BMW 325i touring
Discussion
Whilst I have a more or less updated thread running on my Alpina, I don't think i've posted anything on the family wagon despite owning it for nearly 4 years. As it had a treat of M3 219 wheels yesterday, here's a pic. (also got a quote from KDS to bring the car back up to as new... lots of saving to do!)
It probably needs some 265 rear tyres next time around, the rim is just slightly exposed. I think they look great though!
As a family wagon this is about as clean as it gets. Pictures of the raisin and mud coated interior not shown. it has been a fantastic car for us.
The pluses, the panoramic roof, comfort and feeling of safety, not a bad looking estate to my eye, nice engine, relatively economical on long runs, has been completely reliable over 4 years- oh no, one thing, the rubber connecting the fuel filler cap to the body broke last winter.
minuses- not much torque, crashy on msport suspension and rfts, leather quality a bit low rent, no heated seats.
If it was a 335 I don't think we could ever replace it, as it is it is hard to consider stumping up the cash. A new B3 is a leap too far.
It probably needs some 265 rear tyres next time around, the rim is just slightly exposed. I think they look great though!
As a family wagon this is about as clean as it gets. Pictures of the raisin and mud coated interior not shown. it has been a fantastic car for us.
The pluses, the panoramic roof, comfort and feeling of safety, not a bad looking estate to my eye, nice engine, relatively economical on long runs, has been completely reliable over 4 years- oh no, one thing, the rubber connecting the fuel filler cap to the body broke last winter.
minuses- not much torque, crashy on msport suspension and rfts, leather quality a bit low rent, no heated seats.
If it was a 335 I don't think we could ever replace it, as it is it is hard to consider stumping up the cash. A new B3 is a leap too far.
Edited by Polynesian on Tuesday 10th September 12:59
Time flies. We've had 2 more uneventful years of E91 ownership. Whilst ours is down on power compared to a couple of others on here (we have the 215bhp 325i), it's a sweet engine and ownership is largely a pleasure. Lighter wheels, like these BBS M3 jobbies, and non RFT tyres help, and it's due for FSD dampers soon.
It seems that manuals like ours are quite sought after now, and I can understand why. I'd love to upgrade, but for the money it does everything we need so well- a fair bit of london driving where size matters, and an annual run to Northern Spain where cruising speed and comfort matter. We even get to use the panoramic sunroof there.
In the new year, we're planning a bit of a smarten up- some paintwork, the FSD dampers. Until then, I have LCI headlights with LED bulbs to fit. Will let you know how much difference they make. We have a good few options on ours, but no xenons and some improvement is needed.
It seems that manuals like ours are quite sought after now, and I can understand why. I'd love to upgrade, but for the money it does everything we need so well- a fair bit of london driving where size matters, and an annual run to Northern Spain where cruising speed and comfort matter. We even get to use the panoramic sunroof there.
In the new year, we're planning a bit of a smarten up- some paintwork, the FSD dampers. Until then, I have LCI headlights with LED bulbs to fit. Will let you know how much difference they make. We have a good few options on ours, but no xenons and some improvement is needed.
I had forgotten a couple of niggles in this happy ownership. A few months ago I had to change the driver's door actuator, which was fiddly but not a difficult job. If I remember, the actuator was about £100 from BMMiniparts.
And today I finally changed the vanos solenoids after a recurrence of the code came up on my trusty Peake. They were about £80 each I think, and were a 30 minute job. These are all real minutes, not the forum minutes some people seem to describe jobs in (changed the icv on my m52 engine in 1 hour and that included a beer and changing the dipstick too. And I took pictures. And it only really took me 50 minutes... That sort of thing).
There are better guides than I could write for all these jobs available online already, just a google away.
Next, headlights and suspension. But some using first- can't really call it driving when you live in London.
Great car.
And today I finally changed the vanos solenoids after a recurrence of the code came up on my trusty Peake. They were about £80 each I think, and were a 30 minute job. These are all real minutes, not the forum minutes some people seem to describe jobs in (changed the icv on my m52 engine in 1 hour and that included a beer and changing the dipstick too. And I took pictures. And it only really took me 50 minutes... That sort of thing).
There are better guides than I could write for all these jobs available online already, just a google away.
Next, headlights and suspension. But some using first- can't really call it driving when you live in London.
Great car.
A small but significant upgrade to the trusty E91. I've had the headlights swapped out for a pair of genuine BMW LCi halogens, with LED bulbs fitted. Yes, part of this is paying for those BMW angel eyes, no significant upgrade there, more an update, but the LED bulbs- wow- they provide much better real world clarity and vision than the halogen bulbs. They are likely better than my E46 xenons, and all without any recoding, new lcm module or other hassle. the bulbs are Opt7 cree LEDs, with cree chips in the angel eyes as well. much longer throw of light, well placed and no issues with glare for other road users.
Shame you can't get lasers for retrofit yet though :-)
Shame you can't get lasers for retrofit yet though :-)
Christmas came early for the E91 (and maybe her "dad", the E46 Alpina)- bought a Carly for BMW diagnostics/ coder. So far I've run full diagnostics and confirmed I really do need to replace and reset the rear brake pad warning (pads have done about 4K), and coded a few things:
Angel eyes as daytime running lights (was not an option on 2005 E9x's apparently)
Enabled digital speedo in dash
True speed enabled
Disabled the headlight voltage check on startup- the LEDs were making it flicker for a few seconds
Enabled photo chromatic mirror dimming (have this function but it was disabled)
Got rid of some gongs
Will try it on the Alpina later!
Angel eyes as daytime running lights (was not an option on 2005 E9x's apparently)
Enabled digital speedo in dash
True speed enabled
Disabled the headlight voltage check on startup- the LEDs were making it flicker for a few seconds
Enabled photo chromatic mirror dimming (have this function but it was disabled)
Got rid of some gongs
Will try it on the Alpina later!
Barchettaman said:
If the suspension is due a re-fresh, the KW Street Comfort coilovers seem to be well-liked on the BMW forums over here in DE. I'm seriously thinking about getting a set, the only problem will be smuggling them in past the wife.
I'll be honest- I didn't really accept this when I read your post, but hey, you were spot on- they have a great reputation and although more expensive than FSDs (dampers only) might just be the way to go. Thanks for the recommendation!Great to see the touring love here! Forgot that one other improvement we made last year was the alpine speaker/ amp- not audiophile quality but for a family wagon just fine. The drivers door mid range is now not working and don't want to get fleeced for diagnosing the problem. Anyway, been on my other BMW touring interest today: the "Adrenaline" touring car documentary from my wonderful wife :-)
Edited by Polynesian on Saturday 26th December 19:25
Nik Gnashers said:
Love the colour of your E91.
I was lucky to have some spare cash come my way, so treated myself to a new(er) car for xmas...
For the money though, I think they are one of the best looking cars on the road.
Congrats! That's a great Christmas present! I hope you enjoy yours, your description definitely tallies with mine after 6 years of ownership. It came when my son was 4 weeks old so it's done the full family duties for a good while. We would normally change after 3 years, but with a house move and a second child, the years and cash have flashed past. Someone on Alpina forum just bought a B3 biturbo touring which would be nice. Realistic options are an RS6 avant, 335/340i touring, an F10 v8 touring if ever up for sale, possibly an E63... But you can hear I'm wandering off from proper family duties cars there.I was lucky to have some spare cash come my way, so treated myself to a new(er) car for xmas...
For the money though, I think they are one of the best looking cars on the road.
Well as E91+ 9.5j M3 rear wheels = rubbing when fully loaded, I had Paul from Arch Enemy come and roll the rear arches. Nice guy, very experienced at doing this and now my wheels don't rub at all. Excellent. I didn't get to see the full process as I was on a work call, but it was done quickly and I'm very pleased with the result. The arch liners have been retained, not cut, and wedged into the lip of the arch and sealed.
Family outing to Bruges this weekend will be the real test but there's clearly more room. Can definitely recommend Paul.
Family outing to Bruges this weekend will be the real test but there's clearly more room. Can definitely recommend Paul.
Back from a great weekend in Bruges. not much like the film, but a lot of fun despite the rain and freezing temperatures. I'm quite into cycling, and it has given me a new level of respect for the guys who actually look forward to the classics and ride on the slippery cobbles with cold, wind, rain. Insane. I thought I had it tough walking around the town this weekend.
Back to the car. Despite having the bike racks on, we didn't take any bikes with us, but we did have the roofbox, almost as large as an E91, and very useful for getting my wife's biscuit, chocolate and garden centre purchases home. Somehow my 6 year old came back with a nautilus shell too. Love it, but I don't think they are native to the inland waters of Belgium.
You always get these shots of 6, 8 or more cylinder cars showing hundreds of miles per gallon- this is the real world of our 2.5. It's a magnesium block, uses an electric water pump and all sorts of tricks, but i guess the wide tyres, roofbox and bike racks weren't included in the BMW plan.
Something interesting here though. The temperature dropped half a degree and we managed a little more economy. it must be the denser air enabling the engine to run more efficiently.
These were the only 2 buildings we saw still standing in the wind. Then we got to ride that wind on the ferry home.
But not before spotting a rare Ford. Couldn't see if it was a 2.9, pretty certain not a cosworth, what a barge. Remember hoping my dad would buy one instead of another Sierra. And that's really what we have now in the E91. it's the Ford Sierra of our times. Nicer to be in, but as common. You can see why when you drive them, it's a nice car to go on family adventures in.
Here's my son playing it cool in some extreme listing onboard the ferry
You can't really tell here, but the lemon leather and wood really lift the interior, it is quite a classy place to be. No gimmicks, no touch screens, just a nice environment, with great ergnomics save for teh placement of the window controls- I always reach the rear windows thinking they are the fronts- and a little bit of shiny plastic on the external side mirror base- it reflects white lines in a distracting way in some conditions. How did they not catch that?!
Here are the M3 18's. Lovely deep dished wheels. And now the arches have been slightly rolled, absolutely no rubbing at all, under any circumstances I could throw at it this weekend. Not very clean at the mo, but that's roadtrips for you.
This has been a great improvement- we put LCi halogens on, and added LED bulbs. They are about comparable with xenons and don't dazzle anyone The LCi bit just meant gaining angel eyes, a bit pathetic but hardly a crime. At least I think not.
And here's the cause of the modified CdA figure. Enough furniture up top to affect economy a bit and get exciting above 80mph, where law allows.
Made it back tonight, all comfortable, nautilus in one piece, Ready to think about how to address the bubbling rust starting under the back window. I know it's a result of grit getting left there but still think it's unacceptable. Anyway, it's either the old fashioned approach or an LCi tailgate. Oil service due first, so time to ponder that one.
Back to the car. Despite having the bike racks on, we didn't take any bikes with us, but we did have the roofbox, almost as large as an E91, and very useful for getting my wife's biscuit, chocolate and garden centre purchases home. Somehow my 6 year old came back with a nautilus shell too. Love it, but I don't think they are native to the inland waters of Belgium.
You always get these shots of 6, 8 or more cylinder cars showing hundreds of miles per gallon- this is the real world of our 2.5. It's a magnesium block, uses an electric water pump and all sorts of tricks, but i guess the wide tyres, roofbox and bike racks weren't included in the BMW plan.
Something interesting here though. The temperature dropped half a degree and we managed a little more economy. it must be the denser air enabling the engine to run more efficiently.
These were the only 2 buildings we saw still standing in the wind. Then we got to ride that wind on the ferry home.
But not before spotting a rare Ford. Couldn't see if it was a 2.9, pretty certain not a cosworth, what a barge. Remember hoping my dad would buy one instead of another Sierra. And that's really what we have now in the E91. it's the Ford Sierra of our times. Nicer to be in, but as common. You can see why when you drive them, it's a nice car to go on family adventures in.
Here's my son playing it cool in some extreme listing onboard the ferry
You can't really tell here, but the lemon leather and wood really lift the interior, it is quite a classy place to be. No gimmicks, no touch screens, just a nice environment, with great ergnomics save for teh placement of the window controls- I always reach the rear windows thinking they are the fronts- and a little bit of shiny plastic on the external side mirror base- it reflects white lines in a distracting way in some conditions. How did they not catch that?!
Here are the M3 18's. Lovely deep dished wheels. And now the arches have been slightly rolled, absolutely no rubbing at all, under any circumstances I could throw at it this weekend. Not very clean at the mo, but that's roadtrips for you.
This has been a great improvement- we put LCi halogens on, and added LED bulbs. They are about comparable with xenons and don't dazzle anyone The LCi bit just meant gaining angel eyes, a bit pathetic but hardly a crime. At least I think not.
And here's the cause of the modified CdA figure. Enough furniture up top to affect economy a bit and get exciting above 80mph, where law allows.
Made it back tonight, all comfortable, nautilus in one piece, Ready to think about how to address the bubbling rust starting under the back window. I know it's a result of grit getting left there but still think it's unacceptable. Anyway, it's either the old fashioned approach or an LCi tailgate. Oil service due first, so time to ponder that one.
Edited by Polynesian on Wednesday 17th February 16:01
panoramic roof has been fantastic, though not used as much as i would like- kids pre-sunglasses don't like the sun in their faces much, but the roofbox and them growing older are fixing that. He will wear sunglasses now and have the roof open to keep an eye on his bike! (we take the bikes to Spain each summer and on all sorts of mini adventures). Whilst my roof has been fine, there are some known issues with the pan roof, not cheap to repair as you can imagine... Still at least our Alpina roof started to catch fire so I haven't been completely left out of the BMW sunroof problems club.
As to the economy, take a look back at the pictures, huge roofbox and two bike racks doesn't help. 25mpg including the London bit each end would be over 30mpg on the open road with no roof load, and its such a smooth and revvy engine to do it with, and a nice manual shift. I don't object a bit, it can do the economy thing ok when needed. I imagine a 330i gives the same economy for noticeably more poke though.
By the way, great short story on the origin of the touring here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0CUaS0czk I think PH did an article on it last year?
As to the economy, take a look back at the pictures, huge roofbox and two bike racks doesn't help. 25mpg including the London bit each end would be over 30mpg on the open road with no roof load, and its such a smooth and revvy engine to do it with, and a nice manual shift. I don't object a bit, it can do the economy thing ok when needed. I imagine a 330i gives the same economy for noticeably more poke though.
By the way, great short story on the origin of the touring here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0CUaS0czk I think PH did an article on it last year?
Just had the alignment done. A cautionary tale for BMW drivers, especially of cars driven over speedbumps and potholes regularly...
Actually, no! After 6 years of driving London's awful streets and mounting a speedbump every 200 metres, there was virtually no adjustment needed. I was amazed, disappointed even. Maybe it has been speedbumped out of alignment for three years and then back in for the subsequent 3?
Wheelpower use a Hunter TD Elite with codelink. None of which means anything to me, but it is supposedly a very good machine.
Actually, no! After 6 years of driving London's awful streets and mounting a speedbump every 200 metres, there was virtually no adjustment needed. I was amazed, disappointed even. Maybe it has been speedbumped out of alignment for three years and then back in for the subsequent 3?
Wheelpower use a Hunter TD Elite with codelink. None of which means anything to me, but it is supposedly a very good machine.
2 things today. First a look at the bubbling paintwork just below the pop up rear window. You can also see some grit that has no doubt contributed. I still think it's not very impressive!
Secondly, I used the turkey baster method to replace some of the PAS fluid. The E9X cars use CHF-11s fluid, despite some of them having caps that say "ATF"- at least that should be under a sticker saying CHF 11s but I guess they sometimes peel off with the engine bag heat. I removed the contents of the reservoir and replaced. The car has 73k on it and a lot of lock to lock parking, I think the pump has hard a hard life. You can just about see the green of the new fluid in the neck of the can. You can definitely see the "green" of the used fluid.
I'm under the impression the PAS system is described as sealed for life. That would be a life of about 80-120k miles for most cars I would think. Not exactly life!
Secondly, I used the turkey baster method to replace some of the PAS fluid. The E9X cars use CHF-11s fluid, despite some of them having caps that say "ATF"- at least that should be under a sticker saying CHF 11s but I guess they sometimes peel off with the engine bag heat. I removed the contents of the reservoir and replaced. The car has 73k on it and a lot of lock to lock parking, I think the pump has hard a hard life. You can just about see the green of the new fluid in the neck of the can. You can definitely see the "green" of the used fluid.
I'm under the impression the PAS system is described as sealed for life. That would be a life of about 80-120k miles for most cars I would think. Not exactly life!
Time for an E91 update (that's a small BMW estate update for those who dislike BMW speak).
The car had a pair of new rear Goodyear F1s, 265 35 18s, which, whilst they are not Michelins, are a good tyre and had the benefit of the lowest db rating I could find. That shows the balance of ultimate nth degree dynamics vs family comfort that is the reality of our family mini barge.
27mpg, don't get that in London!
We're now in Spain having done our usual shared drive down. The peage autopay really helps for this, took us straight past a few very long queues... At least until the infamous E9x (sorry folks, that's small but not really small BMW) water pump failure arose.
If you read the Internet write ups, EVERY E9x water pump collapses at 75-80k miles. These are complex electrically driven pumps, constantly varying water flow to help economy.just what we need, another complicated BMW part. In April, I had Birds check the cooling system and engine codes, worrying about the pump and our 2500km journey. I even had the parts in my basket at ECP a couple of times ahead of trips to the US. But then I told myself, what kind of idiot spends hundreds of pounds - about £400 for parts- on preventative maintenance on a car that is fine? Not even me! So at 74940 miles, we had a yellow temperature warning, shortly followed by a red warning. Being a nerd that's read up, I immediately pulled the car over (leaving a peage- see how the autopay helps!) and switched off. No overheating of this magnesium engine block, no sirree. But worrisome codes yes:
And now we're rocking a Peugeot 2008 hire car which we somehow persuaded our roof bars, bikes and roofbox onto. Our car is languishing in southern France, still awaiting the pump, thermostat and a nice coolant refresh. The peage recovery people had a yard full of cars from all over Europe, sat for weeks awaiting... Something. Well, a yard full of cars and guard dogs. And dog poo. What a business. Here it is languishing in car hell:
Recovering 10-15 cars a day at €2-400 a pop plus €12 a day per car parking fee. Well, we're out of there but still in a garage that thought the car was fine- started it up no problems. Yes, let's not read the codes or understand the car at all, just conclude it is fine.
Point is, the pump is either done for, as the ecu codes suggest, or about to fail. Either way it needs changing as I'm not driving my family off in a car that's about to fail. Weirdly, instead of making us want to thwack it with branches, it's made us realise how much the old thing means to us.[url]
The car had a pair of new rear Goodyear F1s, 265 35 18s, which, whilst they are not Michelins, are a good tyre and had the benefit of the lowest db rating I could find. That shows the balance of ultimate nth degree dynamics vs family comfort that is the reality of our family mini barge.
27mpg, don't get that in London!
We're now in Spain having done our usual shared drive down. The peage autopay really helps for this, took us straight past a few very long queues... At least until the infamous E9x (sorry folks, that's small but not really small BMW) water pump failure arose.
If you read the Internet write ups, EVERY E9x water pump collapses at 75-80k miles. These are complex electrically driven pumps, constantly varying water flow to help economy.just what we need, another complicated BMW part. In April, I had Birds check the cooling system and engine codes, worrying about the pump and our 2500km journey. I even had the parts in my basket at ECP a couple of times ahead of trips to the US. But then I told myself, what kind of idiot spends hundreds of pounds - about £400 for parts- on preventative maintenance on a car that is fine? Not even me! So at 74940 miles, we had a yellow temperature warning, shortly followed by a red warning. Being a nerd that's read up, I immediately pulled the car over (leaving a peage- see how the autopay helps!) and switched off. No overheating of this magnesium engine block, no sirree. But worrisome codes yes:
And now we're rocking a Peugeot 2008 hire car which we somehow persuaded our roof bars, bikes and roofbox onto. Our car is languishing in southern France, still awaiting the pump, thermostat and a nice coolant refresh. The peage recovery people had a yard full of cars from all over Europe, sat for weeks awaiting... Something. Well, a yard full of cars and guard dogs. And dog poo. What a business. Here it is languishing in car hell:
Recovering 10-15 cars a day at €2-400 a pop plus €12 a day per car parking fee. Well, we're out of there but still in a garage that thought the car was fine- started it up no problems. Yes, let's not read the codes or understand the car at all, just conclude it is fine.
Point is, the pump is either done for, as the ecu codes suggest, or about to fail. Either way it needs changing as I'm not driving my family off in a car that's about to fail. Weirdly, instead of making us want to thwack it with branches, it's made us realise how much the old thing means to us.[url]
Edited by Polynesian on Thursday 4th August 20:17
After more than a week, the water pump and thermostat are done. I've probably been a difficult customer for small French garage in, wait for it, August! Seriously, I probably have been with my calls to ensure they will use the correct coolant refill technique and is it ready yet.
For an 11 year old family mini barge, I'm actually feeling really excited to pick it up in the next hour or so- had a 300 mile drive back from northern Spain this morning to be here. In a rental Peugeot 2008, so that makes it about 500 normal miles. Very keen to see the wagon and get driving back. There's a bit more holiday left yet. But a taxi to wait for yet, in France, in August, at lunchtime.
For an 11 year old family mini barge, I'm actually feeling really excited to pick it up in the next hour or so- had a 300 mile drive back from northern Spain this morning to be here. In a rental Peugeot 2008, so that makes it about 500 normal miles. Very keen to see the wagon and get driving back. There's a bit more holiday left yet. But a taxi to wait for yet, in France, in August, at lunchtime.
helix402 said:
Your pump failed 60 miles too early. At least you're not in a Peugeot any more.
Yes, I may send the old pump to BMW (may be a rebate on them too?) and complain about my missing 60 miles of pump service. Also had time to daydream a bit about French pilotes- you always used to hear about the local Claude on a French road able to take the corners faster in his a pug 205 diesel than the visitor in their Esprit or whatever. What on earth do those French drivers drive now? The new stuff seems to be merde.Still, it lives:
and served up 31mpg on the 80-90mph run back to Asturias. That's sans roofbox and bikes but still made me happy. 660 miles of driving in one day. That's enough adventure for me. Even tried a can of monster energy today. If that's what is in the McLaren fuel tanks I may have discovered their problem.
Edited by Polynesian on Wednesday 10th August 22:51
Edited by Polynesian on Wednesday 10th August 22:54
Until this water pump saga, the car has never let us down in 6 years. So there I was driving off from another peage on the way home (through the 30kmh transponder lane which somehow feels fun on GB plates) and I accelerated, for you can all the way to 7, unlike in the Pug diseasel we've had, and my phone flew out of its little clip on dash vent holder. And then I noticed... The car is now cursed, French mechanics have sabotaged it, it's for the scrap pile... The DTC light was on. s
t!
In my mind, unlike in my E46, there isn't a button in the E91, so I was driving along using my best French and Spanish swear words. And no cruise control either. CC ID code 184 came up. We have to tip this car off a cliff, it's doomed now to failures!
Then I realised that my phone falling had clipped the DTC button that was hidden behind it, and all was fine.
Sometimes it's user error not the car...
t!In my mind, unlike in my E46, there isn't a button in the E91, so I was driving along using my best French and Spanish swear words. And no cruise control either. CC ID code 184 came up. We have to tip this car off a cliff, it's doomed now to failures!
Then I realised that my phone falling had clipped the DTC button that was hidden behind it, and all was fine.
Sometimes it's user error not the car...
Clever lady just did this:
Whilst my wife was putting our 2 year old in that side... Missed my wife by centimetres. Looks like a clear no fault, with witnesses, and a driver who claimed to see nothing. Still, now dealing with insurance and offered Albany claims, turned down to go to my local bodyshop guy for a quote tomorrow. Save everyone's premiums a bit and get a good job done.
Some drivers really shouldn't be on the road. Very glad my wife still has her legs!
Whilst my wife was putting our 2 year old in that side... Missed my wife by centimetres. Looks like a clear no fault, with witnesses, and a driver who claimed to see nothing. Still, now dealing with insurance and offered Albany claims, turned down to go to my local bodyshop guy for a quote tomorrow. Save everyone's premiums a bit and get a good job done.
Some drivers really shouldn't be on the road. Very glad my wife still has her legs!
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