Badical 21 Report post Posted July 22, 2019 Joined up a little bit ago so thought I'd finally say hello. Got my E82 135i LCI early last year, this is my first BMW and absolutely love the thing. It came with a performance exhaust, endcc front lip and Breyton race GTS-R wheels. In the time I've had I've added a Wagner intercooler, FTP intercooler piping, MHD stage 1+ tune and M3 front arms, will look at maybe doing the rear arms and subframe bushes at a later stage. Really happy with the performance. Interior wise I've wrapped some of the trim in alcantara and swapped out the center trim for 1M pieces. Also changed out to some Nelson Racing Wheel paddle adapters with Pedal Haus paddles, much nicer feel over the factory paddles. Audio wise I came across an E82 at zebra that had some plug n play focal front speakers and Rockford fostgate rear speakers, sub wise I chucked in some logic7 subs, cheap and cheerful sound upgrade until I can afford to put in an amp. Maintenance wise changed the troublesome oil filter housing gaskets and got pedantic with the water pump/thermostat and changed those. Next up to look at a weepy gearbox sump ? 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Navin 180 Report post Posted July 22, 2019 Welcome, car looks great! Good to see more n55 135i's on here The weepy gearbox seems to be a common thing with the dct's. Mine had the same issue, ended up doing a full gearbox service with new sump etc. Been 2 years now and no issues Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badical 21 Report post Posted July 23, 2019 I'm really hoping it's not coming further up from the mechatronic connector or otherwise I'll get very grumpy very quickly ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Navin 180 Report post Posted July 23, 2019 Yep that would make it an absolute mission. Fingers crossed it's just the sump! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1318 Report post Posted July 23, 2019 Welcome Stefan - nice vehicle! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted July 23, 2019 very nice indeed, the n55 e82 isnt as common and some people dislike them but i think they are great. yours looks like its been treated well Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 709 Report post Posted July 24, 2019 23 hours ago, qube said: some people dislike them Why ? Comparative tunability? I reckon a DCT n55 is one of the best values out there. cool car! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted July 24, 2019 the idiot's argument is that the n55 is less powerful and cant be tuned/modded as high power as the n54. this is somewhat true but almost negligible because the limitations of the car/chassis comes before you get into the territory of the difference between the engine and turbo's power output. the actual issue with the LCI e82 (imo) is that it was a testing platform for the N55 and had a lot of issues that were ironed out in preparation for it to be used on the F20. N54 is the better suited engine for the E chassis and the N55 is better suited in the F20 but in saying that, you dont get the cool DCT in the F so thats why I still think its cool in this combination. Treat it well and get it serviced with regular oil changes and the N55 is a very rewarding engine. One of the biggest issues is the waterpump and valvetronic but otherwise its pretty good. Only other issue is that leaking trans sump as navin mentioned which is the DCT specific issue but also easily fixed so otherwise all in all, fantastic car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badical 21 Report post Posted July 25, 2019 The reason I went for an N55 model was because I just couldn't be arsed dealing with rattling wastegates, carboned up intake valves and a fuel pump/injectors crapping themselves if they haven't been changed. I have an evo6 as my track day toy so that is my high power fix. This is my daily so the engine mods i've done have more than enough power for my needs, I really don't want to turn this into my evo as that is now just a pain in the arse to drive around on the street as it's stiff, loud, uncomfortable. Great when you are in the mood but not for my daily. So the argument of an N54 taking more power doesn't really mean much to me. I love this engine, nice smooth lazy power, sounds great. The previous owner took nice care of it and i'm doing the same, i've taken care of the water pump/thermostat and oil filter housing gaskets so far, so once i've done the leaking DCT sump it'll hopefully be just regular maintenance items. My days of wanting a highly modified daily are over, too old now even at 36 haha. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted July 25, 2019 any reason you didnt go for the F20? its so much more comfortable and modern compared to the E82. Totally different in terms of how it looks though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Navin 180 Report post Posted July 25, 2019 I've had literally 0 issues in almost 3 years of ownership other than the weeping sump which was fixed with a full trans service. It was a good idea to do anyway. Most reliable car I've owned which I really didn't expect when purchasing, coming from a long history of owning performance Japs especially. I considered the f20 too but just prefer the shape of the e82 more. In the end the DCT was the deciding factor for me after a test drive. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badical 21 Report post Posted July 25, 2019 Same reason as Navin. I've always wanted an E82, I don't have much need for extra space that a F20 would give me. So just really came down to a looks thing for me as I prefer sedans and coupes over hatches. But if I was in the market for a hatch, a F20 would definitely get a look in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
