Disappointed with e90 330i

[Paracetamol]

I have recently bought a 2006 330i auto with 35k miles and 17" alloys. I can't believe how frustrated I am with it. Mostly down to runflats I think. Whilst it grips etc, the steering is stupidly heavy and seems to understeer and tramline. It also doesn't feel like it settles into a corner- instead needing constant adjustments. The ride is also very 'odd'- you can almost feel the weight of the tyres causing inertia and lots of bumping thumping. And the noise OMG from these tyres- they howl!

The engines whilst quite torqey feels harsh and noisy at high revs and the gearbox is horrible and 'slurry'. So on one hand I have a hard riding, heavy steering supposedly sporty feeling car..but with a engine and gearbox that is trying to be all slurry and luxurious. The 320d we had before had 16" wheels and a nice punchy and prescise engine. I never thought I would say it but the 320d felt a much better drive than the 330i! Shame you cant get 320d's where I now live (Middle East). Guess first thing to do is get rid of the stupid tyres and check the alignment.

I seriously feel like dragging over a BMW engineer from Germany and forcing him to drive the car..what were they thinking when the decided to fit these stupid tyres! I guess the cost savings of 1 tyre, wheel and jack x 250,000 cars and a market that would buy a tu%rd if it had a BMW badge on it was reason enough.

[gizlaroc]

All down to the tyres. Get real ones on it quick.

[Paracetamol]

Hi

Its not an M Sport Its an SE. I once made the mistake of getting an sports suspension on a saloon car..never again..

Actually, I take some of my comments back. I drove a friends 330 last night. Mine has 225/45/17 255/40/17 Pirellis and his has 225/45/17 all round. His drove MUCH better than my car. Much better steering and ride..I couldnt believe the difference and suddenly it all felt rightly judged- quite sublime...it has to be down to a few things

1) my rear tyres are down to 2.5mm
2) the steering is not returning to the centre- either alignment/tyres or something damaged on the steering rack

[griffdude]

Hmmm, just bought a 6 sp manual E90 330i Msport Touring & really like it.Having spent the last 12 years with various VAG tdi's, I felt it was time for a change.

It doesn't have the low rev torque rush to ride BUT it is so much more flexible in gear.

The ride, handling & grip is outstanding IMHO for a daily driver.

What's the recommended replacement for the 255/35R18 Bridgestone RunFlats?

The only downer is there's some wind noise from the front of the panoramic sunroof when it's shut but the blind's open; suggestions for a fix?

Edited by griffdude on Saturday 16th May 21:15

[gizlaroc]

Paracetamol said:

Hi

Its not an M Sport Its an SE. I once made the mistake of getting an sports suspension on a saloon car..never again..

Actually, I take some of my comments back. I drove a friends 330 last night. Mine has 225/45/17 255/40/17 Pirellis and his has 225/45/17 all round. His drove MUCH better than my car. Much better steering and ride..I couldnt believe the difference and suddenly it all felt rightly judged- quite sublime...it has to be down to a few things

1) my rear tyres are down to 2.5mm
2) the steering is not returning to the centre- either alignment/tyres or something damaged on the steering rack

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here but.....


The SE suspension set up on the E90 pre LCI cars in late 2007 are not the best on UK roads. They use a really cheap boge/sachs strut/spring combo that really doesn't soak up our poor UK road surfaces.

The M-Sport uses a Bilstein shock and Eibach spring and handles our roads far, far better, soaking up lumps and bumps wonderfully, the SE on the same roads twitches about like nothing else.

This has been discussed at great length on the bmwland forums.


Second bit, the Pirelli run flats are verging on dangerous imho!!

Do not put the same size on all round, but do put proper tyres on, Kuhmo 31's or Falken FK452's will do the job for £350 fitted all round. If you insist on run flats still get Pilot Sport 2 zero pressure tyres or the Bridgetsone RE050 run flats (only 17" for those as the 18's are crap!).



Once you get proper tyres on the car the SE suspension starts to work a lot better, so get the tyres on, the alignment done and then decide.

[Paracetamol]

gizlaroc said:

Paracetamol said:

Hi

Its not an M Sport Its an SE. I once made the mistake of getting an sports suspension on a saloon car..never again..

Actually, I take some of my comments back. I drove a friends 330 last night. Mine has 225/45/17 255/40/17 Pirellis and his has 225/45/17 all round. His drove MUCH better than my car. Much better steering and ride..I couldnt believe the difference and suddenly it all felt rightly judged- quite sublime...it has to be down to a few things

1) my rear tyres are down to 2.5mm
2) the steering is not returning to the centre- either alignment/tyres or something damaged on the steering rack

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here but.....


The SE suspension set up on the E90 pre LCI cars in late 2007 are not the best on UK roads. They use a really cheap boge/sachs strut/spring combo that really doesn't soak up our poor UK road surfaces.

The M-Sport uses a Bilstein shock and Eibach spring and handles our roads far, far better, soaking up lumps and bumps wonderfully, the SE on the same roads twitches about like nothing else.

This has been discussed at great length on the bmwland forums.


Second bit, the Pirelli run flats are verging on dangerous imho!!

Do not put the same size on all round, but do put proper tyres on, Kuhmo 31's or Falken FK452's will do the job for £350 fitted all round. If you insist on run flats still get Pilot Sport 2 zero pressure tyres or the Bridgetsone RE050 run flats (only 17" for those as the 18's are crap!).



Once you get proper tyres on the car the SE suspension starts to work a lot better, so get the tyres on, the alignment done and then decide.

Thanks- this is really helpful.