Webb’s car history - 440i content
Discussion
Having been a long term lurker on the forum and the Readers cars always being my favourite section, I thought it was about time to create a thread for my car and adventures. Here is my BMW 440i I purchased at the end of January:
Before setting off into the adventures I have already had with the car, first a bit of my car history. Previous to this I had owned 2 BMW’s and a Vauxhall.
The fact this is my 3rd BMW will probably beoming surprising after the next section…
June ‘14
My 1st Car at the age of 18 was a BMW 116i. You might think what a lucky teenager, but how wrong you would be! I work in as an Engineer in construction, so my parents wanted me to have something with a bit of substance to travel to work in. At the time of buying we were unsure of what project I was going to be working on and therefore how much I would be travelling. Therefore a loan of £4000 was given to me and I set about finding the best car I could for the price. After a bit of hunting I found out I could afford a 1 series which I had always liked. Great I thought, and the endless trawling of websites started, trying to find the best example I could. I found one at the top of the budget (what else would you do at 18! Well probably any age for that matter…), arranged a viewing and set off with my Dad to go and view it. Turned up to a nice house in a nice neighbour hood, took a look round the car and went out for a quick test drive. All seemed to be in order, service history seemed right, tyres were all decent brands, not quite matching but plenty of life left in them. From the outside what you might call a good buy.
2 weeks passed and I was loving it, driving it all over the place, loving having a BMW and even happily paying the first installment of the loan back to my parents (very unusal for a teenager!). I’d even headed down to Cornwall with some mates for a week away during the first two weeks and the car was great. I was less great, managed to clip a branch in a bush when reversing into a passing place. Scraped the bumper, severly p*ssed me off for the rest of the day, but was only superfical and very easy to fix in the end. I wish the rest of the issues that followed were as superficial…
The first thing to go wrong was the car just completely cut out on a roundabout, leaving it completely dead for what felt like an age but was probably only 15 seconds in reality. I managed to get it going again and get it into a car park nearby to wait for the AA to come and have a look. This was the first of many electrical problems to plague the car.
More and more problems with the car cutting out kept occurring over the next few months, with the most common being the car to clicking when pushing the start button instead of starting. To top this off the timing chain tensioner broke and then timing chain slipped. All of this was within 9 months of having the car and it became a nightmare! After spending circa £1500 on garage fees to try and fix the electrical problems (a new battery, a LOT of diagnostics, the odd parts here and there) and trying to get the timing chain fixed, I decided to sell it as a spare or repairs item. The timing chain was another story of pain that I’ll save for another time. I managed to recoup £1900 for the car in its sorry state, however this was £2100 lower than what I had paid for it 9 months previous and therefore the car cost me £3600 in that period. Ouch. Still loved driving it though…
April ‘15
Still needing a car, the search was on to find a replacement ASAP and at a lot lower budget than the previous time round. I found out I could afford a 1.7 CDTI Astra in the budget and not just any old one, an SXI! The deal was done for £1900 and the DisAstra was born.
The name was meant to be a bit of fun, however the engine light was soon wanting to play games. It turned out to be a clogged EGR valve, which I couldn’t get off as one of the bolts was rounded off ( you might see a pattern appearing here…) I did manage to ge the pipe feeding the EGR valve off and scraped out all of the carbon deposits which helped the issue, but didn’t solve it.
A picture from before the cleaning:
Cue learning to drive around it and I suppose it gave the car ‘character’.
Bar this, it was fairly plain sailing with the car up until it was time to move on. I had got a promotion at work and fancied something newer and with a bit more power, only natural as a petrol head right? My love for the 1 series was still there and I felt like I had some unfinished business with them, so I started looking at 120d’s, the F20 model to be precise. I did consider the 125d but they were a little more expensive and a lot of reviews classed the 120d as a better package. The hunt was on and finally a nice 120d was found in Southampton. I went down to see it and do a deal. The DisAstra drove me and my parents down without a problem. I started looking round the 120d and took it for a test drive. Fell in love and came back to the showroom to do a deal. They asked for the keys to the DisAstra to do a short inspection and test drive whilst we discussed the deal. Negotiations were going well and then the mechanic came back in. Unbelievably the DisAstra had dropped most of its water on the floor in the car park! I think it must have not wanted to leave me… Cue some more money being lost on the trade in, however the deal was done.
July ‘16
Some would call me mad for buying another blue one series after the debacle with the previous one, and some friends did!
My parents collected it the day before I set off for my first trip to Le Mans, and when arriving home it ticked exactly onto 30,000. A quick spin out in the car after work as I wasn’t driving to Le Mans. As a side note, what an experience Le Mans is!
Over the next 3 and a half years the 1er served me brilliant covering 42,500 miles in my ownership going all over the country. Having a lot of friends at university I used it to visit them all around the country; Exeter, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Cambridge etc. It also took me to Edinburgh for a long weekend with he family and visited the coast late on a Sunday afternoon evening for a shandy by the sea in the summer. Cue one drink later, a couple of hours and the sun going down, it was always fun to blast back up the A34 back towards home with minimal traffic.
From Nov’ 17 I changed project to work at JLR’s facility in Gaydon to build them a new office space and design studio. A petrol heads dream! This was a 37 mile commute each way and the 120d was amazing for this. Returning 48 mpg on the tank driving at M40 cruising speeds was always very respectful in my opinion. Also in the last year of ownership, a DTUK box was added, and this was great fun! Quoted power up by 40 bhp and torque by 50 odd from memory, it was certainly noticeable in the seat!
In Oct ‘19 I changed projects as Gaydon was finished and I transferred to Edinburgh. Moving to Edinburgh meant I now had access to all of the Scottish roads and of course the north coast 500. Also due to living in Edinburgh, I didn’t have to commute in the car anymore and this gave me the opportunity to swap into something a little thirstier. The search was on and I decided after the usual Christmas madness I would start looking at replacements.
January ‘20
A shortlist of around ten cars was picked initially, hot hatches and coupes. After looking around to see what was on the market, I narrowed it down to a Golf R, S3 saloon, M235/240i, 440i, E92 M3 or a RS5. No RS5’s were within 200 miles of Edinburgh at the time so this ruled these out. I wouldn’t mind travelling that far to buy one, but just to look, it was too much. I was messed about with the M3 that was close by and decided that although I’d love a naturally aspirated V8, maintenance could become very expensive. Therefore the first weekend I went to look at cars I booked in a Golf R and an M235i. Overall I was disappointed with the Golf R, apart from when matting it, it was very boring and didn’t feel special at all. Also was very stiff and not in a good sporty way.
Next up was the M235i which I loved, the sound of the straight 6 was great and the power was intoxicating. After a short test drive I was sold on the straight 6 engine. Cue looking into the market and seeing that a M240i was more than affordable and reliable. Also more economical. Not something you might think should be taken into account with a 3L straight 6, however the car would be both used for fun when I wouldn’t care about the fuel, but also potentially a lot for work and boring motorway miles where it didn’t make sense to waste money on fuel.
A M240i in a lovely spec - mineral grey with oyster leather, was looked at mid January and I tried to get a deal done. However I believed it was overpriced in the market and obviously the dealer didn’t so we didn’t come to an agreement. This turned out to be very lucky as it expanded my search to include 440i’s properly. After searching on Autotrader, my car came up and the BMW individual interior really stood out to me. One of the major things I was looking for was a non black leather car. I personally black leather is really boring and doesn’t do anything for the interior of the car. What are you opinions?
The night before going to see the car I checked it was still available on autotrader and noticed it had been dropped £1000 - brilliant I thought!. I woke up early the next morning and set off towards the dealership in Carlisle before even contacting them to see if it was still available. I figured it was best to try and get there early and before anyone else to secure the deal. Also I was probably quite excited…. Getting to the dealership, all seemed to be in order and it had a great spec:
I picked the car up the following Friday 31st of Jan and the first thing I proceeded to do was drive 270 miles from Carlisle back to my parents in Oxford for the weekend. A great way to get to know the car and I can confirm its a great cruiser. The sound system is great, not quite at the level of the one in my 120d, however I had upgraded it quite heavily. The car was quiet, comfortable and the interior LED’s which light up the door cards are really nice! The weekend was spent having a blast in the car around Oxfordshire and showing it off to a few mates, before the 365 mile trip back up to Edinburgh on Sunday.
Some pictures from collection, not my best, I think I was a bit too excited!
The next post will be the few adventures I have so far in the car and then the plan is too keep this updated with the general journey of the car, any modifications and all of the adventures.
Before setting off into the adventures I have already had with the car, first a bit of my car history. Previous to this I had owned 2 BMW’s and a Vauxhall.
The fact this is my 3rd BMW will probably beoming surprising after the next section…
June ‘14
My 1st Car at the age of 18 was a BMW 116i. You might think what a lucky teenager, but how wrong you would be! I work in as an Engineer in construction, so my parents wanted me to have something with a bit of substance to travel to work in. At the time of buying we were unsure of what project I was going to be working on and therefore how much I would be travelling. Therefore a loan of £4000 was given to me and I set about finding the best car I could for the price. After a bit of hunting I found out I could afford a 1 series which I had always liked. Great I thought, and the endless trawling of websites started, trying to find the best example I could. I found one at the top of the budget (what else would you do at 18! Well probably any age for that matter…), arranged a viewing and set off with my Dad to go and view it. Turned up to a nice house in a nice neighbour hood, took a look round the car and went out for a quick test drive. All seemed to be in order, service history seemed right, tyres were all decent brands, not quite matching but plenty of life left in them. From the outside what you might call a good buy.
2 weeks passed and I was loving it, driving it all over the place, loving having a BMW and even happily paying the first installment of the loan back to my parents (very unusal for a teenager!). I’d even headed down to Cornwall with some mates for a week away during the first two weeks and the car was great. I was less great, managed to clip a branch in a bush when reversing into a passing place. Scraped the bumper, severly p*ssed me off for the rest of the day, but was only superfical and very easy to fix in the end. I wish the rest of the issues that followed were as superficial…
The first thing to go wrong was the car just completely cut out on a roundabout, leaving it completely dead for what felt like an age but was probably only 15 seconds in reality. I managed to get it going again and get it into a car park nearby to wait for the AA to come and have a look. This was the first of many electrical problems to plague the car.
More and more problems with the car cutting out kept occurring over the next few months, with the most common being the car to clicking when pushing the start button instead of starting. To top this off the timing chain tensioner broke and then timing chain slipped. All of this was within 9 months of having the car and it became a nightmare! After spending circa £1500 on garage fees to try and fix the electrical problems (a new battery, a LOT of diagnostics, the odd parts here and there) and trying to get the timing chain fixed, I decided to sell it as a spare or repairs item. The timing chain was another story of pain that I’ll save for another time. I managed to recoup £1900 for the car in its sorry state, however this was £2100 lower than what I had paid for it 9 months previous and therefore the car cost me £3600 in that period. Ouch. Still loved driving it though…
April ‘15
Still needing a car, the search was on to find a replacement ASAP and at a lot lower budget than the previous time round. I found out I could afford a 1.7 CDTI Astra in the budget and not just any old one, an SXI! The deal was done for £1900 and the DisAstra was born.
The name was meant to be a bit of fun, however the engine light was soon wanting to play games. It turned out to be a clogged EGR valve, which I couldn’t get off as one of the bolts was rounded off ( you might see a pattern appearing here…) I did manage to ge the pipe feeding the EGR valve off and scraped out all of the carbon deposits which helped the issue, but didn’t solve it.
A picture from before the cleaning:
Cue learning to drive around it and I suppose it gave the car ‘character’.
Bar this, it was fairly plain sailing with the car up until it was time to move on. I had got a promotion at work and fancied something newer and with a bit more power, only natural as a petrol head right? My love for the 1 series was still there and I felt like I had some unfinished business with them, so I started looking at 120d’s, the F20 model to be precise. I did consider the 125d but they were a little more expensive and a lot of reviews classed the 120d as a better package. The hunt was on and finally a nice 120d was found in Southampton. I went down to see it and do a deal. The DisAstra drove me and my parents down without a problem. I started looking round the 120d and took it for a test drive. Fell in love and came back to the showroom to do a deal. They asked for the keys to the DisAstra to do a short inspection and test drive whilst we discussed the deal. Negotiations were going well and then the mechanic came back in. Unbelievably the DisAstra had dropped most of its water on the floor in the car park! I think it must have not wanted to leave me… Cue some more money being lost on the trade in, however the deal was done.
July ‘16
Some would call me mad for buying another blue one series after the debacle with the previous one, and some friends did!
My parents collected it the day before I set off for my first trip to Le Mans, and when arriving home it ticked exactly onto 30,000. A quick spin out in the car after work as I wasn’t driving to Le Mans. As a side note, what an experience Le Mans is!
Over the next 3 and a half years the 1er served me brilliant covering 42,500 miles in my ownership going all over the country. Having a lot of friends at university I used it to visit them all around the country; Exeter, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Cambridge etc. It also took me to Edinburgh for a long weekend with he family and visited the coast late on a Sunday afternoon evening for a shandy by the sea in the summer. Cue one drink later, a couple of hours and the sun going down, it was always fun to blast back up the A34 back towards home with minimal traffic.
From Nov’ 17 I changed project to work at JLR’s facility in Gaydon to build them a new office space and design studio. A petrol heads dream! This was a 37 mile commute each way and the 120d was amazing for this. Returning 48 mpg on the tank driving at M40 cruising speeds was always very respectful in my opinion. Also in the last year of ownership, a DTUK box was added, and this was great fun! Quoted power up by 40 bhp and torque by 50 odd from memory, it was certainly noticeable in the seat!
In Oct ‘19 I changed projects as Gaydon was finished and I transferred to Edinburgh. Moving to Edinburgh meant I now had access to all of the Scottish roads and of course the north coast 500. Also due to living in Edinburgh, I didn’t have to commute in the car anymore and this gave me the opportunity to swap into something a little thirstier. The search was on and I decided after the usual Christmas madness I would start looking at replacements.
January ‘20
A shortlist of around ten cars was picked initially, hot hatches and coupes. After looking around to see what was on the market, I narrowed it down to a Golf R, S3 saloon, M235/240i, 440i, E92 M3 or a RS5. No RS5’s were within 200 miles of Edinburgh at the time so this ruled these out. I wouldn’t mind travelling that far to buy one, but just to look, it was too much. I was messed about with the M3 that was close by and decided that although I’d love a naturally aspirated V8, maintenance could become very expensive. Therefore the first weekend I went to look at cars I booked in a Golf R and an M235i. Overall I was disappointed with the Golf R, apart from when matting it, it was very boring and didn’t feel special at all. Also was very stiff and not in a good sporty way.
Next up was the M235i which I loved, the sound of the straight 6 was great and the power was intoxicating. After a short test drive I was sold on the straight 6 engine. Cue looking into the market and seeing that a M240i was more than affordable and reliable. Also more economical. Not something you might think should be taken into account with a 3L straight 6, however the car would be both used for fun when I wouldn’t care about the fuel, but also potentially a lot for work and boring motorway miles where it didn’t make sense to waste money on fuel.
A M240i in a lovely spec - mineral grey with oyster leather, was looked at mid January and I tried to get a deal done. However I believed it was overpriced in the market and obviously the dealer didn’t so we didn’t come to an agreement. This turned out to be very lucky as it expanded my search to include 440i’s properly. After searching on Autotrader, my car came up and the BMW individual interior really stood out to me. One of the major things I was looking for was a non black leather car. I personally black leather is really boring and doesn’t do anything for the interior of the car. What are you opinions?
The night before going to see the car I checked it was still available on autotrader and noticed it had been dropped £1000 - brilliant I thought!. I woke up early the next morning and set off towards the dealership in Carlisle before even contacting them to see if it was still available. I figured it was best to try and get there early and before anyone else to secure the deal. Also I was probably quite excited…. Getting to the dealership, all seemed to be in order and it had a great spec:
- 2016 440i in Black Sapphire
- M Sport + package - Harmon Kardon sound system, larger wheels and bigger brakes I believe
- Pro Nav - Larger screen
- BMW Indiviual interior - Opal white merino leather with contrast grey stitching and piping.
- 21,750 miles
- Full service history etc
I picked the car up the following Friday 31st of Jan and the first thing I proceeded to do was drive 270 miles from Carlisle back to my parents in Oxford for the weekend. A great way to get to know the car and I can confirm its a great cruiser. The sound system is great, not quite at the level of the one in my 120d, however I had upgraded it quite heavily. The car was quiet, comfortable and the interior LED’s which light up the door cards are really nice! The weekend was spent having a blast in the car around Oxfordshire and showing it off to a few mates, before the 365 mile trip back up to Edinburgh on Sunday.
Some pictures from collection, not my best, I think I was a bit too excited!
The next post will be the few adventures I have so far in the car and then the plan is too keep this updated with the general journey of the car, any modifications and all of the adventures.
She does fly. Quite the step up from the 1 series even after it was remapped.
The power is very linear though and does reward being revved out. The ZF 8 speed is a brilliant companion for it as well. Super lazy and comfortable yet when pushed into manual mode very responsive on the upshifts. Noticed a slight hesitation in the downshifts, however this is probably me asking for the shift at the wrong point. It'll take a little while to work out the gear ratios and when to downshift between the gears.
All part of the fun!
The power is very linear though and does reward being revved out. The ZF 8 speed is a brilliant companion for it as well. Super lazy and comfortable yet when pushed into manual mode very responsive on the upshifts. Noticed a slight hesitation in the downshifts, however this is probably me asking for the shift at the wrong point. It'll take a little while to work out the gear ratios and when to downshift between the gears.
All part of the fun!
Due to the second weekend of ownership being my brothers birthday, I was back in Oxford for celebrations. Another chance to have a good blast across the A702 from Edinburgh to the A74M that turns into the M6. The road has it all, fast flowing bends, elevation changes, decent straights and plenty of visibility. Also importantly plenty of safe overtaking opportunities for any slower moving traffic on the road. The car is immense on these types of roads, however the tyres are fairly rubbish. They are Bridgestone Potenza S001 runflats that the car comes with from stock. I’d had these on my previous 1 series and one of the best things I done to that car was swapping them too Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3’s. It transformed the ride, grip and also really reduced the noise. The Potenzas are very hard and don't mould to the road whatsoever; I’m sure this is because of the stiff sidewalls that are required for run flat tyres. This is made worse in the cold weather and as the trip was taken in the first weekend of February, this didn’t help at all.
On the Saturday morning I wanted to take my brother to Caffeine and machine in Warwickshire. I’d see a lot about it on YouTube and Instagram and it looked like petrol head heaven. Safe to say we were not disappointed when we got there. However the journey there was also a lot of fun. My Dad and a mate came with me in the car and my brother went on his bike. We went out of Oxford heading towards Woodstock, through Endstone, Long Compton, Shipston-on-Stour and got to Caffeine and Machine around 11.30am. The route was great fun and my brother said the car sounded great on the couple of mandatory fly-bys when overtaking the odd slower vehicle. I was still impressed by the pull and shove in the back when the car is 3 up!
Upon arriving outside the front was a classic 911 in a Coca Cola racing livery; stunning machine! Not sure what is was, does anyone know?
I asked one of the marshalls if I could pull my car in front of the house to get some mandatory pictures when a space came available. Got some great shots, also the complimentary key ring is supposed to be used to get a free drink when you pay for the parking. However I didn’t realise this and kept hold of it, luckily I did, it’s a nice souvenir!
Although it is great fun to go on your own car, I was under no illusions that the car park would be taking my attention, even with a new car! THe eclectic mix of cars in the car park was amazing, and from what I understand it is quite normal. Cayman GT4; 900bhp Lichfield GTR; 2 track prepped Volvo estates (these were very cool!); Alfa 4C; Lotus Exige; A classic Ford Mustang; Nobel M12 (I remember first seeing one of these on 5th Gear); Aston martin GT8 amoung many other toys!
Some pictures of the car park:
I then gave my Dad the keys to have a drive back home which he loved, it was great seeing him like a child all again and having some fun!
Miles covered: 82 miles
On the Saturday morning I wanted to take my brother to Caffeine and machine in Warwickshire. I’d see a lot about it on YouTube and Instagram and it looked like petrol head heaven. Safe to say we were not disappointed when we got there. However the journey there was also a lot of fun. My Dad and a mate came with me in the car and my brother went on his bike. We went out of Oxford heading towards Woodstock, through Endstone, Long Compton, Shipston-on-Stour and got to Caffeine and Machine around 11.30am. The route was great fun and my brother said the car sounded great on the couple of mandatory fly-bys when overtaking the odd slower vehicle. I was still impressed by the pull and shove in the back when the car is 3 up!
Upon arriving outside the front was a classic 911 in a Coca Cola racing livery; stunning machine! Not sure what is was, does anyone know?
I asked one of the marshalls if I could pull my car in front of the house to get some mandatory pictures when a space came available. Got some great shots, also the complimentary key ring is supposed to be used to get a free drink when you pay for the parking. However I didn’t realise this and kept hold of it, luckily I did, it’s a nice souvenir!
Although it is great fun to go on your own car, I was under no illusions that the car park would be taking my attention, even with a new car! THe eclectic mix of cars in the car park was amazing, and from what I understand it is quite normal. Cayman GT4; 900bhp Lichfield GTR; 2 track prepped Volvo estates (these were very cool!); Alfa 4C; Lotus Exige; A classic Ford Mustang; Nobel M12 (I remember first seeing one of these on 5th Gear); Aston martin GT8 amoung many other toys!
Some pictures of the car park:
I then gave my Dad the keys to have a drive back home which he loved, it was great seeing him like a child all again and having some fun!
Miles covered: 82 miles
Mr Tidy said:
That's quite a rapid progression OP - well done. And I love the colour of your 440is interior 
There's just something so right about a BMW with a straight 6 and RWD - I've currently got numbers 5 and 6.
Thanks Tidy! The interior was the main reason I bought this example. I do always wonder how much extra it cost the original owner when speccing it. I’ll have to try and find it out.There's just something so right about a BMW with a straight 6 and RWD - I've currently got numbers 5 and 6.
Certainly agree about the straight 6 and RWD stereotype, it just works so well. Your Z4M is a lovely car! I need to scratch the M3 itch at some point, both the E92 and E46 were looked at in the hunt for this. Just not quite practical with the mileage I cover at the moment, the M car tax on parts and servicing would be too much.
That's a great choice and the colour combo is really good, stands out among a sea a bland choices.
I've gotta admit though that your thread title made expect a Volvo at the end rather than a BMW. my parents had a lovely 1995 Volvo 440 with fancy bodykit.
I'd still call yours a 340 coupe or 340ci but then I'm stuck in the past, mate has an M4 which I constantly refer to as the M3 coupe
I've gotta admit though that your thread title made expect a Volvo at the end rather than a BMW. my parents had a lovely 1995 Volvo 440 with fancy bodykit.
I'd still call yours a 340 coupe or 340ci but then I'm stuck in the past, mate has an M4 which I constantly refer to as the M3 coupe
My first Sunday drive - 16/2/2
After the 2 weekends of going up and down between Oxford and Edinburgh, I had chance to stay in Edinburgh for the weekend and take the car out for its first Sunday drive. I started googling what routes were good fun around Edinburgh and stumbled across the A701 that runs from the outskirts of Edinburgh down to Moffat. It goes through an area known as the southern Scottish highlands so I figured it would be great fun and should be a nice scenic route.
I woke up on the Sunday morning and left about 10.30am, trundling out of central Edinburgh, stopping for the mandatory fuel stop to fill the tank and made my way onto the A702, switching over to the A701. As soon as I got onto the A701 I was treated with a flooded road, however luckily a car was in front of me and went through the water before I did. I noticed it was not very deep, barely covering the tire wall in depth, so I was happy to go through. After that I started climbing through the hills and swiftly knocked it into sport mode. Due to the cold conditions, a new car, it being the most powerful I’d driven and rear wheel drive I decided to not use sport plus and keep the aids on. Now I’m used to the car that has changed! The car isn’t the stiffest, but on a road like this it was great. You need a little bit of compliance when hammering along backroads and the 4 isn’t too bad. I think it would need a little less roll to be better, but I always remind myself, this is not an M4 or even an M440i, so it is set up a little softer.
Halfway along the route to Moffat, I notice a great photo opportunity, so I had to pull over and get some snaps of the car:
Further along the route it was time for another stop and a different backdrop:
The scenery was simply stunning along the route. It was a fairly overcast day, so I’d love to do it either with the sun rising or setting. I will certainly be going back for another go, also with a cleaner car!
Getting into Moffat, I pull up to grab a quick I drink and thought I’d check on the trip computer to see how far I had driven. It was at this point I noticed an average MPG of 16 and thought.... right then! She drinks! I can confirm the smiles per gallon is very high, so I didn’t care.
I spun back round and retraced the route back into Edinburgh, focusing on keeping it smooth and flowing instead of hammering it bend to bend. This was a different challenge but so much fun as well. Think I was just in love with driving it what ever way. Back into Edinburgh and parked in the car park for a rest until the next outing!
Miles covered: 104
After the 2 weekends of going up and down between Oxford and Edinburgh, I had chance to stay in Edinburgh for the weekend and take the car out for its first Sunday drive. I started googling what routes were good fun around Edinburgh and stumbled across the A701 that runs from the outskirts of Edinburgh down to Moffat. It goes through an area known as the southern Scottish highlands so I figured it would be great fun and should be a nice scenic route.
I woke up on the Sunday morning and left about 10.30am, trundling out of central Edinburgh, stopping for the mandatory fuel stop to fill the tank and made my way onto the A702, switching over to the A701. As soon as I got onto the A701 I was treated with a flooded road, however luckily a car was in front of me and went through the water before I did. I noticed it was not very deep, barely covering the tire wall in depth, so I was happy to go through. After that I started climbing through the hills and swiftly knocked it into sport mode. Due to the cold conditions, a new car, it being the most powerful I’d driven and rear wheel drive I decided to not use sport plus and keep the aids on. Now I’m used to the car that has changed! The car isn’t the stiffest, but on a road like this it was great. You need a little bit of compliance when hammering along backroads and the 4 isn’t too bad. I think it would need a little less roll to be better, but I always remind myself, this is not an M4 or even an M440i, so it is set up a little softer.
Halfway along the route to Moffat, I notice a great photo opportunity, so I had to pull over and get some snaps of the car:
Further along the route it was time for another stop and a different backdrop:
The scenery was simply stunning along the route. It was a fairly overcast day, so I’d love to do it either with the sun rising or setting. I will certainly be going back for another go, also with a cleaner car!
Getting into Moffat, I pull up to grab a quick I drink and thought I’d check on the trip computer to see how far I had driven. It was at this point I noticed an average MPG of 16 and thought.... right then! She drinks! I can confirm the smiles per gallon is very high, so I didn’t care.
I spun back round and retraced the route back into Edinburgh, focusing on keeping it smooth and flowing instead of hammering it bend to bend. This was a different challenge but so much fun as well. Think I was just in love with driving it what ever way. Back into Edinburgh and parked in the car park for a rest until the next outing!
Miles covered: 104
Edited by WebbAdventures on Saturday 9th May 21:18
Roboticarm said:
That's a great choice and the colour combo is really good, stands out among a sea a bland choices.
I've gotta admit though that your thread title made expect a Volvo at the end rather than a BMW. my parents had a lovely 1995 Volvo 440 with fancy bodykit.
I'd still call yours a 340 coupe or 340ci but then I'm stuck in the past, mate has an M4 which I constantly refer to as the M3 coupe
I must admit I didn’t even know there was a Volvo 440! Also, apologies in advance, but I was born in 1995 which might be why I've gotta admit though that your thread title made expect a Volvo at the end rather than a BMW. my parents had a lovely 1995 Volvo 440 with fancy bodykit.
I'd still call yours a 340 coupe or 340ci but then I'm stuck in the past, mate has an M4 which I constantly refer to as the M3 coupe
I do know about the 850, and wished touring cars were still as big nowadays!
The original 440, admittedly yours it's better in literally everyway.
Hadn't realised yours wasn't the M until your last post, I always think that the non m models are the better choice, more subtle styling and usually nicer to drive with the smaller wheels and softer suspension.
There was a previous gen 330d localll to me which I think might have been ex police but if it wasn't for the badge you'd have thought it was a 318d, I've got alot of time for a non m BMW
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park - 23/2/20
Sunday came around again so it was time for another adventure with the car. This was planned as a day trip however a combination of bad weather in the morning and being lazy because it was Sunday meant I didn’t set off until 1pm. I was going to take a drive around the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park to see what I could see and have another Sunday blast in the car. Setting off out of Edinburgh the weather was grey (when isn’t it in Scotland in Winter
) but no rain meant I thought it was going to be a good ride. Naturally shortly after starting the journey it started to rain, however I had checked the weather radar and expected this so I pushed on along the M9 up towards Stirling. By the time I reached Stirling the weather had cleared and the sun was trying to poke through the clouds. Getting off of the M9 and onto some of the A roads they started to become fast and flowing - great fun! Being a Sunday there were a few Sunday drivers out, however it was a good excuse to put it into sport mode, drop a few gears and overtake them. The scenery was beautiful on the way to the national park however it just went up a notch when getting into the park.
Shortly after getting into the park I started to drive along side Loch Lubnaig. The view was great even though the weather couldn’t decide what it was doing. I certainly experienced all 4 seasons on this Sunday; Sun; Rain; some snow when getting a little further round; plenty of grey skies. About a third of the way along the loch was a car park that I decided to dive into and see what I capture with the camera. Looked to be a lovely little cafe called The Cabin
on the edge of the car park, however with an eye on time I decided to skip it and carry on driving. Maybe one for next time!
After carrying on the drive I could see I was coming up to pass Loch Earn. The skies had cleared and I was treated to a bit of blue sky (although, don’t let the pictures confuse you, it was still freezing!). Seeing it on Waze made me slow down and keep an eye out for somewhere to pull in and take in the view. I noticed a small car park just off of my route, so I pulled in and took a couple of pictures. The lochs really are stunning. Growing up in Oxford always makes me really appreciate the beauty of bodies of water as we don’t have many in Oxfordshire, or close by.
Carrying on the journey from Loch Earn I kept climbing up through the mountains and noticed a viaduct in the distance - what a sight to see! I kept driving hoping I’d find a spot to pull off and take a picture of it, and more importantly one of the car with it in the background. I believe the viaduct was somewhere near Glenogle. Luckily just coming round a bend I noticed a ‘lay-by’ in the distance with a perfect view of the viaduct, so obviously stopped. It was a challenge getting into the lay-by as it was more like an off road course than a well paved one, but as they say fortune favours the brave! I managed to get the car in without too much trouble and this was the resulting shot:
After this picture it was into an average speed stretch towards Crainlarich. At this point it started snowing and I decided it was probably not best to be in a 300+hp rear wheel drive car on summer tyres, so spun round at Crainlarich and retraced my route back towards Edinburgh. Lucky I did as climbing back towards Glenogle, the snow got heavier and heavier, however there was enough traffic not to allow it to settle. Needless to say I was a lot happier when descending down the other side and back into higher temperatures and a lot less snow! I also had the pleasure of listening to England beating Ireland 24-12 on the way home in the Sixth nations, so this topped off a good afternoon out!
Back to Edinburgh and that was the end of another adventure.
Having missed out on being able to do the loop, I will certainly be back once we are allowed back out to play!
Miles covered: 157
Sunday came around again so it was time for another adventure with the car. This was planned as a day trip however a combination of bad weather in the morning and being lazy because it was Sunday meant I didn’t set off until 1pm. I was going to take a drive around the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park to see what I could see and have another Sunday blast in the car. Setting off out of Edinburgh the weather was grey (when isn’t it in Scotland in Winter
) but no rain meant I thought it was going to be a good ride. Naturally shortly after starting the journey it started to rain, however I had checked the weather radar and expected this so I pushed on along the M9 up towards Stirling. By the time I reached Stirling the weather had cleared and the sun was trying to poke through the clouds. Getting off of the M9 and onto some of the A roads they started to become fast and flowing - great fun! Being a Sunday there were a few Sunday drivers out, however it was a good excuse to put it into sport mode, drop a few gears and overtake them. The scenery was beautiful on the way to the national park however it just went up a notch when getting into the park. Shortly after getting into the park I started to drive along side Loch Lubnaig. The view was great even though the weather couldn’t decide what it was doing. I certainly experienced all 4 seasons on this Sunday; Sun; Rain; some snow when getting a little further round; plenty of grey skies. About a third of the way along the loch was a car park that I decided to dive into and see what I capture with the camera. Looked to be a lovely little cafe called The Cabin
on the edge of the car park, however with an eye on time I decided to skip it and carry on driving. Maybe one for next time!After carrying on the drive I could see I was coming up to pass Loch Earn. The skies had cleared and I was treated to a bit of blue sky (although, don’t let the pictures confuse you, it was still freezing!). Seeing it on Waze made me slow down and keep an eye out for somewhere to pull in and take in the view. I noticed a small car park just off of my route, so I pulled in and took a couple of pictures. The lochs really are stunning. Growing up in Oxford always makes me really appreciate the beauty of bodies of water as we don’t have many in Oxfordshire, or close by.
Carrying on the journey from Loch Earn I kept climbing up through the mountains and noticed a viaduct in the distance - what a sight to see! I kept driving hoping I’d find a spot to pull off and take a picture of it, and more importantly one of the car with it in the background. I believe the viaduct was somewhere near Glenogle. Luckily just coming round a bend I noticed a ‘lay-by’ in the distance with a perfect view of the viaduct, so obviously stopped. It was a challenge getting into the lay-by as it was more like an off road course than a well paved one
, but as they say fortune favours the brave! I managed to get the car in without too much trouble and this was the resulting shot:After this picture it was into an average speed stretch towards Crainlarich. At this point it started snowing and I decided it was probably not best to be in a 300+hp rear wheel drive car on summer tyres, so spun round at Crainlarich and retraced my route back towards Edinburgh. Lucky I did as climbing back towards Glenogle, the snow got heavier and heavier, however there was enough traffic not to allow it to settle. Needless to say I was a lot happier when descending down the other side and back into higher temperatures and a lot less snow! I also had the pleasure of listening to England beating Ireland 24-12 on the way home in the Sixth nations, so this topped off a good afternoon out!
Back to Edinburgh and that was the end of another adventure.
Having missed out on being able to do the loop, I will certainly be back once we are allowed back out to play!
Miles covered: 157
Adventure no. 5 - Forth bridge photoshoot - 29/02/20
Having a free Saturday evening I decided to go out and get some night snaps of the car. This helped me stay out of the pub and consequently Sunday morning was a lot nicer!
Keeping an eye on the weather forecast for the day, I could see it was going to be very windy, however there should be a window of a couple of hours where there would be no rain and luckily it worked out. Living in central edinburgh it was a slow cruise out of the city, over the new Queensferry crossing. Liberal use of the throttle at points made it great fun, but once again the relaxed nature in which the car can cruise still amazes me! There is a great section of road when you get off of the Queensferry crossing that runs into North Queensferry. It’s only a mile to a mile and a half long, but you can see all of it; it has a good compression; and a couple of sweeping curves. Oh and it also passes under and overpass which you can go through at full throttle
. Getting into north Queensferry I headed to the 2 photo locations and the results are below. Will be back on another night to try and get one with the front lights on. They are really hard to capture as the light is so bright it blows out the picture. Since then I found out how to properly bracket a few shots to create a HDR scene, so will be back to try it out.
Let me know what you think of the pictures and any tips.
Having a free Saturday evening I decided to go out and get some night snaps of the car. This helped me stay out of the pub and consequently Sunday morning was a lot nicer!
Keeping an eye on the weather forecast for the day, I could see it was going to be very windy, however there should be a window of a couple of hours where there would be no rain and luckily it worked out. Living in central edinburgh it was a slow cruise out of the city, over the new Queensferry crossing. Liberal use of the throttle at points made it great fun, but once again the relaxed nature in which the car can cruise still amazes me! There is a great section of road when you get off of the Queensferry crossing that runs into North Queensferry. It’s only a mile to a mile and a half long, but you can see all of it; it has a good compression; and a couple of sweeping curves. Oh and it also passes under and overpass which you can go through at full throttle
. Getting into north Queensferry I headed to the 2 photo locations and the results are below. Will be back on another night to try and get one with the front lights on. They are really hard to capture as the light is so bright it blows out the picture. Since then I found out how to properly bracket a few shots to create a HDR scene, so will be back to try it out. Let me know what you think of the pictures and any tips.
Snowman Rally Inverness - 7/3/20
Another weekend and another adventure in the car. This time it was heading north up to Inverness for the snowman rally. I’d never been to a live rally before, and it didn’t disappoint! I’d been to the rally stage at the Goodwood festival of speed; a rally day at Cornbury park in Oxford; World Rally Cross at Silverstone etc, but never live rally.
The cars had always intrigued me and the sheer balls of the drives amazed me. I’d love to have a go, but I’m not kidding anyone, I don’t think I’d keep it on the stage for very long, regardless of how good of a driver I think I am
The day was an early start (for the weekend) and a 3 hour drive up to Inverness. I took a mate with me and we left around 7.15 am and started the long drive up. I was thinking about taking a route through the cairngorms however the weather was drizzly and there was a little fog about, so the decision was made to stick to the A9 and its average speed cameras. We got into Inverness about 11am. We decided to miss the second stage and head straight to the 3rd. We could have probably made the end of the second stage, but by the time we would have parked then I’m sure we would have missed most of it and missed a lot of the 3rd as well.
Having never been before I didn’t know what to realise, however there was a set spectator area with a great view of a hairpin turn, which gave some great shots. The fiesta R5’s are so rapid, something special to see. Considering this was just amateur rally, I can’t quite comprehend what pace the WRC must go at when seeing it in person! Hopefully WRC wales runs this year.
A couple of an R5 in action:
Here are some photos from the 3rd stage:
I wasn’t the only one trying to capture the action:
Near the end of stage 3 we decided it would be best to get across to stage 4 before the crowds started to flock. Lucky we did because we were still near the back of the car park for the stage by the time we got there! Looking at the amount of cars I would say a lot of people skipped stage 3 and went straight from stage 2 to 4.
This stage had the spectating area once again on the hairpin, but a lot better sight line on the entry in, and was a lot faster on the entry. On the other side of the corner the cars had to climb a fairly steep hill so made for great viewing. You could then hear the cars accelerating, backfiring and all of the other heavenly sounds as the cars weaved through the forrest above us.
Here are the pictures from the 4th stage:
Always entertaining to see one stacking it:
Boot catches seemed optional:
Sadly I didn’t get any pictures of the car this time, just an excuse to go again next time! Sadly there could have been an awesome picture of the car really dirty from the grime on a salted road on the way up, but for some reason I didn’t take a picture of it Bang head
Until the next adventure.
Miles driven: 375
Another weekend and another adventure in the car. This time it was heading north up to Inverness for the snowman rally. I’d never been to a live rally before, and it didn’t disappoint! I’d been to the rally stage at the Goodwood festival of speed; a rally day at Cornbury park in Oxford; World Rally Cross at Silverstone etc, but never live rally.
The cars had always intrigued me and the sheer balls of the drives amazed me. I’d love to have a go, but I’m not kidding anyone, I don’t think I’d keep it on the stage for very long, regardless of how good of a driver I think I am
The day was an early start (for the weekend
) and a 3 hour drive up to Inverness. I took a mate with me and we left around 7.15 am and started the long drive up. I was thinking about taking a route through the cairngorms however the weather was drizzly and there was a little fog about, so the decision was made to stick to the A9 and its average speed cameras. We got into Inverness about 11am. We decided to miss the second stage and head straight to the 3rd. We could have probably made the end of the second stage, but by the time we would have parked then I’m sure we would have missed most of it and missed a lot of the 3rd as well. Having never been before I didn’t know what to realise, however there was a set spectator area with a great view of a hairpin turn, which gave some great shots. The fiesta R5’s are so rapid, something special to see. Considering this was just amateur rally, I can’t quite comprehend what pace the WRC must go at when seeing it in person! Hopefully WRC wales runs this year.
A couple of an R5 in action:
Here are some photos from the 3rd stage:
I wasn’t the only one trying to capture the action:
Near the end of stage 3 we decided it would be best to get across to stage 4 before the crowds started to flock. Lucky we did because we were still near the back of the car park for the stage by the time we got there! Looking at the amount of cars I would say a lot of people skipped stage 3 and went straight from stage 2 to 4.
This stage had the spectating area once again on the hairpin, but a lot better sight line on the entry in, and was a lot faster on the entry. On the other side of the corner the cars had to climb a fairly steep hill so made for great viewing. You could then hear the cars accelerating, backfiring and all of the other heavenly sounds as the cars weaved through the forrest above us.
Here are the pictures from the 4th stage:
Always entertaining to see one stacking it:
Boot catches seemed optional:
Sadly I didn’t get any pictures of the car this time, just an excuse to go again next time! Sadly there could have been an awesome picture of the car really dirty from the grime on a salted road on the way up, but for some reason I didn’t take a picture of it Bang head
Until the next adventure.
Miles driven: 375
Nice write up OP. The B58 engine is rather good isn’t it? I have an M140i and a year in it still makes me grin (easy to get into lots of trouble though....). The fuel economy is really Jekyll and Hyde; it’s pretty economical on a motorway cruise but enjoy it and that tank of super soon disappears!
Love the interior. I went with black because coral was discontinued when I came to order mine and the sample of cognac looked nothing like it did in the pictures.
Big fan of C&M too; looking forward to some trips down that way again soon.
Love the interior. I went with black because coral was discontinued when I came to order mine and the sample of cognac looked nothing like it did in the pictures.
Big fan of C&M too; looking forward to some trips down that way again soon.
Court_S said:
Nice write up OP. The B58 engine is rather good isn’t it? I have an M140i and a year in it still makes me grin (easy to get into lots of trouble though....). The fuel economy is really Jekyll and Hyde; it’s pretty economical on a motorway cruise but enjoy it and that tank of super soon disappears!
Love the interior. I went with black because coral was discontinued when I came to order mine and the sample of cognac looked nothing like it did in the pictures.
Big fan of C&M too; looking forward to some trips down that way again soon.
Thanks Court_S, the B58 is something rather special. Can’t agree more on the Jekyll and Hyde nature of it, on a blast I averaged 16mpg but at 70mph it can do just over 40mpg which I think is amazing for a 3L petrol.Love the interior. I went with black because coral was discontinued when I came to order mine and the sample of cognac looked nothing like it did in the pictures.
Big fan of C&M too; looking forward to some trips down that way again soon.
Also agree that it’s very easy to get into trouble with it, its just so addictive. Managed to keep my license clean so far and plan on keeping it that way, won’t be easy though!
Coral was a consideration when I was looking, just didn’t want black. However this came up and that was it!
Since the last update the car has had a lot of use. Since picking it up in January I have now covered over 16000 miles (36,660 on the clock now) in it and the story of how that has happened will be below. It might be split into a couple of posts due to how long a single post would take.
Edinburgh to Oxford - 30/3/20
Due to the dreaded ‘rona virus, I needed to head home from my place in Edinburgh back to my parents in Oxford for what I thought was going to be a short period; how wrong I was... However this gave me a good opportunity to have a blast across the A701 to the A74M and then a good cruise down the country on the motorway. The roads were empty, so good progress was made and a lot of fun was had on the A701. As mentioned before the road twists and turns, rises and falls, so its a good bit of fun. Also came across a BMW M240i with a load of performance parts on it, along the route. A good couple of miles were spent driving together, making the most of the quiet roads. The motorway slog was very much that, set the car on cruise control and just munch the miles.
I did manage to set a new record for getting home - a given with the quiet roads, so that was good! Feel like that’s going to be hard to beat due to traffic and not wanting to lose my license due to excessive speeding!
Just after Easter I transferred projects and was asked to go an help build 4 bridges; apart of the HS2 enabling works. The team needed another engineer as they were a couple down with covid restrictions, so instead of being stuck in the house, I thought I’d go and help out for a week or two... How wrong I was, 2 months after my first day, I left
Regular use to HS2
The journey to the site was 67 miles each way meaning 134 miles each day and it soon started racking up the mileage. The car is brilliant for this, comfortable, smooth and plenty of poke to get ‘off of the slip road and onto the motorway’. During the colder mornings the heated seats were a dream and when the temperatures started rising the remote activation of the cooling system was also great. The car is linked to the BMW connect app and if you set the leaving time before your journey, it will start circulating air to get the heat out of the car. Also the fuel economy wasn’t too bad either, the only thing that started to grind my gears was visiting the fuel station every 3rd day to refill. The sheer time spent in the fuel station was the bit that annoyed me the most, it even got to the stage where I would have paid more for it to be quicker
Most days I would just take the A roads and motorway to get the journey over and done with as soon as I could. However once a week, mostly a Friday I would take the scenic route through the edge of the Cotswolds and back into Oxford. The site was basically at the NEC, so from there it was head towards Chadwick end -> Warwick -> Stratford upon Avon -> Shipston on Stour -> Long Compton -> Woodstock -> Oxford. Great fun on a sunny evening and a beautiful ride. One where it wasn’t such a chore to get stuck behind something. Also gave a good excuse to overtake them!
25/05/20 - Cannop ponds and the Forrest of dean
When the restrictions lifted, the family and I took a day trip to the forest of dean and specifically cannop ponds which are near Lydney. The car was brilliant four up and good fun on some of the emptier sections of the roads. If cannop ponds are anywhere near where you’re based, I’d highly recommend a visit, great for a sunny afternoon.
On the way back, we went to the viewpoint at the top of birdlip hill and the sun was looking great on the car!
And a gracious shot of the view:
30,000 miles was passed in early June!
After all of this driving, it was new tire time. I was elated to get rid of the run flats, however I didn't expect to be getting rid of them circa 5 months into ownership! Pictures and the next adventures to follow...
Edinburgh to Oxford - 30/3/20
Due to the dreaded ‘rona virus, I needed to head home from my place in Edinburgh back to my parents in Oxford for what I thought was going to be a short period; how wrong I was... However this gave me a good opportunity to have a blast across the A701 to the A74M and then a good cruise down the country on the motorway. The roads were empty, so good progress was made and a lot of fun was had on the A701. As mentioned before the road twists and turns, rises and falls, so its a good bit of fun. Also came across a BMW M240i with a load of performance parts on it, along the route. A good couple of miles were spent driving together, making the most of the quiet roads. The motorway slog was very much that, set the car on cruise control and just munch the miles.
I did manage to set a new record for getting home - a given with the quiet roads, so that was good! Feel like that’s going to be hard to beat due to traffic and not wanting to lose my license due to excessive speeding!
Just after Easter I transferred projects and was asked to go an help build 4 bridges; apart of the HS2 enabling works. The team needed another engineer as they were a couple down with covid restrictions, so instead of being stuck in the house, I thought I’d go and help out for a week or two... How wrong I was, 2 months after my first day, I left
Regular use to HS2
The journey to the site was 67 miles each way meaning 134 miles each day and it soon started racking up the mileage. The car is brilliant for this, comfortable, smooth and plenty of poke to get ‘off of the slip road and onto the motorway’. During the colder mornings the heated seats were a dream and when the temperatures started rising the remote activation of the cooling system was also great. The car is linked to the BMW connect app and if you set the leaving time before your journey, it will start circulating air to get the heat out of the car. Also the fuel economy wasn’t too bad either, the only thing that started to grind my gears was visiting the fuel station every 3rd day to refill. The sheer time spent in the fuel station was the bit that annoyed me the most, it even got to the stage where I would have paid more for it to be quicker
Most days I would just take the A roads and motorway to get the journey over and done with as soon as I could. However once a week, mostly a Friday I would take the scenic route through the edge of the Cotswolds and back into Oxford. The site was basically at the NEC, so from there it was head towards Chadwick end -> Warwick -> Stratford upon Avon -> Shipston on Stour -> Long Compton -> Woodstock -> Oxford. Great fun on a sunny evening and a beautiful ride. One where it wasn’t such a chore to get stuck behind something. Also gave a good excuse to overtake them!
25/05/20 - Cannop ponds and the Forrest of dean
When the restrictions lifted, the family and I took a day trip to the forest of dean and specifically cannop ponds which are near Lydney. The car was brilliant four up and good fun on some of the emptier sections of the roads. If cannop ponds are anywhere near where you’re based, I’d highly recommend a visit, great for a sunny afternoon.
On the way back, we went to the viewpoint at the top of birdlip hill and the sun was looking great on the car!
And a gracious shot of the view:
30,000 miles was passed in early June!
After all of this driving, it was new tire time. I was elated to get rid of the run flats, however I didn't expect to be getting rid of them circa 5 months into ownership! Pictures and the next adventures to follow...
Edited by WebbAdventures on Thursday 12th November 23:05
10th June 2020 - New tyre day
Just ticking over 30,000 miles and it was time for new tires. Could imagine the fronts being the originals as the Potenzas on my old one series lasted about this, but can't imagine the rears were the original unless the first owner was seriously careful with them. EIther way it was time to get rid of the terrible run-flats!
I decided to swap all 4 tyres at the same time as I didn't want to mix tyres and also wanted to get rid of the Bridgestones ASAP. 4 new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5's were ordered; 225 40 19 for the front and 255 35 19 for the rear. I'd fitted the Asymmetric 3's to the 1 series and covered circa 40,000 miles on them so I was a big fan of the previous versions. Also reading a lot of reviews and watching a couple of videos from tyre reviews on Youtube swung me away from the Michelin PS4S' and towards the ASYM 5's. OVerall the Michelins were £100 and something more for the 4 and in the tests the performance gain was negligible. Also, a large part of the tyre life would be worn away with motorway journeys so didn't see the point in wasting the extra £100 or so.
During the fitting:
All on:
Overall I am super impressed with the tyres. They're far more comfortable and generally get about 2mpg better average on a long run as well which is a huge bonus. Grip wise they are a real step on, it's very hard to get the car to move unless you're being very brave and even in the wet it needs some serious provocation to get it moving. However, this has made the car a weapon on the flowing A-roads up in Scotland and over the summer it has had plenty of use.
Just ticking over 30,000 miles and it was time for new tires. Could imagine the fronts being the originals as the Potenzas on my old one series lasted about this, but can't imagine the rears were the original unless the first owner was seriously careful with them. EIther way it was time to get rid of the terrible run-flats!
I decided to swap all 4 tyres at the same time as I didn't want to mix tyres and also wanted to get rid of the Bridgestones ASAP. 4 new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5's were ordered; 225 40 19 for the front and 255 35 19 for the rear. I'd fitted the Asymmetric 3's to the 1 series and covered circa 40,000 miles on them so I was a big fan of the previous versions. Also reading a lot of reviews and watching a couple of videos from tyre reviews on Youtube swung me away from the Michelin PS4S' and towards the ASYM 5's. OVerall the Michelins were £100 and something more for the 4 and in the tests the performance gain was negligible. Also, a large part of the tyre life would be worn away with motorway journeys so didn't see the point in wasting the extra £100 or so.
During the fitting:
All on:
Overall I am super impressed with the tyres. They're far more comfortable and generally get about 2mpg better average on a long run as well which is a huge bonus. Grip wise they are a real step on, it's very hard to get the car to move unless you're being very brave and even in the wet it needs some serious provocation to get it moving. However, this has made the car a weapon on the flowing A-roads up in Scotland and over the summer it has had plenty of use.
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