M135i Track build with a hint of BTCC

[lee866]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 21 November 2019 at 09:05

[rayyan171]

What a build! Will look epic when done.

[Evolved]

Love it. Don’t stop!

[stevec33]

Looks to be an epic build good luck with it all. I had an m135i and in many ways i like it a lot, could never seem to get to the bottom of what makes the feel wobbly/nervous on the rear end though, just never felt planted to me. Did you manage to overcome it?

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Looks terrific, bit of a shame about the original engine fault. Really thought it would stand up to more than that.

[chrisch77]

Great work!

However isn’t there a danger it’s going to handle like a dog by the time you put wheels on with enough offset to fill those BTCC arches?

Chris

[Andrew-b90y3]

Looks absolutely brilliant!

Is it an auto or manual M135i? Really are cracking cars those and the BTCC theme makes it even better!

[Butter Face]

Wow that’s gonna look ace!

[MDMA .]

Good build. Although I prefer the look you had in the 3rd picture -

[Tommie38]

Great thread. What are you using for a diff?

Surprised that oil starvation is a common issue, would a baffled sump and filling high have been good enough? I’d imagine quite a few of these cars are being used on track.

[p4cks]

I've never really got on with BMWs so please forgive me for thinking 'meh' right up until the point I'd seen that you'd sourced BTCC body panels for it then it was very much 'wow'!

Can't wait to see how this goes

[Gav147]

That is going to look superb when it's done, keep us updated please op, great work

[HM-2]

So excited to see more of this- it has the makings of one of the best build we've had on here in recent times!

Any grand plans for the replacement N55? What about suspension?

Will the wider bodywork give you greater flexibility with wheel sizes and offsets, a la the E90 and M-cars? I've always thought one of the biggest weaknesses with the F20/21/22 in terms of wheel choice was the ET58 rear offset and relatively narrow front, meaning running wider than a 255 rear without archwork is basically impossible.



...MORE!

[RS Grant]

I started reading and saw you using it on track, thought 'I hope he's upgraded the oil system..' then saw that you hadn't!!

Crap luck with the engine but what a turnaround, this thread has massive potential and I'm really looking forward to further updates.

[ajprice]

Nice , will it be staying blue when it's all painted?

[Turbojuice]

Watching this one with much interest. Already looks immense, can't wait to see how it looks once it's a fully fledged touring car with a straight 6.

[The Wookie]

Strongly recommend getting front stay cables to the splitter from the front crash bar. Can almost guarantee it will flap around without them or even pull itself free. The splitters produce a surprising amount of downforce

Similarly would also strongly recommend a BTCC rear wing to go with it, they look like they’re meant to be a tea tray for the mechanics to use while it’s being flat patched but I can assure you that you know about it when it’s not there!!

For wheel offsets you may also want to see what fits from the BMW catalogue that will widen the track. You might find the M2 is widened with a different, beefier bearing pack for instance which might be bolt on if you’re lucky

Looks a cool project , I’m sure with the level of quality that WSR work to that it will look nice when finished too, sometimes BTCC kits from lesser teams can end up a little... shonky when fitted to a road car!

Edited by The Wookie on Monday 27th May 15:57

[amc_adam]

Blimey, that escalated quickly

How did it perform on the ring compared to the M3?

I'll be keeping an eye on this!

[lee866]

Evolved said:

Love it. Don’t stop!

rayyan171 said:

What a build! Will look epic when done.

Thanks guys

stevec33 said:

Looks to be an epic build good luck with it all. I had an m135i and in many ways i like it a lot, could never seem to get to the bottom of what makes the feel wobbly/nervous on the rear end though, just never felt planted to me. Did you manage to overcome it?

I have fitted M4 front LCA and ension arms. That along with the ar!'s made it feel so much better!!

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Looks terrific, bit of a shame about the original engine fault. Really thought it would stand up to more than that.

BMW must have know it was an issue as the M2 and M235ir both have uprated oil pickup's

chrisch77 said:

Great work!

However isn’t there a danger it’s going to handle like a dog by the time you put wheels on with enough offset to fill those BTCC arches?

Chris

Cheers

It won't be any different from a M2 running low offset wheels. Plenty of them running ET20's and handle perfectly fine

MDMA . said:

Good build. Although I prefer the look you had in the 3rd picture -

Thanks, but it's just another other M135i in that pic

Tommie38 said:

Great thread. What are you using for a diff?

Surprised that oil starvation is a common issue, would a baffled sump and filling high have been good enough? I’d imagine quite a few of these cars are being used on track.

It's still on the open diff at the monent. Once i'm up and running i shall look into wavetrac or M performance diff. Some people overfill the engine oil but there isn;'t a baffled sump out there for the N55. Saying that the M4's sump is baffled so that could be used

Gav147 said:

That is going to look superb when it's done, keep us updated please op, great work

Cheers mate, will do

HM-2 said:

So excited to see more of this- it has the makings of one of the best build we've had on here in recent times!

Any grand plans for the replacement N55? What about suspension?

Will the wider bodywork give you greater flexibility with wheel sizes and offsets, a la the E90 and M-cars? I've always thought one of the biggest weaknesses with the F20/21/22 in terms of wheel choice was the ET58 rear offset and relatively narrow front, meaning running wider than a 255 rear without archwork is basically impossible.



...MORE!

For now i want the engine reliable, next year i want to get 425/450 out of it but i'm happy with it how it is for now.

I'm running KW Clubsport 2 ways

I was running ET34 in the pics but thats the max you could go. Can't wait to have be abale to have a wider range of wheel!!

The Wookie said:

Strongly recommend getting front stay cables to the splitter from the front crash bar. Can almost guarantee it will flap around without them or even pull itself free. The splitters produce a surprising amount of downforce

Similarly would also strongly recommend a BTCC rear wing to go with it, they look like they’re meant to be a tea tray for the mechanics to use while it’s being flat patched but I can assure you that you know about it when it’s not there!!

For wheel offsets you may also want to see what fits from the BMW catalogue that will widen the track. You might find the M2 is widened with a different, beefier bearing pack for instance which might be bolt on if you’re lucky

Looks a cool project , I’m sure with the level of quality that WSR work to that it will look nice when finished too, sometimes BTCC kits from lesser teams can end up a little... shonky when fitted to a road car!

Edited by The Wookie on Monday 27th May 15:57

I pick up my rear wing this week. The brackets had to be made so thats held me up. In the picture with the spliiter you can see supports going from the chassis into the splitter. The front bolts along the skirt of the bumper

M2 and m135i run the same bub/bearing set up. The arches can swallow up ET15 sqaure to potentially run 285 tyre

amc_adam said:

Blimey, that escalated quickly

How did it perform on the ring compared to the M3?

I'll be keeping an eye on this!

To be fair they don't compare at all. M3 is on another level to the M135i. In a straight line the M135i is quicker but that's it. I have no doubt that will change though with this car

Edited by lee866 on Monday 27th May 17:56

Edited by lee866 on Monday 27th May 17:57

[Its Just Adz]

Fantastic, I love a good wide arch conversion.

Glad to see it has the power to back it up.