135i M Advice

[Rob Board]

Having just sold my beautiful, slightly modded '06 VX220 Turbo (Sold on this site), I am on the look out for a four seater, which offers an involving drive and performance.(previously owned a caterham, so enjoy 'getting involved') I have hit upon the idea of a 135i M. However information on the car is not that east to come by, as they are not that common as far as I can tell. Does anyone have owner experience, and I had a couple of specific questions.


All (most) other 'M' cars need to have the valve clearances checked, is this the case on this model, or is it not a 'full blown M model'.
Is the Vanos going to be an issue on this vehicle
Does anyone who owns one in Hampshire, be prepared for me to come and pick their brains and have a close look.

My local BMW dealer is useless and cannot help at all. I will ring one of the Indie Specialists in due course, but would like your opinions.

Many thanks

Rob

[gilford]

From what I have read on various forums, its a cracking little motor, and with a few tweeks can be as quick as the E46 M3

My sister has a 120D 4 door, the space in the back is small, so if you are buying with the intention of ferrying 4 adults round I would deffo look into this before sinking any cash into one.

[K12beano]

This peee's me off:

Rob Board said:

My local BMW dealer is useless and cannot help at all.

Try another one. On the bike side of things they seem mostly helpful ( I have just returned to BMW and bikes after a 10 year gap. ) but the treatment you get varies greatly. One place seems to have a complete "take it or leave it" attitude which is grating with me. Another can't be helpful enough. Grr!

In fact I am so impressed with the bike technology (they've finally produced the sort of bike they should have done 30 years ago!), I really fancy having a look over either a 130 or 135 myself....

[Rob Board]

Thanks for quick reply. Smaller back seats are not an issue. The fact that it has some is a bonus really!! Just nice to have the occassional ability to carry 'extras'

Cheers

[jontysafe]

Although it`s a great car in its own right it isn`t an M car. It has an M-Sport trim level. Valve clearances don`t need to be done like the M cars and the Vanos isn`t an issue in these. The only real problem with them seems to be a few reports that the twin sequential turbos can fail, I suspect this is more pistonheads scare-mongering though. The new 135 has a single turbo twin scroll system which in truth is probably more robust. Whether is has as much tuning potential is another matter.

I`ve read reports from the motoring press that it will crack under 5 secs for the 0-60 sprint and has a very addictive torque rush. I`ve test driven the coupe and yes it`s a good engine but the rest of the package let it down a little, cabin especially. It`s set up for over steer as well and doesn`t exactly telegraph feel through the steering. For the money I think I`d rather go 335i

[aponting389]

its actually set up to under-steer a little, as are most new bmws i believe, but this can easily be balanced on the throttle.. i had one of the first 135i's in the country and owned it for about 2 years and absoloutely loved it, such a fun car, very fast too. infact i sold it to my best mate so i still get to drive it now and again. i'm in hampshire so you could have come and driven it if i still owned it! too bad.

[spandexx]

I have had mine nearly three weeks now and I adore it.

I came from a Z43.0Coupe. I wanted a little extra practicality, more power and a better ride.

I have driven this and the 335 and much prefer this car as it still feels small and nimble but also has that engine. The 335, whilst very impressive, is a bit big, grown-up and fat for my liking, also it does not have as good a set of brakes and is a tiny bit slower.

It is about as quick as an E46 M3 around a track. There are plenty of tests on youtube of the car if you search and there are some great comparisons against 370Zs Evos Focus RSs e46 M3s 355s Caymans etc.

The power is addictive, the ride is great (compared to my spine shattering Z) and the toys I got in mine are a real bonus. It is (relatively) cheap to run when compared to any equivalent M car and all are still in warranty if it is a SH car you are looking for.

I love the Q car feeling I get driving around in it. Noone knows they exist so you don't attract any attention.

Go for it, I don't really think there is much out there that can compete when all is considered.

ETA: Oh and a note on the handling; it is brilliant. It may not be VX220 good but it is great for the type of car it is. There is a tiny bit of understeer on the limit but the car has enough low down power and torque to kill that with a bit of right foot fun. Also I think the standard run flat tyres have a lot to do with this and reports of it being removed with the fitment of proper rubber are all over the forums.

And, if you are so inclined, a few hundred pounds are all that is needed to push the power toward 380 - 400bhp depending on bravery and boltons.

Edited by spandexx on Thursday 15th April 16:14

Edited by spandexx on Thursday 15th April 16:17

[gilford]

spandexx said:

It is about as quick as an E46 M3 around a track............

Edited by spandexx on Thursday 15th April 16:14

Its a cracking car, but I would have to disagree with that, there is no way in standard guise it would beat the E46 M3.

[spandexx]

gilford said:

spandexx said:

It is about as quick as an E46 M3 around a track............

Edited by spandexx on Thursday 15th April 16:14

Its a cracking car, but I would have to disagree with that, there is no way in standard guise it would beat the E46 M3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGwpifULe4

[jontysafe]

Yes, sorry I meant it`s set up for understeer not oversteer!!

[Rob Board]

Thanks for all the great replies. I shall continue my search for info, and more importantly try and track one down at a main dealer or indie.

Very many thanks

Rob

[pjv997]

If you are at the Surrey end of Hampshire, try Barons in Farnborough - I have used one guy there for over 10 years and he is very good (Richard Thorne) - and I have no link to them other than having bought five BMW's and three Mini's from them.

[3ftandclean]

I've recently sold my 135i which I had for a year and a half from new. It was a great little car. It felt very 'honest' and straightforward. It was very quick and comfortable and great fun. It had no power or M buttons, no satnav or other distractions, it's diminutive size was a real bonus for city driving and it's co2 and fuel consumption figures were commendable considering it's engine size.
I'd thoroughly recommend one, as long as you do one thing; change the tyres to non run flats and you'll love the more compliant ride.

[physprof]

spandexx said:

gilford said:

spandexx said:

It is about as quick as an E46 M3 around a track............

Edited by spandexx on Thursday 15th April 16:14

Its a cracking car, but I would have to disagree with that, there is no way in standard guise it would beat the E46 M3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGwpifULe4

and they'll be comparing the slightly less powerful us spec m3, so 0.1 sec track win for the m3 in the clip probably gets bigger on this side of the atlantic, also no discussion of age/condition of m3 versus new *35is'

[spandexx]

physprof said:

spandexx said:

gilford said:

spandexx said:

It is about as quick as an E46 M3 around a track............

Edited by spandexx on Thursday 15th April 16:14

Its a cracking car, but I would have to disagree with that, there is no way in standard guise it would beat the E46 M3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGwpifULe4

and they'll be comparing the slightly less powerful us spec m3, so 0.1 sec track win for the m3 in the clip probably gets bigger on this side of the atlantic, also no discussion of age/condition of m3 versus new *35is'

But that is sort of the point, all E46 M3s will be higher mileage and a little bit longer in the tooth. It is near as dammit the same, depending on track, driver, weather, temp, fuel, star sign, size of breakfast, etc, etc, all the usual arguments, but the point is the car is so damn close as to be 'about as quick as an E46 M3 on a track'.

[Rob Board]

pjv997 said:

If you are at the Surrey end of Hampshire, try Barons in Farnborough - I have used one guy there for over 10 years and he is very good (Richard Thorne) - and I have no link to them other than having bought five BMW's and three Mini's from them.

Thanks I'll give them a try. I live in Andover, so not too far from me at all.

[ukwill]

I was tempted to buy one at xmas. A great little Q car and oh so easy to tune to give many a bigger car a fright. Plenty of youtube clips to prove that.

[aponting389]

Rob Board said:

Thanks I'll give them a try. I live in Andover, so not too far from me at all.

Im in Andover too, have you seen the white 135 going around? it has black wheels at the mo.. thats my old one!

[aeropilot]

I've not seen any reports of the failure here in the UK or Europe (probably because they are much rarer over here) but there see never ending problems in the USA with the high pressure fuel pumps on the 135i if you read 1addicts forum.

[3ftandclean]

aeropilot said:

I've not seen any reports of the failure here in the UK or Europe (probably because they are much rarer over here) but there see never ending problems in the USA with the high pressure fuel pumps on the 135i if you read 1addicts forum.

Mine went! It was a nightmare, BMW took a month to sort it out. Didn't affect my opinion of the car though.