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I know quite a few guys on here have sold their 200s and moved to the bmw 135i coupes
I don’t have any specific questions as such but was wondering how you feel they compare to the 14a after owning both ? Things like how do the compare in comfort ,handling,size and enjoyment ect
Thanks
You should probably ask if they're reliable as modern bmws don't appear to be.
I know they have issues but all cars have issues that includes s bodies
Better in every way. A mate has one running about 400bhp and it’s quick. He feels a little disconnected from the car at times though I think as it’s so capable.Quote:
Originally Posted by autosri
I'd say
+ Very quick especially with a remap, oodles of low down torque
+ Sounds great
+ Feels much more modern than S body and is a pretty nice place to be
+ With M3 arms and camber tops at the front handling is excellent, very grippy and the traction control is brilliant, let's you have a bit of fun and then sorts everything out making you look like Ken Block (in my head, may not reflect real life)
+ Stock brakes are massive and paired with modern suspension and ABS can scrub off speed quick!
+ Can get a genuine 30mpg if happy to avoid revs and roll around on the low down torque
+ Cheap remaps, can get phone based apps that allow you to flash tune yourself with loads of community support 400+ bhp super easy with basic supporting mods
- N54 reliability... I got one with sub 60k miles and FBMWSH so I could get a BMW warranty just in case the turbos went which is pretty common, lookup wastegate rattle. Warranty didn't cover the 3 injectors and couple of coilpacks I had to replace in < 12 months but did cover the 2 VANOS solenoids that failed. N55 may be better.
- Have to go silly speeds for it to really feel alive, falls under the 'almost too capable' cliche a bit.
- Mods are expensive when coming from Jap car land, with the exception of the remap even induction kits feel a bit pricey.
- Servicing costs, again from a 20yo jap car perspective are pricey got quoted £205 for an oil and filter change at dealer, and even at indy if using BMW approved stuff to keep warranty happy was something like £150 I think
- Early iDrive feels super dated
- Not much room for aftermarket wheels, have to be super careful with width and offset choice
- No oil dipstick, probably fine just irritated me
All in all they're immensely capable and pretty good fun, can be vaguely sensible too.
Mine kept going into limp mode sporadically because of the Vanos solenoids going bad, took a few trips to the dealers to sort out, each with them keeping the car, they were pretty useless tbh. They also kept the car for a few days to diagnose the injector that had broken, insisted on repeating the fault finding I'd already told them about, swapping coils etc. and new plugs and told me that I would have to replace all 6 plugs(again), 6 coilpacks, 6 injectors at a cost of just shy of 3k. Eventually they agreed one would also work and that was £476 so I got 3 (as you're supposed to do a whole bank of the fancy direct injection bastards) and a couple of coils for £450 but still wasted days without car, arguing with the service department and then 400 quids worth of injector, which also have to be coded to the car as they're finely calibrated. I quite miss the engine and the slightly 'premium' experience of the thing but don't miss just waiting for that stupid bong and a total loss of power or the main dealers! Feels pretty small and chuckable which is good, actually a bit of a lard arse so does chew through tyres I found!
Double check tax band for the year of car as it can vary massively, probably stick with the N55 unless you're going to mod the engine significantly as it doesn't have the troublesome turbos and injectors. Pretty much needs M3 arms on the front IMO and more camber is good too, many have already had M3 arms anyway, if you want to get more extreme the whole m3 rear end can be swapped for LSD etc.
Don't know if that's helpful, depends what you're looking to use it for I guess.
I've kind of had both, I use to have a new 1 series (not the 135, but similar base car....), until I aquaplanned and wrote it off! (Check out the topgear video, I did that...).
Anyway, lovely car to drive, fell in love with the seating position as it felt like at SX, and handled pretty well. Went in my mates 135i and they are bloody quick. But, and this is probably obvious, it's not as raw as the 200, and I felt disconnected from the car.
For a weekend toy it'll be hands down the 200, for a fast daily/ something reliable and modern the 135i. Although I replaced the 1 Series with an A3 and prefer that over the 1 series in every way (apart from it being front wheel drive...).
Brilliant it’s nice to have some relatively unbiased opinions
On the maintenance/reliability side of things I’m not too concerned as il be able to do most things myself like swapping/coding Injectors ect also if the turbos fail il most likely end up going for single turbo setup or something
I’m looking for a bit more modern than my s14 but still want something that will be a laugh on the weekends so the 135 just seems to fit that as I spend 5 days a week in my bloody work van so need something fun and as it’s not my daily car it’s not too important if it’s off the road while I fix/modify stuff
I’ve got to admit I was a little surprised at the cost of modifications when cone intakes are like 300 quid but sound a nice excuse to crack out the TIG welder and make some nice custom bits
Ask Doc or FBT what they think of thiers.
For your use case it sounds pretty suitable then to be honest! I tried to do things 'properly' with mine and it didn't work out haha in hindsight I'd have not bothered with warranty etc. and just sucked up the cost of some better blowers that I fitted myself but I got fed up with it before then. As a fun car it is pretty cracking especially if you can do stuff yourself, they're a lot more effort to work on than S-bodies though in my experience, and the bay is packed tight!
Lot's of well supported mods too, check out the MHD flash app for cheap tunes with custom options. Buy genuine coilpacks in bulk when ECP have a sale on or convert to Audi coils (https://www.bimmerlifetuning.com/pro...135i-335i-535i) MHD has option to convert your map to these too which is cool.
Try and find a car that already has index 12 injectors or if not check out price of replacements I think ML Performance was cheapest when I got mine, all other indexes will fail at some point I'm led to believe.
RHD single turbo options there was one when I was looking, from Walton Motorsports and it was very pricey and only came with the option of an open screamer pipe and that was down to packaging issues so making one might be tricky. The Americans make some pretty hench twin options but some of them still suffer wastegate issues apparently.
Mine was 380bhp with just a map and a FMIC and was deceptively quick, so much torque and pretty refined so you'd hold onto 3rd for some fun and then realise you were well into licence losing territory without really noticing. Making me nost***ic now, time has killed the memories of dealer bummings and limp mode fear faster than the memories of fun stuff, although perhaps trying to daily it at 20k miles a year didn't help.
Like I said it’s only a weekend toy so not like I need to rely on it to make a living and realistically il do less that 3-4K at absolute most
I’ve got a couple of hundred quid ready for when I find one just to order new coils and plugs and some of the usual gaskets/belt that seem to go
As for the single turbo that won’t be immediate as il probably pick up some dead turbos and use the flanges/manifolds to make a modified 6/2/1 style manifold but time will tell I won’t be going for aftermarket twins I don’t think so would either be factory replacements or single turbo
Il have a look at that ml performance and see what shiny things they do
You really don't want a 6/2/1 on a 6. If it's single turbo then it should be twin scroll. 6/2, 1,2,3 into the front scroll, 4,5,6 into the rear scroll. If it isn't twin scroll its a bit of antique junk.Quote:
Originally Posted by autosri
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Picked one up yesterday and I’m well happy with it
I’ve got a few bits to sort but all small bits like oil filter housing gasket has a slight weap so I’ve ordered a valve cover gasket filter housing gaskets and the media blaster and adaptor to walnut blast the valves while it pretty much off
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Maad :) enjoy man. Double check those things are gaskets not cracked as they're both plastic and hamfisted mechanics are known to have overtightened and some cam covers just go brittle and crack for the fun of it.
Looks nice, have fun :D
Safe to say im well happy with it after driving it I certainly understand the license loosing speed you put your foot down and it’s not as dramatic as the s14a but bloody hell the speedo climbs fast
Having a massive maintenance binge on the weekend with gaskets and walnut blasting air filters and fitting lowering springs