The BMW 1M. Not a Car I thought I would ever be able to drive, although I have always loved the look of these!

Lets start with the idea; it looks as though BMW knew the 1 Series Chassis was insane, which has remained in the Fxx Series, and decided to shoehorn the BMW 335i Motor inside! Now I know the engine isn't 100% identical, but this Car visited for Software adjustment as it had been previously tuned elsewhere and was having crazy Boost Spikes/Limp Mode when driving on Track at the Nürburgring.

The ECU in the E9X 335i is Siemens MSD80 and this uses the Siemens MSD81 ECU. I just looked up the protocols and they added the MSD81 to the 335i in 2008! But instead of boring you with nerdy facts lets look at the Car!

I don't know what BMW were thinking when they designed this Wide-Arched, Aggressively Stanced, RWD machine. It is more than an eye-catcher, this thing is Satanic!

The front is snarly and looks like it wants to destroy anything in its path. I assume that was their intention and if you look at the image below you will see the bumper and arches from the front angle!

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As previously mentioned this Car visited because it had some problems with the Tuning Map. There were boost spikes and the Lambda Maps (Air/Fuel Ratio) was not what I would prefer in a Motor like this. While this was one of the first Direct Injection 'inventions' from BMW, it must be treated like a conventional Engine - we cannot run them lean on fuel like the VAG Petrol Turbo Motors that run mostly on air.

I lowered Boost Pressure, adjusted some Ignition Timing Maps and increased the Lambda Maps to what I consider 'safe'. This was a customer from Rent4Ring Service and he said he preferred my Software 'theory' and would like to keep it, with a couple of error codes removed. This is a #RingTool and as such we will always get a couple of fault codes for things such as Rear 02 Lambda Sensor and a couple of old faults from the CAN Gateway (he has an OBD electronic boost gauge installed).

​Starting the Engine and listening to it purr is something special. I know there are a few people who use these purely for Laps at the Nürburgring and after a few days with this Car I can see why...

The Chassis

​Overwhelmingly good, although the Car does appear to have upgraded Suspension. I am not sure which but it sits perfectly on the Road. I didn't take this Car for a Lap as there was no need - I covered approximately 100 km on local Roads and the Car doesn't go into Limp Mode anymore so I am pleased.

This Car is in need of a proper Setup. I suggested Philipp Weber @ Rent4Ring Service or maybe Dean Munn @ Ringspares (Both are business at the Nürburgring and can be found searching on Facebook). I then said Philipp would be the guy because he does a lot of BMW/Porsche RWD Setup for the Nordschleife Circuit.

​The Body

This thing is beautiful. I don't even think I deserve to drive this machine, but am 100% grateful for the Tuning work and also the opportunity to give my opinion on the Car.

The 1M is probably the nicest looking  BMW Coupé, but I am biased because I have always loved smaller Cars. I do not understand why Corvettte's are so LONGGGGG and strangely shaped. I would rather have this parked outside than a triangular penis extension.

The Throttle

Great response - the Car picks up speed before you can breathe! As mentioned it was already Remapped but I have adjusted the Software and it is driving effortlessly both on the local B-Roads and German Autobahn. I don't think it will have any more problems at the Nürburgring!

The Exhaust

This definitely has a modified exhaust but nothing intrusive. Cold Start is a little louder although it is not an annoying sound. I really love the exhaust note at all points throughout the RPM range. Out of courtesy I didn't rev the Motor past 6000 RPM but that is enough to give it a good test. If you visit the Nürburgring while this Car is on Track - you will definitely hear it going past ;-) 

This was another great Car that I was not expecting to visit for work, and also was a nice surprise when the Customer offered to let me use the Vehicle for the Website Review. Massive thanks to Tyler Lidsey for the loan of this Car - I really hope you enjoy it during your next visit buddy!

​Nicholas Lawrence
web - www.on-cars.com
email - nick@on-cars.com