Discussion
At the beginning of the year I started looking for a replacement for my E46. A little over ten years after setting out to buy a 330Cd and coming home with the 320Cd, this time I was 100% focussed on a 430d. Why a 430d given the legend of the BMW 35d engine and the current feelings towards diesels? Well, lets expand on that…
30d vs 35d: I have no doubt whatsoever the 35d engine is a phenomenal power unit and mappable to hilarious numbers whilst retaining good fuel economy figures, but there is a rub, xDrive. I don’t dislike 4 wheel drive per se, it’s a very useful feature on a car at times, but there’s 2 main issues; I do ~20k miles a year all funded out my own pocket and the 35d with xDrive is ~10% worse on fuel & even MSport spec cars with xDrive come on SE spec springs hence ride ~30mm higher.
The ride height is probably the biggest issue, plus I like stiffer sprung cars for when I’m enjoying a drive. The standard ride height looks like you could smuggle people across the border tucked in your wheel arches and that combined with the softer springs doesn’t do much for CofG or handling. Yes there are lowering springs available to rectify this, however;
- BMW didn’t raise the ride height for the sake of it, its to protect the transfer case on the transmission and with bumpy country roads and never ending speed tables around, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to risk smashing the transmission
- Do you really want to buy a new car knowing full well you need to modify it to properly like it?
The fuel economy issue I could probably swallow tbh, extrapolating real world numbers, the difference would be in the region of £300 a year which isn’t much, although it is the wife’s Christmas present budget several times over…
Don’t you care about the environment though? Why replace a dirty diesel with another dirty diesel? Why not buy a hybrid / plug-in hybrid / electric car?
Well, contrary to the bile spewed forth in the media, diesels are still very good for certain use scenarios. My usage profile is massively tilted towards extra urban use, in fact I’m sad enough to know just under 88% of my driving is extra urban. At higher speeds, hybrids are less efficient than in a low speed, stop start, urban scenario.
Plug in hybrids would potentially be a better solution, there is the geek element of me that really likes the concept of energy regeneration and I always use as much engine braking and reading the road to minimise braking anyway, its just wasted energy after all. The problem comes from my typical destinations. My driving routine is very predictable, again, over 80% of my journeys are the same week in week out, and next to none of them have a charger at the destination. I could top up each night no problem, but during the day there’s no facility to top up.
What about pure EV? Most of my use would be covered by an EV with 100 miles range, but finding a pure EV I would actually want to drive is the bigger issue. I like coupes, always have, indeed, if the 330e had been a 430e, there’s every chance I would have man-math & rose tinted away the tales of random drivetrain faults etc I read up about and taken the plunge. On the pure EV front, there’s next to nothing out there. The Tesla Model S is coupe shape[ish], but its also double the budget, looks are meh and trim materials and panel fit are nowhere near the price point its sold at.
I have no doubt my next car will be PHEV or full EV. Right now, for my tastes, usage profile and budget, a diesel is the best solution.
So on to my new car. I didn’t really mean to buy it.
As I said, at the start of the year I was looking at buying a 430d. My spec was pretty specific:
Model: 430d in 2WD
Trim: MSport
Colour [in order of preference]: Mineral Grey -> Estoril Blue -> Sapphire Black
Must Have Options: 4 pot / 2 pot brake upgrade, Pro Nav, Harman Kardon, 19in wheels [which translates to MSport Plus spec]
I was looking at cars up to 3 years old and under 30k. Start of February I was ready to pull the trigger, had a chunk of savings, topped up with a personal loan, had found a car and arranged to buy it. Finished work at noon on Friday as always, scarpered out to my car, out the carpark by 12:01, pointed the nose south and lit the afterburner. 270 miles later, just after 4pm I rolled in to the car park at the dealers to check out their black 430d MSport Plus. Problem, it wasn’t their 430d, it was a friend of someone in the dealership and they were selling it sale or return for them. I have nothing against that, it can work out nicely for all involved. What I do have an issue with is a car that’s been poorly prepped with manky barrels on the wheels, muck and leaves all over the shop under the bonnet, one side of the boot soaking wet, condensation in both taillights and both front tyres missing any discernible corner tread where the car had been battered through tight roundabouts. Pretty pissed off to say the least at this point, not helped by the salesman suggesting as it was still under its original BMW warranty I could get them to look at the boot leaking and taillight condensation problem after buying it, this of course after telling me they all do that [taillights] and it must have been the jetwash [boot seal]. Return of holding deposit agreed, off to find a Tesco for a snack and some diesel to return home. 10pm, home after 10 hours and 550 miles of wasted time.
I went with main dealers after that, a few cars came up but also went quick. Missed out on 3. With my wedding pending and the decision to sell my flat, I decided to park the new car search until I had sold my flat. Then a mate got a 430d in stock…
Older than I had been after, by 1 year. Higher miles than I had been after, nearly 3 times the mileage in fact. Within budget, actually £8k / 30% cheaper than the other ones I had been looking at. Also came with carbon front splitter and rear spoiler, sunroof and a ton of other options [spec’d one on the BMW website the other week to the same spec, less the carbon spoiler and splitter, £49,945!]
So despite the flat not being on the market yet, the deal was done. Determined I’m getting this one to quarter of a million miles…
30d vs 35d: I have no doubt whatsoever the 35d engine is a phenomenal power unit and mappable to hilarious numbers whilst retaining good fuel economy figures, but there is a rub, xDrive. I don’t dislike 4 wheel drive per se, it’s a very useful feature on a car at times, but there’s 2 main issues; I do ~20k miles a year all funded out my own pocket and the 35d with xDrive is ~10% worse on fuel & even MSport spec cars with xDrive come on SE spec springs hence ride ~30mm higher.
The ride height is probably the biggest issue, plus I like stiffer sprung cars for when I’m enjoying a drive. The standard ride height looks like you could smuggle people across the border tucked in your wheel arches and that combined with the softer springs doesn’t do much for CofG or handling. Yes there are lowering springs available to rectify this, however;
- BMW didn’t raise the ride height for the sake of it, its to protect the transfer case on the transmission and with bumpy country roads and never ending speed tables around, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to risk smashing the transmission
- Do you really want to buy a new car knowing full well you need to modify it to properly like it?
The fuel economy issue I could probably swallow tbh, extrapolating real world numbers, the difference would be in the region of £300 a year which isn’t much, although it is the wife’s Christmas present budget several times over…
Don’t you care about the environment though? Why replace a dirty diesel with another dirty diesel? Why not buy a hybrid / plug-in hybrid / electric car?
Well, contrary to the bile spewed forth in the media, diesels are still very good for certain use scenarios. My usage profile is massively tilted towards extra urban use, in fact I’m sad enough to know just under 88% of my driving is extra urban. At higher speeds, hybrids are less efficient than in a low speed, stop start, urban scenario.
Plug in hybrids would potentially be a better solution, there is the geek element of me that really likes the concept of energy regeneration and I always use as much engine braking and reading the road to minimise braking anyway, its just wasted energy after all. The problem comes from my typical destinations. My driving routine is very predictable, again, over 80% of my journeys are the same week in week out, and next to none of them have a charger at the destination. I could top up each night no problem, but during the day there’s no facility to top up.
What about pure EV? Most of my use would be covered by an EV with 100 miles range, but finding a pure EV I would actually want to drive is the bigger issue. I like coupes, always have, indeed, if the 330e had been a 430e, there’s every chance I would have man-math & rose tinted away the tales of random drivetrain faults etc I read up about and taken the plunge. On the pure EV front, there’s next to nothing out there. The Tesla Model S is coupe shape[ish], but its also double the budget, looks are meh and trim materials and panel fit are nowhere near the price point its sold at.
I have no doubt my next car will be PHEV or full EV. Right now, for my tastes, usage profile and budget, a diesel is the best solution.
So on to my new car. I didn’t really mean to buy it.
As I said, at the start of the year I was looking at buying a 430d. My spec was pretty specific:
Model: 430d in 2WD
Trim: MSport
Colour [in order of preference]: Mineral Grey -> Estoril Blue -> Sapphire Black
Must Have Options: 4 pot / 2 pot brake upgrade, Pro Nav, Harman Kardon, 19in wheels [which translates to MSport Plus spec]
I was looking at cars up to 3 years old and under 30k. Start of February I was ready to pull the trigger, had a chunk of savings, topped up with a personal loan, had found a car and arranged to buy it. Finished work at noon on Friday as always, scarpered out to my car, out the carpark by 12:01, pointed the nose south and lit the afterburner. 270 miles later, just after 4pm I rolled in to the car park at the dealers to check out their black 430d MSport Plus. Problem, it wasn’t their 430d, it was a friend of someone in the dealership and they were selling it sale or return for them. I have nothing against that, it can work out nicely for all involved. What I do have an issue with is a car that’s been poorly prepped with manky barrels on the wheels, muck and leaves all over the shop under the bonnet, one side of the boot soaking wet, condensation in both taillights and both front tyres missing any discernible corner tread where the car had been battered through tight roundabouts. Pretty pissed off to say the least at this point, not helped by the salesman suggesting as it was still under its original BMW warranty I could get them to look at the boot leaking and taillight condensation problem after buying it, this of course after telling me they all do that [taillights] and it must have been the jetwash [boot seal]. Return of holding deposit agreed, off to find a Tesco for a snack and some diesel to return home. 10pm, home after 10 hours and 550 miles of wasted time.
I went with main dealers after that, a few cars came up but also went quick. Missed out on 3. With my wedding pending and the decision to sell my flat, I decided to park the new car search until I had sold my flat. Then a mate got a 430d in stock…
Older than I had been after, by 1 year. Higher miles than I had been after, nearly 3 times the mileage in fact. Within budget, actually £8k / 30% cheaper than the other ones I had been looking at. Also came with carbon front splitter and rear spoiler, sunroof and a ton of other options [spec’d one on the BMW website the other week to the same spec, less the carbon spoiler and splitter, £49,945!]
So despite the flat not being on the market yet, the deal was done. Determined I’m getting this one to quarter of a million miles…
Edited by emicen on Wednesday 15th August 11:21
I’m sure there was a reply to this asking about my E46, not talking to myself, honest!
2 months today I’ve had the F32, about 3200 miles done under my captaincy. I’m not going to lie, it took a while to settle in to, perhaps unsurprisingly given I’d spent 10.5 years settling in to its predecessor!
Immediately noticeable is the size difference, but not particularly any weight difference. In kerb weight terms, there’s 50kg added beef on the 4 series. When you consider that’s adding an extra 2 cylinders and an autobox in addition to the physically bigger stature of the car, that’s really pretty impressive. Took a while to figure out where the front of the car was as the front end seems more bulbous than the E46, same for placing the passenger side with the higher beltline and bigger haunches. One thing that is noticeable and will not go away, the rear visibility is way worse than the E46, not Lotus/Lambo letterbox territory but definitely worse than my trust old 3 coupe.
I’m enjoying the shift to automatic as well. I still use the paddles for some engine braking when required, or when having fun, but the 8HP ZF box is every bit as good to live with as I had expected from various stints driving cars equipped with it round the track.
When required, the turn of pace is brisk. I’m not going to say fast, its also not that big a step up from my 320Cd which was remapped [167hp/ton vs. 140hp/ton respectively], but it’s a lovely smooth delivery and ridiculously fuel efficient when not being hustled along. Currently the most fuel efficient 430d being tracked on Fuelly…
2 months today I’ve had the F32, about 3200 miles done under my captaincy. I’m not going to lie, it took a while to settle in to, perhaps unsurprisingly given I’d spent 10.5 years settling in to its predecessor!
Immediately noticeable is the size difference, but not particularly any weight difference. In kerb weight terms, there’s 50kg added beef on the 4 series. When you consider that’s adding an extra 2 cylinders and an autobox in addition to the physically bigger stature of the car, that’s really pretty impressive. Took a while to figure out where the front of the car was as the front end seems more bulbous than the E46, same for placing the passenger side with the higher beltline and bigger haunches. One thing that is noticeable and will not go away, the rear visibility is way worse than the E46, not Lotus/Lambo letterbox territory but definitely worse than my trust old 3 coupe.
I’m enjoying the shift to automatic as well. I still use the paddles for some engine braking when required, or when having fun, but the 8HP ZF box is every bit as good to live with as I had expected from various stints driving cars equipped with it round the track.
When required, the turn of pace is brisk. I’m not going to say fast, its also not that big a step up from my 320Cd which was remapped [167hp/ton vs. 140hp/ton respectively], but it’s a lovely smooth delivery and ridiculously fuel efficient when not being hustled along. Currently the most fuel efficient 430d being tracked on Fuelly…
make sure you service it every 6k miles - a mate's 66 plate 335d with 26k on the clock is in the garage with the bottom end gone... after ringing a few engine rebuilders, turns out the legendary BMW 6 pot is not legendary anymore. It seems as if this affects the x35d engines more than the x30d engines, but since they're practically the same I'd say regular oil changes are a must. Either that, or warranty - BMW said the cost of a new engine and two turbos is £22k.
That’s me 10 weeks in to ownership and I should tick past 5,000 miles done since picking her up at some point tomorrow.
Thus far I’ve managed to only skud the splitter once!
Anyways, last weekend I was participating in the 3hr C1 Endurance race at Rockingham so a good chance for the car to stretch its legs and do some distance work.
I wound up taking my kit and another one of our drivers' stuff down as well. I'm convinced the boot on this is smaller than my e46, will need to check the stats. Still, it all fitted in and there wasn't any danger of it sliding about.
On a side note, when I'm just taking my instructing helmet to the circuit for a weekend shift, the cargo net is brilliant. No more stuffing jackets on top of my helmet on the back seat to stop it flying about!
Friday I was heading down after work, then got a last minute call to pick up some graphics for the racecar from over in Edinburgh, this changed the route plan so I ended up going all the way down the A1 [previously, would have been doing M74 – M6 – A66 – A1M].
A1 was the usual for a Friday afternoon, plenty of trucks and people bumbling along but I wasn’t particularly in a rush, but then I got near Newcastle and a truck was broken down on the dual carriageway just after the Metro Centre
- For those familiar with the area, from the junction on the A1 with the A19 right through to where it becomes the A1M was done at a maximum of 20mph, more often 5-10mph
- For those not familiar with the area, 14.6 miles took me an hour and 20 minutes
After that the road was largely clear all the way to Rockingham to meet the team. Sorted a few things out with them, setting up the pop-up etc for the weekend and checking we all fitted in the seat then headed off to our hotel in Kettering.
Few hours sleep, returned to the Rock, did our race and at half 5, headed home along the exact same route, as I was now dropping off one of our drivers in Edinburgh.
Journey stats:
- Outbound: 347 miles, average speed 51.6mph, consumption 52.8mpg
- Return: 349 miles, average speed 58.7mph, consumption 52.6mpg
I refuelled half way home on the return leg and the actual brim-brim mpg calculation showed 51.4mpg over the 588 miles, exactly what the trip computer said. [I use the vehicle stats on the iDrive for journey to journey fuel economy and average speed, reset the instrument cluster trip computer at each fill up]
Thoughts:
Driving up the A1 at night was the first time I have used the adaptive headlights: WOW! I know some people like them, some people don’t, I thought they were absolutely brilliant. Its not the twistiest of roads but the beam aiming in to the corners was useful and it was amazing to watch the beam adapt to remove sections to avoid dazzling oncoming cars.
I really need to update my satnav. The recent A1M sections are just far enough away from what was the A1 to confuse the satnav and give you a constant chirp of “follow the road in the direction of the arrow” and “make a U-turn where possible.”
It’s a seriously competent cruiser this car. The armrests seem to line up better with my body shape than my e46’s ones. In fact, in the e46 I largely used the window ledge for my right arm and nothing for the left, on this, both armrests are perfect position to use both. The seats are nice and supportive, think I’d fit the back bolsters a touch better if I trimmed a few pounds right enough.
Still the highest economy 430d on Fuelly although there's a new entrant with a 2017 car that's nipping at my heals.
Thus far I’ve managed to only skud the splitter once!
Anyways, last weekend I was participating in the 3hr C1 Endurance race at Rockingham so a good chance for the car to stretch its legs and do some distance work.
I wound up taking my kit and another one of our drivers' stuff down as well. I'm convinced the boot on this is smaller than my e46, will need to check the stats. Still, it all fitted in and there wasn't any danger of it sliding about.
On a side note, when I'm just taking my instructing helmet to the circuit for a weekend shift, the cargo net is brilliant. No more stuffing jackets on top of my helmet on the back seat to stop it flying about!
Friday I was heading down after work, then got a last minute call to pick up some graphics for the racecar from over in Edinburgh, this changed the route plan so I ended up going all the way down the A1 [previously, would have been doing M74 – M6 – A66 – A1M].
A1 was the usual for a Friday afternoon, plenty of trucks and people bumbling along but I wasn’t particularly in a rush, but then I got near Newcastle and a truck was broken down on the dual carriageway just after the Metro Centre
- For those familiar with the area, from the junction on the A1 with the A19 right through to where it becomes the A1M was done at a maximum of 20mph, more often 5-10mph
- For those not familiar with the area, 14.6 miles took me an hour and 20 minutes
After that the road was largely clear all the way to Rockingham to meet the team. Sorted a few things out with them, setting up the pop-up etc for the weekend and checking we all fitted in the seat then headed off to our hotel in Kettering.
Few hours sleep, returned to the Rock, did our race and at half 5, headed home along the exact same route, as I was now dropping off one of our drivers in Edinburgh.
Journey stats:
- Outbound: 347 miles, average speed 51.6mph, consumption 52.8mpg
- Return: 349 miles, average speed 58.7mph, consumption 52.6mpg
I refuelled half way home on the return leg and the actual brim-brim mpg calculation showed 51.4mpg over the 588 miles, exactly what the trip computer said. [I use the vehicle stats on the iDrive for journey to journey fuel economy and average speed, reset the instrument cluster trip computer at each fill up]
Thoughts:
Driving up the A1 at night was the first time I have used the adaptive headlights: WOW! I know some people like them, some people don’t, I thought they were absolutely brilliant. Its not the twistiest of roads but the beam aiming in to the corners was useful and it was amazing to watch the beam adapt to remove sections to avoid dazzling oncoming cars.
I really need to update my satnav. The recent A1M sections are just far enough away from what was the A1 to confuse the satnav and give you a constant chirp of “follow the road in the direction of the arrow” and “make a U-turn where possible.”
It’s a seriously competent cruiser this car. The armrests seem to line up better with my body shape than my e46’s ones. In fact, in the e46 I largely used the window ledge for my right arm and nothing for the left, on this, both armrests are perfect position to use both. The seats are nice and supportive, think I’d fit the back bolsters a touch better if I trimmed a few pounds right enough.
Still the highest economy 430d on Fuelly although there's a new entrant with a 2017 car that's nipping at my heals.
Following this with some interest as I bought a GranCoupe with the same engine about a month after you got yours. Mine's an xDrive and although I expected the consumption to be worse, the difference is higher than you suggested it should be. Then again I don't exactly try to drive it economically.
I didn't know about the springs either. I didn't really do any research to be honest as I was originally after an F10 5 series, but I found a cracking colour combo with the right options and had to have it.
I didn't know about the springs either. I didn't really do any research to be honest as I was originally after an F10 5 series, but I found a cracking colour combo with the right options and had to have it.
I totally get the rationale behind the 30d, I run an F30 330d myself for exactly the same reasons. I had my first F30 for three weeks before somebody hit me and wrote it off and I went and bought exactly the same car again, I didn’t think about a 335d which confirmed to me to RWD 330 was the right car for me.
I’m getting 44mpg over the past 4,000 miles on 60/40 extra urban/urban driving which I can’t complain about for the performance available. Motorway runs always return 50+ mpg.
I do around 20k per annum too and intend to keep mine for 5-7 years.
I’m getting 44mpg over the past 4,000 miles on 60/40 extra urban/urban driving which I can’t complain about for the performance available. Motorway runs always return 50+ mpg.
I do around 20k per annum too and intend to keep mine for 5-7 years.
6,000 miles under my belt now, a few thoughts.
The gearbox continues to delight for the most part but its not without its foibles. I use quite a lot of engine braking rather than footbrake, always have. With the autobox’s ability to coast, this is good and bad. On a long downhill section or coming off a motorway junction that’s uphill you can let it coast down and its great for efficiency. The counterpoint to this, is when you don’t want to coast down, you want a bit of engine braking and you need to left paddle down 3 gears before getting any meaningful feeling of retardation. The economy mapping of the box is massively impressive but also means I notice this a lot as just going between flowing roundabouts separated by as little as 100m, it’ll often have hustled itself up 3 gears in that space of road with very little increase in road speed.
Using the paddles to get some engine braking isn’t a big deal, but then you need to remember to use them again afterwards to go back up the box, sometimes for durations longer than others. I really can’t figure out what best encourages the box to return to D having manually come down the gears. Coming fully to a stop will always do it, you’ll pull away in D. Sometimes when you keep moving it returns to D after a couple of seconds, others its more like 5+ seconds. I probably notice this more than a normal human being would, but it irks me when you leave it to do its thing and then sit using higher revs than needed, or you decide to flick the right paddle to take it up a gear thinking its going to hold a gear and right as you pull the paddle it upshifts anyways then you’re up 2 at once.
On a different subject, those living in the south may not be aware of this but we’re right on the cusp of winter. This last couple of weeks temps have dropped markedly and on more than 1 occasion the temp gauge has only been sitting at 4 degrees when leaving for work in the morning. That combined with the string of storms we’ve seen has had some impact on fuel economy. Its not as noticeable as my old E46 which hated the rain, literally any atmospheric moisture and I would lose ~10% fuel economy, but the cold and headwinds have knocked about 5% off my fuel economy regardless of how I drive. Truth be told, that’s probably better than I was expecting, only downside really is on the 12 mile run to work which is near enough all motorway but rarely above 60-65mph, the car is not even close to getting up to temp. The motorway section is pretty much 50/50 between a steady uphill followed by a steady downhill, the congestion and lack of throttle for the entire downhill second half of the journey have seen a few occasions where the temp needle hasn’t made it above ¼.
I’m reading that BMW UK have just got onboard with the European recall of the engine’s EGR cooler, so I’ll be expecting a letter from them at some point. Probably going to bundle it in with a service (even though it’s got 10k to go on the computer) and a gearbox service at the same time, if they will service the gearbox that is. ZF say 50-80k service intervals, BMW say sealed for life. I say I’m not remapping it until its had a gearbox service, so it needs done
The gearbox continues to delight for the most part but its not without its foibles. I use quite a lot of engine braking rather than footbrake, always have. With the autobox’s ability to coast, this is good and bad. On a long downhill section or coming off a motorway junction that’s uphill you can let it coast down and its great for efficiency. The counterpoint to this, is when you don’t want to coast down, you want a bit of engine braking and you need to left paddle down 3 gears before getting any meaningful feeling of retardation. The economy mapping of the box is massively impressive but also means I notice this a lot as just going between flowing roundabouts separated by as little as 100m, it’ll often have hustled itself up 3 gears in that space of road with very little increase in road speed.
Using the paddles to get some engine braking isn’t a big deal, but then you need to remember to use them again afterwards to go back up the box, sometimes for durations longer than others. I really can’t figure out what best encourages the box to return to D having manually come down the gears. Coming fully to a stop will always do it, you’ll pull away in D. Sometimes when you keep moving it returns to D after a couple of seconds, others its more like 5+ seconds. I probably notice this more than a normal human being would, but it irks me when you leave it to do its thing and then sit using higher revs than needed, or you decide to flick the right paddle to take it up a gear thinking its going to hold a gear and right as you pull the paddle it upshifts anyways then you’re up 2 at once.
On a different subject, those living in the south may not be aware of this but we’re right on the cusp of winter. This last couple of weeks temps have dropped markedly and on more than 1 occasion the temp gauge has only been sitting at 4 degrees when leaving for work in the morning. That combined with the string of storms we’ve seen has had some impact on fuel economy. Its not as noticeable as my old E46 which hated the rain, literally any atmospheric moisture and I would lose ~10% fuel economy, but the cold and headwinds have knocked about 5% off my fuel economy regardless of how I drive. Truth be told, that’s probably better than I was expecting, only downside really is on the 12 mile run to work which is near enough all motorway but rarely above 60-65mph, the car is not even close to getting up to temp. The motorway section is pretty much 50/50 between a steady uphill followed by a steady downhill, the congestion and lack of throttle for the entire downhill second half of the journey have seen a few occasions where the temp needle hasn’t made it above ¼.
I’m reading that BMW UK have just got onboard with the European recall of the engine’s EGR cooler, so I’ll be expecting a letter from them at some point. Probably going to bundle it in with a service (even though it’s got 10k to go on the computer) and a gearbox service at the same time, if they will service the gearbox that is. ZF say 50-80k service intervals, BMW say sealed for life. I say I’m not remapping it until its had a gearbox service, so it needs done
A fellow F32 owner - congrats on the purchase.
With regard coasting I am pretty sure that you can switch that off in the Eco Pro settings. Having it on does require a different style of driving but overall it works. I've got a 440i and don't worry too much about economy but get an easy 40mpg on longer motorway journeys and that's with the M Power and Performance Sound Kit (remap and exhaust).
Make sure you have an up to date subscription for BMW Connected and I am pretty sure you can get over the air updates to the sat nav (or USB download) and RTTI - Real Time Traffic Info which has saved me many times.
With regard coasting I am pretty sure that you can switch that off in the Eco Pro settings. Having it on does require a different style of driving but overall it works. I've got a 440i and don't worry too much about economy but get an easy 40mpg on longer motorway journeys and that's with the M Power and Performance Sound Kit (remap and exhaust).
Make sure you have an up to date subscription for BMW Connected and I am pretty sure you can get over the air updates to the sat nav (or USB download) and RTTI - Real Time Traffic Info which has saved me many times.
With the tail end of a hurricane coming in hard, what better weekend to bust out an 860 mile road trip?
Heading from West Lothian to Enfield and back, with a detour on the return leg to collect the dog from my parents.
Saturday morning was horrific, it wasn't until we were nearly off the M6 on to the M1 that it finally stopped raining. Massive headwind all the way down and loads of standing water and incidents to contend with.
Return journey was pretty much as bad, the whole M1 section was sketchy, loads of standing water and puddles across the inner and outer lanes. M6 finally cleared as we approached Wigan so the last leg of the journey was quite relaxing.
Conclusions & lessons from the trip:
Camera system seems unable to handle heavy spray, it gave out warnings multiple times in the wet conditions about malfunctioning, it's done this once around my normal commute also, in all cases when it's been in heavy rain & spray.
Trip computer is about as accurate as a bent sniper rifle. Kinda annoying given my e46's one was always under real world by 1.5-2mpg, the F32 is anywhere from +4 to -4.
These cars are brilliant for this type of work, 7+ hours in the seat and you step out at the other end with no aches, feeling pretty fresh. Only stopped twice on each journey, roughly ten minutes a go, just enough for a pee and to buy some drinks.
Decent width spaces in the hotel car park for a change even with the 4's loooooong doors
Sadly the crap weather stopped me achieving what I'd really wanted to with a VPower diesel comparison against normal use Tesco diesel, so I'll have to do that through a week of commuting.
Heading from West Lothian to Enfield and back, with a detour on the return leg to collect the dog from my parents.
Saturday morning was horrific, it wasn't until we were nearly off the M6 on to the M1 that it finally stopped raining. Massive headwind all the way down and loads of standing water and incidents to contend with.
Return journey was pretty much as bad, the whole M1 section was sketchy, loads of standing water and puddles across the inner and outer lanes. M6 finally cleared as we approached Wigan so the last leg of the journey was quite relaxing.
Conclusions & lessons from the trip:
Camera system seems unable to handle heavy spray, it gave out warnings multiple times in the wet conditions about malfunctioning, it's done this once around my normal commute also, in all cases when it's been in heavy rain & spray.
Trip computer is about as accurate as a bent sniper rifle. Kinda annoying given my e46's one was always under real world by 1.5-2mpg, the F32 is anywhere from +4 to -4.
These cars are brilliant for this type of work, 7+ hours in the seat and you step out at the other end with no aches, feeling pretty fresh. Only stopped twice on each journey, roughly ten minutes a go, just enough for a pee and to buy some drinks.
Decent width spaces in the hotel car park for a change even with the 4's loooooong doors
Sadly the crap weather stopped me achieving what I'd really wanted to with a VPower diesel comparison against normal use Tesco diesel, so I'll have to do that through a week of commuting.
Yup, winter is pretty much in full swing here, so I went and bought myself a set of winters.
Well, I went and bought stage 1. Spotted a set of wheels with tyres for sale on the F3X UK Facebook group, sadly I was about to go on honeymoon so left it. When I got back, they were re-advertised, now £500 cheaper than 3 weeks ago. Done!
My car came with the MSport Plus spec 704M wheels but they'd been kerbed by previous owners. These were refurbished and painted anthracite prior to me buying the car. With the painted finish, they would be the ideal candidates for winter wheels where I wouldn't need to worry about the salt getting in about the OEM diamond cut finish.
So I actually bought a new set of summer wheels, 704Ms with anthracite insert, wrapped in barely used OEM spec Bridgestones. They were fitted to a brand new car that the buyer decided to upgrade to 20in MPerformance alloys, they've barely lost the mould hairs!
Now I just need to source a set of winter rubber for my current wheels. Having these is making me debate lobbing one in the boot for winter, allowing me to go for non-runflat winter tyres which could save around £400
Well, I went and bought stage 1. Spotted a set of wheels with tyres for sale on the F3X UK Facebook group, sadly I was about to go on honeymoon so left it. When I got back, they were re-advertised, now £500 cheaper than 3 weeks ago. Done!
My car came with the MSport Plus spec 704M wheels but they'd been kerbed by previous owners. These were refurbished and painted anthracite prior to me buying the car. With the painted finish, they would be the ideal candidates for winter wheels where I wouldn't need to worry about the salt getting in about the OEM diamond cut finish.
So I actually bought a new set of summer wheels, 704Ms with anthracite insert, wrapped in barely used OEM spec Bridgestones. They were fitted to a brand new car that the buyer decided to upgrade to 20in MPerformance alloys, they've barely lost the mould hairs!
Now I just need to source a set of winter rubber for my current wheels. Having these is making me debate lobbing one in the boot for winter, allowing me to go for non-runflat winter tyres which could save around £400
6 months in, 10k miles down. More thoughts on that at some point in the near future.
I really do detest this time of year. Being a skier, it's not really winter that does it, it's winter in central Scotland. Cold, windy, wet and dark. Frosty, no problem. Snowing, sweet. Wet, windy and dull all the time, someone kill me.
Also, it's a nightmare keeping the car clean. The roads are just grim; salt, grit, grime and all manner of other crap constantly being mixed with the rain and splattered all over the car. I'm coming to accept weekly washes are pretty much going to be required until, oh, June.
I don't pretend to be a detailer, in fact, I'm only really just getting back in to washing my car after my E46. Towards the end, the cleaner it was the more you saw the rust creeping in and all the scars from the general public being clowns in car parks. So I largely didn't bother, but I'm back to making an effort with the F32.
So here is today's assembled arsenal:
Didn't end up using half of it owing to the weather being true to form and having to alternate washing with hiding in the garage trying not to get washed away in the rain.
Car was last washed a couple of weeks ago so actually hasn't faired too badly given the state of the roads.
Gave it an all over blast with the jet wash to start.
Just bought some Auto Finesse Iron Out to use on the wheels and decided to give the sides a dusting as well to see how much debris had landed on the sides. Also used Auto Finesse's Citrus Power on the sides, front end and mirror caps since they pick up the most grime.
New Halfords special wheelbrush (lower) was really good, there's not a lot of clearance between the MSport Plus callipers and the wheels but it got in there. Old Halfords wheel brush (top) really is crap, the wire bends with the faintest hint of pressure, only use it for the lip of the rim and the face of the spokes and it'll be getting replaced for even those duties.
The Iron Out works brilliantly, the trigger bottle is terrible. It may sound daft but I genuinely don't get how they expect you to use it. If you have the top of the bottle in the pad of your hand allowing 2 fingers on the trigger, you end up dousing your fingers. If you move your hand further down and use just the one, it rotates around as you squirt making it really awkward to control where the spray is going. It also really needs a fast finger on the trigger to get it to spray rather than squirt.
Pretty horrific amount of grime from just 2 wheels, change of rinse water for the other 2!
Slightly surprised at the debris on the sides, really didn't think it would show up much. Still, blasted that and the Citrus Power off (also, great product but also a great spray bottle on that one) then rain stopped play for a bit.
Didn't get any pics of the rest of the wash really due to having to dart about getting it done when weather permitted. The Karcher do-hicky isn't bad for what it is (a tenner out of B&Q a while back) but it's not really anything like a proper snow foam. The rain was kind enough to assist rinsing it off. Then it got a 2 bucket wash, I must invest in bigger buckets with grit guards.
Again, pretty horrific amount of muck despite the car not looking that bad from 10ft away
Rain and light conspired to bring things to an end at that point so hopefully the weather is half decent tomorrow morning for cleaning the windows inside, Rain-Xing the windows outside and giving the door shuts a once over.
I also need to invest some time in the tailpipes.
I really do detest this time of year. Being a skier, it's not really winter that does it, it's winter in central Scotland. Cold, windy, wet and dark. Frosty, no problem. Snowing, sweet. Wet, windy and dull all the time, someone kill me.
Also, it's a nightmare keeping the car clean. The roads are just grim; salt, grit, grime and all manner of other crap constantly being mixed with the rain and splattered all over the car. I'm coming to accept weekly washes are pretty much going to be required until, oh, June.
I don't pretend to be a detailer, in fact, I'm only really just getting back in to washing my car after my E46. Towards the end, the cleaner it was the more you saw the rust creeping in and all the scars from the general public being clowns in car parks. So I largely didn't bother, but I'm back to making an effort with the F32.
So here is today's assembled arsenal:
Didn't end up using half of it owing to the weather being true to form and having to alternate washing with hiding in the garage trying not to get washed away in the rain.
Car was last washed a couple of weeks ago so actually hasn't faired too badly given the state of the roads.
Gave it an all over blast with the jet wash to start.
Just bought some Auto Finesse Iron Out to use on the wheels and decided to give the sides a dusting as well to see how much debris had landed on the sides. Also used Auto Finesse's Citrus Power on the sides, front end and mirror caps since they pick up the most grime.
New Halfords special wheelbrush (lower) was really good, there's not a lot of clearance between the MSport Plus callipers and the wheels but it got in there. Old Halfords wheel brush (top) really is crap, the wire bends with the faintest hint of pressure, only use it for the lip of the rim and the face of the spokes and it'll be getting replaced for even those duties.
The Iron Out works brilliantly, the trigger bottle is terrible. It may sound daft but I genuinely don't get how they expect you to use it. If you have the top of the bottle in the pad of your hand allowing 2 fingers on the trigger, you end up dousing your fingers. If you move your hand further down and use just the one, it rotates around as you squirt making it really awkward to control where the spray is going. It also really needs a fast finger on the trigger to get it to spray rather than squirt.
Pretty horrific amount of grime from just 2 wheels, change of rinse water for the other 2!
Slightly surprised at the debris on the sides, really didn't think it would show up much. Still, blasted that and the Citrus Power off (also, great product but also a great spray bottle on that one) then rain stopped play for a bit.
Didn't get any pics of the rest of the wash really due to having to dart about getting it done when weather permitted. The Karcher do-hicky isn't bad for what it is (a tenner out of B&Q a while back) but it's not really anything like a proper snow foam. The rain was kind enough to assist rinsing it off. Then it got a 2 bucket wash, I must invest in bigger buckets with grit guards.
Again, pretty horrific amount of muck despite the car not looking that bad from 10ft away
Rain and light conspired to bring things to an end at that point so hopefully the weather is half decent tomorrow morning for cleaning the windows inside, Rain-Xing the windows outside and giving the door shuts a once over.
I also need to invest some time in the tailpipes.
It was almost sunny. Well, the sun appeared twice in the afternoon so that was good enough to finish the job off.
Dried the car, Meguiars quick detailer'd all the panels, rain-x'd all the looking through glass, cleaned the inside of the windows with AutoSmart glass cleaner and hit the wheels with some AutoSmart tyre dressing.
Also gave the reverse camera a dose of rain-x so will be interesting to see how that holds up, whether it helps keep it clear at all.
On the remap front, yes, definitely. Not until I get the gearbox serviced though, which will probably be at its next service in ~4500 miles.
Dried the car, Meguiars quick detailer'd all the panels, rain-x'd all the looking through glass, cleaned the inside of the windows with AutoSmart glass cleaner and hit the wheels with some AutoSmart tyre dressing.
Also gave the reverse camera a dose of rain-x so will be interesting to see how that holds up, whether it helps keep it clear at all.
On the remap front, yes, definitely. Not until I get the gearbox serviced though, which will probably be at its next service in ~4500 miles.
Lovely car, I have a 430d GC and echo a few of your comments. However I don’t see how you don’t think it’s that quick, I’ve done 20k miles in mine over 2 years and I’m still not used to the torque and how well it picks up speed.
My choice was between a fully specced 430d including adaptive dampers and a basic 435d only with your wheels and the Pro Nav, I went for the 430d as I preferred the carbon black to the sapphire and I wanted the harmon kardon. The feeling of regret not waiting and finding the right spec 435d happened once after a year of ownership when I drove a 630d x drive and loved the lack of wheelspin when accelerating from 0, along with the extra power, a 435d would have been a weapon.
However after living with the X drive for a week, the steering became tiresome as you feel the torque being fed to the steering wheel to straighten it out and I nearly crashed once by accelerating out of a t junction and gunning it, steering literally was all over the place. Silly mistake by myself however in the s drive you don’t need to worry about that.
The nail in the coffin was driving a 320d x drive m sport and seeing the difference between the 2 suspension set ups in the bends. After my 430d, you’ll never see me in an F series x drive.
Do update us on the remap front, even though I’m happy with the power, I’d still like to get it done as there’s no such thing as being complacent with your cars power when you’re a petrolhead! I’ve had a look around at various companies willing to do it for 500 pounds with considerable gains in hp and torque however I’ve heard the 8 ZF can’t handle the extra torque and I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk on a 20 grand car. I’ve thought about BMW’s powerkit but it’s pricey at 1200 and the reviews of it don’t sway me towards it as I want proper pushed back in your seat action, not a smoother delivery.
My choice was between a fully specced 430d including adaptive dampers and a basic 435d only with your wheels and the Pro Nav, I went for the 430d as I preferred the carbon black to the sapphire and I wanted the harmon kardon. The feeling of regret not waiting and finding the right spec 435d happened once after a year of ownership when I drove a 630d x drive and loved the lack of wheelspin when accelerating from 0, along with the extra power, a 435d would have been a weapon.
However after living with the X drive for a week, the steering became tiresome as you feel the torque being fed to the steering wheel to straighten it out and I nearly crashed once by accelerating out of a t junction and gunning it, steering literally was all over the place. Silly mistake by myself however in the s drive you don’t need to worry about that.
The nail in the coffin was driving a 320d x drive m sport and seeing the difference between the 2 suspension set ups in the bends. After my 430d, you’ll never see me in an F series x drive.
Do update us on the remap front, even though I’m happy with the power, I’d still like to get it done as there’s no such thing as being complacent with your cars power when you’re a petrolhead! I’ve had a look around at various companies willing to do it for 500 pounds with considerable gains in hp and torque however I’ve heard the 8 ZF can’t handle the extra torque and I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk on a 20 grand car. I’ve thought about BMW’s powerkit but it’s pricey at 1200 and the reviews of it don’t sway me towards it as I want proper pushed back in your seat action, not a smoother delivery.
Chestrockwell said:
However after living with the X drive for a week, the steering became tiresome as you feel the torque being fed to the steering wheel to straighten it out and I nearly crashed once by accelerating out of a t junction and gunning it, steering literally was all over the place. Silly mistake by myself however in the s drive you don’t need to worry about that.
Strange, I found gunning a 335d out of a t-junction is one of the best things it is capable of. Loose gravel on side-road, foot down, pulled to exactly where it should. Yes, you need to be careful how you hold the wheel (just as with an off-reader, your thumbs need to be free from the inside of the wheel), but it followed its intended path with zeal!Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff