BMW 135 rallycross car :-)

"Driving_Impaired" (drivingimpaired)
03/04/2018 at 21:33 • Filed to: None

I’ve rallycrossed the past few years in a 97 e36 328is. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , one major disadvantage !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is that my vehicles have to be auto trans. And when I tell you the 328 auto trans was a slug, believe me- it was even slower than you could imagine. So a few years ago when I bought this DCT equipped 2011 135 as my DD but with the eventual intent of RXing it (and hopefully stage rallying it), I’ve longed for the day I finally got it out in the dirt.

Well, that day finally came last weekend with the Middle GA SCCA chapter (which runs events combined with our Atlanta chapter) and it was as fun as it looks in the pics below! Naturally I was scared out of my mind racing a modern German car in the dirt and fairly rough terrain of an RX course but it went about as smooth as I could’ve hoped. The warning chime came on during my drive home to tell me the brake pads were low but it actually ended up being that the brake pad sensor itself was damaged. That was it! No overheating issues, no broken suspension, nothing! (knock on wood)

I’m looking forward to the next race and getting more familiar with controlling the 300+ hp of this e82 in the dirt!

For those wondering, this car is fairly stock and it runs in the Prepped RWD class. Mods are:

Wagner Race Intercooler

AFE exhaust

FTP Charge & Boost pipe

Reiger rear diffuser

17" wheels with Blizzak tires

Painters tape for race effects :-p

All work was done by my home shop, Technica Motorsports who you may have seen on The Smoking Tire with their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ... these guys are incredible (and they also just got the only AWD dyno in Atlanta)!

Also, all these pics were taken by the same !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (some of you may remember this story but I couldn’t find it on the jalop site)

Feel free to ask any questions below!

DISCUSSION (25)

E90M3 > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 22:07

Didn’t realize you were also in GA.

WilliamsSW > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 22:09

Damn that looks like a lot of fun ! Does seem like that would be a great car for rallyx as long as it holds up. Enjoy!

Driving_Impaired > E90M3
03/04/2018 at 22:14

yessir, was just reading your post actually!

Driving_Impaired > WilliamsSW
03/04/2018 at 22:18

It was SO much fun. But you are right, “as long as it holds up” is the key! haha my e36 was absolutely bulletproof but obviously with a 20+ yr old car there’s a lot less that can go wrong than on a modern BMW. Time will tell but I try and take as many precautionary measures as possible!

WilliamsSW > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 22:22

I need to try rallyx soon!

Yeah I’ve heard that the auto trans in the. E36/46 is bleah. And that short wheelbase, DCT and power seems like a great recipe in the 135

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 22:27

Well done.

You’re doing the lord’s work. BMWs should be driven hard. They’re fun cars.

E90M3 > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 22:30

I’m moving to SC, but GA will always be home.

MM54 > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 22:46

Awesome!

E90M3 > WilliamsSW
03/04/2018 at 22:55

Can confirm, the 135 is a blast to drive.

Driving_Impaired > E90M3
03/04/2018 at 22:59

did i read greenville? i could never imagine moving to SC for any reason... not a fan of that state though Greenville and Charleston are awesome, the rest of the state negates that.

E90M3 > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 23:03

Yeah, Greenville. I really like it there. Not sure how I feel about the rest of the state.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Driving_Impaired
03/04/2018 at 23:19

Awesome. Can’t wait to do the same with my e90. You’re also making want a 1 even more.

Driving_Impaired > E90M3
03/05/2018 at 00:27

My wheelchair softball team has a tourney up in Mauldin every year... Most years it is a Saturday-Sunday tourney. Last year though, we only played on Saturday. I took that as an opportunity to get my boys in Atlanta up to party in Greenville for the night, since I had heard so many good things about it but not yet experienced it. Well, we had a freaking blast. We tore that city up. Made friends with a local who knew all the bartenders. We ended up getting hooked up at 3 different bars. I also ended up hooking up with his sister for a bit. Ha, it was one of those nights.

Anyway, my 24 hour assessment of Greenville gives it a high approval rating. But long term, it seems like it would be too small of a city. Of course everyone is different. At least you’re closer to BMW HQ!

Driving_Impaired > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
03/05/2018 at 00:34

If you’re looking for fun and any sort of competitive excitement (and don’t need the space) , trade the 3 for the 1!! I had an e92 335 for a while... loved it but it was kind of a pig when it came to racing.

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HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Driving_Impaired
03/05/2018 at 00:38

I’d love a 1, especially now that’s I’ve had an e90 for awhile. A smaller, lighter, 2 door version of my car would be excellent, but need a family car.

Driving_Impaired > WilliamsSW
03/05/2018 at 00:40

those were my thoughts exactly in regards to the 135's potential for a rallycar.

And yes, do rallycross! go! NOW! At the event i posted above there was a guy who tried it for his first time in a mitsubishi lancer he got off craigslist for $600 earlier in the week. It’s that easy. These other 2 first-timers had a Ford Taurus cop car they got at an auction. Check out all the pics here.

If you’ve done autocross, I can promise you the competitive nature of RX is 1 billion times less. For the most part, everyone is super helpful, laid back, and mostly just out to have fun and get sideways in the dirt!

Driving_Impaired > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
03/05/2018 at 00:42

ok new plan... sell the e90 and find a cheap e91 and e82! the more the merrier :-)

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Driving_Impaired
03/05/2018 at 01:02

Cheap and E91 are two terms that don’t go together, which is why I got a e90. When the 328i is paid of I’ll be getting a smaller more fun car. Not sure if it’ll be a 1 series tho, who knows.

j.davism5 > Driving_Impaired
03/05/2018 at 02:36

Wow. Thats just awesomr mate, well done. Braver than I to take a modern BMW on dirt, but it looks like it was a blast. And a 135...short wheelbase, big power...was it much of a handfull in the lowspeed?

Driving_Impaired > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
03/05/2018 at 07:17

Haha true... They do hold their value a bit more that the sedan and coupe it seems. I looked for an e91 for a while but ultimately settled on this beast:

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Driving_Impaired > j.davism5
03/05/2018 at 09:09

Yes, yes it was. I’ll be honest... It probably has too much power for the grip it gets. I truly think it would really excel in stage rally more than rallycross but that’s still a few years (and a lot of dollars) away for me.

Withall that being said though, it was a freaking blast!

WilliamsSW > Driving_Impaired
03/05/2018 at 10:11

Sounds like your experience with the people is similar to Shop-teacher’s. That’s great!

functionoverfashion > Driving_Impaired
04/23/2018 at 09:25

Man, that looks like an absolute blast. I’ve taken my E46 wagon on some closed course time at Team O’Neil’s but I can’t really justify rallyx with it, as I still need it for a DD and can’t really risk trashing it. It survived O’Neil’s fine, though, I drove it there and back no worries.

Driving_Impaired > functionoverfashion
04/23/2018 at 21:07

thanks man! I can’t wait to get out there again... I missed the last race and will miss one this upcoming weekend due to traveling and it’s so frustrating! Have to wait until May 19 to get her dirty again.

Love e46 wags by the way! Awesome you went to O’Neil... I’d love to get there one day. Pretty brave to do that with your DD though haha.

If you’re looking for a cheap rally x car that is pretty much turn key, I am selling my e36. Only thing it needs is a manual swap!

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functionoverfashion > Driving_Impaired
04/24/2018 at 10:21

Man, I am unfortunately NOT looking for a rally car - my sister is selling a 2006 WRX wagon (manual) and it would be perfect. It already has body damage and some emissions issue that is expensive but doesn’t affect the running condition - it runs perfect. But I just can’t make it happen right now - too many hobbies already!

You should definitely make it up to O’Neils some day, it’s a blast at any level for any period of time. I did a 5-day rally school there a few years back, and then have been up for some things here and there. The open practice session is what I did most recently, where they just set up cones in a small course and let you have at it, in your own car.

Keep at it, and keep the pics coming!