Discussion
HM-2 said:
It has, however, reinforced the need for a diff and possibly some suspension work.
Possibly asked before, but how much would it cost to procure and fit a BMW M-diff at a specialist? I just don't have much confidence in getting a dealer to fit one. I'm thinking of getting an M140 instead of an M2 if an LSD is on the cards.
The diff is about £2200-£2500 fitted from BMW (diff price itself fluctuates). You can get cheaper, either by getting a second hand diff and using a specialist to fit, or by going with an alternative such as Quaife or Wavetrac.
The BMW diff is sold as a whole unit, so fitting should be relatively cheap (drop the old one, put in the new one). You also get the old diff back so you can sell on etc.
Quaife and Wavetrac are much more involved as they're just the diff core and you need to use the original casing. IIRC you need to have the crownwheel cut off the old diff and welded onto the new one as well. So even though they're much cheaper for the part, I think the total cost is the same or even more. Flip side of that is they're helical gears rather than clutch packs so no servicing costs.
I don't think the BMW diff should be more than £150-200 fitting from a specialist. It's about that from BMW. My local dealer is Cotswold and they've got a reputation as one of the best suppliers/fitters of M-Performance bits, both in cost and quality of work.
The BMW diff is sold as a whole unit, so fitting should be relatively cheap (drop the old one, put in the new one). You also get the old diff back so you can sell on etc.
Quaife and Wavetrac are much more involved as they're just the diff core and you need to use the original casing. IIRC you need to have the crownwheel cut off the old diff and welded onto the new one as well. So even though they're much cheaper for the part, I think the total cost is the same or even more. Flip side of that is they're helical gears rather than clutch packs so no servicing costs.
I don't think the BMW diff should be more than £150-200 fitting from a specialist. It's about that from BMW. My local dealer is Cotswold and they've got a reputation as one of the best suppliers/fitters of M-Performance bits, both in cost and quality of work.
Edited by HM-2 on Tuesday 2nd April 12:07
Looks good.
I’ve got one on order (in white) which I’ll be collecting towards the end of June. I’ve added Pro Nav and heated seats, everything else is standard shadow edition.
I’ve got a wee list of mods, including the M3/3/4 paddles which look loads better. The new price from BMW is eye watering though so I’ll be looking for a second hand pair. First job for me though will be getting the mirror caps and canards wrapped in black because I don’t like the silver in white cars.
I’ve got one on order (in white) which I’ll be collecting towards the end of June. I’ve added Pro Nav and heated seats, everything else is standard shadow edition.
I’ve got a wee list of mods, including the M3/3/4 paddles which look loads better. The new price from BMW is eye watering though so I’ll be looking for a second hand pair. First job for me though will be getting the mirror caps and canards wrapped in black because I don’t like the silver in white cars.
Court_S said:
The new price from BMW is eye watering though so I’ll be looking for a second hand pair
I intermittently have eBay watch lists up for the paddles. They seem to crop up around £150-200 quite frequently, paying the ~£600 price straight from BMW is pure lunacy.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-M-Performance-M1-M2...
The OEM product reference number is 61317847610. I'd avoid the M5/M6 paddles if you can as they need modifying to fit.
I'm undecided whether I'll go for these or one of the aftermarket sets, but you seem to usually need an OEM set to fit the aftermarket extensions to- all of the extenders for the standard paddles look frankly terrible.
Edited by HM-2 on Tuesday 2nd April 14:07
HM-2 said:
I intermittently have eBay watch lists up for the paddles. They seem to crop up around £150-200 quite frequently, paying the ~£600 price straight from BMW is pure lunacy.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-M-Performance-M1-M2...
The OEM product reference number is 61317847610. I'd avoid the M5/M6 paddles if you can as they need modifying to fit.
I'm undecided whether I'll go for these or one of the aftermarket sets, but you seem to usually need an OEM set to fit the aftermarket extensions to- all of the extenders for the standard paddles look frankly terrible.
I was quoted £480 for the pair from Cotswold. Sod that. A chap on Baby BMW bought some Chinese copies which were supposedly really good quality. He just wanted the paddles so swapped over the OE electrics.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-M-Performance-M1-M2...
The OEM product reference number is 61317847610. I'd avoid the M5/M6 paddles if you can as they need modifying to fit.
I'm undecided whether I'll go for these or one of the aftermarket sets, but you seem to usually need an OEM set to fit the aftermarket extensions to- all of the extenders for the standard paddles look frankly terrible.
Edited by HM-2 on Tuesday 2nd April 14:07
The only aftermarket ones I’ve seen looked a bit big (Paddleshifterz).
Car's now reached 2 years old and passed 20K miles (actually, nearly 22k now thanks to a good chunk of work mileage in the last month or two). Nothing much else to report really.
I've been up near Ellesmere Port a few times recently with work, which is a pretty depressing slog of 50mph average speed camera induced sadness. It has, however, resulted in some pretty astonishing fuel economy:
Unfortunately I'm suffering from some pretty bad outer edge front tyre wear at the moment- to the point that canvas is almost showing on the N/S front despite there being a good 4mm of tread in the meat of the tyres. Standard MPSS (potentially the set the car was initially sold with, given they've done the best part of 16k in my ownership now) but for the last ~6 months I've been running a little bit of extra pressure at the front to try and prevent this exact thing from happening.
Car is in on for a proper 4-wheel alignment on Wednesday, I'm also trying the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s instead of the Pilot Sport 4 I was initially considering switching to- initial reviews have been very positive.
I've been up near Ellesmere Port a few times recently with work, which is a pretty depressing slog of 50mph average speed camera induced sadness. It has, however, resulted in some pretty astonishing fuel economy:
Unfortunately I'm suffering from some pretty bad outer edge front tyre wear at the moment- to the point that canvas is almost showing on the N/S front despite there being a good 4mm of tread in the meat of the tyres. Standard MPSS (potentially the set the car was initially sold with, given they've done the best part of 16k in my ownership now) but for the last ~6 months I've been running a little bit of extra pressure at the front to try and prevent this exact thing from happening.
Car is in on for a proper 4-wheel alignment on Wednesday, I'm also trying the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s instead of the Pilot Sport 4 I was initially considering switching to- initial reviews have been very positive.
Good to hear that it’s treating you well. Interesting to see that you’re looking at tyres other than Michelin. The Super Sports seem to make a fair old racket, particularly on the motorway.
I collected mine this week and am very happy, although I do plead to have an issue with the hands free - it’s woeful. The person I’m calling can’t hear me.
I collected mine this week and am very happy, although I do plead to have an issue with the hands free - it’s woeful. The person I’m calling can’t hear me.
I was going to go for a set of Pilot Sport 4's, but the Goodyears worked out cheaper and, though they're very new on the market and only now starting to get reviews, overall seem to have better feedback. I've had a lot of good things to say about the Eagle F1 range on previous cars. Don't get me wrong, the SuperSports are great when the weather's like it's been today, but they're mediocre at best in the rain we get 250 days of the year.
I've noticed my hand-free will occasionally have microphone related oddities as well, though usually if a call is being transferred to me or I'm dialling into a conference bridge or the like.
I've noticed my hand-free will occasionally have microphone related oddities as well, though usually if a call is being transferred to me or I'm dialling into a conference bridge or the like.
RammyMP said:
Wearing around the edges is normal for a BMW. Its happened on every one I’ve had.
This can be mitigated on the M140i by fitting M4 lower control arms which yield around -1.5 of camber.Fitting slightly stiffer sidewall tyres also helps, ie non-Michelin lol.
Yokohama 105s are the stiffest sidewall road tyres I have used.
RammyMP said:
Wearing around the edges is normal for a BMW. Its happened on every one I’ve had.
I've just changed the front tyres on the Merc and they lasted 51k miles and the rears are still fine. I mentioned this thread to my Mrs and we both said how bad BMW's are for chewing through tyres in comparison. The tyres always wear uneven on a BMW and its very frustrating when the rest of the tyre is still sound.
Edited by cerb4.5lee on Sunday 23 June 11:47
Had my Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s fitted by Wiltshire Mobile Tyres. Of course it's been glorious sunshine since, so I've not been able to observe the improved wet weather grip, but it feels great and road noise is massively reduced.
It also feels a bit "pointier" and sharper on the turn in, which I suspect is due to the firmer sidewalls (I'm also running 92Y instead of 88Y up front now). Have yet to give them a proper spanking but very impressed so far, especially at £440 fitted for four.
It also feels a bit "pointier" and sharper on the turn in, which I suspect is due to the firmer sidewalls (I'm also running 92Y instead of 88Y up front now). Have yet to give them a proper spanking but very impressed so far, especially at £440 fitted for four.
HM-2 said:
Had my Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s fitted by Wiltshire Mobile Tyres. Of course it's been glorious sunshine since, so I've not been able to observe the improved wet weather grip, but it feels great and road noise is massively reduced.
It also feels a bit "pointier" and sharper on the turn in, which I suspect is due to the firmer sidewalls (I'm also running 92Y instead of 88Y up front now). Have yet to give them a proper spanking but very impressed so far, especially at £440 fitted for four.
Good to hear. My PSS’s do seem to be making less racket after a few miles. Tyres for these do seem good value. The running costs do seem really reasonable given the performance. Tyres do seem a tad cheaper these days too; I remember paying not far off that for a pair of rear tyres fitted to my E90 330 via Black Circkes.It also feels a bit "pointier" and sharper on the turn in, which I suspect is due to the firmer sidewalls (I'm also running 92Y instead of 88Y up front now). Have yet to give them a proper spanking but very impressed so far, especially at £440 fitted for four.
I think I've mentioned it in here before, but IMO the tyre sizes the M140i runs as standard seem very small for the power output.
340bhp and 379lb ft through a 245-profile rear? The E46 M3 runs a 255 profile rear (and the CSL a 265 profile) despite being 100lb ft down and having a proper diff!
I suppose the advantage is that tyres are pretty reasonable...
340bhp and 379lb ft through a 245-profile rear? The E46 M3 runs a 255 profile rear (and the CSL a 265 profile) despite being 100lb ft down and having a proper diff!
I suppose the advantage is that tyres are pretty reasonable...
HM-2 said:
I think I've mentioned it in here before, but IMO the tyre sizes the M140i runs as standard seem very small for the power output.
340bhp and 379lb ft through a 245-profile rear? The E46 M3 runs a 255 profile rear (and the CSL a 265 profile) despite being 100lb ft down and having a proper diff!
I was surprised too that it only runs 245’s in the rear. My E46 325 and E90 330 both had 255’s despite being a long way down in BHO let aline torque. 340bhp and 379lb ft through a 245-profile rear? The E46 M3 runs a 255 profile rear (and the CSL a 265 profile) despite being 100lb ft down and having a proper diff!
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