Been looking for something that would be a fun backroads/weekend/autocross car - thoughts on BMW 128i? There's one local to me for about $5k with 100k miles; base 6spd MT. What class could this be (regionally) competitive in? Looks like the NA 3.0 in these are pretty trouble-free as long as they have good maintenance and I'm okay with DIY so I'm not *too* worried about reliability.
Thanks!
They have nonturbo 3 liters? I thought anything modern ending in 28 had a turbo 2 liter four.
In reply to Knurled. :
this is a 2008 MY. The 128 had the 3.0 NA engine (either N51 or N52 depending on SULEV vs ULEV). When the 1-series went away in favor of 2-series the 228 did go to the 2.0L turbo 4. 128's were the last stand of the NA straight 6 for BMW I think.
I think the 128 is the largest of the non-turbo engines.
That's right. It's the largest of the NA motors in the pre-F series era. The same 3.0L that was in the 3 series.
At that age, It's about upkeep. Overall the car won't be nationally competitive anywhere. Regionally competitive, well that's more on the driver in a lot of cases. I'd rock one but I'd look for an M-sport if you are looking at a stock class.
Knurled. said:They have nonturbo 3 liters? I thought anything modern ending in 28 had a turbo 2 liter four.
Yeah, but remember the 1 series is an "old" car. They started selling them in America in 2008, but we're sold in Europe starting in 2004.
If go for it, probably not competitive, but a great chassis and that engine responds very well to mods.
Don't these have issues with how much tire they can fit under them unless you have a widebody like a 1M? And of course 1M is a whole other world money wise.
I have one that I autocrossed once, and decided it's not fun in stock form. It just doesn't multitask at all. I'll go into a bit about my car before expanding on my thoughts of how it handled.
The first thing I did to it was code out all the electronic nannies. This is the e-diff, power reduction due to hot brakes, brake hydraulic assists, and brake pre-tensioning. This is so the car wouldn't pull throttle when sensing wheel slip and so the brake pedal would have consistent feel on course. Comparing to my friend's 128i with these nannies still on, there was a noticeable difference due to the e-diff. I didn't feel as noticeable difference in brakes between the cars, but I only had one run in his. Mine is a sport package car, with 225 tires (280TW) while his is a non-sport with 245 RE-71R's. Yes, his car had more grip, no I didn't enjoy the run more.
Now, the open diff can definitely be felt, but I prefer spinning the wheel over the e-diff which made the car feel like a dog when coming out of corners. But the worst part of the car is the soft bushings (I get why E90/92 M3 bushings are recommended). When people say the subframe can be pried side to side, it isn't an exaggeration and can definitely be felt on course. You have to give the car an input and wait for it to respond as the bushings are slopping around. Because of this, you can't make the car dance or multitask. Here is a video of me tossing it around that one autocross.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VprGGrtTfF4
I will say it is a solid daily driver and great on back roads. When not near the limit, it's a very pleasant car to drive. I would get a sport package car just for the seats and sport suspension. The ride height is perfect, it has a rear sway bar that the non-sport doesn't have, and the seats are very comfy. Since I told myself that I wasn't going to modify this car, I like it just as a daily driver. It also is for sale, but the one you found is a good deal. If you plan on modifying, this is a stellar car and I can see a lot of potention in it.
Just for another data point, mine is an M Sport with an upgraded suspension: Eibach springs, Bilstein Sport struts/shocks, M3 control arms (which add 0.75deg of negative camber in the front), and Whiteline rear subframe bushing inserts. As noted, the rear subframe bushings are made of soft cheese; I cannot stress enough how much the poly inserts improve on that. It's a 90% fix for maybe an hour's work and $50. You can replace the bushings, which is a much bigger job, to fully resolve it, but the inserts are the easy way out. With the DTC turned off and the suspension sorted it's a very entertaining car to drive. Not competitive, but entertaining.
Daylan C said:Don't these have issues with how much tire they can fit under them unless you have a widebody like a 1M? And of course 1M is a whole other world money wise.
Just depends on how much tire you want under the fenders. Here is a fitment guide:
https://support.apexraceparts.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001541993-E8x-1-Series-Wheel-Tire-Fitment-Guide
Spent considerable time driving a car with the same engine(12 328i) and ive been driving i6 bmw for a decade or so now. While relaiable(in my experience), BMWs last naturally aspirated i6 is clunky and uninspiring. S/M5x motors were so very good, and sooo smooth. Somehow after decacdea of magic they managed to screw it all up. I think they added a bit too much tech..
That being said one of the very fee newer bmws i drove and was quite fond of was a slicktop 128i msport. I'd love to s54 swap one.
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