BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      01-03-2009, 01:27 AM   #1
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How well can I track this car?

All,

To start off, I love twisties. Whenever I think about getting a car, I research its capabilities to determine how well it will handle on a road course.

I really haven't been able to find much, but I was wondering if anybody with experience could chime in, or anybody that can use the search button better than me could point me in the right direction.

Some things I have noted are:

1) Wheel widths for the rear don't seem to increase over 8.5 in. Is this the biggest? Am I looking at the wrong type of wheels?

2) I know the N54 is a very responsive motor. However, I have read that there seems to be throttle hesitation on the track. Has anybody had any experiences with this?

3) The brakes on this car are indeed beefy. Are they prone to fade? Have any track gurus had any complaints or compliments?


Thanks for all the help!
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      01-03-2009, 01:41 AM   #2
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8.5 is not the biggest. as for #2 i dunno. the brakes are beefy but some have had problems with aftermarket brake pads. ceramic brake piston rings disintegrating, probably due to some sort of knocking.
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      01-03-2009, 04:37 AM   #3
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Have look at this thread http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20956
and you will see a dude called "Way" on it. Talk to him about tracking the 135.
Cheers.
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      01-04-2009, 09:03 AM   #4
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First of all, welcome Liquid. It's good to see others who are interested in tracking their cars. My car was bought as a race/track car, hence I have a bit of experience on this topic as do a few others here who race their 135i.

To answer your questions:
1. You can accomodate up to 10" in the rear with et62. This is the setup currently used by "Evolution Racewerks". Others such as "Professor" are running 9.5" in the rear. I am using a 9" but this is an interim measure until I sort of the fronts with a widebody kit. You see, the front is going to be more of an issue than the rear. This car understeers a lot so my advice is to stuff as large a size as you can at the front. Personally I think a "square" set up works well, but others have gone staggered with thicker sways that seem to work. In the front, 8.5" is about the max you can fit although I have seen others fitting 9". It's all about the camber and also width of tyre you use. Go to the wheel section of the forum, there are plenty of info there.

2. I tracked the car once before any power modification on my car, and I cannot recall a lag on the track. If anything, the "lag" is more on the street. This is caused by the drive by wire. It really isn't an issue at all on the track and it has nothing to do with the engine. I now have a lot more power than stock plus a shorter gearing. What lag? Lol

3. I was one of the guys with brake caliper issues. Go to the brake section of the forum and you will see a couple of thread on it. I also thought the OE brakes were pretty beefy, and it has good bite and stops quite well. But it is prone to fade, especially with the factory pads and fluids. Even using track pads and Motul RBF600, the brakes will fade after a few laps on high speed braking tracks. Anyway, be careful with after market pads as it has been speculated that it is the cause of our caliper issue. Anyway, I am now running a AP Racing 6 pot caliper with 365mm disk. If anyone thought the factory brakes are good, these are MAGNIFICENT! Highly recommended but it is not cheap unfortunately.

Finally, if you are serious about tracking this car, consider things like LSD and suspension mods. Other than tyres, those are 2 things I would look into first for a track car.
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      01-04-2009, 06:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WAY View Post
First of all, welcome Liquid. It's good to see others who are interested in tracking their cars. My car was bought as a race/track car, hence I have a bit of experience on this topic as do a few others here who race their 135i.

To answer your questions:
1. You can accomodate up to 10" in the rear with et62. This is the setup currently used by "Evolution Racewerks". Others such as "Professor" are running 9.5" in the rear. I am using a 9" but this is an interim measure until I sort of the fronts with a widebody kit. You see, the front is going to be more of an issue than the rear. This car understeers a lot so my advice is to stuff as large a size as you can at the front. Personally I think a "square" set up works well, but others have gone staggered with thicker sways that seem to work. In the front, 8.5" is about the max you can fit although I have seen others fitting 9". It's all about the camber and also width of tyre you use. Go to the wheel section of the forum, there are plenty of info there.

2. I tracked the car once before any power modification on my car, and I cannot recall a lag on the track. If anything, the "lag" is more on the street. This is caused by the drive by wire. It really isn't an issue at all on the track and it has nothing to do with the engine. I now have a lot more power than stock plus a shorter gearing. What lag? Lol

3. I was one of the guys with brake caliper issues. Go to the brake section of the forum and you will see a couple of thread on it. I also thought the OE brakes were pretty beefy, and it has good bite and stops quite well. But it is prone to fade, especially with the factory pads and fluids. Even using track pads and Motul RBF600, the brakes will fade after a few laps on high speed braking tracks. Anyway, be careful with after market pads as it has been speculated that it is the cause of our caliper issue. Anyway, I am now running a AP Racing 6 pot caliper with 365mm disk. If anyone thought the factory brakes are good, these are MAGNIFICENT! Highly recommended but it is not cheap unfortunately.

Finally, if you are serious about tracking this car, consider things like LSD and suspension mods. Other than tyres, those are 2 things I would look into first for a track car.
Thank you so much!

First of all, I was wondering if you could share some pictures of your car. I would really appreciate that.

Secondly, its good to hear that you can accomodate those sizes of wheels. That is definitely good news.

I have some questions though, so I will list them here:

What companies make a great LSD for this car? Do you have any recommendations on the type, like 1.5 way, 2 way, viscous, clutch?

As far as suspension and performance mods, where do you tend to buy your components from?

I also read that if I were to buy a late model 135i, it might run into tuning issues. Have you heard of such a thing? If so, could you please shed some insight?

Once again, thanks for the extremely informative post!
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      01-05-2009, 01:29 PM   #6
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I'm not WAY, but I'll try to answer a few of these...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liquid View Post
What companies make a great LSD for this car? Do you have any recommendations on the type, like 1.5 way, 2 way, viscous, clutch?
Positive reviews have been posted here for the Drexler unit (clutch type, track/race oriented) and for the Quaife unit (cheaper, Torsen type, street oriented).

But initially I'd try the stock e-LSD and see if you think it's crimping your style.

Quote:
As far as suspension and performance mods, where do you tend to buy your components from?
Without knowing your track expertise level it's impossible to give recommendations as to brands/models and even shopping places. There are board sponsors here that offer many suspension components from many manufacturers - just check out the relevant forum. That being said...

If you are a beginner take the car stock initially and see of you find any limitations. It's very unlikely you will find them in the first 2-3 events.

If you are at an advanced level and have no brand loyalty, then just duplicate what these track junkies are running and you should be fine.

If you're at an intermediate level then just follow the suspension posts like I do, and wallow in confusion and uncertainty like I do.

Quote:
I also read that if I were to buy a late model 135i, it might run into tuning issues. Have you heard of such a thing? If so, could you please shed some insight?
No - all the latest tuning gear works with the latest 135i computers.
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      01-05-2009, 05:27 PM   #7
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ADC has answered all the questions so I don't need to repeat it. But I just want to mention that the Drexler LSD that I am running is as streetable as anything else out there. There is no noise that I can hear, but apparently it makes a little noise at low (parking) speed full lock turns. I don't drive the car as a daily driver so have not encountered that lol. If you are getting a LSD, it might be worthwhile investing in a 3.46 final ratio gearing as well. That has helped a lot in the acceleration.

As for where to get it, this forum is full of very helpful vendors who sell everything from just about any brands. If you were in Melbourne, Australia, I would introduce you to Andrew@SouthernBM (he is a forum member too and the same guy who posted pics of Professor's car) who looks after my car and fits all my parts for me. He has modded a few 135i's very comprehensively with different brand parts. He has also done many other individual mods to various 135i. He has probably more experience in 135i's than just about anyone around. Anyway I mention Andrew because you asked for photos and my photos are all taken by him on his website. Here it is. http://southernbm.com.au/gallery/thu...s.php?album=19
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