E46 330d or E46 330i?
Discussion
Afternoon everyone!
Currently have a 325 E46 and really enjoy this shape 3 series. However I am after a little more poke.
Torn between going for a 330 petrol or diesel.
The 330D will be slightly slower, but more scope for tuning with remaps etc, not the nicest of sounds and do i really need a diesel for the mileage i do?
The 330i sound great, faster half as good on fuel (on paper) and have to spend 1000s to improve the performance.
Any opinions?
Currently have a 325 E46 and really enjoy this shape 3 series. However I am after a little more poke.
Torn between going for a 330 petrol or diesel.
The 330D will be slightly slower, but more scope for tuning with remaps etc, not the nicest of sounds and do i really need a diesel for the mileage i do?
The 330i sound great, faster half as good on fuel (on paper) and have to spend 1000s to improve the performance.
Any opinions?
Cant help regards E46 330d or E46 330i but have had a E90 330d and currently got a E90 330i, I think if you aren't covering a large mileage then go 330i but if you have been used to a diesel the 330i will feel very flat at low revs for sure.
I had this discussion with my mrs and she was surprised I went 330i instead of another 330d and I described that if you were on a nice back road the 330i is a far more enjoyable engine to use as it sounds better, revs higher and is more rewarding to sit behind.
The 330d however as you say is very tuneable and its low down shove is great in a daily environment and I think it maybe is the slightly better all round car to be fair but I do personally prefer a petrol engine, the bottom line for me though is the E46 330i/d are both nice cars anyway.
I had this discussion with my mrs and she was surprised I went 330i instead of another 330d and I described that if you were on a nice back road the 330i is a far more enjoyable engine to use as it sounds better, revs higher and is more rewarding to sit behind.
The 330d however as you say is very tuneable and its low down shove is great in a daily environment and I think it maybe is the slightly better all round car to be fair but I do personally prefer a petrol engine, the bottom line for me though is the E46 330i/d are both nice cars anyway.
The 330i has a fabulously characterful engine; arguably one of the best engines ever fitted to a shopping car. The 330d's engine is brutally effective but not very refined and encourages laziness on the part of the driver. I think basically you go for the petrol if you enjoy working your engine to extract its performance; the diesel if you want the car to go fast without you having to put any effort in. They're both exceptional engines in their own way.
I know a few people who had serious reliability problems with E46 330ds, but they were all early in the car's life so have probably been sorted out by now.
The M3 is in an utterly different league, not so much because of the engine (which is exceptional) but because of the suspension calibration and component quality.
I know a few people who had serious reliability problems with E46 330ds, but they were all early in the car's life so have probably been sorted out by now.
The M3 is in an utterly different league, not so much because of the engine (which is exceptional) but because of the suspension calibration and component quality.
alistair267 said:
I would say stay with petrol but rather than spending lots of money getting not much more performance out of the 330i, why not buy an M3?
That is a good shout however the running costs are significantly higher with a M3 and in my experience I had a E92 M3 and swapped it for a E90 330i and the tax/servicing/insurance/fuel pretty much halved for all of them in comparison. I'm usually the one to always pick petrol over diesel any day of the week. However, in the case of the beemer i'm not so sure. The diesel will feel quicker, lots more usable torque low down, will map really well, no DPF to worry about and better fuel economy.
I don't think you'll make a bad choice going for either though tbh. Depends on your driving style. As long as you don't mind it sounding like a tractor and having a very narrow power band i'd probably take the 330D all things considered.
It's still RWD, still has decent power and good practicality. I must say there's something about a 6 cylinder diesel though that i'd be more drawn to as an overall package. Think it would be one i'd choose. Now to hang my head in shame...
I don't think you'll make a bad choice going for either though tbh. Depends on your driving style. As long as you don't mind it sounding like a tractor and having a very narrow power band i'd probably take the 330D all things considered.
It's still RWD, still has decent power and good practicality. I must say there's something about a 6 cylinder diesel though that i'd be more drawn to as an overall package. Think it would be one i'd choose. Now to hang my head in shame...
The torque is nice, but having had an E46 330Cd in 2005 flavour, I just could not connect with it the way I expected. And that was with brand new bushes and Bilstein/Eibach suspension all round, which I fitted.
That was a few years ago now, and this last couple of weeks I have found myself looking for a commuter car to stop me racking the miles up on my WRX STi. It came down to pretty much the same choice, albeit with the E39 530d also in the mix. I was leaning toward just taking whichever car came in at the right price in the right condition, rather than rigidly sticking to choosing one fuel or the other.
Then I realised that most of the diesels in the right price bracket were around 150k miles. I didn't want to buy a diesel and end up having to replace the turbo or the glow plugs in two months' time so I chose to rule it out at that point.
I have just bought a super tidy 2003 330i saloon and it is fantastic. Honestly, it is a bit of a revelation. The auto box is good, the power is more than enough for motorway commuting and the engine sounds very nice and is very smooth. All in all a very capable tool for the job. It looks like new and yet it cost just £2360.
I can honestly see us keeping this a long time. The way it revs out is just infinitely nicer than the way the diesel drives.
That was a few years ago now, and this last couple of weeks I have found myself looking for a commuter car to stop me racking the miles up on my WRX STi. It came down to pretty much the same choice, albeit with the E39 530d also in the mix. I was leaning toward just taking whichever car came in at the right price in the right condition, rather than rigidly sticking to choosing one fuel or the other.
Then I realised that most of the diesels in the right price bracket were around 150k miles. I didn't want to buy a diesel and end up having to replace the turbo or the glow plugs in two months' time so I chose to rule it out at that point.
I have just bought a super tidy 2003 330i saloon and it is fantastic. Honestly, it is a bit of a revelation. The auto box is good, the power is more than enough for motorway commuting and the engine sounds very nice and is very smooth. All in all a very capable tool for the job. It looks like new and yet it cost just £2360.
I can honestly see us keeping this a long time. The way it revs out is just infinitely nicer than the way the diesel drives.
Think I will be going for the 330i petrol,
I love the sound of a petrol engine, especially the 6 cylinders of a Bmw, also as mentioned above, they are hard to beat for around the £3k mark for speed, looks and refinement, main reason im upgrading my 325 and not swaying to other marques
I love the sound of a petrol engine, especially the 6 cylinders of a Bmw, also as mentioned above, they are hard to beat for around the £3k mark for speed, looks and refinement, main reason im upgrading my 325 and not swaying to other marques
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