Difference between M240i and M235i - car buying help needed
Discussion
Hi all
I sold my BMW a few years ago for the standard family wagon, but we need a second car and i miss having an enjoyable drive. I don't want to spend the earth, £18K or less really and for that my budget only really extends to something like an M235i/240i which I think is still a brilliant engine (i had the X3 M40i and it was a peach).
Unfortunately i'm not as much of an expert as many of you. What should I be looking for and what is the difference between the above cars? Any other suggestions. Thanks all.
I sold my BMW a few years ago for the standard family wagon, but we need a second car and i miss having an enjoyable drive. I don't want to spend the earth, £18K or less really and for that my budget only really extends to something like an M235i/240i which I think is still a brilliant engine (i had the X3 M40i and it was a peach).
Unfortunately i'm not as much of an expert as many of you. What should I be looking for and what is the difference between the above cars? Any other suggestions. Thanks all.
235i is the N55 engine and 240i is the B58 engine you had in your X3. The B58 is the better engine and it will be a newer car. If budget allows go 240i, but the N55 is still good too.
Main difference is a bit more power/torque and maybe 5mpg better. Can get more power out of either with a simple remap, although the B58 will yield bigger gains without any extra supporting hardware.
Main difference is a bit more power/torque and maybe 5mpg better. Can get more power out of either with a simple remap, although the B58 will yield bigger gains without any extra supporting hardware.
steve_n said:
235i is the N55 engine and 240i is the B58 engine you had in your X3. The B58 is the better engine and it will be a newer car. If budget allows go 240i, but the N55 is still good too.
Main difference is a bit more power/torque and maybe 5mpg better. Can get more power out of either with a simple remap, although the B58 will yield bigger gains without any extra supporting hardware.
N55 sounds a bit sweeter in my opinion plus it never got ruined by OPF’s like the later B58’s.Main difference is a bit more power/torque and maybe 5mpg better. Can get more power out of either with a simple remap, although the B58 will yield bigger gains without any extra supporting hardware.
Court_S said:
N55 sounds a bit sweeter in my opinion plus it never got ruined by OPF’s like the later B58’s.
Yes, that's true. I have the N55 with a manual in an F11 535i and it's pretty good as an all rounder. Very much an engine you drive on the torque than revs, but so is the B58 to a lesser degree. Until September I had an early M240i for three years and I loved it I thought the engine was phenomenal and overall the car was great and never failed me in the time I had it with the minor exception of the drivers window regulator breaking which needed to be replaced.
I still am very fond of the 240i.
Mine went to BMW on trade in and they sold it within a week for a sticker price of about £17500, mine had about 54000 miles on it, it would have been a very good buy for it's next owner.
I still am very fond of the 240i.
Mine went to BMW on trade in and they sold it within a week for a sticker price of about £17500, mine had about 54000 miles on it, it would have been a very good buy for it's next owner.
Court_S said:
steve_n said:
235i is the N55 engine and 240i is the B58 engine you had in your X3. The B58 is the better engine and it will be a newer car. If budget allows go 240i, but the N55 is still good too.
Main difference is a bit more power/torque and maybe 5mpg better. Can get more power out of either with a simple remap, although the B58 will yield bigger gains without any extra supporting hardware.
N55 sounds a bit sweeter in my opinion plus it never got ruined by OPF’s like the later B58’s.Main difference is a bit more power/torque and maybe 5mpg better. Can get more power out of either with a simple remap, although the B58 will yield bigger gains without any extra supporting hardware.
Edited by PlywoodPascal on Friday 12th January 23:29
PlywoodPascal said:
Also it has (imo) a more ‘fun’ power delivery with less delivered as low rpm torque and more as higher rpm power. Of course it delivers less of both overall, but I’m talking about the feel as you move through the rev range.
It revs quite quickly when doing heel and toe changes. Mine is the older pneumatic wastegate turbo which runs out of puff above 5krpm. When tuning the engine for example, Stage 1 the boost tails off to 10-12psi up top and it's no higher on Stage 2 as the turbo is too small to push more air. Generally speaking they make more torque than horsepower numbers, usually around 50 more. The later electronic wastegate turbo had a 0.5" bigger exhaust outlet and made around 30hp more at the top end. I believe the 1/2 Series would all be the EWG version.
We got an M240i last year. To me it is the modern equivalent of the E30 325i Sport which is what BMW was all about (compact saloon/rear drive/powerful 6 cylinder engine). It's a really good daily use car.
We opted for the 40i for the B58 engine which is quite incredible. Surprisingly quick (I thought it would be a touch nippier than my 640d but it is a good notch above) and has averaged 35mpg.
Really pleased with it.
We opted for the 40i for the B58 engine which is quite incredible. Surprisingly quick (I thought it would be a touch nippier than my 640d but it is a good notch above) and has averaged 35mpg.
Really pleased with it.
All rear wheel drive only.
ETA - spec varies considerably on these. They can be quite basic. We wanted an auto with larger screen nav and HK stereo. Ours has some packs on it as it has cruise control, adaptive Xenons, privacy glass. Not sure if heated seats are standard either. I wasn't sure what was standard but some seem to have more dashboard blanking plates than others.
ETA - spec varies considerably on these. They can be quite basic. We wanted an auto with larger screen nav and HK stereo. Ours has some packs on it as it has cruise control, adaptive Xenons, privacy glass. Not sure if heated seats are standard either. I wasn't sure what was standard but some seem to have more dashboard blanking plates than others.
Edited by Maxus on Wednesday 17th January 14:13
Maxus said:
Not sure if heated seats are standard either.
Sadly not.I'm looking at an M240i as a potential alternative to the 440i that I'm after. I want the larger nav screen, HK audio and heated seats and this combination is very hard to find... in fact, any one of those three items seem to be difficult to find on their own.
I think people are starting to realise what a fab car the 140 /240/340 (B58) platform is, If anything the 240 flies under the radar a little as it looks quite
understated, as a previous owner of a few M cars and other RS cars I was genuinally shocked when I test drove my 340 for the first time, The power
delivery is quite shocking and almost brutal,(especially after the MPPSK was added) It felt a lot more usable than even my E92 M3 manual which needed
to be really 'wrung out' to make it go quickly, The engine note and silky smoothness of the straight 6 is also a true delight and every drive in it is fun.
Hell they are even quite frugal on the fuel, they are a superb package imo.
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