Our 2008 BMW 135i is too much fun to drive. Smooth-shifting, super-fast and better steering than the 7 Series. Problem is, on the rare open highway, I often find myself hitting extra-legal speeds. Oops! Getting there was so effortless! Not a peep from the car. How can I stop myself from doing this since I just don't have it in me to lighten my lead foot? The Bimmer has so much to give!
Then I discovered a way. Simply pretend there isn't a 6th gear...or a 5th gear for that matter since in the lower gears I can feel and hear when I'm hitting the legal speed limit. It's kinda like hiding the carton of Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk ice cream behind the frozen chicken in the freezer. Can't see it, won't be tempted.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 25,052 miles
audisport says:
11:27 AM, 08/ 4/09
Pretending that there wasn't a fifth or sixth gear would actually make it worse! It wouldleave the engine right in the meat of the torque curve! Fifth and sixth mean that you've settled in to a ncie acceptable speed.
lowmilelude says:
11:34 AM, 08/ 4/09
Or, you could drive the thing like it begs to be driven, coppers be damned!
7driver says:
11:35 AM, 08/ 4/09
Ever heard the term "piston swept area per mile driven"? I suggest using cruise control instead :-)
joefrompa says:
11:57 AM, 08/ 4/09
Audisport - The meat of the torque curve starts at 1400 rpms and goes to over 5000 rpms.
So no, leaving it in just about any gear means you are right in the meat of the torque curve :)
Plus it's an inline six...which means that even at 4000 rpms, you can't really feel that the engine is revving.
nealibob says:
12:02 PM, 08/ 4/09
@7driver: agreed. Cruise control is the best way to safely avoid tickets when trying to maintain a speed with an N54. I sometimes use it in the city (foot covering the brake) when it is just too tempting to gun it.
benson2175 says:
12:26 PM, 08/ 4/09
Another way to avoid getting speeding tickets is to move to an area that has an Olympics upcoming. All the cops are busy with security prep, they have one big building dedicated to it. I haven't seen a speed trap in months.
cbd22186 says:
12:28 PM, 08/ 4/09
Oatmeal cookie chunk is delicious and totally underrated, thanks for finally posting about it
crowb says:
12:45 PM, 08/ 4/09
cbd22186 - I laughed out loud at that comment. Perfect.
blueguydotcom says:
12:52 PM, 08/ 4/09
Yep, driving in 3rd or 4th simply means the engine is higher in the rev range - same power. Gotta say the N54 is one boring engine to live with day in and day out. The free-revving inline 6s give you more to play with and do so with a bit more drama. The N54 just pulls.
rick8365 says:
01:45 PM, 08/ 4/09
"Oatmeal Cookie Chunk ice cream" ..... Blech!!
slhtonz says:
02:42 PM, 08/ 4/09
@blueguy: what's so wrong with that? more pull than 98% of the rest of the cars on the road with no drama sounds awesome to me... though i can't deny the NA i6's are awesome.
i third 7driver... i use cruise control in 25s for the same reason, and if i had an n54 in front of me, i'd sure want to keep it that way so CC would be on almost all the time.
oftech says:
04:29 PM, 08/ 4/09
... Or you could just get a radar detector and not have to avoid temptation at all!
cwc1 says:
05:48 PM, 08/ 4/09
I wouldn't want to compromise the better fuel mileage and theoretically lower engine wear, so would sure want to use the taller gears on the highway.
The inherent smoothness and balance of the inline six is enough to make me wonder why BMW is pretty much the only one who has stuck with it. I know that packaging is a big factor and that a modern 60 degree V6 can be nearly as smooth, but it's hard to dismiss the inherent advantages of the I6. But I'm partial to V8s too.
stovt001 says:
06:17 PM, 08/ 4/09
I can't really say if the NA or turbo inline six is better than the other. They're just different, and both good. On one hand you have the thrill of running an exciting engine hard, a nice raw mechanical race. On the other hand, you have a smooth, near-teleportation type of movement. I can see both being good at different times, depending on your mood.
As far as the speed limit thing, the new Camaro has a programmable speed warning built in to the Driver Information Center interface. Just enter the top speed you want to reach, and a warning will pop up when you exceed it. Great for instances where cruise control isn't practical (ie, Southern California).
bkochuk says:
06:23 PM, 08/ 4/09
for law-abiding citizens like myself, the 135 appeals because the REAL fun is going from 0 to the speed limit (ok, maybe 7 over) as fast as freakin' possible.
doing 90 on the highway? what car can't muster that?
blueguydotcom says:
09:51 PM, 08/ 4/09
@slh, it's just kinda boring. Very capable. Kinda took the rush out of playing with the gears and the tach.
07mx5 says:
10:04 PM, 08/ 4/09
Caroline, instead of staying in 3rd or 4th, i'd suggest first reflashing the car back to factory ECU. Then, when driving, short shift straight up from third to sixth and you'll be below the power band, off the boost, and slow. Instantly, you'll get high MPG and legal speeds.
then again, I drive a suby turbo where there's a lump of power from 4k to 6k. and if what joefrompa suggests is true(torque starting at 1400), maybe just get a 128i...
jkp1187 says:
08:33 AM, 08/ 5/09
@blueguydotcom: we'll just have to agree to disagree. I think the AWESOME part of the N54 is that power is available just about everywhere. :-)
bbechtel16 says:
10:33 AM, 08/ 5/09
"Another way to avoid getting speeding tickets is to move to an area that has an Olympics upcoming. All the cops are busy with security prep, they have one big building dedicated to it. I haven't seen a speed trap in months."
Haha
mopho says:
10:47 AM, 08/ 5/09
This engine is just incredible, even in the larger 535i. I can only imagine what it's like in the little 135i.
e34bmwlover says:
07:22 AM, 08/20/09
eeeww that shift knob looks all wornout and awful. I would recommend getting a zhp shiftknob for your 135i. It's like $65 shipped from tischer BMW (getbmwparts.com). I can't even describe how much I love my ZHP knob.
ANyway back to the topic, use the speed limit function guys, that annoying bong is usually enough to kill the desire to go super fast