F30/F31 questions...

[wadsy]

I'm thinking of buying a 330d/335d XDrive Saloon or Touring and LCI car with adaptive suspension

A few questions!...

Pros/cons as to 330 vs 335?... We've had a 640d previously and i liked the torquey nature of the engine.

Is the saloon quieter (ie cabin noise) than the Touring?

Standard wheel-fit with m-sport brakes, is, I believe 18" - can 17" wheels (ideally BMW) be fitted over the m-sport calipers?... thinking increased side-wall for comfort.

Second wheel question!... standard fit is staggered; can same size all-round be fitted without any issues!?

Last wheel question!... I'd like to fit non-run-flat tyres; is there a space saver available to pop in the boot?

Many thanks

Cheers

[Collectingbrass]

wadsy said:

Last wheel question!... I'd like to fit non-run-flat tyres; is there a space saver available to pop in the boot?

I have an F32 and while there isn't space for a spare under the boot floor, I got a space saver from https://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/option/bmw_spare... and they have given great service on a number of things.

[wadsy]

Collectingbrass said:

I have an F32 and while there isn't space for a spare under the boot floor, I got a space saver from https://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/option/bmw_spare... and they have given great service on a number of things.

Great, thanks

[SteBrown91]

wadsy said:

I'm thinking of buying a 330d/335d XDrive Saloon or Touring and LCI car with adaptive suspension

A few questions!...

Pros/cons as to 330 vs 335?... We've had a 640d previously and i liked the torquey nature of the engine.

Not driven either, but I understand that the 335d has a huge slug of torque but the 330d has less lag so is a nicer enginer unless you plant your foot. Also the 330 can be had as RWD

Is the saloon quieter (ie cabin noise) than the Touring?

Unsure for definite but would expect so

Standard wheel-fit with m-sport brakes, is, I believe 18" - can 17" wheels (ideally BMW) be fitted over the m-sport calipers?... thinking increased side-wall for comfort.

I believe that 18" is the smallest with the blue M sport calipers - but 17"s can be fitted over the standard items.

Second wheel question!... standard fit is staggered; can same size all-round be fitted without any issues!?

Yes

Last wheel question!... I'd like to fit non-run-flat tyres; is there a space saver available to pop in the boot?

You can buy a space saver, but with nowhere to put it I do not see the point. It would just get in the way

Many thanks

Cheers

[sortedcossie]

I've got an F31 335d, 66 plate. It's been a cracking car. Some will say that the suspension is naff, bu I think that's just personal preference.

Having driven both 330d and 335d F31s i'd say the performance is more notable when the car is loaded up.

I would be careful on spec though, there are a lot out there that are advertised as high spec when in reality they don't have any options.

There are a few things I personally wouldn't go without such as the wider nav with bigger HD, black panel display, HK audio at minimum.

Mine has a lot of options fitted, but it did take over 3 months to find the right car.

[Pica-Pica]

wadsy said:

I'm thinking of buying a 330d/335d XDrive Saloon or Touring and LCI car with adaptive suspension

A few questions!...

Pros/cons as to 330 vs 335?... We've had a 640d previously and i liked the torquey nature of the engine.

Is the saloon quieter (ie cabin noise) than the Touring?

Standard wheel-fit with m-sport brakes, is, I believe 18" - can 17" wheels (ideally BMW) be fitted over the m-sport calipers?... thinking increased side-wall for comfort.

Second wheel question!... standard fit is staggered; can same size all-round be fitted without any issues!?

Last wheel question!... I'd like to fit non-run-flat tyres; is there a space saver available to pop in the boot?

Many thanks

Cheers

I have a 66 plate (LCI) 335d xdrive saloon. I imagine it is slightly quieter than the touring.
It has m sport brakes, the smallest wheel it can take is 18” (which I would recommend, the 19” is too harsh).
My tyres are 225/45-R18 front, and 255/40-R18 rear. 225/45-R18 can be fitted all round and are recommended in that size for winter, I use staggered summers all year round.
There is no dedicated storage in the boot for a space-saver, but one would fit (restrained, of course). I am happy with Goodyear runflats, and standard (LCI) suspension.
The 335d has a twin turbo, so spools up quickly and low down pick up and torque is very good. Mine is 8 years old, bought new (well, pre reg’d) and is a tremendous car. Better than a 330d because of the twin turbo.

[d_a_n1979]

wadsy said:

I'm thinking of buying a 330d/335d XDrive Saloon or Touring and LCI car with adaptive suspension

A few questions!...

Pros/cons as to 330 vs 335?... We've had a 640d previously and i liked the torquey nature of the engine.

Is the saloon quieter (ie cabin noise) than the Touring?

Standard wheel-fit with m-sport brakes, is, I believe 18" - can 17" wheels (ideally BMW) be fitted over the m-sport calipers?... thinking increased side-wall for comfort.

Second wheel question!... standard fit is staggered; can same size all-round be fitted without any issues!?

Last wheel question!... I'd like to fit non-run-flat tyres; is there a space saver available to pop in the boot?

Many thanks

Cheers

Both a superb choice.

Re alloys. I run 18x8 405Ms all round as summers with 235/45/18 Goodyear Assym6 non RFTs and for winters, 18x8 397s all round with Goodyear Vector Gen3 all season tyres, same sizes as the summers. One size wider as 225/45s to me are a bit stretched and don't offer as good a contact patch on the road etc. More sidewall too, which is straighter/better rim protection

They fit over the Blue Brembo brakes perfectly. Can't go any smaller

As others have said. No room for a space saver under the load space floor but you can get a kit or do similar as to what my pal did with any of his long road trips from Lancashire to Germany and back, used a single 18x8 wheel as a spare and stuffed the barrel with what he could fit etc.

Depends on what else you're loading the car with though really!

I don't notice much noise at all in my F31 - non RFTs and tyre choice can have a lot to do with that too. I've literally just done a full suspension overhaul too which has made a superb difference to the ride & handling

It needed it as everything was original BMW 2015!

[wadsy]

Many thanks for all the replies

[sortedcossie]

If you end up looking at the F30 saloon, be aware that folding rear seats were not standard and it's quite a rare option.

When i purchased mine I was chatting to the used BMW salesman about an F30 330d they had, he said it had become unsellable due to options and mainly the missing folding seats - they'd had it months and were about to punt it on into auction with a load of lower value trade ins.

[Pica-Pica]

sortedcossie said:

If you end up looking at the F30 saloon, be aware that folding rear seats were not standard and it's quite a rare option.

When i purchased mine I was chatting to the used BMW salesman about an F30 330d they had, he said it had become unsellable due to options and mainly the missing folding seats - they'd had it months and were about to punt it on into auction with a load of lower value trade ins.

Agreed. I went from an E36 (back when 3 series were sensibly sized) fixed rear seats. I only bought my F30 when I could see it had folding rear seats. That’s why I did not buy an F31 (Touring). Folding rear seats are a must, I can get anything long that I want in - I am certainly not wanting to be able to lug chests of drawers around!

[d_a_n1979]

sortedcossie said:

If you end up looking at the F30 saloon, be aware that folding rear seats were not standard and it's quite a rare option.

When i purchased mine I was chatting to the used BMW salesman about an F30 330d they had, he said it had become unsellable due to options and mainly the missing folding seats - they'd had it months and were about to punt it on into auction with a load of lower value trade ins.

Never understood this TBH!

Amazed at how many E39s had rear folding seats; absolute rarity! You'd have thought it'd be more of a positive to have rear folding seats; not the other way round

[sortedcossie]

The three tourings I've had, E46, E91 and this F31 have had folding seats. The F31 has the 3 way fold ones which is handy.

[d_a_n1979]

sortedcossie said:

The three tourings I've had, E46, E91 and this F31 have had folding seats. The F31 has the 3 way fold ones which is handy.

3 way? What have I missed?!

My E39 touring seats dropped down obviously; 2/1 split etc - made for a superb load space

Thought the F31 does the same?

[sortedcossie]

You can drop the whole back in one go, or left side, right side or just middle.

[mmm-five]

sortedcossie said:

You can drop the whole back in one go, or left side, right side or just middle.

Ah, so not the 'normal' 60/40 split...left/right/all (which I suppose is 3-way).

Does that not make the 40/20/40 split option a 6-way (all down, left down, right down, left/middle down, right/middle down, middle down)

Edited by mmm-five on Friday 19th January 12:45

[d_a_n1979]

mmm-five said:

sortedcossie said:

You can drop the whole back in one go, or left side, right side or just middle.

Ah, the 'normal' 60/40 split.

Thought you were going to say you had a rare 40/20/40 split option, so you could have 2 rear passengers and skis!

Ah yeah; so the same as my F31 did...

[sortedcossie]

Mines the 40/20/40 - centre part folds forward, as you say for things like skis.

[d_a_n1979]

sortedcossie said:

Mines the 40/20/40 - centre part folds forward, as you say for things like skis.

Ah! Not tested that; I shall do when I'm up & about and can move more

[sortedcossie]

It was optional, so you never know. The button can be seen under the centre headrest.

Edited by sortedcossie on Friday 19th January 13:11

[Somebody]

Electric memory seats are a must for me. I hate having to manually adjust the seat to find the preferred driving position after having it serviced/MOt'd, or another person having driven it. So much easier to press a button.