My other half’s new daily; E88 BMW 125i cabriolet

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Had the horrible worn run flats changed to normal tyres today....what a difference they’ve made too. I’ve swapped to a 225 front instead of the stock 215 because they were cheaper (£40 is £40), other than that it’s a like fo like change, just no run flats.

The ride is vastly better. It’s still firm with 18’s and M Sport suspension, but the car doesn’t seem to move and shimmy around so much. It thuds less through imperfections and doesn’t tramline anywhere near as badly as it did. A few hundred quid well spent.

Hopefully it’ll feel better again next week once the alignment gets done properly.

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Despite the snow this morning (didn’t stick around long) and the cold, I had another afternoon passing around with the car. It was hanging after the weather this week so needed a damn good clean, plus I had a few little updates to fit...

LED interior bulbs because the stock halogen ones looked pants



New exhaust tips because the original ones were hanging. Also have some to fit to my car, both sets have now had four coats of high temperature paste wax



I also had a stubby aerial because I’m sick of poking myself on the face when cleaning the car on the old one. I bought a cheapy eBay diffuser in black too hoping that it’d be cheaper than painting the OE one. It’s not that glossy nor that black so looks like it’s back to painting one. I need to source an infill piece too, I thought I’d be able to use the old one and paint it but it’s stuck. Stuck really well. The black does look better than the grey though. The V5 finally arrived so I’ve been able to get rid of the minging plates the car came with and add her private plate.

The LED bulbs look loads better. The ones by the rear view mirror were sods to fit though.







The old exhaust tips came off remarkably easily but were totally shagged.



Big improvement with the new ones and black diffuser.





Plates and aerial fitted and then the car had a quick was and dry. It needs a good polish to remove some minor scuffs and scratches, but is scrubs up pretty well. Space grey metallic is a nice colour. After cleaning it, I coated the rear window in Angel Wax H2Go to try and stop water collecting on the rear window.





Took the car for a longer drive last night after going to check the tyre pressures (the warning light had come on whilst my other half used it yesterday). All were fine. I’m really pleased with the car having changed the tyres, I really can’t believe the change just by changing the tyres. It’s now a really nice little car to drive.

It’s in for new track rods Tuesday and a proper four wheel alignment on Wednesday. Whilst the track rods are being done I’ve asked for the brake fluid to be done. The car is saying it’s due next month but I’m not sure if it’s needed or because the date was wrong (it said 2020 despite it being g 2021....). Looking through the service book, the last tick for brake fluid was four years ago. It’s not expensive so I’ll just do it. I’ll get the oil changed later in the year too just to be safe.

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B'stard Child said:

Now they do look much nicer - Did you get that as a kit from somewhere? Any chance of a linky?

They’re loads better. No idea if they’re any good, but I figured they were better than some random eBay specials. Here’s the link

https://www.lightec-autostyle.co.uk/bmw-1-series-w...

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cerb4.5lee said:

Looking good. The new exhaust tips look ace.

Cheers Lee. It’s those silly little details that make a big difference (and sent to one’s wallet!).

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B'stard Child said:

Thanks for that - I just didn't fancy removing them all to find the bulb type and then ordering from multiple sellers and was looking for a kit that had everything (which yours looked like)

I've ordered them now

Yeah, it’s a kit. Loads easier. There was another kit I found but it was £53. It’d have to be pretty bloody special to justify the extra as far as I’m concerned.

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Levin said:

Do they throw any codes on? I replaced an interior bulb in my E90 on Thursday although with a standard bulb rather than the LED. I found pulling the original bulb out the tricky part, it seemed quite well bedded in on my car. I'd consider going LED in future given they'd only really need replaced the once.

No codes or error messages (at the mo at least).

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ArsE82 said:

Nice car. Looks very tidy and you’re clearly going to look after it.

We’ve an E82 and the ride is awful on the RFTs. It’s pleasing to hear that ditching them makes a big difference as I was planning to do just that!

It’s night and day. I really couldn’t believe it.

I had an E90 330 and stuck with the run flats. The ride was hard and it thudded through pot holes etc but it never bothered me that much. But on this? Jesus it felt awful and sketchy. I honestly had started to think that I’d bought a bit of a turd. I then found out the track rods were seized and started to really dread what else I was going to find. But it turns out to be a total transformation despite the alignment being slightly off.

No idea why BMW insisted on using the damn things. Awful.

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B'stard Child said:

They look better than mine were - I tried to clean them up and polish them but hit copper colour really easily

I've done mine in black gloss brake caliper paint and it seems to be standing up very well - yes I could have replaced them but it's a black car and I quite like the stealthy look

I didn’t even bother trying to save them. The OE tips aren’t cheap but it seemed the better option that pissing around with these. There was loads of gravel and clippings between the exhaust and tips too.

Nice tips make quite a big difference.

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anomaly said:

Interesting topic and a great transformation.

I went from a 120d coupe MSport with runflats to a 1M coupe with non-runflats. The M car actually rode WAY better!

I love the 1M Coupe. I’d have one in a heartbeat. Can only assume that the proper M suspension was quite a bit firmer.

jonamv8 said:

Ex GF had one of these, used to enjoy driving it, handled really well - i real surprise to me at the time!!

Good work on the mods and cleaning it up

I’ve not really had the chance to drive it properly what with lockdown and the stty weather. It seems good enough now though and I’m looking forward to some summer drives down to C&M with the roof down.

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But more faffing with the 125i this week.

Firstly, the black diffuser I bought from eBay isn’t as black as I’d hoped it would be (it’s not a deep, glossy black like the Reiger diffuser on my car) so I ordered some primer, gloss black paint and lacquer. It looks pretty good, certainly better from a foot or two away because there are a few marks that I couldn’t sand out. Guess it’s to be expected on a 12 year old bit of plastic.









Currently I’m just waiting for it to harden prior to giving it a going over with the DA polisher. Will hopefully fit it next week.

Next up, having drained the washer tank and replaced the water with BMW windscreen wash the washers stopped working. Joy.

I managed to get a brand new OE pump from eBay for £20 (I decided that I’d just replace it whilst the tank was out). This one was a little bugger to get out compared to the one on her 116 and when going so there was loads of cold wet silt and general road st that fell all over me when removing the arch liner. Even more joy. Then it rained a bit.



The filter was pretty sludged up so I wacked a new one in with the new pump. This washer tank went back in loads more easily than the one on the old 116, popped on some new wipers because the old ones were passed their best. Everything is back to working well, and the washer jets are stronger than they’ve been since we’ve had the car.

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cerb4.5lee said:

I reckon that the diffuser will look great when it is on. It looks brill even from the photos. I love your attention to detail as always.

Cheers Lee, I think it’ll look better than the cheapo black one I fitted.

Royal have literally just confirmed that the retrimmed handbrake and gaiter will be ready in the next few days. Looking forward to that arriving, should finish the interior off nicely.

Wheels have also been booked in for a refurb over half term.

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Nicked the car today to grab some pudding for Sunday dinner and to chuck a bit of fuel in. Despite being sodding cold (car cleaning was pleasant....) but the roads were dry. I took the long route home and really, really enjoyed the drive back. It really is a lovely little thing to drive; it’s not fast and is a bit flat above 4,500rpm so a remap is definitely in order. It makes a lovely noise though especially on blips for downshifts. Regarding the flatness about 4,500rpm it’s very different to my old 330 with the N52 which used to really get into its stride higher in the rev range. It is noticeably quicker than the 116

The ride and handling are vastly improved with the new tyres and decent alignment. Overall I’m really pleased with it. I forgot the wind deflector so chickened out of a roof down drive.

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B'stard Child said:

Court_S said:

I took the long route home and really, really enjoyed the drive back. It really is a lovely little thing to drive; it’s not fast and is a bit flat above 4,500rpm so a remap is definitely in order. It makes a lovely noise though especially on blips for downshifts. Regarding the flatness about 4,500rpm it’s very different to my old 330 with the N52 which used to really get into its stride higher in the rev range. It is noticeably quicker than the 116

Pretty much my impressions when I first got the 125i coupe - Plenty of low down grunt from the N52 engine as you would expect from a 3000 cc lump but flat as a witches tit when you go past 5000 rpm - 2000 rm before the red line - they might as well have given it oil burner clocks

Re-mapped it comes alive at 5000 rpm and zings round the rev counter

Court_S said:

The ride and handling are vastly improved with the new tyres and decent alignment. Overall I’m really pleased with it.

Same for me - ditching run flats transformed the ride

Who remapped yours? Mate of mine had his done by P Torque and had been really pleased with it since.

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B'stard Child said:

Court_S said:

Who remapped yours? Mate of mine had his done by P Torque and had been really pleased with it since.

Got mine done in Norwich by a place I've used before - but I don't think it maters who does it - the throttle opening is restricted in the BMW map which is why it feels so flat

I’ll probably go down the P Torque route because they’re pretty local and my mate has been pleased with his.

Very flat, the 330 really came on song in the last 2,000rom or so and did it’s best work there. This feels properly restricted. Still, it’s brisk enough for now.

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Some penis in a white van hit the drivers side wing mirror the other night.

I was on my way to pick my other half up from worm (she’d not wanted to drive that morning because of the snow) and on a narrow section of a country lane he was barrelling along way too fast and partially across my side of the road and as he crested the hill he caught mirror, taking out the glass and sending the cover flying. Luckily my other half spirited the cover after I’d collected her. It’s a bit beaten up so needs painting (job whilst I’m off next week). I’ve just bought tinted glass because I’m not paying for a replacement dimming mirror.

Whilst I’m mucking about painting the mirror cap, I’ve bought a small lip spoiler too because that’ll need painting as well.

I swapped out the air filter this week for a K&N one. I think it is fair to say that the old one was a bit past its best



The K&N filter is dry so it shouldn’t affect the MAF. Sounds a bit better too.

Wheels are booked in for a refurb next week too.

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cerb4.5lee said:

That is annoying regards the wing mirror. Someone opened their door on me as I was driving past them in my E92 M3 and smashed the glass in my wing mirror. I was really calm when they did it...less calm when I went to price the replacement glass up at BMW...£321 just for the glass!! I ended up getting a glass replacement off eBay for £20 instead.

Yeah, I wasn’t best pleased. I managed not to swear (good with the little ‘un in the back).

That is exact he reason why it’ll be getting eBay special glass. Balsa to paying that sort of money for dimming glass.

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Mr Tidy said:

That's a b*gger about the mirror glass.

Same thing happened to my E46 325ti - I got a basic tinted one from ECP for £24.99!

It sounds like it's definitely worth getting that remap done - the N52 in my 330i really starts to get going when I get the revs up.

It’s annoying but I guess these things happen.

My 330 did too, so the remap is definitely on the cards at some point. Even as it is, it makes a bloody nice noice (especially with the Mishimoto intake and K&N filter).

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Few jobs ticked off n the 125i over the last week....

First up was fitted the painted OE rear diffuser (Sod’s law it started raining as soon as I started). It looked better than the eBay special I bought.







We’ve been off this week so I repainted the mirror cover that the van driver smashed off. Looks pretty good for a rattle can job.



The retrimmed handbrake grip and gaiter arrived from Royal yesterday. Really pleased with it especially after I had a strop the other day because Cotswold had found the last 12 genuine BMW ones! Would have been a bit cheaper too, but this does loom good and it matches the other alcantara bits nicely.



I should be picking up the refurbed wheels later today. Slightly nervous because they rung to say that the inner faces are a bit rough after a poor previous refurb. I’ll fit those tomorrow and clean out the wheel arches which are full of crap.

I’m trying to track down a lip spoiler. Looks like the other wing mirror will need a kick of paint too because there’s a slight scuff.

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Thanks both. I did have to redo the mirror cap after I got a bit carried away with the paint leading to a massive run. It’s turned out well though and the colour match is good.

Forgot to say earlier this week that I had chance to drive it with the roof down so took the opportunity to clean the interface between the top of the screen and to the roof. It was pretty crusty. Cleaned the tonneau cover too. I did a more permanent repair to the window seal with sone silicone which I’ll take a photo of. It pretty much disappears.

Wheels were collected today. I was a bit worried after the called to say that the wheels were a bit rough when they were stripped. Looks like they’ve had a bad refurb at some point. I had them redone in a metallic silver which I think will look great against the grey paint of the car.

Spent the evening in the garage with the rugby on on my iPad and a beer; four coats of FK1000 high temperature wax, new centre caps, new M stickers and tyre dressed and the interface with the hub has any paint removed. Plan to fit them tomorrow after cleaning out the wheel arches.





It was back at BMW on Monday for a recall on the wiring to the heater blower. They did their best to upsell me on a service (£422) but the car only thinks it’s due because the date was wrong when we collected it and a new first aid kit because this one has expired. I’m going to get the oil, filter a d plugs changed in the autumn (it was done in October 2020). I’ve done the filter and have a pollen filter on the way. The guys at BMW commented on it being in good condition for its age which was nice. The rear bump stops are shagged though and the dust covers keep slipping down (also on order).

Next jobs are...

Fit the Bilstein B4 dampers that my mate is giving me (he fitted them last summer so they’ve got to be better than my OE ones with 83k on the clock).

I’ll replace the bump stops at the same time

Fit the new pollen filter (I’m guessing it’ll be grim judging by the air filter)

Good detail (decontaminate, machine polish, wax, clean and treat the roof etc)

Track down a lip spoiler

Repaint the slats in the air vent due to sun damage (happened on the 116 too)

Repaint the near side mirror cap

New interior trim (I despise the glacier silver trim )

Fit a double din screen so it has CarPlay etc

Remap

Upgrade the front brakes to 330 spec

Edited by Court_S on Friday 19th February 22:25

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Mr Tidy said:

I can relate to your dislike of the standard silver interior trim in BMWs of that era, but have read about people improving them no end with a plastidip finish or a wrap.

In terms of brakes I think you need the calipers and carriers to use the bigger front discs, but the 130i and 123d had them too.

Still yours seems destined to be a great car.

The texture looks like fish scales. It’s grim, but replacements are few and far between. I like the brushed aluminium, but it doesn’t wear well and most sets are battered and bloody expensive.

The callipers are identical to those of a 123/130. All the the 125i needs is the bigger discs and the carriers which are proving hard to find at the mo (they’re £198 each new, sod that). I’m hoping Quarry Motors have a pair.