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

[suspenceful]

Finally.

I received my Doc Race intake manifold last night! You could order it in black, silver, red or blue. I opted for silver because I'm not a huge fan of colors, but wanted it to "pop". It matches the turbo compressor housing nicely. I'm going to take a sanding pad to the raised logo... should give it a nice brushed finished. Anyway, here are some tabletop pics.

I couldn't help but to set it on top of the factory intake manifold to get an idea of what it will look like once installed...

(not actually installed)

(not actually installed)

Stay tuned for a "first impressions" video on my YouTube channel. I'm also planning a full installation DIY video, along with a same day back-to-back dyno session to see the exact gains this intake manifold provides. The custom charge pipe and port injection accessories should be arriving later today. Stay tuned!

 

[Torgus]

Head on TB picture please showing internals with good lighting please

Weight vs. stock?

A fun video you could do is full both stock and DR IM up with water. Drain into graduated cylinder or something similar to see the difference in internal volume is it 2x or 3x etc. Or some how flow test the two manifolds like the stock frame air inlets tests. Just some ideas for content.

Looks nice! I would get a shop to polish the F out of it. Bling Bling MF'ers

 

[suspenceful]

Head on TB picture please showing internals with good lighting please

Weight vs. stock?

A fun video you could do is full both stock and DR IM up with water. Drain into graduated cylinder or something similar to see the difference in internal volume is it 2x or 3x etc. Or some how flow test the two manifolds like the stock frame air inlets tests. Just some ideas for content.

Looks nice! I would get a shop to polish the F out of it. Bling Bling MF'ers

I'll grab a weight comparison tonight. The inside of this new manifold is cast, so it's not polished smooth.

Good ideas on all other fronts

 

[suspenceful]

Oh, and I filmed a overview video of my garage setup for those who are curious.

If you don't care about the garage, I took the 1-series for a spin with some WOT pulls, because who doesn't like that?

 

[Torgus]

I'll grab a weight comparison tonight. The inside of this new manifold is cast, so it's not polished smooth.

Good ideas on all other fronts

Yeah that is kind of why I wanted to see the inside of the casting, just curious what it looks like

My understanding is dry airflow should be mirror polished to get the most flow out of a given intake manifold/runner. This is what we have because of DI. Now granted many use PI but it is spraying right at the valves far down the runner, it doesn't have to go through the whole intake manifold like a carbureted car for instance. Wet air flow "with fuel suspended" requires turbulence and heat to keep the fuel a mist instead of droplets. This is when a rough casted manifold might be preferred. Again, this is just my understand of it all.

Nice garage, I can't stand messy garages. Much better to have a clean environment to work in. Makes finding dropped fasteners a lot easier as well

 

[suspenceful]

Yeah that is kind of why I wanted to see the inside of the casting, just curious what it looks like

My understanding is dry airflow should be mirror polished to get the most flow out of a given intake manifold/runner. This is what we have because of DI. Now granted many use PI but it is spraying right at the valves far down the runner, it doesn't have to go through the whole intake manifold like a carbureted car for instance. Wet air flow "with fuel suspended" requires turbulence and heat to keep the fuel a mist instead of droplets. This is when a rough casted manifold might be preferred. Again, this is just my understand of it all.

Nice garage, I can't stand messy garages. Much better to have a clean environment to work in. Makes finding dropped fasteners a lot easier as well

I took a picture of the inside of the manifold but it's on my camera. I'll upload those later, but the rest of the kit showed up yesterday. Here are some cell phone pictures of everything. Hoping to get around to installing it next weekend.

 

[doublespaces]

Nice man, really like your car

 

[suspenceful]

Well, I installed my Doc Race intake manifold on Saturday!

I put together a very detailed write-up with a required parts list, DIY installation and dyno data. Check it out now:
http://my1series.com/2018/08/14/doc-race-intake-manifold-installation-dyno-results/

For a brief overview, here are some photos and a video.

Here's a graph I overlaid with the stock manifold vs Doc Race manifold. It favors the stock manifold for ambient temperature and spool RPM, but gives you an idea of the power it picks up in the midrange. This is good power under the curve. +49whp and +47wtq at 5500 RPMs. I will eventually go back to the dyno and do a 29psi pull in 70*F weather starting at 2000 RPMs with the Doc Race intake manifold for a more apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[Torgus]

Any pictures of the runners from the inside?

I'm just glad to see their are gains! Expensive bang for your buck but it looks bad ass.

Back to back results are really nice to see. Something I feel like we don't see enough on this platform.

Any plans on a built/ported head and high lift cams?

 

[suspenceful]

Any pictures of the runners from the inside?

I'm just glad to see their are gains! Expensive bang for your buck but it looks bad ass.

Back to back results are really nice to see. Something I feel like we don't see enough on this platform.

Any plans on a built/ported head and high lift cams?

No plans for a built motor of any kind yet. Only if something happens to this motor *knocks on wood*

 

[chadillac2000]

Excellent post and glad to see you found some power gains to boot! Nice to see the install wasn't that difficult, and the look of the engine bay is incredible now. I see you tossed back on the OEM engine cover; mine probably weighs half of what it used to after fitting a single turbo on one side and a PI manifold on the other, but really completes that clean look.

We've touched on this in other threads, but I assume you'll be picking up the DOC Race overflow tank to fill in that area above the fan? That would be the icing on the cake, and free up the area where the current OEM reservoir sits to address your power steering reservoir mounting dilemma. Or just go with the 328i bracket as it seems that would put it right where you have a bit of free space and leave the coolant reservoir as is.

I've only been using it for a while, but enjoy the ECS oil filter cap. And for you, having that 19mm hex-head on top should eliminate the clearance issue come oil change time since you can't fit a standard oil cap tool on there.

 

[suspenceful]

Excellent post and glad to see you found some power gains to boot! Nice to see the install wasn't that difficult, and the look of the engine bay is incredible now. I see you tossed back on the OEM engine cover; mine probably weighs half of what it used to after fitting a single turbo on one side and a PI manifold on the other, but really completes that clean look.

We've touched on this in other threads, but I assume you'll be picking up the DOC Race overflow tank to fill in that area above the fan? That would be the icing on the cake, and free up the area where the current OEM reservoir sits to address your power steering reservoir mounting dilemma. Or just go with the 328i bracket as it seems that would put it right where you have a bit of free space and leave the coolant reservoir as is.

I've only been using it for a while, but enjoy the ECS oil filter cap. And for you, having that 19mm hex-head on top should eliminate the clearance issue come oil change time since you can't fit a standard oil cap tool on there.

Thanks Chad. Install actually took a lot longer than I expected, but I was moving slow.

The engine cover does clean things up. I had to trim the whole passenger side off to fit the turbo. Didn't touch the driver's side for the manifold though. I did have to remove all of the sound deadening though to fit it on top of the PR coilpacks.

I messaged John @ Doc Race about the coolant overflow tank and he said he's not ready to sell them yet. Still needs tweaking. I agree, it would be icing on the cake. Last night I adjusted some brackets and secured the OEM coolant reservoir and PS reservoir next to each other. I will have to get some pictures today.

The ECS oil filter cap will be here tomorrow

 

[suspenceful]

Had a blast at the 1/4 mile drag event yesterday! Managed to take home the 6 cylinder class ($200 cash and $200 tattoo credit!)

Tough being a 6MT, and I gotta get that launch down. I didn't use 2-step because the two other times I tried using it, I snapped an axle each time. Maybe one day I’ll upgrade axles and get a transmission that doesn’t lock me out of 2nd gear. Until then I’m gonna keep enjoying the car for what it is; a great street car that can do 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, autocross, road course and still be daily driven!

Logs:
11.7 @ 131 - https://datazap.me/u/suspenceful/1170-13135mph?log=0&data=1-4
11.8 @ 132 - https://datazap.me/u/suspenceful/1187-13215mph?log=0&data=1-4

PS: Turns out this little Dragy device is pretty accurate! If you're on the fence about getting one, just pull the trigger. BMS has them in stock.

My 60-130mph time at the track was about 1 second slower than on the street. Not sure if it was because of the hot weather or what (130°F IATs). Trap speed is there, but I know the car has a better ET in it.

 

[dyezak]

Keep it up Jake. I really like watching your progress. But damn bud, that trans is really not doing you any favors.

 

[dyezak]

OMG Jake, your timing drop on shift is fierce in your 132mph run. On your 131mph run you were stuck at 0deg timing for all of 4th gear. Who did your BEF? There's a lot of opportunity there.

 

[langsbr]

OMG Jake, your timing drop on shift is fierce in your 132mph run. On your 131mph run you were stuck at 0deg timing for all of 4th gear. Who did your BEF? There's a lot of opportunity there.

Wow - that could easily make a difference of 100whp, which makes more sense for the trap. Is that just shift bog and recovery time?

Edit - only the first run does it drop that low. The second looks better and runs 8 - 9*. Interesting they ran so close together.

 

[suspenceful]

OMG Jake, your timing drop on shift is fierce in your 132mph run. On your 131mph run you were stuck at 0deg timing for all of 4th gear. Who did your BEF? There's a lot of opportunity there.

Wow - that could easily make a difference of 100whp, which makes more sense for the trap. Is that just shift bog and recovery time?

Edit - only the first run does it drop that low. The second looks better and runs 8 - 9*. Interesting they ran so close together.

Yeah, I had terrible timing in 4th gear on my best run... not sure why. I was using NLS on that run, compared to the 11.88 run where I didn't use NLS. I know it was hot and I was doing some back-to-back runs (12 total passes), but I don't know why timing took a dump in 4th gear there. I have a Wedge BEF, but I think the car is due for some new plugs? I should look at the rest of my logs...

 

[Torgus]

Nice runs! Snapping axles is why I don't go to the strip anymore.

There are only 2 companies for upgraded axles right? Other than custom made?

 

[suspenceful]

Nice runs! Snapping axles is why I don't go to the strip anymore.

There are only 2 companies for upgraded axles right? Other than custom made?

I'm only familiar with MFactory and DSS. Both are pricey, and I don't know if I'd trust MFactory against a 750whp anti-lag 2-step launch with sticky tires on a prepped surface...

 

[aus335iguy]

There’s always an m3 diff and axles but requires more work.
These things just aren’t good from a dig