Gavsadler's 130i M-Sport (E87)

[gavsadler]

Update Apr-24:

As mentioned previously, about 9 months ago, I managed to curb the left rear wheel. Turning left from a 4-way stop, the person to my left cut the corner, forcing me to turn tighter than I would have liked (to avoid a bigger mess). Needless to say, Pavement:1, Wheel: 0. Due to lack of enthusiasm, and other things happening, I just didn't get round to fixing it, until now.



I think this setup on the other 3 corners could prove to be an interesting (exciting?) experiment for a future skid pan event:





As usual, my repairer of choice was Hi-Tech Mag Repairs. I arranged for them to collect the wheel from me. Due to the black chrome paint job, they require a sample so that they can match the repaired wheel as best as possible to the others (given that black chrome can have any number of permutations). So I took off the right rear wheel as well and sent that off.

About a week later, the repaired wheel was returned to me. The repair was done properly, which included welding of the lip which is then machined down again (no putty or body filler horror stories here).

Spot the difference:



Repairs all done. Note the wheel weights were still silver in this pic. They stood out quite badly, so I had a go at painting over them with some black paint. 1 coat was all that was needed, just enough to dim the silver, but leave enough showing through that it blends in quite nicely when looking at the wheel from the face inwards.





Before refitting, we did a quick clean of the wheel wells. A more detailed clean is on the cards when I replace the shocks later on.



The wheels were also polished and coated, and tyres dressed as well:



Back on the car, and car pulled out the garage to move some stuff around:



That's all for now. Next update will most likely be a suspension refresh.

Thanks for reading.

 

[sash]

That came out proper. I can't remember the last time I saw a refurb as good as this

 

[gavsadler]

Update Oct-2024:

Sadly, this car has been standing for most of the year. After I had it out in April for the wheel repair, I noticed that the one rear shock was leaking, and the bump stops were looking waaaaaaaay past their sell-by date. So plans were in place to do a suspension refresh.

Fast forward to August, and when I wanted to buy the shocks, they were sold out locally. So I placed an order for them to come on the next shipment into SA. These arrived in September. I decided to go with the Koni STR.T shocks, for a few reasons: they are great shocks (I'm on my second set in the Ute), and based on how much I use the 130i, it doesn't really make sense to go to town on fancy suspension for < 1000kms/year.

And here they are:





While I was murdering my bank card, I added a few 130i items to the cart before checking out (thanks again to Peter):



With everything ready to go, I decided one weekend to start the job. So the car was pulled out the garage after sitting there since April :





I did give it a Foam>Rinse>Foam>Wash before I started any work, to get rid of the dust, and to feel a bit less-bad, if that's a thing.

I started off with the rear shocks, this involved stripping out the boot linings in order to get access to the shock mounting points (I also gave everything a clean while I was there):



Some pics of the rear wheel wells after the wheels came off. Due for a proper clean again:





With the rear shocks removed, the extent of the wear and tear could be better evaluated. Like I mentioned, the 1 bump stop looked ok, but the other one was KO:



New shocks lined up next to the old ones:



During my prior parts procurement escapades, I got some BMW Performance rear bump stops from @Captain_Stealth (thank you sir). These are 11mm shorter than the stock bump stops. Also, through all my reading and research, it seems the E8x cars seem to ride on the bump stops most of the time, so this explains the harsh bumpy ride from the back. Ask any passenger what it's like sitting in the back and hitting a dip in the road at speed, haha. So with the new bump stops in, it should afford the shock 11mm more room to work and dampen any harsh bumps. Only time will tell I guess.



Rear shock ready to be reinstalled:



And reinstalled:





A week later, I tackled the front:



The front bump stops were in even worse condition than the rears (well, one was KO, and the other shocks bump stop was MIA):





On my initial order, they supplied stock front bump stops, but I needed to get the BMW Performance ones. These are also shorter than stock, as you will see in the pic below. I can't recall exactly, but these are at least 20mm shorter than the stock ones. The same theory applies, there is more room for the shock to work and dampen, before hitting or riding on the bump stops):



Old vs New, interestingly, the Koni shock shaft is 50mm shorter than the OEM shaft (and yes they are the correct parts):



New shocks, bump stops and shock mounts, ready to be reinstalled:



Reinstalled and sitting pretty:







I also gave the engine bay a clean and quick detail:




Initial driving impressions: the car feels great! No more funny noises, it feels like a new car, quiet and composed. I haven't pushed it by any means, but it was awesome to drive again (the last time I actually drove the car was in January this year). I'm going to actively use it over the next few weeks and enjoy it.

That's all for now, I'll do another mini update in a few week's time after some more seat time.

Thanks for reading...

 

[Benji]

Great update, you spend more time working on this car than driving it

The shorter bump stops are a worthwhile upgrade. BMW did some weird things with the E9x and E8x suspension setup. On my E46, I shortened the rear bump stops slightly and it has made a huge difference in comfort with no noticeable drawback

 

[FILV]

Looking great as awlays

 

[///M Individual]

Always look forward to your thread updates Gav!

I must admit the 130i is my favourite! Keep up the great work!

 

[Holiman]

The suspension upgrades have provided some good insights for my own car. Thank for the detailed post

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

 

[individj]

this was satisfying to read... like Mills & Boon I would imagine

 

[gavsadler]

Update May-25 to Jun-25:

Following the new suspension bits towards the end of 2024, I had been using the car a little bit more. This also increased rather substantially at the beginning of 2025, when I was using this car more exclusively with the Ute being out of action (more about that coming in that thread soon).

I'm back at one of my old clients, based in Fourways, which necessitates bums-in-seats on Tuesdays and Thursdays. While it is not ideal to be travelling for work again, I'm looking on the bright side of spending more time in enjoyable vehicles. As such, with the "flurry" of driving activity in this car in Jan and Feb, I managed to rack up 1546kms mileage for the 2025 tax year, lol (I only did 390kms in it last year).

Needless to say, the car has been faultless. No issues to report whatsoever. In more recent months, I am trying to be disciplined in rotation of the cars.

In May, I had some spare time, so treated the car to a more extensive enhancement detail than what we normally do. I used a combination of Menzerna and P&S Products, and the results were great.










Then in June, the mishaps started. I unfortunately discovered some mould in the boot, and on the back seat by the seatbelts. I can't honestly say where it came from, I can only assume some sort of damp was present, and it had some time to manifest in the dark, warm garage. Thankfully after some deep cleaning, and copious amounts of hospital-grate fogger and disinfectant, things are better and the issue hasn't cropped up again.

And then (to be expected?), I picked up a puncture in the front left tyre on one of my trips.



I also bought a new Jack, long overdue and it is working like a machine. I'll update the jack thread elsewhere soon...



Other than that, all is well and I still enjoy the car thoroughly.

The one thing I have noticed is noisy front brakes, specifically at higher speeds. I suspect it may be the pattern of the slotting from Vari, as my Ute doesn't make any noise, and the M3 with drilled discs is also quiet. I'm pondering what to do, but it may involve fitting some other discs as process of elimination. I'll see what I end up doing here.

Other than that, I will probably give it a service again later this year.

Thanks for reading.

 

[gavsadler]

Update Jul-25:
It was time for the BMW CCG Concours' 2025, to be held on 27-Jul-2025 @ Villa Arcadia in Houghton.

At the outset, this was going to be a special event. A closed event for club members only, an exclusive venue and also celebrating 50 years of BMW in South Africa.

I had no intentions of entering the cars, but around 10 days before the event, I was convinced to enter the 130i and M3 as display vehicles. The M3 would be used in their "Wall Display" - essentially every generation of 3-Series in South Africa over the last 50 years. The 130i would be something fairly uncommon forming part of the more general display.

Then... I got injured. It seems my uncle and Colin knew my weakness, and gently persuaded me (read: twisted my rubber arm) to enter the competition itself. They believed the cars were good enough, and I should give it a go. It also helped that there were still slots open, so I wouldn't be gate-crashing too cheekily. I decided to enter the 130i in their Show and Shine Category. It's arguably a bit worse-off of the two, and my thinking was that this could serve as a baseline, firstly to see how we enjoy the process leading up to the event, whether we enjoy the event itself, and ultimately if we would return to do it again.

Sheeeet! Now bear in mind, this was on the Wednesday before the event on Sunday, so there was not much time to prepare at all. I gained some comfort in the fact that I had detailed the car in May, and the previous weekend it got a fairly decent clean again. Let the stress begin...

Work has also been mad, so I could not dedicate additional time to prepping the car. I spent the evenings sorting out small things like service history detail, other interesting articles on the car, old road tests, BMW-specific documentation on the retrofits etc. But in reality, only 2-3 days were spent prepping the car. This was a stressful, but satisfying and rewarding few days. Thoughts ranged from "This is ridiculous!", to "this is nonsense!", to "What have I signed myself up for?".

The cleaning and prep was relentless. I found places on the car that I never knew existed, and that seemed to like dirt. I learnt new ways of cleaning, I identified parts needing replacement if I wanted to "level-up" in future. But we did our best and then it was show day.

We arrived at the venue around 6:50am. We parked the M3 on the grass, and then drove up to the other side of the Villa where the Concours cars would be judged. After parking in our allocated bay, we spent another 2 hours cleaning for final prep.

Judging was fair and critical. What could not be seen with the naked eye, the earbuds were sent in for further investigation and reconnaissance work. It was an interesting experience for sure.

But, once all was said and done, we managed a 2nd place in the class! Special thanks to Mrs G Shift and Jabu for the help and support in the days leading up to the event.

I was quite chuffed. But the gears are already turning about whether or not to participate next year? What car to enter? And what needs to be done before then (more than 5-10 days before the event, haha!) Let's see how things unfold into the future.

BMW CCG Photo Album

Also, thanks to Fuzz / Sauber Technik / CW Media for the additional photos taken during the day...

Credit must also go to the other outstanding cars in the Concours itself, as well as on display on the lawns.

Some pics below:

 

[Benji]

Car looked great, was nice to have something different in the concourse

 

[///M Individual]

Thats incredible Gav well done!

Probably the best 130i in the country.

 

[Salt]

Congrats Gav. Well done man nice guys don't finish last! And putting to good use all those top quality detailing products you import for your shop. Nice one

 

[Sibonelo]

the car looked amazing on the day well done!!. Is the E90 M3 in white yours? that looked look insanely good!

 

[gavsadler]

the car looked amazing on the day well done!!. Is the E90 M3 in white yours? that looked look insanely good!

Yes that is correct

Really enjoyed the day, will probably be back for 2026 in some shape or form.

@Benji’s Touring was parked next to the yellow Track Taxi, but had left before I took the pic above.

 

[Sibonelo]

its an insanely good looking car your e90.... maybe next year I will bring a car to the show... show and shine but yeah it was a really good day out

 

[tamgoem]

100 points to be deducted from Gryffindor.

 

[Bernard///M3]

Well Done

Cars we’re looking good!!!

Yeah I also decided last minute to enter but had 10days to prep. Was less time than what was spent on my E46, 4 years earlier. So great job by Ricky who prepped the car.

I’m probably just going to park the E92 until next year now. It’s too clean to drive around 😜😂

Bug has bitten, u will be there next year👍🏻

 

[FILV]

Well Done

Cars we’re looking good!!!

Yeah I also decided last minute to enter but had 10days to prep. Was less time than what was spent on my E46, 4 years earlier. So great job by Ricky who prepped the car.

I’m probably just going to park the E92 until next year now. It’s too clean to drive around 😜😂

Bug has bitten, u will be there next year👍🏻

Could you perhaps share some pics, would be lovely to see