A stage 1 remapped 335d, all the car you'll ever need??

[J4CKO]

An aging, high mileage, complex diesel car with two turbos and a remap, bought at a bottom of the market price, what could possibly go wrong ?

[matchmaker]

barwea said:

jon- said:

Yay, it's 2011 again. I'm 2 years younger

Youngsters, eh?

[treetops]

willmagrath said:

Like the title says, is a lightly tuned 335d all the car you ever need? I've been looking into it and it seems the standard car (286hp) can be easily and almost cheaply remapped up to 350hp and still retain its 42mpg! They can bought for as little as £7k and remapped for 600 odd, anyone think of anything better??

A Saab Aero Estate

Same age (or newer) of car can be bought for a fraction of £7k

"SaabNoob" will run a live remap for £70 odd to 300 bhp. (£600 for a remap are your serious??)

Uprated downpipe, fuel pressure reg is all that's needed.

Extra fuel outweighed by actually decent Aero economy, up to 40mpg on a run.

[willmagrath]

treetops said:

A Saab Aero Estate

Same age (or newer) of car can be bought for a fraction of £7k

"SaabNoob" will run a live remap for £70 odd to 300 bhp. (£600 for a remap are your serious??)

Uprated downpipe, fuel pressure reg is all that's needed.

Extra fuel outweighed by actually decent Aero economy, up to 40mpg on a run.

Well for a decent remap that isn't too sharp on the flywheel and comes with a warranty, then you'll pay 500 to 700 easily

[Vladimir]

treetops said:

A Saab Aero Estate

Same age (or newer) of car can be bought for a fraction of £7k

"SaabNoob" will run a live remap for £70 odd to 300 bhp. (£600 for a remap are your serious??)

Uprated downpipe, fuel pressure reg is all that's needed.

Extra fuel outweighed by actually decent Aero economy, up to 40mpg on a run.

Yes but it's FWD and made by a company that no longer exists.

While many, mainly the "LOOK HOW HARDCORE I AM" PHers aren't keen on the 335d, it does make for a good allroundrr, especially in Touring form.

Practical, well made, quick, 400 miles on a tank even when driven like a loon, RWD, comfortable. It'll do most things even of the sniffy would never even look at one without having a little hissy fit.

You can get a 335d remap for a lot less than £600 - I've never considered it as I have no faith in longevity of a remapped car. 57k miles, 7 years old, not a hiccup suggests my instincts may have been right.

A well looked after and run in 335d will push out 300+bhp. A 335i also runs higher numbers than BMW quote.

[Motorrad]

willmagrath said:

anyone think of anything better??

A 535D touring.

My bikes don't fit in the back of the diddy 3 series without taking the wheels off.

[Vladimir]

Motorrad said:

A 535D touring.

I've driven one many miles (the inlaws had one) and they just don't have a good enough chassis compared to the 335d - definitely set up for cruising rather than flinging around. They are slower too with an inferior gearbox.

[JimmyConwayNW]

As an everyday car a quick ish diesel is great.

I just think that buying the first generation car with this engine on a very high mileage, with potentially questionable history is asking for trouble. Throw in remapping it and its a receipe for expensive disaster.

[delboy735]

I'd far prefer a correctly maintained high mileage car.....7yr old 150k miles, probably lots of motorway runs, therefore more likely to have been run at correct operating temps etc.....a 7 yr old 50k car, probably lots of stop start motoring, struggling to get to correct temps on the majority of its shopping trips.
Remap though, now thats an altogether different proposition at those kind of miles.Possibly a slight tweek to push above the 300bhp and increase torque, but much more and as the others have said.....potential wallet busters !!

Would be interesting to see how many people have remapped on high mileage motors ( ie above say 120k miles ) and what their experiences since have been.

[Mr Pies]

Why are they so cheap? Do the have a high Bork factor?

[rallycross]

Mr Pies said:

Why are they so cheap? Do the have a high Bork factor?

they are not cheap they start ay £10k for very high mileage examples.

[Vladimir]

Mr Pies said:

Why are they so cheap? Do the have a high Bork factor?

They aren't if they are well looked after and lowish miles but they have been out for over seven years.

Ours hasn't missed a beat and I know a lot of people running them too who haven't had any issued, even remapped - yes it's bi-turbo and fairly sophisticated but it appears to be pretty rock solid (like the 330d) with few failures if maintained properly - I've done a few belt and braces jobs to ours just to make sure it's kept running well (replaced all turbo hoses, intercooler pipe, oil changes every 8-10k miles) but it's been flawless. In fact with an almost old school feel to it - proper non electric steering, RWD without fancy traction settings (just two basic settings and "off"), it feels like a car that won't break down.

I am utterly geeky at looking after it (clayed, polished, leather conditioned, wheels properly refurbed every two years, etc) so it genuinely looks far more valuable than it actually is.

It's like not buying an oven because you're scared the digital clock might break down. Silly.

[Motorrad]

Vladimir said:

I've driven one many miles (the inlaws had one) and they just don't have a good enough chassis compared to the 335d - definitely set up for cruising rather than flinging around. They are slower too with an inferior gearbox.

Seeing as neither car is any sort of rocket ship or sportscar I don't think it matters. Also like I said the 3 series is too small.

[RobM77]

Definitely not all the car I'll ever need because they only come with a slushy torque converter automatic gearbox (yuk!), and at 1570kg it'll only ever be a practical daily driver for me, not a fun car.

[DonkeyApple]

It's all the car you'll ever need as a second car.

[GroundEffect]

It's a diesel. Numbers aren't everything.

[Vladimir]

Motorrad said:

Seeing as neither car is any sort of rocket ship or sportscar I don't think it matters. Also like I said the 3 series is too small.

Maybe not a rocketship but to 99% of the population, they are very quick.

If you can name a car with the following qualities, please let me know.

Sub 6s to 60 (mid 5s if you can launch well), 13.5 to 100, 155mph on limiter
RWD
Will do 400 miles on one tank even if driven like a nutter
Useable boot
Comfortable
Fun on back roads when pushed - and yes, they are fun

You'll struggle - the diesel Mercs are a all bit dull to drive, the diesel Audis are numb, the fast petrols need filling up every 10 yards, etc, etc. Even the XF diesel is just a bog wallowy barge despite being very accomplished in the engine department.

[Motorrad]

Vladimir said:

Maybe not a rocketship but to 99% of the population, they are very quick.

If you can name a car with the following qualities, please let me know.

Sub 6s to 60 (mid 5s if you can launch well), 13.5 to 100, 155mph on limiter
RWD
Will do 400 miles on one tank even if driven like a nutter
Useable boot
Comfortable
Fun on back roads when pushed - and yes, they are fun

You'll struggle - the diesel Mercs are a all bit dull to drive, the diesel Audis are numb, the fast petrols need filling up every 10 yards, etc, etc. Even the XF diesel is just a bog wallowy barge despite being very accomplished in the engine department.

A 535D touring- slightly less fun, much more comfortable and with a decent size load area.

I've had both mate.

[Contigo]

Nope dull as fk! sorry...

[Terminator X]

willmagrath said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

Yuk, I spit on Autotrader

TX.