shadowface

Yeah, that is normal, though you have a newer engine with a DPF installed from factory, so should be a bit better than this. During the last two months, I’ve been averaging 26 mpg around town, with little to none motorway driving, and having fun on the slippy bends. I’d say 30 mpg is decent around town, in the winter. Diesels will always burn more fuel than petrols in the winter, because it’s harder for them to get to the optimal operating temperature when it’s cold. If you do a lot of start/stop driving on a cold engine, it’ll eat a lot. After 2 years of mostly town driving in my 120D, I regret buying a diesel.

In honesty, I'd go for 330d, if you care about efficiency as well as performance. I think you could get a very impressive mileage out of a six-pot motor. Probably around 45-55mpg on average, whilst having a nice 0-60 around 6 seconds. I'm in the same price range, but I'm going to swap my trusty 120d for a 335i convertible, as I don't care about fuel efficiency (working from home).

You'll be driving this car for a few years at least (I guess), until you'll be able to buy something with a more powerful engine, so pick a level of equipment you'll want live with during that time. I would pick the following for the 114i: — Sport package (better wheels, body kit and other bits); — Upgrade interior to Black Dakota Leather with Red Stitching (better resale value, if you'll care about the leather properly); — HK sound system (you said you want it); — Driver comfort package (you'll drive the car, so you better enjoy the drive!); — Interior comfort package (auto air conditioning, more storage and better lighting); — Xenon package (better resale value, good looks and all); This will set you back around £23k, but I think it's worth to put a bit more. After all, I'll say this again, you'll drive the car for at least a few years probably, so you may want to have something decently equipped. I hope my suggestions will be useful! ;-)

Never mind, thankfully, the weather was alright, so I could check the car. I found what it was: one of the wheels was a bit loose and it was knocking upon rapid forward/reverse. Tightened it to appropriate torque and it's now perfect. No noise, all the bolts are tight, so nothing else is running around. Handy tip: once you put your car down off the jack, make sure the wheels are tightened properly.

I'm looking for someone to point me in the right direction. In the last few days I've replaced a snapped rear lower control arm on my E87 with M Sport suspension and a day after that I've swapped worn out rear OEM shocks for Bilstein B4S (a downgrade, yes, but since I have no money to buy B8 yet, I will have to live with this). Since then I've been hearing a knocking noise coming definitely from the rear left side of the suspension, but I'm not sure what it might be. The rain here (damn Manchester) doesn't allow me to get under the car, so I thought maybe someone with more knowledge about BMW suspensions can shed some light on that. From what I could find so far, people are either mentioning the stabiliser link rattle (I had to undo it to get to the control arm), top mounting of the shock absorber (bump stop mainly), or one of the bushings (but I suspect these should squeak rather than knock, or am I wrong on this?). Just to say, I've transferred all the old hardware to the new shocks and used new bolts and self-locking nuts to mount the control arm as well as the shocks. Anything I may have done wrong? Or maybe after 120k miles on the clock I should replaces the top and bottom shock mounts, the bump stop and other auxiliary stuff with new elements?

It's weird that your 1er didn't come with staggered tyres, especially since you mentioned yours being a Sport version. I would be okay with a basic SE to come with 16in wheels and without a staggered setup. The best way to be sure if your dealer hasn't screwed up the order (if you're the first owner of the car), is to see what RealOEM.com has to say about it, based on your car's VIN. Oh, and don't trust what online reg-based tyre matching tools tell you. Always check the VIN plate on the driver's door pillar.

All BMWs have a staggered wheels setup from factory, which means wider wheels in the rear, to improve grip (as it's a rear-wheel drive car). For 1ers, stock size for 17in alloys generally is: - 205/50/17R (front) (7 inch rim) - 225/45/17R (rear) (7.5 inch rim). You can also use this neat table to see what other sizes to consider: http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/tyre-size-for-rim-width_topic60146.html I hope this helps.

What type of engine do you have? Is it a M47N2 (163 bhp), or maybe the newer N47 (177 bhp)? All 120d engines have a turbo lag, which is present up to around 1800 RPM. That's totally normal on the stock car. If you want to remedy this, you can remap the ECU using a custom map. This will increase total power (depending on the level of performance you need) up to 205 bhp and if the map is done right, it'll reduce the turbo lag, so you'll be able to use the torque sooner than from 1800 RPM. Keep in mind that all turbocharged engines lag a bit, though in case of modern diesels it's not as bad as the lag Subaru's or Evo's get.

I've upgraded my suspension recently to Eibach ProKit lowering springs and Bilstein B4S dampers to replace their M Sport suspension counterparts. I wanted to go for the B6 sport suspension, but in the end B4S are stiffer and have better damping than OEM shocks, whilst still keeping the ride somewhat comfortable. Next in line are: EGR blanking, swirl flaps blanking, then a remap. After that, helluva lot more!

My mate had recently a slow puncture on his Mazda 6 estate, it turned out it was exactly the same situation as in case of OP: the wheel was damaged (dented on the inside of the rim), which led to a constant loss of pressure in the tyre. He had to had his rim restored to factory condition and had to fit a new tyre. Since then, the problem was gone. My only personal experience with a slow puncture was a nail stuck in the front tyre. I was driving like this for maybe a month, until one day the tyre just gave in and blew up. Fortunately, I was just taking off from home. Nothing serious though.

It's a common practice to fit a set of lowering springs whilst keeping your shocks stock. The car will go lower (10-30mm, depending on springs and your current setup), the ride should be stiffer and more stable, whilst damping should stay on a comfy side. Even though I have the M Sport suspension on my car, I've replaced stock springs with Eibach ProKit. The difference was minimal (about 10mm lower), but the handling improved. The ride became stiffer, but damping was not affected.

I'm wondering, if the manufacturer/dealer is the only reliable place to get auxiliary stuff, such as bolts, nuts, flanges (generally all the fixings you may need). Main parts, such as control arms, are easy to find, the problem is to get new fixings to install the main bits. Any suggestions, or should I just ring the dealer and see what they can do?

That's the difference between "street pads" and "race pads", the latter takes more time to heat to the optimal temperature, but they have better braking properties. Take a look at the EBC site, they'll tell you more. Also, bear in mind that racing pads are not as good on a rainy day, because of water which is sprayed onto the brakes when you drive. This cools them, which means racing pads will have to be warmed up again to stay effective. I personally like Ferodo pads and discs, ultimate stuff for people who like to drive fast and stop even faster. If you're interested, check their DS Performance pads, well worth the money.

I get mocked lots by some of my so-called "friends" about driving a BMW. Most of them mock me for being posh, especially when they see my door handles lighting up at night when I unlock my car (convenience pack on my 1er). I let that slide and generally start laughing pointing at how much they spend on servicing their cars every year compared to mine (hint: they spend loads more). Since I bought my car in January, I haven't gotten pulled over even once, and people generally let me in/out of roads, don't give me the look, but there is one thing I see often: boy racers pulling up at the lights, revving to race me in their chav-kit-cars. I've been told it's 'cause I don't have a model badge and most chavs think I try to hide the fact that I have the cheapest M Sport (116i) so it only looks bad-!Removed!. And for that, I tend to prove them wrong every time at the lights (as long as it's safe to do so). I keep my car stock (body and accessories), but I'm constantly tuning it, to get better performance, so they get really surprised how quickly I can take off from the lights. And for that reason alone, I'll keep doing it. I never drive defensively, I'm not a d*ck on the road, I let people in, unless they're being rude, not using their indicators or else. What you can do to get that "myth of a BMW driver" off is to drive well and prove them wrong. And use your goddamn indicators, as otherwise you're a risk to other drivers, regardless of what you think of them or what they think about you. If you want to drive like a d*ck, do it on a race track, where competition is a daily business and it doesn't cost a lot (£100-200 for a day).

I'd like to add to this little guide a few things people should watch out for when shopping for a 1er. If a model you wanna buy has mileage above 100k, I suggest you take it to an independent garage for a basic health check. There are several components which wear out, such as the suspension (especially the M Sport package); on crappy UK mainland roads the suspension gives up before 120k and may need replacing the struts (at least £400 for good struts alone).Don't immediately turn away a car which had its engine rebuilt by an independent specialist. Earlier 1ers (especially diesels) had problems with swirl flaps disintegrating and causing engine failures, but if the engine was rebuilt after 2007, these and many more flaws have been most certainly rectified. If unsure, check with the shop that has done the rebuild. Also, a newly rebuilt engine has new components in it, which will make it last much longer.Brakes and tyres are most common points of negligence by previous owners, by checking what tyres they've used, you can tell how they could have been treating the car. Lots of brake dust on the wheels, unknown tyre maker or not matching tyres may indicate poor ownership and servicing with cheapest components (ASDA oil anyone?).Inside the engine bay, check if nothing is loose, such as intake scoop, air box or engine cover. These may indicate poor servicing standards.Check for any "sweating" from engine components.One last thing: if you see a nice looking (and driving) 1er, don't be tempted to just buy it outright. Be patient and the rewards will be worth it. Research, dig into documentation, be thorough. Buying a car is not like buying a toaster.

You'd need to check a given HU first, if it has Bluetooth built in, as not all of them have it. Not sure about USB ports, but make sure it's a BMW Professional HU, model CD73 made by Alpine, and not some dodgy friend from Taiwan.

As you've got a 57 plate, I'd first make sure if it's either a pre-FL or a FL model, as these apparently have a slightly different electronics setup for driving lights. HID for a pre-FL won't work with a FL model.

Thanks guys! I got myself a basic set of spanners from Halfords Advanced a year ago. and I have to say I'm impressed with the quality, they look the part, but even better: they work the part as well. Based on your opinions I shouldn't be looking far then, and will stick to it. Maybe I can find a decent set of tools in my local store.

I’m about to purchase a new set of headlights from FK Automotive to upgrade my current lighting to “Angel Eyes”, with LED markers: http://www.carparts-tuning.co.uk/Lighting-Tuning/Headlight/Headlight-Daylight-Set-suitable-for-BMW-1-Series-type-E81-E87-grey.html I’m wondering if any of you have done it on the E87 pre-facelift model and if it will require me to add any harness or anything. I’m not upgrading to HIDs just yet (but that would be something to add to my list), so will keep the standard H7 halogens running the main lights. Note, that I have automatic lights on my E87, although I suspect this doesn’t have anything to do with how the lights work, since it’s just sensor-based on/off switch. Any advice is very welcome here.

I wonder what kind of quality tools would you recommend? I recently got fed up with Draper Mechanic Toolset, as I managed to break the converter bit when undoing some bolts on the car the other day. I was looking at these, and was wondering what BMW experts think about them: http://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-mechanics-tool-set-83pcs/40176

One way you can be sure your HU has BT on it, is to take it out from the centre dash console and check the backplate. It should have a BT sticker on it. If it doesn’t there’s another way. Run the part number from the backplate against http://www.realoem.com database and see what comes up.

This definitely is a topic for the 1-series section of the forums. As for your question about the ‘box: I’ve recently visited BMW independent workshop and asked them about the gear oil change, as I’m having it crunch occasionally when going into 2nd from 1st. After a CDV job was done, one of the guys took it for a drive and came back saying it’s all fine and it doesn’t need a gear oil changed, the slight crunch is quite normal on these boxes and doesn’t point to any problems, only as long as it’s a very brief, short thud and doesn’t sound like changing gear without a clutch fully depressed. From what you mentioned, it’s mainly happening in 3rd gear, which is unusual, as I don’t have anything happening when shifting to 3rd, not even when in high-end of the rev counter. You may wanna have a second opinion and possibly replace the gear oil as a precaution, to see if it smoothes out things for you. As for the garage’s opinion, I’m not sure you should have heard things like “typical for its age”, as mine is barely one year younger than yours, though it looks and drives like new. It all depends on how you treat it. If you care for it and do the maintenance on it when and as required, it should be driving pretty much the same as when brand new.

Hi Timo & welcome to the forums! I’ve scheduled a modification of the CDV (Clutch Delay Valve) on my E87 for next week (Saturday, 3rd August), as I don’t like how this thing works. Apparently, it’s supposed to ease n00bs of RWD to adapt to the shifting and power delivery much faster, but it can make even an expert driver look like an ##### when trying to shift from 1st to 2nd very quickly; the clutch disengages too slow to make that shift smooth, even on high-end of your rev-counter. This leads to jerky ride, and it’s the same when you use your engine for slowing down (downshifting). Couple that with M Sport suspension and my passengers usually think, that I can’t drive at all... I’ll let you know how the car behaves after the mod (more like an upgrade!). At one of my local BMW specialist, this costs £35 and it’s a half hour job. Edit: Just a side note: the CDV was supposed to reduce wear on the clutch kit, but according to independent tests, when quick-shifting (like I mostly do), this thing actually increases clutch wear, so modifying or replacing it is recommended, especially on engines with high torque delivery, such as diesels.

With my pretty heavy right foot, I get an average of 40-42 mpg, but that’s only when motorway driving is involved, around town, usually 30-32 mpg. If I drive steadily 30mph in fourth gear, I get about 60 mpg on average. I love not having DPF on my car.