TAKA 一仔ブログ

Half masked 1///M video

2010-08-28T07:23:00.000+10:00

This is a video from YouTube showing a half masked upcoming 1 series M. Yum. Quad exhaust!!

more from video captures

Still have not seen the spec yet!

Posted by Taka via the trusted iPad.

Decided on the 1///M

2010-07-27T17:31:00.001+10:00

Here are some of the video of the BMW 1///M. It is a slightly bigger and wider car with more power. It is likely to have:

BMW official video:

1 addicts spying video @ Nurburgring:

260kW.
DCT as per the 135i now.
LSD.
245 19" front tyre and
Probably a 265 19" rear tyre

I hope most of the options are standard.

Rumour the price to be $120K in Australia. But some report say it is just north of $100K. Hope the report is right :)

一仔 has a new sound

2010-03-26T23:58:00.001+11:00

BMW performance exhaust has been installed for a week now. Here are my thoughts:

In pure sound terms, it has better lower rev rumbling that the stock exhaust lacks. Stock exhaust has a silencer which makes street driving not as satisfying. It feels like there is something restricting the air flow at low speed. It feels like the 1er has asthma. :D.

The performance exhaust sounds the best when it is low speed, cold and is close to wide open throttle. In cruising, there is a low tone rumble and may annoy someone. I used to own a stock Honda Integra DC2 Type R. The Honda does 4000rpm @ 110kph on 5th gear. That is way more annoying I tell you.

How should I describe the noise. Let see the video below. It is hard to pick it up with the video camera and I had to enhance the recording to reflect as best and as truthful as I can.

I would describe it as a very dry low tone noise. “Dry” as if you have a very sore throat without any mucus on your throat. Sorry for the medical analogy here but at least this is more familiar with me.

The only disappointing thing is when the car is FOT in high rev, the new exhaust is not that much different from stocky. However, after 100km. It opens up one time today when I press hard at low rev, the pop comes in when changing gear.

It is certainly a different exhaust. I never have a tubro car before so the character is totally different from an NA car. You see NA car exhaust will make enormous sounds in high rev, making you wanting to rev the car more. Tubro exhaust like this one is totally opposite, wanting you to press on low rev and low speed – so I want to make someone heard when I pass you on the street!!!

Alpine BMW speaker unit fitted

2009-12-14T09:06:00.001+11:00

Ah this is my Xmas present to the 1er. It is an upgrade of the front speakers with amplifier

Brochure reads

A class-leading two-year BMW warranty adds further appeal
to this premium accessory.
– Designed by Alpine Electronics specifically for the BMW 1 Series
and BMW 3 Series.
– No need to visit a specialist car audio store to enhance your
audio system.
– Seamless integration with the vehicle’s electrical system.
– Original speaker position in the doors remains, preserving
the look of the interior.
– High-range/mid-range speakers with aluminum membrane.
– Powerful Alpine Class D technology amplifier 4 x 80 Watt RMS
with a harmonic distortion of just 0.5%.
– Loudspeaker grille with Alpine logo.
– Amplifier located neatly and safely under boot floor.

Alpine Hi-Fi System kit contains:
– Amplifier.
– Two high-range speakers.
– Two mid-range speakers.
– Two frequency gates.
– Cable harness including small parts.
– Two Alpine logo badges.

Oops I did it again

2009-09-03T17:15:00.001+10:00

It wasn't done parking at all It was done when I was driving hard and turn in too quick.

I got it repaired today at Wheel Solution today. The owner is an important teacher in my life. Most of the racing skill I know is from this man, Matt Coleman... the ex Porsche Carrera cup champ. He is now good at driving a sander and spray gun.

He does it much proper way. He takes the wheel off, strip the tyres, sand and respray the whole wheel. Cost is the same as the mobile service.
Highly recommended.

Bye Bye 325… hello back TAKA-1

2009-08-26T21:59:00.001+10:00

After about 2 weeks, the parts arrived by air from Germany. However, after changing over the headlight parts. They found the headlight module also faulty and has to be replaced. That is a sealed box that has to be changed as a whole. The parts is located in the head office in Sydney. After another half a week, they have sorted by car. They also washed by car to test out the new headlight. :). They said every thing is fine. So fine…

Now make me think a little – the car has a headlight warning signal before but it also dies before the car went to BMW.

On the same token, I had to return the 325i I borrowed. My thought of the car is that it is very comfortable. Handle well. But 2.5L engine drinks a lot (13L/100km), and it goes only moderately well.

The update iDrive is a must for all the BMW ... although it took me a few days to fully know all the functions, but once it is all sorted and explored, it work better than most units out there. The navigation of the route is easy to understand and speak well. It also has lane directions. The only draw back is the navigation menu is difficult to access fast, even if you know where to go.

I manage to do 8.1 sec from 0-100kmh. I thought the car was quicker.

Guess what… I have a “new” car to bring home

2009-08-11T23:00:00.001+10:00

Well I got a call from the BMW Melbourne that my car is not going to be ready in one day. Well they do not have the part (the adaptive headlights) from Australia. Show one has to be ordered from Germany or hopefully get one from Asia. So for safety, BMW Melbourne gave me a loaner. I treaded a key of a small diesel car will come to be. But instead, they gave me a brand new 17km on the clock 325i sedan, which is fully optioned up. It has sat nav, comfort entry, premium sound system, sunroof and stuff. Very cool.

Only the colour is quite mid life crisis-ish :(. And BIEGE :O leather.

It does not do 8L/100km. Try 24L/100km if you stuck in traffic from Southbank to Heidelberg.

Wood grain makes me look old… But I quite like the sat nav and the new iDrive, particularly it has a TV. But the language setting is only English, French and Portuguese. Hmmm. Not Chinese for these few weeks.

More pics and performance data later. :)

Headlamp failure!

2009-08-10T23:27:00.001+10:00

Frustration cannot sum up my feelings. It is a well known problem in the other makes that headlights can have water vapour getting inside the case. This is happening to a top of the range BMW. It is not even common in the RX-8. When I heard about it in the 8, it is normally due to the seal not being tight around the edges and when you spray water to say… clean the car. Water will get it and block the lens.

To top that… the xenon light die on me the next day. I have called BMW Melbourne which offer me a spot on the same day for repair. Unfortunately the work is tight on Mondays and I will have to go tomorrow. Here are some shots of the mist before it goes away tomorrow. They have asked for my rego, hence the VIN number and I guess they will just change over the parts.

Oh I replaced the RDash LED before tomorrow. It only took me 1/2 for 2 lights. I somehow wonder the workmanships of some of the so called professionals.

Wheel repair… OU>>CH!

2009-07-30T19:26:00.001+10:00

I have hit a kerb!
The damage is heart breaking. I was made aware of people doing mobile alloy repair in Sydney by lovely people here in 1addicts.... so after crawling the web I have found the following website called www.thesmartguys.com.au. Their number is 1300 WHOOPS haha... I was going to repair it at Morrabin but I also have a dent from I dunno when. So it is more convenient for me. Wheel cost $150 to repair and dent is $100.
I was not intending to replace the wheel but I called BMW to get a quote.... $1025 each back wheel!
Before

After

Before

After

This is how they fixed my wheels. Firstly they smooth it out with an orbital tool. Then put some fillers in. Then cover all the parts (brake disc, caliper, body, logo on the wheel etc). Then 2 coats of paint (undercoat and cover).

Sun tan treatment :)

Racing Dash LED light installed

2009-07-16T20:50:00.001+10:00

I went to a local BMW “cosmetic” shop today call Carware @ Keysborough for this kit. As I told many others, from my reading the RDash does not give the brightest light but it is white. Really white that it is whiter than the D1S Xenon. Since I hate the yellow ring so much, I am prepare to sacrifice the brightness for some whiteness. If you want brightness, go for GT Thunder or MTEC bulbs.

This is the ballast and the bulb, the bulb will spray open when it lights up. I guess if it does not return back, it will get damage when I remove it. So when you install it, make sure you are surely secure and fitted properly before lighting it up. Otherwise you may not be able to fit it in!

Taken from Carware, this is the before and after photos. See how white it is but it is not as eye catching in day light. Even with Xenon on at the left. It is still brighter.

This is the photo of one light being installed (on the right)

You can still see the reflection from the door of the ring.

Colour matching the Xenon very nice though.

Team 135i (WAY and TAKA) @ Australian Tarmac Challenge (VIC)

2009-06-28T23:44:00.001+10:00

This is a playlist of all the videos of Day 1 to 3 of our debut ATC. Well we took it very seriously indeed.

Day 1

We started from the famous Phillip Island GP circuit. We do a few laps there as well a few motorkana exercises around the car park.

After that weekend I finally have respect for my mate WAY's driving.

He is a good besides having loads of money afterall .

Click HERE if the video does not load.

Day 2

We arrived at Lang Lang’s Holden proving ground full of confident and we were about to show them the power of the car. Well until shit happened…

Today combined skill and error, friendship and hard work.

Enjoy and pray for the BMW parts and pieces that were left at the Holden ground.

Day 3

The car is fixed and my TAKA alternator belt is on. It is going to be faster! (in case you don’t know what happen, you have to watch Day 2 footage). We went to Haunted Hill climb in Moe/Newsborough to have a go of the circuit for the first time.

It is not something we should do when everyone else is so fast!

Bonus footage – Wayne Final run @ Haunted hills, Taka’s final run @ Haunted hills.

Go cool lights

2009-06-25T23:11:00.001+10:00

The first thing I don't like about the 135i is the yellow angel light. I have thought of changing it but really fear of throwing a light code.

There are option like:
EFX
Race Dash from Taiwan...
Ebay sells RD for around $160 from a Sydney seller.
Hmm... tempted to go hunger for a few days just to get one.

A day with one-three-FIVE!

2009-06-16T21:40:00.001+10:00

I went to spend a day with my car… well I just went to do a few things. I went to Andrew @ SouthernBM to have an oil change. 1 hour and $189 dollars later it is time to move on with my day. He did the job professionally and so fast that it is just out of the world. He does not care about the 110 degree oil! Thanks Andrew! Worth the hour of traffic to get to Moorabbin.

What I found after the oil change are 2 things:
Firstly the car feels looser. The new oil free up the engine nicely and it even makes the turbo kick @ 3000rpm stronger.
Secondly the fuel economy is way better. When I drove on the way to SouthernBM… the fuel gauge said 15.0L/100km for about 150km. I drove about another 1/4 tank today and finish with 13.9L/100km. What an improvement!

After that I went to did some 0-100kmh on freeway.

The first run I did with traction control on…
The 2nd run I had left foot on the brake and mess up the run
The 3rd run I had left foot brake and with traction control. I had to correct the steering a bit on the run
The 4th run is the easiest. DTC off. Just launch from idling and floor it. I don’t even change – the car changes itself hehe..

(graph: Green – speed; Yellow – Altitude)

After some run I went to clean the car and polish it. I brought some new microfiber cloth to fit the 10” orbiter. I am tight ass so I just use the Autoglym ultra deep shine after I clay bar the car for the dirt build up only after a month (A hand test on the clean surface can usually tell – no dirt build up is silky smooth).

Here are some finishing shots!

My TAKA-1 is Chinese

2009-06-08T18:10:00.001+10:00

I configure the audio to Japanese and it is showing all the song title on USB in Chinese! Awesome

***Song selecting***

Now the song showed up in Chinese! … It says “No worries” (so does it make it Aussie-Chinese??)

*** The English is now more spaced out and the English song title is now limited ***

TAKA-1 on dyno… not sure they have done it right

2009-06-06T01:09:00.000+10:00

I have put the car on dyno, expecting around 180kW. It did not disappoint and get 176.2kW. Not sure they have done in the D/S mode but sure even D mode dyno the same right?

I filled the car up with BP ultimate with a bottle of octane booster. I am sure it works but it pulls well on the street. Wayne dyno his manual 135 and get 184kW in a different dyno on a different day. I guess I am in the ball park.

Here is the video of it.

I have decided to change oil next week or so. Book it in with SouthernBM on Tuesday for the following Tuesday.

BMW M style valve cap

2009-06-01T09:23:00.001+10:00

From eBay. $7.95

200km thoughts

2009-05-10T18:40:00.001+10:00

Done about 200km so far, I already have complaints..
The car is too hot and the aircon is useless. I have it in 17 degree and I should be a frozen ham by then... but it refuses to do a job for me while the sun is shining into the car alright. I need to tint the window soon. But what it really annoys me is under my right foot. I start to get annoyed by the gap before the throttle gets to open the butterfly in the throttle body . The cure will be a sprint booster and I have to get one soon because I have been burning wheels on my Japan made 4WD because its throttle is designed for a much lighter footed Japanese.
Some absolute positives...
The car looks heaps good in white . I promised myself to get white only from now on. I reserved my love on the look before I ordered the car, but now it grew on me. Love the red leather. It is just special. Even tempted to get an OSIM message chair because it is similar red leather trimmed I have been in the discovery mode in the car in the last 2 days. There are so many gadget buttons in the car. I eventually found all the buttons in the seat and now lock in my position. Found that the memory function extends to the mirror settings, it is a surprise for me. Mirrors also go down when reversing... I don't need it but it is nice. The auto gearbox is as fast as I remember and in slow speeds it is as good as PDK. Honest. Going down a gear is definitely slower though. Just drive in DS mode if you are in a hurry then.
Booked in for UV shield window film installation from stealership Tuesday week.. it will looks 10 degree cooler inside and hopefully 20 inside

TAKA-1 arrived

2009-05-07T22:41:00.001+10:00

After a long wait the car has eventually arrived. Look at the black grill I asked the dealer to install for me. It looks so nice with the white background. The wheel is clean for now but already gathering brake dust after a 30km drive today.

You can see Leah my dealer lady on the phone selling cars!~

I also received a delivery gift. I asked if there were any freebies. So there it is. It is low quality fabric but there is an alloy wheel like wheelie wheel… and a BMW badge.

Then we set the kids seats. See Hung has a new harness in my car. They quickly went asleep as the car is quiet.

Finally I took some pictures of the portable sat nav, which is just a re-batched Garmin Nuvi. It is rather nice coz it is a word recognition model, so it was about $700 2 years ago when we got our old Garmin. It now prob not worth much. It is bluetooth able too, but the car has voice recognition phone system and it works well. I even dial home by calling the number using voice only.

More photos in good location soon.

The car has arrived at stealership

2009-05-02T23:49:00.001+10:00

I went to the dealership today and check out my babe.

Love at first sight…… it looks bigger in the photo. It is realistically tiny in real life.

Perhaps the only time I will see it silver.

Red leather stands out heaps. The “P” on the left side means priority . I am pushing them for Tuesday delivery. Let's hope. The top left corner label has my surname on it. So it is my car .

Notice one thing very interesting. Red interior matches with red wiper rubber . I love BMW. I did the same to my old Integra R

The cargo ship docked!

2009-04-19T23:51:00.001+10:00

I was told I can go even closer than that. I could have gone all the way around and take a picture of the car leaving the cargo.

I went to the side of it but did not go all the way around.
Never mind. I had my daughters in the car with their mum... I was going to see if I could see the car.

Only a few more sleeps now

It is in Australian… water

2009-04-15T00:29:00.001+10:00

http://www.fremantleports.com.au/ShipsInPort.asp (current ship in dock)

Just checked the ship in the dock. It is there man. Departing tomorrow in the morning at 6am!

First Mod – before the car arrive!

2009-04-08T19:45:00.001+10:00

I get a package today from America of those black grill.

They are cheap too. $109 USD and shipment is $70 including some spare wheel tote.

Happy man, only if I have the car now.

TAKA-1 BOHEME voyage on Google map

2009-03-18T22:50:00.001+11:00

View Larger Map

TAKA-1 is shipped - BOHEME

2009-03-16T19:07:00.001+11:00

It is in South Africa somewhere now

I log on to the tracking site this morning. I got this:

BREMERHAVEN GERMANY 11/03/2009
ZEEBRUGGE BELGIUM 12/03/2009
SOUTHAMPTON UNITED KINGDOM 13/03/2009
LE HAVRE FRANCE 14/03/2009
PORT ELIZABETH SOUTH AFRICA 31/03/2009
EAST LONDON SOUTH AFRICA 01/04/2009
DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA 02/04/2009
REUNION ISLE STDENIS REUNION 06/04/2009 06/04/2009
FREMANTLE AUSTRALIA 15/04/2009 15/04/2009
MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA 20/04/2009

So it is due at around 20/04 to the dock and around May delivery... well it is a fucking long wait :(.

New tyres will not come until old set wares out

2009-02-25T17:44:00.001+11:00

RE: Old thread

The weak Aussie dollars and unavailability of the RE-11 in the US, meaning that idea will put aside until the run flat wears out.

VIN number received

2009-02-25T17:36:00.001+11:00

I received a confirmation email this morning that there is a VIN number for my car.

However, there is no update on the cargo it is in yet. A typical ship can go from Bremerhaven in Germany via UK, Belgium, USA, Panama, New Zealand New Caledonia to Australia.

Why?

Number plate arrived!

2009-01-14T12:44:00.001+11:00

The plate has arrived. Waiting the time to put them on the car.

Gruppe M RAM intake

2009-01-08T00:52:00.001+11:00

A serious intake combining cold air induction, relocation and shortening of the system. How does it work with the intercooler? But 20ps just intake alone in a tuned car is massive even for twin turbo engine. EVO IX could not get any extra power from an intake system.

It comes with a premium price! 198000Yen ($1AUD = 60Yen atm).

Clickable images below

135i accessories wish list

2009-01-08T00:37:00.001+11:00

Here is some in house BMW performance goodies for the 135i. Me want!

Something I already have from the cooperate package:

Left: iPod cable; Right: Portable Satnav.

This is major in the wish list (Please buy me this!)

This is the carbon fibre diffuser at the front.

Matches well with the black grill and the diffuser at the rear. Cool!

Something I will definitely pay for!

Left: Performance steering wheel, a pump kit when I change the tyres to RE11.

Something I may not even get:

I think the orginal M kit looks heaps better.

(well the CF strut does not fit the 135i because of the engine?)

I am a new carless car club member

2009-01-06T23:18:00.001+11:00

What you get for $75 are a badge to put on the grill (right...), a vinyl sticker (to go with OzRenesis one) and a laminated membership card from BMWCCV. I wonder what do we give for OzRenesis :)

First mod of the car will be tyres!

2009-01-06T23:14:00.001+11:00

I have been commenting on the lack of performance of the Potenza run flat tyres. Although when they are heated up on the track, they are actually not bad. But I am willing to give the RE-11 a go. Watch the video. Lots of Japanese racers uses them over S-tyres.

These are the sizes I am thinking: 225/40 R18 front and 255/35 R18 rear.

The table on the left demonstrate the circumference difference between the stock tyres to the RE11 available sizes. To tell you the truth, I copied the sizes of a Japanese tuner do to his car. :)

TAKA 1 is ordered

2008-12-28T20:48:00.001+11:00

Configuration gross price $ 80,344.00. Driveaway price is too low to be disclosed.

Model
135i Sport $ 72,230.00
Alpine White/ Boston leather Coral Red
BMW M light alloy wheels - 18" double spoke 261 M with mixed tyres: 7.5Jx18 215/40, 8.5Jx18 245/35 R18 runflat
safety tyres
6-speed automatic transmission with gearshift paddles
Comfort access system
M Sport Package
Electric sunroof - glass
Interior mirror with automatic anti-dazzle function
Electric seat adjustment with memory function for driver's seat
Lumbar support for driver and front passenger, electric
Aluminium glacier silver interior trim (Part of M Sport Package)
Park Distance Control (PDC) - rear
Rain sensor including automatic headlight control
Bi-Xenon headlights with headlight washer system
Adaptive headlights with turning light
Preparation for Bluetooth mobile
M Sport suspension (Part of M Sport Package)
M Aerodynamic package (Part of M Sport Package)
BMW individual headliner anthracite (Part of M Sport Package)
M leather steering wheel with gearshift paddles (Part of M Sport Package)

Feb built, Expect April 09 delivery

Porsche Caymen vs 135i

2008-12-28T09:12:00.001+11:00

Now a new player comes in

2008-11-04T23:46:00.001+11:00

I realize recently that the Brembo 6 pot brake in the 135i was not very good. A few people on the track has the ceramic cap broken

So I am going to also look at this! Audi TTS

200kW, 4 wheel drive quattro, double clutch, 18 inch, nice interior!

The road of choosing another cruiser

2008-09-07T16:58:00.002+10:00

Well at the end of the year I will be making my mind up of what car I am going to pick for next year. I need a second car so my Mazda RX-8 can serve pure track duties.

Initially I want a fuel saver just purely go to work. Fuck it. If it means to go to work slow and without style. I might have just turn up with my bike shorts!

Something is consistent, I want it small. My chain of thoughts from earlier this year:

Mazda 2 Genki manual
Fiat 500 Sport
Mini Cooper S automatic
VW Golf GT Sports TDi (when I want a really good fuel saver)
VW Golf GTi

But then the contender comes along

BMW 135i convertible

Pro:

Good engine, good power and still need to rev to get them
Has mod to increase power to roughly 220kW at the wheel
Interior is very nice and ergonomically orientated
Bluetooth and iPod/USB music standard
iDrive suits the gadget minded me

Cons:

Automatic is still not the best in the world. The double clutch is not available in 2009
It is more expensive
Convertible is a soft top

Looking: An Alpine White 135i convertible with tan leather. Option includes the M system, comfort entry, 10 speaker Hi System, and maybe more.

Mitsubishi Evolution X MR

Pro:

Good engine, and plenty of mod with the HyperRev an inch thick
Easy mod mod to increase power
The SST gearbox is standard and double clutch is the go nowadays
The 4WD system with all electronic control. A fun to drive. Certainly easy.
Can put it on the track. The wheel is the same size as my track wheel (245/40 - 18; 18 x 8.5J)

Cons:

Interior is cheap.
Still a Mitsubishi. It will only pull sausages not chicks.
Perhaps harder to live with day in day out.

Looking: A solid white EVO X MR (Bilstein and BBS wheel standard) with a few carbon fibre body parts and start button. Some Ralliart parts too. Certainly will be more modded.