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Blue Shadow- godzilla's M140i Shadow Edition

14K views 49 replies 21 participants last post by  RoyBoy777 
#1 ·
So having enjoyed my Estoril Blue M135i for the last 4 years, I thought it was time for a complete change.
So ordered an Estoril Blue M140i! :D

Picked up my Shadow Edition a couple of weeks ago from the incomparable TRL in Berry Heathrow.
This is the 5th car our family and friends have ordered from him, so he must be good!

Coming straight from my M135i, it doesn't feel like a dramatic change in car, but there are a lot of subtle differences that I love.







Close up of the Shadow Edition lights to show the black surrounds


I love the new style black wheels. Never liked the original M135i wheels and surprised they have been carried over to the M140i.
Never had black wheels before, but they suit the whole Shadow Edition theme perfectly. I know they'll be a bugger to keep clean and scratch free, but right now, they look great.

Like the Cognac, but would have preferred Coral if that was still available, but it's not, so Cognac is the next best choice.
Having said that, I've had Coral over Estoril Blue for the last 4 years, so the change helps make it feel like a different car!

I know it's been out a while now, but the current style front and rear ends are light years better looking than the original M135i in my opinion and the black detailing on the Shadow really makes it stand out.

Drivetrain wise, obviously haven't caned it yet properly, but I do feel the B58 is a bit gruntier (and has a bassier exhaust note) than the N55.
I've stuck with Adaptive dampers and feel that the M140i is a bit tauter than my M135i, both in Comfort and Sport, which is nice.
Digital speedo is a long overdue addition, as is a temperature gauge.

Overall, I love it and bearing in mind that BMW's replacement in the next year or two will be AWD (based on a FWD chassis) with only a 2.0 four pot and maybe not even a manual option, this might well be a keeper.
Nothing else comes close for the price.
 
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#7 ·
Thanks guys. The funny thing is I'm not even that big a fan of Estoril Blue, but it was simply the only option I could live with out of the paltry palette BMW deem to offer the M-Lite in.

But I have to say, it is stunning when clean and the contrast with the black wheels, grille, lights and even side window trim is lovely.
Just had a full GTechniq ceramic coating detail and some "special modifications" that I think suits the Shadow Edition theme down to a tee.

Photos soon, but of course it has consistently rained since I picked it up... :rollseyes:
 
#8 ·
Looks great and making me more sure I've made the right choice with Estoril Blue. I have been thinking about getting a GTechnic ceramic coating so I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it and where you had it done and cost etc ( if you don't mind ) as I live in Surrey so assume it may be local to me. Please feel free to message me privately with cost , if you like. Cheers
 
#9 ·
Symo6791 said:
Looks great and making me more sure I've made the right choice with Estoril Blue. I have been thinking about getting a GTechnic ceramic coating so I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it and where you had it done and cost etc ( if you don't mind ) as I live in Surrey so assume it may be local to me. Please feel free to message me privately with cost , if you like. Cheers
I've used Valet Magic in Camberley for years. They looked after my (in)famous GT-R and did the Stealthzilla matte clear wrap on it years ago.
I was tempted to go matte clear again for the "Frozen Blue" look, but since my M135i had a satin finish branded wrap for my previous business, I was really enjoying the shine of a fresh clean metallic paint job so just wanted to protect and enhance that for a while.

Robbie is a very knowledgeable chap, website is here: Tell him David Yu sent you!

Full cost of a GTechniq detail, in and out is around ÂŁ499, but I had some other work done too, which I will reveal next week.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for that , I think I'll look them up! I only live in near Haslemere so not a million miles away from me. Good to get a recommendation so I'm not going in blind. Cheers
 
#11 ·
So had the car 10 days before the modding itch needed to be scratched.
I dropped it round at Valet Magic in Camberley who have worked on a few of my previous cars.
Robbie is a top class detailer and worked on all sorts of cars including some of Chris Evans' Ferraris and lots and lots of Nissan GT-Rs.

However he is reasonably priced and although I briefly toyed with returning to a matte clear wrap (like I had on Stealthzilla, my old 720hp GT-R), I was enjoying the novel delight of shiny new paintwork so much, I decided to leave it unwrapped, but enhanced and protected with a a full GTechniq ceramic detail, inside and out.
It rained almost continuously for 4 days after I had the detail done and despite driving the car in the usual road grime, it still looks spotless, which is quite incredible. Water just beads up and falls off it.

Having also seen some photos of Maxton splitters on here, I decided to order the full kit they do for the M140i.
This consists of the front splitter, side skirts, 3 piece rear splitter and rear spoiler cap.
All good quality ABS and finished in optional gloss black.

I have to say, they are very nicely designed and complement the car perfectly. Not too aggressive, but they follow the lines of the car and look like they could be factory options.
I would previously have dismissed them out of hand for not being carbon fibre, as I had developed quite a serious carbon fetish and had lots of it (the real stuff, never "carbon look") on Stealthzilla.
But the Shadow Edition, particularly on the 719M wheels, has so many lovely gloss black touches, the gloss black Maxton pieces fit the theme perfectly.

I am now very happy with the look of the car and won't be making any further cosmetic changes. (Although I reserve the right to change my mind and add the matte clear wrap at some point in the next few years! :D )







Close up of three piece rear splitter. Not seen the central piece fitted before. I think it looks great with the subtle fins.
 
#14 ·
marco_polo said:
Nice work. I'd be very tempted to paint/wrap the ferric grey bits gloss black to finish the job?
Thanks. I've seen cars where that has been done, but I like the contrast of the ferric grey and they match the mirrors.
Once they're black, they almost disappear.
 
#16 ·
Nah, again, I like the contrast and it marks it out to those in the know as an M.
If I was being OCD about it, I might consider wrapping the dark grey bit of the rear bumper as that doesn't match anything else on the car.
But not bothered about it at the moment.

What would you say was the single best handling mod you've made?
Getting an LSD, but are the M4 LCAs really worth doing? I definitely want more front camber and maybe get a bit more castor too.
 
#18 ·
godzilla said:
What would you say was the single best handling mod you've made?
Getting an LSD, but are the M4 LCAs really worth doing? I definitely want more front camber and maybe get a bit more castor too.
We're ('Royal we' - Sam actually) is doing some M4 LCA testing with his G meter + lap timer at Brands Hatch tomorrow (with any luck); so we should be able to give you come reasonably accurate/repeatable before and after metrics.
 
#20 ·
marco_polo said:
godzilla said:
What would you say was the single best handling mod you've made?
Getting an LSD, but are the M4 LCAs really worth doing? I definitely want more front camber and maybe get a bit more castor too.
We're ('Royal we' - Sam actually) is doing some M4 LCA testing with his G meter + lap timer at Brands Hatch tomorrow (with any luck); so we should be able to give you come reasonably accurate/repeatable before and after metrics.
I'd be very interested in seeing the results of that.
Just because a lot of people have done a certain mod, that doesn't automatically make it effective.
Testing it will prove the case or not.
 
#23 ·
godzilla said:
I'd be very interested in seeing the results of that.
Just because a lot of people have done a certain mod, that doesn't automatically make it effective.
Testing it will prove the case or not.
I stand corrected, Sam did manage to get on track in the afternoon apparently.

No significant step-change in lap time, just a little less outer edge scrub.

 
#24 ·
I've made a brief video about the new goodies TRL's team fitted to my car on Wednesday.
Really transforms the interior!



Phil from Cotswold BMW Cheltenham sorted out the gorgeous M Performance steering wheel for me, along with the M4 LCAs which will be fitted by Litchfield in a couple of weeks.

He also supplied the BMW Go Pro headrest mount and arm, which I will try out shortly.
I am acutely aware that my three videos so far have not featured me driving or even switching the engine on, which is not my normal style of video! :lol2:

TRL ordered me the M Performance gearknob, handbrake and pedal covers, along with the underbody brace that Litchfield will also fit for me.

Many thanks to those two diamond geezers and the workshop team at Berry BMW Heathrow who fitted these interior parts for me.
 
#25 ·
Great thread David :)

It's such a small world :)

Yes, as Marco said I tested mine with the M4 lca's At brands and it went quicker.

My results:
Totally stock 56.6
With lsd. 56.6
With lsd M4 arms/pads and negative camber on back 56.0/55.8 without/with slipstream.

Interestingly, with the M4 lca's Etc and on westlake RS tyres I couldn't go as quick at snetterton, was over a second slower compared to the stock car with lsd. Think this may be because the pads were worn (they've done 15 laps of ring, 2x brands hatch and 2 x snetterton), will go back for another try soon. If they let me!

Thanks for the vids, look forward to watching them with sound later :)
 
#26 ·
git-r2 said:
Great thread David :)

It's such a small world :)

Yes, as Marco said I tested mine with the M4 lca's At brands and it went quicker.

My results:
Totally stock 56.6
With lsd. 56.6
With lsd M4 arms/pads and negative camber on back 56.0/55.8 without/with slipstream.

Interestingly, with the M4 lca's Etc and on westlake RS tyres I couldn't go as quick at snetterton, was over a second slower compared to the stock car with lsd. Think this may be because the pads were worn (they've done 15 laps of ring, 2x brands hatch and 2 x snetterton), will go back for another try soon. If they let me!

Thanks for the vids, look forward to watching them with sound later :)
That is strange, I would have thought the tyres would be more important than the pads, provided they've still got material left, which I'm surprised they still have! :lol2:

But to be honest, timing yourself on a normal track day is pretty hit and miss with traffic etc.

Interesting that the LSD didn't make any difference at Brands though. Do you run DTC Off all the time? I wonder how the built in "e-diff" deals with the presence of a physical ATB diff? Not something it would be prepared for, I would have thought...
 
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