330ci sport

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woogie

Original Poster:

3,313 posts

257 months

Tuesday 8th April 2003
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I currently own a 328i convertible(1996), very nice, all original m3 bits in Black. I am pondering wether to PX for a 330ci at the local BMW garage. As summer is coming up I may be wise to keep the convertible for a few more months as the price will go up as the sun comes out !!
Question is I want to hear from any owners of the 330ci . I have driven a new 328i and was not too impressed I thought it may be quicker although it was tiptronic. I was after opinions on a manual 330. Any advise ?

marksg

50 posts

261 months

Wednesday 9th April 2003
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I've owned a 330Ci Sport (manual) for around a year now. I can report that IMHO it is a fabulous car to own and drive. My previous car was an E36 M3 EVO, so I was really concerned about performance; the great thing about the 330 is the low down torque that makes it responsive and easy to drive which was missing from my M3.

The insurance for the 330Ci is half what I was paying for the M3, and I saved around £10K on the purchase price vs an E46 M3. I've also done some research on improving the performance of the car (let's face it, there's no such thing as too much power!) and there are at least half a dozen companies offering supercharger conversions, so if after a few years, 230 bhp isn't quite enough, there options that will increase this to above 350 bhp - enough to scare any E46 M3 or E39 M5 owners!

Performance aside, the car is extremely comfortable, and well equiped - perhaps my only complaint is that it is a little anonymous - I though that a 330Ci Sport in titan silver would be fairly unusual when I placed the order (until I saw 6 other identical cars when I collected it!)

I've owned and driven quite a lot of cars over the years - again IMHO the 330Ci is by far the most impressive vehicle I have travelled in, sounds fantastic and has all the equipment you could ever need.

I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Dude Snr

10 posts

257 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
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Glad to hear you are pleased with your 330Ci Sport, - my son has just bought one and is somewhat disappointed with the car tram-lining quite badly. I would be interested to know what tyres you are running on, as I have heard reports that tyre choice is critical with this model

The GMan

2,508 posts

260 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
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marksg said: I've owned a 330Ci Sport (manual) for around a year now. I can report that IMHO it is a fabulous car to own and drive. My previous car was an E36 M3 EVO, so I was really concerned about performance; the great thing about the 330 is the low down torque that makes it responsive and easy to drive which was missing from my M3.

The insurance for the 330Ci is half what I was paying for the M3, and I saved around £10K on the purchase price vs an E46 M3. I've also done some research on improving the performance of the car (let's face it, there's no such thing as too much power!) and there are at least half a dozen companies offering supercharger conversions, so if after a few years, 230 bhp isn't quite enough, there options that will increase this to above 350 bhp - enough to scare any E46 M3 or E39 M5 owners!

Performance aside, the car is extremely comfortable, and well equiped - perhaps my only complaint is that it is a little anonymous - I though that a 330Ci Sport in titan silver would be fairly unusual when I placed the order (until I saw 6 other identical cars when I collected it!)

I've owned and driven quite a lot of cars over the years - again IMHO the 330Ci is by far the most impressive vehicle I have travelled in, sounds fantastic and has all the equipment you could ever need.

I don't think you'll be disappointed!


You are right about there being a few out there. I pick mine up a week from today. Exactly the same colour as yours, but to be a little different my MV alloys are going to be finished in Anthracite. Should look a little different on the road I hope!

marksg

50 posts

261 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
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Dude Snr said: Glad to hear you are pleased with your 330Ci Sport, - my son has just bought one and is somewhat disappointed with the car tram-lining quite badly. I would be interested to know what tyres you are running on, as I have heard reports that tyre choice is critical with this model


Dude Snr,

I'm running the original fitment Dunlop Sport 9000 tyres - I can't really say I've noticed any tendancy for my car to tram-line - are the tyre pressures OK?

Dude Snr

10 posts

257 months

Thursday 10th April 2003
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Marksg - Many thanks for your reply re your Dunlop SP 9000`s, which confirms other info from a BeeM main dealer in the home counties. My son is currently running on Michelins & experiencing considerable tram-lining problems. Before buying his current car, he had road tested another 330Ci Sport fitted with Dunlop SP 9000`s, which handled really well, and could`nt understand (until now), why is own car was not the same. He is having the tyres replaced with SP 9000`s tomorrow, so will report back on the result !!

Dude Snr

10 posts

257 months

Tuesday 15th April 2003
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Dunlop SP 9000`s been fitted this week, and the handling has been totally transformed, and tram-lining has been completely eliminated