M3, 330d Touring, R53 S

[5mileofdeath]

Challo said:

Loved those R53's, mine was dark grey as well. Good thing is loads of companies make aftermarket kit for them you can easily spend serious money. Another good company to look at is https://orranje.co.uk/ they do good kit.

In terms of maintenance most thing will have already been covered in forums and on youtube which is handy. I also found this site useful https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/MINI/MIN... as they have pictures and good step by step instructions. Only issue you may find is access as everything is packed in, and a simple job can take a while as you to replace bits and pieces to get to it. For example suspension bushes normally means the sub-frame has to be dropped out which is a pain.

Yeah I've seen there is quite a few places where you can spend lots of money

Thats brilliant thank you! One of the things I forgot to put was oil and filter change, this is so simple to follow and gives all the info you need..

[MDifficult]

If you’re thinking of a gear knob - seriously consider going the Coolerworx route. It’s literally the best feature of mine and amazing on track

[5mileofdeath]

MDifficult said:

If you’re thinking of a gear knob - seriously consider going the Coolerworx route. It’s literally the best feature of mine and amazing on track

They do look amazing and I’m sure add to the experience, however the price is half of what I paid for the car

May look to incorporate one in the future though

[DanG355]

Not sure how I missed this thread up until now?! Great write up and glad you dodged some large bills with the warranty.

Interested to follow the thread - a 4 door E90 M3 is on the possible future car list. An R53 is a great fun little car with a large following and plenty of upgraded parts about, both new and second hand.

I hope the bloody weather improves and you get some good driving days in the M3 and some track time in the R53.

Bookmarked.

[5mileofdeath]

DanG355 said:

Not sure how I missed this thread up until now?! Great write up and glad you dodged some large bills with the warranty.

Interested to follow the thread - a 4 door E90 M3 is on the possible future car list. An R53 is a great fun little car with a large following and plenty of upgraded parts about, both new and second hand.

I hope the bloody weather improves and you get some good driving days in the M3 and some track time in the R53.

Bookmarked.

Thanks for the kinds words

If you can get an E90 soon you will be laughing, fantastic cars (with some drawbacks) but the V8 outweighs them all plus they are rarer than the Coupe & Vert variants so will rise in price over next few years.

Yeah me too! I looked at the weather forecast as was going to get out in the mini this weekend but looks like rain is set in for the next week! Crazy..

[5mileofdeath]

So bit if an update on the Mini..

Jacked it up and found the rear right coilover (where the noise is coming from) to be loose at the part where you lock the height section in place. So tightened it up but there is still a rattling noise as driving along and when going over the slightest imperfections in the road there is a knock.

Checked all under the car and there isn’t anything loose or out of place, so kinda stumped.. my next step is to raise the ride height slightly and see if that changes anything.

Anyway apart from the noise I managed to get it out for a little drive and the thing is like a go kart.. so much fun and the cross country pace is pretty good for a lil 1.6.

Can’t wait to get it on track.

Any suggestions around the knocking noise would be much appreciated?

[jordmcd151]

5mileofdeath said:

So bit if an update on the Mini..

Jacked it up and found the rear right coilover (where the noise is coming from) to be loose at the part where you lock the height section in place. So tightened it up but there is still a rattling noise as driving along and when going over the slightest imperfections in the road there is a knock.

Checked all under the car and there isn’t anything loose or out of place, so kinda stumped.. my next step is to raise the ride height slightly and see if that changes anything.

Anyway apart from the noise I managed to get it out for a little drive and the thing is like a go kart.. so much fun and the cross country pace is pretty good for a lil 1.6.

Can’t wait to get it on track.

Any suggestions around the knocking noise would be much appreciated?

Possibly a top mount for the shock but not sure if that would be ruled out when you said there was nothing loose. Havent had that issue on mine, sorry I cant be more help on that.

Track wise - the mini is great, I've done 4 days in mine (Donnington Park, Pembrey, Silverstone and Anglesey), the mods do grow with every track day though

[5mileofdeath]

So it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread and there have been a few changes to the garage since June and also a couple of days out (pic heavy)..

To be honest June and July was pretty uneventful. Main reason being work, travelling to London everyday and not getting home until late afternoon/evening meant I wasn’t getting any time to work on the Mini to resolve the issues it had and ultimately to get it on track.

When I did find time at weekends, due to the semi decent weather, it was mainly spent with the family, which is the right choice I guess

Conversation then started with the wife around the waste of money we currently had just sitting in the garage, so I made the snap decision to sell it.

A quick Facebook post on marketplace had lots of people interested and it wasn’t long before it had gone.



Bye R53

August was looking to follow suit, a few spirited drives in the M3 kept me in my happy place but I was yearning for a drive out with the ‘lads’ so I took it upon myself to organise a morning trip out.

I sorted the route, some stop off points for refreshments and an area for some photo ops..

Clean M3 ready for the drive



First stop was to fuel up a Tesco (back when there was no ‘shortages’)



A mix of my two groups I usually go out with meant we had a decent convoy with;

21.7 litres
42 Cylinders

And 2523 bhp



We set off steady but it wasn’t long before the pace begun to increase..

As we set off early morning we were making good time and enjoying some of Kent’s best twisties as we headed towards East Sussex.

Our first stop was Route 1066 Cafe.. a place for bikers really but we got some coffee, breakfast and even managed to get our own parking area.



Apologies in all my excitement of the day starting so well I forgot to take any pictures of the bikes.

After experiencing some decent roads in East Sussex we began making our way backs toward Kent via the Rye roads.

We finished off our route and went our separate ways, was a very enjoyable day!

A week later I had booked a trip to Brands Hatch for the family ‘Drive!’ day..



Unfortunately due to my work missed our 09:30 slot and ended up on the 10am one.. at the front.. I don’t know whether it was the flashing lights of the pace car annoying me or the fact we hit a top speed of 46mph but it wasn’t very enjoyable and even my kids were bored..

Probably because we were at the front we couldn’t get a decent gap to open the car up, every time I slowed a bit so did the pace car..

Anyway got a nice photo out of it I guess..



Next was some new tyres for the M3, as I ordered them online, I had to get them to the garage myself, obviously space is at a premium in the M3 so had to come up with a creative way of transporting them





As you can see the old ones were past their best



I have some fronts to go on soon but Michelin messed up my order so they arrived too late to have them fitted at same time as rears, so they are currently sitting in my garage..

Finally if you made it this far congratulations, you get to the main update..

So with the Mini gone, next up was the ULEZ issue.. I had been putting off thinking about it for months however the end of October loomed ever closer and I was starting to get itchy feet..

So the 330d had to go..



Again a Facebook Marketplace ad for the 330d was put up, I had 30 requests for more info or to ‘buy it now’ within 2 hours of putting it up.. crazy!

Bye 330d

Anyways a very long story cut very short it sold Saturday evening and I was due to buy another car Sunday, until just an hour after I sold the venerable E91 I received a call regarding the ‘new’ car, the owner stating it had been hit

Needless to say I was very annoyed, I now had to car hunt and I needed one ASAP.. loads of different things went through my head, buy something cheap just to get you through, use the train for work for a few weeks etc etc.. and then..

I saw a very mundane ad for something that stood out and deserved a more detailed look..

Well needless to say it took me all of 10 minutes talking to the owner to decide I wanted it..

And here it is, the new daily, my 2012 BMW M135i in Valencia Orange



To say I’m overwhelmed with the car is an understatement, it’s so clean inside and out and has some very decent modifications..

I will do a full write up on the car and my first impressions very soon but for now it’s just time to sit back, relax and enjoy

Thanks for reading

Edited by 5mileofdeath on Tuesday 28th September 20:54

Edited by 5mileofdeath on Tuesday 28th September 20:55

[5mileofdeath]

Unfortunately I haven’t had time to do a detailed write up on the new M-Lite yet, however I did manage to get a pic of the cars together today.

Love them both in their own way.

Part of the write up for the M135i will include some comparisons to the M3.. because why not.

[seabod91]

Brilliant write up.

[5mileofdeath]

seabod91 said:

Brilliant write up.

Thank you

[Court_S]

It'll be interesting to hear what you think of the two cars.

I was torn between an E09x M3 and an M140i when I opted out of the company car scheme in 2019. In the end I bottled the M3 and ordered an M140i based on cheaper running costs for similar performance. Ultimately in the end I was left a bit meh about it, which coincided with me using it less.

Talking to Ben at String Theory yesterday, it was interesting hearing his thoughts on how the change from M135i to M140i made the car a bit worse (and not just the over stuff rear springs, but the general disconnect in the way the whole car felt). I had stated out looking at a used M135i but got sucked into the discounts on the M140i. The N55 sounds nicer for sure, but perhaps the overall feel would have kept me engaged longer. Who knows.

[5mileofdeath]

Court_S said:

It'll be interesting to hear what you think of the two cars.

I was torn between an E09x M3 and an M140i when I opted out of the company car scheme in 2019. In the end I bottled the M3 and ordered an M140i based on cheaper running costs for similar performance. Ultimately in the end I was left a bit meh about it, which coincided with me using it less.

Talking to Ben at String Theory yesterday, it was interesting hearing his thoughts on how the change from M135i to M140i made the car a bit worse (and not just the over stuff rear springs, but the general disconnect in the way the whole car felt). I had stated out looking at a used M135i but got sucked into the discounts on the M140i. The N55 sounds nicer for sure, but perhaps the overall feel would have kept me engaged longer. Who knows.

Yeah I’ll definitely do a head to head with the 2 including some performance stats.. everyone loves a stat

The M135i is stage 2 so be interesting to see acceleration which is quicker, my money is on the M-Lite as the M3 is a lard ass

Initial impressions with the 135 is good, it’s really good with the day to day stuff but it’s got some character to it too which is what I always like with my cars.

[custardkid]

I had a new M135i LCI
Awesome daily car, and would have one again. After 3 yrs basically swopped it for a 10yr old e92 M3

The M3 is probably slower overall... But much more engaging.. and a keeper. Never again will they make an engine like the V8, possibly the highest revving na V8 this side of a Ferrari. It also handles better than many sports cars eg my old V8 Ftype (friend also says his M3 is better than his Aston Vantage)

But if you are commuting 5days a week rain or shine on boring roads you'll feel like you are wasting the M3. And the M135i is probably a better car to munch miles in
(Both manual cars)

Edited by custardkid on Friday 15th October 08:30

Edited by custardkid on Saturday 16th October 08:00

[5mileofdeath]

custardkid said:

I had a new M135i LCI
Awesome daily car, and would have one again. After 3 yrs basically swopped it for a 10yr old e92 M3

The M3 is probably slower overall... But much more engaging.. and a keeper. Never again will they make an engine like the V8, possibly the highest revving na V8 this side of a Ferrari. It also handles better than many sports cars eg my old V8 Ftype (friend also says his M3 is better than his Aston Vantage)

But if you are commuting 5days a week rain or shine on boring roads you'll feel like you are wasting the M3. And the M135i is probably a better car to much miles in
(Both manual cars)

Edited by custardkid on Friday 15th October 08:30

Yeah 100% correct. The M3 is a fantastic car and that engine.. amazing.. it can do the daily stuff really well but wasted tbh. So that’s where the M135i can really show it’s worth, I cruise up an down the M2 in it, into London and it’s effortless.

[acme]

5mileofdeath said:

Yeah 100% correct. The M3 is a fantastic car and that engine.. amazing.. it can do the daily stuff really well but wasted tbh. So that’s where the M135i can really show it’s worth, I cruise up an down the M2 in it, into London and it’s effortless.

This has been an interesting read, I was thinking about replacing my manual E92 M3 & Fiesta ST with a M140 but after a test drive felt very disappointed. Came to the conclusion there was very little M in it, but that may have been an unfair expectation.

[Court_S]

acme said:

This has been an interesting read, I was thinking about replacing my manual E92 M3 & Fiesta ST with a M140 but after a test drive felt very disappointed. Came to the conclusion there was very little M in it, but that may have been an unfair expectation.

As I said on your thread, there is no M in it other than name really. I was expecting a bit more from the M-lite sub brand but it’s basically load of marketing bks. It’s a 1 series with a big engine that they tried to make more exciting but they should have just stuck with the old 135i name.

I liked mine when I was using it lots, but I didn’t really enjoy it on the fun drives (obviously not an issue for the OP because he’s got the M3). Having chatted to Ben at String Theory loads about BMW’s etc this week, it was interesting to hear how much more fun he thought the 35i was over the 40i.

[5mileofdeath]

acme said:

This has been an interesting read, I was thinking about replacing my manual E92 M3 & Fiesta ST with a M140 but after a test drive felt very disappointed. Came to the conclusion there was very little M in it, but that may have been an unfair expectation.

I wouldn’t look to sell the M3 tbh as it’s a top car and appreciating in value.

As Court_S has said a good bit of marketing from BMW has tapped into the buy an ‘M’ but not an M running costs etc and to some that haven’t owned or driven M cars you would think wow quick car and feels great. But M cars have that something else.

It’s weird, I don’t even have to be going fast in the M3 yet I’m having more fun than going flat out in any of my non M cars that I’ve owned..

[5mileofdeath]

So a few updates on the cars.

M135i

Decided to use it for the family week away, it performed effortlessly and lugged all 4 of us around with our large amount of stuff with no issues at all.

Boot space is a lot less than the civic which done the same trip last year which made things interesting.

Whilst away I managed to lease another set of wheels to play around in.. I reckon this is the best 2 car garage on PH?



Other than that the M-lite has been on commuting duties.. last week consisted of 500 miles at 37mpg which isn’t half bad. There was probably 50 miles of SE London driving too and I’ve never been more thankful for stop start!



M3

Well it was MOT time again.. all passed with no advisories so very happy

Managed to finally get round to fitting the front tyres I purchased a month ago! Good job I did too as they were very worn




Whilst I was working near Dartford I found time to go and see Ryan at RDautomotive.. had a good chat with him about plans for next year with the car as I want to get it on track, so a few ‘mods’ are planned in nothing major at the moment but I’m sure it won’t be long until I’ve got the bug!

Ryan is very knowledgable around the E9X platform and I can see myself spending lots of time and money at this place.. was nice to see his clubsport spec M3 in the flesh too!



So that’s it at the moment, I’m going to try and get the cars cleaned tomorrow so I can get some photos and finally get round to doing the write up on the M135i, including a comparison to the M3..

Let’s hope the weather holds out!

[Court_S]

Not sure what I did wrong but I never saw more than 31mpg from my M140i!

Looking viewed to hearing your thoughts on the two cars.