Super clean 1 owner car, only 27k miles, and 800 of that was me bringing it back to OKC.

Can you say torque? Sure it's only rated at 300lb ft (although HP/TQ ratings seem to be underrated on this car, like all turbo BMWs)......but it's all there at like 1400rpm to 5200rpm. 7th gear on the highway just takes a little nudge at the throttle to get around someone.

The 11-13 N55 cars don't have the all out HP potential of the earlier N54 cars.............but don't have the HPFP, injector, etc issues that came with it. The car is still damn quick, and it seems intake, downpipe, exhaust tune on 91 still gets it to around 350whp and 400+ tq. There is an upgraded stock turbo (so no downpipe/manifold change needed) that is apparently worth another 50-70whp.

But I'm not going to worry about that junk at the moment.

 

what makes the 54 have more power potential? I've heard this, but don't know much about those things

 

N54 is twin turbo, N55 is single, twin scroll. And the N55 BW turbo is kind of small intended for tq/midrange and does fall off a bit up top. Not as big of an issue with the DCT since you have an extra gear and it shifts so quickly, you can just short shift and stay in the meaty part of the powerband.

The big negative of the 135i is no LSD from the factory. There are good aftermarket ones available, but they are $$$$$. A Wavetrac in a rebuilt pumpkin with a finned diff cover is ~$3500. OS Giken is nearly $5000.

Almost all the extra power on the N55 is in the tune, so I'm just going to do an intake and catback (for more turbo noises) and a tune, and not worry about trying to get every last bit.

 

Ahh gotcha. Yeah that’s more of a mild bolt on + tune kinda car, elegant and comfy. I’ve always been tempted to get one, but still scared by all the reliability and maintenance concerns.

 

I talked to a few local indie shops here, and they both said the N55 is miles ahead of the N54 in reliability concerns. After speaking with him and a few others, it's why I decided against the V8 M3.

With the car stock it just EATS miles on the highway. So just some minor mods, not go wild, some APEX wheels so I can get it up to 245/265 on the rubber up from 215/245, quality supensions JRZ or something, and just enjoy it. I want to make it more capable without ruining it's manners so I can still use it for roadtrips and such.

And the few tuners I've talked have said the DCT will basically take anything the stock turbo can throw at it, so I'll just leave it.

 

I did, but somehow forgot. Jealousy, I suppose.

I miss all the discussions about what car to buy. I want something new, but it will never happen, as I am cheap. So, I live vicariously through others.

 

To be fair, this car is nearly 5 years old.

 

They get really cheap over 50k miles too. Which also makes me nervous, because it makes me wonder what the car will need repairs/maint wise.

Also an 08-10 335i can be had under 10k around here, with less than 100k miles too.

I dunno, I guess it's the lack of knowledge about them that makes me scared.

cause I love how those cars look and feel

 

I would guess most N54 cars on the road have had all the issues fixed by now.

Other than that it's typical BMW stuff, cooling systems, although these have the expensive electric water pump. The 135 rear subframe bushings are jello, that will be addressed soon. BMW also keeps them running warm for efficiency and emissions. Cruising 85 down the highway = 245° oil temps and that is totally normal, apparently the stock oil T-Stat doesn't even open until 230°.........hence the need for additional cooling for any kind of track work.

I over-maintain my stuff, so I'm not too worried about this one. I think the main problem is with bros that just want to tune, and the avg public, that thinks they should be able to maintain a high performance German car like a Honda Civic..............it don't work that way, but you know that.

 

Yeah that makes sense.

 

The Ultimate 1-Series Buyer's Guide

 

Very nice, that guy deserves many props for putting it together. Someday I'll give in to the temptation to get one, and will read that in detail

On a different note:
On Saturday, after 11 years of really frequent use and hundreds of tunes/flashes, my tactrix cable finally gave up the ghost. Just stopped working. I had a spare, but this one was so reliable that I ended up selling it years ago because it never got used lol.

My new one hopefully comes soon, but this marks a new chapter in my tuning hobby lol. New laptop (even though the previous Dell is STILL working after 5 years of hard use), new cable, and I also bought a new AEM X series inline tuning wideband to refresh the current one (that's also still working perfect).

/coolstorybro

 

I'd have offered to loan you mine but I have no idea where the damn thing is packed.

 

Finally got to work on the black wagon.

Surprisingly enough the drain pad didn't have bits of internals after draining the oil.

 

What the heck are those two long bolts right behind the tranny brace on either side?

Please tell me they don't normally stick out like that.

 

They hold on a u shaped subframe brace. I didn't have any baggies so I put the screws back in the holes temporarily.

 

 

**** just got real. Bimmer Performance Center just released their specialized dongle to be able to tune the 12-13 135i through the OBD-II port.

Intercooler, Downpipe, Tune = 60whp and 120wtq. 410wtq at 3krpms.

I'd probably have them pull out some of the low end torque to help the clutch pack in the DCT live.

 

This has been verified with multiple independent users? That's a ton of gain for no mods at all, I'd be a bit scared lol. Sounds like a very liberal/aggressive tune.

but if it's legit, then wow

 

From them? No.

But veen DINAN claims 80whp and 100wtq with intercooler and stock downpipe (apparently not much there to gain on the N55) DINAN just uses a free flowing muffler. And the DINAN stuff is widely considered to be conservative vs JB4 MHD etc.

The stock tune only runs like 7psi and the stock turbo is capable of up to ~14-15psi at redline. It's VERY conservative from the factory.