RE: BMW M135i | Driven

[xjay1337]

Interesting I found a drive in the 350z was heavy and boring and slower than expected.

[ScoobyChris]

xjay1337 said:

Interesting I found a drive in the 350z was heavy and boring and slower than expected.

Likewise - sounded good though

Chris

[walsh515]

It looks like the love child of an A class and an X1

[cerb4.5lee]

ScoobyChris said:

xjay1337 said:

Interesting I found a drive in the 350z was heavy and boring and slower than expected.

Likewise - sounded good though

Chris

I don't agree with the boring bit...but I do remember the first time I drove the 350z and I thought that it felt heavy and not all that quick. I'd just jumped out of my Cerbera though so compared to that it was always going to feel heavy/slow.

The M135i(RWD) reminds me of my Z4M quite a bit...because the on paper ingredients are really good but the chassis/suspension ruin the package somewhat. It fascinates me that BMW have always nailed the 3 and 5 series, but they have dropped the ball so much with the Z4/1 series.

[xjay1337]

Sure out the box the chassis of the f2x lacks the final polish.

But you need to be pushing quite a bit to find a serious problem. It gets thrown around the chassis is bad, it's not. The damping is not optimised for uk roads. That's all. Many cars suffer and given the actual cost of the car come on it's not that bad.
Altho with a full weight car (ie passengers) it drives brilliantly :-)

And as I said if you spend £1200 on some coilovers and camber solution, you have a much better and more settled car. Don't see it as a particularly large cost on such a car to be honest.

And you can buy the LSD for around £1750 .

Both parts will be worth 75% of their initial value at resale. So you aren't losing a lot.

And those changes really do improve the handling and feel of the car..

Engine more than makes up for any small flaws in chassis as stock. Beats any of the generic 2.0 turbos out there.

Only 350z has a nicer sound but i don't view the 350z a rival to the m135/235 etc.

Sure it's not an m2 and look at difference in price. M135i started at 30k and m2 was 47k.... so there is your suspension and differential.


Certainly an m135 or m140 with decent suspension and an LSD is far better than a Golf R...and significantly less than equivalent m2...in my opinion the sweet spot!

Sure you will never get the "all weather" performance but who is giving it the beans in the wet really. And most of us don't venture out in the snow... myself i havea 2nd car for that. Pilot sport 4 tyres on mine and you have to be a bit of a plonker to get the esp light flickering in the wet .

I'm a huge Vw fan having 3 in a row...when buying my m135i it was either that or Golf R . I don't regret my decision for a moment.

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:51

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:52

[Court_S]

xjay1337 said:

Sure out the box the chassis of the f2x lacks the final polish.

But you need to be pushing quite a bit to find a serious problem. It gets thrown around the chassis is bad, it's not. The damping is not optimised for uk roads. That's all. Many cars suffer and given the actual cost of the car come on it's not that bad.
Altho with a full weight car (ie passengers) it drives brilliantly :-)

And as I said if you spend £1200 on some coilovers and camber solution, you have a much better and more settled car. Don't see it as a particularly large cost on such a car to be honest.

And you can buy the LSD for around £1750 .

Both parts will be worth 75% of their initial value at resale. So you aren't losing a lot.

And those changes really do improve the handling and feel of the car..

Engine more than makes up for any small flaws in chassis as stock. Beats any of the generic 2.0 turbos out there.

Only 350z has a nicer sound but i don't view the 350z a rival to the m135/235 etc.

Sure it's not an m2 and look at difference in price. M135i started at 30k and m2 was 47k.... so there is your suspension and differential.


Certainly an m135 or m140 with decent suspension and an LSD is far better than a Golf R...and significantly less than equivalent m2...in my opinion the sweet spot!

Sure you will never get the "all weather" performance but who is giving it the beans in the wet really. And most of us don't venture out in the snow... myself i havea 2nd car for that. Pilot sport 4 tyres on mine and you have to be a bit of a plonker to get the esp light flickering in the wet .

I'm a huge Vw fan having 3 in a row...when buying my m135i it was either that or Golf R . I don't regret my decision for a moment.

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:51

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:52

Pretty much my view; damping is flawed, but by the time it’s an issue you’re going much faster than the speed limits. I’m going to fit the underbody brace from the three door to mine to start with because it’s £150 and those that have popped it on reckon it makes a noticeable difference. I’m going to try some Eibach pro springs at some point too.

The LSD and Birds suspension gets very good reviews.

[KPB1973]

xjay1337 said:

Sure out the box the chassis of the f2x lacks the final polish.

But you need to be pushing quite a bit to find a serious problem. It gets thrown around the chassis is bad, it's not. The damping is not optimised for uk roads. That's all. Many cars suffer and given the actual cost of the car come on it's not that bad.
Altho with a full weight car (ie passengers) it drives brilliantly :-)

And as I said if you spend £1200 on some coilovers and camber solution, you have a much better and more settled car. Don't see it as a particularly large cost on such a car to be honest.

And you can buy the LSD for around £1750 .

Both parts will be worth 75% of their initial value at resale. So you aren't losing a lot.

And those changes really do improve the handling and feel of the car..

Engine more than makes up for any small flaws in chassis as stock. Beats any of the generic 2.0 turbos out there.

Only 350z has a nicer sound but i don't view the 350z a rival to the m135/235 etc.

Sure it's not an m2 and look at difference in price. M135i started at 30k and m2 was 47k.... so there is your suspension and differential.


Certainly an m135 or m140 with decent suspension and an LSD is far better than a Golf R...and significantly less than equivalent m2...in my opinion the sweet spot!

Sure you will never get the "all weather" performance but who is giving it the beans in the wet really. And most of us don't venture out in the snow... myself i havea 2nd car for that. Pilot sport 4 tyres on mine and you have to be a bit of a plonker to get the esp light flickering in the wet .

I'm a huge Vw fan having 3 in a row...when buying my m135i it was either that or Golf R . I don't regret my decision for a moment.

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:51

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:52

I'm glad you like your car but that's a very subjective and contradictory post.

[cerb4.5lee]

Much like the Z4M I had you can fix the flaws with the suspension using aftermarket stuff but I would have expected BMW to get it right out of the box. For example my E92 M3 was spot on from the factory and that is what I would expect from a performance car.

Was my Z4M completely terrible...no it wasn't but when you've had other cars to compare it to you notice its flaws much more. I'm sure that the M135i/M140i are fine generally, but like the Z4M you shouldn't have to throw money at the suspension to get them completely right imo.

[Court_S]

cerb4.5lee said:

Much like the Z4M I had you can fix the flaws with the suspension using aftermarket stuff but I would have expected BMW to get it right out of the box. For example my E92 M3 was spot on from the factory and that is what I would expect from a performance car.

Was my Z4M completely terrible...no it wasn't but when you've had other cars to compare it to you notice its flaws much more. I'm sure that the M135i/M140i are fine generally, but like the Z4M you shouldn't have to throw money at the suspension to get them completely right imo.

The only thing I’d say is that they’re not really that expensive, mine was less than £30k. I wonder how much headroom BMW built in so they didn’t piss in the M2’s chips? Certainly in a straight line there’s not too much in it.

The Z4M should have been spot on thought being a halo car.

[J4CKO]

xjay1337 said:

Sure out the box the chassis of the f2x lacks the final polish.

But you need to be pushing quite a bit to find a serious problem. It gets thrown around the chassis is bad, it's not. The damping is not optimised for uk roads. That's all. Many cars suffer and given the actual cost of the car come on it's not that bad.
Altho with a full weight car (ie passengers) it drives brilliantly :-)

And as I said if you spend £1200 on some coilovers and camber solution, you have a much better and more settled car. Don't see it as a particularly large cost on such a car to be honest.

And you can buy the LSD for around £1750 .

Both parts will be worth 75% of their initial value at resale. So you aren't losing a lot.

And those changes really do improve the handling and feel of the car..

Engine more than makes up for any small flaws in chassis as stock. Beats any of the generic 2.0 turbos out there.

Only 350z has a nicer sound but i don't view the 350z a rival to the m135/235 etc.

Sure it's not an m2 and look at difference in price. M135i started at 30k and m2 was 47k.... so there is your suspension and differential.


Certainly an m135 or m140 with decent suspension and an LSD is far better than a Golf R...and significantly less than equivalent m2...in my opinion the sweet spot!

Sure you will never get the "all weather" performance but who is giving it the beans in the wet really. And most of us don't venture out in the snow... myself i havea 2nd car for that. Pilot sport 4 tyres on mine and you have to be a bit of a plonker to get the esp light flickering in the wet .

I'm a huge Vw fan having 3 in a row...when buying my m135i it was either that or Golf R . I don't regret my decision for a moment.

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:51

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:52

Maybe I am expecting a bit much of it, and its partly down to being an auto, a very good auto as they go but it just removes that level of control.

350Z was a lot slower, but it was manual, the steering was better and could fling it about a bit easier, dont want another though.

My Sons Fiesta ST is more fun but a bit too jiggly, TT 225 was way better than its reputation had me beleive.

Shouldn't have to modify it to make it acceptable, it should be to improve and I am not getting into that, might just buy something else that is a more balanced package as standard, fair enough if you want to mod it but I am not going to as the steering will still be woolly and it will still be an auto

Just spoke to my boss who is a car fiend, he is sending his Shadow Edition back early as has never gelled with it.


Might flog it and go through a few others.

[xjay1337]

Court_S said:

Pretty much my view; damping is flawed, but by the time it’s an issue you’re going much faster than the speed limits. I’m going to fit the underbody brace from the three door to mine to start with because it’s £150 and those that have popped it on reckon it makes a noticeable difference. I’m going to try some Eibach pro springs at some point too.

The LSD and Birds suspension gets very good reviews.

Birds stuff is a total piss take with the price.

If you want the LSD buy the BMW one.. it's around £2k and you get to keep your standard diff!

[xjay1337]

J4CKO said:

Shouldn't have to modify it to make it acceptable, it should be to improve and I am not getting into that, might just buy something else that is a more balanced package as standard, fair enough if you want to mod it but I am not going to as the steering will still be woolly and it will still be an auto

I can understand that point of view.
But manufacturers have a budget to develop a car and also it must be developed to be suitable for as wide of a range of people as possible.
So if you want to make it a better drivers car (at perhaps the expense of ride comfort) then you will need to modify.

As I said honestly i don't think it's a bad car from the box, certainly not as bad as some of the echo-chamber journalists would lead you to believe.... just not as well optimised for UK roads as it could be. But to me it didn't detract from the overall fun of the car, but was something I wanted to improve hence why I put B14 coilovers on.

But if you don't want to take the car in the direction and you want it more "right" out of the box then totally understand why you'd want to buy a more balanced package. The only thing comparable to the M135i is a Golf GTI/R or AMG A45 , none of which have charismatic engines or the RWD but are all great cars in their own right.

WIth the extra camber up front the steering is a lot better. It's 2 turns lock to lock so would have never called it wooly, sure it's not as good as the older steering in the E series cars but it's not awful. The downside of making the steering more feelsome is that it now is a bh in lorry tracks and road cambers wanting to follow them so you need to be alert on those if you are driving at speed , I suspect this is why they dialled out the last 10% of feel.

I always prefer a manual on a track or on an awesome drive in the German mountains, but so far I've been doing all sorts of driving in mine (26k in 1 year all around Europe and 7 track days!) and have never once wished for the manual.

Infact I drove a manual before buying and hated it. Pedal position is rubbish and the gearbox itself is worse than that of a late 90's VW........notchy and clunky! The engine is so good but the manual gearbox is so bad so the auto is a better gearbox, more of the time if that makes sense! Just my opinion

[nunpuncher]

xjay1337 said:

Sure you will never get the "all weather" performance but who is giving it the beans in the wet really?

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 30th September 23:52

R, S3, RS3, Focus RS, A35, A45 and new M135i owners?

[BricktopST205]

All those BMW adverts in mid 00's about Rear wheel drive is the only way.

https://youtu.be/Uk0cYi1scEw

https://youtu.be/WkSZkWFtTCY

[Court_S]

xjay1337 said:

Birds stuff is a total piss take with the price.

If you want the LSD buy the BMW one.. it's around £2k and you get to keep your standard diff!

It’s too rich for me, hence wanting to try some of the cheaper alternatives first especially as I’m pretty happy with my car as it is. I do t find it anywhere near as made as the internet makes out.

[cerb4.5lee]

BricktopST205 said:

All those BMW adverts in mid 00's about Rear wheel drive is the only way.

https://youtu.be/Uk0cYi1scEw

That advert really makes me miss the two E90 3 series I had!

[Court_S]

Saw the new car in the flesh today...

It seems better proportioning the flesh than in videos and pictures, but it’s s bit fussy yet bland at the same time. The pale blue (name escapes me) doesn’t suit it because it accentuates the silly grille. The interior is nicer, new seats are lovely but it didn’t seem the revolution that the early reviews make it out to be. Still a no from me.

Saw some of the boggo ones too....my god, they’re awful. Not sure how BMW will sell any of them against a lower spec Golf or a posher Focus. They’re totally dreary and look dire.

[LocoBlade]

Crafty_ said:

One presumes the M2 will die with the 2 series going FWD ? that was going to be my sucession plan, not now. Used M2 comp maybe.

Surprised nobody else picked this up but good news, the next 2 Series is going to be based on a shortened G20 (3 series) platform so will stay RWD, hopefully meaning new M240i's with the B58 followed by a new M2.

[J4CKO]

xjay1337 said:

J4CKO said:

Shouldn't have to modify it to make it acceptable, it should be to improve and I am not getting into that, might just buy something else that is a more balanced package as standard, fair enough if you want to mod it but I am not going to as the steering will still be woolly and it will still be an auto

I can understand that point of view.
But manufacturers have a budget to develop a car and also it must be developed to be suitable for as wide of a range of people as possible.
So if you want to make it a better drivers car (at perhaps the expense of ride comfort) then you will need to modify.

As I said honestly i don't think it's a bad car from the box, certainly not as bad as some of the echo-chamber journalists would lead you to believe.... just not as well optimised for UK roads as it could be. But to me it didn't detract from the overall fun of the car, but was something I wanted to improve hence why I put B14 coilovers on.

But if you don't want to take the car in the direction and you want it more "right" out of the box then totally understand why you'd want to buy a more balanced package. The only thing comparable to the M135i is a Golf GTI/R or AMG A45 , none of which have charismatic engines or the RWD but are all great cars in their own right.

WIth the extra camber up front the steering is a lot better. It's 2 turns lock to lock so would have never called it wooly, sure it's not as good as the older steering in the E series cars but it's not awful. The downside of making the steering more feelsome is that it now is a bh in lorry tracks and road cambers wanting to follow them so you need to be alert on those if you are driving at speed , I suspect this is why they dialled out the last 10% of feel.

I always prefer a manual on a track or on an awesome drive in the German mountains, but so far I've been doing all sorts of driving in mine (26k in 1 year all around Europe and 7 track days!) and have never once wished for the manual.

Infact I drove a manual before buying and hated it. Pedal position is rubbish and the gearbox itself is worse than that of a late 90's VW........notchy and clunky! The engine is so good but the manual gearbox is so bad so the auto is a better gearbox, more of the time if that makes sense! Just my opinion

I just find it like swigging a beer and realising its 3 percent, smoking a Silk Cut thinking it was a Benson and Hedges, not for the lack of potency, it goes well enough, just feel I dont get the interaction I expected given the reviews.

As a daily its great, great in traffic, easy to drive, park and live with, but when the road opens up it isn't that much fun to make progress in. Understand on the gearbox, its a brilliant auto, not driven a manual but I think that is a big part of my problem.

I am not against modification but not sure if I would be left with more money in the car (appreciate you can return to standard) and still not really be all that into it, guess would need to drive a modded one to see if I get the desired effect.

My test of a great car is, if you get out after a spirited drive, whether you feel inclined to pat it not that I actually do, just whether I feel that, sometimes get a hint of it but not that much, the Hyundai I30N I drove felt like a package that all worked together, the BMW does to a point but it feels like "that will do".

Its the trouble with cars, you buy them based on reviews and a short test drive, then its so difficult to change and it gets expensive, keep looking at aging MX5's, need to go and get one and see if that hits the spot and passes the Pat test and then not focus on the BMW for that side of life and appreciate its many other benefits as a swift, comfortable daily with an interesting and now retro configuration.

[cerb4.5lee]

J4CKO said:

As a daily its great, great in traffic, easy to drive, park and live with, but when the road opens up it isn't that much fun to make progress in. Understand on the gearbox, its a brilliant auto, not driven a manual but I think that is a big part of my problem.

Its the trouble with cars, you buy them based on reviews and a short test drive, then its so difficult to change and it gets expensive, keep looking at aging MX5's, need to go and get one and see if that hits the spot and passes the Pat test and then not focus on the BMW for that side of life and appreciate its many other benefits as a swift, comfortable daily with an interesting and now retro configuration.

I know that we've discussed this before but I think that you and me are very similar when it comes to auto gearboxes. We can appreciate them for what they are(easy and very effective) but they lack the extra layer that you get from a traditional three pedal manual for sure.

I fell into the trap of the hype that surrounds a car with my E92 M3(always wanted one/loved the test drive) I read all the reviews etc. But when I actually lived with it day to day I ended up disliking it, and you can never know how you will feel unless you live with a car.

In the M3's defence I did swap a daily and a weekend car for it and I hoped that it would be a do it all car...so it had very big shoes to fill and for me it just didn't fill them.