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      01-24-2014, 11:34 AM   #1
Diesel8810
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2014 X1 35i MSport - 6k mile review..

Hello everyone... I am a long time BMW Owner, Enthusiast and ex employee..

I just picked up an X1.. After much debate vs. another 335xi sedan I decided to go with the X1 for the added utility and also the $10k lower msrp.. My ONLY major reservation was the lack of a 6mt option... But due to my current work and life situation I did it anyway.. Here is my review and Mod plans..

2014 X1 35i Msport
Alpine White w Coral Red Leather
Ultimate Pkg
Heated Seats
HK
19" Wheels

Likes:
Decent Power
Good Space for Hockey Equipment or Mountain Bike stuff and Cooler.
My 2yr olds Recaro Pro Sport fits great and it is easy to get him in and out.
Goes in the Snow... Albeit it takes an experienced drive on Summer tires.
This Baby X5M fits the bill as a daily driver for the next few years...

Dislikes:
6 Auto is just not good if you desire any performance... Just about the worst transmission for this motor.. I have owned a (2) 335i 6mt and driven their automatic counter parts and it feels like they have different motors.. The N54/N55 Motors just come alive with a manual.. I was hoping the Paddles would sufficiently assist the auto but it is not just the same.. I did not expect a 6mt to M DCT relation but was hoping to be able to get a little more out of the motor in manual mode..

Throttle tip in is very very sluggish...

Servotronic as standard = Brutal.. I never liked BMW's active steering system or Servotronic option... I always have loved the heavy feel of BMW's steering.. With Servo it feels like I am driving a Lexus.

Exhaust Note = Turbo Prius. At start-up idle you get a decent little rumble but then nothing while driving except for a little blow off noise... I can't understand how the vehicle can be so closely related to the 135i and the two exhaust systems sound completely different.. I suspect that BMW toned it down in the X1 to satisfy a broader client base but I am planning on addressing the issue asap. Even our family X5 35i has a little bit of a buzz saw exhaust note under acceleration...

Needs a little wider stance in the rear... 20" Staggered Wheels or some spacers for the time being...


MODS: Not trying to reinvent the wheel here.. Just a few mods to keep me happy.. An X5M or another M3 is in my future once we build or find the house we want...

Wipe the X1 badge and side "xdrive35i" badges - DONE

Exhaust - I am currently deciding whether to wait for some decent tuner options or just go to my buddies muffler shop and do something semi custom. It needs some growl for sure though.

Intake - BMS - Ordered

Tuning - BMS Stage 4 - Spring (when the wife is not paying attention)

Wheels or spacers - I think I will try out some BMS 18mm R and 12mm F and see if that improves the stance to my liking.. I hate the tucked in look that it has now and especially from the rear.. I'm still debating what 20's I would want to go with... Maybe something Concave.. Still looking around..


Anyway that is my story so far on this one..
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      01-24-2014, 12:13 PM   #2
jm6001
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Your steering should be hydraulic and should have a heavy feel lol
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      01-24-2014, 01:26 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel8810 View Post

Tuning - BMS Stage 4 - Spring

I'm still debating what 20's I would want to go with

(when the wife is not paying attention)
She'll know something's up as soon as she sees it or drives it...or both. BMS Stage 4 will not hide easily

Have fun!

I managed to sneak an under drive pulley and a JCW intake on my wife's Cooper S. She never said anything about the profound power increase but she liked wringing it out and as long as it ran good she never complained.

Last edited by HBWT; 01-24-2014 at 01:33 PM..
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      01-24-2014, 01:55 PM   #4
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I too have the 35i with Msport as well

You should look at the Alpina B7 TCU flash for the transmission...I will be getting this done next month or so... It is supposed to really smooth out shifts and make them more crisp.

There is a gu who runs his X1 at the strip and is turning in times in the low 12's with some basic bolt on mods so the car is well set up, including the transmission, for some good performance upgrades. While I would tend to agree a 6 MT is better than the auto, the inline 6 and the 6 speed transmission is a much better performer than the 4 banger and 8 speed electronic drive.

Have about 12K on ours and really enjoying the drive
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      01-24-2014, 02:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cwickberg View Post
Have about 12K on ours and really enjoying the drive
Same, and prefer the steering to our previous 135i which was just stupidly heavy for a car with 225 front tires and ho hum handling.
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      02-02-2014, 02:43 PM   #6
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x1 35im

just picked up a dealer car 2013 with 5k miles. full bore loaded black on black. impressed with the performance and handling of this little sav. ive got an e30ix i just sold to get this one, and let me tell you this is a fun car to toss around. the pzero rubber is a handful in the snow but havent got stuck yet. a nice median that satisfys the need for a family car and performance car too.
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      02-03-2014, 11:30 PM   #7
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when you want to take your girl out some where really nice you put on a suit, at the beach shorts and flops and so on bmw make the x1 35i m sport to be in the middle of the road not to fast not to slow not to low not to high and so on bmw leaves it up to you what to put on add to her. the x1 can be anything you want it to be. can run low 12s and allsome handling look at my specs on this fourm. add the trans flash you will never say nothing bad agine about the trans. put the suit on add rims tint the glass add chrome and you will turn heads.
the reason i bought the x1 is because it can do it all. and dont even bring up mpg iam getting over 22mpg. i have 5100 mile now.
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      02-04-2014, 02:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel8810 View Post
Dislikes:
6 Auto is just not good if you desire any performance... Just about the worst transmission for this motor.. I have owned a (2) 335i 6mt and driven their automatic counter parts and it feels like they have different motors.. The N54/N55 Motors just come alive with a manual.. I was hoping the Paddles would sufficiently assist the auto but it is not just the same.. I did not expect a 6mt to M DCT relation but was hoping to be able to get a little more out of the motor in manual mode..
Flash it with the Alpina B3 flash. I have done so and while it's not quite a DCT, it's a massive upgrade over the stock software. The stock software has delays everywhere - feels like it takes a full second to shift after you hit the shifters. After the alpina mod the delay is gone. I've used the flash at Mid-Ohio on the track and it's just great.

Throttle tip in is very very sluggish...
Quote:
Exhaust Note = Turbo Prius. At start-up idle you get a decent little rumble but then nothing while driving except for a little blow off noise... I can't understand how the vehicle can be so closely related to the 135i and the two exhaust systems sound completely different.. I suspect that BMW toned it down in the X1 to satisfy a broader client base but I am planning on addressing the issue asap. Even our family X5 35i has a little bit of a buzz saw exhaust note under acceleration...
This is an easy fix, luckily. The exhaust is actually pretty much identical to the 135i except that BMW has included midpipes with secondary catalytic convertes. If you cut them out it will sound exactly like a 135. As for me, I opted to leave them in but delete the main catalytic converter right after the turbo with a BMS catless downpipe. Way better sound with zero drone (since I left the midpipe cats in) and gained about 20 whp.
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      02-05-2014, 09:44 AM   #9
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Are those mid pipe cats actually cats or just resonators? Just wondering because its usually where the resonators are on other vehicles.. Also do you get a lot of smell from your catless DP?
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      02-05-2014, 09:46 AM   #10
paradoxical3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jm6001 View Post
Are those mid pipe cats actually cats or just resonators? Just wondering because its usually where the resonators are on other vehicles.. Also do you get a lot of smell from your catless DP?
There are separate midcats and then a resonator. Since I left the midcats on there is zero smell from the downpipe.
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      02-05-2014, 09:49 AM   #11
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That is very exciting news .. But i presume you get an engine light? Or is there a way to delete it?
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      02-05-2014, 09:50 AM   #12
paradoxical3
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If you have the JB4 tune it can automatically clear the light so it never shows up on the dash.
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      02-05-2014, 10:20 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paradoxical3 View Post
Flash it with the Alpina B3 flash. I have done so and while it's not quite a DCT, it's a massive upgrade over the stock software. The stock software has delays everywhere - feels like it takes a full second to shift after you hit the shifters. After the alpina mod the delay is gone. I've used the flash at Mid-Ohio on the track and it's just great.
.
Can you provide additional info regarding this Alpina B3 flash. Where do you go to do this? How much does it cost? How long does it take? What happens when you bring for service? Thanks again.
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      02-06-2014, 10:36 AM   #14
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I've got nearly 1k miles already on mine and the throttle tip in being sluggish is by far my biggest complaint. A reflash to the ecu won't cure that, but if I can find someone local to me to do the Alpina reflash reasonably, I'd seriously consider it.

Btw, the muffler by pass valve trick gave the car just the right amount of exhaust note to make my wife happy. Have you tried it yet?
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      02-06-2014, 08:35 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beondwacko View Post
I've got nearly 1k miles already on mine and the throttle tip in being sluggish is by far my biggest complaint. A reflash to the ecu won't cure that, but if I can find someone local to me to do the Alpina reflash reasonably, I'd seriously consider it.

Btw, the muffler by pass valve trick gave the car just the right amount of exhaust note to make my wife happy. Have you tried it yet?
Same here. Well...that and the fact that my blower fan makes a mid-frequency howling noise when it's cold out. I tried the adaptive throttle reset after I parked at work this morning. I kinda want to say that I notice a little difference on my way home but it is 0F + wind chill out so I took it easy until the oil warmed up. However, other people were driving so slow so it was hard to make an accurate assessment.

What is this bypass valve trick you speak of?
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      02-06-2014, 09:43 PM   #16
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In the muffler itself there is a butterfly valve that increases back pressure with additional restriction. It is operated via a vacumn solenoid, easy to see if you dip your head under there. The vacumn line you will see goes up into the car itself and of you remove the cubby liner in the back left corner of the hatch area, it exposes an electric solinoid the vacumn lines leading to it and to the vac solinoid attached to the muffler. Pull off the one leading to the muffler, and pop on either a little vacumn cap or a piece of similar size vac line with a dowel or something of your choice and you are good to go. It adds a little tone to the exhaust note that is mostly noticeable from out side, but you get a little more tone inside as well.

Being that you are up in the great north, at least you've got the fun cold air. We're still running the A/C down here.
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      02-06-2014, 10:25 PM   #17
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Thanks! I may try this. I'm also considering the Alpina B3 flash and may do so more strongly if the adaptive throttle reset doesn't do the trick.

Considering you're in FL, I guess Chicago is the great north.
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      02-07-2014, 06:01 AM   #18
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When time allows that I can find a programmer to reflash the B3 for the trans and a few other things, that if I'm lucky will be an hour or less from me, I'm in!

I would think that an aftermarket tune, along with a down pipe would make a significant difference, but this is the wife's car and there is no way I could justify to her me doing those. She's a little more conservative than I when it comes to such things. Besides, the factory warranty is important to both of us. It's got to be dependable and not either leave her stranded, or throw any CE codes ever. That was the reason in another thread I had asked about an aftermarket drop in air filter, curious if it would help that slow tip in response.
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      02-07-2014, 06:18 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beondwacko View Post
When time allows that I can find a programmer to reflash the B3 for the trans and a few other things, that if I'm lucky will be an hour or less from me, I'm in!

I would think that an aftermarket tune, along with a down pipe would make a significant difference, but this is the wife's car and there is no way I could justify to her me doing those. She's a little more conservative than I when it comes to such things. Besides, the factory warranty is important to both of us. It's got to be dependable and not either leave her stranded, or throw any CE codes ever. That was the reason in another thread I had asked about an aftermarket drop in air filter, curious if it would help that slow tip in response.
Have had my 35 ms port for a month. Installed a JB4 after two weeks, what a difference it makes. It will auto clear any codes you get (so they won't be visible to your wife). Of course, tracking codes is important too. Oh, the JB4 has steering wheel controls that will allow you to open/close the muffler valve as well....
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      02-07-2014, 09:16 AM   #20
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I've had my loaded x135i MSport for a year today and have put 5800 miles on it. 1800 are from a road trip to the Canadian Rockies.

I also dislike the 6 speed auto but it shifts smoothly. The steering is a bit heavy but tolerable. I just take the x1 for what it is and don't overthink it or try to make it something it's not.

A year in it's been a good ride.
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      02-07-2014, 10:36 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy7fx View Post
Have had my 35 ms port for a month. Installed a JB4 after two weeks, what a difference it makes. It will auto clear any codes you get (so they won't be visible to your wife). Of course, tracking codes is important too. Oh, the JB4 has steering wheel controls that will allow you to open/close the muffler valve as well....

Hi Randy,
Just a quick question because I haven't pick up on the vernacular yet, but what is a 35 ms port?
I'm an old school hot rodder and I'm taking a crash course in BMW'ese.
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      02-07-2014, 12:40 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beondwacko View Post
Hi Randy,
Just a quick question because I haven't pick up on the vernacular yet, but what is a 35 ms port?
I'm an old school hot rodder and I'm taking a crash course in BMW'ese.
I'm pretty sure he meant 3.5 MSport
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