Jake's Epic BMW 135i Build Thread (5+ Years of Ownership)

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05-24-2015

Next up, installing my Rieger diffuser and fxomar side splitters.

I bought the Rieger diffuser used and the carbon fiber hydrodip was fading. So, I sanded it down with some high-grit sandpaper and setup a ghetto booth in the shop’s bathroom. Plan was to prime it and then spray it with Plastidip.

I put a bunch of coats of Plastidip on and it looks great! The finish is a real nice matte black and it seems very durable. The diffuser didn’t come with any mesh, so I went to Home Depot and bought a roll of black gutter guard. It was really cheap, only like $2 or $3. Cut it to size and hot glued it to the back.

Once I installed the diffuser, the exhaust tips were sunk in behind the bumper. Since this is an aggressive diffuser, I had to get them extended. The tips were always a bit crooked, so this was a great excuse to get everything straightened out.

Here is a picture I took shortly after buying the car. You can see that the exhaust tips were melting the factory diffuser because they were pushed up against it.

And here are some photos I took after installing the Rieger diffuser. You can also see the side splitters that I installed at the same time.

 

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05-24-2015

After all these mods, it was time to hit up the drag strip! I only got one video of a pass, but my best time was 12.9 @ 112mph with a 2.15 60ft on street tires. I was heat-soaking really bad and was only able to get 15psi out of the turbos. I guess that is what happens when you sit in the staging lanes for 20 minutes before each run. Next time I'll have an aftermarket intercooler and a more aggressive tune.

After the races, I went to the streets with a few friends of mine. One of them has a Pontiac G8 GT with intake, headers, exhaust, mild cam, and a tune. He was on drag radials with an LSD and automatic transmission putting out 12.2 time slips. I asked if he'd be down to run on the street because I knew I would have better IATs. I put about 2 or 3 car lengths on him from 60MPH to 130MPH. Then we did a 20MPH roll and were dead even up until about 100MPH. I know I have a 12 second car, it'll just take a bit to get there on the track.

Here is the only video I have from the track:

 

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11-03-2015

It's been a while. I haven't done much with the car since my last update besides an oil change or two. Life has been busy. I bought a house with an awesome, huge garage (surround sound ceiling speakers, air compressor with hose outlets everywhere, 220v, insulated, TV, fridge, storage space, etc.)

Anyways, I just ordered a bunch of parts. I've decided to drive the car through winter again this year. I'll post pictures once everything has been delivered.

Breaking my build thread rules and posting a cell phone picture...

But, this should make up for it...

 

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12-11-2015

After owning my 1-series for over a year, I finally got sick of the halogen angel eye bulbs. I previously coded their voltage intensity up higher to make them brighter, but I still didn’t like the warm color.

So, I decided to buy myself an early Christmas present! LUX was running a sale, so I grabbed a pair of their latest and greatest angel eyes. Their H8 angel eyes advertised a pure white 7000k temperature with extreme brightness. Perfect!

I received them a few days after ordering and wanted to install them right away. All I had to do was pop the rear headlight covers off. They can be finicky, but you’ll figure it out. After the cover was off, I twisted the old bulbs out. Next, I inserted the new bulb and tucked the power supply box out of the way. Drum roll please…

Much whiter and much brighter! Awesome. The other side was just as easy. Once both sides were finished, I made sure the headlight covers were sealed. Again, this can be tricky, but it’s important because if they aren’t tightly sealed, you’ll get condensation in your headlights.

If you have any problems, refer to their installation guide here.

I buttoned everything up and took the car for a drive. Very happy!

 

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02-17-2016

Exciting news! I just bought the following:

• Precision Raceworks inlets
• VRSF 7" intercooler
• VRSF charge pipe
• TIAL blow off valve
• Stoptech drilled/slotted rotors and pads
• Motul brake fluid
• Pair of 265/35 Michelin Pilot Super Sports

When I do the brakes, I plan on painting the calipers gold or something.

I also bought and installed new injectors (index 12), coils, and plugs a few weeks ago. Pretty sure I had a leaky injector, but this should keep all the misfires away. This is what $1,000 on a stainless steel table looks like.

 

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03-23-2016

Not fun at all, but I got everything installed.

✓ Precision Raceworks inlets
✓ VRSF 7" intercooler
✓ VRSF charge pipe with TIAL BOV
✓ 3.5 BAR TMAP sensor
✓ RB PCV valve
✓ New boost solenoids
✓ Walnut blast (this was fun)
✓ Tapped manifold for 1/4" vacuum line, replaced gaskets
✓ Replaced every vacuum line on the car

Next up:
- Download MHD and update tune
- Oil change
- Install all new brake parts, flush/fill brake fluid
- Install ethanol content analyzing system
- Install 2-step/no-lift-shift relay

 

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09-07-2016

Things that are different since my last post:

• Snapped an axle at the drag strip during 4K RPM 2-step clutch dump. Replaced with $65 used axle from local junkyard. It's been fine since.
  
• Windshield cracked and has since been replaced. Safelite managed to screw something up because the rain sensing wipers don't work anymore.
  
• Passenger window made a loud popping noise and dropped to the bottom of the door. Wouldn't go up. I replaced the regulator and all is good.
  
• The plastic housing on my water pump developed a hairline crack. Slow coolant leak, so I replaced it with a new unit and thermostat.
  
• I'm going to the NoFlyZone Midwest 1/2 mile roll racing event in 10 days. Signed up for both days, can't wait!
  
• Still beating up n00bs from a 60 roll.

 

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11-09-2016

Was able to throw my car on a DynoJet a few weeks ago.

2008 BMW 135i (N54 6MT)

• Stock turbos with 115k miles @ 23psi peak
• JB4 custom map 6 with MHD BMS E85 KR flash
• Full bolt ons, inlets, E40 with 1 gallon of race gas

The best numbers were 448whp and 501wtq with SAE correction. It looks like everyone on here uses STD correction instead and that converts to about 468whp and 523wtq!

Watch the video, the car scared the guy behind the wheel

 

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Who doesn't like epic burnout pics and videos?!

 

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11-21-2016

Today is a sad day...

 

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05-08-2017

It's been a long winter. I picked up a new daily driver - it's a 2010 328i M-Sport with a 6-speed manual transmission. I lowered it on an H&R Sport Cup kit with SP front perches and added matching APEX ARC-8s. Black kidney grilles, LUX angel eyes, LED fog lights, interior lights, etc. Love the car.

Anyways, I ordered a set of MMP Stage 3 turbos, port injection, and stage 3 fuel pumps. Clutch has to be ordered yet. I'm shooting to crack 700whp by July. Just replaced the water pump again because it cracked. Enjoying the car until the turbos arrive.

Took a few pictures of both of my cars:

 

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06-07-2017

Hmm... what do we have here?

Stock vs. not stock.

 

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06-21-2017

I had a BMW technician friend do some work to the car. I didn't want to deal with dropping the transmission while laying on my back on the floor of my garage. I just wanted to concentrate on the turbo install, so he did the following:

• Replaced upgraded clutch with an even more upgraded clutch (Spec Stage 3+, kept my MFactory SMFW in there)
• New bellhousing bolts, throwout bearing and clutch fork
• Replaced transmission mounts with poly upgraded mounts
• Replaced shifter bushings with upgraded parts
• Replaced rear pinion seal and flush/fill the differential

I picked up the car and expected the clutch to be a pain to drive. Surprisingly it isn't much worse than the OEM 335is/550i clutch. Definitely daily driveable! The shifter feels tighter and notchier, I'm very happy. I put about 30 miles on the clutch and brought the car home to get started on the turbo install. I put the car in the air and took off the front bumper right away.

I don't have the most tools in the world, but I managed to get the subframe and steering rack out in about 4 hours. Another 2 hours and I had the fan, engine mount, downpipes, intercooler, inlets, outlets, water pump, and coolant lines out of the car.

I felt pretty accomplished after all of this. I discovered what coolant tastes like and was covered in grime, but knew I was making good progress. I decided to call it a night and clean up the garage so I could get a fresh start after work tonight again. Next step is to remove the oil pan and replace that gasket, and then remove the stock turbos.

 

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06-22-2017

Made a little more progress last night. Got the turbos out and all oil/coolant lines off. Unbolting the manifolds was the easy part. Removing the coolant and oil lines from the block and from the turbos was a painful, tedious process since I planned on re-using the lines.

I started to remove the PS pump/pulley so I could remove the oil pan, but didn't have a large enough torx bit to loosen the tension on the belt. I'll grab one today and get back after it tonight. I'd like to drop the oil pan and clean everything up while replacing the gasket. Then I'll do the oil filter housing gaskets and start putting things back together!

 

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06-26-2017

I got the oil pan cleaned up and re-installed with a new gasket. Having an industrial parts washer at my work helps. I also washed the subframe.

Then I began to swap all the lines over to the new turbos but ran into a bit of an issue. While it was my own fault, I feel like I should share for any other MMP3 owners. As Mauricio notes, you must use small washers on the bolts when reattaching the oil feed and coolant lines to the new turbos. Otherwise you will bottom out the bolt and pull the welds off that hold the mount on. Ask me how fun it is to find out the hard way.

Luckily I had a buddy who helped me weld the stainless mount back to the cast cartridge housing. It looks like it should hold just fine, but I haven't re-mounted the line yet. I might have to re-clock the turbos first. More progress tonight.

Also, if anyone wants to watch a 10 minute vlog-style video of the first day I worked on the car, check this out. My buddy put it together for fun. We're curious to hear some feedback on it or if we should scrap the idea. Not a whole lot of "useful" content, but I thought it was interesting.

 

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07-07-2017

I took the long 4th of July weekend off, spent it relaxing with friends and family.

I'm officially on the back half of this install. Yesterday I got back underneath the car and mounted both turbos, gaskets, lines and torqued everything to spec. The rear inlet elbow is on (PITA), but I know I'll still have a heck of a time shoving the aluminum pipe in from up top.

Hopefully I can get back at it tonight and get the outlets, water pump, inlets, and power steering pump installed.

On the back half of this turbo upgrade as of last night...

 

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07-14-2017

Larger inlets and outlets are on. Coolant pipe, water pump, thermostat reinstalled with new hoses.*Power steering pump and intercooler reinstalled. Downpipes attached and O2 sensors connected. Subframe secured with new motor mounts. Hoping to connect vacuum lines*and tidy up some loose ends tonight. Should be able to start it after adding oil, coolant and power steering fluid.

 

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07-17-2017

After getting some help from my girlfriend, I was able to start the car!

I was able to put on about 200 miles this weekend without a hitch. It was a great feeling being able to start the car and drive it without a single issue. I don't have the upgraded fuel system installed yet so I'm limited to low boost, but I'm okay with that because I want to break in the clutch before cranking it up to 30PSI.

These things are loud! Constant spooling noises.

I was also able to finally weigh my car: 3260lbs with a full tank of gas. No exhaust or backseats (how I typically drive it anyways).

Here's what I've replaced (off the top of my head):

• Ceramic coated MMP turbos with all new gaskets and o-rings
• Inlets and outlets, both wrapped with heat-resistant tape
• Oil pan gasket and bolts
• Oil filter housing gaskets
• Water pump and related rubber coolant hoses
• Both motor mounts
• Downpipe v-band clamps with new gaskets
• Deleted vacuum canisters, ran new vacuum line
• Power steering fluid, coolant, oil
• SPEC Stage 3+ clutch, throwout bearing, clutch fork
• Poly transmission mounts
• Aluminum bellhousing bolts
• Rear pinion seal
• Rear differential fluid
• Shifter bushings

Stay tuned - fuel system going in soon, then dyno time.

 

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07-19-2017

Tonight's sunset was incredible.

 

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07-24-2017

I tackled the fueling upgrades this weekend (upgraded fuel feed line not pictured).

First step was to install my new Precision Raceworks Stage 3+ fuel pump bucket that had two Walbro 450s stuffed inside. Robert at PR was nice enough to assemble this for me. Usually you have to modify your stock bucket while mounting and wiring up the pumps yourself.

After fiddling around in the gas tank for a bit, I got the stock bucket out. New PR Stage 3 bucket on the left, old bucket on the right (with my old Stage 1 inline pump attached).

Installation was basically reverse of disassembly. Fairly straightforward, more gas on the hands. A plug-and-play harness is included in the kit to activate the 2nd pump under boost. I routed it from the battery to the two new terminals on the top of the bucket, then up under the hood to a Hobb's switch that I plumbed into my charge pipe. The 2nd pump is set to kick on anytime I'm over 15PSI.

Next up was installing the port injection and upgraded fuel line. I reconnected the battery right before this to test that the LPFP bucket installation worked as it should. For those of you who are aren't familiar with these cars, they run/prime the fuel pump every time a door opens after the car is "asleep". Well, I disconnected the OEM fuel feed line and then opened the door so I could route the upgraded line to the tank. As soon as I opened the door, the pump kicked on and fuel went spraying everywhere out of the open port. I'd assume a gallon of gas was on the garage floor before I quickly plugged the OEM line back in.

Battery disconnected, OEM fuel line out, new fuel line plugged in.

I ran the larger fuel feed line up to the front of the car and started removing parts so I could install the port injection.

Intake manifold removed, port injection plate installed. I added a dab of gasket sealer to the o-rings just to make sure they stayed on.

I connected the upgraded fuel lines to the HPFP and port injection plate. Then I connected all of the injectors to my BMS port injection controller and spent an hour wiring that up to my ECU. I managed to fit everything in the DME box for a stealthy installation. Everything went back together smoothly and you can't even tell the port injection is in there unless you look for it.

After everything was back together, I connected the battery and went to test that the port injection worked. As soon as I did, the fuel pumps primed and I heard fuel spraying under the car. Not just a small leak, it was dumping fuel - another gallon or two on the floor. I quickly disconnected the battery and investigated.

Well, my dumb ass forgot to plug this port on the plate! The kit comes supplied with a proper plug and o-ring... make sure to use it!

I wrapped things up and went out for my first full tank of pure E85. No more mixing!

The car pulls strong on 28PSI, stay tuned for more updates!