My E92 335I SE
Discussion
Thought I would start a thread for this as a few people have questioned the reliability of the N54 engine, so over the next year and probably 20K I'll give you a warts and all account.
Background. Coming from a a couple of company funded 3 series diesels I changed jobs about 15 months ago and purchased my own car, an E90 330D and covered the best part of 25K miles in just over a year. I posted a review of my time with that car if anyone is interested.
Anyway, I had planned to keep that car for a little while longer but then this caught my eye:
It's a late 2006 E92 335I SE. The headlines are: 58K full BMW service history, in fact 15 stamps from BMW, lovely condition, it's still on run flats which may be unusual on a car of this age but as it's just had a full set of RE050's it'll be staying that way for the time being. RIde is firm no doubt....but I'll cope with it. Two former keepers.
Spec wise, it's Black with cream leather and Piano black trim, Pro Nav, 6 CD changer, xenons, dimming/folding mirrors, heated, electric seats with memory function on the drivers side, 19" style 230 wheels, electric sunroof....that's about I think....
In addition, the standard sound system has been upgraded at some point, with a Genesis amp underneath the rear shelf and tweeters added to the a pillars, which sounds far better than the audio in my last E90. It also has BMW iPod adapt or installed.
Reading though the very comprehensive BMW history, in the last year it's had new brakes all round, new injectors and a new cam cover and gaskets. Certainly, the impression is that it has never been scrimped on in terms of servicing.
I've had it remapped, with the instruction to not chase headline power figures, but keep it driving like a standards car with smooth, progressive power. Result, as near as makes no difference to 370bhp.
I've had it for a month and 1400 miles. Coming from a diesel fuel economy was always a potential banana skin and yes it's predictably not fantastic. Sat at a cruise controlled 70-75mph while have the OBC showing in excess of 40-43mpg, equally a start from cold will have it showing 7MPG. Over the last 1400 miles it's averaged, again according to the OBC, over 32mpg. I can cope with that.
So what it's like? Effortless power, lovely sound, gem of an engine. The auto box with paddles seems far more responsive in this compared to what I believe is the same unit in my 330D, which is an unexpected bonus. The E92 shape has aged well IMO, and lends a bit more of a sense of occasion, well as much as an ageing 3 series can do in any case, than my last saloon model.
My wife got a bit sniffy about practicality, but it's been no problem. my seven year old hops in the back no problem, aided by the electronic sliding button on the top of the seat. Infact, as the E92's got split folding seats as standard rather it being a relatively rare option on the E90's, It may even be a little more practical for me.
Faults? Yeah one. It came up with an engine fault message. Oh s
t I thought...split vacuum pipe costing less than £40 had it sorted.
So how much I am in to this for? As it stands today, just less than 9k, including a "Gold" 12 month third part warranty which no doubt not pay out if I ever need to make a claim, but perhaps that's me being cynical.
Future plans? The current plan is to keep this for a year, so eleven months to go, before going for the car I was hoping to buy, a Lexus ISF.
If anyone's interested, I'll keep this updated on a monthly basis with how I'm getting on.
Background. Coming from a a couple of company funded 3 series diesels I changed jobs about 15 months ago and purchased my own car, an E90 330D and covered the best part of 25K miles in just over a year. I posted a review of my time with that car if anyone is interested.
Anyway, I had planned to keep that car for a little while longer but then this caught my eye:
It's a late 2006 E92 335I SE. The headlines are: 58K full BMW service history, in fact 15 stamps from BMW, lovely condition, it's still on run flats which may be unusual on a car of this age but as it's just had a full set of RE050's it'll be staying that way for the time being. RIde is firm no doubt....but I'll cope with it. Two former keepers.
Spec wise, it's Black with cream leather and Piano black trim, Pro Nav, 6 CD changer, xenons, dimming/folding mirrors, heated, electric seats with memory function on the drivers side, 19" style 230 wheels, electric sunroof....that's about I think....
In addition, the standard sound system has been upgraded at some point, with a Genesis amp underneath the rear shelf and tweeters added to the a pillars, which sounds far better than the audio in my last E90. It also has BMW iPod adapt or installed.
Reading though the very comprehensive BMW history, in the last year it's had new brakes all round, new injectors and a new cam cover and gaskets. Certainly, the impression is that it has never been scrimped on in terms of servicing.
I've had it remapped, with the instruction to not chase headline power figures, but keep it driving like a standards car with smooth, progressive power. Result, as near as makes no difference to 370bhp.
I've had it for a month and 1400 miles. Coming from a diesel fuel economy was always a potential banana skin and yes it's predictably not fantastic. Sat at a cruise controlled 70-75mph while have the OBC showing in excess of 40-43mpg, equally a start from cold will have it showing 7MPG. Over the last 1400 miles it's averaged, again according to the OBC, over 32mpg. I can cope with that.
So what it's like? Effortless power, lovely sound, gem of an engine. The auto box with paddles seems far more responsive in this compared to what I believe is the same unit in my 330D, which is an unexpected bonus. The E92 shape has aged well IMO, and lends a bit more of a sense of occasion, well as much as an ageing 3 series can do in any case, than my last saloon model.
My wife got a bit sniffy about practicality, but it's been no problem. my seven year old hops in the back no problem, aided by the electronic sliding button on the top of the seat. Infact, as the E92's got split folding seats as standard rather it being a relatively rare option on the E90's, It may even be a little more practical for me.
Faults? Yeah one. It came up with an engine fault message. Oh s
t I thought...split vacuum pipe costing less than £40 had it sorted.So how much I am in to this for? As it stands today, just less than 9k, including a "Gold" 12 month third part warranty which no doubt not pay out if I ever need to make a claim, but perhaps that's me being cynical.
Future plans? The current plan is to keep this for a year, so eleven months to go, before going for the car I was hoping to buy, a Lexus ISF.
If anyone's interested, I'll keep this updated on a monthly basis with how I'm getting on.
Another problem.......
The car made an incredibly loud bong yesterday, telling me that both front and rear pads will need replacing soon.
A quick visual check and they are all fine, so a quick replacement of the wear sensors and a reset of the service light took and hour and cost less than £15.
Total maintenance cost in 1700 miles, £55...money pit this thing!
The car made an incredibly loud bong yesterday, telling me that both front and rear pads will need replacing soon.
A quick visual check and they are all fine, so a quick replacement of the wear sensors and a reset of the service light took and hour and cost less than £15.
Total maintenance cost in 1700 miles, £55...money pit this thing!
mudster said:
Can I ask what the ipod adapter is and does it control the ipod through the Idrive? Mine doesn't have a USB port as standard but I use a split cable which plugs into the phone one end, and plugs into aux and USB charger at the other end. A cigarette USB adapter charges the phone.
The adaptor is BMW supplied box of tricks which is hard wired into the car and terminates with a connector in the glovebox allowing an iPod to be connected and controlled through the Idrive.problem is, I don't own an IPod, and the earliest IPhone in the family is a 4s, which although shares the same connector, appears not to be supported, so I've no idea if it works.
As I've had the car for two months on Thursday I thought I'd update, but there's nothing much to say really.
Over almost 3000 miles it's averaging around 29.8-30.5mpg according to the OBC, which is...well it's not great but neither is it the end of the world.
Other than that, business as usual, it starts stops and steers like it should...no problems or issues touch wood.
I am starting to think about what to replace it with though, and at the moment I'm considering a Lexus ISF.
Over almost 3000 miles it's averaging around 29.8-30.5mpg according to the OBC, which is...well it's not great but neither is it the end of the world.
Other than that, business as usual, it starts stops and steers like it should...no problems or issues touch wood.
I am starting to think about what to replace it with though, and at the moment I'm considering a Lexus ISF.
This could be a contender for the worlds dullest update, but 3 months in and there's nothing really to report.
The issue with the speakers is so minor and happens so infrequently that it hardly seems worth bothering with.
Other than that, its not putting a foot wrong, using no oil or water, averaged 33MPG at a fast motorway cruise to Bristol and back.
Touch wood, its all good.
The issue with the speakers is so minor and happens so infrequently that it hardly seems worth bothering with.
Other than that, its not putting a foot wrong, using no oil or water, averaged 33MPG at a fast motorway cruise to Bristol and back.
Touch wood, its all good.
Another boring update.
Ever since I got the car there was a pronounced wind rush around both frameless doors at speed. After a bit of research I bought some of this:
After a liberal coating to both door seals, no more noise....really impressed and would definitely recommend it.
Only other news is a rear brake light bulb warning popping up on the I drive. £3.49 at Halfords had that sorted.
I am considering making a few mods, BMW performance back box and decatted down pipes....but we'll see.
Ever since I got the car there was a pronounced wind rush around both frameless doors at speed. After a bit of research I bought some of this:
After a liberal coating to both door seals, no more noise....really impressed and would definitely recommend it.
Only other news is a rear brake light bulb warning popping up on the I drive. £3.49 at Halfords had that sorted.
I am considering making a few mods, BMW performance back box and decatted down pipes....but we'll see.
Four months in and the car continues to give swift, comfortable, well as comfortable as a 3 series on 19" run flats on the poor excuse for UK roads can be at least, trouble free transport. I've grown to quite like the thing!
And this leads us to the most expensive issue to date:
I don't think this will be a surprise to anyone as despite being made by BBS, the 230 twist wheels are seemingly made of chocolate. When I bought the car BMW helpfully pointed out that both near side wheels were cracked, but good news, they could supply new chocolate wheels for me....I stopped listening at the 9 in the quote........
So, I've kept an eye on them for the last 4 months and 5k and they do not drop pressure, but they are not likely to get better and the MOT coming up in November I needed da plan.
A local wheel refurb company suggested I would be pissing in the wind and suggested a set of replica wheels. Hmm that could be an idea, but a search of the Internet left me thinking that BBS LM's/M3 wheels etc have been done to death, and most aftermarket wheels look a bit tragic. Besides, i really like the simplicity of the 230 twist wheel.
So, I found a set of (currently) uncracked wheels that have just been refurbished, fitted with a set of almost new Bridgestone Runflats, the same tyres that were fitted to my original wheels...seems I am not destined to escape the runflats just yet. At a substantial saving for what BMW wanted for two wheels.
Fitted them today:
I'm going to keep the original set of wheels as spares, and hopefully that will see me right through the time I have the car.
There is also going to be a rather expensive update happening on Tuesday, which I'm looking forward to!
And this leads us to the most expensive issue to date:
I don't think this will be a surprise to anyone as despite being made by BBS, the 230 twist wheels are seemingly made of chocolate. When I bought the car BMW helpfully pointed out that both near side wheels were cracked, but good news, they could supply new chocolate wheels for me....I stopped listening at the 9 in the quote........
So, I've kept an eye on them for the last 4 months and 5k and they do not drop pressure, but they are not likely to get better and the MOT coming up in November I needed da plan.
A local wheel refurb company suggested I would be pissing in the wind and suggested a set of replica wheels. Hmm that could be an idea, but a search of the Internet left me thinking that BBS LM's/M3 wheels etc have been done to death, and most aftermarket wheels look a bit tragic. Besides, i really like the simplicity of the 230 twist wheel.
So, I found a set of (currently) uncracked wheels that have just been refurbished, fitted with a set of almost new Bridgestone Runflats, the same tyres that were fitted to my original wheels...seems I am not destined to escape the runflats just yet. At a substantial saving for what BMW wanted for two wheels.
Fitted them today:
I'm going to keep the original set of wheels as spares, and hopefully that will see me right through the time I have the car.
There is also going to be a rather expensive update happening on Tuesday, which I'm looking forward to!
Edited by f1nn on Saturday 17th September 17:15
Another boring update. Got in it on Monday and noticed the slider for one of the vents had snapped off, seemingly of its own accord overnight.
Obviously, once I'd noticed it I couldn't see anything else. BMW predictably only sell the whole vent unit, which I'm sure would be mega bucks, but I found the unit for £14 delivered from our favourite auction site.
Swapping them over took about 15 minutes.
Sorted.
In other news, it's off for its MOT on Monday, so it could all go horribly wrong from here. It has just flashed up that it is due a break fluid change. BMW want £70 to do this, including a wash and a stamp of the service history, which seems fair enough. I'll put some penetrating fluid on all the bleed nipples this weekend to make sure non are seized ahead of booking it in, as BMW snapped one on my last 330D which wasn't the best conversation I've ever had.
Assuming that I don't get any unpleasant news from the MOT, then I'm going to keep the car a bit longer and push for 400BHP.
New intake, cat less 3" down pipes, and a tweaking of the map should have me knocking on for 400. For a car that spends most of its time at 70-80 on the motorway it may be a bit pointless, but the N54 engines are a peach so it's just too tempting.
Oh, the BMW performance exhaust is bedding in nicely. If I'm honest it is probably a little too grumbly for my taste, especially from a cold start, but it quietens down when warm. The sound at high revs is epic though!
Obviously, once I'd noticed it I couldn't see anything else. BMW predictably only sell the whole vent unit, which I'm sure would be mega bucks, but I found the unit for £14 delivered from our favourite auction site.
Swapping them over took about 15 minutes.
Sorted.
In other news, it's off for its MOT on Monday, so it could all go horribly wrong from here. It has just flashed up that it is due a break fluid change. BMW want £70 to do this, including a wash and a stamp of the service history, which seems fair enough. I'll put some penetrating fluid on all the bleed nipples this weekend to make sure non are seized ahead of booking it in, as BMW snapped one on my last 330D which wasn't the best conversation I've ever had.
Assuming that I don't get any unpleasant news from the MOT, then I'm going to keep the car a bit longer and push for 400BHP.
New intake, cat less 3" down pipes, and a tweaking of the map should have me knocking on for 400. For a car that spends most of its time at 70-80 on the motorway it may be a bit pointless, but the N54 engines are a peach so it's just too tempting.
Oh, the BMW performance exhaust is bedding in nicely. If I'm honest it is probably a little too grumbly for my taste, especially from a cold start, but it quietens down when warm. The sound at high revs is epic though!
Ah sorry, I should have been clearer. When I had the original exhaust I unplugged the exhaust valve, and was happy with the sound, it's sounded great.
Since I've fitted the BMW performance exhaust, I've always had the exhaust valve active, as its certainly louder than I expected it to be after reading owners reviews online.
Since I've fitted the BMW performance exhaust, I've always had the exhaust valve active, as its certainly louder than I expected it to be after reading owners reviews online.
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