BMW 330 Clubsport
Discussion
It's been a long search but finally I managed to pick this up last night.
It's replacing an e36 328 sport that I had for over 8 years but met its end when I out braked the girl behind me.
It's done 101k miles but you would never believe it from the way it looks and drives. Unfortunately this is the only photo I have at the moment, I shall take some more when it stops raining.
So far this morning I have got the stereo working and booked it in for next week for the airbag recall to be sorted.
This is my daily driver so the plan is just to stay on top of the maintenance and enjoy it. Next on my list of jobs is to replace the black kidney grills, source a centre arm rest as the original owner didn't pay the extra for one and find out why the passenger door has stopped unlocking from the remote.
It's replacing an e36 328 sport that I had for over 8 years but met its end when I out braked the girl behind me.
It's done 101k miles but you would never believe it from the way it looks and drives. Unfortunately this is the only photo I have at the moment, I shall take some more when it stops raining.
So far this morning I have got the stereo working and booked it in for next week for the airbag recall to be sorted.
This is my daily driver so the plan is just to stay on top of the maintenance and enjoy it. Next on my list of jobs is to replace the black kidney grills, source a centre arm rest as the original owner didn't pay the extra for one and find out why the passenger door has stopped unlocking from the remote.
zeDuffMan said:
Lovely car. I can't convince myself to like the boot spoiler on these though.
My opinion on the spoiler changed weekly when I was looking. Now I have one, I think I like it. It's also part of what makes the car a little bit different and makes reversing easier.Having said that, I have seen it fitted on an M3 and it looked shocking.
Thank you. It's the 5 speed manual, which seems to be rarer than the auto versions from the for sale ads. The manuals also seem to be priced a bit higher.
I've been driving around in it this morning and although I'm not sure it's much quicker that my 328, the engine is much smoother.
Around our awful roads the ride is also noticeably harsher, although as it is on 18s rather than 17s that's no great surprise.
I've been getting lots of positive comments from the neighbours too.
I've been driving around in it this morning and although I'm not sure it's much quicker that my 328, the engine is much smoother.
Around our awful roads the ride is also noticeably harsher, although as it is on 18s rather than 17s that's no great surprise.
I've been getting lots of positive comments from the neighbours too.
Fas1975 said:
Regarding your passenger door not unlocking from the remote, does it not work at all? Have you tried pressing twice S you can set driver side only unlock unless you press twice. Failing that, check your fuses, I believe the passenger lock is on a separate circuit Stunning car, congrats.
Double tapping the button does not work. I can hear the passenger side 'unlock', it sounds just like the functioning drivers side, so I am guessing that a clip or something has broken and is not lifting the rod. Hopefully it will be something that simple. One more job to add to the list, I need to pull out the reversing/fog lights and reseal them. In the mean time, here are some photos from this morning. Sorry, I have not had a chance to give it a proper clean yet.
The front splitters are rubber but I have seen a few with carbon ones fitted. Judging by the number I looked at where they are missing completely, I'm guessing they are quite easy to lose on speed bumps etc.
The seats in this one are the standard with fabric centres, leather was an option although most seem to have had that box ticked. When I saw the pictures in the ad, I started pricing up a leather interior but it looks much better that it looks in the photo and I actually really like it. As I said in my first post though, it desperately need the centre arm rest.
Other than that you're right. I would suggest to anyone with a standard 330 to remove the 20kg (claimed by BMW). Mine is still really quiet and refined when driven normally (admittedly I have just spent 2 months driving a Ford PUMA, so most things would).
The gear change is definitely better than the standard car.
So far I have only done 150 miles in it and it's really starting to grow on me. Also I now have something to take up to TOP CATS for the next Sunday Service as the Cosworth is still SORN'd at the moment.
The seats in this one are the standard with fabric centres, leather was an option although most seem to have had that box ticked. When I saw the pictures in the ad, I started pricing up a leather interior but it looks much better that it looks in the photo and I actually really like it. As I said in my first post though, it desperately need the centre arm rest.
Other than that you're right. I would suggest to anyone with a standard 330 to remove the 20kg (claimed by BMW). Mine is still really quiet and refined when driven normally (admittedly I have just spent 2 months driving a Ford PUMA, so most things would).
The gear change is definitely better than the standard car.
So far I have only done 150 miles in it and it's really starting to grow on me. Also I now have something to take up to TOP CATS for the next Sunday Service as the Cosworth is still SORN'd at the moment.
Thanks for the advice Ian, the bushes will be replaced with Powerflex ones as and when they need doing. A couple of the cars I test drove had the wish bones done and it was definitely better without any more apparent NVH issues that I would have expected.
One fly n the ointment, today the alarm has decided to randomly sound. Did it a few times this afternoon and a couple off times this afternoon.
One fly n the ointment, today the alarm has decided to randomly sound. Did it a few times this afternoon and a couple off times this afternoon.
+1
I think the current phrase is WTF.
My Cosworth has had the same poly bushes on it for about 18 years and they are still going strong.
I found the passenger window not quite shut this morning which I am hoping was my teenage son not closing it properly when he got out last night and not a knackered window regulator.
Seems to have stopped the alarm sounding, fingers crossed.
I think the current phrase is WTF.
My Cosworth has had the same poly bushes on it for about 18 years and they are still going strong.
I found the passenger window not quite shut this morning which I am hoping was my teenage son not closing it properly when he got out last night and not a knackered window regulator.
Seems to have stopped the alarm sounding, fingers crossed.
Ruskie said:
Fellow Clubsport owner here with same trim as you but in silver and with SSG. Mine has been faultless. Are the wheels corroded? Common weak spot.
They are a bit, they have been refurbished before at some point but the laquer is starting to go again. I cleaned and smothered them in Rimwax yesterday, unfortunately the brakes are amazingly effective but create a lot of dust.Have you got any pictures of yours.
It does and that's what I bought it for. It's my daily driver so it will spend most of it's time going up and down the M40.
Got home from work and had a fiddle with the bonnet sensor to the alarm as the interweb suggests this the most common cause.
Then took more skin off the back of my hands pulling the head unit out again. All looks ok with the wiring but I insulated any connections I could find. I replaced the fuse yet again and hey presto I had a working stereo. Sat in the drive for ages listening and messing about with the wiring to try and get it to blow again. Nothing, all correct. Everything put back together and a test drive down the worst road I could find (and I have plenty to choose from) again all good.
Then I had to go shopping. Managed 1/2 a mile before it died again
I also packed out the drivers door seal a little bit, that seems to have stopped the 60mph whistle.
Got home from work and had a fiddle with the bonnet sensor to the alarm as the interweb suggests this the most common cause.
Then took more skin off the back of my hands pulling the head unit out again. All looks ok with the wiring but I insulated any connections I could find. I replaced the fuse yet again and hey presto I had a working stereo. Sat in the drive for ages listening and messing about with the wiring to try and get it to blow again. Nothing, all correct. Everything put back together and a test drive down the worst road I could find (and I have plenty to choose from) again all good.
Then I had to go shopping. Managed 1/2 a mile before it died again
I also packed out the drivers door seal a little bit, that seems to have stopped the 60mph whistle.
jb2410 said:
Op the door lock actuator is a reasonably common failure on these and would give symptoms such as yours. I had the same issue on my old e46. It'll set the alarm off as it thinks the door is open, mine also caused weird problems such as opening all windows (as if the key had been turned and held in the lock)
If you remove the door card and unplug the actuator unit you'll be able to diagnose as it should stop the alarm going. Replacement cost me around £120 from BMW and took a bit of faffing to fit but easily diy able (even with my shovel hands) and there's a fair few guides on the interweb which should take you through it without too much trouble.
Thanks, I shall pull the door card apart when I find the time and check it out. The alarm issue seems to have been sorted out by some WD40 and fiddling about with the switch for the bonnet.If you remove the door card and unplug the actuator unit you'll be able to diagnose as it should stop the alarm going. Replacement cost me around £120 from BMW and took a bit of faffing to fit but easily diy able (even with my shovel hands) and there's a fair few guides on the interweb which should take you through it without too much trouble.
I have replced the bullet connectors for the head unit with soldered joins. Naturally this has made no difference and it blew again as I pulled of the drive. It would seem that I can get it to work as long as I don't drive it! I shall have to find the time to pull the dash out and trace the rest it the wiring. I think that I shall be searching out an original BMW head unit to put in.
On the plus side, the car still seems to be getting a good reaction from everyone and minor glitches aside I am really enjoying owning it.
Today has been a day of stereo fiddling. I bought an original BMW Buisiness head unit from eBay which turned up this morning. I removed the Alpine unit followed by all the after market wiring. This meant removing the dash trim, the heater controls, the glovebox and the central air vents?
After all that I was left with the original BMW multi plug and ariel. Plugged it all in, replaced the fuse and turned it on with due hesitation. Miracle of miracles I now had radio stations, a cassette player and a CD changer
Once again I sat in the drive listening to music while I put enough of the car back together so that I could drive it.
I then managed about 30 yards before the fuse blew again. Bugger!
I have checked all the wiring that I can find with nothing apparently wrong and wierdly the next fuse blew as I put it in the fusebox.
The car is now out in the drive in many pieces and I'm going for a beer.
After all that I was left with the original BMW multi plug and ariel. Plugged it all in, replaced the fuse and turned it on with due hesitation. Miracle of miracles I now had radio stations, a cassette player and a CD changer
Once again I sat in the drive listening to music while I put enough of the car back together so that I could drive it.
I then managed about 30 yards before the fuse blew again. Bugger!
I have checked all the wiring that I can find with nothing apparently wrong and wierdly the next fuse blew as I put it in the fusebox.
The car is now out in the drive in many pieces and I'm going for a beer.
Well it's been a while, but I finally have something to update.
I finally managed to trace the stereo problems to some messy wiring where a random wire had been 'attatched' to the loom for the CD changer. It is the thinnest wire I have ever seen but now it is disconnected and the wires soldered up the problem has gone. I have no idea where it ends up but nothing else seems to have stopped working.
Not much else to report over the summer. I have been to a few Sunday Services where it has attracted absolutely no attention whatsoever
Next week is MOT time so in preparation ...[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/TZbcCGqh[/url
New discs and pads all round, plus some Goodridge hoses. You will notice that one caliper is shiney and new. As is always the way, having bled three of the lines, we moved onto number four. At which point we realised that someone had over tightened the bleed nipple and were reminded how soft they are!
After much effort and some colourful language we conceded defeat at removing the reminance of said nipple. Then followed some frantic phone calls and travelling before ECP relieved me of another £95 plus VAT.
We arrived back in the drive just in time for the heavens to open but we managed to get it finished.
That was most of my Wednesday gone, rather than the couple of hours that I had optimistically hoped.
Today, having learned my lesson (and being somewhat crippled at the moment), I paid someone else to fit the Powerflex bushes on the wish bones.
Hopefully I am now set for another years ticket (famous last words).
I finally managed to trace the stereo problems to some messy wiring where a random wire had been 'attatched' to the loom for the CD changer. It is the thinnest wire I have ever seen but now it is disconnected and the wires soldered up the problem has gone. I have no idea where it ends up but nothing else seems to have stopped working.
Not much else to report over the summer. I have been to a few Sunday Services where it has attracted absolutely no attention whatsoever
Next week is MOT time so in preparation ...[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/TZbcCGqh[/urlNew discs and pads all round, plus some Goodridge hoses. You will notice that one caliper is shiney and new. As is always the way, having bled three of the lines, we moved onto number four. At which point we realised that someone had over tightened the bleed nipple and were reminded how soft they are!
After much effort and some colourful language we conceded defeat at removing the reminance of said nipple. Then followed some frantic phone calls and travelling before ECP relieved me of another £95 plus VAT.
We arrived back in the drive just in time for the heavens to open but we managed to get it finished.
That was most of my Wednesday gone, rather than the couple of hours that I had optimistically hoped.
Today, having learned my lesson (and being somewhat crippled at the moment), I paid someone else to fit the Powerflex bushes on the wish bones.
Hopefully I am now set for another years ticket (famous last words).
Well it's been a while (good news for my wallet, bad news for anyone hoping that this thread would be more interesting).
The car has, so far been running fine, hence the lack of updates. I seem to have spent the last few weeks collecting sharp metal objects in the tyres. I've had punctures fixed in both front tyres and had to replace the rears. On a positive note, they need replacing anyway, so I now have a nice new pair of these to replace the Bridgestones.
While having a bit of a 'moment', I had the tracking done. Suffice to say, I shall now be taking it to my local specialist for a proper 4 wheel alignment.
The passenger door lock fixed itself for about 6 months before unfixing again. Haven't had time/can't be bothered to start fiddling with it at the moment. Like wise I still have the black grills that I don't want and the arm rest is still conspicuous by its absence.
The infamous airbag warning light appeared, resolved with a plug is gizmo for the passenger seat ( if I'm unlucky enough to hit something hard enough to set the airbags off it will be a right off anyway).
It's been to few Sunday services, where it still turns no heads what so ever
I can report that it is a big thirstier that the e36 though.
That's it I'm afraid, it had proved to be a joy to own and drive so far and everyone seems to love the colour.
The car has, so far been running fine, hence the lack of updates. I seem to have spent the last few weeks collecting sharp metal objects in the tyres. I've had punctures fixed in both front tyres and had to replace the rears. On a positive note, they need replacing anyway, so I now have a nice new pair of these to replace the Bridgestones.
While having a bit of a 'moment', I had the tracking done. Suffice to say, I shall now be taking it to my local specialist for a proper 4 wheel alignment.
The passenger door lock fixed itself for about 6 months before unfixing again. Haven't had time/can't be bothered to start fiddling with it at the moment. Like wise I still have the black grills that I don't want and the arm rest is still conspicuous by its absence.
The infamous airbag warning light appeared, resolved with a plug is gizmo for the passenger seat ( if I'm unlucky enough to hit something hard enough to set the airbags off it will be a right off anyway).
It's been to few Sunday services, where it still turns no heads what so ever
I can report that it is a big thirstier that the e36 though.
That's it I'm afraid, it had proved to be a joy to own and drive so far and everyone seems to love the colour.
|http://thumbsnap.com/p2LfVDHh[/url]Well, it's been a while and nothing much to report. It's now done over 115k miles and I'm really happy with it. Apart from the current fly in the ointment,
I was really please to have a car with the xenon lights, until now. I turned them on, the drivers side bulb flickered a couple of times and went out. A repeatable trick it seems. There appears to be a myriad of things that could have failed to cause this, none of which are particularly cheap. A friend has some diagnostic equipment that came up with;
Chamber 2 low voltage
VAC front load sensor, short circuit to earth.
This has me puzzled (not always that difficult), I have no idea what Chamber 2 is and I thought that the front load sensor was for the self levelling function.
Anyone with any ideas on the above, then I am all ears.
Once I have managed to sort this out, there is an inspection 2 due in a couple of thousand miles.
I was really please to have a car with the xenon lights, until now. I turned them on, the drivers side bulb flickered a couple of times and went out. A repeatable trick it seems. There appears to be a myriad of things that could have failed to cause this, none of which are particularly cheap. A friend has some diagnostic equipment that came up with;
Chamber 2 low voltage
VAC front load sensor, short circuit to earth.
This has me puzzled (not always that difficult), I have no idea what Chamber 2 is and I thought that the front load sensor was for the self levelling function.
Anyone with any ideas on the above, then I am all ears.
Once I have managed to sort this out, there is an inspection 2 due in a couple of thousand miles.
A small update. The non functioning headlight was rather fortunately just a bulb, which was nice.
For the second time this year I managed to get a screw in one of the rear tyres the evening before a Sunday Service! Hopefully I will not have a repeat performance before Goodwood.
The car has just had it's inspection 2 at DM Worx. A couple of advisory things that I already knew about, some new front tyres will be on the agenda soon as will the rear brake lines (how do BMW manage to design them so that the one over the tank corrodes but the rear easy one doesn't?).
Other than that it has been pretty much plain sailing.
Interestingly, when I dropping it off, I was asked whether I preferred it to the e36. An interesting question, one that I have considered a few times over the last eighteen months or so.
Although they are only one generation apart, they are very different. Both have positive and negative points in relation to each other. The e36 has a better ride and feels a much more analogue experience, more fluid. This one's quicker steering rack is a welcome improvement as in the adjustability of the seat and wheel, making it possible to get an almost perfect driving position. And that engine. The car does not feel any faster than the 328 sport that it replace, but it is so much smoother, truly a wonderful way thing. It does however seem to use a bit more fuel. I have not gone to the effort of producing figures, but on average it appears to be about twenty miles per tank short.
My one big pet hate on this one and where it really falls down in comparison, is the fly by wire throttle. What was wrong with the simple premise of a cable that attaches the pedal to the throttle body?
Which would I choose were I to be in a position to do so?
I honestly don't know, I have enjoyed both. I would not have voluntarily replaced the e36 and by the same token, I have no intention of replacing this one. I does exactly what I want it to do, looks great (to my eyes anyway) and judging from Autotrader, is worth what I paid for it.
Anyway, if you have read this far, thanks for your patience, hope it all makes sense, it's been a long weekend.
For the second time this year I managed to get a screw in one of the rear tyres the evening before a Sunday Service! Hopefully I will not have a repeat performance before Goodwood.
The car has just had it's inspection 2 at DM Worx. A couple of advisory things that I already knew about, some new front tyres will be on the agenda soon as will the rear brake lines (how do BMW manage to design them so that the one over the tank corrodes but the rear easy one doesn't?).
Other than that it has been pretty much plain sailing.
Interestingly, when I dropping it off, I was asked whether I preferred it to the e36. An interesting question, one that I have considered a few times over the last eighteen months or so.
Although they are only one generation apart, they are very different. Both have positive and negative points in relation to each other. The e36 has a better ride and feels a much more analogue experience, more fluid. This one's quicker steering rack is a welcome improvement as in the adjustability of the seat and wheel, making it possible to get an almost perfect driving position. And that engine. The car does not feel any faster than the 328 sport that it replace, but it is so much smoother, truly a wonderful way thing. It does however seem to use a bit more fuel. I have not gone to the effort of producing figures, but on average it appears to be about twenty miles per tank short.
My one big pet hate on this one and where it really falls down in comparison, is the fly by wire throttle. What was wrong with the simple premise of a cable that attaches the pedal to the throttle body?
Which would I choose were I to be in a position to do so?
I honestly don't know, I have enjoyed both. I would not have voluntarily replaced the e36 and by the same token, I have no intention of replacing this one. I does exactly what I want it to do, looks great (to my eyes anyway) and judging from Autotrader, is worth what I paid for it.
Anyway, if you have read this far, thanks for your patience, hope it all makes sense, it's been a long weekend.
If you're referring to Miles, he had been given a company Mini Cooper Diesel thing. Nice in its own sort of way, but not the same. He did genuinely seem sad to see it go but couldn't justify having both. He seems to have kept it well, the front bumper had evidently been refreshed given the lack of stone chips at 101k miles and the gearnob was new.
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