My 1st 'Baby BMW' - 2007 E81 130i LE
Discussion
Full detail this morning
Snowfoamed, washed, rinsed, re-snowfoamed, clay-mitted, rinsed, washed, rinsed, towel dried, Chemical Guys Blazin Banana carnuba spray wax applied & buffed, AGs rapid ceramic spray applied & buffed, wheels waxed, tyres treated, all glass inside and out deep cleaned, done...
Snowfoamed, washed, rinsed, re-snowfoamed, clay-mitted, rinsed, washed, rinsed, towel dried, Chemical Guys Blazin Banana carnuba spray wax applied & buffed, AGs rapid ceramic spray applied & buffed, wheels waxed, tyres treated, all glass inside and out deep cleaned, done...
After plenty of reading and talking to a few folk as well; I've decided that the Spring 2025 suspension overhaul will be:
New OEM spec arms (where required) and drop links / track rod ends. Probably Powerflex rear subframe inserts as well. I'll be going for ST XTA coilovers with their adjustable top mounts as the icing on the cake.
Decided also that I'm going to get a set of F3x front 340mm Brembo calipers and fit them with OEM 2 piece discs and F8x M3/M4 pads with HEL braided lines.
That should be a decent upgrade to the braking as well as the suspension; to make it a capable fast road car. I may even treat it to a drive down to Anglesey Circuit mid next year
As for wheels; I'll stick with a set of OEM E8x wheels and fit them with Conti Contact Sport 7 tyres probably; but may consider Michelins or Goodyears again too
I'll update when parts have been ordered (want to see if there are any Christmas sales and/or discounts via eBay etc)
New OEM spec arms (where required) and drop links / track rod ends. Probably Powerflex rear subframe inserts as well. I'll be going for ST XTA coilovers with their adjustable top mounts as the icing on the cake.
Decided also that I'm going to get a set of F3x front 340mm Brembo calipers and fit them with OEM 2 piece discs and F8x M3/M4 pads with HEL braided lines.
That should be a decent upgrade to the braking as well as the suspension; to make it a capable fast road car. I may even treat it to a drive down to Anglesey Circuit mid next year
As for wheels; I'll stick with a set of OEM E8x wheels and fit them with Conti Contact Sport 7 tyres probably; but may consider Michelins or Goodyears again too
I'll update when parts have been ordered (want to see if there are any Christmas sales and/or discounts via eBay etc)
danb79 said:
Batteries swapped over; 2011 old one out, new Bosch one in & registered...
I hate BMW battery placements at times; my fat hands are not meant for small spaces, more skin lost
Is it tucked down the right hand side of the boot?I hate BMW battery placements at times; my fat hands are not meant for small spaces, more skin lost
That's where it was on the E39 Touring I had, a mahoosive battery at the bottom of a hole in a position where you had to twist to get a proper hold of it.
After hurting my back a couple of times I ended up just climbing in the boot when I had to remove the battery
5 In a Row said:
Is it tucked down the right hand side of the boot?
That's where it was on the E39 Touring I had, a mahoosive battery at the bottom of a hole in a position where you had to twist to get a proper hold of it.
After hurting my back a couple of times I ended up just climbing in the boot when I had to remove the battery
No fortunately; it's in the middle of the boot floor. But with the wiring connected and the clamp; still not a lot of room for my hands!That's where it was on the E39 Touring I had, a mahoosive battery at the bottom of a hole in a position where you had to twist to get a proper hold of it.
After hurting my back a couple of times I ended up just climbing in the boot when I had to remove the battery
The F31s battery is where the E39 touring battery is and that was a sod as well; it's a much deeper cavity than the E39 and like you said, the clamps the bugger that causes the issues, trying to get that undone with 3 long ratchet extensions etc
danb79 said:
After plenty of reading and talking to a few folk as well; I've decided that the Spring 2025 suspension overhaul will be:
New OEM spec arms (where required) and drop links / track rod ends. Probably Powerflex rear subframe inserts as well. I'll be going for ST XTA coilovers with their adjustable top mounts as the icing on the cake.
Decided also that I'm going to get a set of F3x front 340mm Brembo calipers and fit them with OEM 2 piece discs and F8x M3/M4 pads with HEL braided lines.
That should be a decent upgrade to the braking as well as the suspension; to make it a capable fast road car. I may even treat it to a drive down to Anglesey Circuit mid next year
As for wheels; I'll stick with a set of OEM E8x wheels and fit them with Conti Contact Sport 7 tyres probably; but may consider Michelins or Goodyears again too
I'll update when parts have been ordered (want to see if there are any Christmas sales and/or discounts via eBay etc)
Good work! I am getting some Goodyear Assymetric 6 tyres fitted to my 130i tomorrow. Looked at the usual lot but the Goodyears seemed to be the best choice for me.New OEM spec arms (where required) and drop links / track rod ends. Probably Powerflex rear subframe inserts as well. I'll be going for ST XTA coilovers with their adjustable top mounts as the icing on the cake.
Decided also that I'm going to get a set of F3x front 340mm Brembo calipers and fit them with OEM 2 piece discs and F8x M3/M4 pads with HEL braided lines.
That should be a decent upgrade to the braking as well as the suspension; to make it a capable fast road car. I may even treat it to a drive down to Anglesey Circuit mid next year
As for wheels; I'll stick with a set of OEM E8x wheels and fit them with Conti Contact Sport 7 tyres probably; but may consider Michelins or Goodyears again too
I'll update when parts have been ordered (want to see if there are any Christmas sales and/or discounts via eBay etc)
911Spanker said:
danb79 said:
After plenty of reading and talking to a few folk as well; I've decided that the Spring 2025 suspension overhaul will be:
New OEM spec arms (where required) and drop links / track rod ends. Probably Powerflex rear subframe inserts as well. I'll be going for ST XTA coilovers with their adjustable top mounts as the icing on the cake.
Decided also that I'm going to get a set of F3x front 340mm Brembo calipers and fit them with OEM 2 piece discs and F8x M3/M4 pads with HEL braided lines.
That should be a decent upgrade to the braking as well as the suspension; to make it a capable fast road car. I may even treat it to a drive down to Anglesey Circuit mid next year
As for wheels; I'll stick with a set of OEM E8x wheels and fit them with Conti Contact Sport 7 tyres probably; but may consider Michelins or Goodyears again too
I'll update when parts have been ordered (want to see if there are any Christmas sales and/or discounts via eBay etc)
Good work! I am getting some Goodyear Assymetric 6 tyres fitted to my 130i tomorrow. Looked at the usual lot but the Goodyears seemed to be the best choice for me.New OEM spec arms (where required) and drop links / track rod ends. Probably Powerflex rear subframe inserts as well. I'll be going for ST XTA coilovers with their adjustable top mounts as the icing on the cake.
Decided also that I'm going to get a set of F3x front 340mm Brembo calipers and fit them with OEM 2 piece discs and F8x M3/M4 pads with HEL braided lines.
That should be a decent upgrade to the braking as well as the suspension; to make it a capable fast road car. I may even treat it to a drive down to Anglesey Circuit mid next year
As for wheels; I'll stick with a set of OEM E8x wheels and fit them with Conti Contact Sport 7 tyres probably; but may consider Michelins or Goodyears again too
I'll update when parts have been ordered (want to see if there are any Christmas sales and/or discounts via eBay etc)
I do like the look of the Conti 7s though; they get rave reviews and better than the PS4s which I've never been a huge fan of; superb tyre but they go very hard quickly and I've found them to drone as well (they did on my E39s in 18s)
I may go for the Assym6s yet; will judge the prices come Spring 2025
bodhi said:
The PS5s I've got on the 125i are superb tyres - much quieter than the 4s and offer fantastic grip in all conditions - even the wintry conditions we've had this week.
They were on my 130i when I bought it; I wasn't impressed in fairness. Felt skitty and grip wasn't as good as I expectedW00DY said:
Sounds like a great plan, should be awesome with those mods. I keep checking ebay for cheap Brembos, but they're never quite bargainous enough for me to purchase.
Look forward to seeing the photos at Anglesey.
Yeah; the brake upgrade will be around £1k all in with OEM BMW discs and M3/M4 pads (and HEL lines); but worth it. I'll soon sell the OEM calipers with OEM BMW discs & pads; they won't have covered 1k miles, so will fetch good money that'll go towards the build Look forward to seeing the photos at Anglesey.
danb79 said:
bodhi said:
The PS5s I've got on the 125i are superb tyres - much quieter than the 4s and offer fantastic grip in all conditions - even the wintry conditions we've had this week.
They were on my 130i when I bought it; I wasn't impressed in fairness. Felt skitty and grip wasn't as good as I expectedI don't think Michelin's are the no brainers they used to be.
TameRacingDriver said:
When I was shopping tyres I looked at the Evo tyre test, and ended up going for Bridgestone Potenza Sports over the Michelin's as they actually finished higher than the Michelin's in most metrics and we're considerably cheaper. The only tyre that finished higher than the Bridgestones were the Continental, but they were also a fair bit more and I decided I wasn't good enough or my car wasn't good enough to discern the 1% difference in performance
I don't think Michelin's are the no brainers they used to be.
Agree; the PS4s are great tyres; but finding them going quite firm/hard after a short while and then droning put me off with them in 18" sizes (this was on a previous E39); I then bought another set of 18s and fitted Vredestein Ultrac Vorti's and they were superb tyres; massively grippy in wet and dry and really quiet compared to the PS4s.I don't think Michelin's are the no brainers they used to be.
The PS5s on my 130i just weren't all that; very firm, twitchy on uneven roads etc. The CC2s are much better and comfier as well... I know they're different compounds, but I expected more from the PS5s
The Conti 7s look superb and they're ony £10 more than the PS4s and £25 more than the Goodyears in the sizes I need; for me that's worth the punt
Bimecc 12mm hubcentric spacers and 75mm stud conversion fitted today - all via Mteconline on eBay (used him for years, great reseller)
All threads chased, cleaned throughly and all surfaces wire brushed and cleaned thoroughly with brake cleaner etc
Studs torqued down to 25Nm with a touch of Loctite
You can see how they're sitting from the pics (excuse how filthy the car is); they're just in the arches, no rubbing (gone around our small estate as the roads are horrendous and badly cambered with zero issues; on/off our drive is a steep incline to begin with as well and they'd have bottomed out there if they were going to)
All threads chased, cleaned throughly and all surfaces wire brushed and cleaned thoroughly with brake cleaner etc
Studs torqued down to 25Nm with a touch of Loctite
You can see how they're sitting from the pics (excuse how filthy the car is); they're just in the arches, no rubbing (gone around our small estate as the roads are horrendous and badly cambered with zero issues; on/off our drive is a steep incline to begin with as well and they'd have bottomed out there if they were going to)
Mr Tidy said:
It looks fantastic Dan. 
I love the idea of a stud conversion kit twice a year when I swap between winter and summer tyres, but then forget to do anything about it for the rest of the year!
Haha yeah; I haven't done it for the F31 to be fair. Did toy with it but didn't like it as the wheels sit perfectly without the need of spacers, so left it as OEM bolts etcI love the idea of a stud conversion kit twice a year when I swap between winter and summer tyres, but then forget to do anything about it for the rest of the year!
But with 12mm spacers on the 130i; the stud kits very much worth it and it's a doddle to fit; just need to ensure the threads are thoroughly cleaned as well as the mating surfaces etc
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