Something missing from my E92 330i
Discussion
First and foremost, I've been a follower of the PistonHeads forums for years and feel a thank-you is owed to the community for the sensible (and not so sensible!) advice over the years.
Last October I traded in my 2009 Suzuki Swift Sport for a 2009 E92 330i SE. I loved my Swift after five years of ownership, the handling was fantastic and I loved it on a B road. It's worth owning up now - I'm a big fan of all things BMW (apart from the 2 series Active Tourer!). I have a money pit in the form of an E30 325i and have cut my RWD teeth on this (Including one spectacular "now I finally understand what they mean by E30s being tail happy" spin!). The Swift was fantastic but I wanted something with more power which was also more grown up in the sense that it could carry people / myself / the family in comfort, be a nice place to be but still put a smile on my face. I bought my E92 as an impulse buy, took the plunge and haven't looked back. Being an NA car with the manual box there is plenty of engagement but as the post title suggests I feel that something is missing.
I'm struggling to put it into words but in a nutshell the "bond" I had with my Suzuki hasn't formed with the E92. I owned the Swift from new and it was my second car, simply put I loved the Suzuki but I whilst I like and respect my E92 I do not yet love it. The big one which stands out is the handling of the E92, I wanted the SE suspension after driving a friend's M Sport which felt hard even compared to the Swift (there is a good chance this is a stupid opinion as I didn't drive it for long). I love the Q car element of the 330i in SE guise too. I ditched the RFTs for Goodyear F1s immediately as they were worn and I had heard the horror stories, my main two gripes are that the car seems to shimmy over the slightest undulations in the road surface and there is a lot of roll (SE suspension I know). I've had a full service carried out by a local indy and asked him to check bushes over, everything appears to be OK. The wheels balanced up fine when I had the new tyres put on, this could just be the normal BMW shimmy or worn shocks.
At the moment I'm thinking that it might benefit from a renewed set of SE springs with Bilstein / different shocks might help but there is so much advice on going for Eibach springs (the ProKit lowers by 40mm which seems a lot compared to ~15mm from M Sport?) and I do not know where to start. I'm not expecting miracles, I know that the car is physically far bigger than a hatch and I do not want it to be like one. It's as if the confidence I had in the Swift has gone AWOL, it could be a time thing and there is no one element of the E92 which makes me upset but all in all it is a brilliant car but one which I can't open up. On a twisty B road I hold myself back way before engaging with the car fully - I can't decide if I think it is a boat but if I push it I would be surprised, or if it is a boat and uprating the suspension would help.
My E92 has the later N53 engine which put out 272 bhp when new, I think part of the problem could be that now that I am in a genuinely quick car my driving is still used to the pace of 123 bhp / 170 bhp cars. I want to get more from my driving and get onto the track, I've been thinking of doing my Advanced Driving Test as a starter but am lost in the IAM / RoSPA schemes.
Apologies for the rambling in this post - I'm a politician grade waffler and struggle to articulate. The tl;dr summary would be that I feel that something is missing from the E92 and my own driving ability and would like sensible grown up advice from owners and people who miss their warm hatch!
Thanks in advance!
Last October I traded in my 2009 Suzuki Swift Sport for a 2009 E92 330i SE. I loved my Swift after five years of ownership, the handling was fantastic and I loved it on a B road. It's worth owning up now - I'm a big fan of all things BMW (apart from the 2 series Active Tourer!). I have a money pit in the form of an E30 325i and have cut my RWD teeth on this (Including one spectacular "now I finally understand what they mean by E30s being tail happy" spin!). The Swift was fantastic but I wanted something with more power which was also more grown up in the sense that it could carry people / myself / the family in comfort, be a nice place to be but still put a smile on my face. I bought my E92 as an impulse buy, took the plunge and haven't looked back. Being an NA car with the manual box there is plenty of engagement but as the post title suggests I feel that something is missing.
I'm struggling to put it into words but in a nutshell the "bond" I had with my Suzuki hasn't formed with the E92. I owned the Swift from new and it was my second car, simply put I loved the Suzuki but I whilst I like and respect my E92 I do not yet love it. The big one which stands out is the handling of the E92, I wanted the SE suspension after driving a friend's M Sport which felt hard even compared to the Swift (there is a good chance this is a stupid opinion as I didn't drive it for long). I love the Q car element of the 330i in SE guise too. I ditched the RFTs for Goodyear F1s immediately as they were worn and I had heard the horror stories, my main two gripes are that the car seems to shimmy over the slightest undulations in the road surface and there is a lot of roll (SE suspension I know). I've had a full service carried out by a local indy and asked him to check bushes over, everything appears to be OK. The wheels balanced up fine when I had the new tyres put on, this could just be the normal BMW shimmy or worn shocks.
At the moment I'm thinking that it might benefit from a renewed set of SE springs with Bilstein / different shocks might help but there is so much advice on going for Eibach springs (the ProKit lowers by 40mm which seems a lot compared to ~15mm from M Sport?) and I do not know where to start. I'm not expecting miracles, I know that the car is physically far bigger than a hatch and I do not want it to be like one. It's as if the confidence I had in the Swift has gone AWOL, it could be a time thing and there is no one element of the E92 which makes me upset but all in all it is a brilliant car but one which I can't open up. On a twisty B road I hold myself back way before engaging with the car fully - I can't decide if I think it is a boat but if I push it I would be surprised, or if it is a boat and uprating the suspension would help.
My E92 has the later N53 engine which put out 272 bhp when new, I think part of the problem could be that now that I am in a genuinely quick car my driving is still used to the pace of 123 bhp / 170 bhp cars. I want to get more from my driving and get onto the track, I've been thinking of doing my Advanced Driving Test as a starter but am lost in the IAM / RoSPA schemes.
Apologies for the rambling in this post - I'm a politician grade waffler and struggle to articulate. The tl;dr summary would be that I feel that something is missing from the E92 and my own driving ability and would like sensible grown up advice from owners and people who miss their warm hatch!
Thanks in advance!
Thank-you for the replies. I'd looked at the Birds kit, it looks to be fantastic but as knitware pointed out it is a lot of money for the full kit.
cerb4.5lee - you've hit the nail on the head I think. I'm judging a car designed for x based on something designed for y.
Is it wise to mix sports springs with standard shocks (and vice versa)? I'd be looking for "bang for buck" - accepting limitations of the car and trying to improve balanced against cost.
Is the best starting point springs or shocks? Or both?
cerb4.5lee - you've hit the nail on the head I think. I'm judging a car designed for x based on something designed for y.
Is it wise to mix sports springs with standard shocks (and vice versa)? I'd be looking for "bang for buck" - accepting limitations of the car and trying to improve balanced against cost.
Is the best starting point springs or shocks? Or both?
I'm thinking that the Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Koni Sport shocks could be one for the wishlist if I can get the shocks priced up on the right side of £500. Is there anything else worth tidying up when these are installed? Polybush bushes have been recommended but at 130k miles I think other bits may benefit from an overhaul.
I think I'm set on Koni STR.T shocks and Eibach Pro-Kit springs, renewing bushes / mounts as I go. This option seems to balance performance / cost / comfort and suits as I'm not interested in the adjustable nature of the yellow Konis. The ARBs are on my list but given the effort to install them I'll tackle it later. Thanks for all the advice, fingers crossed the above makes the car better to drive.
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