Discussion
Home alone on a Sat night so thought I’d start a thread on my 130i.
I did have a 130i LE some four years ago now, but sold it to finance a wedding/house purchase. Since then a string of straight 6 BM's and others came and went but I always hankered after another 130.
The car is ok spec wise, but is missing nav (not bothered) and xenons (bit bothered).
The car has had a few mods already: Superpro arms and KW anti-roll bars. I’ve ordered the BMWP air filter and have a custom made exhaust fitted with mid-box delete. Whilst I love the sound now (nice bassy tone, few pops, no drone) I’m not too keen on the visible back box. I may spray it black to hide it a little better, or have a different box made up.
Future plans are CDV delete, change the vanos solenoids (current are dirty/worn causing slight hesitation when accelerating in 4th- 6th), Bilstein B12 and a remap. My wife and I are planning a two week European road trip in the summer so, funds/wife permitting, I’ll get the bits be done before then.
I did have a 130i LE some four years ago now, but sold it to finance a wedding/house purchase. Since then a string of straight 6 BM's and others came and went but I always hankered after another 130.
The car is ok spec wise, but is missing nav (not bothered) and xenons (bit bothered).
The car has had a few mods already: Superpro arms and KW anti-roll bars. I’ve ordered the BMWP air filter and have a custom made exhaust fitted with mid-box delete. Whilst I love the sound now (nice bassy tone, few pops, no drone) I’m not too keen on the visible back box. I may spray it black to hide it a little better, or have a different box made up.
Future plans are CDV delete, change the vanos solenoids (current are dirty/worn causing slight hesitation when accelerating in 4th- 6th), Bilstein B12 and a remap. My wife and I are planning a two week European road trip in the summer so, funds/wife permitting, I’ll get the bits be done before then.
Gompo said:
Similar to mine, albeit mine's black and standard. Can you notice much difference between it and your past LE?
Keep on thinking of moving mine on but the old 'what do I replace it with?' scenario comes up..
With the Boston lemon leather and every option ticked the LE did feel that little bit more special. I loved the carbon black paint and the 261 (or 216?) wheels as well. We did set out to get another LE but didn’t find one to our liking (there was one but was heavily modified and 9 owners which put us off!) or within budget (there was another @ 14k miles but priced at £14k!)Keep on thinking of moving mine on but the old 'what do I replace it with?' scenario comes up..
You’re right about what to replace it with. May be the newer M135i when the prices come down but obviously that has a slightly different character being a turbo.
Mr Tidy said:
Nice car OP, but they do seem expensive for what they are!
I paid similar money for a Z4 Coupe - same engine, less weight, more fun.
I would struggle to fit four in Coupe though. Nice car nonetheless. I had a Z4 SI roadster for 12 months. I liked it, but never really bonded with it and prefer my old and current MX5’s as a ‘fun car’.I paid similar money for a Z4 Coupe - same engine, less weight, more fun.
Hifly130 said:
Always thought of these as a bit of a hidden gem. For the year they were made I think they were a hot hatch ahead of their time. Even now in the era of new hot hatches its 0-60 time and power output still looks impressive. Great performance, great sounding engine, understated and solid build. Downsides for me is fuel consumption mid twenties and yes doesn't like mid corner bumps. Reminds me a bit of my dads m3 e46 he used to have ( obviously not quite in the same league) but with cheaper running and repair bills.
Mines in black but prefer your silver or the metallic blue. Also want to get the rear roof spoiler you've got. Certainly improves the rear end look. Without it always looks like having an overly short hair cut at the back.
I agree completely, and for the exact reasons you quote. I find the fuel consumption ok for the engine size, and better than the previous gen 3litre I had in the E46 330 and Z3 3.0. The skittish back end is a little off putting. I have the sub frame inserts ready to put in when I do upgrade the suspension, which I’m led to believe this rectifies it somewhat. Mines in black but prefer your silver or the metallic blue. Also want to get the rear roof spoiler you've got. Certainly improves the rear end look. Without it always looks like having an overly short hair cut at the back.
Fully enough, with my last 3 cars having been silver I would have preferred any other colour! However, the 3 door version doesn’t appear for sale that often, and this one was too good a deal to pass up on.
swanny71 said:
Have seriously considered swapping mine for an M135i a couple of times. Good motor, very fast but it seems to me to provide quite a detached driving experience. All three I've driven had the ZF 8 speed auto and I just don't like it despite all the rave reviews. Will keep looking for a manual which might change my mind but suspect I'll be in the 130 a while longer despite it's age and mileage (8 years/124k miles).
Despite what some on here might say, I think they represent exceptional value for money and have a feeling they're now close to being depreciation proof if purchased wisely.
Thanks. I know of quite a few who share your experience. Another chap, on a different forum, went for the manual option and still found it somewhat of a detached experience. I'm also hoping to stay N/A for as long as is possible!Despite what some on here might say, I think they represent exceptional value for money and have a feeling they're now close to being depreciation proof if purchased wisely.
yonex said:
I drove a 135i at the weekend with the auto box, very effective car. The steering was very light, no feel at all but this I suppose could be improved upon with settings 
The autobox was fantastic, would definitely go that route as every BMW box I have had has been a bit notchy. OP a great mod is the Storm gearknob, it's the best use of bang for the buck. Forget any notions of the carbon airbox or performance exhaust unless you like spending money. 135i brakes fit on most (if not all of them) and transform everything, especially with RS29's. Runflats should already be in the bin so check out the Birds suspension and quaife LSD, I really regret selling mine before adding this.
Have a trawl through my old car thread
Thanks for the advice, I will keep an eye out for one (Storm ‘knob). I added the ZHP to my old 130 (or was it the Z, I get confused) and it made quite a difference. Runflats have gone. Quaife would be awesome but, alas, not in the foreseeable future. Suspension is definitely next, with KW V1s leading the way.The autobox was fantastic, would definitely go that route as every BMW box I have had has been a bit notchy. OP a great mod is the Storm gearknob, it's the best use of bang for the buck. Forget any notions of the carbon airbox or performance exhaust unless you like spending money. 135i brakes fit on most (if not all of them) and transform everything, especially with RS29's. Runflats should already be in the bin so check out the Birds suspension and quaife LSD, I really regret selling mine before adding this.
Have a trawl through my old car thread
I’ve done a few things to the car recently, in light of the pending road trip to Germany to collect the mother in law. First up was the storm gearknob. Thanks Yonex! I think it’s great, it looks fab and has a great weight to it. My wife hates it, “it’s not ergonomic and it’ll be freezing in winter” 
Next up was fitting of the BMWP air filter, followed by a full service (Iridium – recommended!) and MOT. No advisories, so it has still has yet to pick up a single one (I think – should check). I had bought some new vanos solenoids which were fitted at the service. It really has made a difference, the car is running great and the hesitation on acceleration from low revs in high gears has gone.
Then I acquired some 261 wheels which I fitted this week, along with some 12mm spacers. I am getting a tiny bit of scrubbing now over large bumps with my wife and I in the car. Bit concerned what it’s gonna be like with the M in Law in the back when traipsing back through Europe (I’m not saying your fat Elfi, just in case you ever do read this…..). I’m really happy with the way it looks though.
Next up was fitting of the BMWP air filter, followed by a full service (Iridium – recommended!) and MOT. No advisories, so it has still has yet to pick up a single one (I think – should check). I had bought some new vanos solenoids which were fitted at the service. It really has made a difference, the car is running great and the hesitation on acceleration from low revs in high gears has gone.
Then I acquired some 261 wheels which I fitted this week, along with some 12mm spacers. I am getting a tiny bit of scrubbing now over large bumps with my wife and I in the car. Bit concerned what it’s gonna be like with the M in Law in the back when traipsing back through Europe (I’m not saying your fat Elfi, just in case you ever do read this…..). I’m really happy with the way it looks though.
Recently returned from a European road trip. We totalled seven countries in all, doing in total just shy of 2500 miles, which included the San Bernardino and other mountain passes. The car was ridiculously loaded (including my mother in law on the way back who we picked up in Germany) but it performed effortlessly. There was a bit of a weird rattling noise coming from the rear brakes when they got hot tackling some of the mountain passes, but it seemed to pass when they had chance to cool. MPG averaged 28.5 for the trip, which isn’t too bad considering the majority of the journey was driven as any sane person would when they're on holiday, in beautiful weather, tackling the continent's B roads and Alps.
lewis328 said:
Nice work, I am beginning the hunt for a new car now that I can get away with not having an estate. As long as it can fit 2 kids seats in the back I am golden. 130 currently top of the list. There is a White 5dr Msport with 60k not too far from me that I might be tempted to look at. 3dr does look a lot better though.
Whilst I agree 3 door look better, 5 doors on some nice 18" wheels and the rear performance spoiler can look great. Like I suppose the vast majority of cars, the one series is very wheel sensitive!As mentioned previously I recently bought some M135i brakes. However I felt they were (for me anyway) a little too far chipped to simply touch up. Hence I decided to go for a refurb, in BMW Performance Yellow. There were two reasons i opted for this colour. Firstly I had seen the BBK, which comes in this colour, on another members car over on Baby BMW and they looked great. Secondly, if some BBK rears did ever become available i could simply fit them and they'd match the fronts (M135i rears don't fit the E8* without some fettling).
Now that I've collected them i'm not so sure! Not too expensive to change colour once again if I really grow to dislike...
On car example - courtesy of Sooty VRS
abarber said:
Very nice. Any idea what springs are on the car as it's been lowered?
I put DS2500 pads on my E90 330i. They were fine on track at Silverstone GP.
The stock pads would wilt driven hard on the road!
Apologies, not updated this in a while. It's currently on stock MSport suspension, though hoping to upgrade very soon. I've been umming and ahhing for a while about what to go for. It's unlikely I'll track it, so Bilstein B12's currently looking the best bang for buck for my needs.I put DS2500 pads on my E90 330i. They were fine on track at Silverstone GP.
The stock pads would wilt driven hard on the road!
lewisf182 said:
That looks lovely and some great mods. Do you have the BMWPE?
I recently got the 135i backbox on mine with a Y pipe and de res, sounds very nice indeed and what the 130i should have been from scratch IMO. I've had my car 3 years now but I just can't think of anything this side of £15k I'd replace it with, so looks like it's staying for another year!
I also have the 135i backbox centre section delete! Had it about a year now (actually, I think I may have recommended it to you on Baby BMW?) I love it, although I was slightly sceptical at first with all the pops - it seems to have 'matured' a bit now and gone a bit deeper with less popping.I recently got the 135i backbox on mine with a Y pipe and de res, sounds very nice indeed and what the 130i should have been from scratch IMO. I've had my car 3 years now but I just can't think of anything this side of £15k I'd replace it with, so looks like it's staying for another year!
I've just taken delivery of some carbon fibre corner splitters, ordered from Germany. With the standard MSport bumper there are not too many options for full length splitters. There are one or two available, but they're not cheap. These are very similar to the BMW Performance ones. There are some Hamann style larger ones, which I was tempted to purchase and then have sprayed body colour. Anyhow found these, and they seem really good quality. I'll update when fitted.
So the splitter's lasted three weeks.
Went up a completely innocuous bump, a sickening crash, some blasphemy, utterings at how much they cost me, followed swiftly by 'how much!?' by my wife. They took some of the bumper with them.You can’t see it though, so not too bothered. Keeping my eye out now for a second hand BMWP bumper.
In other news, parts are gathering. Powerflex subframe inserts and Bilstein B12’s ready to fit.
They will be going on in 2-3 weeks. Will hopefully stop the rear end skittishness, and, as they're progressive, give a more supple ride when cruising yet provide less roll when pressing on.
The rear tyres will be replaced next, as currently at ~3mm. Will likely go for 245 and put the 10mm spacers back on, though still undecided on the brand/model. After much consideration, I'm pretty sure I want to replace the exhaust. The 135i backbox (centre resonator delete) is just not doing it for me. It's not so much the volume, but more the high pitched noise. Not a priority though, so can wait.
Went up a completely innocuous bump, a sickening crash, some blasphemy, utterings at how much they cost me, followed swiftly by 'how much!?' by my wife. They took some of the bumper with them.You can’t see it though, so not too bothered. Keeping my eye out now for a second hand BMWP bumper.
In other news, parts are gathering. Powerflex subframe inserts and Bilstein B12’s ready to fit.
They will be going on in 2-3 weeks. Will hopefully stop the rear end skittishness, and, as they're progressive, give a more supple ride when cruising yet provide less roll when pressing on.
The rear tyres will be replaced next, as currently at ~3mm. Will likely go for 245 and put the 10mm spacers back on, though still undecided on the brand/model. After much consideration, I'm pretty sure I want to replace the exhaust. The 135i backbox (centre resonator delete) is just not doing it for me. It's not so much the volume, but more the high pitched noise. Not a priority though, so can wait.
Edited by Deutscheblonde on Sunday 16th April 20:56
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