Got my IS

[hoshy]

Thanks to Spage I'm now a proud member of the iS club

Diamond Schwartz Black. I like it!

It's interesting coming to an m42 from an m40 - looking at the bmw manual for the spec of the two seems that at 56mph the m42 is slightly more fuel efficient and the m40 is at least equal torque in some areas. Given the peakyness of the 42 it is seems dead outside of it's power band but as long as you keep it 4/4.5k and above she flies. It still pulls hard at the rev limit so I guess it could really benefit of having the rev limit raised. I heard they could take up 7200. Don't know if that's true and if it is if it's a good idea. It might make sense on a longer diff though.

Stock suspension and brake improvements are nice too. And there something cool about that black headlining

Already ordered an alarm and a set of toyo proxes. Probably gonna hold off on engine mods for a little while until I've decided exactly what I want to do and give me some time to sort out the bodywork issues.

Pics (Just the ones spage already posted) http://hoshy.co.uk/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=2034

[snoops]

thats a sweet IS

[cliffybabe]

that was the one spadge was selling???

Nice motor

[tylerma]

nice one Ashley

does that mean we are gonna see you at the Ace monday

[hoshy]

cheers guys.

malc - yep - see you tomorrow night. won't be down til about 9/9.15 though
cliffy- yeap that's the one. if you're at guildford or ace you can take a closer look. It's got its problems but hopefully nothing too serious.

Just gonna pop out and fit a crappy radio now so at least I've got something to tide me over until I make a decision on how much I want to "invest" in a proper system.

Would be nice to hear from and see pics of iS owners on 205/50R15s as that's the size I've bought and it seems I'm going to need to drop the suspension a bit. Don't want to slam it and get any excessive tyre wear and certainly don't want to look (too) bad-boy. Current thoughts are 35mm all around or 55/35mm front/rear. Pics would be great please

[Pal318is]

Good buy fella...oh and welcome to the iS Club

Check these guys out if you have time..

www.m42club.com

Pal

[MrDazzle]

You can indeed raise the redline...mines been taken up 750rpm with no apparent problems. (you watch, my engine's gonna go boom now I've said that!).

[markus_74]

Dear, Hoshy

I'm also plan to change my old M40 with M42.

I'm happy with the high output torque of M40 in low rev. How about the torque of M42? is it more torque on M42? or High Hp?

Thanks
Markus

[stuartgallafant]

well done fella, im glad you like it! the best colour too!!!

[hoshy]

yeah the colour is my second fav - delphin grey is my fav but this is a very close second so I'm happy.

Stock rev limit is 6250? so a 750 raise should be more than enough.

m42club -

Markus - I don't think I'd swap an m40 for an m42 out of pure choice - if the engine came cheap, or I was breaking an iS perhaps it would be ok but for the effort of an engine swap I would have thought m20b25 would be the way to go. IMHO the torque output on the 42 is the same up to about 4k then the 16v twin cam shows its true colours. Yes, it's faster. No, it's not *THAT* much faster. But the engine combined with the suspension and brake improvements make the iS a more capable car - I've only been driving it a few hours but that's how things seem to me so far.

[hoshy]

oh, and tunes are installed

[Simon13]

nice one hoshy!

let it warm up fully before you thrash an iS or it will bite you on the ass and a broken M42 is £Â£Ã‚£Ã‚£!

I thought it was already lowered 60mm odd?

[320Touring]

Hey dude! nice one, have fun with it!

[Commited]

Welcome to the Black iS club man!

Chip the car and you'll see a huge increase in improvement. Mine can stick with a 325i Sport to 120 anyway (tested on private test track ;) )

[ash-e30]

nice car mate good luck with sortin little problems will b spot on then

[hoshy]

cheers guys.

I'm gonna have problem remembering to not punch it from cold.. shit! problem is I didn't car so much in the m40 and that engine had been bomb-proof to me that now I just can't REMEMBER to take it easy... Think I need some pink post-it notes! (not joking!)

It's not lowered Si - apart from std iS suspension anyway. will see how it looks with the 50s before I decide on how much to lower it - if at all.. she does handle very nicely even now. just came back from gf's place and the drive was fantastic. kept her in the power all the way home and she was so graceful and well mannered in handling and ready to rock when the loud pedal was called upon

Is that really true - a good chipped iS keeping up with a '25?

[Simon13]

DON'T CHIP IT!

318iS are a mare to chip because bmw thought it was funny to build these with 3 different types of ECU's for some reason. So a chip which works with one, has bad effects on another car. Leave it alone would be my advice on that front. Notice the zone doesn't sell them?!

[CaesarBob]

Definitely a good idea to let it warm properly. I always keep it below 3/3.5k rpm until the water is up to normal running temp and even then try to be careful for a while after that. May be considered cautious but in 4yrs never had any problems!

I'll agree with Si on the chips too. Ant used my car as test mule and it never ran properly on any of the protype chips. I gave up and left it standard!

[hoshy]

Interesting. I've never heard about that chipping problem. Gonna have to wait for MSnS then

CaeserBob - what's yours running to give you 146 brake?

[CaesarBob]

Completely standard. Air filter, exhaust, everything. Only change has been the head skim. Just regular maintenance.

To be honest i suspect i got lucky at the rolling road. And that figure was obtained 3yrs and 50k miles ago. Might get a very different result today!

[hoshy]

cool. I'm going home in a couple of weeks and I'll test mine then. Looking forward to seeing the results. Going to take a clean air filter with me too - have noticed the air box has been violated. lol. wouldn't have done it myself but can't really complain too much about the noise

Have just noticed the Mr o327 is thinking about selling his H&R 35mm spring.. am tempted - what do you guys think ?

[tylerma]

Have just noticed the Mr o327 is thinking about selling his
H&R 35mm spring.. am tempted - what do you guys think ?

I would think it would be a bad idea for your car mate
as they were designed for a 6 potter
so your front end would probably sit higher and handle wrongly

always prepared to be proved wrong though

[hoshy]

Intersting point Malcomb. S'pose we can only hope to hear from people who've done it.

What are yo running on yours? And how's that turbo doing now? Must be awesome!

[tylerma]

running IS springs and sport shocks on mine
but the arse sags a bit
looking to go back to standard though

turbo is running great
had to replace it because of a blown oil seal
but other than that all is good

[Pal318is]

Zone shop has the iS chip £99

That's the first i've heard of the chip problem too...

Pal

[hoshy]

Pal - have you chipped yours ? what's in it ?

Malc - nice one. I'll come take a look tomorrow night!

[hoshy]

So guys - anymore thoughts on springs. I'm bored at work.

Even contemplating importing a slipper from the states

[CaesarBob]

Usual favourites i think: H&R or Eibach probably.

Have you looked in the Zone Shop. Sal usually has a deal or two available.

Choices are a bit more limited on the iS since they have the thicker front struts but the lighter 4pot engine.

Or you could just stick with the originals at about £140+ a pair!

[Commited]

I'd definitely chip the iS. My car idles absolutely perfectly and has power throughout the rev range.

Had no problem sticking with a mint 104k sport the other day from 40-120. We were both surprised.

But most of all - just enjoy the car, I only get to bring mine out at the weekends

[hoshy]

Cheers guys.

Any thoughts on how the 6pot H&Rs will handle. I'm not looking for major gains, mostly it's cosmetic as I'm happy with the handling of it currently. It's just that I'm on a lower profile tyre now. The lower centre of gravity if I lower it can't harm I suppose. But don't want to harm how good it currently handles. I've no problem if the ride gets firmer though.

[CaesarBob]

The problem with the 6pot springs (in theory at least) is that they are designed to support the extra weight of an M20. In practise i don't know how it will impact on handling. I would expect the front end with skip on uneven corners and be generally less compliant.

[stuartgallafant]

putting 6 pot springs ob your iS will make the car understeer and it wont sit as low as it should. i'd go with the H&R cup kit...

and as said by simon, do not chip it either. The best thing to do if you want moderate power gains is to remove the throttle body heater plate, get a K&N panel filter and geet a live-rolling-road-remap done. more expensive than a chip, but worth it in every sense...

[MrDazzle]

Mine's chipped and remapped...Can you make full adjustments ot the standard ECU?

It's also on H&R cup springs, inverted bilstein dampers, eibach roll bars and fully polybushed. If you're looking for an improvement in handling, I can highly recommend this set up. If you're looking for an improvement in ride quality I cannot!

EDIT: Forgot to say, the H&R springs give the car a great stance. I don't care about lowering for looks, but the front is very slightly lower than the rear on mine, and with 16" Wheels it looks awesome and agressive.

[stuartgallafant]

Mine's chipped and remapped...Can you make full adjustments ot the standard ECU?

the only way to make adjustments to the DME is to chip and remap it...

[SPADGE]

Hi Ashley
Glad you pleased with your bargain
That car wasn't lowered at all and the car Simon is confusing it with was the other iS (cat C) that i fragged.
I still have the near new springs and shox off that in my garage as well as that stainless The exhaust sounded awesome and the suspension made the other black iS sit nice and handle well.
Pic below of the other iS with the suspension i have here 60 front 40 rear or i also have 40 fronts too.
Take it easy fella
Spadge..