MarkCup's BMW M140i

[KermitTheDog]

Nothing really...I binned the carbon mirror caps and returned it to standard. As well as wanting the car to look standard, they're suprisingly easy to just yank off...better I did it myself while taking some care than some lowlife c**k that would take none.

A gorilla could have removed them with more care than what I witnessed in that vid.

 

[c4pob]

Nothing really...I binned the carbon mirror caps and returned it to standard. As well as wanting the car to look standard, they're suprisingly easy to just yank off...better I did it myself while taking some care than some lowlife c**k that would take none.

Ah, I see. Got to be done though i guess if you’re using as a daily, especially if they’re so easy to remove.

 

[MarkCup]

A quick update on this one now that I'm >£1k lighter

 

[davo172]

Bought a new set of driving gloves?

Or New camera.

 

[Martin.]

A gorilla could have removed them with more care than what I witnessed in that vid.

I can't disagree with that haha!!!!

 

[Martin.]

@MarkCup if the centre caps bothered you why didn't you just do it yourself before hand?

Also, is there not fixed priced servicing at BMW anymore? @Sir_Dave might know?

 

[Rob]

@MarkCup if the centre caps bothered you why didn't you just do it yourself before hand?

Also, is there not fixed priced servicing at BMW anymore? @Sir_Dave might know?

There is indeed, but they’re c***s. You have to go online and get the price. And ask for it. Or they just don’t give you it

 

[David Stuart]

One of the many reasons a new car makes so much sense.

M140 new comes with 4 new matching tyres and 3 years free servicing.


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[davo172]

One of the many reasons a new car makes so much sense.

M140 new comes with 4 new matching tyres and 3 years free servicing.


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But also massive depreciation.
Unless you buy with massive discount.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

There is indeed, but they’re c***s. You have to go online and get the price. And ask for it. Or they just don’t give you it

Ffs... oh well. Next time

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

@MarkCup PS4s is why you can put the power down in the wet. They’re actually magic. You can’t do that with PSS that’s for sure (2nd gear in the damp).

Think I told you I did launch control in mine (sans JB4) on a damp road and it launched like it was 4WD. Tyres had been warmed up on the M6 toll mind you, but still mighty impressive.

 

[Martin.]

There is indeed, but they’re c***s. You have to go online and get the price. And ask for it. Or they just don’t give you it

Hardly a big deal to save a few hundred quid though is it...?

When I had my 135i serviced at BMW they initially quoted me £700+ FLOL. @Sir_Dave then told me about the fixed price servicing, so I went online put in my reg, printed the pricing schedule out and went back them with it. The cost was £350 ish. Less than half the price they initially quoted for 10 mins work.

 

[alistairolsen]

Yes but the point is you simply shouldnt have to and the dealers are just c***s ripping the piss out of the unsuspecting.

When dealing with a large retail network, I expect the price to be the price, you wont find me haggling at the checkout in a supermarket, so why should I have to at the dealer?

 

[Martin.]

Yeah that's fair. But most of them probably don't have a clue and haven't even been made aware of the fixed prices.

My dealer weren't and had to check it themselves. Or they could have just been lying to me which is also plausable too haha.

 

[Rob]

Hardly a big deal to save a few hundred quid though is it...?

When I had my 135i serviced at BMW they initially quoted me £700+ FLOL. @Sir_Dave then told me about the fixed price servicing, so I went online put in my reg, printed the pricing schedule out and went back them with it. The cost was £350 ish. Less than half the price they initially quoted for 10 mins work.

Yeah basically my point was as above. Why are there two prices for the same product? Could you argue it retrospectively? I bet not.

 

[alistairolsen]

Yeah that's fair. But most of them probably don't have a clue and haven't even been made aware of the fixed prices.

My dealer weren't and had to check it themselves. Or they could have just been lying to me which is also plausable too haha.

The big problem is that your BMW dealer isnt a branch of BMW (like Tesco for example), its a franchise of some indepenant chain, who then have the right to sell and service BMWs on behalf of BMW UK. As a result, you're faced with their branch policies, company policies and then BMW's policies. It's why dealers are a total nightmare and new car ownership (of anything remotely interesting) is far more ballache than it should be. It's still no excuse though.

 

[MarkCup]

@MarkCup if the centre caps bothered you why didn't you just do it yourself before hand?

Also, is there not fixed priced servicing at BMW anymore? @Sir_Dave might know?

I would have done if I'd had the wheels off...plus the fact that the car's not been washed since November makes me really not want to touch it until it's had a proper clean.

@MarkCup PS4s is why you can put the power down in the wet. They’re actually magic. You can’t do that with PSS that’s for sure (2nd gear in the damp).

Think I told you I did launch control in mine (sans JB4) on a damp road and it launched like it was 4WD. Tyres had been warmed up on the M6 toll mind you, but still mighty impressive.

Yeah, they're a genuine surprise. I thought I had good grip and ride on the mis-mash of what I had on there but on the PS4s it's transformed.

As for the service...I know they do a servicing package which was pointless for me due to my annual mileage...I'd pay a fixed fee but end up with only one service out of it. I didn't know there was fixed price servicing though...I'll have to look that up.

The local BMW dealer refused to accept that my car was a BMW from my reg no and wanted £100 than the specialist I used so I was happy enough going with them this time around. A friend's friend has a car maintenance business and he'll be fitting my diff after Goodwood so I will probably end up using him for servicing in future.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Yeah, they're a genuine surprise. I thought I had good grip and ride on the mis-mash of what I had on there but on the PS4s it's transformed.

Good tyres make a MASSIVE difference on these. PS4/Supersports are deffo required. I still believe had all the initial road tests been with the RF's, the journalists would have been like "WTF is this thing, it handles like a slippery banana" rather than lauding its praises constantly.

Re: servicing. You can get BMW fixed price servicing, but as per Porsche, the dealers dont exactly advertise it.

I'd rather use a specialst and/or do it myself anyways really, the full BMWSH is about to permanently stop on the 335i

 

[Cookson]

Asking someone not to use your rear wiper so you don't have a different coloured sweep on the glass is nothing short of anally retentive. f**king hell. I'd have done it just for that. The nerd level is strong in you @MarkCup

But I agree with your sentiments on the PS4s. A fantastic tyre, really transformed my TT when I put them on.

 

[Rob]

@MarkCup I hope you took the three ‘good’ tyres with you home from the tyre shop?

With all your number crunching, surely punting them on (either via forum or via eBay) is worth an easy £150?

 

[Fagan]

A quick update on this one now that I'm >£1k lighter

Love the detail you put into the facts and figures.

 

[MarkCup]

@MarkCup I hope you took the three ‘good’ tyres with you home from the tyre shop?

With all your number crunching, surely punting them on (either via forum or via eBay) is worth an easy £150?

You have to even ask that

 

[MarkCup]

Goodwood was done on Thursday and the M140i was, just as with the Focus RS, eye opening!

Fun, lots of it, but it requires a lot of management to get it round even remotely tidily. 10 weeks to go before I'm back there...in the meantime I have an LSD I need to fit

Footage from the half day I did currently stands at a whisker under 100 gb so I'm working my way through it. For now though...

 

[JB21]

I'm gonna guess the M140i wasn't as quick as the FRS maybe even the FST as well?

 

[MarkCup]

I'm gonna guess the M140i wasn't as quick as the FRS maybe even the FST as well?

I've genuinely no idea!

I expect it'll be comfortably quicker than the ST, I was easily hitting 135 where the ST would reach 120 and I don't think the 140 gives more than that back through the turns. Compared to the RS though, I'll be amazed if it's quicker.

It was a lot more lively though LOL

 

[MarkCup]

...and I've not been able to rest wanting to see how everything I filmed turned out so, ignoring all the sh*t I should be doing, I spent last night and all of today knocking this one out...

 

[JB21]

So it isn't great on track as standard. Set of springs and diff would change that somewhat but it just seems you need big commitment/risk to get the most out if them.

Great video for me Mark with doubts about them on track as standard ?

 

[MarkCup]

So it isn't great on track as standard. Set of springs and diff would change that somewhat but it just seems you need big commitment/risk to get the most out if them.

Great video for me Mark with doubts about them on track as standard ?

Yep. At eight tenths they're bang on, at the full ten tenths, you need your fingers crossed!

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Sounds so good on video mark. Pls sort your audio next vid though (the volume, especially your voice) is on the low side. Had my iPhone on max volume (which would blow my eardrums out on regular content).

I totally get what you mean about the boat reference. I guess I’ve always quite liked that about normal BMWs. You can lean on them a lot more than you think and I just love the entertainment factor you get passing people in performance machinery piloting a regular BMW. I suppose the M lites lose a bit of that sleeper look with the M badges galore.

I’d not mess with the suspension beyond some lowering springs (slightly lower COG I guess?) but more crucially a set of Eibach ARBs always used to sort the handling on regular 1s and 3s.

 

[david hodson]

I found my m135i too soft a spring rate with adaptive dampers, alot of body roll when turning in

 

[MarkCup]

Noted @Jeff simply , audio levels were a bit trial and error...and as said this was a rushed edit/production. Through my B&W headphones it sounded spot on

ARBs aren't something I've seen mentioned a great deal, if at all?

I found my m135i too soft a spring rate with adaptive dampers, alot of body roll when turning in

This makes sense...did you change your springs?

 

[Speedy300]

The M140i looked a handful around Goodwood but it was a damp session!

Did you get many sessions in during the half day? I've got a couple of half days booked at Goodwood later on in the year.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

The damping is pretty controlled and the springs are soft but not that soft. You’ll compromise the whole car if you start putting sports suspension on, slightly stiffer ARB gives you less body roll (more tyre contact, more pointy feeling) in the corners but without sacrificing ride. Eibach Pro springs would give you a small drop (slightly lower cog which is always good). Honesty I wouldn’t touch more than that as 99% of your driving is on the road and last thing you want to do is ruin it there.

 

[David Stuart]

I would try it with the diff first before messing with the suspension.

Like you said in other videos it’s difficult to predict how the back end is going to behave with the open diff. Should be more predictable with the LSD.


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[Christopher]

The way it dives and squirms under braking really made me pucker just watching it! I'm surprised tbh.

The issue is, if you go down the rabbit hole of making it better for 1%, you'll hate it for 99%. I did the same with my Clio.

Maybe just seen how the LSD goes and potentially just uprated springs?

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

The way it dives and squirms under braking really made me pucker just watching it! I'm surprised tbh.

The issue is, if you go down the rabbit hole of making it better for 1%, you'll hate it for 99%. I did the same with my Clio.

Maybe just seen how the LSD goes and potentially just uprated springs?

It doesn’t feel out of control though, my M135i was the same and would squirm under heavy braking. All part of the drama.

 

[JB21]

Road tyres at high temps wont have helped as they just become greasy and under hard braking the sidewalls deform. From watching your video it seems like the auto would be more manageable on track with the shorter gearing. As mentioned fit the diff and see the difference. If you feel it needs less roll then springs and maybe roll bar(s). Birds suspension package gets rave reviews but is costly of the few track days you do. You could also get a set of cheap 18" wheels with dedicated rubber for track days but again for how much time you spend on track, I just don't think its worth it.

It seems the M135/40 just aren't built for track out the box, which is a shame as I really did fancy one. Meg 250/265, Cupra 280/290 or FK2 Type R for me next....

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Road tyres at high temps wont have helped as they just become greasy and under hard braking the sidewalls deform. From watching your video it seems like the auto would be more manageable on track with the shorter gearing. As mentioned fit the diff and see the difference. If you feel it needs less roll then springs and maybe roll bar(s). Birds suspension package gets rave reviews but is costly of the few track days you do. You could also get a set of cheap 18" wheels with dedicated rubber for track days but again for how much time you spend on track, I just don't think its worth it.

It seems the M135/40 just aren't built for track out the box, which is a shame as I really did fancy one. Meg 250/265, Cupra 280/290 or FK2 Type R for me next....

They’re 100% not a track car. If you actually were going to spend some money making a track car then I’d definitely opt for a boggo spec 135 over any of the hatches you mention above.

Stripped out, coil overs and upgraded brakes and it would be an utter weapon. Proper wheel drive which the others don’t have, if you care about such things.

 

[BoatNonce]

The issue is, if you go down the rabbit hole of making it better for 1%, you'll hate it for 99%. I did the same with my Clio.

This. And it won’t make it much better that 1% of the time.

 

[MarkCup]

This. And it won’t make it much better that 1% of the time.

Which is exactly why, LSD aside, I'll be doing absolutely f*** all else to this car.

As a road car it's just about perfect. Comfy or firm enough for whatever mood I'm in. It goes, stops, and turns more than well enough and sounds quiet/louder depending on my mood too.

Fitting the diff will not change the above...fitting just about anything else will.