RE: BMW 340i (F30) manual | Spotted

[J4CKO]

famfarrow said:

As the current owner of a (unmodified I stress) manual 2006 E92 335I this is wonderful to see still existing-though of course the 4 series equivalent is more relevant here.

However I am shocked by the performance figures.

The E92 335i:
302 Bhp
295 lb ft

F30 340I:
326 bhp
332lb ft

The 'biggest difference' is the co2 and mpg

E92
Co2:231
Mpg: 29.4

F30
Co2:179
Mpg:36.7

E92 weight: 1600kg
F30 weight:1605kg

I know new to old isn't fair, and coupe to saloon same same but I'm not sure there's 12 years of improvements here at least on the surface.

If it wasn't for the arbitrary Road tax bands, running costs and performance are more than close enough. Clearly if one wanted the figures if the f30 a very light touch of tuning would release such ( not that I am inclined in the slightest)

Makes for interesting pondering on bmws upper 6 cylinder ranges development

Its not down to lack of capability, its more market positioning, a remap will release another 100 bhp from the B58.

The car in the OP seems pretty well priced.

[anonymous-user]

Great car. Now, if only I could have this on 17s, even better. 18s are acceptable-ish; 19s and above are for young guys who prioritise fashion over function and who don't know any better anyway.

My wife's second-hand A6 came with the awful S(hit)-line "suspension" and optional 19" rims specified by the original owner. A c £3k option, they weren't even forged; nasty cast rims for the blingers. Oh, they looked great, according to my nephews, but God were they useless in every functional respect. They weighed a ton, and my better half struggled to even lift them out of the boot if there was a puncture. Which, given the state of our rural back roads, and the idiotic profile on the tyres, was a regular occurrence. Tyres cost the earth too, so we were paying through the nose for the discomfort and the extra weight.

Car was largely un-driveable on the rural back roads where we live. J-i-g-g-l-e.

I hated the car so much that I wanted to sell it, almost at any price. Instead, I bought and fitted a standard SE suspension and some lovely old D2 A8 rims (17", for peanuts) and had them reconditioned. Proper, quality forged rims; and so light you could pick them up with your fingertips.

Transformed the car.

Which bitter personal experience is why I have such respect for the original owner of this "dull, small-wheeled" BMW. Clearly a man who prioritised fun, comfort and on-the-road dynamics over impressing the latter-day Max Power clowns. Great find.

[Gitwhoismiserable]

DonkeyApple said:

I’ve 19’s on mine. I find them an irritation and more form over function. When I come to replace the tyres I think I’m going to find some 18s as I don’t live on the Autobahn or ‘Ring but in England where I tend to think ultra low profile tyres on our typical roads is not the ideal.

I do live on the autobahn just 5 mins from the ring so the 19’s are just peachy

[Rod200SX]

famfarrow said:

As the current owner of a (unmodified I stress) manual 2006 E92 335I this is wonderful to see still existing-though of course the 4 series equivalent is more relevant here.

However I am shocked by the performance figures.

The E92 335i:
302 Bhp
295 lb ft

F30 340I:
326 bhp
332lb ft

The 'biggest difference' is the co2 and mpg

E92
Co2:231
Mpg: 29.4

F30
Co2:179
Mpg:36.7

E92 weight: 1600kg
F30 weight:1605kg

I know new to old isn't fair, and coupe to saloon same same but I'm not sure there's 12 years of improvements here at least on the surface.

If it wasn't for the arbitrary Road tax bands, running costs and performance are more than close enough. Clearly if one wanted the figures if the f30 a very light touch of tuning would release such ( not that I am inclined in the slightest)

Makes for interesting pondering on bmws upper 6 cylinder ranges development

Apologies I've only read the first page and replying to this comment so someone may have beaten me to it.

I've got an E92 335i but modified. Should be around 380ishbhp. The b58 really is an improvement, standard ones are pushing out closer to 370bhp on dynos, a lot. And the mpg difference is huge. My friends auto 340i gets about 40mpg on motorways, whereas at most I get around 30. Add on intake, exhaust and a flash and his is now at around 460bhp.

The n54 is a tremendous engine, but the b58 really is a piece of work. Definitely a huge upgrade IMHO

[Vee12V]

BMW's manual boxes are incredibly over rated. I'd rather have one with the auto.

[DonkeyApple]

NDNDNDND said:

Helicopter123 said:

Nothing wrong with an auto-box for the daily commute or motorway cruising, but sad to see the manual not even being offered as an option on sports cars designed for the road, not the track.

I would have an auto 3 series, but a manual Alpine.

I've never subscribed to the idea that your everyday car should be a boring auto 'because daily'. You drive that car more than any other, why not drive something fun? Sure, if your commute is nose-to-tail motorway door to door, but driving an unnecessarily boring car is robbing yourself of a bit of daily fun.

Completely agree but you can compensate by having a stupidly large engine or big turbos etc. If a small, buzzy engine then manual all the way.

And that’s just petrol. If the engine is diesel then a manual box is utterly pointless as modern diesels are all about sitting at low RPM all day long and that’s just best left to a 127 speed auto box.

I think the 340 actually sits in that sweet spot re power and performance that either a manual or an auto makes for a car perfectly able to be fun while also doing the mundane stuff and it’s very much down to user preference.

[Jimmy Recard]

I think it’s fantastic apart from the colour

[DonkeyApple]

Gitwhoismiserable said:

DonkeyApple said:

I’ve 19’s on mine. I find them an irritation and more form over function. When I come to replace the tyres I think I’m going to find some 18s as I don’t live on the Autobahn or ‘Ring but in England where I tend to think ultra low profile tyres on our typical roads is not the ideal.

I do live on the autobahn just 5 mins from the ring so the 19’s are just peachy

Ok so that explains the ‘Git’ part but why ‘Miserable’?

[Plate spinner]

NDNDNDND said:

Plate spinner said:

Yeah it’s strange... for a brand which built its reputation on being a drivers car, I’ve never really enjoyed their manuals.

I had a 6cyl e46 manual and it was a notchy bugger that didn’t like to be rushed. 1st to 2nd smoothly was a like hitting the perfect golf shot - infuriating rare. Had a 6cyl auto e39 afterwards and thought it the better combo.

But maybe they were better before / after the e46. Or maybe mine wasn’t right, not sure. I also had an e90 320d manual company car and didn’t like that shift much either.

That's a characteristic of the clutch delay valve, not the gearbox.

Ok, maybe I should have said transmission then instead of gearbox. Either way, I didn’t think it was particularly good. Once passed 3rd it was fine though.

[anonymous-user]

Fiedka said:

loudlashadjuster said:

I suspect helix402 might be referring to this particular gap.



It's like the BMW guys looked at the bonnet shutline on a 2002 Megane and thought "Mmm, yes! That's it, that's the look we want"

I won’t be able to unsee this now!

I see what you mean now but looking at that it's so blatent someone like me would think BMW have done that for a reason.

[crusty]

I don’t know if I have just been lucky, but I have had an E93 335i manual for seven years and the gearbox is excellent

Not sure why everyone else’s experiences are so bad

[AI1694]

The auto in my F30 335i is absolutely perfect imo. I also think the engine is more suited to an auto than a manual.

[16v stretch]

At least this one has the better choice wheels. I have the diamond cut M-Sport ones on my car, all 4 have corroded under the lacquer, why was diamond cut wheels ever a fad?

On the manual/auto front, I actually really like the auto box in mine, I don't think I would gain anything from the manual over the auto.

[Limpet]

Plate spinner said:

NDNDNDND said:

Plate spinner said:

Yeah it’s strange... for a brand which built its reputation on being a drivers car, I’ve never really enjoyed their manuals.

I had a 6cyl e46 manual and it was a notchy bugger that didn’t like to be rushed. 1st to 2nd smoothly was a like hitting the perfect golf shot - infuriating rare. Had a 6cyl auto e39 afterwards and thought it the better combo.

But maybe they were better before / after the e46. Or maybe mine wasn’t right, not sure. I also had an e90 320d manual company car and didn’t like that shift much either.

That's a characteristic of the clutch delay valve, not the gearbox.

Ok, maybe I should have said transmission then instead of gearbox. Either way, I didn’t think it was particularly good. Once passed 3rd it was fine though.

I had the same problem with 1st to 2nd changes. Even after 60,000 miles of familiarity, it was a lottery whether it would be a smooth change, or there would be a slight jolt on take up of drive in 2nd. Frustrating as even with concerted effort, I couldn’t get it to behave consistently. Perhaps it was exacerbated in the 320d by the combination of the diesel engine dropping revs so quickly when you dipped the clutch, and the reluctance of the box to be rushed, and I dare say it’s less of an issue on a petrol engine, but the shift quality itself wasn’t nice either.

[SidewaysSi]

Just remove the CDV - an easy job and it's miles better.

[Triumph Man]

I’ve been mowing the lawn and saw the complete antithesis to this car - F30, in Estoril Blue (ok a much nicer colour granted) black 19” wheels, aftermarket body kit with black rear rear diffuser and twin exit exhaust. All looked very nasty and chavvy. It got worse when I heard it start up - horrible nasty 4 cylinder diesel. Ugh.

[Mk_berks]

16v stretch said:

At least this one has the better choice wheels. I have the diamond cut M-Sport ones on my car, all 4 have corroded under the lacquer, why was diamond cut wheels ever a fad?

On the manual/auto front, I actually really like the auto box in mine, I don't think I would gain anything from the manual over the auto.

I have 19s on my (white) 340i which have also corroded quite badly under the lacquer. Thinking of having them refurbished as painted alloys instead of diamond cut. Not sure if this will look okay though. Any views?

[xjay1337]

NDNDNDND said:

Manual BMWs have had clutch delay valves since the mid 90's. They're relatively easy to remove.

I wonder what premium (if any) this manual example commands over the same car with an auto?

Are those really the small wheels??

Not as easy on the F## models.
On the E## yes it was a bit easier.

These manual gearboxes are really average at best and certainly the ZF8 matches the car better....

If you want a manual then I'd say look at a 370z ...!

[willttqs]

Each to their own I guess. I previously owned a f31 328i auto and disliked the 8 speed to me it was far less engaging.

Most of you would probably hate my manual 335i as it has the m performance body kit, Remus catback exhaust and has been remapped and finally runs on 19s.

There is not another estate that I could really swap too. I have no issues with the manual gearbox.

[16v stretch]

Mk_berks said:

16v stretch said:

At least this one has the better choice wheels. I have the diamond cut M-Sport ones on my car, all 4 have corroded under the lacquer, why was diamond cut wheels ever a fad?

On the manual/auto front, I actually really like the auto box in mine, I don't think I would gain anything from the manual over the auto.

I have 19s on my (white) 340i which have also corroded quite badly under the lacquer. Thinking of having them refurbished as painted alloys instead of diamond cut. Not sure if this will look okay though. Any views?

I'm planning on getting them powdercoated in shadow chrome.

Much like these, but a touch darker: