My other half’s new daily; E88 BMW 125i cabriolet

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

LED interior bulbs because the stock halogen ones looked pants



The LED bulbs look loads better. The ones by the rear view mirror were sods to fit though.

Now they do look much nicer - Did you get that as a kit from somewhere? Any chance of a linky?

[Court_S]

B'stard Child said:

Now they do look much nicer - Did you get that as a kit from somewhere? Any chance of a linky?

They’re loads better. No idea if they’re any good, but I figured they were better than some random eBay specials. Here’s the link

https://www.lightec-autostyle.co.uk/bmw-1-series-w...

[cerb4.5lee]

Looking good. The new exhaust tips look ace.

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

B'stard Child said:

Now they do look much nicer - Did you get that as a kit from somewhere? Any chance of a linky?

They’re loads better. No idea if they’re any good, but I figured they were better than some random eBay specials. Here’s the link

https://www.lightec-autostyle.co.uk/bmw-1-series-w...

Thanks for that - I just didn't fancy removing them all to find the bulb type and then ordering from multiple sellers and was looking for a kit that had everything (which yours looked like)

I've ordered them now

[Court_S]

cerb4.5lee said:

Looking good. The new exhaust tips look ace.

Cheers Lee. It’s those silly little details that make a big difference (and sent to one’s wallet!).

[Court_S]

B'stard Child said:

Thanks for that - I just didn't fancy removing them all to find the bulb type and then ordering from multiple sellers and was looking for a kit that had everything (which yours looked like)

I've ordered them now

Yeah, it’s a kit. Loads easier. There was another kit I found but it was £53. It’d have to be pretty bloody special to justify the extra as far as I’m concerned.

[Levin]

Court_S said:

The LED bulbs look loads better. The ones by the rear view mirror were sods to fit though.

Do they throw any codes on? I replaced an interior bulb in my E90 on Thursday although with a standard bulb rather than the LED. I found pulling the original bulb out the tricky part, it seemed quite well bedded in on my car. I'd consider going LED in future given they'd only really need replaced the once.

[Court_S]

Levin said:

Do they throw any codes on? I replaced an interior bulb in my E90 on Thursday although with a standard bulb rather than the LED. I found pulling the original bulb out the tricky part, it seemed quite well bedded in on my car. I'd consider going LED in future given they'd only really need replaced the once.

No codes or error messages (at the mo at least).

[ArsE82]

Nice car. Looks very tidy and you’re clearly going to look after it.

We’ve an E82 and the ride is awful on the RFTs. It’s pleasing to hear that ditching them makes a big difference as I was planning to do just that!

[beambeam1]

B'stard Child said:

Court_S said:

B'stard Child said:

Now they do look much nicer - Did you get that as a kit from somewhere? Any chance of a linky?

They’re loads better. No idea if they’re any good, but I figured they were better than some random eBay specials. Here’s the link

https://www.lightec-autostyle.co.uk/bmw-1-series-w...

Thanks for that - I just didn't fancy removing them all to find the bulb type and then ordering from multiple sellers and was looking for a kit that had everything (which yours looked like)

I've ordered them now

Just done the same, been meaning to do this for a little while after my mate showed me night time comparison photos after fitting them to his Alfa. Really freshens things up. Great price too, thanks for the link OP. Latest round of updates are great, really liking the tips.

[B'stard Child]

ArsE82 said:

Nice car. Looks very tidy and you’re clearly going to look after it.

We’ve an E82 and the ride is awful on the RFTs. It’s pleasing to hear that ditching them makes a big difference as I was planning to do just that!

Non run flats transform the car

I went for Uniroyal RS3 but chose the XL version an they've been perfect

Carrying a space saver in the boot not so perfect but I'm not a huge fan of get you home goo

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

The old exhaust tips came off remarkably easily but were totally shagged.

They look better than mine were - I tried to clean them up and polish them but hit copper colour really easily

I've done mine in black gloss brake caliper paint and it seems to be standing up very well - yes I could have replaced them but it's a black car and I quite like the stealthy look

[Court_S]

ArsE82 said:

Nice car. Looks very tidy and you’re clearly going to look after it.

We’ve an E82 and the ride is awful on the RFTs. It’s pleasing to hear that ditching them makes a big difference as I was planning to do just that!

It’s night and day. I really couldn’t believe it.

I had an E90 330 and stuck with the run flats. The ride was hard and it thudded through pot holes etc but it never bothered me that much. But on this? Jesus it felt awful and sketchy. I honestly had started to think that I’d bought a bit of a turd. I then found out the track rods were seized and started to really dread what else I was going to find. But it turns out to be a total transformation despite the alignment being slightly off.

No idea why BMW insisted on using the damn things. Awful.

[Court_S]

B'stard Child said:

They look better than mine were - I tried to clean them up and polish them but hit copper colour really easily

I've done mine in black gloss brake caliper paint and it seems to be standing up very well - yes I could have replaced them but it's a black car and I quite like the stealthy look

I didn’t even bother trying to save them. The OE tips aren’t cheap but it seemed the better option that pissing around with these. There was loads of gravel and clippings between the exhaust and tips too.

Nice tips make quite a big difference.

[anomaly]

Interesting topic and a great transformation.

I went from a 120d coupe MSport with runflats to a 1M coupe with non-runflats. The M car actually rode WAY better!

[jonamv8]

Ex GF had one of these, used to enjoy driving it, handled really well - i real surprise to me at the time!!

Good work on the mods and cleaning it up

[Court_S]

anomaly said:

Interesting topic and a great transformation.

I went from a 120d coupe MSport with runflats to a 1M coupe with non-runflats. The M car actually rode WAY better!

I love the 1M Coupe. I’d have one in a heartbeat. Can only assume that the proper M suspension was quite a bit firmer.

jonamv8 said:

Ex GF had one of these, used to enjoy driving it, handled really well - i real surprise to me at the time!!

Good work on the mods and cleaning it up

I’ve not really had the chance to drive it properly what with lockdown and the stty weather. It seems good enough now though and I’m looking forward to some summer drives down to C&M with the roof down.

[Court_S]

But more faffing with the 125i this week.

Firstly, the black diffuser I bought from eBay isn’t as black as I’d hoped it would be (it’s not a deep, glossy black like the Reiger diffuser on my car) so I ordered some primer, gloss black paint and lacquer. It looks pretty good, certainly better from a foot or two away because there are a few marks that I couldn’t sand out. Guess it’s to be expected on a 12 year old bit of plastic.









Currently I’m just waiting for it to harden prior to giving it a going over with the DA polisher. Will hopefully fit it next week.

Next up, having drained the washer tank and replaced the water with BMW windscreen wash the washers stopped working. Joy.

I managed to get a brand new OE pump from eBay for £20 (I decided that I’d just replace it whilst the tank was out). This one was a little bugger to get out compared to the one on her 116 and when going so there was loads of cold wet silt and general road st that fell all over me when removing the arch liner. Even more joy. Then it rained a bit.



The filter was pretty sludged up so I wacked a new one in with the new pump. This washer tank went back in loads more easily than the one on the old 116, popped on some new wipers because the old ones were passed their best. Everything is back to working well, and the washer jets are stronger than they’ve been since we’ve had the car.

[cerb4.5lee]

I reckon that the diffuser will look great when it is on. It looks brill even from the photos. I love your attention to detail as always.

[Court_S]

cerb4.5lee said:

I reckon that the diffuser will look great when it is on. It looks brill even from the photos. I love your attention to detail as always.

Cheers Lee, I think it’ll look better than the cheapo black one I fitted.

Royal have literally just confirmed that the retrimmed handbrake and gaiter will be ready in the next few days. Looking forward to that arriving, should finish the interior off nicely.

Wheels have also been booked in for a refurb over half term.