FR-S vs BMW 135i

[Ammonia]

I posted this in the introduction thread, and I figured this was a place to do a decent comparison between my previous vehicle and my new! Enjoy:


My previous car was a heavily modded BMW 135i, with the N54 motor, a methanol injection, catless downpipes, full exhaust, tune, etc. Basically full bolt-ons. For anyone not familiar with the car, the 135i is one of the smaller cars in the BMW line-up, part of the lesser-known 1 series. For me, the car was perfect, love at first sight when one of my customers traded it in a little over a year and a half ago.

The N54 is a twin-turbo inline 6, comes stock with 300HP at crank, and is an absolute delight to drive, especially in a platform that only weighs ~3200 lbs. By the time I was finished modding, mine had over 420WHP, and was an 11 second car in the 1/4. I was, and still am proud of my little 1 series.

Fast forward to this month. The wife and I recently closed on our first home. The commute to and from work will be about triple of what it used to be, and DDing the 135i would probably be a nightmare, being that she gets about 14mpg. She suggested that, in light of our mortgage payment which is much higher than our current apartment's rent, we trim the BMW out of my life. Many fits of rage and sorrow ensue.

Well, after spending the majority of the last week lurking the forums on here, and doing my research into the mods this platform has in progress, I can safely say that I believe I will be in good hands. The 1 series does have one flaw, and that is there isn't an enormous aftermarket scene. There are only a few major competitors, only 3 viable aftermarket turbo developers, etc. This platform, wow. Has progressed further in a year than the N54 has since its inception in 2007. Never seen the like. And it dawned on me. I can probably get the FR-S to where my BMW is now, maybe even further if I let the modding community work abit.

So, here I am now. I had my dealership purchase a lightly used White 2013 Scion FR-S from a neighboring Toyota dealership. The car is 6MT, fully loaded with the touchscreen, premium sound, and only 5000 miles, and I bought it wholesale for only $23k. I save money in car payments, double my MPG, lower insurance, pay less for parts, gain a warranty. But most importantly, the wife is happy... She doesn't know that I now have a NEW project car though!

Pictures of my BMW follow:

This is how it looks recently:



Euro Blackline taillights are very nice:



Her "grrrr" face:



All business in the engine bay:



And here is the replacement:



All around, I feel good, especially after driving it. I do miss the power, I do miss being faster than 90% of the modded cars in my town, but after driving the car, I didn't really think so much about killing the next CTS-V I saw, or murdering that M3 from down the street, or shaming that supercharged 5.0 Mustang I've seen in town. I just think... "...Man, I bet I can totally drift this corner at 50 mph." And, for now, thats enough for me.


The drive in the FR-S is much more involved and rewarding, and it makes me smile while doing the most mundane drives. The BMW always egged me on to go to ever more ridiculous speeds, but the FR-S stays fun at street speeds, which is a refreshing change.

Here are a few more pictures, of my car and my friend's modded 135i. He bought the hood from me, and some other parts too:














Interior is actually not bad in the FR-S. It is a little more spartan than the BMW, but I like function, and I especially like the Bluetooth automatically playing my music when I get in, from exactly where I left off last. Pretty nifty.

Another perk is the community here! I love that it's not all about rice and slammed cars and stancing, etc. I've seen some beautiful cleanly modded cars, and I love it.

I do plan on modding the FR-S, probably starting with some Rota RT5s, suspension, and blacked out lights, along with Tom's Taillights. Following that will be some UEL headers for Subie burble, and a quad exhaust for a sexier butt / sound. From there on out, Tune, then down the line, some sort of FI. All in good time though.

All-in-all, while bittersweet, I couldn't be happier with my decision. One of those rare occurences. I just have to pretend that I'm heartbroken, for the wife's sake.


Thanks for having me, and I look forward to spending many hours on here.

[thill]

Very cool story. Yes, you are deinfintly way down on power based on what you are used to, but from a practicality perspective you will probably double your MPG, while at the same time, have a fun car to drive (in other words, the FR-S is far from being a Prius!).

I love the 1 Series BMW, but after dumping a ton of money into a BMW 10+ years ago I quickly realized that they were not practical for daily driving unless you lease a new one every 3 years that is fully under warranty.

Look forward to seeing your future mods. I came from a more powerful car as well, but I am actually pretty happy with the power in the BRZ. Yes, it could definitely be faster, but 90% of the time the power is more than enough.

[Chee-Hu]

Congrats and welcome to the world of the twins. Mod away and enjoy!

[Ammonia]

Originally Posted by thill

Very cool story. Yes, you are deinfintly way down on power based on what you are used to, but from a practicality perspective you will probably double your MPG, while at the same time, have a fun car to drive (in other words, the FR-S is far from being a Prius!).

I love the 1 Series BMW, but after dumping a ton of money into a BMW 10+ years ago I quickly realized that they were not practical for daily driving unless you lease a new one every 3 years that is fully under warranty.

Look forward to seeing your future mods. I came from a more powerful car as well, but I am actually pretty happy with the power in the BRZ. Yes, it could definitely be faster, but 90% of the time the power is more than enough.

Thanks! Yea there was a "BMW Tax" on pretty much all the mods I got, lol. But to be honest, the maintenance on the motor was manageable. Just routine stuff mostly... Expensive stuff though, lol.

Originally Posted by Chee-Hu

Congrats and welcome to the world of the twins. Mod away and enjoy!

I just ordered a set of S-Techs lol. Didn't take me long!

[usdmnotjdm]

Hello comrade. LOL. I am actually trading in my 2008 135i later this month for a black BRZ. I had a Cobb and some other goodies on it. The reasons are similar. Gas is expensive, I drive more now than I used to, maint fees are looming and my CPO ends next year. I started to think about things like... what happens if my adaptive headlights break out of warranty ($$$$) or automatic rain sensor ($$$$) I sat back and looked at it and I just don't utilize the power and when I do I'm eventually going to get in trouble or there will be an accident.

I've had the 135i for nearly 2 years. IT has been fun but it is time to go. As thill mentioned the car just doesn't seem that practical economically to DD. I only own the 135i and hate having a garage queen (tried it with the miata.) The BRZ seems more aligned to my goals right now.

My most immediate past cars were:

92 miata
94 240sx coupe
97 impreza wagon

So the BRZ is a good fit. 1addicts may think we're crazy but I think we just know whats up! Now back to counting the days until my BRZ arrives from Gunma.

[red bread]

Yep, sold our 135i and I'm likely picking up a BRZ soon too. I never warmed to that car, it was fast, solid and reliable (aside from HPFP issues), but not very engaging. The BRZ feels much more like my M Coupe, which is much more fun than the 1er, even if not as tunable.

[supramkivtt2jz]

wow interesting... a friend of mine just bought a 135i and we're constantly on edge about whose car trumps whose. Im faster than he is autocrossing, but i feel that his car is easily faster than mine minus the driver, around the cones

[red bread]

Originally Posted by supramkivtt2jz

wow interesting... a friend of mine just bought a 135i and we're constantly on edge about whose car trumps whose. Im faster than he is autocrossing, but i feel that his car is easily faster than mine minus the driver, around the cones

Is his stock? A stock 135i is an understeering mess. RFT's, no limited slip, a really soft suspension and the relatively short wheelbase make for a sloppy car. Switching to the M3 control arms, stiffer shocks and non RFT's makes them much better, but a stock BRZ is more composed, even with the stock tires.

[supramkivtt2jz]

Originally Posted by red bread

Is his stock? A stock 135i is an understeering mess. RFT's, no limited slip, a really soft suspension and the relatively short wheelbase make for a sloppy car. Switching to the M3 control arms, stiffer shocks and non RFT's makes them much better, but a stock BRZ is more composed, even with the stock tires.

His is stock at the moment - he has a muffler delete and stoptech pads on order. he did make a comment about the understeer, but i felt that was because he is still learning to drive.

[red bread]

No, the 1er is not nearly as sorted as a 3er in stock form. They understeer all day long, and the staggered tires certainly don't help either.

[DarkSunrise]

Nice, congrats and welcome. Never seen side-by-side pics with a 135i. Interesting how much lower/wider the FR-S looks in comparison.

[Ammonia]

Wow turns out there are alot of people who made this switch lol. Glad to meet all of you.

Yea I never noticed how much wider the FR-S is than the 135i, kind of crazy.

[chrisl]

The 135 understeers? That's disappointing - I've never driven one, but I did drive a 128i with the M-sport package (which I believe changes the suspension), and it didn't really have a problem with understeer. The lack of an LSD was a bit irritating when putting power down out of tight corners (the dealer was awesome and let me take it on an hour+ test drive by myself), but for the most part, it was an excellent car to drive.

[hushypushy]

I bought an FR-S...and a couple weeks later my buddy bought a 2008 135i. The amazing thing is that when it was all said and done, he ended up paying almost EXACTLY what I paid for my car---we both ended up at $29,xxx after tax, title, license, etc.




Yes, even with the M-Sport suspension it handled pretty badly, even on Pilot Super Sports; general understeer with power oversteer.

It's currently on Ground Control + Koni Yellows with 18x9's all around, and it handles a lot more neutrally. Unfortunately...it still understeers at the limit. He plans to do M3 LCA's next because his front camber plates are maxed and he still needs more camber.

So with suspension + muffler delete (I imagine that frees up a couple ponies) + Pilot Super Sports we went to an autocross together. I honestly consider him to be a bit of a better driver than me, but we're about equal, so we always have good battles in our respective rides. His best time? 46.8. My best time, in a 100% stock FR-S? 46.7.



The 135i is very fast in a straight line, even though it's a fat pig (~3400 lbs). It's quiet on the highway and definitely has bigger rear seats than the 86. I actually think quite often about how I could have had a 135i for the same dough. But do I ever regret my decision? Hell no! If I had to make the decision over again, I'd pick the FR-S every day of the week and maybe a BRZ on Sunday