billyray911

iTrader: (4)

Back on topic for a few minutes,i think that a 335d touring,will probably be my next motor and have read this link avidly.The only little issue that ive yet to research properly,is using a rear wheel drive in the winter months.
We have a 330d saloon at work using run flats.In the wet,to say that the car is skittish,would be an understatement.
A few months ago,I drove another 330d saloon and touring,without r/f 's for a few weeks in wales over a four week period.This was in various conditions-mainly high speeds and they were both amazing.
The only thing holding me back,at the moment,is possible terrible traction,when the snow arrives.
Anyone,any thoughts-specific to bmw's or this model would be appreciated.
Oh,and matteeboy,if you have any articles of interest that you came across,whilst researching for your car,some pointers would be appreciated

SimonD

That is why I've stuck with Subarus and AWD.........they tolerate the cack handed inputs of the less talented driver .
In fairness my last car was a MCoupe which was twitchy in the wet but not nearly as dangerous as you might think despite the absence of any traction control. I can't imagine a modern 3 would be any worse. In the snow, however, I'd rather walk!

Matteeboy

Billy - where do you live? We had three hours of snow (then it melted) last winter in Cornwall.
I'm going to stick non RFTs on mine when the Bridgestone wear out - they are actually fine for grip and resist aquaplaning very well but there's a tad too much crashiness (it really isn't too bad though) and they tramline too much.

The traction control is very impressive - I often floor it in the wet going onto the A30 (otherwise you die) and it copes very well - bit of a flicker of the traction light but that's it. There is also a DCT function for snow - probably not very good but it should help.

I have an article on 335i vs 335d (335d just wins around a track - rather a shock) - I would need to email it as it's not online (I don't think) but there are plenty of reviews on-line like this one:

BMW 335d Touring: introduction | Car Features | 4car | channel4.com

BMW 3-Series Touring: January 2007 | Car Features | 4car | channel4.com

(and follow the other links too - it's a long term test);

Then there are many Youtube clips of them beating "faster" cars like the E46 M3 in drag tests.

E90Post is a good source of info too.

Shout if you have specific questions though!

Edcase

I don't come on here very often any more but having read through the last few pages of posts I think you are all being pretty harsh on Matteeboy.

He makes a lot of very valid points - all of which can be twisted if you approach them from a different perspective, which it seems a lot of you are doing purposefully to bait him. Maybe I'm getting old, but that's not reasoned debate,certainly not in the way / tone a lot of things have been presented here.

Although I'm sure the majority of these cars are bought for family reasons, you really shouldn't rule out the growing category of people like me - very active, very driver/performance oriented, who wants one car to do everything.

I can load snowboards / mountainbikes / gear in the back and drive to the Alps/scotland/wales, be cruising in pure comfort for hours on the motorway, then switch into fast road driving in the mountains and be as quick as almost any car you can name (especially in mine with the LSD and AP brakes).

It will also hold its own against supposedly much faster / more specifically track-oriented cars on track, as the Evo mag boys will attest when I did one of their Bedford sessions last year.

I've driven and modified many, many cars including Subaru, RS6, E39 M5 saloon, E60 M5 touring etc. but I can honestly say if you're asking me to pick one overall 'best' car, it's the current 335i M Sport Touring with the sports auto paddle shift, LSD and AP's.

You are all welcome to your own conclusions and arguments, but for me and my needs, you won't convince me otherwise

cheers
Ed

Edcase

Also - personally I love the looks of the 3er Touring:

Evo_Bedford_335i_230508_3 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Whereas (uniquely) I think the E60 M5 looks better in saloon form. All other cars of this ilk such as the Audi's I think look better in Avant/touring/estate shape.

Matteeboy

TBH Ed, some people on here would give me stick if I discovered a cure for cancer.

Agree - the 5er looks better as a saloon, the 3er looks best as a Touring (and the coupe is nice too).

What's sport auto paddle shift BTW? Mine has paddle shift and a sports auto (6 speed ZF) mode - same thing or not? I also have sports suspension (an option) so my teeth fall out more quickly.

Hang on? Does this mean I'm boasting/arguing/trolling again?

Anyway, great allrounders - can't really go far wrong with a twin turbo six pot from BMW whether it drinks from the green or the black pump.

Probably.

Edcase

Sports auto likely the same - what year is yours?

Probably the best I've used. Sports suspension is great as long as you dump the hideous hideous run flat tyres.

Matteeboy

I'm dumping mine once they get to 4mm. Conti Sport Contacts 3s all round for me (non RFT).

Mine's November 2006.

In DS mode it fully redlines in each gear when you really go for it.

Edcase

I'm using the new Goodyear Eagle F1 assymetrical - they are amazing. Almost too grippy, hard to provoke the rear in the dry!!!

Yeah yours would have been one of the earliest diesels with that box, I love it.

hodgy0_2

Mattee -- is it a true manual box or an auto just pretending

I have tiptronic in my Audi -- and it's pretty pants tbh

i can't really see the big leap over what a tradtional auto box does -- just moving the lever up and down

or am i missing something -- and sport mode in auto's is just annoying imo

does anyone use them -- maybe climbing mountain passes when skiing

Edcase

Auto pretending, but in sports mode using the paddles it's near-instant, does a nice blip on downshift, allows you to rev to redline, but won't allow downshift if it's more than the available revs. It's brilliant and IMHO the unsung hero of the car.

The paddle shift in my old RS6 was laughable, and one of the reasons i did a 180 and got a manual M5!

Matteeboy

Hodgy - nope most certainy an auto.

There's "normal" auto, sport auto (quite aggressive gearing) but in both you can take over the with paddle shifters (or in DS you can knock the lever backwards or forwards) - handy when needing instant poke - drop two gears and go for it. I have always been very anti auto but this really is a huge leap over other ones I've tried. It's not 100% perfect but it's not far off. I find I'm now concentrating on the rest of the car (grip, braking, road positioning) more when going for it and leaving the box to do it's job. Very rarely gets it wrong.

I was also very anti diesel a few years ago! How times change!

Tend to leave it in "D" for most stuff but knock it into DS when approaching junctions. It can pull off in 2nd in "D" which is annoying. It's also handy when going very slowly (e.g. up my stupidly steep driveway) - "D" tends to be too high geared and the car gets unruly when crawling uphill.

hodgy0_2

well bmw are certainly way ahead of Audi (although my car is 6 odd years)

but essentially an auto box is just a big hydraulic pump -- and the Audi never lets me forget it

diesel is great -- mine revs pretty smoothly all the way to 4K -- and pretty economical with -- compared with the scooby's comedy mpg

what does yours do to the gallon (this will make me quite annoyed i think)

billyray911

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the reply.Ive read most,if not all of the articles online and did have a look for the 335i vs 335d,as you had previously mentioned it.If you could email the article to me,i would be grateful.Will pm you,my address,shortly...
In relation to the snow "issue",i live in a semi rural area,so its not an issue of getting stranded in the sticks,im just a little concerned (most probably incorrectly),that these cars are a nightmare in the snow.
We have had a few seasonal bad spells that have lasted more than a few days and apart from using 4x4's,at work,the bmw is left well alone.Again,i think that the r/f's have a lot to answer for.
There is a rumour that BMW make their wheels specific for runflats and that you cannot put none run flats onto these rims.I cannot see how this could be correct,but you may be able to shed some light on this...
Thanks for the other two articles and as time progresses,i'm sure i will be contacting you further.
One thing i ask though,if we do have any snow over the next few months,could you update this link with your findings.
Cheers

Matteeboy

Hodgy - not quite as amazing as some people say.

Round here it's all country lanes (as you know) so low to mid 30s to the gallon. If I do a long journey I'll get about 40ish but never above that.

Drive a short distance like a complete nutter and it's sub 30mpg. You have to really go totally bonkers to dip under 25 though.

The 335i isn't bad for it's bhp/torque either.

The d revs freely up to 5K rpm - which is a bit weird for a diesel.

A good car - not for everyone but right for us.

Matteeboy

Billy - I don't think the RFTs hurt the snow ability of the car and you are completely fine to use non RFTs - I checked with BMW and BMW insurance (who I use). You can't use RFTs on non RFT rims but non RFTs on RFT rims are totally fine.

They aren't quite as bad as reported - mine are SE size so 17" 225/45s - I think the smaller wheels on taller rubber helps the ride -I've driven an M Sport on 18s (225/45 and 255/35 rear) and they are definitely a fair bit harsher. They perform pretty well - grip is good, wear rate is low but they definitely tramline too much and crash over some bumps. Some cars are MUCH worse (ahem - BMW Mini) though.

If it snows here, I'll report my findings but TBH, I think we'd leave the BM alone and use our little 4x4!

njkmrs

I don't come on here very often any more but having read through the last few pages of posts I think you are all being pretty harsh on Matteeboy.

He makes a lot of very valid points - all of which can be twisted if you approach them from a different perspective, which it seems a lot of you are doing purposefully to bait him. Maybe I'm getting old, but that's not reasoned debate,certainly not in the way / tone a lot of things have been presented here.

Mattys Dad .

Matteeboy

My dad drives a beaten up old mk3 Gti 16v Golf and an even older VW camper...

Dingdongler

Ok mate it's settled. A diesel 3 series estate is the best real world car in the world. If it's got AP brakes and a LSD then it's the best car in the world full stop.

john banks

I really liked the 335i coupe sport auto I tried even on 19" runflats, although I only tested in the dry, the engine was quite good as standard, but I planned to modify it. I was a token amount away from reaching a deal but walked away partly because I just didn't know what it would be like in Scottish weather. Anyway, I would not feel shortchanged running this gearbox instead of a VAG DSG, and the low speed manners/smoothness were better than DSG. Also kickdown works better than DSG as it will happily drop a few gears rather than click down sequentially like DSG usually does.

austinwrx

there were lots of bmw's abandoned in the snow this year outside my house/road.

and boy racer crap with big halfrauds alloy wheel sets on.

but I do live in Haworth - west yorkshire with proper hills and proper weather.

I had great fun in the scooby drifting and generally larking about !

glad to see the comedy bmw thread is still going.

how come no comments on the exploding and cracking alloy wheels that BMW won't honour !!

Matteeboy

Austin - that's the M Sport 19s - a BIG issue.

Luckily mine are non M Sport 17s!

MattW

I believe the STronic (DSG) boxes in the later Audis are generally accepted as being ahead of BMW now.

Matteeboy

But then BMW has the rather nifty DCT system now... Very highly regarded.

Dream Weaver

Don't know why people are basing a car buying decision on the 10 or so days per YEAR that we actually get any snow.

Austin, I only live over the hill from you and get over to Haworth quite a lot, and let's be honest we rarely get that much snow over these parts during winter and when we do most cars are a handful in the snow. I have two friends that live over near Gisburn that both have Subaru's which they had to park at the bottom of their farm track in the snow as they wouldn't get up the hill, so all cars are beatable.

So, in a choice between a nice Beemer or some old Subaru Wagon I wouldn't let the small chance of a bit of snow sway my decision. Plus, try selling an ugly Subaru Impreza/Legacy wagon to your Mrs when she has no interest in cars.

Matteeboy

We get snow about once every five years down here so not really an issue!

zip106

No issues with ours yet, and they're coming up to 2.5 years old.

Dinged to buggery mind, but then that's women drivers for you.

Matteeboy

Zip - count yourself lucky. Some have tried to sue and had all sorts of nightmares. Reminds me slightly of the self destructing alloys on the older RS4.

I kerbed mine lightly a week after I got it - first time I've ever done that!! Got them sorted by Wheel Wizards so now totally unmarked. For now...

hodgy0_2

everything you say is so true --- but I just couldn't help myself, I just convinced myself that I need 4wd -- irrational, but that's cars for you

my brother took his wrx to skiing a few years ago and his mates who went is a Vectra had to leave their car over a mile away from the Chalet -- he said the scooby just rolled up the hill, albeit slowly but no fuss at all

Edcase

Never been more scared than when I took my 2002 wrx out in snow. Not the traction, rather the ridiculously oversensitive ABS which seemed unable to stop me safely even from 10mph.

I went around the block and parked it up again!!!