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Sonicvanman's E87 120d (customized)

85K views 461 replies 82 participants last post by  Red5 
#1 ·
Hello, im Nick, SonicVanMan I brought my BMW 120D Sports September 2010, this was my first bmw & first proper car & as some of you will have seen & read my posts of my progress on customizing my 1er, but here's everything on one page.

Now i dont expect my car to be to everyones taste as we all have are own ideas of what we like or dislike, so if its not your cup of tea there is no need to leave negative comments. for those who do like a bit of customizing i hope you enjoy & maybe you'll get some ideas for your self.

Feel free to ask any questions.









What i've done:
ITG Compatition Airfilter " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
EGR Bypass Kit fitted @ £44 (Ebay)
Custom 2" Daul Exit Stainless Steel Exhaust £300
Silencer 5"x16" round (straight through pipe)
Ecotune De-cat £200
KW-v1 inox Coilovers £1100 fitted " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Wiechers ALU Racingline front strut brace £157
BMW motorsport 216 style alloys powder coated in Gloss Black
Goodyear Eagle F1 XL front 225/40/18
Michelin PSS XL 245/35/18 Rears
Goodridge stainless steel braided & zinc plated brake hoses
Motul RBF 600 brake fluid
EBC Ultimax Disc's
Ferodo Premier brake pads
Alcantara Streeing Wheel £150 " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
BMW Performance bumper
Rhino lip
Future Design Carbon Fibre CSL style spoiler
Depo Angel Eye headlights
Depo TRS Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1 5000k) £200 LEDs for Depo angel eyes 5000k £30
Ring Sportz Blue 80w H7 Bulbs in High Beam
Ram Air Scoops
Short shift kit @
Clutch Delay Valve (Lock valve) Modification
BMS Short Throw Clutch Stop
Redline MTL 70w80 Gear Oil
Redline 75w90 Differential Oil
Gloss Black Kidney Grilles
Black/White badges for Bonnet/Boot/Wheels/Steering Wheel (Ebay)
Stubby Arial £6 (Ebay)
501 LED intense white Interior bulb upgrades
Silver indicator bulbs all round (Ebay).
Interior LEDs roof, glove box, boot lights
Window tints 20%
Gloss black Wheels @ £70(Dealer)
Gloss black Calipers/hubs Painted @ £20
Gloss Black Ripspeed Dome Valve Caps £12 (Halfords)
Gloss Black Wing mirrors (Dealers) £30
Gloss Black steering wheel surround (DIY Halfords Grey primer, Black Paint, Clear Lacquer £6.49 each)
Gloss Black start/stop button surround (DIY)
Crystal Black side repeaters
Darklines (Rear)
Camber Alignment pin removed (DIY)
M3 lower control arms
10mm BIMECC Hubcentric spacer
Climair wind deflectors
Custom SVM sticker
TopHifi LP Tweeters
4" Speaker (rear shelf) & vibe tweeter (rear self)

Coding: (Thanks to Wibbles ;) )
Digital Speedo
Auto Lock
Lock/Unlock Chime
CD Changer

Things i did have fitted but have now been replaced:
M-sport bumper
Aero pack spoiler
141 Style Alloy wheels i gloss black
H&R 20mm TRAK+ wheel spacers
Ring Sportz Blue 80w H7 Bulbs (Dipped) £18
M-tech SUPER WHITE 55w H7 Bulbs (Main beam) £17
Alltronix H11 100w Xenon Blue 8500k Bulbs (Fogs) £13
501 Long 9 LED extreme white (Side beam) £10



My trip to P Torque for a Rolling Road






Heres my Santa pod photos & Videos from Alex(ajwhitlock)
I managed a 1/4 mile in 15.73 seconds @ 88.74mph



















Me Vs Lee2f2f 1 of 3 races


Me Vs 328i & only 0.2496 seconds between us


Hope you Enjoyed.
 
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#2 ·
Looks good!

Love the paintjob on the original wheels!

Looking forward to more pics as your plans comes to life :)
 
#5 ·
marco_polo said:
Good work, she's really crying out for that Perfomance front bumper now.
really really do want a perfomance front bumper its just the cost, as i think its around £500 for the bumper then theres the paint & fitting, most things have cost no more than £400 which i can afford every month so its a maybe. thats the plan for the next year & as im looking to keep the car for many many years it will be a long project but im sure when the kids come along it may have to stop.

thankx for all the comments.

im pretty happy with it
 
#8 ·
eighteentee said:
Mines the same colour and your mods look tremendous! Love the black wheels :)
thankx was a little nervous wheather the wheels would look good black, but im well pleased with the look, just gotta keep then clean.

adamcaulkett said:
Never thought id like the twin pipes but it has been done really neatly. Good job!
i always liked the 335i/d look from the rear & as they didnt do it for the 1er, i thought it would look individual & again extremly happy with the out come.

thankx for the comments.
 
#10 ·
KING JMB said:
looks nice done a good job there, what does it sound like with them pipes on any different ?
Its pretty quiet when driving normally, but gives a nice deep raw when you put your foot down, sound awesome in a tunnel or multi storey carpark, i have tried doing a video on my iphone but it dont pick up the sound properly but really want to sort one out if i can find some decent equipment.

cheers.
 
#13 ·
richcranney said:
Where / how did you go about doing the twin exhaust? What system is it and did you put the second groove in the bumper yourself? I really like it and thinking of doing it myself
Hello, it is a 3" bore stainless steel cat back system, it was custom built by a company in birmingham who cut the bumper & welded the extra bracket on the right hand side.

most good exhaust companies can custom build it to your taste.
 
#14 ·
shuaib17 said:
hi mate really like your car. im after the carbon badges aswell.
what size ones did u get. as im finding various ones. if you could send a link of where you got them from thanks
Hello m8 the wheel caps are 68mm form
Steering wheel badge is 44mm from
The bonnet & boot badges on mine are 78mm i ended up buying two bonnet badges with the two pins so the bonnet one fitted striaght on But the rear i had to file down the pins & stuck it on with adhesive as i couldnt find the correct one but im sure if you do a search there is plenty of companies doing them now.
 
#16 ·
Lookin' pretty damn good SVM; certainly just a touch different from when I last saw it and if I remember correctly, your exhaust does sound pretty impressive - well it did when you f l e w out of the car park!

Good work :wink:
 
#17 ·
midlifecrisis said:
Lookin' pretty damn good SVM; certainly just a touch different from when I last saw it and if I remember correctly, your exhaust does sound pretty impressive - well it did when you f l e w out of the car park!

Good work :wink:
cheers mate, ye just a little bit more work thrown in, im glad it sounded good i hoped flying off it would give out a good raw as some dont think a diesel can.

Are you heading back down for the bmw festival 14th august @ gaydon?
 
#18 ·
sonicvanman said:
midlifecrisis said:
Lookin' pretty damn good SVM; certainly just a touch different from when I last saw it and if I remember correctly, your exhaust does sound pretty impressive - well it did when you f l e w out of the car park!

Good work :wink:
cheers mate, ye just a little bit more work thrown in, im glad it sounded good i hoped flying off it would give out a good raw as some dont think a diesel can.

Are you heading back down for the bmw festival 14th august @ gaydon?
I might just do actually, as I think I've some more holiday around that time, so will stick in it my diary. Haven't I read somewhere that you're trying to set up a stand there, or is that somewhere else? :)
 
#19 ·
midlifecrisis said:
I might just do actually, as I think I've some more holiday around that time, so will stick in it my diary. Haven't I read somewhere that you're trying to set up a stand there, or is that somewhere else? :)
was trying but no luck for this year, so want to sort something out for other events as there dont seem to be a massive 1er support always over run with 3s.

it would be good to meet up again, i think pimp mite be going to.
 
#22 ·
Very nice mate - my favourite mod is the exhaust
 
#24 ·
R_Hutchisnon said:
Looks awesome. Is it a quartz blue car or a different grey? I pick my refinished black BMW alloys up on Wednesday and this has totally eased my worry that I won't like them. A set of blackline rear lights would look great on it.
Cheers, ye it a Quartz blue (grey),i was in the same boat, in my head it would work but was unsure & as soon as i picked the car up i was well happy & love every minite i look at them & the photos dont do them justice.

im not to bothered about the darklines as i like the standard lights & dont think there a massive difference.

get some photos up when your wheels are fitted.
 
#25 ·
sonicvanman said:
R_Hutchisnon said:
Looks awesome. Is it a quartz blue car or a different grey? I pick my refinished black BMW alloys up on Wednesday and this has totally eased my worry that I won't like them. A set of blackline rear lights would look great on it.
Cheers, ye it a Quartz blue (grey),i was in the same boat, in my head it would work but was unsure & as soon as i picked the car up i was well happy & love every minite i look at them & the photos dont do them justice.

im not to bothered about the darklines as i like the standard lights & dont think there a massive difference.

get some photos up when your wheels are fitted.
Great, mine's the same colour. I'll fit the wheels and lights on Thursday, then I'll get a few pics up.
 
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