BMW E87 130i

[vMPM]

Hi all, I am 21 from Melbourne, Australia.

I grew up in a BMW family and have always loved BMWs. My first car was an E36 328i manual coupe. I went to a trackday and got hooked and started modifying the car quite extensively for track use. Eventually it got to the point where it was too low, too loud and received too much attention from the police to drive it every day. Here are some photos of the E36:





If anyone would like to some more info on the E36, check out my Wheelwell or PH build thread: https://wheelwell.com/profile/55516229d8075cb60a30...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I then bought a fully optioned, last model year manual VW V5 Bora off my best mate as a daily driver. I owned both cars concurrently for a few months.

I then got to the point where I made a shopping list of parts to finish building my E36. This list added up to $8,000. At that point I thought it would be incredibly stupid of me to tip that money into the car (especially considering I had already spent quite a lot on it). So I decided I would put the car up for sale because I knew I would want to keep modifying it haha. I ended up getting a great price for the car and sold it even though I was attached to it - it was my first car and made so many great memories in it.

The plan then was to buy an s2000 to replace the E36 as my track/weekend car. I then spent 6 months looking for an s2000. Then after test driving an s2000 I decided I didn’t want one anymore. Whilst it would have been great fun on track, it wasn’t fun to drive on the road unless you were in VTEC (which means you are at immediate loss of licence speeds), it was a bad road car (noise, drivability, space etc) and you couldn’t slide it.

So that day I decided on a whim to look at manual 130i’s for sale. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a dropped a bit in price since I last looked a year or so ago. All of a sudden I got rather excited about the prospect of a 130i, it would be; a great driver’s car with an awesome engine, somewhat ugly but unique and cool and a great daily driver.

That day, a 130i was posted to carsales. I loved the spec (I wanted a light interior and something other than black after my E36) and decided I had to have it.

Some info on the car:
2006 M-Sport
Manual
106,000km
All options except for front parking sensors, nav (neither of which care for) and heated seats (which I miss from my Bora haha)
Full service history

The owner was a great guy (a young BMW enthusiast who owned an E30 M3, E36 M3, Alpina E30, E21 and a 944 S2) and the car had a full service history. Before I knew it I had booked flights up to Sydney to buy the car and drive it home.

On 15 October 2016 I flew up to Sydney with my girlfriend and bought the car. I then drove it all the way home to Melbourne. We checked out a couple of Sydney beaches and then drove Royal Nasho before heading to the Hume. It was a long day (woke up at 0430 and got home at 2215) but it was a heap of fun, the car performed brilliantly. Here are some photos from the road trip:




A few days after I bought the car, Nick and I went for a spirited drive and photoshoot in the countryside. Here is an unedited iPhone photo of me playing with Nick’s camera, and a few of Nick’s proper shots (check out NM Photography on Facebook and @nmphtg on Instagram):







I plan to daily drive the car and track it semi-regularly. I’ll modify it slowly as I’m really enjoying driving a stock car for a change haha. I’ll decide what mods to do after tracking the car stock and seeing what areas I think need to be improved and in what order.

At a guess, this is my future mod list (in order of priority):
Tyres
Exhaust
LSD
Brakes
Coils
Camber parts
Wide, square wheels and tyres

[rayyan171]

Very nice car, really unappreciated car the 130i. People don't realise how fast this car can actually be, you get a large saloon engine in a hatchback, it must be a hoot to drive. Love the photos too.

[selym]

Sounds pretty much the same spec as mine. I got rid of run flats and added a BMW Performance exhaust as well as the M3 lower control arms. A few more tweaks and the handling should match the engine.

Nice purchase!

[vMPM]

Hey guys, the car is finally 'done' so I figured it was time for a well overdue update.

I have the car setup exactly how I want it - it sounds amazing, drives beautifully and looks great. Went on a big mountain drive a few weeks back with a big group of cars and I didn't come across anything that could come close to keeping up - I can't believe how well the car drives. Very excited for my next track day!

The only things I'd like to do from here are a ZHP shift knob and a new steering wheel.

I have a car Instagram profile which I am very active on so give me a follow if you would like @onethirtyi

Here is my parts list:

Suspension:
ST XTA Coilovers
M3 Front Upper Control Arms
M3 Front Lower Control Arms
20mm Superpro Rear Swaybar

Wheels & Tyres:
18x8.5 ET45 APEX EC7
235/40/18 Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R (square)

Brakes:
DBA T3 rotors
Ferodo DS2500 pads
HEL S/S braided brake lines
Motul RBF660 fluid

Drivetrain:
M-Factory 1.5 way clutch type LSD

Intake/Exhaust:
135i muffler
Custom mid-section with resonator delete
Golf tee mod
Injen cold air intake

Aesthetics:
OEM Aero roof spoiler
Carbon fibre front splitters
Stubby antenna
Black kidney grilles

Misc:
OSRAM Xenarc Nightbreaker Unlimited
Kap Industries fire extinguisher mount
Varta D15 battery

[boombap]

Nice to see a 130i on here.. yours definitely looks a clean example with the mods to complement.

I enjoyed reading about when you bought it, it's always the best part of owning a car :P

I remember when I bought mine and had a close call with the police , fair to say I was very sensible on the remainder of the drive haha.

Edited by boombap on Saturday 17th March 16:33

[TheDukeGTi]

Looks great! Nice and purposeful.

[Mr Tidy]

Very nice OP!

I just missed out on a Japan Red one 6 miles away a month or so back as a replacement for my Imola Red 325ti.

But seeing as it is a daily that may not have been a bad thing!

Instead I got an E91 325i SE, which seems so much more relaxed - after all I've got my E86 for hooligan duty (and it has been fitted with a ZHP shifter, which is just lovely)!

[Croutons]

Nicely done that, a lot of subtle on the list too.

[vMPM]

boombap said:

Nice to see a 130i on here.. yours definitely looks a clean example with the mods to complement.

I enjoyed reading about when you bought it, it's always the best part of owning a car :P

I remember when I bought mine and had a close call with the police , fair to say I was very sensible on the remainder of the drive haha.

Edited by boombap on Saturday 17th March 16:33

TheDukeGTi said:

Looks great! Nice and purposeful.

Croutons said:

Nicely done that, a lot of subtle on the list too.

Thanks guys. My whole approach with this car was to make it how I think it should have come from factory (in terms of both function and form). It looks much better in real life - its hard to capture the stance of the car in photos - the front fitment is very aggressive with the big wide tyre and 3 degrees of negative camber.

Mr Tidy said:

Very nice OP!

I just missed out on a Japan Red one 6 miles away a month or so back as a replacement for my Imola Red 325ti.

But seeing as it is a daily that may not have been a bad thing!

Instead I got an E91 325i SE, which seems so much more relaxed - after all I've got my E86 for hooligan duty (and it has been fitted with a ZHP shifter, which is just lovely)!

E91s are very cool - I love a BMW touring. My mum has had an E90 325i for many years now and its a nice car.

A Z4MC will be my next car - absolutely love them.

[Mr Tidy]

vMPM said:

E91s are very cool - I love a BMW touring. My mum has had an E90 325i for many years now and its a nice car.

A Z4MC will be my next car - absolutely love them.

Great - if you can find a Z4MC in Imola Red just buy it!

My E86 is a 3.0Si (mainly because an M would be way out of budget for me) but for a bit of inspiration here it is! With E91 content too.