EDIT: I'm going to turn this thread into a mini build log tracking the modifications I have done and will be doing.
As I've said from the very beginning, I believe the X1 to be an almost ideal only car for someone like me. I have only one garage and live in a city, but am an avid car enthusiast who enjoys both the drag strip and road course. I play tennis and baseball at least four times a week, and constantly find myself making Home Depot or Ikea runs (translation: I need a hatchback with folding seats). On top of this, we have nasty winters where I live and AWD is a necessity. Therefore, my goal is to take the X1 and elevate it from a "great" all around car into the "perfect" all around car for me. My goals:
1. Retain stock-like comfort and drive-ability. I need to be able to have a date in the passenger seat, hit a pothole, and not lose any chance I have
2. Run a 1/4 mile in under 12.0 seconds.
3. Lap Mid-Ohio Sports car course in under 1:45 (equivalent or faster than a e92 M3 with good tires and camber plates driven by a good driver)
4. Improve the X1's somewhat awkward cosmetics
The easiest of these will be the cosmetics. To that end, I have fitted the BMW Performance black grills and Renn Motorsport 19inch wheels.
Running a 1/4 mile in under 12 seconds is not easy, but doable. The car currently stands at 12.1. I believe upgrading from the Wagner intercooler to the newly ordered Evolution Raceworks Competition intercooler (in anodized black) along with dropping nearly 40lbs of rotating weight with the lighter wheels may do the trick. I will be testing this within the next couple of weeks.
Lapping Mid-Ohio competitively with the M3 is obviously the most difficult. I am a relatively noob driver, and have only been to Mid-Ohio once. With a bone-stock suspension and stock runflat tires, the X1 was running consistently in the low 1:5x range. The question becomes, besides becoming a better driver (which will surely cut multiple seconds from that time the more I go), what can I do to achieve that goal? I decided on a comprehensive suspension overhaul based around the JRZ RS1 coilover.
For those unfamiliar with JRZ, as I was before I began doing research about a year ago, they are a high-level racing outfit that manufacturers some of the winningest suspension setups of the last few years. They are on the level of Moton and AST.
My exact setup is going to be:
JRZ RS1 Coilover
Ground Control Hybrid Camber Plates
Swift Springs
As I literally just ordered the suspension today, I will be tweaking the spring rates with the help of my local performance shop (and e90post sponsor) Turn In Concepts. I cannot recommend these guys highly enough - they have extensive race experience and have all of the equipment in-house that gives me the confidence to trust them with my setup, including a shock dyno. I will also be installing several M3 suspension components, such as the rear lower guide arms, subframe bushings, and potentially the sway bar if it fits.
I also ordered a dedicated set of track wheels - Apex ARC8 17" 9.5in, et35. These weigh only 16.9lbs each - 10lbs lighter than the stock wheels per corner. I will be running Dunlop Direzza Zii tires in a 255 square setup.
On the street, I will run OEM brake pads. On the track, I have PFC08 - since the X1 has the 335i rotors and calipers, this works perfectly. I will likely go with a Stoptech ST60 kit once I become a better driver - the Apex wheels clear this kit fine even though they are only 17in.
Unfortunately, there is a wait time for the JRZs as they are hand built in the Netherlands. I won't have them installed for around 1-1.5 months. This will give me time to hit the track a few more times on stock suspension, which should enable me to better understand the upgrade.
My next track day at Mid Ohio is from May 9-11th - one week away! This will give me a good baseline time with the stock suspension, but with the ER intercooler and Apex wheels. My focus for now is to become a better driver rather than laptimes (I will not be driving 10/10ths at a HPDE), but nonetheless I will be quite happy if I can break 1:50.
Expect lots of pics and video of the X1 at Mid Ohio with the new intercooler and wheels soon. In the meantime, here's how it looks in the daily driver setup.
JB4 Tune, Map 7 with flexfuel wires
BMS Catless Downpipe
BMS Intake
Evolution Racewerks chargepipe
NGK plugs gapped to .022
Alpina B3 Transmission Flash
Wagner Intercooler
Rennsport 19 inch wheels, 9.5" ET35 (10mm front spacer, 5mm rear)
265/35/19 Michelin PSS square setup
BMW Performance aluminum pedal set
Laser Interceptor police LIDAR jammers
Valentine 1 hardwired detector
Coilovers are up next.
Click thumbnails for larger size.
