[OverRev]

Hi, members and fellow 2-addicts. I recently traded in my E92 M3 for a M235i, because i wanted a smaller and better fuel-econ. car for daily drive. My original intention was to use my 2er only for daily drive and look for a 997.2 C2S for track day fun. After the first week of driving the M235i, I was very impressed with the comfort, luxury and pretty instant torque of this little "daily drive". As a motorhead, I couldn't stop myself from modifying it to give it a little more character and free up a little more power. I quickly came up with a mod list which are all simple bolt-ons that give me reliable performance gain without breaking my bank. Spent about a month to slowly have the mods installed after work and finally gotta test it out on a new local track, Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit last weekend. At the track I was able to keep up with my previous E92 M3 on slicks, 997 C4S and M4 (i am just comparing cornering performance, braking and straight-line acceleration, since driver plays a major part in this). I would like to share a my experience and opinion on my 2er.

Here is my mods and little review on them:

baseline: 2015 M235i 6-spd, fully loaded except LSD and MPE.

Intake: BMS Performance. I bought it because of the reasonable price and more importantly I ordered it along with the JB4 and I assumed they'd work well together. Easy 20 min install, dry filter so no oil needed. Greatly improved intake sound on throttle but i don't like the "whoosh" noise from the boost surge when letting off the throttle at higher boost pressure, at low boost pressure it's quieter and the "shhh" sounds just like a mild BOV.

Downpipe: VRSF catless downpipe. I got from a customer who has it removed from a 435i. Perfect fitment, but installation took longer than i expected because the factory sensors was seized on the factory cat-pipe and I ended up having to buy new ones. Otherwise it would have be a 45 mins install with a hoist and the right tools.

Intercooler: Rev9 from Godspeeding Performance. it's identical to the Wagner Evo, I compared them side by side. The design, dimensions, material and finish are pretty much the same like they came out from the same plant except for the logos. fitment was perfect and installation took like 30 mins once I had the car on the hoist and had the under-car cover removed. Some people complain the BMW hose clamp design is bad but i think it's genius and very easy to work with once you know how it works. I used a small pick with a right-angle tip to pick it out and once the clamps are loose you shark the pipes a little to get them off hose. I didn't "feel" any change is performance but I didn't experience and over-heat problem on the track day even running it full boost at 14-15psi for good 25mins. I did notice the "whoosh" noise increased a bit after I upgraded the IC and changed to JB4 map2 at the same time, may be due to higher boost level from stock.

ECU Tune: BMS JB4. well this is probably they most common ECU tune for our 2ers, and the best value mod. I installed couple of these for my customer before, easy and clean 1hr install and proven reliability. The new JB4 comes with OBDII pass-thru plug so you can still use other OBDII device on top. For our 2ers there are 2 small nipples on the gourmet where the main power harness runs thru the firewall, just poke thru one of these nipples and you can have a clean factory look install instead of doing it the way on JB4 manual shows. My only complain is the install manual did not come with the programming/option table and I had to search it up on "youtube".... booo.

Suspension: H&R Sport. I didn't wanna change out EDC system on the new car so i chose this option. it dropped the car about an inch after it's set in a week of driving. Installation was straight forward and it took about 3.5 hrs. the ride is a little more bumpier than stock in comfort mode but it's better in sport mode. It definitely makes my car look a bit more aggressive. If this is a dedicated track-day car go for KW coil-overs instead.

Brakes: Pagid RSL29, the yellow pads. I never tried the factory pads on track although I heard they're pretty good. Since I knew I am taking this car to a 2.2 mile long track with 19 turns soon, I wanted to upgrade the brake so my heavy-late-brake driving style wont ended up with faded brakes like the stock ones on my M3. compare to PFC and Endless track pads I tried on my previous BMWs, this RSL29 is a lot noisier. So loud, I thought I was driving a bus. However the performance is top-notch combined the factory brake system. The good thing is that it took less than 30 mins to re/re the pads on the factory calipers, when i was swapping out the 18" track wheels to my 19" streets. Way easier then my Z4 and M3 so i dont mind changing them every time.

Wheels & Tires: I have done some research and here are the setups i have which do not rub even lowered with H&R springs, but the 255 rear tires would stick out a little. I have my alignment spec posted, it's with me sitting in the car and there is no camber adjustment in the front.
Street: Ft. 19x8.5 ET35 w/ 225/35/19; R. 19x9 ET38 w/ 255/30/R19
Track: Ft. 18x8.5 ET40 w/ 235/40/R19; R. 18x9.5 ET40 w/255/35/R18
(track tires rub a little when driving thru bumpers, so i rolled my fenders)

I used Bridgestone RE71R for track because it's very cheap at Costco and they're decent. I used to run slicks on my M3 but sometimes i got fuel starvation under hard corner and ended up into lean mode which required a restart (KW coilovers and H&R sway bars on M3). And instead of removing the rear seats to carry the track wheels/tires to the track, I can now drive on this R-compounds to the track.

Track experience:

After the first track day, I learned a lot about this M235i. With my setup, I found the steering respond is sharp and neutral, braking is adequate, better than the PFC on my E92 M3. The chassis is firm and rigid but the suspension is a too soft even on sport+ mode. The factory sway bars ( at least the front ) needs to be upgraded so the car doesn't lean as much ( but it's a big job ). And more importantly is the LSD; running on open diff makes it very hard to accelerate on uphill corners and the tail doesnt skid out smoothly existing corners. *One think i wanna point out is the new TPMS system. BMW change the TPMS to a new sensor type that can read temperature after 2014 and the TPMS gained power to limit the car to go into any other driving mode other than the default comfort mode. I arrived at the track in the morning and let out ~15% of the tire pressure to start the first section, since i knew the air would likely expand after warming up. As soon as i started the car it warned me on "low tire pressure, stop carefully" and wont let me go into sport mode, even the tire pressure reached and got over the factory setting after warming up, it would still require a restart to reset the TPMS. The worse part is the track has over 70% of right corner so my front right tire has 2-3 psi higher pressure than the left, and it again threw warning saying the left tire is low in pressure even it was over 32psi, and then backed me down to comfort mode. So there gone the two 20 mins morning sections. Once the tire pressures were adjusted probably, the car was really going in the afternoon. but this is so annoying!

After all the M235i is a pretty decent sport car which provide plenty of techs, lux and comfort. (my car even auto park for me even-though its a manual gearbox, so fancy) For people who really like to turn this into a track car, i would recommend changing the sway bars. I ordered H&R sways but ended up returning them after finding out the difficulty of the installation. suspension is on the soft side but not too bad. LSD is a must for any serious track-day driver, it would for sure decrease the lap-time, but it comes with a big price tag, like KW coilover.

here are some pics and video of my M235i, thanks for your kind comments

M235i with 19" in my garage


My alignment #1


Under the hood


the nipples where you can run wires thru the firewall


M235i first time on track


Chasing my previous M3 (driven by the new owner)



2nd run in the morning in "comfort mode":

hot-lap in the afternoon:

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by OverRev

Track experience:

After the first track day, I learned a lot about this M235i. With my setup, I found the steering respond is sharp and neutral, braking is adequate, better than the PFC on my E92 M3. The chassis is firm and rigid but the suspension is a too soft even on sport+ mode. The factory sway bars ( at least the front ) needs to be upgraded so the car doesn't lean as much ( but it's a big job ). And more importantly is the LSD; running on open diff makes it very hard to accelerate on uphill corners and the tail doesnt skid out smoothly existing corners. *One think i wanna point out is the new TPMS system. BMW change the TPMS to a new sensor type that can read temperature after 2014 and the TPMS gained power to limit the car to go into any other driving mode other than the default comfort mode. I arrived at the track in the morning and let out ~15% of the tire pressure to start the first section, since i knew the air would likely expand after warming up. As soon as i started the car it warned me on "low tire pressure, stop carefully" and wont let me go into sport mode, even the tire pressure reached and got over the factory setting after warming up, it would still require a restart to reset the TPMS. The worse part is the track has over 70% of right corner so my front right tire has 2-3 psi higher pressure than the left, and it again threw warning saying the left tire is low in pressure even it was over 32psi, and then backed me down to comfort mode. So there gone the two 20 mins morning sections. Once the tire pressures were adjusted probably, the car was really going in the afternoon. but this is so annoying!

You must reset the TPMS after letting the air out..... it should't require a restart....just go to a full stop, click reset, and then drive for like 4-5 miles... also even while it's resetting it should let you go into sport mode but you won't be able to see the psi or temp till it completes the reset...

[ChrisFulton]

Great info, pics & video.
Very helpful for my upcoming track experience.
Thanks!

[amw896]

Nice review and car!

[XutvJet]

Do you run in DSC Off?

[Dylan86]

Thanks for the review, and nice car too!

Hot lap sounds like Sport+? Hearing the throttle cut on off camber exits.


Is this track easy to get on? Looks super nice.

D

[jmwilson125]

-1.2 front and -2.2 rear? I always thought you were supposed to run less rear camber? I'm still a rookie in alignment specs though.

You should do the m4 LCA setup for more negative camber up front.

I just did my first track day ever at cannan speedway a couples weeks ago. It was awesome! I ran in a heat with a hurracan and 3 or 4 m3s of varying years. Most of them were running -3.5 degrees camber with r compound tires and I was hanging with a few of them by then end of the day.

Mods
Jb4 map 2
Fmic
Charge pipe
M4 LCA and ts
Catless DP
235f 265r mpss

[OverRev]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

You must reset the TPMS after letting the air out..... it should't require a restart....just go to a full stop, click reset, and then drive for like 4-5 miles... also even while it's resetting it should let you go into sport mode but you won't be able to see the psi or temp till it completes the reset...

Oh rite, just stop and reset, haha... I didn't bother going back into the pit as I was just learning the track in the morning so comfort mode is .... doable. But will do that next time

[OverRev]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Do you run in DSC Off?

Yes I thought so, I hit sport+ mode and that should take DSC off completely, rite? Hmm... now that u brought this up I kinda remember the DSC logo was just yellow instead of red. When I turned DSC off on my M3 the logo went red... sigh.... stupid me

[OverRev]

Originally Posted by jmwilson125

-1.2 front and -2.2 rear? I always thought you were supposed to run less rear camber? I'm still a rookie in alignment specs though.

You should do the m4 LCA setup for more negative camber up front.

I just did my first track day ever at cannan speedway a couples weeks ago. It was awesome! I ran in a heat with a hurracan and 3 or 4 m3s of varying years. Most of them were running -3.5 degrees camber with r compound tires and I was hanging with a few of them by then end of the day.

Mods
Jb4 map 2
Fmic
Charge pipe
M4 LCA and ts
Catless DP
235f 265r mpss

What is M4 LCA setup?? I don't think the front camber is adjustable, and the I have that -2.2 in the back because of my rear tires and wheel offset need that much minimum camber to clear.

[OverRev]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

Thanks for the review, and nice car too!

Hot lap sounds like Sport+? Hearing the throttle cut on off camber exits.


Is this track easy to get on? Looks super nice.

D

That is a very nice track just opened last year in Victoria, BC Canada. Check out more info on google or YouTube, it "supposed" to be a member only facility but I guess it's not getting enough members so it's sometimes open for private events

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by OverRev

Yes I thought so, I hit sport+ mode and that should take DSC off completely, rite? Hmm... now that u brought this up I kinda remember the DSC logo was just yellow instead of red. When I turned DSC off on my M3 the logo went red... sigh.... stupid me

No. Sport+ is DTC ON which is a relaxed mode of DSC

If you want DSC OFF then you need to press and hold the button for about 5 secs

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by OverRev

What is M4 LCA setup?? I don't think the front camber is adjustable, and the I have that -2.2 in the back because of my rear tires and wheel offset need that much minimum camber to clear.

F8x M3/M4 Front Lower Control Arm Upgrade for 2-Series http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1079766

[Anthony235]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

You must reset the TPMS after letting the air out..... it should't require a restart....just go to a full stop, click reset, and then drive for like 4-5 miles... also even while it's resetting it should let you go into sport mode but you won't be able to see the psi or temp till it completes the reset...

I've found that it appears the TPMS reset procedure only works if the car is within a certain MPH range. I will go 20 minutes on the track and the reset process won't complete. Kind of annoying when you want to see the temp/psi at the end of your session.

I think it pauses it when the car is like 100+ mph

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

No. Sport+ is DTC ON which is a relaxed mode of DSC

If you want DSC OFF then you need to press and hold the button for about 5 secs

Yep, and the electronic LSD only works in DSC Off. In all other modes, the rear diff is acting like a fully open unit and stability control is still pretty active. The electronic LSD isn't a replacement for a true LSD, but it's pretty decent daily driving. Running on DSC Off should net better times as all nannies are off and I promise you, power is far more consistent and the car more controllable.

[jmwilson125]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

F8x M3/M4 Front Lower Control Arm Upgrade for 2-Series http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1079766

Beat me to it. I am running -1.7L and -2R degrees camber up font now. It is not a replacement for coilovers, but it definitely helps.

I am hoping with springs to gain another small amount of camber.

[OverRev]

Wow, thanks for sharing info, I will look into the lower control arm upgrade and try the set DSC off next time on track... didn't know the car has electronic LSD at all

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by OverRev

Wow, thanks for sharing info, I will look into the lower control arm upgrade and try the set DSC off next time on track... didn't know the car has electronic LSD at all

If you ever want to try another RWD m235 with Dinan springs/LSD/M4 LCA's & TS's and 235/255's before making any decisions, you know where to find me in the bush

[OverRev]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

If you ever want to try another RWD m235 with Dinan springs/LSD/M4 LCA's & TS's and 235/255's before making any decisions, you know where to find me in the bush

Thanks for your kind offer, u local from vancouver too? I am very interested in the LCA swap. Ow... really want that extra couple what I've degree camber

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by OverRev

Thanks for your kind offer, u local from vancouver too? I am very interested in the LCA swap. Ow... really want that extra couple what I've degree camber

I grew up in Deep Cove N.Van but reside in the Kootenay's, now. I frequent Vancouver and the Island annually, this year probably August. Would love to schedule my trip around a track day and make it a weekend event, if possible. I'll be going to Area 27 (BC's other new private track) in July for some action.

The LCA/TS mod is highly recommended. I did mine at the same time as my springs and it was a total chassis transformation. I'll be selling the Dinan spring/bump setup over winter and installing my KW Clubsports (got a deal I couldn't sway), if you're interested I'd let them go for .50 on the dollar. Cheers,

D

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Anthony235

I've found that it appears the TPMS reset procedure only works if the car is within a certain MPH range. I will go 20 minutes on the track and the reset process won't complete. Kind of annoying when you want to see the temp/psi at the end of your session.

I think it pauses it when the car is like 100+ mph

ah... haha could be.... I usually set pressures and then go drive a few miles outside the track and then come back....

[OverRev]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

I grew up in Deep Cove N.Van but reside in the Kootenay's, now. I frequent Vancouver and the Island annually, this year probably August. Would love to schedule my trip around a track day and make it a weekend event, if possible. I'll be going to Area 27 (BC's other new private track) in July for some action.

The LCA/TS mod is highly recommended. I did mine at the same time as my springs and it was a total chassis transformation. I'll be selling the Dinan spring/bump setup over winter and installing my KW Clubsports (got a deal I couldn't sway), if you're interested I'd let them go for .50 on the dollar. Cheers,

D

I am in search for the parts for LCA, the part number i found on the other thread is for rear arms, havent found the right number for the front arms and tension strut yet. do you have them? easy to swap?

and my friend is hosting a track day at VIMC on August 7, if you wanna join us pls pm me.