another self indulgent (aren't we all?) "here's my new (montego) 135i with mods"

[lavman]

well, as the title says, here are pictures of my new 135i.

'11 montego 135i 6mt
black leather
msport
convenience
premium
value
harmon karden
heated seats
sirius
navigation
bmw performance grills
bmw performance side skirts
bmw performance short shifter
bmw performance carbon fiber spoiler
bmw performance pedals and foot rest
35% tint
carbon fiber splitters
gun metal shifter with led lit display
dinoc'd (carbon fiber wrapped) interior trim including steering wheel
and . . . a cool front plate mount

ahhhh, it's good to release my inner narcissist.

[lavman]

[lavman]

[NewYearsBoy]

Wow looks cool!! But ur plate is over ur intercooler... Might cause a problem...

[lavman]

i know about the plate thing. i had an extensive discussion the long time service *manager* at the dealership who personally installed -- and actually cut the top & bottom of -- the plate to make it fit in the space. he said it would be fine -- that enough air would get around the plate. i kinda trust him. he really babied my car and did all the mods except for the dinoc and the tint.

[lavman]

[lavman]

[lavman]

[lavman]

[lavman]

[lavman]

if anyone wants the name of the place that did my di noc, just let me know. they did a fantastic job. neither i, nor my ca, nor the service manager could see any difference, even on close inspection, between my di noc and the (matte) carbon fiber on a x5m on the showroom floor. imo it looks better than the glossy stuff bmw charges like $1300 for (and is a fraction of the cost too).

[Jon.]

What brand are these splitters?

The CF trim looks real nice and clean.

[993 911]

Car looks great, make me wish I didn't order white each time I see montego or LMB.

If you need a front plate just mount it correctly or from the tow hook hole. that looks silly and if you have those splitters for performance reasons I don't know why you would restrict air flow for style points!

[AW128i]

Originally Posted by lavman

i know about the plate thing. i had an extensive discussion the long time service *manager* at the dealership who personally installed -- and actually cut the top & bottom of -- the plate to make it fit in the space. he said it would be fine -- that enough air would get around the plate. i kinda trust him. he really babied my car and did all the mods except for the dinoc and the tint.

I have to be honest with you, I think your service manager is smoking something. While you're certainly not blocking off the intercooler completely with your plate located where it is, you are absolutely blocking (looks like) more than 1/2 of the frontal area. Being that it's an air-to-air intercooler, it relies on air flowing through it to cool the intake air. With a plate in front of the intercooler, air can still get to the intercooler, but it's not actually flowing through it anymore behind the plate, or at least that is dramatically reduced. I'm not an expert on the dynamics of air or anything, but I'd venture to guess that the plate actually deflects the air hitting it and further disturbs the air in that area, creating turbulence and a high pressure area immediately in front of it. Point being, I wouldn't be surprised at all if having the plate where you do noticeably decreases the effectiveness of the intercooler. My $.02

[amancuso]

Hey, I know that car!

[lavman]

Originally Posted by AW128i

I have to be honest with you, I think your service manager is smoking something. While you're certainly not blocking off the intercooler completely with your plate located where it is, you are absolutely blocking (looks like) more than 1/2 of the frontal area. Being that it's an air-to-air intercooler, it relies on air flowing through it to cool the intake air. With a plate in front of the intercooler, air can still get to the intercooler, but it's not actually flowing through it anymore behind the plate, or at least that is dramatically reduced. I'm not an expert on the dynamics of air or anything, but I'd venture to guess that the plate actually deflects the air hitting it and further disturbs the air in that area, creating turbulence and a high pressure area immediately in front of it. Point being, I wouldn't be surprised at all if having the plate where you do noticeably decreases the effectiveness of the intercooler. My $.02

i'm absolutely taking this to heart and will keep a close eye on it. the service manager and i had a long talk about this and i respect his opinion. you are right in what you're saying and so i am concerned. i had another 1addict comment just as you did. thanks so much. i appreciate the concern of both of you.

[Hind]

Nice car! like ur mods, the shifter/ boot is sick! congats! I too am concerned about your plate. These cars run hot, why have a intercooler below the bumper if air movement doesn't matter? Hmmm

If you need to have a plate up front, dont our cars come with little preset sites on the front bumper?

[Yogijet]

Originally Posted by lavman

well, as the title says, here are pictures of my new 135i.

'11 montego 135i 6mt
black leather
msport
convenience
premium
value
harmon karden
heated seats
sirius
navigation
bmw performance grills
bmw performance side skirts
bmw performance short shifter
bmw performance carbon fiber spoiler
bmw performance pedals and foot rest
35% tint
carbon fiber splitters
gun metal shifter with led lit display
dinoc'd (carbon fiber wrapped) interior trim including steering wheel
and . . . a cool front plate mount

ahhhh, it's good to release my inner narcissist.

Congratulations, man! Enjoy.

[Yogijet]

Originally Posted by Hind

Nice car! like ur mods, the shifter/ boot is sick! congats! I too am concerned about your plate. These cars run hot, why have a intercooler below the bumper if air movement doesn't matter? Hmmm

If you need to have a plate up front, dont our cars come with little preset sites on the front bumper?

On the plate bit, I have to agree with the concerns. They just make sense and as a forced-induction engine, effective cooling is critical to performance and longevity, hence the intercooler. Double-sided tape in the middle of the front bumper was my solution.

[escobar929]

Originally Posted by Hind

Nice car! like ur mods, the shifter/ boot is sick! congats! I too am concerned about your plate. These cars run hot, why have a intercooler below the bumper if air movement doesn't matter? Hmmm

If you need to have a plate up front, dont our cars come with little preset sites on the front bumper?

love the choice of mods, the looks fantastic

I'm inclined to agree w/ everyones comments on the plate, IMO, in winter time you prob wont notice the diff but come summer, I can def feel the diff after a couple of WOT runs, im sure you will notice this even more since a major portion will be block off.

I've seen others w/ better options, maybe something for you to look into. I can offer any advice since I'm from FL and we dont need front plates

[AW128i]

Originally Posted by escobar929

love the choice of mods, the looks fantastic

I'm inclined to agree w/ everyones comments on the plate, IMO, in winter time you prob wont notice the diff but come summer, I can def feel the diff after a couple of WOT runs, im sure you will notice this even more since a major portion will be block off.

I've seen others w/ better options, maybe something for you to look into. I can offer any advice since I'm from FL and we dont need front plates

Agreed, a NY winter is probably not a concern for almost any factory-spec turbocharged or supercharged car because ambient air temps will be significantly lower than the intake charge temps. However, as escobar pointed out, warm weather differences may not only be noticeable, they might be VERY noticeable.

OP, having a front plate is crap, no doubt, but since NY requires one you might want to explore another option. I've even seen one option where the plate actually mounts flat beneath the edge of the front bumper and is electrically hidden when not needed. If you need to show the front plate for whatever reason, a switch swings it into position (in a similar position as the one you currently have it installed). We're just concerned for you

[NFIDDY5]

I wish I knew about the cf aero parts when I bought my 135i and not AFTER I signed the contract and then was handed an accessories brochure from my sales rep. I so would have jumped all over that stuff. Cool lookin' ride man. Just get it lowered and you will be set bro.