2013 BMW 125i 6 on the floor (N52)

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

Glad to be of service adding things to your list!

I think they’re cracking little things; even my other half’s recently acquired poverty spec hatch has a certain charm and actually isn’t a bad car to drive despite being rather slow.

Meh - If it wasn’t you it would be someone else - just joined babybmw forum - they are way worse over there

[B'stard Child]

Time for a proper clean (warning some product placement may be present)

Snow foamed it - washed it - then set to work with a clay bar and dodo juice detailing spray



Really contaminated the clay very quickly



Panel at a time and followed clay bar with a wash and then lime prime as a prewax cleanser



Then a wash and follow up with Dodo Juice Orange Crush - as I find the citrus element keeps my cat off the car



Was really impressed with how the blue in the carbon black popped out with a decent layer of wax - it really needs a good machine polish but I don't have time for that right now



Obligatory reflection shot



Clay bar at then end of the day



Only used the one bucket wash method (well actually only half a bucket was needed)



Need to get another pot of wax and maybe replace the applicator which is starting to look like Ghandi's flip flop



So one down and 3 more to go

[B'stard Child]

Next up was to do something about the rusty brakes - consequence of using aggresive alloy wheel cleaner and being stood on a car lot for a few months being washed every other day and not being driven



Took the opportunity to clean the inside of the wheel arches while I was at it

Then jenolite the rust bits



Then remove any excess crusty bits and hit again before drying and painting with caliper paint

Fronts weren't much better although they did have new discs and pads



Then a bit of paint



Then a little run out to clean the paint of the discs and heat treat what was on the discs and calipers

Much better





Then it was time for the first mod - get rid of the worn square knob that wasn't comfortable at all and replace it



Normally I'd take the calipers apart and do a proper job but you lot are a bad influence and I'm quite keen now to do a brake upgrade so this is a short term tidy up to stop the rust discs and calipers irritating me......

[B'stard Child]

Demelitia said:

Hopefully not telling you something you already know, but 130i carriers and bigger discs can possibly be used with your existing calipers.

The 6 pot brembo performance callipers were ~£700 delivered from Cotswold Bmw. You get callipers, discs, pads, backing plates, wear sensor and fasteners. I think the full front and rear kit for my 130i was ~£1100; excellent value in my eyes.

Apparently 123d are also same as 130i

Holding off on brake upgrade right now pending ride on 18’s with non run flat tyres - if it’s still choppy I think I’ll go down to 17’s with slightly taller profiles

I’m not a huge fan of rubber band tyres on big wheels and right now the car visually looks over wheeled and undertyred

[B'stard Child]

acme said:

Ps must look up your Senator threads too, we had 3 in succession in the 80’s as a kid, pre the cheese grill ones I assume you’re talking about with the 24v. So have a soft spot for all things Senator. In fact I can’t recall them ever being mentioned on PH!

I've never done a Readers cars thread on my Senators (or my LC for that matter) so I can't point you in that direction on here

Been a few threads on the older senators in the past but not all are in my bookmarks but you can have a few that I have bookmarked and contributed to

Vauxhall Royale Here

Garlick was very kind in that thread

Garlick said:

Mr Child I officially present you with the PistonHeads 'Biggest Early Vauxhall Fan' award.

Outstanding

Despite owning probably close to 20 Senator and Carlton 6 pot cars and a few 4 pot ones too I’m really a Monzaholic but my 24V monza has never had a build thread on here either - it's end is documented Here It will be reborn eventually but progress is a bit glacial right now

If you want a bit of my senator history it’s covered in the SOTW thread on a Senator 24V Here

I hope you enjoy the threads

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

Brakes look load better. I need to do the ones on my other half’s 116 which are a bit scabby.

Was well worth the effort but cooking the paint took a bit of effort - four hard stops from 100 down to 10 mph and then back up to 100 and repeat until I could really smell the brakes and was getting wafts of smoke from them.

Incidently I found out that when you really brake hard the hazards come on automatically - cool trick which I managed to repeat four times

Anyway that got the brakes smoking and once they had cooled the paint was nice and hard

[B'stard Child]

stevesingo said:

B'stard Child said:

Apparently 123d are also same as 130i

Holding off on brake upgrade right now pending ride on 18’s with non run flat tyres - if it’s still choppy I think I’ll go down to 17’s with slightly taller profiles

I’m not a huge fan of rubber band tyres on big wheels and right now the car visually looks over wheeled and undertyred

Non-runflats make a big difference. The fide can be further improved by Birds suspension updates or even Bilstein B12 kit is better than stock M Sport for ride quality.

I hope you are right because it's a wodge of cash to replace the runflats and then find that I really should have gone down a wheel size from 18 to 17 and a corresponding increase in tyre profile

[B'stard Child]

bodhi said:

Taking off the runflats definitely makes a difference - it's still hardly a magic carpet but far more comfortable, and going to normal tyres got rid of an annoying rattle I had in the passenger air vent. I noticed a bigger difference in grip however - I went to 225/255 due to PS4 availability at the time and it is unbelievably surefooted, even in torrential rain.

Apart from the remap putting PS4's on is probably the best mod I've done for it, and they soon make their money back with how long they last. I can get 25k out of a set of rears now, and my fronts still have 3mm left after 55k.

Have you taken it through a tunnel in 2nd gear yet?

Well I’ll see how I get on - you are getting good life out if PS4’s - I tend to wear out all four at the same rate

As for tunnels - we don’t have any in Norfolk (or motorways for that matter)

[B'stard Child]

acme said:

B'stard Child said:

Despite owning probably close to 20 Senator and Carlton 6 pot cars and a few 4 pot ones too I’m really a Monzaholic but my 24V monza has never had a build thread on here either - it's end is documented Here It will be reborn eventually but progress is a bit glacial right now

If you want a bit of my senator history it’s covered in the SOTW thread on a Senator 24V Here

I hope you enjoy the threads

Fantastic thanks, I shall immerse myself in all things Senator

No probs - I've been meaning to do another thread on Senator/Carlton/Monza for a while - I might stick it in Readers cars - it's more a confession is good for the soul thread

Edited to add Here it is - part 1

Edited by B'stard Child on Tuesday 27th August 13:00

[B'stard Child]

Demelitia said:

B'stard Child said:

I hope you are right because it's a wodge of cash to replace the runflats and then find that I really should have gone down a wheel size from 18 to 17 and a corresponding increase in tyre profile

When you go to non run-flats, make sure you get ones with a reasonably stiff sidewall, probably stiffer than you’d expect for the car.
I’ve got eagle f1 asy 3’s on, with a 94 load rating on my 130i. The suspension is setup for the stiffer run-flats and the handling can feel wishy-washy without a substitute for that sidewall rigidity. The ride is still fine on 18” wheels, 35 section tyres on the rear.

Edited by Demelitia on Tuesday 27th August 16:17

My back would probably appreciate a softer ride but I’ll take your point on board

[B'stard Child]

Mr Tidy said:

I bought that ZHP gear-knob for my Z4 Coupe - it's so much better than the mostly aluminium thing BMW fitted!

My 330i had the same aluminium one, but that only got treated to an "ali-express" budget one.

You probably already know, but on the wheels/brakes topics 17" wheels will still fit over the bigger 123d/130i front discs. My 123d was an SE so it only had 17s, as does my current E90 330i.

BTW I love your Senator thread OP.

Have you got to Part 3 yet......... It all got a bit..... well daft at that point

[B'stard Child]

luke2397 said:

I don't know if you'll recall but I spent most of a morning chasing your wonderful Carlton in my Orange/Red 125i on the Sporting Tour. Glad to see that I've left a lasting impression and you had to witness them for yourself

Wonderful motors and (relatively) trouble free. Remap massively improves the whole feel as does a new exhaust, lets out so much more character from the engine

Enjoy!

I remember it well - I also remember the conversation with my navigator - went along the lines for a 2.5 that bloody 1 series is proving quite hard to shake off

Did not know it was 3.0 or “mapped” but even so it was no slouch - I’ll know better next week when the throttle butterfly calibration issue is resolved

[B'stard Child]

PS - I’ve always liked the hot wash coupe - not so much the hatch - just needed to have something sensible to oil the wheels in terms of Mrs BC

Would have liked 135i coupe but as I said way back in the thread I tend to buy on condition rather than spec and having looked at a lot of ropey 135i’s I was doubting I would find a good one - finding this 125i was a breath of fresh air compared to what I had seen and a little compromise doesn’t hurt

In other news intake resonator delete completed



And the car is back with me without a giffer graze on the front bumper



Also changed air filter and pollen filter plus a quick clean of the engine bay



Getting on top of it now

[B'stard Child]

Demelitia said:

If you haven’t seen it on babybmw already, the camber pin mod can be done on yours to help with any understeer you might find. Easy and free with the added bonus of helping you get even tyre wear.

Edited by Demelitia on Thursday 29th August 10:38

Yeah I had searched that out - on the list as they say but thanks for the input

[B'stard Child]

bodhi said:

I'm interested in the Intake Resonator Delete you've done - what's the thinking behind it? More noise? Power?

And how much?

It was primarily done because I don’t like concertina plastic parts on induction side - they tend to crack and allow unfiltered/unmeasured air in - so give problems that are hard to diagnose

It was £45 (or thereabouts) 10 mins to fit and has changed the induction sound quite a bit - little more vocal (slightly howly)

No difference in seat of pants bhp test but sounds nicer and Mrs BC approves of nicer sound

[B'stard Child]

Demelitia said:

B'stard Child said:

Getting on top of it now

I think you’ve a cover missing off the oil filter housing cooler? Metal block in front of the oil filter cap usually has black plastic over it.

Didn’t know that - adds part to parts list order - thanks

[B'stard Child]

luke2397 said:

B'stard Child said:

I remember it well - I also remember the conversation with my navigator - went along the lines for a 2.5 that bloody 1 series is proving quite hard to shake off

Did not know it was 3.0 or “mapped” but even so it was no slouch - I’ll know better next week when the throttle butterfly calibration issue is resolved

It's surprising just how quickly they can cover ground, they have a way of getting under your skin and now have plans to keep hold of it forever and just add other cars around it. Seeing you do the resonator delete might be another thing to add to my upgrade list especially if it gives more intake noise

I just add cars to the collection and keep them all for a long time (skoda excluded) currently sitting at 7 with 4 two wheeled vehicles to keep them company

[B'stard Child]

Lukas239 said:

What sort of MPG do you get out of it? Love the detailing btw

Currently a smidge over 30 mpg - however my commute is under 8 miles but that’s balance out a little by the fact that the rest of the time it gets a longer run if we go anywhere (shopping or family are all between 30 and 70 miles each way)

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

It’s looking pretty damn clean with a bit of elbow grease.

As much as I’ve been surprised by my other half’s cheapy 116, I can’t help tying to persuade her that she needs a 130 instead.

Good plan - go for it

[B'stard Child]

Weekend time to change some fluids

Run it up some wheel ramps and then jack the rear to get it level





The ratchet straps are belt and braces - my driveway has a slope and ever since an unfortunate incident with an axle stand and a transmission cooler on my 740 having an expensive argument about who has right of way when a parking brake fails I've adopted an overkill arrangement

Anyway once up in the air and plumb level



I could get to work changing diff and gearbox fluid

14mm allen for the diff and 900 cc removed with my vac extractor

8 mm allen for the box - make sure you can get fluid in before you dump out the old stuff



fresh fluid for diff



8 mm allen for the box - make sure you can get fluid in before you dump out the old stuff

No pictures cos the heavens opened at this point.....