The 130i Thread

[ciderbeard 15]

Definitely helps.  What car did you have tuned?

[Choo 16]

2 hours ago, ciderbeard said:

Definitely helps.  What car did you have tuned?

My humble F20 116

[ciderbeard 15]

Always cool to see cars get tuned which you wouldn't expect.  What type of gains did you get?

[Blackie 510]

I always thought the staggered big rear rubber was part of the character and appeal of the 130. A non-staggered setup (square makes me cringe) just looks like any other car on the road.

[Driftit 2069]

I would argue a little understeer (which I have never experienced in this car, even at the track in the wet) is better than a little oversteer in a vehicle with an open diff.
At the track I would prefer oversteer.  On the road, understeer.

[ciderbeard 15]

7 hours ago, Blackie said:

I always thought the staggered big rear rubber was part of the character and appeal of the 130. A non-staggered setup (square makes me cringe) just looks like any other car on the road.

100% for me the 130 or 135 with out staggered big rear rubber would lose a lot of character.  I pulled the trigger on Dunlops, and some 400 style 18's, as well as some window tints.  Will post some pics this weekend before and afters.

	2 x DUNLOP SP SPORT MAXX 050+ 225/40/18/92/Y
	2 x DUNLOP SP SPORT MAXX 050+ 255/35/18/94/Y

[Choo 16]

20 hours ago, ciderbeard said:

Always cool to see cars get tuned which you wouldn't expect.  What type of gains did you get?

I can't remember the exact numbers now but the gains would be similar to what the 120i puts out. 

[ciderbeard 15]

i should have asked a better question which was is there an opportunity to upgrade anything with this maintenance?  If I have to buy new parts then upgrading to performance makes sense.  I imagine it might only be in the ignition stuff.

Edited June 30, 2022 by ciderbeard

[M3AN 4016]

No, not really. 

[Jacko 2152]

1 hour ago, ciderbeard said:

i should have asked a better question which was is there an opportunity to upgrade anything with this maintenance?  If I have to buy new parts then upgrading to performance makes sense.  I imagine it might only be in the ignition stuff.

 

M3 LCAs, and a K&N if that floats ya boat.

[M3AN 4016]

True on the filter, BMC is also an option, that's what mine came with. Necessary? Probably not.

LCA's aren't on your list but Chris is right, if you ever need to replace or rebush your existing ones you might as well upgrade them.

[ciderbeard 15]

4 hours ago, Jacko said:

M3 LCAs, and a K&N if that floats ya boat.

what's the thoughts on an intake upgrade like GruppeM or similar?  Can we source anything in NZ?

[M3AN 4016]

32 minutes ago, ciderbeard said:

what's the thoughts on an intake upgrade like GruppeM or similar?  Can we source anything in NZ?

Well, they look great but cost thousands, and the BMWP version is unobtanium. You'd not feel any power gains, they'd be marginal at best.

The stock airbox is pretty good, replace the pipe and sound generator with a Mishimoto silicon hose or equivalent and drop in a K&N or BMC filter and you're probably sorted, all for less than $250.

[Jacko 2152]

47 minutes ago, M3AN said:

replace the pipe and sound generator with a Mishimoto silicon hose

Staggered tyres and making near the only rear wheel drive hatchback on the planet drive like a front wheel drive generic transport box is one thing, but taking the musical instrument off of an N52 is straight up heretic talk! 

1 hour ago, ciderbeard said:

what's the thoughts on an intake upgrade like GruppeM or similar?  Can we source anything in NZ?

As Dave says, they look cool. Ive had a good poke around the Simota/GruppeM/BMWP ones in person... The Simota is about the only one that stacks up all around, the GruppeM isnt actually that nicely made, the BMWP one looks nice but likely does next to zilch (and $$$$ if you can even find one), the Simota one is pretty nicely made and makes good induction noises. The stock 130i intake is pretty sh*t hot to start with, and makes hilarious fun noises if you take the lid off anyway. I even started CADing up a new airbox with the best bits of all 3 options, but just dont have the time to do it unfortunately. Ill probably get a Turner motorsport one when do the engine swap on mine, its available and will do as much as any of the others for performance (and noise), no carbon fancyness but meh. 

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Jacko

[GorGasm 563]

Ah I remember putting a pod filter on my old twin cam 91 Maxima, it was good times, sounded great.  Funny car as it had as much go as a lot of performance cars in the early 00s.

Aftermarket filters make zero or negative performance difference, but sound so good!

Edited June 30, 2022 by GorGasm

[ciderbeard 15]

Anyone do ecu flashes for these cars?  Is that a thing?

[M3AN 4016]

25 minutes ago, ciderbeard said:

Anyone do ecu flashes for these cars?  Is that a thing?

Yes, it's a thing, ~280hp is the standard claim, I couldn't tell you where to get it done though I'm afraid. My auto box has also been flashed and it's feral in sport mode. 

[ciderbeard 15]

Before and after, need to go out for a good drive now on the new wheels / tires.

now that you can see the callipers I feel a strange desire for beefier better looking ones.

First time driving it on non run flats and maybe it’s just placebo but it feels so much less harsh and more comfortable.

Edited July 1, 2022 by ciderbeard

[gofaster 99]

1 hour ago, M3AN said:

Yes, it's a thing, ~280hp is the standard claim, I couldn't tell you where to get it done though I'm afraid. My auto box has also been flashed and it's feral in sport mode. 

I use Basil at Autopassion(Chip tuning website) for all my flashes. Their website quotes the E90 330i (same engine?) Old power 190kw/258hp and 300nm to a tuned output of 210kw/285hp and 336nm.

[M3AN 4016]

1 hour ago, ciderbeard said:

Before and after, need to go out for a good drive now on the new wheels / tires.

now that you can see the callipers I feel a strange desire for beefier better looking ones.

First time driving it on non run flats and maybe it’s just placebo but it feels so much less harsh and more comfortable.

Fantastic aesthetic improvement!

And no, go-flats are much more comfortable, it's no placebo.

[ciderbeard 15]

1 hour ago, gofaster said:

I use Basil at Autopassion(Chip tuning website) for all my flashes. Their website quotes the E90 330i (same engine?) Old power 190kw/258hp and 300nm to a tuned output of 210kw/285hp and 336nm.

Holy sh*t that’s insane gains.

[gofaster 99]

57 minutes ago, ciderbeard said:

Holy sh*t that’s insane gains.

Just quoting their website, best you call Basil to discuss (no affiliation other than happy customer)

[ciderbeard 15]

30 minutes ago, gofaster said:

Just quoting their website, best you call Basil to discuss (no affiliation other than happy customer)

Will do, thanks for the lead.

[Jacko 2152]

1 hour ago, ciderbeard said:

Holy sh*t that’s insane gains.

Most of them are marketing, and by that I mean all of them are marketing, many dyno plots after a generic DME flash show about 5-10hp at the wheels. There was a kiwi company, forgot the name, claim 305hp from an N52  

There is a website that most of these guys buy the files from and then distribute, its kinda like wholesale DME dump, and then they retail it with all the claims. Have a look at tuners like BPC/StageFP/Severn who actually do dyno tuning on them for realistic numbers of what to expect... without doing other things (like MILVs) there really isnt much to be had, the N52B30 in a 130 is already at BMWs factory highest state of tune out of the box, and there are no turbos to wind up the boost on.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Jacko

[ciderbeard 15]

The place gofaster mentioned says they don’t just grab a generic flash but make a custom tune for your car and your usage.  But I don’t think they dyno it, not sure on that part though.