Out with the new and in with the old; my 130i LE
Discussion
Court_S said:
I’ve also been talking to Haywood & Scott about a custom backbox. I can’t find an N55 135i box let alone the Performance one, so that might be my only option for a bit more volume.
MrTouring used them for both his M5 Touring and his recent Z3M build. Swears by them. Think they'll make you happy 
MDifficult said:
MrTouring used them for both his M5 Touring and his recent Z3M build. Swears by them. Think they'll make you happy
That’s good to know. I just need to work out the logistics because Essex is a fair old mission away. Plus they’ll need the car for a few days to do a custom backbox. Their stuff I’ve heard on E39 M5’s sounds fab.
josh-cg608 said:
Amazing! Serious 130 envy. Need lemon leather in my lemans blue now!
Thanks, it’s getting there. Bodywork still looks better in pictures than yours close but I’ll really tackle it in the spring.
Lemon seats go really well with LMB. That was the colour combo of my old E90 330.
Court_S said:
josh-cg608 said:
Amazing! Serious 130 envy. Need lemon leather in my lemans blue now!
Thanks, it’s getting there. Bodywork still looks better in pictures than yours close but I’ll really tackle it in the spring.
Lemon seats go really well with LMB. That was the colour combo of my old E90 330.
Potentially le wheels, and i think a m perf gearknob.
Im thinking about a bilstein b12 kit aswell as 3 shocks are original i think
josh-cg608 said:
Ahh mate thats my dream spec. Ill always keep an eye out for a lemon 5 door interior for mine.
Potentially le wheels, and i think a m perf gearknob.
Im thinking about a bilstein b12 kit aswell as 3 shocks are original i think
The performance gear knobs are available for about £44 on eBay. I’d snap one up before they vanish. The gaiters are no more now so you’ll need to get some from someone like Royal Steering Wheels. Potentially le wheels, and i think a m perf gearknob.
Im thinking about a bilstein b12 kit aswell as 3 shocks are original i think
Court_S said:
josh-cg608 said:
Ahh mate thats my dream spec. Ill always keep an eye out for a lemon 5 door interior for mine.
Potentially le wheels, and i think a m perf gearknob.
Im thinking about a bilstein b12 kit aswell as 3 shocks are original i think
The performance gear knobs are available for about £44 on eBay. I’d snap one up before they vanish. The gaiters are no more now so you’ll need to get some from someone like Royal Steering Wheels. Potentially le wheels, and i think a m perf gearknob.
Im thinking about a bilstein b12 kit aswell as 3 shocks are original i think
beambeam1 said:
Gaiter is eBay item no: 183533831526 and the gearknob is 253399325546
That gaiter is for the E9x. It’s a different shape to the E8x cars which are pretty much triangular. I searched for ages for a genuine jobbie with zero luck. The closest I came were some LHD versions. So, I managed to get my Integrated Automotive CarPlay solution fitted over the weekend. I’m now an covert at removing the glovebox! 
My car spent a large amount of time looking like this…
IA instructions are based on an E90/60 where there is a void above the glove box that they recommend s a hone for the box. I enthusiastically tore into removing the glovebox assuming that the E8x would be the same….it’s not. Unfortunately the rather large airbag fills the space. Tips. Back to the drawing board. The back up plan was to install the the box between the OE head unit and the passenger footwell. In here
gallery pic upload
First of all though, it was time to plug it all in.
That’s a lot of extra wires to shove / hide in a fairly congested dash area. That was a problem for later. Plugged it in, fired it up and connected my phone. CarPlay woke up. Happy days. But, no sound. s
t. Frantically plugged, unplugged and checked connections. Still no joy.
Dropped the guys at IA an email. Turns out that everything that is part of the MOST loop needs to be plugged in for it to work. This includes the two connections to bits in the passenger footwell. Plugged them in and I then had sound. Phew, tantrum over.
Now that I knew it worked it was time to hide the wires etc and get the car back together. More fun. Remember my ideal location to hide the box? Well it wedged in here nicely. Result or so I thought…
Went to put the glovebox back and the box was fouling the lower trim. I tried a small notch in the plastic
But it still didn’t create enough room. I decided that I didn’t want to hack the dash up too much so it was time for some more head scratching (and swearing). By this point it was getting pretty warm and muggy, especially inside the car. Joy.
In the end I decide that the easiest place to store it would be in the glovebox (it’s empty other than the service book). I made a small opening in the top of the glovebox to feed the cables through and I started pulling them through from behind the head unit.
With all of the cables pulled through, I decided to refit the OE head unit. With a load of extra wires to hide / shove out of the way I thought that it would be easier with the glovebox removed. This proved a good idea because there was a small void below the CCC unit that I was able to manoeuvre the big connectors into. With a bit of jiggery-pokery I managed to get the CCC unit back in place.
It was now bloody roasting in the car so I was getting a bit grumpy so stopped taking photos.
I wanted to use some 3M tape to stick the box to the roof of the glovebox nicely out of the way, but the cables stop the glovebox closing so for now it’s just resting in there. The plan this week is to cut a notch in the back of the glovebox with a dremel or something so it clears the cables. I’ll then get it stuck to the roof and tidy the loose cables up.I’ve had to install an aftermarket speaker for phone calls and voice commands because apparently the CAN BUS sts itself if you try and use the OE microphone with after market kits. Not ideal, but it’s installed at the top of the drivers side A pillar trim so not really noticeable. I thought it looked cack by the rear view mirror.
The box plugs into the cars AUX port, so I’ve routed that cable through the centre console and drilled a hole in the trim piece that houses the USB / AUX connections. Once the dummy cigarette lighter is plugged in it’s barely noticeable.
But, it does work and I know have CarPlay that is more than usable.
The aspect ratio is slightly off so I need to try one of the three other settings on the DIP switches. By this point I was very hot and had had enough.
The biggest drawback is the CCC is crap and the resolution is old school but you’ve got to remember the car is 14 years old. My phone screens from 2007 were hilarious compared to a modern one. If I remember correctly the CCC system first appeared in the E60, so 2003. The tech is nearly 20 years old, no wonder the screen is crap. It’s obviously a massive step back from the pro nav in my 140 but it’s fine. This is better than the CCC system and gives me access to Waze etc for semi sensible money. I looked into a CIC upgrade because you get a bigger screen but it’s a lot of money.
So, overall am I happy? Yeah. It’s far from perfect because of the screen resolution but it modernises the car and I quickly got used to it today. I’d rather this than my phone on the dash. A bit more fettling this week to tidy up the install and the aspect ratio and I’ll call it done.
My car spent a large amount of time looking like this…
IA instructions are based on an E90/60 where there is a void above the glove box that they recommend s a hone for the box. I enthusiastically tore into removing the glovebox assuming that the E8x would be the same….it’s not. Unfortunately the rather large airbag fills the space. Tips. Back to the drawing board. The back up plan was to install the the box between the OE head unit and the passenger footwell. In here
gallery pic uploadFirst of all though, it was time to plug it all in.
That’s a lot of extra wires to shove / hide in a fairly congested dash area. That was a problem for later. Plugged it in, fired it up and connected my phone. CarPlay woke up. Happy days. But, no sound. s
t. Frantically plugged, unplugged and checked connections. Still no joy. Dropped the guys at IA an email. Turns out that everything that is part of the MOST loop needs to be plugged in for it to work. This includes the two connections to bits in the passenger footwell. Plugged them in and I then had sound. Phew, tantrum over.
Now that I knew it worked it was time to hide the wires etc and get the car back together. More fun. Remember my ideal location to hide the box? Well it wedged in here nicely. Result or so I thought…
Went to put the glovebox back and the box was fouling the lower trim. I tried a small notch in the plastic
But it still didn’t create enough room. I decided that I didn’t want to hack the dash up too much so it was time for some more head scratching (and swearing). By this point it was getting pretty warm and muggy, especially inside the car. Joy.
In the end I decide that the easiest place to store it would be in the glovebox (it’s empty other than the service book). I made a small opening in the top of the glovebox to feed the cables through and I started pulling them through from behind the head unit.
With all of the cables pulled through, I decided to refit the OE head unit. With a load of extra wires to hide / shove out of the way I thought that it would be easier with the glovebox removed. This proved a good idea because there was a small void below the CCC unit that I was able to manoeuvre the big connectors into. With a bit of jiggery-pokery I managed to get the CCC unit back in place.
It was now bloody roasting in the car so I was getting a bit grumpy so stopped taking photos.
I wanted to use some 3M tape to stick the box to the roof of the glovebox nicely out of the way, but the cables stop the glovebox closing so for now it’s just resting in there. The plan this week is to cut a notch in the back of the glovebox with a dremel or something so it clears the cables. I’ll then get it stuck to the roof and tidy the loose cables up.I’ve had to install an aftermarket speaker for phone calls and voice commands because apparently the CAN BUS s
ts itself if you try and use the OE microphone with after market kits. Not ideal, but it’s installed at the top of the drivers side A pillar trim so not really noticeable. I thought it looked cack by the rear view mirror.The box plugs into the cars AUX port, so I’ve routed that cable through the centre console and drilled a hole in the trim piece that houses the USB / AUX connections. Once the dummy cigarette lighter is plugged in it’s barely noticeable.
But, it does work and I know have CarPlay that is more than usable.
The aspect ratio is slightly off so I need to try one of the three other settings on the DIP switches. By this point I was very hot and had had enough.
The biggest drawback is the CCC is crap and the resolution is old school but you’ve got to remember the car is 14 years old. My phone screens from 2007 were hilarious compared to a modern one. If I remember correctly the CCC system first appeared in the E60, so 2003. The tech is nearly 20 years old, no wonder the screen is crap. It’s obviously a massive step back from the pro nav in my 140 but it’s fine. This is better than the CCC system and gives me access to Waze etc for semi sensible money. I looked into a CIC upgrade because you get a bigger screen but it’s a lot of money.
So, overall am I happy? Yeah. It’s far from perfect because of the screen resolution but it modernises the car and I quickly got used to it today. I’d rather this than my phone on the dash. A bit more fettling this week to tidy up the install and the aspect ratio and I’ll call it done.
I tidied the glovebox up a bit today; no need to cut a notch in the back of the moveable lower piece. I just needed to engage brain and tuck the cables away neatly. The box has been stuck to the roof the the glove box and the unused cables for cameras etc tucked away and taped to stop rattles.
From the front seats the box isn’t noticeable at all. I’ve taped the USB connector to a place to access it for software updates etc.
The AUX connector is neat enough.
There is a slight software glitch that affects the set up menu that it’s behind CarPlay. A fix is being issues next week (you can’t read the options basically because the boxes are squeezed).
It’s working fine as it is, but it’d be nice to be able to fiddle with the aspect ratios. Sound quality is really good which has surprised me.
From the front seats the box isn’t noticeable at all. I’ve taped the USB connector to a place to access it for software updates etc.
The AUX connector is neat enough.
There is a slight software glitch that affects the set up menu that it’s behind CarPlay. A fix is being issues next week (you can’t read the options basically because the boxes are squeezed).
It’s working fine as it is, but it’d be nice to be able to fiddle with the aspect ratios. Sound quality is really good which has surprised me.
Looks promising - with a bit of tinkering it should be a neat solution.
With regards to the Pioneer SPH-10BT, I did a reset on the unit this weekend (and deleting and re-downloading the app) and having spent a few hours in the car it's now behaving as expected and without issue.
I've now read the manual and it reccomends a reset before use... ahem
With regards to the Pioneer SPH-10BT, I did a reset on the unit this weekend (and deleting and re-downloading the app) and having spent a few hours in the car it's now behaving as expected and without issue.
I've now read the manual and it reccomends a reset before use... ahem
IAche said:
Looks great.
However those scratches on the plastic in the last picture must make your teeth itch, even if it is under the arm rest. I'm surprised you can sleep at night knowing it looks like that.
Is the inside of the cup holder all scuffed up too? Mine is terrible.
The entire centre console does my head in! However those scratches on the plastic in the last picture must make your teeth itch, even if it is under the arm rest. I'm surprised you can sleep at night knowing it looks like that.
Is the inside of the cup holder all scuffed up too? Mine is terrible.
That’s stupid finish marks really easily. I’m tempted to take it apart or do the plastic welds and give it a lick of paint. Apparently the soft stuff that scratches comes off really easily with acetone so I might just do that first.
Podie said:
Looks promising - with a bit of tinkering it should be a neat solution.
With regards to the Pioneer SPH-10BT, I did a reset on the unit this weekend (and deleting and re-downloading the app) and having spent a few hours in the car it's now behaving as expected and without issue.
I've now read the manual and it reccomends a reset before use... ahem
Thanks.With regards to the Pioneer SPH-10BT, I did a reset on the unit this weekend (and deleting and re-downloading the app) and having spent a few hours in the car it's now behaving as expected and without issue.
I've now read the manual and it reccomends a reset before use... ahem
It’s not perfect but balancing up the costs etc it’s the best solution for me.
Hopefully that software update due next week will let me fiddle with the settings in a bit more detail.
Court_S said:
The entire centre console does my head in!
That’s stupid finish marks really easily. I’m tempted to take it apart or do the plastic welds and give it a lick of paint. Apparently the soft stuff that scratches comes off really easily with acetone so I might just do that first.
Get it covered in alcantara. If you take the rubberised coating off it will just be a nasty cheap plastic.That’s stupid finish marks really easily. I’m tempted to take it apart or do the plastic welds and give it a lick of paint. Apparently the soft stuff that scratches comes off really easily with acetone so I might just do that first.
I did look at getting some spray on rubberised stuff but then realised that I couldn't be bothered.
IAche said:
Get it covered in alcantara. If you take the rubberised coating off it will just be a nasty cheap plastic.
I did look at getting some spray on rubberised stuff but then realised that I couldn't be bothered.
I think the plastic would be easier to live with than the scuffed rubberised coating. It’s a crap finish, not sure what they were thinking to be honest.I did look at getting some spray on rubberised stuff but then realised that I couldn't be bothered.
Having been taken out for a surveyors lunch by a friend, I didn’t need dinner tonight so was a bit bored / at a loose end. Having not really had chance to really get to know the car since buying it I decide that tonight would be a good night to go for a spin around Matlock and Ashbourne. Stopped for a few obligatory pictures…
The car really impressed me if I’m honest. Despite being a chunk slower than my previous M140i, across a decent B road the little 130i certainly gets a lick on if you keep it above 4,000rpm and makes a lovely noise when you do so. The Birds B1 suspension is bloody brilliant and seems to get better and better as the speeds pick up. It’s firm but we’ll damped and copes with imperfections. The N52 is a cracking engine. It was equally good at the boring bits too and even better now it’s got cruise control.
I’ve really enjoyed driving a manual car again. The extra interaction is fun; blipping the throttle on downshifts trying to get the perfect rev match as you shift down before a corner etc. The shift action feels loads better with the new bush and it gets better as the car gets warm too.
The car really impressed me if I’m honest. Despite being a chunk slower than my previous M140i, across a decent B road the little 130i certainly gets a lick on if you keep it above 4,000rpm and makes a lovely noise when you do so. The Birds B1 suspension is bloody brilliant and seems to get better and better as the speeds pick up. It’s firm but we’ll damped and copes with imperfections. The N52 is a cracking engine. It was equally good at the boring bits too and even better now it’s got cruise control.
I’ve really enjoyed driving a manual car again. The extra interaction is fun; blipping the throttle on downshifts trying to get the perfect rev match as you shift down before a corner etc. The shift action feels loads better with the new bush and it gets better as the car gets warm too.
Edited by Court_S on Tuesday 13th July 23:16
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