RE: BMW M140i Finale says bye to rear-drive six-pot

[Peanus]

I had an M135i.

While not the prettiest thing and certainly quite flawed it was lovely to drive, great fun and the noise will never be replaced. Miss it a lot.

[kambites]

TheTyreAbuser said:

Although I know it likely won't happen, I hope the 2 series stays on a RWD platform.

It seems that the next generation of coupe (and probably cabriolet?) is going to stay RWD at least. The next one after that might well end up being electric anyway, in which case there's no real packaging penalty to RWD.

[cerb4.5lee]

DoubleD said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I hope the new 1 series is a little bit easier on the eyes than this one has been. It is a shame that the 6 cylinder RWD set up is going, and this car had a lot of fans on here.

Has there ever been a good looking 1 series?

No, it has always been a munter since it came out in 2004 for me. Looks are subjective though and I'm guessing plenty like the looks when you consider how many BMW have sold.

[craig1912]

SBN said:

After over a year of ownership in a M140i i have to agree, lovely engine... but very poor damping control. Im about to chop my in and oddly i have found a much more rewarding drive in all be it slower mk5 Golf Gti. I shall not miss almost being chucked off bumpy roads and the jarring back pain from every single hump, bump or crack in the road.

No Adaptive suspension then? Mines smoother than my previous 3 series and considerably less jarring than my wife’s JCW- in comfort mode anyway.

[cerb4.5lee]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Does "Dramatic" mean...thirsty/not much torque/not that quick!

I don't miss Bmw's N/A I6's at all, I'm in the minority with that though...and I prefer something actually happening below 6000rpm.

[Monty Python]

JackReacher said:

I think the manual may have been discontinued for emissions reasons, but it was also a low seller. Most people chose the point and squirt option.

I'm glad I went manual with my m240i, adds a bit more involvement but the auto is a good a good box.

You also can't have things like active cruise/automatic collision mitigation with manuals, and given the way the EuroNCAP is going, lacking these features will affect the rating.

[kambites]

What automatic box do BMW use in their transverse cars? Is it their own?

[KPB1973]

kambites said:

What automatic box do BMW use in their transverse cars? Is it their own?

I think the Mini uses a ZF, as do the likes of Volvo etc so I see no reason why BMW couldn't use one in a FWD or 4WD?

[kambites]

KPB1973 said:

kambites said:

What automatic box do BMW use in their transverse cars? Is it their own?

I think the Mini uses a ZF, as do the likes of Volvo etc so I see no reason why BMW couldn't use one in a FWD or 4WD?

Which one? Looking at the ZF site the only modern transverse torque convertor auto I can see is the 9-speed and I don't think the MINI uses that? Or is it a dual clutch 'box?

I suppose they might go for a dual clutch unit in the 1-series but I thought they were backing away from them in favour of torque convertor units.

[KPB1973]

kambites said:

Which one? Looking at the ZF site the only modern transverse torque convertor auto I can see is the 9-speed and I don't think the MINI uses that? Or is it a dual clutch 'box?

I suppose they might go for a dual clutch unit in the 1-series but I thought they were backing away from them in favour of torque convertor units.

My mistake - the mini uses an Aisin.

http://www.motoringfile.com/2014/09/17/exclusive-m...

[ITP]

cerb4.5lee said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Does "Dramatic" mean...thirsty/not much torque/not that quick!

I don't miss Bmw's N/A I6's at all, I'm in the minority with that though...and I prefer something actually happening below 6000rpm.

Must say, much as I like the idea of the m135/140 I think what may be a more fun road car would be a nice 2dr 125i coupe from the 08-13 era, the one with the 3.0 N52. A manual of course. With the remap to make it the same as the 130i. I think that would be plenty fast enough, and more fun using the revs rather than torque surfing of the turbo cars.
Less bork factor too and much less likely to be robbed as an extra benefit.

[xjay1337]

SOL111 said:

KPB1973 said:

Shame they've never properly sorted the chassis on the current one.

This completely.

Would have been a legendary car if BMW didn't engineer the car to have a less than sorted chassis.

I wanted to love mine but don't miss it at all, oddly enough.

Would be significantly more expensive if it was....!!!

It's a car around £30k........or at least the m135i was when it first came out.
You get an amazing engine, amazing gearbox, a nice interior, and excellent brakes - suspension is not the best, but it's not AWFUL...

[BFleming]

The 2 series Tourer and X2 models also use the GA8F22AW gearbox, which is deciphered as:
G: Transmission (!)
A: Automatic
8: 8 speed
F22: Internal designation of Aisin Warner
AW: Aisin Warner

Edited by BFleming on Monday 11th February 15:47

[kambites]

Cheers both. Reviews seem to imply that it's a decent box at least.

[J4CKO]

cerb4.5lee said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Does "Dramatic" mean...thirsty/not much torque/not that quick!

I don't miss Bmw's N/A I6's at all, I'm in the minority with that though...and I prefer something actually happening below 6000rpm.

I know what you mean, I found that just as they start getting going you then hit the rev limiter and think "Is that it" ?

Nice but seem a bit slow these days now we are addled by turbos, the turbo sixes rev quite nicely and have some torque low down.

[iSore]

daveco said:

Are manufacturers thinking long term here?

If every manufacturer essentially sells their car with very similar engines/drivetrains/transmissions, what will their USPs be?

How good it looks on Facebook.






The golden era of motoring (as I knew it) has been and gone. For me it was the late eighties when I was still early twenties and tatty old 911's were £3000. New cars were truly epic - the Sierra Cosworth, E30 M3, UR Quattro. Even stuff like 325i's and Cavalier SRI's were brisk and good fun. No speed cameras, no smart motorways crammed with cretins, half as many cars on the roads and thus half as many idiots.

I had a UR Quattro, an M3 Sport Evo, V12 Jaguars, a 928S and was lucky enough to have them in an era when driving fast was something you just did without the diabolical traffic or the mock outrage, running the gauntlet with traffic coppers and taking a 'nick' with good grace.

A mate of mine had an M135i and got caught speeding - 90 mph on an A road firing past a gaggle of clueless farts in order to just f*cking well get somewhere. He took a short ban and points. Is the M140i itself just out of place now?

No interest at all in the new front wheel drive thing. I'm sure it's quite good but a Golf GTi is about as fast as you need.....?

[aeropilot]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I can't see this being an issue in this case as the 1 Series hatches have never been sold in the USA

[KPB1973]

xjay1337 said:

Would be significantly more expensive if it was....!!!

It's a car around £30k........or at least the m135i was when it first came out.
You get an amazing engine, amazing gearbox, a nice interior, and excellent brakes - suspension is not the best, but it's not AWFUL...

I don't think there's anything cut-price about the suspension set up, it's the tuning of them where BMW took deliberate short cuts as not to step on the toes of its M-car siblings.

[TomScrut]

banny650 said:

"The car's main ingredients, that twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre engine" errr its a single twin scroll turbo haha

First thing I thought when I read it lol. Wouldn't be the first time somebody confused the terms in fairness!

[nunpuncher]

A car with challenging looks, poorly judged suspension, laughably rubbish steering and tech that always lacked a little behind its competitors. Fortunately the engine made up for all of that..... and now it's gone.