife a 120d Hatch. There's only about 10-15mpg difference and, unless you're doing big miles, the petrol really is the one to go for. It's the effortlessness of it - there's too much gear changing needed in the diesel to keep it shifting, whereas in the petrol you just keep your foot in 'and enjoy the revs
aeropilot said:
Yes, there is the BMW Performance front brake upgrade, which is the same as the factory 135i brakes, just a different colour caliper.
Plenty of suspension upgrade options, Birds being the best for a road use setup, but not the cheapest.
Other cheaper and better options if you want a harder riding more track focused suspension.
My bad, i did know it was a straight 6... Plenty of suspension upgrade options, Birds being the best for a road use setup, but not the cheapest.
Other cheaper and better options if you want a harder riding more track focused suspension.
and whats the difference between the 125i and the 135i regarding mpg? Id like over 30 from what ever car id buy! Im not made of money! How far does a tank stretch?
true a diesel isnt the best but the torque surely makes up for it :P
and now just to find a breakers 135i or Bmw parts, anywhere imparticular to look?
stedaley said:
and whats the difference between the 125i and the 135i regarding mpg? Id like over 30 from what ever car id buy!
Are you talking about an ave of over 30, or ??You can get over 30 out of a 135i on a gentle motorway run if you have to, and I have easily averaged 28-30 in mine, But, urban use and hoofing it will see an ave of 20-24. I have got mine down to 10 though
125i even remapped with achieve high 30's on a run. Know a few 130i owners that claim 40 odd.
stedaley said:
true a diesel isnt the best but the torque surely makes up for it :P
Torque is lovely, when it's a nice spread across the rev range like a 135i, but when it's a great heafty slug of it in a relatively narrow band coupled with crap gearing, as in the 123d, it's not that desirable.I know a 123d owner that after a couple of yeas chopped it in for a 135i for this reason.
stedaley said:
and now just to find a breakers 135i or Bmw parts, anywhere imparticular to look?
With only 1200 odd 135i sold in the UK, there are very few being broken, so while used sets do come up for sale on occasion if someone has upgraded for track work, you are better off looking at other options or buying new. You can make the 4-pot F20 1-Series M135/M235 calipers fit as well. There's at least one 125i owner IIRC, that has done this.Join BabyBMW forum for all your 125i/123d coupe questions and answers.
http://babybmw.net/
aeropilot said:
With only 1200 odd 135i sold in the UK, there are very few being broken, so while used sets do come up for sale on occasion if someone has upgraded for track work, you are better off looking at other options or buying new. You can make the 4-pot F20 1-Series M135/M235 calipers fit as well. There's at least one 125i owner IIRC, that has done this.
Join BabyBMW forum for all your 125i/123d coupe questions and answers.
http://babybmw.net/
Have joined and posted! Join BabyBMW forum for all your 125i/123d coupe questions and answers.
http://babybmw.net/
what sort of non bmw kit would i be best looking at?
and i shall have a look at new parts like you said, f20 upgraded parts to see what i can find.
Ive been reading the m sport suspension isnt the greatest, can something be done to upgrade this too?
Ste
stedaley said:
Have joined and posted!
what sort of non bmw kit would i be best looking at?
and i shall have a look at new parts like you said, f20 upgraded parts to see what i can find.
Ive been reading the m sport suspension isnt the greatest, can something be done to upgrade this too?
Ste
First of all, if you don't do starship mileages, get the 6 pot petrol. It's a wonderful engine and really makes the car. In terms of mods, ditch the run flat tyres because they ruin the ride and go from there. Personally I would recommend Birds' for any chassis upgrades - not cheap but the ride is improved massively and the car is much more composed on bumpy roads. The best compliment I can give it is that it doesn't make it feel like a modified car.what sort of non bmw kit would i be best looking at?
and i shall have a look at new parts like you said, f20 upgraded parts to see what i can find.
Ive been reading the m sport suspension isnt the greatest, can something be done to upgrade this too?
Ste
I had a 123d for 6 and a half years (5 door hatch) and sold it last year when I bought a Z4 Coupe (same N52 engine as used in the 125/130i) and I so wish I had done so sooner - or better still I should have tried a 130i before I bought the 123d! Straight 6 petrol is the way to go!
As has been said the 123d has lower overall gearing than the 120d which is not so good. BMW did offer a 20bhp upgrade for the 120d so one of them with the upgrade would be better than a 123d IMHO.
If you aren't doing a huge mileage I would avoid the diesels - N47 diesel engine has timing chain issues that BMW seem to be handling on a slightly variable basis going by the reports I have read, although mine managed to get past 80,000 miles without a problem.
My 123d was an SE Dynamic model, so M Sport suspension but 17 inch wheels with 50 profile tyres and the ride seemed OK to me on run-flats (Pirelli on mine).
If you need them check it has cup-holders - they were an option, at least on the hatch!
Xenon's would be a plus, leather if you like it and front parking sensors were available in a pack ("driver convenience" IIRC). Upgraded stereo would be useful as the standard one is not brilliant.
I think others have covered the mechanical upgrades already.
Good luck, and let us know what you get!
As has been said the 123d has lower overall gearing than the 120d which is not so good. BMW did offer a 20bhp upgrade for the 120d so one of them with the upgrade would be better than a 123d IMHO.
If you aren't doing a huge mileage I would avoid the diesels - N47 diesel engine has timing chain issues that BMW seem to be handling on a slightly variable basis going by the reports I have read, although mine managed to get past 80,000 miles without a problem.
My 123d was an SE Dynamic model, so M Sport suspension but 17 inch wheels with 50 profile tyres and the ride seemed OK to me on run-flats (Pirelli on mine).
If you need them check it has cup-holders - they were an option, at least on the hatch!
Xenon's would be a plus, leather if you like it and front parking sensors were available in a pack ("driver convenience" IIRC). Upgraded stereo would be useful as the standard one is not brilliant.
I think others have covered the mechanical upgrades already.
Good luck, and let us know what you get!
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