RE: BMW M135i: PH Fleet

RE: BMW M135i: PH Fleet

Author
Discussion

nickfrog

20,874 posts

216 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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They are comparing a 6 year old M135i to a new M2. 18 month old M2s with 12k miles are now £35k. I am not convinced the depreciation of a modified (at retail prices) M135i will be that much less than the second hand M2's. But I know which I would choose.

Mick0

1 posts

100 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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£2700 seems a lot for an “engine management upgrade” How would a plug and play system compare? Saving over £2K

RossP

2,523 posts

282 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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When I can get the M Performance Power and Sound kit from BMW for my 440i GC which includes a full quite fancy cat-back exhaust AND a BMW warranted remap for less than £1,500 fitted, those Bird prices seem ridiculous.

I do fancy an LSD though...

neil-1323bolts

1,079 posts

105 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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fido said:
Jeez, not this again. If you were selling a package - how much would you charge? Once you add in the components + labour + 2 year warranty - is there £1k leftover? And that goes towards fixed costs (R&D, garage, business rates etc.) I quite like the fact they don't do an M2 hatchback as it might attract the sort of knob-ends who drive Golf R's (that's not to say all Golf R drivers are k...s!)


Edited by fido on Tuesday 27th February 15:33
Ha ha I've got a golf R , just trying to sell the thing , nobody wants it , all the knob ends already own one !

MadDog1962

890 posts

161 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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Very nice indeed.

However, I think I'd just stop at the LSD and upgraded suspension. In the real world on public roads an M135i has ample performance.

Keeping the engine 100% stock will maintain reliability.

Or maybe just shop for a good discount on a new M140i with the active suspension option (because you're getting close at that price and would have the peace of mind of a new car warranty).

p1stonhead

25,489 posts

166 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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neil-1323bolts said:
fido said:
Jeez, not this again. If you were selling a package - how much would you charge? Once you add in the components + labour + 2 year warranty - is there £1k leftover? And that goes towards fixed costs (R&D, garage, business rates etc.) I quite like the fact they don't do an M2 hatchback as it might attract the sort of knob-ends who drive Golf R's (that's not to say all Golf R drivers are k...s!)


Edited by fido on Tuesday 27th February 15:33
Ha ha I've got a golf R , just trying to sell the thing , nobody wants it , all the knob ends already own one !
Those cheap leases must have shifted SO many. There are thousands seemingly for sale. I see a few each day without fail on the roads

Chestrockwell

2,624 posts

156 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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p1stonhead said:
Those cheap leases must have shifted SO many. There are thousands seemingly for sale. I see a few each day without fail on the roads
I weren’t old enough in those days to make a judgement but I figure the M135i and Golf R craze must be like the Impreza’s an Evo’s back in the day, I mean people always go on about how Scoobys & Evo’s being driven by yobs.

5 years time when these cars dip below 10 k, there’s going to be a lot of those cars in ditches

Edited by Chestrockwell on Wednesday 28th February 01:20

Limpet

6,293 posts

160 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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I'd skip the power upgrade (not needed on public roads, IMO) and just go for the diff and suspension. With decent M135i's available at £14k (who cares about mileage within reason, it's getting a full suspension refresh anyway), you'd end up with one heck of a quick, entertaining road car for £18k. If you did feel the need for more speed, forget the crazy priced remap and get a JB4 which does it all (and other stuff as well) £2,200 cheaper.

Interesting project though.

Edited by Limpet on Wednesday 28th February 06:49

Scottie - NW

1,284 posts

232 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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Chestrockwell said:
p1stonhead said:
Those cheap leases must have shifted SO many. There are thousands seemingly for sale. I see a few each day without fail on the roads
I weren’t old enough in those days to make a judgement but I figure the M135i and Golf R craze must be like the Impreza’s an Evo’s back in the day, I mean people always go on about how Scoobys & Evo’s being driven by yobs.

5 years time when these cars dip below 10 k, there’s going to be a lot of those cars in ditches

Edited by Chestrockwell on Wednesday 28th February 01:20
With cheap finance and leasing nowadays you don't have to wait for the car to devalue to 10k etc, the monthly lease deals from new are not that different to loan amounts for a 10k car, so these people often have the cars from new now.

Monkey_boy

126 posts

183 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned other suspension components. I have a slightly modified 335i and one of the best improvements in suspension was to replace the flimsy hollow subframe bushings (which are shared with lesser models BTW) for solid rubber ones. Gets rid of the rear end floating and gives a planted feeling. If I was modifying an Mx35i it's be one of my first mods. Btw the M2 doesn't have rear subframe mounts as it is directly bolted to the chassis.

Edited by Monkey_boy on Wednesday 28th February 10:16

urquattroGus

1,845 posts

189 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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A JB4 box is more like £600 for the same power, and by the same means.

nickfrog

20,874 posts

216 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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Chestrockwell said:
I weren’t old enough in those days to make a judgement but I figure the M135i and Golf R craze must be like the Impreza’s an Evo’s back in the day, I mean people always go on about how Scoobys & Evo’s being driven by yobs.

5 years time when these cars dip below 10 k, there’s going to be a lot of those cars in ditches
I don't think so, but then again I am not very good at pigeon holing.

ECG1000

381 posts

141 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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Ryvita said:
"... added a short-shift kit and modified the clutch pedal to have a weightier action."

How, and more to the point, why would you want to make a clutch heavier? I can understand that if an uprated clutch (with uprated springs etc.) was put in to handle more power, that would lead to a heavier clutch pedal as a result but this sentence reads as if you've deliberately made it heavier as a desirable thing? Maybe I've just always had things with heavy clutches and not suffered the curse of a light clutch? confused



Edited by Ryvita on Tuesday 27th February 15:40
I'm guessing Prosser means removal of the clutch delay valve...? Saying "weightier action" was probably easier than having to go into explaining what CDV removal is....maybe.

Silverbullet767

10,680 posts

205 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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Monkey_boy said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned other suspension components. I have a slightly modified 335i and one of the best improvements in suspension was to replace the flimsy hollow subframe bushings (which are shared with lesser models BTW) for solid rubber ones. Gets rid of the rear end floating and gives a planted feeling. If I was modifying an Mx35i it's be one of my first mods. Btw the M2 doesn't have rear subframe mounts as it is directly bolted to the chassis.

Edited by Monkey_boy on Wednesday 28th February 10:16
What did you buy in the end? I'd be interested in those?

Ryvita

712 posts

209 months

Friday 2nd March 2018
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ECG1000 said:
I'm guessing Prosser means removal of the clutch delay valve...? Saying "weightier action" was probably easier than having to go into explaining what CDV removal is....maybe.
Maybe so. Didn't realise they still had CDVs, those horrible things. frown

BlimeyCharlie

901 posts

141 months

Friday 2nd March 2018
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Wow, £24k for a 2012 135i when you can buy a comparable 2012 M3 for £21k...

Either this article is an 'advertorial' for Birds, or someone has more money than sense...not only have you spent £6.5k on making the 135i go faster (etc etc etc pub talk waffle) but you'll probably lose that amount (again) come resale time. So these 'mods' will cost you £13k in a short space of time.

Meanwhile, that £21k M3 is still worth £21k, because it is a 'normal' M3!

Daft.

kellydk

62 posts

158 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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I've been following this PH Fleet with real interest. About 18 months ago I was on the verge of purchasing a 135 / 140i. In the end I went for a 340i as I got a good deal. What initially attracted me to the BMW in the first place was the numerous comparison tests. From memory it won every single Pistonheads head to head test. Imagine my surprise when this Fleet topic started and a significant number of faults were highlighted. I found it hard to believe that it won all those tests with the long list of issues.

Personally, I agree that the manual gearshift is disappointing and that the steering can feel numb but I'm not 100% convinced on the other issues. In reality unless you are driving everywhere on the edge of the cars capability a lot of the highlighted issues are not relevant. Although, this is my opinion. I don't test cars for a living and have spent limited time in the 135i.

Still, this has been interesting and in the future I may consider one of these and would look at some of the upgrades.

One final point, although I agree that the M2 looks great with its blistered arches and purposeful look the standard car including M235/240i guise doesn't look anything special. Very plain IMO. I would prefer the 1 series over it in looks alone.

Just my 10c

DukeDickson

4,721 posts

212 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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BlimeyCharlie said:
Wow, £24k for a 2012 135i when you can buy a comparable 2012 M3 for £21k...

Either this article is an 'advertorial' for Birds, or someone has more money than sense...not only have you spent £6.5k on making the 135i go faster (etc etc etc pub talk waffle) but you'll probably lose that amount (again) come resale time. So these 'mods' will cost you £13k in a short space of time.

Meanwhile, that £21k M3 is still worth £21k, because it is a 'normal' M3!

Daft.
Equally, you're within not too much of a brand new M140i. It may not have a few of the bits that work better 5-10% of the time, but new, more other bits and allegedly makes not a country mile away from the 2.7k chip job.

I know where my money would go.

garreth64

663 posts

220 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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RossP said:
When I can get the M Performance Power and Sound kit from BMW for my 440i GC which includes a full quite fancy cat-back exhaust AND a BMW warranted remap for less than £1,500 fitted, those Bird prices seem ridiculous.

I do fancy an LSD though...
Where is that from? With the limited research I've done, the cheapest I've seen mentioned is just under £1700 fitted. At £200 less the man maths justification could start to kick in.

3795mpower

484 posts

129 months

Tuesday 6th March 2018
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I chose an m135i over a 3 series or M3 for its shorter length,
Hatchback practicality and ability to duck under the radar when parked on
The street where I live.

Agreed it’s not a stunner but it’s purposeful & more practical than a 2 series.
I’m not a big fan of the standard 2 series either especially the plain rear end.

The cabin/dash is identical and if you find one with higher spec you won’t feel
Short changed for kit count.

I will not be upgrading the engine of mine, it doesn’t really need more power
Plus it’s still under manufacturer’s warranty.

The only thing I’m interested in is fitting an Lsd.

Never get tired of stepping into a hatchback with a full fat 6 pot up front.
It’s a great all rounder even as standard.