elias

good point, probably should've explained a bit better, I undid the brake lines that are attached to the subframe, in order to not damage them when lowering the subframe, they are hardlines on the one side and don't have much flex, didn't want to snap them when moving the subframe around to get the bushings in and out

Big day on the tools today, installing the new subframe bushings. Managed to borrow a subframe bushing tool to remove the OEM bushings. Overall the job was a lot easier than most people make it out to be. The hardest part was removing the OEM bushings. Easiest way I found was to start with the rear bushings, remove the rear subframe bolts, loosen the front mounting bolts slightly, then put a jack under the subframe just behind where the diff is and gently lower it until there's enough room to get the tool in between boot floor and subframe. Then spray a lot of lithium grease in the gaps in the subframe, and pull the bushing out. For the front ones, loosen the rear mounting bolts, place the jack under the front of the diff, remove the front mounting bolts and gently lower jack till there is enough room. Then remove the bushings. Installing the new Condor speed shop UHMW bushings was extremely easy, I placed them in the freezer first thing in the morning, before getting started on the car. The bushings split into two pieces, one goes in from each side and then the aluminium sleeve goes down the hole in the middle. I sprayed some more grease into subframe, and then simply pushed the bushings in by hand, took all of about 30 seconds per bushing. Then just bolted everything back up, torqued to spec and job done. Only issue I came across was the brake lines, I lost a lot of fluid, but I was planning in doing a flush anyway so will need to flush/bleed the brakes tomorrow, got some Motul rbf600 which should do nicely. Then give the car a clean and a test drive.

@HELLBMhow much would you sell the LSD for? Looking for one for my 135i

Would definitely recommend from a driving perspective ,as far as value goes, they seem to have gone up, I paid 12.5k for my auto one less than a year ago, would be tricky to find one for that now. As far as turbos go, wastegate rattle and turbo seals are definitely an issue, obviously depends on mileage, they are a pain to get to, need to drop subframe etc etc, and rather expensive. Wastegate rattle itself isn't too much of an issue until they no longer hold boost and you get the 30FF code, in some cases this is due to vacuum line leaks rather than the wastegates themselves, but they are well known to fail. Other common issues, obviously the high pressure fuel pump, water pump, leaking injectors, as well as other general maintenance such as gaskets etc. For an enthusiast its a great car overall, especially if you enjoy working on it yourself, and don't depend on it to get to work etc, although when properly maintained, quite a reliable car. Obviously you will run into a few issues when you inevitably decide to tune it at some point, as it will expose any weaknesses such as spark plugs, coils, fuel system etc. Overall an extremely fun car to drive, with plenty of power, especially when tuned, the biggest downsides being the common issues and the lack of a LSD which can make traction an issue.

Anyone in auckland got a subframe bushing tool for e82/e9x by any chance? Need to pull out the OEM subframe bushings. Cheers

Rolling the guards on this car proved extremely difficult due to the fact that the lip is two layers of metal which is extremely stiff and hard to bend and the seam sealer stud in behind the lip. Removed the seam sealer with a wire wheel on a drill, very messy job, got the rubber dust everywhere, not pleasant in the eyes. Gave it a go with a guard roller and heat gun, 1hour later and no change. Decided to change up the approach and got a rubber mallet, with some heat and eventually managed to hammer the inside lip a lot flatter. Not a huge amount of room gained, but definitely a noticeable change, won't do anymore because I don't want to risk warping the guards. Will touch up the paint where the wheels rubbed it off and where I took it off with the wire wheel, and then fill the small area behind the lip back up with seam sealer to make sure no moisture can get trapped in there and slowly rust out the quarter panel. Then will just need to trim back the guard lining a bit to keep it away from the tire. Will most likely go to a 235/40/18 tire and adjust camber as necessary. Subframe and diff bushings also arrived today, only took 4 business days all the way from the US which was very quick. Would definitely recommend condor speedshop, great to deal with, answer emails quickly and products seem very high quality, machining is very precise with an excellent finish. Went with the UHMW bushings with aluminium inserts, they split into 2 pieces so should be much easier to install than oem ones. Looking forward to seeing how the car feels once I get them installed.

right I see, any particular places you Ould recommend for paint? Most places ive found so far seem to offer powdercoating?

Sounds good @charles28 may be able to give some insight on this, using meth injection with tuned n54 on track.

good question, only one way to find out... the thing is most people that drive n54s use them from highway glory runs or doing one or two pulls rather than repeated, high rpm driving such as on a track. Might be worth trying to search up some track builds such as the Berk time attack 135i race car and see what sort of cooling they run, most of the time they seem to spend more effort on oil coolers etc reducing engine oil temps rather than IATs. Meth injection may be worth considering as a way to cool down the IATs, Ken from Wedge-performance recommends the AEM kit.

The VRSF 7.5 one seems to be quite good from what ive heard, charge pipe meth injection could also help to reduce intake temps

Ive got a set of CSL style wheels for my 135i that are currently painted white, and have a fair few chips in them. Im wanting to refurbish them, in gunmetal or shadow chrome sort of colour. Anyone here done this before? Wondering what the best way to remove the old paint is? Or am I better off just dropping them off at a powdercoater and getting them to do it? Cheers

Ordered some new subframe and diff bushings for the car, should be here in a week or so, hoping to get the subframe bushings installed soon and hopefully fix the sloppy/vague rear end. Should be a fun job... Diff bushings will go in later on, when I hopefully put in a Mfactory limited slip diff soon.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I decided against the inserts as I believe my bushings are too worn for these to work as intended and with my stiff coilover setup I think id still have too much movement, and don't really want a second spring rate (from the rubber bushings) I haven't replaced the RTABs yet, will do the subframe bushings and see if there's still slop, if so, then those will be next, we will see. I ended up going with the Condor speed shop UHMW ones, as the company was great to deal with, and very prompt in answering any questions as well as hearing some positive reviews. Will update this thread once I get them installed, should be here in about a week, shipping price was fairly reasonable and only an extra 4$ for express fedex shipping. Diff bushings won't be getting installed just yet, will do them when I do a LSD conversion a little bit later on, saves dropping the diff twice. Cheers

Haven't been able to do much to the car recently, but took it out for a drive and took some photos. Subframe bushings, ride height and wheel alignment next up on the to do list, and hopefully a limited slip diff a little bit later on...

Appreciate the reply @jon dee some good information in there. From what I can tell, poly bushings in the subframe shouldn't need lubrication as there should be minimal twisting, compared to something like a control arm. The main reason for changing the subframe bushings is the fact that im trying to get rid of the vague feeling rear end which has become all the more noticeable since having installed aftermarket suspension which is significantly stiffer. Installing bushings which do not have a spring rate would be ideal I think, as this would eliminate the current situation of essentially having two spring rates, one from bushing and one from the springs, where it seems currently the bushings are softer which is a very odd feeling. From my research it seems, tearing of welds/chassis only becomes an issue on high hp cars with solid aluminium bushings, as UHMW and poly seem to be soft enough to absorb enough of the forces to not crack anything. In terms of NVH, car does still have full interior and will keep most of it, so that is something to keep in mind... cheers

tried hell bm? had a fair few e8x/e9x there when I was there last no too long ago, bound to be one with heated seats amongst them, seems to be a common option on the 135is

that makes sense, do these come with the ewg n55? Seem to be a fairly reliable engine when taken care of, and can be made to sound very good. Im sure you'd get good money for the 335d, have spoken to a few people who spent a long time looking for one of those and eventually gave up, seem to be quite rare, although it seems to be not the ideal time to sell a car right now

why would you want to swap the 335d for a 335i? 335D wagon sounds like an ideal daily driver to me...

Looking into replacing my rear subframe bushings soon and thought Id better do the diff ones too to match. Looking at either the Condor speed shop UHMW ones or the AKG motorsport 75Dpoly bussing. Anyone had any experience with either of these? My stock bushings feel very sloppy, all the more noticeable after installing firmer suspension. Car isn't daily driven, but will still be street driven. UHMW: https://www.condorspeedshop.com/collections/1-series/products/the-crucial-e8x-subframe-differential-mount-combo Poly: https://www.akgmotorsport.com/product/rear-subframe-bushing-set-for-bmw-e90-polyurethane-75d/ Cheers

not a bad looking car by any means its just the big headlights on the e87 and e82/88 take a bit of getting used to

disagree with this, n54 is arguably a stronger engine and easier to tune, although I agree that a m135i is a better, much more balanced car than a n54 130i would be

interesting, as far as I was aware a LSD was never a factory option, which was a big mistake on bmws part imo

looks great! and that wagon looks awesome too, I would probably get rid of the lip as if everything else is OEM/stock it looks a bit out of place

Yes the 135i can be a deathtrap especially in the wet with traction control off, but also very fun, like I said can't really comment on the 130i though, having never driven one, was more referring to how different the n52 engine was to the n54. Would definitely recommend giving a 135i a test drive though if you are considering it

I would agree with this, I have never owned a 130i, but have a 135i and a 325i wagon, n52 engine is great in the 325, and would be significantly better in 3l form in a lighter, smaller car. n54 is great engine but different to drive, much more low down power but falls off at higher revs, handling is great too on the 135i with a few changes, definitely recommend stiffer suspension, and negative camber up front, and the OEM rear subframe bushings aren't the best either. Both cars have their pros and cons, but id imagine that a 130i might be more rewarding to drive especially on nz roads, high revving NA straight six, more linear power, whereas the 135i is almost too out of control, especially when tuned, traction is always an issue.