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Swanny71's M135i

19K views 110 replies 23 participants last post by  swanny71 
#1 ·
Well the day that I thought would never happen finally did on Thursday.

I sold my beloved 130i and replaced it with the obvious - an M135i. I'm still a little in mourning for the silver peach but looking forward to another long adventure with the new car. It was very important to me that the 130i go to a good home (wouldn't have sold otherwise) and it has; a good bloke, true enthusiast and forum member - look after her please Ol :wink:

More to follow but here's a couple of pics to start with.

M135i with old faithful on changeover day - it has very big boots to fill!
DB05A4A4-C877-4F07-8350-A1A8B0A26C59.jpeg


And at home with the 1M
36C2BD09-A654-4B5E-AF9C-E96C42D07019.jpeg


Paint correction this weekend 'cos it's a bit **** at the moment. Looks like it's been washed by blind monkeys using Brillo pads and watery cement.
 
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#2 ·
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
 
#5 ·
jonwilli said:
swanny71 said:
I know 😩

Still early days but this (MANUAL) M135i is a good replacement.
What is your M135i spec? How does it compare to the 130? Good replacement or better :)
Got pretty much everything I was after - Manual (most important), Driver Comfort Package, HK and heated seats. Was hoping for a grey or silver car but really couldn't be too picky living way down here. And as you know I picked it up, for a great price, 10 miles from where I sold the 130 to Oly.

Compared to the 130 it "feels" bigger, heavier (though in reality not that different) and much more grown up. Better M'way and A road cruiser which is what I do most of. So probably more suited to my needs but not as much fun for sure.

Suspension, handling etc. pretty good as standard. Not as well resolved I don't think as the 130i which was on a B4 and Eibach combo.

Sounds OK compared to most normal hot hatches but crap compared to the N52 with M Performance exhaust.
I really miss the gear change in the 130 (SSK, E46 330i Clubsport gearknob, CDV delete and MTL oil).

Strangely the M135i makes the 1M feel even more special - difficult to describe why though.

So in summary:
Better daily driver for my needs but not as much fun and very quick.
Improvements will be made over the coming weeks/months/years because it is a long term keeper for sure.

ETA - I forgot, it's also got Pro Nav, important to some but I don't really care about the tech ****. Parking sensors F & R to which are kinda handy.
2014 on a '64 plate.
34k miles
FBMWSH
BMW warranty until January '20
Service pack until Oct '19 but I'll only get a brake fluid change out of that.
12 months MOT
 
#6 ·
As mentioned in my first post, the paint was pretty crap when I picked it up. Previous owners has used an alternative "two bucket method" - one of sand, one of cement.

So it a full weekend of washing, decontaminating, polishing etc. ensued, which was fun for the first couple of hours but got boring and frustrating pretty quickly. I think there was a Colourmagic type product on there because after a proper clean etc. the paint looked even worse. It's also as hard as granite.

View attachment Polishing.JPG

Happy with the results though.

View attachment 1M Reflection.JPG

View attachment Polished in sun.JPG

If anyone is interested I used the following products:
Sonax Cutmax on the worst area's
Menzerna 400 everywhere else
Menzerna 3500 to refine any mess caused by the previous stages
Topped off with TacSystems Moonlight which is dead easy to use
 
#7 ·
I've never particularly liked the 436M, especially on darker cars where it seems a little lost in the wheel arch.

Hours spent searching this place had me wanting and looking for either a set of 461m or 441m wheels before I'd even picked up the car. Preference was for the 441's but they don't come up for sale very often. Add in my location and I thought I was in for a long wait...

A week or two ago I found a set of 441's in Scotland on Ebay, he could courier them for me but were described as and looked like they would need a proper refurb. Took a risk since they were cheap at £360 and bought them.
View attachment Wheels in boxes - Copy.JPG

They turned up looking way better than expected, two wheels needed no attention and the other two I sorted myself with various decontamination products, Sonax Cutmax, some fine sandpaper, a touch up pen and lacquer. Not perfect but will keep my mild OCD happy until next year.

Again, happy with results.

View attachment Bare 441M.JPG

A set of new OEM TPMS sensors sourced (£110 EBay) and mounted to keep the car's brain happy...

View attachment TPMS.JPG

MPSS from 436's will go on 441's next week, my old 130i winter tyres (225/40/18 and 235/40/1:cool2: will go on the 436's. A good set of 208M's will be appearing in the classified section soon.
 
#11 ·
AndyBish135i said:
Fancy joining our little Welsh jaunt tomorrow mate???
Would like to mate but it's just to many hours on the road. Two hours there, 200 miles with you guys and then 2 hours home.
Up at 4am Monday and a 2.5 drive for work :eek2:

I know I keep saying it but hopefully join the next run out.

Have a great day, drive safe :thumbs:
 
#16 ·
Good work on the paint; Black is a pain in the butt to keep looking nice and made worse by people who don't care.

I think I must be the only person in the world who doesn't mind the 436m wheels (aside from cleaning them), although that doesn't stop me wanting some BBS CH when funds allow.

I was mooching about TH Boller in Banbury the other week and they had a 1M in stock and it look tiny amongst the 435's etc. I was may more excited about that than the exotica.
 
#17 ·
441M's are on, very happy with how they look.
Still 18" with stock tyres but I reckon they look bigger, especially in silver. Slightly different ET also means they fill the arches better, absolutely no need for spacers with these.

My 2nd hand M Performance Exhaust arrived, if it stops raining I'll get that on as well... Been a good day :D
 

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#19 ·
SamM140 said:
They looked ok good on it dude.
Thanks Sam, well pleased.

Also got the exhaust on, sounds great outside but as expected still a little quiet inside. It'll have to do for now though as I'd like to retain what's left of the BMW warranty.
Maybe try a Milltek cat back later next year since the one I have on the 1M sounds superb.
 
#20 ·
swanny71 said:
SamM140 said:
They looked ok good on it dude.
Thanks Sam, well pleased.

Also got the exhaust on, sounds great outside but as expected still a little quiet inside. It'll have to do for now though as I'd like to retain what's left of the BMW warranty.
Maybe try a Milltek cat back later next year since the one I have on the 1M sounds superb.
I want a bit more noise from my exhaust. I am tempted by a trip to PCW. I'm pretty limited with a PPF car.
 
#21 ·
SamM140 said:
swanny71 said:
SamM140 said:
They looked ok good on it dude.
Thanks Sam, well pleased.

Also got the exhaust on, sounds great outside but as expected still a little quiet inside. It'll have to do for now though as I'd like to retain what's left of the BMW warranty.
Maybe try a Milltek cat back later next year since the one I have on the 1M sounds superb.
I want a bit more noise from my exhaust. I am tempted by a trip to PCW. I'm pretty limited with a PPF car.
A cheap job by PCW but well worth it. It's what the car should sound like without sounding chavvy! Also had done on my PPF car.
 
#22 ·
AME said:
SamM140 said:
swanny71 said:
Thanks Sam, well pleased.

Also got the exhaust on, sounds great outside but as expected still a little quiet inside. It'll have to do for now though as I'd like to retain what's left of the BMW warranty.
Maybe try a Milltek cat back later next year since the one I have on the 1M sounds superb.
I want a bit more noise from my exhaust. I am tempted by a trip to PCW. I'm pretty limited with a PPF car.
A cheap job by PCW but well worth it. It's what the car should sound like without sounding chavvy! Also had done on my PPF car.
Good stuff. Compared to the cost of a Remus, it's a no brainer. I want more noise, but don't want it sounding silly or OTT.
 
#23 ·
Few little jobs done which I'll try to write up later this week but the big news is that I've got a Bilstein B12 Kit coming.

Been obsessing over this or the Birds B1 kit for weeks but in the end it came down to value for money. I'm sure the B1 would be 'better' but not twice as good and £580 (Autodoc) v £1300 is a significant saving. Pretty much everything I've read about the B12 has been positive so fingers crossed I've made the right decision.

Will be fitting them myself (I'm handy with spanners) and do a full refresh of all perishables at the same time with OEM parts (top mounts, spring pads, dust covers, rear bump stops etc.). Alignement by a specialist after a few hundred miles.

Shout out to Chris Knott insurance also. All mods declared (I always ask before doing) wheels and exhaust no charge, suspension when it comes, will be an extra £28/year.
 
#25 ·
toon10 said:
It's great to see old school silver wheels. I'm not a fan of black wheels and although the anthracite is OK, silver just looks so much better.

Loving the 1M :thumbs:
Agree on both counts :D
 
#26 ·
So, the B12 Kit arrived from Autodoc earlier than expected - less than a week after ordering.Massive box waiting for me on the door step when I got home.

Quickly set about getting it all out to check for any damage and to make sure all part numbers correct - All OK.
View attachment IMG_1829.JPG

View attachment IMG_1831.JPG
 
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