335d F31 M Sport LCI Handling

335d F31 M Sport LCI Handling

Author
Discussion

smashy

3,030 posts

157 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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ah hold on I meant the audi quattro you said drove off when you were stuck run flats are the killer ,never mind auto RWD

JNW1

7,711 posts

193 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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V10M5talbs said:
JNW1 - I love the thought of a 340i, pity there's no Xdrive available in the UK though :-(
My 335d is my first 4WD car and, while I don't dislike it - and the ability to do things like pull out of junctions quickly on damp roads is nice - I honestly don't feel like X-Drive is a "must have" and personally I'd be quite happy to go back to a 2WD car. 4WD undeniably offers traction advantages in some conditions but you pay for that 100% of the time with extra weight and inferior fuel consumption (and, in the case of pre-LCI BMW's, indifferent suspension!). So for me X-Drive is far from essential and hence if I was choosing now I would without doubt pick a RWD 340i over a 4WD 335d.

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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JNW1 said:
My 335d is my first 4WD car and, while I don't dislike it - and the ability to do things like pull out of junctions quickly on damp roads is nice - I honestly don't feel like X-Drive is a "must have" and personally I'd be quite happy to go back to a 2WD car. 4WD undeniably offers traction advantages in some conditions but you pay for that 100% of the time with extra weight and inferior fuel consumption (and, in the case of pre-LCI BMW's, indifferent suspension!). So for me X-Drive is far from essential and hence if I was choosing now I would without doubt pick a RWD 340i over a 4WD 335d.
Sad to say I would agree after 14 rather soulless months in a 335d. Great car, epically dull.

JNW1

7,711 posts

193 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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Osinjak said:
JNW1 said:
My 335d is my first 4WD car and, while I don't dislike it - and the ability to do things like pull out of junctions quickly on damp roads is nice - I honestly don't feel like X-Drive is a "must have" and personally I'd be quite happy to go back to a 2WD car. 4WD undeniably offers traction advantages in some conditions but you pay for that 100% of the time with extra weight and inferior fuel consumption (and, in the case of pre-LCI BMW's, indifferent suspension!). So for me X-Drive is far from essential and hence if I was choosing now I would without doubt pick a RWD 340i over a 4WD 335d.
Sad to say I would agree after 14 rather soulless months in a 335d. Great car, epically dull.
Yes, if ever there was a car to prove that impressive statistics on paper don't always tell the full story it's the 335d; hugely competent but then so is our washing machine and I can't get excited about that either!

DocSteve

718 posts

221 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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JNW1 said:
Yes, if ever there was a car to prove that impressive statistics on paper don't always tell the full story it's the 335d; hugely competent but then so is our washing machine and I can't get excited about that either!
I think this is taking it a bit far (are you quoting National Lampoon by any chance??). It's not a Porsche Cayman or even a RS4 but I still find it can entertain on a good road if you get it set up appropriately.

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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DocSteve said:
I think this is taking it a bit far (are you quoting National Lampoon by any chance??). It's not a Porsche Cayman or even a RS4 but I still find it can entertain on a good road if you get it set up appropriately.
This is a dangerous comparison but I'll do it anyway! The roads around where I live lend themselves to a bit of a hoon every now and then and I agree, the 335d can be entertaining when I'm in the mood but if I did the exact same roads in a C63 I know which car would be more emotionally involving and fun. Why not buy a C63 I hear you cry? Mrs Osinjak put paid to that fine idea last year so I'm 'stuck' with the 335d. Not a bad car to be stuck with of course but it leaves me wanting more or at least the same but different.

DocSteve

718 posts

221 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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Osinjak said:
This is a dangerous comparison but I'll do it anyway! The roads around where I live lend themselves to a bit of a hoon every now and then and I agree, the 335d can be entertaining when I'm in the mood but if I did the exact same roads in a C63 I know which car would be more emotionally involving and fun. Why not buy a C63 I hear you cry? Mrs Osinjak put paid to that fine idea last year so I'm 'stuck' with the 335d. Not a bad car to be stuck with of course but it leaves me wanting more or at least the same but different.
Haha, yes - slightly different animals those two (the cars, nothing to do with the wives...!)

I ended up getting a Suzuki Swift Sport in addition which actually fulfils the fun element rather well when I get my hands on it...

Fox-

13,228 posts

245 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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JNW1 said:
Yes, if ever there was a car to prove that impressive statistics on paper don't always tell the full story it's the 335d; hugely competent but then so is our washing machine and I can't get excited about that either!
Every time I read these comments it makes me feel really dull. I really like my 530d and I get excited about driving it frown

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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Fox- said:
Every time I read these comments it makes me feel really dull. I really like my 530d and I get excited about driving it frown
Funny isn't it, even after 5 years I still used to look forward to driving my old E91 335d. My new F31? Not so much, I just can't gel with it. So annoying.

VerySideways

10,237 posts

271 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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DocSteve said:
I ended up getting a Suzuki Swift Sport in addition which actually fulfils the fun element rather well when I get my hands on it...
My missus just swapped out a Swift Sport for a new Mini Cooper S.
I thought the Swift was amazing, but the Mini is a different level of grin biggrin

JNW1

7,711 posts

193 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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DocSteve said:
JNW1 said:
Yes, if ever there was a car to prove that impressive statistics on paper don't always tell the full story it's the 335d; hugely competent but then so is our washing machine and I can't get excited about that either!
I think this is taking it a bit far (are you quoting National Lampoon by any chance??). It's not a Porsche Cayman or even a RS4 but I still find it can entertain on a good road if you get it set up appropriately.
I'm not claiming originality for the washing machine comparison so, although I wasn't consciously quoting National Lampoon, perhaps that's where I heard it first!

However, I suppose all I was trying to say is that for all its competence I don't find the 335d engaging or fun to drive; perhaps some may think that's an unreasonable expectation for a diesel estate but I think the E91 335d was actually better in that regard and I suspect something like an S4 Avant with the sports diff would be a better option for a keen driver as well (that was on the short list when I bought mine a couple of years ago and on more than one occasion I've thought I backed the wrong horse!). Last week I came back home from York across a B-road I know quite well and, although the car dealt with everything with ease whilst also maintaining a fair turn of speed, there was precious little involvement in the process. Aside from the suspension (my pre-LCI car has adaptive but no ACS springs) I actually find the main spanner in the works to be the steering which in Sport mode is just heavy and lacking in any real feedback; competent it may be but it's not an Ultimate Driving Machine and in terms of being fun to drive it is in some respects worse than the model it replaced IMO.....

DocSteve

718 posts

221 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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JNW1 said:
DocSteve said:
JNW1 said:
Yes, if ever there was a car to prove that impressive statistics on paper don't always tell the full story it's the 335d; hugely competent but then so is our washing machine and I can't get excited about that either!
I think this is taking it a bit far (are you quoting National Lampoon by any chance??). It's not a Porsche Cayman or even a RS4 but I still find it can entertain on a good road if you get it set up appropriately.
I'm not claiming originality for the washing machine comparison so, although I wasn't consciously quoting National Lampoon, perhaps that's where I heard it first!

However, I suppose all I was trying to say is that for all its competence I don't find the 335d engaging or fun to drive; perhaps some may think that's an unreasonable expectation for a diesel estate but I think the E91 335d was actually better in that regard and I suspect something like an S4 Avant with the sports diff would be a better option for a keen driver as well (that was on the short list when I bought mine a couple of years ago and on more than one occasion I've thought I backed the wrong horse!). Last week I came back home from York across a B-road I know quite well and, although the car dealt with everything with ease whilst also maintaining a fair turn of speed, there was precious little involvement in the process. Aside from the suspension (my pre-LCI car has adaptive but no ACS springs) I actually find the main spanner in the works to be the steering which in Sport mode is just heavy and lacking in any real feedback; competent it may be but it's not an Ultimate Driving Machine and in terms of being fun to drive it is in some respects worse than the model it replaced IMO.....
Certainly agree re: the steering which is why on my non-adaptive model I have the Sport mode set to drivetrain only. I have a particular B road run, mostly in Rutland / Leics, that I use for testing cars as far as is possible on the public road and I find my car (LCI, non-adaptive, ACS springs, 18 wheels and non-RFTs) pretty good considering it is a diesel estate. I guess it's a matter of personal opinion to some extent but it is rather annoying that modifications and careful options choices are necessary for a keen driver. I had a couple of E39 5s back in the day and driving them was like night and day compared with most other comparable cars at the time, whereas now I'm not sure the same can be said about current non-M BMWs.

V10M5talbs

Original Poster:

39 posts

139 months

Sunday 27th November 2016
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Well, I'm whinging again, just drove my car back from rugby to leicester on the m1, not bad conditions at all really, around 4.5 degrees, mild wind, not the best surfaced motorway, struggled to keep the damn thing in a straight line, pulling me all over the bloody road ☹️️☹️️☹️️ I'm convinced it shouldn't be this bad, considering booking it in for intensive road test.

DocSteve

718 posts

221 months

Monday 28th November 2016
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V10M5talbs said:
Well, I'm whinging again, just drove my car back from rugby to leicester on the m1, not bad conditions at all really, around 4.5 degrees, mild wind, not the best surfaced motorway, struggled to keep the damn thing in a straight line, pulling me all over the bloody road ????????? I'm convinced it shouldn't be this bad, considering booking it in for intensive road test.
This doesn't sound right to me. I assume tyre pressures are all ok? Also, I wonder if the geo settings are out - I'd probably press them for a free alignment after a ride with a senior mechanic. I did that once with a Cayman as the wheel was not quite straight - the service advisers tried to palm me off saying it was road camber etc but I pushed and the chief mechanic agreed that it was genuinely out. Hope you manage to get it behaving more acceptably!

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Monday 28th November 2016
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V10M5talbs said:
Well, I'm whinging again, just drove my car back from rugby to leicester on the m1, not bad conditions at all really, around 4.5 degrees, mild wind, not the best surfaced motorway, struggled to keep the damn thing in a straight line, pulling me all over the bloody road ????????? I'm convinced it shouldn't be this bad, considering booking it in for intensive road test.
Something really isn't right, my old E91 could tramline like it was an Olympic sport but it's been virtually non-existent with my F31.

V10M5talbs

Original Poster:

39 posts

139 months

Wednesday 30th November 2016
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Docsteve – I agree to the point where I wonder if it’s me as I rarely drive at night unless it’s on lit streets. The tyres are checked and controlled with the efficiency and discipline of a military operation, currently running 38psi front and 41psi rear. Could be geo, am just in the process of booking it in now.

Osinjak – tell me about it!! My E92 on 19’s with standard bridgestone runflats was atrocious!! Much better once changed to MPSS but still a hard ride.

One thing I did notice the other day is some moisture in my passenger side front tyre when I was checking the pressures, god know how it has got in there. Spoke to my pal at sytner and he says excessive moisture can cause an imbalance at speed but he’s never seen it before on a brand new car with brand new tyres. Anybody else had this problem?

When my car went in to have a new transfer box, I had a 520d SE AUTO loaner for a few days, it held a much much more stable straight line when cruising than my car did the other night.

BMRuss

1,547 posts

189 months

Thursday 1st December 2016
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I've some 335d Xdrive ACS springs on the bay at the moment, just saying biggrin

V10M5talbs

Original Poster:

39 posts

139 months

Friday 2nd December 2016
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I don't want to speak too soon but it looks like the Gummi-Pledge has done the trick. It would seem that using silicone based cleaning products has nothing to do with it as my car came back squeeking and creeking as bad as it's ever been after just having the window seals replaced under warranty.

Reg ACS springs on Ebay, if I do have this done, i'd buy them brand new for the sake of £300 and piece of mind with ACS warranty etc, thanks for the offer though.

V10M5talbs

Original Poster:

39 posts

139 months

Monday 5th December 2016
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What's peoples your opinion of the standard LED headlights that come on the LCI F30/31 now guys? I would say decent but not as good as the xenons I had on my E92, especially the range when on full beam.

ds666

2,605 posts

178 months

Monday 5th December 2016
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Mine squeaked like mad - I tried various Halford's solutions but none worked - my local BMW garage gave me a tin of what they use and it worked a treat .

Ref the led headlights - very disappointed with mine - nowhere near as good as the xenon's on my f10 . In fact I'm going to get them checked out .