135i vs 1M Comparison for Members

[CaptSlow]

Just a quick comparison for those 135i owners who are still on the fence about ordering a 1M without a test drive. We are all familiar with the widely published virtues and conquests of the baby M. This thread is NOT about them. It is some perspective from a previous 135i M-Sport 6MT owner with weekend track experience to help those with the same background.

For daily driving, with the Sport Mode off, the 1M is fairly civilized, being lighter on its feet and more compliant than the 135 manual. Steering and shifting are superb and VASTLY superior. The gearbox shift points, gates, and throw are near perfection. On the other hand, the 1M is much louder under load (not a drone - just loud....if you want a quiet car, get a Prius), and that instantaneous low-end grunt from the N55 is absent. But....push the "M" button (for Maniac) and Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde. Forget the 135's N55. As great as that engine is, the 1M's N54 thrusts like a rocket from the start. It is akin to having 2 cars in one. Acceleration is effortless. And the sheer speed comes in waves. I thought the 135i was good. This is simply great.

If you want two cars for the price of one. If you want a piece of BMW history. If you want a car for drivers, do not hesitate for you will not be disappointed. Our 135's are still wonderful cars. The 1M is just the pinnacle of the series. I love both.

P. S. I owned an AW 135i and chose a VO 1M. Yes, the color is something else. But as a previous AW owner, the VO is low maintenance and a great complement to the subdued interior.

Good luck to all!

[Dackelone]

^^Uggghhh..... btw... Captian Slow... your 1M Coupe has an inline six and not a V6! You better fix your info: "Drives a v6 manual".

[Zuzu]

Originally Posted by CaptSlow

P. S. I owned an AW 135i and chose a VO 1M. Yes, the color is something else. But as a previous AW owner, the VO is low maintenance and a great complement to the subdued interior.

Good luck to all!

Good to hear about the low maintenance for the VO.. For me at least, that is what helped in my colour decision.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by CaptSlow

Just a quick comparison for those 135i owners who are still on the fence about ordering a 1M without a test drive. We are all familiar with the widely published virtues and conquests of the baby M. This thread is NOT about them. It is some perspective from a previous 135i M-Sport 6MT owner with weekend track experience to help those with the same background.

For daily driving, with the Sport Mode off, the 1M is fairly civilized, being lighter on its feet and more compliant than the 135 manual. Steering and shifting are superb and VASTLY superior. The gearbox shift points, gates, and throw are near perfection. On the other hand, the 1M is much louder under load (not a drone - just loud....if you want a quiet car, get a Prius), and that instantaneous low-end grunt from the N55 is absent. But....push the "M" button (for Maniac) and Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde. Forget the 135's N55. As great as that engine is, the 1M's N54 thrusts like a rocket from the start. It is akin to having 2 cars in one. Acceleration is effortless. And the sheer speed comes in waves. I thought the 135i was good. This is simply great.

If you want two cars for the price of one. If you want a piece of BMW history. If you want a car for drivers, do not hesitate for you will not be disappointed. Our 135's are still wonderful cars. The 1M is just the pinnacle of the series. I love both.

P. S. I owned an AW 135i and chose a VO 1M. Yes, the color is something else. But as a previous AW owner, the VO is low maintenance and a great complement to the subdued interior.

Good luck to all!

Stock to stock your statement may be true. However, with bolt-on mods and M3 bits, the 135i will out pace its M brother on both the straights and in the turns. We have both cars, the M is fun to drive out of the box, but if you want a rush the 135i still gets my pick at the end of the day.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532939

[IZAGLO]

+1 ^^^^^^^^^^^what he said !!! I LOVE the 1M and would like to buy one but i can not justify my car and a extra 25grand YET...Maybe at some point but with just the JB4 pushing my ass in to the seat at will i am perfectly content at the moment...and so is my ass

[MrRoboto]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

Stock to stock your statement may be true. However, with bolt-on mods and M3 bits, the 135i will out pace its M brother on both the straights and in the turns. We have both cars, the M is fun to drive out of the box, but if you want a rush the 135i still gets my pick at the end of the day.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532939

What is the cost of the 'bolt-on mods' to exceed the performance of the 1M? Need some sort of quantification behind that statement.

As well your statement should be if you want a rush the race tuned 135i still gets my pick

[CaptSlow]

True, mods on a 135 will make a superior car. I was refering to STOCK vehicles only. It is up to each driver to determine which investment is the better option for them. I am only trying to give a sense of stock 135 to stock 1M.

[Kurt_OH]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

Stock to stock your statement may be true. However, with bolt-on mods and M3 bits, the 135i will out pace its M brother on both the straights and in the turns. We have both cars, the M is fun to drive out of the box, but if you want a rush the 135i still gets my pick at the end of the day.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532939

Likely for more money, less reliability and elimination of your warranty.

Not to mention no widebody ...

But, once you're talking about racing wallets rather than comparing cars, what's the difference anyway?

[RnmEvo9]

Curious CaptSlow but where did you get yours? Must be a coincidence that today I took my car to service and while I was there I spotted a couple taking away their VO 1M while they had traded in their AW N55 135i sporting a ridiculous M badge on it.

[cooler2442]

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

Curious CaptSlow but where did you get yours? Must be a coincidence that today I took my car to service and while I was there I spotted a couple taking away their VO 1M while they had traded in their AW N55 135i sporting a ridiculous M badge on it.

Lol, not as bad as a Lexus IS 3F0 that I saw on the freeway once. Not sure why you would keep the 3 and the 0 but remove the 5 to put an F in the middle.

[RnmEvo9]

Originally Posted by cooler2442

Lol, not as bad as a Lexus IS 3F0 that I saw on the freeway once. Not sure why you would keep the 3 and the 0 but remove the 5 to put an F in the middle.

I kinda wanted to ask the fella why he would put an M badge on his previous car, but with his girlfriend there alongside, I decided not to.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by CaptSlow

True, mods on a 135 will make a superior car. I was refering to STOCK vehicles only. It is up to each driver to determine which investment is the better option for them. I am only trying to give a sense of stock 135 to stock 1M.

Thanks for posting this.. Great to hear from the dual ownershiip perspective. I am sure it will help others.. and you are correct... which one prefers is certainly an individual decision.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by Kurt_OH

Likely for more money, less reliability and elimination of your warranty.

Not to mention no widebody ...

But, once you're talking about racing wallets rather than comparing cars, what's the difference anyway?

[cooler2442]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

What is the cost of the 'bolt-on mods' to exceed the performance of the 1M? Need some sort of quantification behind that statement.

As well your statement should be if you want a rush the race tuned 135i still gets my pick

He is comparing his race tuned / modded out 135i to a near stock 1M. Meaning that the 135i provides a more exhilarating feel and power/suspension.

But I am sure when the same parts get put on the 1M then it will be in 1M's favor.

Harold's mod list for their shop 135i is astounding. Big brakes, m3 suspension, coilover setup, LSD, tune, etc. If you go to HP Autowerk's website and add stuff up then you can find the price of the parts on his car.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by CaptSlow

True, mods on a 135 will make a superior car. I was refering to STOCK vehicles only. It is up to each driver to determine which investment is the better option for them. I am only trying to give a sense of stock 135 to stock 1M.

I completely agree with you and I expressed that in my first statement.

And I agree with you again, it's up to each driver to determine to mod a 135i with less initial cost or just step up and get the 1M.

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

What is the cost of the 'bolt-on mods' to exceed the performance of the 1M? Need some sort of quantification behind that statement.

As well your statement should be if you want a rush the race tuned 135i still gets my pick

For straight line performance a simple software flash will boost N54 135i beyond the output of the new 1M.

Instead of listing all the suspension mods here her is a link to some of the 135i suspension build thread and link to our web store for you to get an idea on parts cost:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=423150

http://www.hpashop.com/category.sc?categoryId=234

[CaptSlow]

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

Curious CaptSlow but where did you get yours? Must be a coincidence that today I took my car to service and while I was there I spotted a couple taking away their VO 1M while they had traded in their AW N55 135i sporting a ridiculous M badge on it.

Got mine in Palm Beach. Supposedly they still have allocations, if you are interested. The 135 was sold privately.

Have seen many 135's with M badges, though. Either way, I would stick a DINAN badge instead if you meet the required upgrades from the tuner. Never liked the idea of "M-Sport." It either is or isn't an M.

[biggles]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

I completely agree with you and I expressed that in my first statement.

And I agree with you again, it's up to each driver to determine to mod a 135i with less initial cost or just step up and get the 1M.

For straight line performance a simple software flash will boost N54 135i beyond the output of the new 1M.

Instead of listing all the suspension mods here her is a link to some of the 135i suspension build thread and link to our web store for you to get an idea on parts cost:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=423150

http://www.hpashop.com/category.sc?categoryId=234

I don't understand the relevance of your statements about how modifying a 135 makes it a superior car to the stock 1M.

Guess what, modifying a 1M will make it even quicker than a modified 135!?

I appreciate that it's your livelihood to encourage modifying, but most (not all) people want a car that offers the performance they require "out of the box", and developed by BMW not a 3rd party company.

[adrean8j]

^^^Its the same engine (N54) for intents and purposes (the different piston rings and retooled intake cooling tract aren't netting you huge HP gains)...so with both modified they should be about the same. I think he is referring to existing tuned 135i owners like myself...if you are in the market for a brand new one and don't have a 135i...I would get the 1M...otherwise just keep your 135i...just my opinion.

[XJS]

I don't get it either, it's the same N54 engine. Put the tune on the 1M and it will be the same performance from the engine as the tuned 135i. Except the 1M has more than an engine tune from factory, it has the M diff, widebody (how much does it cost to modify a regular 135i to that??), lighter flywheel and extra cooling. Plus the M division makes sure all parts work in perfect harmony.

[adrean8j]

What he is saying guys is that for existing 135i owners it is not a huge jump to get 1M performance (engine and suspension) without buying a 1M....pretty much everything you see done to the 1M has been done to their shop 135i before the 1M ever came about (M3 susp bits, LSD, better cooling, 1er specific springs, etc, etc...yes even widebody has been done by others-at least in the front). Will the 1M ultimately be better given the same upgrades? YES...but only by a little bit due to the stock widebody and very slightly different engine/drivetrain changes (piston rings and clutch for example). But it will not blow a tuned 135i out of the water......

[MrRoboto]

I will take a BMW M tuned car with full warranty over an aftermarket tuned with no warranty any day of the week. There is no way you can get the full 1M package (suspension, body, etc.) on a 135 for less then the cost of the 1M.

[adrean8j]

Then feel free to do that...What will you do once the warranty on the 1M runs out? Probably buy a new car? I would probably keep it...just like I would keep my tuned 135i...diff. strokes for diff. folks. Like I said before if I was in the market for a NEW car then it would be a no-brainer for me (Warranty doesn't really mean much to me...never had to go in for engine work before -knock on wood- so I guess I haven't been bitten yet)