Herbmiester

You can use a BMW vin checker like ths one, https://www.mdecoder.com/ to see what options the car came from the factory with. This wont tell you what a dealer may have installed, and as mentioned by Brent, it could just be a body kit. Personally I would get the 3l over the 2.5, there is only a minor errect on fuel economy but noticeably better power.

I was never quite sold on the black style 67 replicas that came with the 130i, not to mention the front tyres were Crosswinds brand, so I decided to replace them. When a set of near new style 436 wheels turned up on marketplace with near new Pilot Sport 5's at a very cheap price, I bought them. They really change the look of the car and as you would expect, handling is much better. They also ride a bit better as well. I am probably going to raise the ride height slightly, but I am not getting any rubbing and bumpy roads don't cause any issues.

Yes getting the right box is the key. My research, including a good chat with the local transmission guy, painted a decent picture on ZF6 reliability. He really doesn't like the 6L45.

I am looking to swap the GM 6L45 in my 130i for a ZF6HP. Some of you may wonder whey swap an auto for an auto, but bear with me I do have what I think are solid reasons. Firstly and probably the big one for me, is the GM6L45 is an average box. It's not that smooth, especially when being pushed. It clunks up and down and does have a habit of chopping down when its not needed or holding on when it should drop down. I find it a bit of a guessing game. It does work ok when you use the paddle shifters. My 6l45 has had a service ad works as it should. In comparison the ZF box's I have had are noticeably smoother. The y have a much more refined converter lock/unlock and shifts are smoother. It also seems to be a lot smarter about when it shifts up and down. Finally it can be made very sharp with an XHP flash tune. Having had 6HP boxes in a few cars now and have always been impressed. The question of why not manual convert is a simple one, at best its a 5k job and could easily be 7k plus. One the other hand the ZF swap is a 1 to 1.5k job. Also my wife drives the car in Wellington traffic and is not interested in having a manual. I can get my manual fix driving the E34. Getting the right ZF box is the key and there are a few small parts needed. I am pretty sure I can do it myself (using a lift), and again if the right box is used, no reprogmaing of the TCU or DME is required. I am still gathering information but this article from XHP covers it. I am in the market for a ZF 6HP19/21. https://www.xautomotive.com/blogs/news/from-gm-to-zf-6hp

I put the wiring to the side of the structure. Its a bit tight but I managed to get it throgh and down. I just have the 2 screws at the front holding it down. Mine already had an older android head unit in place so it was already cut to fit.

Rock Auto is usually the cheapest and their shipping is pretty good as well. They dont always have the same selection as FCP, ECS or Spareto.

Mine were second hand and I rolled the dice as they did look a bit average. However the inserts were in excellent shape and the bumpstops were perfect. I just cleaned them up and installed them. I did regrease my strut mounts as they had no roughness and the bearings looked fine. The reason I went with them was that one of my KW coilovers had blown. Replacing it was going to be expensive, and time consuming to get to NZ. I have subsequently found a KW insert so I will rebuild them. The Bistein is a little softer, not by much but the bumpstops are as new and the bumstops on the KW were perished. This is a pretty important factor with lowered suspension. My rears are KW. You could acheive the same with a B8 and lower springs.

Just contact someone like Protecta directly. I had a 2007 335i and there are things you will have to address over time, especially if you modify it.

All done. Not 100% sure on the ride height, I may take it up another 5mm. It is 1 finger width between tyre and guard. I will say the Bilsteins have decent ride quality, the bumpy roads of Whitemans valley were well taken care of, and I note the bump stops were near new and quite firm.

One side is done. I ended up with a set of Bilstein B12s, as I messed up with the Ohlins/3D Design. They were for an F20. I will look to do the other side tonight.

I need this gone so I will take $500.

Ohlins Road and Track kit for an F20. Ohlins make this for a JDM BMW specialist company called 3D Design. It is top quality suspension, on par with the best from Bilstien etc. It is in excellent condition, no leaks and everything moves smootly. I bought it for my 130i but realised it was for an F20 not an E87. Those that drove my old E46, which had 3D Design suspension, will know how good it is. $600. Plus courier.

The 130i failed its warrant due to a blown shock and the pads were contaminated from the oil from the shock. I decided to go all in and give it a glow up. BTW 3d design suspension is made by Ohlins. For those that remember my old 330ci, it had 3d design suspension, and was pretty sharp handling wise.

Yes check the LVDS cable, wrong way round was an issues for me also.

Try these settings. Resolution 640 x 240. Harman head unit. IDrive_B(CCC).