BMW M140 (at last!)
Discussion
MB140 said:
Replaced my battery last week (5 years old) with a varta one and then used bimmercode to recode it. Dead easy.
I had to do the battery on my other half’s 125 the other week. Was easy enough with Carly. Cotswold BMW weren’t too expensive (cheaper than Halfords). I bought one from Tayna which seems to have done the job. Lynch91 said:
OP lovely looking car.
I've been thinking about pulling the trigger on the carbon / alcantara trim for a while, which dealer did you get it from? And if you don't mind sharing, what was the cost?
Cheers. I've been thinking about pulling the trigger on the carbon / alcantara trim for a while, which dealer did you get it from? And if you don't mind sharing, what was the cost?
I bought it from Cotswold BMW who were the cheapest I could find. Will send you a PM with the price....still extortionate mind.
My very understanding other half indulged me in another day of car cleaning, this time it was the turn of my 140i for some love. Following the wet winter it was tar spot central. So....
Snowfoamed with Garage Therapy Decon shampoo
Washed with the decon shampoo
Dried
Chemical decontamination Trix followed up with BH Korrosol, rinsed
Washed again with the decon shampoo
Light claying to remove the last of the old wax and any stubborn tar and iron spots
Polished with Menzerna 2500 and a Hex Logic green pad
Polished again with Menzerna 380l and a Hex Logic white pad
Wiped over with G Techniq panel wipe
Two coats of Dodo Juice Supernatural polish
Tyres dressed with G Techniq T2
Glass cleaned with Car Pro Clarity
Interior vac’d
Leather cleaned Angle Wax Heaven for Leather
Plastics cleaned with Koch Kemie all surface cleaner
It’s not perfect, but the paint looks pretty good under the bright sun today.
Still need to do the arches and wheels properly but I didn’t order any G Techniq C5 ready for today, so I’ll save that fir another weekend.
I’m going to fit the rear Bilstein B8’s on Sunday whilst my other half pops out.
Snowfoamed with Garage Therapy Decon shampoo
Washed with the decon shampoo
Dried
Chemical decontamination Trix followed up with BH Korrosol, rinsed
Washed again with the decon shampoo
Light claying to remove the last of the old wax and any stubborn tar and iron spots
Polished with Menzerna 2500 and a Hex Logic green pad
Polished again with Menzerna 380l and a Hex Logic white pad
Wiped over with G Techniq panel wipe
Two coats of Dodo Juice Supernatural polish
Tyres dressed with G Techniq T2
Glass cleaned with Car Pro Clarity
Interior vac’d
Leather cleaned Angle Wax Heaven for Leather
Plastics cleaned with Koch Kemie all surface cleaner
It’s not perfect, but the paint looks pretty good under the bright sun today.
Still need to do the arches and wheels properly but I didn’t order any G Techniq C5 ready for today, so I’ll save that fir another weekend.
I’m going to fit the rear Bilstein B8’s on Sunday whilst my other half pops out.
The weather was nice today, so I cracked on with changing the rear dampers.
Took this opportunity to change to the slightly shorter M Performance bump stops too.
Crappy (and rather grubby OE damper)
Few bits removed
And fitted
These were easier to fit than the dampers on the E88 primarily because I didn’t have to take the boot apart, it’s loads easier with the top mounts being held in with three E-torx bolts. The pass through socket set was a decent investment. I gave the fear arches a quick clean whilst the wheels were off.
The car seems to think that it’ll need rear pads in 4,800 miles but looking at the pads there’s loads of life left in them yet. New pads in 25k seems a tad soon, so I need to keep an eye on them.
I took the car for a quick spin this afternoon and there seems to be a noticeable improvement; there is still some jiggle, particularly at 30mph or less, but there is a big improvement in comfort and ride quality as the speeds increase. The car felt much more controlled over a couple of bits of road locally that really upset the OE dampers; one a sharp ridge and the other a funny compression. In both cases it felt like the dampers were still trying to figure out what to do 50 yards down the road. Looking forward to sone longer drives to get a better reading.
Took this opportunity to change to the slightly shorter M Performance bump stops too.
Crappy (and rather grubby OE damper)
Few bits removed
And fitted
These were easier to fit than the dampers on the E88 primarily because I didn’t have to take the boot apart, it’s loads easier with the top mounts being held in with three E-torx bolts. The pass through socket set was a decent investment. I gave the fear arches a quick clean whilst the wheels were off.
The car seems to think that it’ll need rear pads in 4,800 miles but looking at the pads there’s loads of life left in them yet. New pads in 25k seems a tad soon, so I need to keep an eye on them.
I took the car for a quick spin this afternoon and there seems to be a noticeable improvement; there is still some jiggle, particularly at 30mph or less, but there is a big improvement in comfort and ride quality as the speeds increase. The car felt much more controlled over a couple of bits of road locally that really upset the OE dampers; one a sharp ridge and the other a funny compression. In both cases it felt like the dampers were still trying to figure out what to do 50 yards down the road. Looking forward to sone longer drives to get a better reading.
F1GTRUeno said:
What's the fuel economy like in real terms?
Debating an M135 or M140 as my next car but interested to see how much you get from a full tank.
Know that's an odd thing to think about with a 3.0 twin turbo but still.
Depends how you drive but I get around 28mpg on average. Will do 30+ on motorways and less than 20 in town.Debating an M135 or M140 as my next car but interested to see how much you get from a full tank.
Know that's an odd thing to think about with a 3.0 twin turbo but still.
F1GTRUeno said:
What's the fuel economy like in real terms?
Debating an M135 or M140 as my next car but interested to see how much you get from a full tank.
Know that's an odd thing to think about with a 3.0 twin turbo but still.
The can do almost 50 if you are super careful, but can dip into the teens, my M135i is saying 24 ish at the moment.Debating an M135 or M140 as my next car but interested to see how much you get from a full tank.
Know that's an odd thing to think about with a 3.0 twin turbo but still.
F1GTRUeno said:
What's the fuel economy like in real terms?
Debating an M135 or M140 as my next car but interested to see how much you get from a full tank.
Know that's an odd thing to think about with a 3.0 twin turbo but still.
My long term since June 19 is a smidge under 29mpg.Debating an M135 or M140 as my next car but interested to see how much you get from a full tank.
Know that's an odd thing to think about with a 3.0 twin turbo but still.
It was just under 31 before COVID when it was doing more commuting. If you’re sensible the economy can be pretty good but it plunges pretty quickly if you’re silly in it.
At the moment with lots of short journeys I’m getting about 260 miles to a tank whereas before it was 300 or so. The tank is small though.
cerb4.5lee said:
I'd love to be as handy as you are Sam with cars for sure. It looks so nice and I've really enjoyed seeing the improvements that you've made with it big time. 
Thanks Lee.I’m not all that handy to be honest and it’s only since this and her previous 1 series that I’ve really started to muck about with cars myself.
stevep944 said:
Is changing the dampers an easy diy job - top mounts all accessible from under the car or do you go inside the boot etc? Thinking of changing my stock ones to B6s.
Had mine 3mths now and getting 26 mpg with mostly short journeys, can't wait to get out for some longer runs!
It’s a piece of piss.Had mine 3mths now and getting 26 mpg with mostly short journeys, can't wait to get out for some longer runs!
All done via the arch; remove the plastic aero piece held on with four 10mm bolts, three E torx bolts at the top and then one 18mm bolt at the bottom. Compress the damper to give yourself room to wiggle it out. Pry off the plastic cap at the top to reveal the bolt holding the damper to the top mount. 16mm pass through socket and a 5mm allen key to get that off.
Fitting is the reverse although the Bilstein bolt with the dampers is 17mm.
My other half’s E88 required the entire boot to be dismantled to gain access. This was much easier.
So, today I actually used my car properly for the first time in ages...
With life feeling a tad more normal and some restrictions lifting myself and two friends organised a driving trip to North Wales. Quite a lot of super unleaded was used and lots of fun was had.
We met in Oswestry which meant a properly early morning start. Left the house before the sun was properly up.
Quick pit stop at Telford for a Maccy D’s breakfast and to fill up. Sunrise on the M54.
We met up just after seven in Oswestry; Matt’s Golf need topping up with oil before we headed to Wales.
First decent roads were in and around Dolgellau which were lots of fun with the limited traffic. From here we headed over to Llangynog. We passed a large group of guys in Lotus’s heading the other direction. These roads were even better, although there were some pretty savage pot holes to dodge.
Quick stop at the top for pictures.
We then headed to Bala and stopped for pictures etc.
Next up was two thirds of the Evo triangle. Great roads but ruined up average speed cameras, although I can see why they were installed. We stopped at Corwen and Denbigh for photos and arsing around. There might have been some silliness on a gravel car park. Maybe.
We picked up a LBB M2 who followed us to Snowdon. Seeing that in my rear view bumper certainly hasn’t quelled my want for one; it looked bloody imposing and the speed which he was able to carry through the corners was very impressive. The driver seemed quite happy with a bit of mild tail out action too.
Lost track a bit of where we went after Snowdon. The cafe we hoped would be open for a drink was closed so we headed off to find fuel and something to eat (we kept it classy and stopped at Greggs
).
The decision was made to head over to Barmouth for a final stop and brief chill before heading home.
The drive home was pretty hard going, especially Welshpool to Shrewsbury with numerous rolling road blocks refusing to bother the speed limit let alone leave gaps etc.
Overall was a fun trip out and it was nice to use my car properly. It behaved pretty well, with the B8’s on the rear offering a noticeable improvement over the stock dampers.
With life feeling a tad more normal and some restrictions lifting myself and two friends organised a driving trip to North Wales. Quite a lot of super unleaded was used and lots of fun was had.
We met in Oswestry which meant a properly early morning start. Left the house before the sun was properly up.
Quick pit stop at Telford for a Maccy D’s breakfast and to fill up. Sunrise on the M54.
We met up just after seven in Oswestry; Matt’s Golf need topping up with oil before we headed to Wales.
First decent roads were in and around Dolgellau which were lots of fun with the limited traffic. From here we headed over to Llangynog. We passed a large group of guys in Lotus’s heading the other direction. These roads were even better, although there were some pretty savage pot holes to dodge.
Quick stop at the top for pictures.
We then headed to Bala and stopped for pictures etc.
Next up was two thirds of the Evo triangle. Great roads but ruined up average speed cameras, although I can see why they were installed. We stopped at Corwen and Denbigh for photos and arsing around. There might have been some silliness on a gravel car park. Maybe.
We picked up a LBB M2 who followed us to Snowdon. Seeing that in my rear view bumper certainly hasn’t quelled my want for one; it looked bloody imposing and the speed which he was able to carry through the corners was very impressive. The driver seemed quite happy with a bit of mild tail out action too.
Lost track a bit of where we went after Snowdon. The cafe we hoped would be open for a drink was closed so we headed off to find fuel and something to eat (we kept it classy and stopped at Greggs
).The decision was made to head over to Barmouth for a final stop and brief chill before heading home.
The drive home was pretty hard going, especially Welshpool to Shrewsbury with numerous rolling road blocks refusing to bother the speed limit let alone leave gaps etc.
Overall was a fun trip out and it was nice to use my car properly. It behaved pretty well, with the B8’s on the rear offering a noticeable improvement over the stock dampers.
My car has developed the dreaded exhaust rattle on start up. Before it would only do it when it was properly cold (ie left over night) but it’s getting worse and now comes back if the car is left for a couple of hours. Joy.
Booked in for a few weeks time.
Seems to be a pretty common issue relating to a spring getting baggy.
Booked in for a few weeks time.
Seems to be a pretty common issue relating to a spring getting baggy.
Court_S said:
My car has developed the dreaded exhaust rattle on start up. Before it would only do it when it was properly cold (ie left over night) but it’s getting worse and now comes back if the car is left for a couple of hours. Joy.
Booked in for a few weeks time.
Seems to be a pretty common issue relating to a spring getting baggy.
You may find it just goes away of its own volition. I had a really bad rattle for about a week then for whatever reason it just stopped.Booked in for a few weeks time.
Seems to be a pretty common issue relating to a spring getting baggy.
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