E92 335i - Four years in the making
Discussion
Hi all,
Back in mid 2013 and just over a year into a company 118D, M Sport no less!!
I was hankering after something more.... more petrol!
Prior to the 118D I spent several very happy years in a E46 325Ci sport, a car I still look back upon with great fondness.
So with the company car offloaded to a colleague who's car was due for renewal (quite an impressive sales pitch I recall), a satisfactory car allowance and a healthy amount of cash, I started the search for something more appropriate. On an almost daily basis my mind changed... 987 Boxster, Focus ST, S4, Leon Cupra, etc etc.. but always considering and eventually coming back to straight 6 petrol BMW's.
I wanted a 6 cylinder manual coupe. The search was on. And 2 weeks later I was the proud owner of a automatic convertible.
To be fair the (MY2010) 330i was a lovely car, a 1 owner with 20K miles I spent the summer cruising around with the lovely sounding N53 howling away when provoked.
6 months later though and the body flex, appalling ride on 19" wheels despite ditching the run flats and chucking almost £2K at a B3 suspension kit (christ that makes me wince now) meant the car had to go. I needed a V8.
December '13 saw the arrival of a 2011 Jaguar XF 5.0 V8S. This car was a f
king monster. I adored it. I fitted Spires rear boxes which made it sound like thunder. I was smitten right up to the point where I was made redundant at work.
Thankfully I found gainful employment fairly quickly, but this time with a job that required considerable more travel. I would need the company car. Finances meant I was able to keep the Jag but living on a narrow country lane it would need to be garaged. I rented a garage within walking distance of the house, collected the keys from the council, and promptly discovered that the Jag wouldn't fit. st.
I consulted the missus and we agreed to use the money on home improvements and a swanky holiday. Within 2 weeks I traded the XF in for 2006 XK. Blockbusters
Fast forward to November '16 and I'm both resenting the fact that the Jag is sitting in the garage all the time, and absolutely loathing the current company car, a 116D M Sport
With a change in job role, now based almost exclusively at the office (5 miles away) and an ongoing mission to befriend the transport manager (1 month in and going well) I negotiated the handing back of the 1 series and a move to car allowance. I'd done the V8 thing and this time I was going to do it properly.
No autos, no folding roofs. Petrol. Manual. Coupe. 6 Cylinders.
I'd read over the years how rare the aforementioned are. I looked, and looked, gave up, carried on looking, and then eventually found her.
July 2013 (must be one of the last?) 335i manual coupe. 11K miles. 18" Wheels. Harmon Kardon. Pro Nav. Extended Media. Bamboo Inlays.
There's not really much I can say about the car that hasn't already been said on this and a thousand other forums/reviews etc. I love the looks, especially so on the quite understated 18" wheels, which, I'm glad to report even on (perhaps they've improved in the last few years) runflat tyres makes the ride infinitely better than my previous E93.
The engine is IMHO at least a masterpiece. Smooth, free revving, and packing a serious punch from low down yet singing when beyond 4K rpm. Mated to the manual box it is joyous.
Although not sought out the lighter coloured interior (excuse the god awful over mats - winter addition only) makes a pleasing change from my until now black on black car history. The I-drive is easy to use and the stereo (my first BMW with upgrade) is excellent.
With only 11K miles and bought from a BMW dealership (traded in the XK) cheap is was not. But I love it, honestly think that looks wise it beats the 4 series hands down, and has rekindled my love affair with Sunday morning drives which result in me getting lost and finding a nice pub! Plans are to keep it exactly as is, apart from the golf tee mod (reversible in 30 seconds) which has made an already wonderfully sounding car that little bit sweeter!
Thanks for reading
Back in mid 2013 and just over a year into a company 118D, M Sport no less!!
I was hankering after something more.... more petrol!Prior to the 118D I spent several very happy years in a E46 325Ci sport, a car I still look back upon with great fondness.
So with the company car offloaded to a colleague who's car was due for renewal (quite an impressive sales pitch I recall), a satisfactory car allowance and a healthy amount of cash, I started the search for something more appropriate. On an almost daily basis my mind changed... 987 Boxster, Focus ST, S4, Leon Cupra, etc etc.. but always considering and eventually coming back to straight 6 petrol BMW's.
I wanted a 6 cylinder manual coupe. The search was on. And 2 weeks later I was the proud owner of a automatic convertible.
To be fair the (MY2010) 330i was a lovely car, a 1 owner with 20K miles I spent the summer cruising around with the lovely sounding N53 howling away when provoked.
6 months later though and the body flex, appalling ride on 19" wheels despite ditching the run flats and chucking almost £2K at a B3 suspension kit (christ that makes me wince now) meant the car had to go. I needed a V8.
December '13 saw the arrival of a 2011 Jaguar XF 5.0 V8S. This car was a f
king monster. I adored it. I fitted Spires rear boxes which made it sound like thunder. I was smitten right up to the point where I was made redundant at work.Thankfully I found gainful employment fairly quickly, but this time with a job that required considerable more travel. I would need the company car. Finances meant I was able to keep the Jag but living on a narrow country lane it would need to be garaged. I rented a garage within walking distance of the house, collected the keys from the council, and promptly discovered that the Jag wouldn't fit. s
t.I consulted the missus and we agreed to use the money on home improvements and a swanky holiday. Within 2 weeks I traded the XF in for 2006 XK. Blockbusters
Fast forward to November '16 and I'm both resenting the fact that the Jag is sitting in the garage all the time, and absolutely loathing the current company car, a 116D M Sport
With a change in job role, now based almost exclusively at the office (5 miles away) and an ongoing mission to befriend the transport manager (1 month in and going well) I negotiated the handing back of the 1 series and a move to car allowance. I'd done the V8 thing and this time I was going to do it properly.
No autos, no folding roofs. Petrol. Manual. Coupe. 6 Cylinders.
I'd read over the years how rare the aforementioned are. I looked, and looked, gave up, carried on looking, and then eventually found her.
July 2013 (must be one of the last?) 335i manual coupe. 11K miles. 18" Wheels. Harmon Kardon. Pro Nav. Extended Media. Bamboo Inlays.
There's not really much I can say about the car that hasn't already been said on this and a thousand other forums/reviews etc. I love the looks, especially so on the quite understated 18" wheels, which, I'm glad to report even on (perhaps they've improved in the last few years) runflat tyres makes the ride infinitely better than my previous E93.
The engine is IMHO at least a masterpiece. Smooth, free revving, and packing a serious punch from low down yet singing when beyond 4K rpm. Mated to the manual box it is joyous.
Although not sought out the lighter coloured interior (excuse the god awful over mats - winter addition only) makes a pleasing change from my until now black on black car history. The I-drive is easy to use and the stereo (my first BMW with upgrade) is excellent.
With only 11K miles and bought from a BMW dealership (traded in the XK) cheap is was not. But I love it, honestly think that looks wise it beats the 4 series hands down, and has rekindled my love affair with Sunday morning drives which result in me getting lost and finding a nice pub! Plans are to keep it exactly as is, apart from the golf tee mod (reversible in 30 seconds) which has made an already wonderfully sounding car that little bit sweeter!
Thanks for reading
Edited by Mr Ben on Tuesday 4th April 09:03
Ahbefive said:
I was hooing thia was going to be a 4 year build of a serious monster rather than the story of buying a car.
These can have big tuning potential but they can also have big problems.
Sorry to disappoint These can have big tuning potential but they can also have big problems.
Big problems? I thought the general consensus was by this time the majority of known issues (HPFP, Wastegate, etc) had been ironed out.
Notwithstanding a BMW warranty which will continue via Mondial should allow me to enjoy the car without too much worrying.
I thought this engine was forged from factory and thus very safe for big power.
This one, for example, is running 900 bhp on stock internals!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWvIoYm6CJI
Fair point OP, I've been in a stock 135i and that was definitely plenty quick enough, and had a lovely power delivery. I remember it pulled hard from nearly no revs then had a second wind at about 4k.
This one, for example, is running 900 bhp on stock internals!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWvIoYm6CJI
Fair point OP, I've been in a stock 135i and that was definitely plenty quick enough, and had a lovely power delivery. I remember it pulled hard from nearly no revs then had a second wind at about 4k.
Dannbodge said:
Being a 2013 model it will have the N55 which is a much more reliable engine over the N54.
Not quite as good for tuning and massive BHP but that's the trade off for good reliability.
Car looks great though.
My only thing would be change the wheels, the MV3s are horrible imo.
Thanks for the comments.. Not quite as good for tuning and massive BHP but that's the trade off for good reliability.
Car looks great though.
My only thing would be change the wheels, the MV3s are horrible imo.
Funnily enough I really like the wheel design, thought about changing to the 19" MV4's but don't want to sacrifice the ride comfort the 18's seem to offer. This is however all based on my previous experience of the convertible on 19's!
Mr Ben said:
Funnily enough I really like the wheel design, thought about changing to the 19" MV4's but don't want to sacrifice the ride comfort the 18's seem to offer. This is however all based on my previous experience of the convertible on 19's!
I rather like the MV3's as well.One question, does it not have heated seats? The panel above the ashtray appears blank and I thought seat heating was standard.
mudster said:
I rather like the MV3's as well.
One question, does it not have heated seats? The panel above the ashtray appears blank and I thought seat heating was standard.
The LCI E90/91/92 After a certain year has the heated seats button integrated into the heater panel where they were once blanks in the Pre LCI/early LCI models, see here: https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/262535409...One question, does it not have heated seats? The panel above the ashtray appears blank and I thought seat heating was standard.
Love these 335i's, next logical upgrade from my 325i and a lovely spec! N55 too so should be nice and reliable hopefully!
ShafzC said:
mudster said:
I rather like the MV3's as well.
One question, does it not have heated seats? The panel above the ashtray appears blank and I thought seat heating was standard.
The LCI E90/91/92 After a certain year has the heated seats button integrated into the heater panel where they were once blanks in the Pre LCI/early LCI models, see here: https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/262535409...One question, does it not have heated seats? The panel above the ashtray appears blank and I thought seat heating was standard.
Love these 335i's, next logical upgrade from my 325i and a lovely spec! N55 too so should be nice and reliable hopefully!
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