Commissario
Not feeling the love for the newer shape M135i.
BMW and M Power Owners
- Thread starter panthro
- Start date
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It's really tricky. In many ways its simply a better car - it's better built, the interior is far nicer, it's better specified as standard and it's unquestionably a nicer car to use day to day. But you can't ignore the fact that it being a 4 cylinder FWD platform (albeit with 4wd) makes it a different type of car to the previous 6 cylinder RWD one. But that's purely a BMW enthusiast thing - if drivetrain and cylinder count are less important to you then I'd argue quite strongly that the new M135i is a better car than the old one.
However that combo of the ZF8HP gearbox and the 3 litre 6 cylinder turbo engine is about as good as it gets
Commissario
I was originally looking at a 4 series Grand Coupe 435D, then @Maccy shouted at me for going with a Diesel.
Then I looked at the 440i, but then got drawn to the M140i as it's a nippy little hot hatch. 
Thank you for making the stealth edit. (I have made a less stealthy edit).
If this is what you want and you're less bothered by things like cylinder count then the M135 (or the 128Ti) are probably exactly what you want!
Its one of the extra rads/coolers at the front apparently made it not able to fit
Associate
not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone had any experience with retrofitting Android Auto in their BMW? I'm looking at getting an 18 plate X3 shortly and was wondering if these MMI type devices a) actually work b) are any good and c) as plus and play as they say they are?
Soldato
My dad has one in his Z4.
Does a decent job. It’s plug and play, but in the sense that it needs to be plugged into the head unit and then screen, which requires the removal of some of the dash.
It sometimes throws a hissy fit, but a reboot usually does the trick.
I’d say worth it if you want Android Auto.
Associate
Thanks @MrRockliffe .. I will look into this further in that case. cheers 
thought main concern is that they/mmi dont have a digital audio out, and you have to plug them into the aux in of existing system,
which for audio quality means you are using a d2a in the mmi box, and then a2d inside the existing system to get back into digital domain for equalizer.
Associate
to be fair I wouldn't be using it for playing music from my phone but mostly for running Waze and i'm not too fussed if the voice navigation isn't an outstanding audio experience
Soldato
Anyone here use Carly BMW OBD for coding their car? Wondering if there is a list of different coding options, doesn't seem to be one on the Carly website but maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I have a Carly unit coming in the next few days, will be using it on my E85 Z4.
Soldato
i assume you've factored the extortionate yearly cost for carly?
putting the boot on the other foot - thought you can replace the display with a genuine Android unit, too, which then muxes in the original Idrive display,
probably more invasive, not sure about relative price.
edit : like these https://hifimax.net/android-bmw-x3-g01-2018-navigation-head-unit-gps-system
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Soldato
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Soldato
Dont know if it’s suitable but for my f30 I used e-sys to code certain things, just needed to get an enet obd2 adapter and there are plenty of vids and guides on the internet.
Associate
just interested in what exactly you could do with one of these e-sys or Carly units.... ?
Isn't bimmercode cheaper (and only a one-off payment) and actually made specifically for BMWs and hence better with more options.
https://bimmercode.app/
Although not sure much can be coded on an E85 Z4.
If only gonna use it as a obd monitoring device then there are free apps for that.
You can try out the bimmercode app in demo mode for your specific vehicle to see if you wanted.
https://bimmercode.app/
Although not sure much can be coded on an E85 Z4.
If only gonna use it as a obd monitoring device then there are free apps for that.
You can try out the bimmercode app in demo mode for your specific vehicle to see if you wanted.
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Soldato
There are a surprising amount of coding options on the E85 LCI, pre facelift cars have a decent amount of options too although perhaps not quite as many as the facelift.
Thanks for the bimmercode info, will have a look at it too. Cost wise, there are two of us chipping in for the subscription so it's not a huge outlay. Plan will be to code both our E85's to our liking then sell on the Carly unit at some point in the future. Going by the Z4 owners forums and FB groups, this is a common way to do things although there is also a register of Z4 owners on the forums with Carly units who are willing to code for other members for the price of a pack of beer or bottle of vino
The E85 is coded from the factory to open the soft top from the key fob, but you need to code it to close. I'll also be coding mine to give a flash of the indicators when the central locking is activated which strangely enough they do not do from new. Loads of other options to tinker around with too.
Thanks for the bimmercode info, will have a look at it too. Cost wise, there are two of us chipping in for the subscription so it's not a huge outlay. Plan will be to code both our E85's to our liking then sell on the Carly unit at some point in the future. Going by the Z4 owners forums and FB groups, this is a common way to do things although there is also a register of Z4 owners on the forums with Carly units who are willing to code for other members for the price of a pack of beer or bottle of vino
The E85 is coded from the factory to open the soft top from the key fob, but you need to code it to close. I'll also be coding mine to give a flash of the indicators when the central locking is activated which strangely enough they do not do from new. Loads of other options to tinker around with too.
Soldato
Had a look, Bimmercode doesn't support the E85. Bimmergeeks still looks like it works if you follow the correct steps, but not Bimmercode.
