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CarThrottle EDITOR’S PICK 30.01.2016



Small driving report of the 2015 Sella 2.0 Tour (1Addicts):

First a biiiiiig thanx to Dackelone, Artemis and all the others for planning and having so much fun (you know who I mean 😉 )

I was a few weeks ago on the road in the Sella area (South Tyrol) with 18 other BMW-crazies. Among others were: a M3, 1 Series M several, several 335i, 135i and M235i, another M135i …

My M135i is a non modified one with the 8-speed automatic transmission.

Participants 1

Participants 2

Participants 3

The tour was scheduled on 8 Passes: Passo Sella | Passo Val Gardena – Gardena | Passo delle Erbe – Würzjoch | Passo di Giove – Jaufenpass | Passo delle Palade – Gampenjoch | Passo Mendola – Mendola | Passo Carezza – Carezza | Passo Pordoi – Pordoijoch

The M3 is obviously not a fair comparison because he plays with his performance and with the ceramic brakes in an entirely different category. The 1 Series M cars (as most of them were chipped neatly and with aftermarket sports braking systems) clearly had a paper advance. Moreover, I was not at the limit on the road (the female passenger thanked me;)) and also wanted to relax and enjoy.

Playlist on Youtube

Uphill ride coming from Vipiteno to Jaufenpass

Downhill ride from Jaufenpass in direction to Merano Part 1

(filmed from two perspectives. The rear view is from Thomas D. M235i (thx)

Downhill ride from Jaufenpass in direction to Merano Part 2

(filmed from two perspectives. The rear view is from Thomas D. M235i (thx)

Uphill ride coming from Meran to Gampen Pass

Downhill drive from Mendel Pass

I was surprised that the small M135i better pulled compared to the 135i and 335i (I felt like…). In the uphill rides I had a constant feeling that I could run into the car in front. In my opinion, this is due to the spreading of the short 8-speed automatic transmission in the lower gears, which allows in manual mode at any time and quickly to retrieve the needed punch. The M235i seemed absolutely on par.

With the M3 and 1 Series M’s things looks different. In this case probably the other drivers a felt a small superiority…

The downhill drives are the ultimate test for the brakes. Several models were equipped with performance or 3rd party brake systems, the M3 even with ceramic brakes. I had no problems with hot brakes in my driving style. On the tour the year before last I once had overheated brakes after a hot downhill drive. That was probably the first real stress for the factory new brake system these days. The second M135i this year had similar problems …

Perforated brake discs and performance ceramic brakes are in another world… Interesting (and shocking) aside: The ceramic brakes of M3 overheated at least once, which was clearly visible through smoke after stopping…

Conclusion: The M135i is my opinion (almost) the ultimitative fun machine on the passports (for the buck)!!

Feel free to quote and ask whatever you want to know

RaceRender videos of trips by BMW M135i with data overlay

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