135i Build - track toy with a license plate

[berns]

Think some of you followed my last E90 build. If you liked that, then I think you'll like this build even more.

I think this 135i marks my 14th car, so here we go.

The E90 335i was an awesome street car, but its weight, extra doors, effortless stability and lack of rawness / aggression, left me wanting something else and as well as had me missing my old cars. At 3680lbs with me in it, I dreaded the thought of gutting it for track use, so I pulled a few parts off of it and found it a new home with a great new owner.



I thought of buying a multitude of cars, from a high mileage s52 M Coupe, e36 M3s, another e46 (had a turbo one, miss it dearly), an e92 M, a Cayman S -- you name it. Then I found this pristine 2009 135i, M Sport with black headliner, Alpine white and optioned just as I'd wished: 6 speed and no nav, with only 60k on it, one owner and in need of NOTHING. Sold!

Goal for this build is a 3000lb, 500+whp, CSL-inspired track toy that can still be driven on the street.

The day I got it:


So, onto the build.

Engine:
For now, I'm sticking with the stock turbos, since I just had them replaced at the end of their warranty with brand new, OEM units. To aid in their longevity and help in giving a little bit more top-end power, I decided to give some stock-location inlets a try. Once these turbos quit, I'll likely go with a single kit and a small-ish turbo, since my horsepower goals are modest and I'd like to a) keep the motor healthy and b) not deal with port injection or other fueling woes. I'll be at the mercy of the factory HPFP and an upgraded LPFP until a better solution becomes available. If anyone thinks I should just go with upgraded twins because of my horsepower goals, I'd honestly be more interested in sitting in a pool of acid. Between the drama, unreliability, added heat, annoyance of install / maintenance and lack of a proper, proven manufacturer like Garrett, Precision, BW, standing behind them etc... No thanks.

• MHD custom tuned by MOTIV
• VRSF 7.5" Race Intercooler
• VRSF Stock-Location silicone inlets
• VRSF Charge Pipe with TiAL BOV, 10psi spring
• VRSF catless downpipes
• Berk midpipes and race axle back
• Fuel-It Stage 2
• PR coil upgrade

Suspension
My favorite part. Just want to thank Harold from HPA for always answering my questions and generally being such a pleasant dude to deal with.

• KW Clubsport dampers
• Vorshlag Camber Plates
• Swift springs, 7" 6k front / 8" 12k rear w/ helper
• HPA machined front lower perches
• HPA rear perches/height adjusters with BMW thrust bearings and Swift thrust washers
• HPA modified center support for M3 strut tower brace
• BimmerWorld adjustable rear camber and toe arms
• BimmerWorld Precision front control arm bearings
• BimmerWorld rear camber (spring) arm bearings
• M3 Front sway bar
• M3 steering rack (12.5:1 vs 16:1)
• PowerFlex "track" front/rear subframe bushings
• PowerFlex "track" front/rear diff bushings
• PowerFlex "track" rear upper strut bushings
• PowerFlex "track" sway bar bushings
• AKG rear lower shock mounts

A few days after I got it...




Drivetrain
Stock clutch and flywheel for now, and to be honest, I much prefer the behavior of the car with the factory DMFW over a single mass, like the MFactory unit I had in my E90. While NVH is a guaranteed increase on a track-spec vehicle, I'm trying to be mindful (at first) not to create it gratuitously. Some of my choices in parts here are reflected in this approach, such as the motor and trans mounts not being bowling-ball spec 75d poly.

• Wavetrac LSD with the automatics 3.46 gearing, built by Dan @ Diffsonline
• AKG 95A motor mounts
• AKG E21 trans mounts with aluminum cups
• AKG race shifter w/ tall delrin knob and beefy selector rod

Cooling
Fun stuff with the N54! I'll be running a CSF Radiator, again, because it is bulletproof and keeps temps in check, regardless of oil temps or IATs. Seriously amazed by this piece and have never run a better radiator in any car. Oil cooling needs are a bit trickier on this car, as you all know, so...

I'm doing a custom built-by-me dual oil cooler setup, to run in sequence. Basically two SETRAB cores, a MOTIV thermostat delete plate with -10an fittings, an EARL'S 185* remote thermostat and the associated braided lines and fittings. I'll mount one in front of each front tire and figure out the mounts when I get there. I couldn't justify the cost of the Evolution Racewerks kit, especially with it not including a remote thermostat. This should keep temps in control and I'm in it for less than $850. Time will tell.

Brakes

• StopTech Trophy Sport, ST60 6-piston front on 355mm slotted rotors
• StopTech Trophy Sport, ST40 4-piston rear on 345mm slotted rotors
• StopTech sport pads for the street and StopTech SR33 track pads for the track

Interior Plans:

• Recaro Pole Positions in black leather
• Macht Schnell floor mounts
• VAC extinguisher mount
• BMW M Performance alcantera wheel
• Custom harness / roll bar, powdercoated white, inspired by the M4 GTS
• Rear seat delete, blockoff plate, carpeted bench
• Braille 6.2lb G30 Lithium Ion Battery

Wheels & Tires
Shame there aren't more wheel and tire options for this awkwardly proportioned little car. I really didn't want to run a staggered setup because a) more understeer, b) no tire rotations, and c) with aggressive camber, the "proven" setups generally look wimpy, and I'd be lying if I said I only cared about lap times. It should look the part too. APEX told me this wouldn't work, so did the forums. I win!

• APEX ARC-8 18x9 +42 square
• Nexen N Fera SUR4G tires, 255/35/18 (just about the same width as a 265/35 RE71R, they run WIDE)
• 5mm spacer up front, but I could get away with a 3mm. This is due to my current right height and spring length, as my front lower perch is still just above the top of the tire.
• Macht Schnell 75mm stud conversion

Current camber specs are -3.25 front and -2.5 rear. I'm going to pull some more camber out of the front, probably closer to -3.4, and go for -2.75 out back for some added clearance and stability. Rear fenders are cut internally, but it's still too close for comfort. Front fenders will be rolled, massaged and pulled, along with the bumper where possible. So far, the rubbing isn't THAT bad, and seems easily fixable without going nuts.






Exterior: Goal is to eventually do a 1M conversion, because none of the other options look good in my opinion. I might consider 1M front with N5 Tuner rear, but every time I see a front 3/4 angle with those rear fenders, I lose interest.
Will likely do a carbon hood, carbon roof and some AERO bits from APR with a proper front splitter and rear spoiler. This is much further down the road though.

Well, $#@!, I guess that about covers it for now. Much of this has yet to be delivered or installed, so I'll update when I can. Till then, I'm prepping and aiming to make it to GTA Super Lap Battle on Nov 9th at Button Willow. We'll see how we do.

[cloud9blue]

Cool stuff. Glad to see more road course builds on this platform! Got pic of the custom oil coolers by the way?

[berns]

Cool stuff. Glad to see more road course builds on this platform! Got pic of the custom oil coolers by the way?

Haven't started to assemble it yet. It started here as a sketch, then I ordered everything.
Today I'm doing the brakes, seats, fire extinguisher, catch can and strut bar. I'll see if I have time to take everything out of the box and pull the bumper off to start planning.



Until then, here are some updates.

Picked this BMW M Performance wheel up from an E92 M3 owner. Got it for $300 because it was filthy. Spent 30 min cleaning it and it's as good as new. Score!
BEFORE:



AFTER:


Front & Rear StopTech trophy kit has arrived. I've wanted these since I first saw them debuted at SEMA a few years ago. The 6-piston calipers are massive and definitely lighter than the standard Sport BBK calipers I ran on the E90.



Otherwise, car is coming along and looking proper. Needs aero.

[Sticky]

I think this 135i marks my 14th car, so here we go.

Your first two pics aren't working. Post them again and I'll edit them in.

[berns]

Giant update time!

Car has been awesome. Here's a video of its first shakedown at November's Global Time Attack Super Lap Battle @ Buttonwillow. Never driven that track and it was my first time in the car. Super happy with multiple 2:00.xxx laps, but now I am on the hunt for sub-2. I'll be back at Buttonwillow at the end of the month with Speed Ventures. Sign up and come hang!




Better late than never, so here goes...


This time around with my 2nd N54 powered car, I wanted to give upgraded inlets a try. I hate pushing these tiny stock turbos so hard, and I also hate the powerband just falling on its face after 5500rpm. So, with this build I'm aiming to keep these things alive and moving the powerband as far to the right as possible. Now that the hardware is there, the rest will be done via custom tuning from Jake @ Motiv.


I went with the VRSF Stock Location Silicone Inlets. I heard the install isn't fun at all, so I let Rob @ Speed Logic handle it, per my neighbors recommendation. While he was at it, I had him do a Walnut Blast and fit a larger bung onto the intake manifold for a better source.


Also had him toss on the charge pipe and BOV since it was all out at that time... and the downpipes. Honestly, I didn't want to do any of this crap, and I'm glad he did! At a great price too.


Pretty amazing how tiny the stock inlets are!






Charge pipe has a nice wrinkle black finish and it's super light. Fitment was spot on.






And the downpipes fit perfectly as well, with pretty welds and solid flanges. Pretty impressed with this stuff.






After this, I pretty much just flashed a stage 2 MHD OTS map and left the motor alone while I went much further with the chassis...


I ordered a set of 18x9 +42 APEX ARC-8's, despite everyone telling me they wouldn't fit. I did a lot of math before ordering, and I was right. 18x9 squared with 255/35/18 Nexen NFera SUR4G's, which run super wide. I'm running no spacer out back, and a 3mm up front, but that's just for piece of mind. Front clears the strut and lower perch with no spacer as well. 7" springs ftw!






Also, I think it's common knowledge, but if you haven't done a stud conversion, just quit cars all together. I went with a 75mm kit from Macht Schnell. Best thing you'll ever do. Go with the 90mm kit if you're running lager than 10mm spacers.






Then I was presented with an opportunity to own some of my favorite seats, ever... These are kind of a "keep it in the family" deal, previously owned by two of my friends and now passed onto me. I love them dearly. Recaro Pole Positions, Macht Schnell floor mounts and a VAC extinguisher mount to finish it off. Roll bar will come next.








Next up was brakes. You might know, I had a basically brand new front and rear StopTech ST60/ST40 kit for my last E90. I thought this swapped right over to the E82, but I was wrong. Welp, cut my losses and sold that kit and decided to go big for the Trophy kit. I've wanted these forever and BimmerWorld was a huge help in pulling it together.

Install day was fun. I'm really good at doing brakes now. I've had them on and off the e90 and the e82 probably 10x.







With the brakes sorted and my KW Clubsports, M3 front lower arms and BimmerWorld adjustable rear arms installed almost on day one, I had a laundry list of upgrades to get in, with very little time to make it out to November's GTA Super Lap Battle. I am SO fortunate to have become great friends with the owners of EAS in Anaheim. Tom and Steve are the best dudes, and Sammy is a magician of a tech. Together, myself, Steve and Sammy did a $#@! ton of work in 3 days.


First up, we had to drop the rear subframe for most of the bits. Not exactly the view you want to see 4 days before a track day..





PowerFlex track-spec front/rear rear subframe bushings
PowerFlex track-spec front/rear diff bushings
Warning -- these are a huge pain in the ass to install compared to the standard Street bushings PF sells.. We struggled with them for a while, until I decided maybe we should just mill off a tiny bit of material on the bottom edge, to help get it started in there. This worked, thankfully. Almost gave up and just installed solid aluminum subframe bushings! Boy am I glad I didn't, though. While the car was still down, I drove a Solid Bushing E92 M3 home for the night and hated it on the street. Diff whine, clunks and bangs -- no thanks. The PowerFlex bushings on the other hand? Just as firm, ZERO noise.








James Clay @ BimmerWorld also suggested I install their Rear Camber Arm Bearing Kit and Precision Front Upper Control Arm Bearing kit. I didn't have these pieces on my E90, and honestly, I'm blown away by the difference. The car is SO stable under braking, and everywhere in between. Turn-in is awesome, especially for this little car which loves to understeer. According to James, these are the most critical suspension bushing/pivot locations on both E8X/E9X. Can't recommend these pieces enough. If you're prepping your car for track duty, and spending on all the other usual parts, don't skip this.


Here are the front bearings:




And the rears (sidenote - these require a sleeve to be tack welded into the subframe.)





You guys still with me? There's more.


I ran a Wavetrac LSD on my E90 and it was bulletproof and generally $#@!ing awesome. Great company, amazing service, and a solid product. I knew I wanted to go with one again, but this time I really wanted to try the shorter 3.46 gearing from the automatic 128i. I always felt like the 3.08 was too long on the E90, especially on track, so why not. I hit up Dan @ Diffsonline . Pretty awesome that you can order the whole pumpkin from him. All you have to do is swap your cover on and fill it with fluid. ZERO downtime with the core exchange, too. Even nicer is that you don't end up with some gross, rusted, weathered diff. Dan cleans everything and hits it with fresh paint. Can't recommend him enough.







Finally, with the rear end all sorted away and almost no stock parts left back there, I moved on to the transmission mounts, motor mounts and shifter.


I really didn't want this car to vibrate and shake at all times, but of course its purpose is to be a track toy. Rather than go all out with bowling ball level hardness, I decided to go with everything from AKG Motorsport. I spoke to them directly about my goals for the car and my fears of gratuitously adding NVH, and we settled on the following pieces.


Poly 95A Motor Mounts (softer than 75D)
Transmission Mount Upgrade Set, basically E21 OEM hard rubber trans mounts with beefy bolts, nestled inside AKG's aluminum cups. Note** you have to drill out your stock mounting holes just a bit. Easy peasy.
Motorsport Quick Shifter & DTM Selector Rod - seriously, this is one of my absolute favorite parts of this car. Anyone that's driven it has said the same. I was nervous to go for it but I could never go back. With a transmission that's in good shape, and proper fluid, your shifts on track are lightning fast, super direct and take no time away form the steering wheel. This thing RULES.


Oh, and about the install. I already had my driveshaft out since we were doing the diff. Obviously that made this way easier. Getting the stock stuff out isn't too bad, and install this is SO easy as far as shifters go. I've installed a CAE before and it's not fun, since you have to drill.. With the AKG, it utilizes existing holes for the baseplate. There is only forward and rearward adjustment, strictly for preference. No guesswork involved at all. The quality of these parts is incredible, the prices are SUPER reasonable and they're made in the US. Rad!


As for the mounts, you will definitely notice a significant increase in NVH, however, for me, it's totally livable. There is literally nothing to hear or worry about once you're up and moving, but at idle, AC on or letting off the clutch to get going in 1st gear, you'll have some vibration. Other than that, the motor and trans mounts are awesome and you need them to run a solid chassis mounted shifter.











While I was up here in the front of the car, I did another install of my favorite mod from my E90: the E9x M3 steering rack. 12.5:1 vs our stock 16:1. Not a fun install by any means, but not terrible either.


IMPORTANT NOTES if you want to do this swap:
You must make sure your steering wheel is straight when you disconnect.
You have to swap your tie rods onto the M3 rack. The stock M3 tie rods are way too long, so unless you want 58* toe out, you have to do this.
Lastly, and this is a big one. You must ensure the rack is centered. Mine is actually off by a 1/4 turn, meaning I have more steering angle in one direction vs the other. I'll address this soon. Sorry, no pics.


Instead of throwing my stock exhaust back on the car, and since I was already down in Anaheim, I hit up Berk Technology to see if they had their mid pipes and Race axle back in stock. Lucky me, I got the last one on the shelf. This is a seriously beautiful piece. And together with catless downpipes, this is a sound I didn't know the N54 could make. Also? It is super light. Win all around.







We're almost there guys! I'd been waiting for a while, but finally my intercooler and radiator showed up. Also, I'm installing an E92 M3 rear sway bar to match the E92 Front. I don't know why it became a "thing" for everyone to run a stock bar and an upgraded front bar, on a car that inherently understeers, but DO NOT FOLLOW SUIT. Also ordered some Hotchkis adjustable front and rear endlinks. Cheap and well made, and nice to have adjustability everywhere. Haven't installed this yet, and sure wish I did it when the subframe was out, but it doesn't look too bad.


As far as the radiator goes, I went with the CSF unit. I ran a CSF radiator on my E90 and it was bulletproof. Temps were never a problem, even when IAT and Oil Temp were suffering, my water temps never got out of hand, lap after lap. This radiator is a bit thicker than stock, so if you're running upgraded stock location inlets and a huge intercooler, get ready to finagle everything into place. I actually had to zip tie my front turbo inlet to the fan shroud to keep it away from the pulleys. Not the best setup, but it should be ok. This is a solid amount of work paired with the intercooler of this size, but good to do both at once.





The radiator is a quality piece and fits without much struggle. The fan shroud is tough to get back in place with the inlet there, but just be patient. Here's the tight clearance issue.





Now, you might be wondering why I opted for the VRSF 7.5" Race Intercooler for a stock turbo car. Well, there are a ton of options out there to start. I ran a Forge FMIC on my E90 and my IATs were too high for my liking on track. The stock turbos probably generate more heat than a nice, efficient single. I don't like upgrading things twice and I'm sure, at some point, I'll have a single setup and be running in the 550whp range. I went big instead of going home. With that being said, this intercool is seriously HUGE. If you want to keep your stock front plastics, don't get it. If you want bulletproof IAT's and additional weight hanging over your front wheels, this is for you! Your stock intercooler weighs 7lbs, this weighs 35... I wish I was half the weight, but I'll trim elsewhere. With all that, this is a quality piece from VRSF and it works. I took some logs last night and monitored temps on the dyno. Temps actually dropped during pulls... Insane! I might open up the mesh on the front bumper, or ditch it completely and build some proper ducting. Impressed that it does indeed fit behind the bumper with no trimming though!











And look at those IAT's! 3rd gear, started at 68*, ended at 68*. Way to go VRSF.



Once I was done with this stuff, I decided to just see how much wider I need to make my car to fit the wheels and tires I want to be running for optimal grip. The goal is 18x10 +25 squared with 285s. In case you want to know what that looks like, with plenty of camber already, here you go. These are actually 275s though** FYI, these are Titan7 wheels. So awesome and only 18lbs each, and forged! Maybe they'll make a 1-series fitment. Would you guys be interested?








Being that it was Friday and I knew I had traffic ahead of me, Steve at EAS was nice enough to let me run on the dyno to get some baseline numbers before we do custom tuning and ethanol blends. A note here. Not sure if 4th is still the best gear for this, or if I should be in 5th since I run the shorter 3.46 gearing. But whatever, man. I also flashed the Stage 2+ map on the car right before the dyno session, so the car was definitely not adapted and was still figuring out its boost. You can hear it wanting to overboost and correcting. Numbers are ok for 91 octane, maybe? Nothing crazy. The higher run is 5th gear. Here's a video.



Log here: https://datazap.me/u/berno/09-135i-m...22-23-24-25-26





That's it for now. Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and let me know if you have any questions.

[langsbr]

Awesome write up. Car looks great! Two questions - for the M3 steering rack, were you able to wire up the speed sensitive thing, so it is easy to steer at slow speeds, or do you just deal with it?

2. What's with whiting out the HP on one of the runs?

[Sticky]

That's it for now. Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and let me know if you have any questions.

No questions but some comments. That is a hell of an update and exactly how it should be done. Pics, links, vids, and all.

Excellent!

[berns]

Awesome write up. Car looks great! Two questions - for the M3 steering rack, were you able to wire up the speed sensitive thing, so it is easy to steer at slow speeds, or do you just deal with it?

2. What's with whiting out the HP on one of the runs?

Thanks!

1- M3 rack -- I didn't wire up Servotronic. I know it's been done. It's not important to me and with 255s up front on this light-ish car, I don't feel I need it. I also don't drive it every day. It's a good weight to me. Heavy but direct.

2 - Coincidental and inconvenient flourescent light reflectoin on a glossy monitor, I think. Or I highlighted it. Nothing to prove or hide here, the numbers were 373/395 I think. I've been told the OTS maps arent set up to work with upgraded inlets. So, custom tunes on the way.

Also, just ordered a Stage 2 LPFP and ethanol sensor with upgraded fuel lines from Fuel-It! Steve is awesome and answered all my questions. Can't wait to make some better power, safer, on the track.

[nikitino25]

What's the reason you went with Vorschlag camber plates instead of the KW clubsports?

[berns]

What's the reason you went with Vorschlag camber plates instead of the KW clubsports?

I wanted to run Swift springs and the Vorschlag plates enable more neg camber to be dialed in. Killed two birds, kinda thing.

[93siro]

Awesome!

I think i saw your car on Hoonigans before.

[berns]

Awesome!

I think i saw your car on Hoonigans before.

Thanks man. Yeah, that was me!

[Traf]

I did the M3 rack without servotronic, only had 225 front at the time, kinda heavy when parking and stuff. How are you living with it on 255 front is beyond me :p.

Where did you get the sleeves and the ball joint for the rear subframe main arm mount ?

[frontside0815]

Where did you get the sleeves and the ball joint for the rear subframe main arm mount ?

Bimmerworld.

[Colodado135]

Great build! I am taking the same path it seems and its great to have someone document what they came up with. I will be posting my build soon when the weather clears.

[daedoe]

Awesome stuff bud! Nice to see a good grip build. I saw your car on hoonigans channel, when you went to laguna seca with vin. Ive gotta make it out to a track event with you guys, its been a lifelong goal to run laguna.

[1dirty5]

sicckkkk build thoo