[HasanK]

Hi all! After browsing the car market for a well rounded sports car for over 4 months, I'm considering getting the M135i. But I have a question and would really appreciate if someone knows the answer.

Since I live in KSA, there are a lot of cars that are detuned or have problems with cooling. My brother has the Golf R and it's detuned from 290-ish hp down to just a smidge over 200 which sucks! Furthermore, the 370Z has really bad oil cooling problems as well.

Has anyone had any cooling problems with their cars in hot climates? And does anyone know if BMW detune their cars to suit really hot climates, or do they properly engineer the cars for ALL conditions?

Your answers are going to greatly affect my decision because I am not gonna pay that much for a detuned car.

Thanks in advance

[ticamihai2003]

what does it say on the KSA BMW webiste on the specs of the car? if they detune the cars for use in KSA it should say on the specs found on the website I assume.

[HasanK]

As far as my dealer said, they don't detune. But he didn't strike me as extremely knowledgable. As of now, they can't order the car for some reason so I don't think they've put it on their site. I'll check that out.

But in general, do BMW detune cars?

[eezzee]

Easy - check the KSA BMW site/ ask for a brochure from dealer on other bmws in the range that they already supply e.g. 3/5/7 series etc. and then check those against the same models on other countries' official BMW web sites. If they match, then presume the 1 series would be likewise, if it can be ordered in your country.

[ovekvam]

Some cars are detuned for markets like Norway and Belgium due to tax reasons, but then BMW will state a low horsepower value. The 116i is a detuned 118i. However, if you put it on a dyno, you will find that it is not as detuned as the paper says it is....

[HasanK]

Well I checked my dealers website and compared several cars with bmw.com and they have same engine specs => No detuning

Now the flithy wait to see if they're gonna order it here or not and how much it'll cost! They still haven't updated their website to include the 3 door 1 series hatch!

[eezzee]

Excellent! Travel in hope re availability.

[AusF20/F48]

I have been to the BMW dealer in Riyadh with a friend who lives there.
They were not a very friendly or helpful bunch.

Can you buy the 1er in UAE and take it back home?
No detuning there

If you can, you could get the M135i with BMW performance parts like rear spoiler, sill foils and Carbon fibre bits fitted there to make it special.

Good luck

[HasanK]

Originally Posted by AusF20

I have been to the BMW dealer in Riyadh with a friend who lives there.
They were not a very friendly or helpful bunch.

Can you buy the 1er in UAE and take it back home?
No detuning there

If you can, you could get the M135i with BMW performance parts like rear spoiler, sill foils and Carbon fibre bits fitted there to make it special.

Good luck

Yeh, I live in Jeddah and they were friendly here but I think they really don't know what's going on. They keep telling me that they "can't order the car because the slot hasn't been opened" or something like that; and I don't know if they're really BS-ing or not.

Incidently, the showroom manager said that I can order the car whenever I want. So I'm a bit confused and want to clear things up.

UAE do order the 1er but their website is in the same state as the KSA one, it only shows 5 door F20 but if they do sell it over there, I can easily buy one for export and import it into KSA. Only time will tell really

Thanks though!

[Fanis]

Originally Posted by HasanK

But in general, do BMW detune cars?

No, in general BMW does not detune its cars for hot climates. They detune only for taxation or marketing purposes. So an M135i will be the same car all over the world.

[AusF20/F48]

Originally Posted by Fanis

No, in general BMW does not detune its cars for hot climates. They detune only for taxation or marketing purposes. So an M135i will be the same car all over the world.

Yes you are mostly correct, BMW does not detune their German made cars, however they build (tropical / high abient temp) specifation for their cars going into markets above 30 degree C climates
The cars have different cooling and heating systems and different engine / gearbox management parameters to those sold into cooler /cold climates.
and you not see features like heated seats or mirrors.
BMW does detune the current 3er built in RSA for unknown reasons.
I think the 1er is fully imported there so it should be OK. I would be interested to see a dyno comparision on the imported 1er and the local 3er. I suspect the 1er will have more KW output for the same engine size (116i v 316i & 118i v 318i).

[Fanis]

Originally Posted by AusF20

Yes you are mostly correct, BMW does not detune their German made cars, however they build (tropical / high abient temp) specifation for their cars going into markets above 30 degree C climates
The cars have different cooling and heating systems and different engine / gearbox management parameters to those sold into cooler /cold climates.
and you not see features like heated seats or mirrors.

You are right...but, if I am not mistaken, they stopped producing this versions, since the E46. At least from the ETK I cannot find any specific parts for newer cars, like I could do for the E36. Also, my car (in Greece we get in summer up to 45oC...!!!) is built as ECE specific and not as ''tropical'' like my E36 was.

[AusF20/F48]

BMW still make changes to the builds but do not call it 'Tropical' anymore. I just used that to highlight the difference. If you look at part numbers for items like aircon unit and heater head unit you will see that the Australian car has a different PN to the European model. EG: I noticed on the car in the showroom the other day it has a different air intake to the one I drove in Italy recently.

[HasanK]

Just a quick update regarding this issue, I asked my dealer if the car comes detuned and thy said that all cars coming to the region come with gulf spec and hot climate. I know that the hot climate adjusts the HVAC system, but I don't know what the gulf spec is. Any ideas??

Take into consideration that the car is turbocharged and these turbochargers get hot, would BMW have taken that into consideration or they'd just detune it?

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by HasanK

Just a quick update regarding this issue, I asked my dealer if the car comes detuned and thy said that all cars coming to the region come with gulf spec and hot climate. I know that the hot climate adjusts the HVAC system, but I don't know what the gulf spec is. Any ideas??

Take into consideration that the car is turbocharged and these turbochargers get hot, would BMW have taken that into consideration or they'd just detune it?

Yes, BMW has hot climate and cold climate etc. spec. builts, you can't do anything about that if you are gonna buy your car through official BMW dealer at home. However, does it necessarily mean that those cars are detuned, I really don't know and you better ask tuners and reliable indy shops in the region specialized in BMWs, they may be more open and informed than your dealer on this sensitive issue.

On another note, I would be very surprised if they are fitting bigger ICs, radiators and oil coolers for any car going to hot climate countries (imagine the extra cost and effort) so they probably tune the DME a bit just to make it safer (like thresholds are redefined maybe). That's my best guess.