E92 330i - daily driver

[pmorg4]

That is a lovely looking 330i, clearly a very well looked after example.

Having previously owned an N52 330i and moved on to a 335i, I think the N52 is a fantastic engine and from a driver enjoyment perspective really gives nothing away to a standard 335i. You have to wind it up a lot more, but with a manual gearbox that's part of the fun, and it sounds better than the direct injected engines too. I'd happily have another.

[ns38]

pmorg4 said:

The E90 M3 uses the coupe front end for cost reasons - the number of cars is too small to make it worth designing and manufacturing bumpers/wings/bonnet specifically for the E90 M3 so they simply used the E92 M3 parts. Which is a shame as I think the E90 front end looks more aggressive than the smoothed look of the E92, so a proper E90 M3 front end would have looked great.

Wrong, the E90 M3 front wings and bonnet are shorter than E92 M3 and are specific to the E90 M3.

[Earthdweller]

Andy665 said:

Been giving the car a deep clean, it was far from bad but definitely looking better for an interior clean with carpets shampooed, mats cleaned, new ones on their way and scrubbing and conditioning of leather.

Interior is just waiting for a new set of trim strips finished in carbon, not really a fan of the strips that have been covered in genuine Alcantarta, nice job done, just not my preference - also have the original trim strips as well

Exterior given a touch in to some bonnet stonechips and a machine polish, hopefully get a Diamond Protech ceramic coating on over Easter weekend

Lovely and with the later “black top” N52K with the improvements over the “silver top” ones

[pmorg4]

ns38 said:

pmorg4 said:

The E90 M3 uses the coupe front end for cost reasons - the number of cars is too small to make it worth designing and manufacturing bumpers/wings/bonnet specifically for the E90 M3 so they simply used the E92 M3 parts. Which is a shame as I think the E90 front end looks more aggressive than the smoothed look of the E92, so a proper E90 M3 front end would have looked great.

Wrong, the E90 M3 front wings and bonnet are shorter than E92 M3 and are specific to the E90 M3.

Certainly bumpers and countless other M-specific parts are shared that would otherwise be different between E90/E92, there is definitely a cost-reduction element to it. These are small volume models and it makes no sense to produce a load of bespoke M3 parts, then produce yet another load of different bespoke M3 saloon parts. BMW do the same across multiple generations of M-cars, hence the latest M3 saloon/touring has the hideous snout that is otherwise bestowed only on the coupe/convertible.

[roadie]

Great looking car. I really like the contrast of silver wheels against the grey paint. I had the same colour combination on my 130i with Alutec Drive wheels. What size tyres do you have fitted?

If I keep the Style 313 wheels currently on my 335i I may well get them refurbished in the brightest silver possible.

[Lotusgone]

Very smart, another thumbs-up here for the colour/wheels combo. If you don't mind saying, how many miles on this one?

My E92 330d (auto) has been my daily for 6 years and 60k miles; driving home late last night with an open B road, it felt as sharp as ever (new front boots & tracking helping). I could spend £15k after part-ex for a 4 series with half the age and half the miles, I'm not sure it's worth the money. Looked after, these can go on for a very long time.

I hope you're as pleased with yours.

[Andy665]

Lotusgone said:

Very smart, another thumbs-up here for the colour/wheels combo. If you don't mind saying, how many miles on this one?

My E92 330d (auto) has been my daily for 6 years and 60k miles; driving home late last night with an open B road, it felt as sharp as ever (new front boots & tracking helping). I could spend £15k after part-ex for a 4 series with half the age and half the miles, I'm not sure it's worth the money. Looked after, these can go on for a very long time.

I hope you're as pleased with yours.

Thanks - its done just over 80k so nicely run in. I am not really keen on the 4 series and was lucky to find what I had on my wish list, sensible mileage, N52, manual - the Birds suspension, M Performance stuff and BBS wheels were very much an added bonus but are the sort of changes I would have been looking at making

[Andy665]

roadie said:

Great looking car. I really like the contrast of silver wheels against the grey paint. I had the same colour combination on my 130i with Alutec Drive wheels. What size tyres do you have fitted?

If I keep the Style 313 wheels currently on my 335i I may well get them refurbished in the brightest silver possible.

Sorry, missed your post, 245/35 on front, 265/30 rear - no stretch and the ride is excellent despite the lack of sidewall

[Andy665]

Pushed into service for the job that it was bought for, trips down to Farnborough and BMW HQ for my new job.

Trip is 150 miles but a reasonable chunk is across country - brought a real smile to my face in terms of how precise and compact it feels.

Soaked up the miles in absolute comfort and somehow returned 35mpg for the entire roundtrip (calculated via tank fill rather than from OBC)

Parked up in the multi-storey car park amongst a sea of current gen BMWs it looked small but so much more resolved in terms of overall design, attracted a lot of looks and positive comments

[Mr Tidy]

That's great news.

I find my E90 so good at soaking up the miles. Very refined, but capable of getting a move on when you're in the mood!

Seeing where E46 prices seem to be heading for the few that aren't rusty E9*s look like a bit of a hidden gem at the moment.

[Andy665]

After a long wait i received the carbon interior trim set this week, spent some time yesterday evening fitting it all, think it works well with the M Performance alcantara gaiters and gearlever / handrake lever

I bought the car with the centre console and dash trim having been covered in alcantara - previous owner had bought those trim pieces to be recovered so all original trim was intact, all now safely stored away should I ever want to revert to OE

[Court_S]

pmorg4 said:

That is a lovely looking 330i, clearly a very well looked after example.

Having previously owned an N52 330i and moved on to a 335i, I think the N52 is a fantastic engine and from a driver enjoyment perspective really gives nothing away to a standard 335i. You have to wind it up a lot more, but with a manual gearbox that's part of the fun, and it sounds better than the direct injected engines too. I'd happily have another.

I’d agree with that. The N52 with a manual gearbox is a brilliant combination - I love it in my wife’s E91 and found myself preferring it to my 335i.

[Court_S]

That carbon trim looks fab.

[Andy665]

After allowing the ceramic coating to cure and harden for a week, topped off with a layer of Mitchell and King Bute - a whisky infused wax this afternoon, not too shabby for 17 years old

Also replaced the perfectly OK JVC double din stereo with the next model up in the range to get DAB, can't do a long drive without good access to Radio 5

Discovered this week I'm entitled to 40% off OE parts so its obviously OE all the way for anything it needs

[roadie]

Car is looking fantastic and it is great to see that you are enjoying it. The MPG figure is impressive.

40% is a really significant discount! I am amazed at the cost of some parts that I might need. For example £450 for the vibration damper on the front of the engine!

[Mr Tidy]

roadie said:

Car is looking fantastic and it is great to see that you are enjoying it. The MPG figure is impressive.

40% is a really significant discount! I am amazed at the cost of some parts that I might need. For example £450 for the vibration damper on the front of the engine!

Or maybe a Pierburg water pump!

My 330i had a new battery in 2022 and 7,000 miles later the OBC is showing 33.6mpg. They're pretty economical for a straight 6 petrol with decent performance.

[Court_S]

Mr Tidy said:

Or maybe a Pierburg water pump!

My 330i had a new battery in 2022 and 7,000 miles later the OBC is showing 33.6mpg. They're pretty economical for a straight 6 petrol with decent performance.

They can be really good. I had to do a 200 mile round trip to pick up new wheels for the Z4 on Sunday using my wife’s 330i and I literally dipped fuel. I wasn’t driving particularly slowly…the remaining range plus what I’d driven was nearly 500 miles apparently. It does seem happier in super (albeit it is mapped).

[Mr Tidy]

Court_S said:

Mr Tidy said:

Or maybe a Pierburg water pump!

My 330i had a new battery in 2022 and 7,000 miles later the OBC is showing 33.6mpg. They're pretty economical for a straight 6 petrol with decent performance.

They can be really good. I had to do a 200 mile round trip to pick up new wheels for the Z4 on Sunday using my wife’s 330i and I literally dipped fuel. I wasn’t driving particularly slowly…the remaining range plus what I’d driven was nearly 500 miles apparently. It does seem happier in super (albeit it is mapped).

They do seem really economical for what you get. Coincidentally mine was showing 33.6 mph at the same time as 33.6 mpg so it doesn't dawdle, but then it doesn't commute either. Filling up after a long trip it often shows a range of over 500 miles and I've often done well over 400 on a tank.

But I always use Super too. The handbook recommends a minimum of 98 RON "whenever possible" so it usually gets Tesco Momentum which is 99, but way cheaper than the Esso or Shell alternatives.

[Andy665]

3 months in and its just getting on doing its job, a once per week 300 mile round trip from Shropshire to Hampshire so a good mix of cross country and motorway.

The Birds suspension is sublime, the car sits really well and I thought the ride would suffer but its beautifully damped.

Economy has improved further



Pretty impressive but when I brimmed the tank this morning and calculated it properly it improved to 39.8mpg, so glad I did not bother going diesel

[d_a_n1979]

Good to see it's being used properly

Been shortlisting some of these I've found via AT and eBay etc; a possible potential if the wife lands her new jobs and takes the F31 on

I'll be looking for a project then and it needs to be a manual BMW; ideally a 330i, but may consider other engines too