BMW E92 330i M Sport Auto
Discussion
Well I didn't think I'd be doing another one of these so soon, but yet here we are with an introduction to another new arrival, my first auto. Given the weather this isn't going to be a grand unveiling with lots of beauty shots of the new BMW but rather a quick run out when it stops pouring down and snap a few caps with the car in it's current, unflattering position.
The reason for the BMW purchase is simple. I've planned a 2000 mile euro trip next May/June
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
and for one reason or another the Rover
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
although perfectly reliable and lovely to drive will be staying in the garage and the BMW will take its place. In prep for the trip I had a shortlist of a few cars. A boxster, ideal for southern Europe in early summer but I've already had one
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
so let's try some thing different I thought. I considered an SL350/500 but I couldn't see that being particularly easy to sell should (when) I want to so I turned my attention to the BM. Now I've had a 330i previously
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
But that didn't last long, It was a manual and tbh never really thrilled me. I do remember it being a very comfortable/capable cruiser however and thought I'd give the marque another chance to impress, this time around I'l try the auto as it will serve a lazy waft across Europe well.
The car in question came from a private seller who runs/and or is actively involved in a European E46 M3 race team no less! His triple garage had a lovely 1 owner low mileage E46 M3 in it and the driveway was exclusively BMW with 4/5 cars total. The car appears to have been well looked after and has recently had a new starter motor fitted, rear shocks, discs and pads and new front tyres (more on those in a sec). So decent preventative maintenance carried out and it stops and goes as it should.
The spec of the car (copied from https://www.mdecoder.com)
S1CAA Selection Of COP Relevant Vehicles
S205A Automatic Transmission
S2MPA BMW Alloy Wheel M Double Spoke 225
S302A Alarm System
P337A M Sports Package
S428A Warning Triangle And First Aid Kit
S431A Interior Mirror With Automaticdip
S441A Smoker Package
S481A Sports Seat
S4ADA Interior Trim Strips Alu Brushed Fine
S507A Park Distance Control PDC Rear
S521A Rain Sensor
S534A Automatic Air Conditioning
S544A Cruise Control With Brake Function
S563A Light Package
S609A Navigation System Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S620A Voice Control
S633A Preparation Mobile Phone Business
S672A CD Changer For 6 CDs
S704A M Sports Suspension
S715A M Aerodynamics Package
S760A High Gloss Shadow Line
S775A Headlining Anthracite
S7XAA M Leathr Wheelshift Paddlemultifunc
L812A National Version England Ireland
S850A DummySALAPA
S863A Retailer Directory Europe
S877A Delete Crosspattern Operation
S880A Onboard Vehicle Literature English
S8S2A Coding Alarm Signal
S8S3A Automatic Locking When Driving Off
S8SMA Car Ident Number Visible From Outside
S8SPA Control Unit COP
Standard Equipment
S459A Seat Adjuster Electric With Memory
S502A Headlight Cleaning System
S520A Fog Lights
S522A Xenon Light
Not a superb spec, but not bad either, I would have liked the upgraded hi-fi and heated seats but neither were a deal breaker and the car is so clean overall that I couldn't pass it up. A big plus for me is the car comes with the N52(K) spec engine which is known to have far less faults than the replacement N53 unit, the K designation also means that this N52 unit comes with a host of hardware upgrades to the cams/block etc etc so it's the one to have. It goes very very well.
Some pictures then, as said these aren't particularly good, I'll have that for the spring
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
It has been given one quick wash last weekend, filthy again now though
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
and a few shots today
IMG_1698 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1699 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1701 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1702 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1703 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1704 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1705 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1706 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1707 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1708 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
IMG_1710 by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
Initial Thoughts
I really like it. I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with the auto box but it's great. lumbers around effortlessly most of the time and then push the lever to the left and you get sport mode which holds onto gears longer and the paddles on the wheel allow manual selection in either mode, fantastic box. It's bloody fast, 272hp (I think) with this late spec N52 but I wouldn't want it to be any quicker. Suspension is OK and compliant. I read that the M Sports suffer with crashiness but don't really find that with this one. Overall I'm really pleased.
Things to do
Not a huge amount but some things need attention.
Tyres. The rears are more or less dead Kuhmo's. Although new, the fronts are acceleras
They'll be getting replaced with either a set of 4 Falken Azenis FK453s or Vredestein Ultrac Vortis. On the subject of tyres weirdly the car is fitted with 255 35 19's on the fronts and 275 30 19s on the rear 
These sizes should be 225 35 19 and 255 30 19 respectively so the new tyres will be correctly sized.
Suspension. Although fine as noted, 112k old suspension is never going to be optimal so I'll be looking at either a Bilstein B12 kit or Birds kit to replace including anti roll bars most likely, but that won't be for a while yet.
Although it goes very well with no hesitation whatsoever my MPG is low atm, low 20's infact and with a 2k mile trip coming up that's not ideal. To try and rectify this without too much trial and error it's booked into Redish Motorpsort in Bristol next Friday for a post purchase inspection and full diagnostic check to confirm the overall condition of the car and to see if they can pinpoint the reason for the lower mpg figure. I have every faith in Redish to inspect and diagnose as required.
So that's it for now, or all that I can think of. More updates probably in a week.
The reason for the BMW purchase is simple. I've planned a 2000 mile euro trip next May/June
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
and for one reason or another the Rover
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
although perfectly reliable and lovely to drive will be staying in the garage and the BMW will take its place. In prep for the trip I had a shortlist of a few cars. A boxster, ideal for southern Europe in early summer but I've already had one
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
so let's try some thing different I thought. I considered an SL350/500 but I couldn't see that being particularly easy to sell should (when) I want to so I turned my attention to the BM. Now I've had a 330i previously
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
But that didn't last long, It was a manual and tbh never really thrilled me. I do remember it being a very comfortable/capable cruiser however and thought I'd give the marque another chance to impress, this time around I'l try the auto as it will serve a lazy waft across Europe well.
The car in question came from a private seller who runs/and or is actively involved in a European E46 M3 race team no less! His triple garage had a lovely 1 owner low mileage E46 M3 in it and the driveway was exclusively BMW with 4/5 cars total. The car appears to have been well looked after and has recently had a new starter motor fitted, rear shocks, discs and pads and new front tyres (more on those in a sec). So decent preventative maintenance carried out and it stops and goes as it should.
The spec of the car (copied from https://www.mdecoder.com)
S1CAA Selection Of COP Relevant Vehicles
S205A Automatic Transmission
S2MPA BMW Alloy Wheel M Double Spoke 225
S302A Alarm System
P337A M Sports Package
S428A Warning Triangle And First Aid Kit
S431A Interior Mirror With Automaticdip
S441A Smoker Package
S481A Sports Seat
S4ADA Interior Trim Strips Alu Brushed Fine
S507A Park Distance Control PDC Rear
S521A Rain Sensor
S534A Automatic Air Conditioning
S544A Cruise Control With Brake Function
S563A Light Package
S609A Navigation System Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S620A Voice Control
S633A Preparation Mobile Phone Business
S672A CD Changer For 6 CDs
S704A M Sports Suspension
S715A M Aerodynamics Package
S760A High Gloss Shadow Line
S775A Headlining Anthracite
S7XAA M Leathr Wheelshift Paddlemultifunc
L812A National Version England Ireland
S850A DummySALAPA
S863A Retailer Directory Europe
S877A Delete Crosspattern Operation
S880A Onboard Vehicle Literature English
S8S2A Coding Alarm Signal
S8S3A Automatic Locking When Driving Off
S8SMA Car Ident Number Visible From Outside
S8SPA Control Unit COP
Standard Equipment
S459A Seat Adjuster Electric With Memory
S502A Headlight Cleaning System
S520A Fog Lights
S522A Xenon Light
Not a superb spec, but not bad either, I would have liked the upgraded hi-fi and heated seats but neither were a deal breaker and the car is so clean overall that I couldn't pass it up. A big plus for me is the car comes with the N52(K) spec engine which is known to have far less faults than the replacement N53 unit, the K designation also means that this N52 unit comes with a host of hardware upgrades to the cams/block etc etc so it's the one to have. It goes very very well.
Some pictures then, as said these aren't particularly good, I'll have that for the spring
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrUntitled by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrUntitled by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIt has been given one quick wash last weekend, filthy again now though
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickrand a few shots today
IMG_1698 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1699 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1701 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1702 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1703 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1704 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1705 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1706 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1707 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1708 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrIMG_1710 by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrInitial Thoughts
I really like it. I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with the auto box but it's great. lumbers around effortlessly most of the time and then push the lever to the left and you get sport mode which holds onto gears longer and the paddles on the wheel allow manual selection in either mode, fantastic box. It's bloody fast, 272hp (I think) with this late spec N52 but I wouldn't want it to be any quicker. Suspension is OK and compliant. I read that the M Sports suffer with crashiness but don't really find that with this one. Overall I'm really pleased.
Things to do
Not a huge amount but some things need attention.
Tyres. The rears are more or less dead Kuhmo's. Although new, the fronts are acceleras
They'll be getting replaced with either a set of 4 Falken Azenis FK453s or Vredestein Ultrac Vortis. On the subject of tyres weirdly the car is fitted with 255 35 19's on the fronts and 275 30 19s on the rear These sizes should be 225 35 19 and 255 30 19 respectively so the new tyres will be correctly sized. Suspension. Although fine as noted, 112k old suspension is never going to be optimal so I'll be looking at either a Bilstein B12 kit or Birds kit to replace including anti roll bars most likely, but that won't be for a while yet.
Although it goes very well with no hesitation whatsoever my MPG is low atm, low 20's infact and with a 2k mile trip coming up that's not ideal. To try and rectify this without too much trial and error it's booked into Redish Motorpsort in Bristol next Friday for a post purchase inspection and full diagnostic check to confirm the overall condition of the car and to see if they can pinpoint the reason for the lower mpg figure. I have every faith in Redish to inspect and diagnose as required.
So that's it for now, or all that I can think of. More updates probably in a week.
Congratulations, I still think these are a fantastic looking car, and in many ways I miss my 335d still, even though I’ve moved on as I don’t do the mileage to justify diesel anymore.
I suspect some of your ‘missing’ mpg is down to the wider tyres, you’ve more width to push against vs. standard. To be fair though, I used to run mine on 235f/265r, so I understand why they’ve done it. One side advantage of the 10mm increase in width was that the associated increase in rolling radius made the speedo pretty much accurate, and when you’ve got 30profile rear, every little bit of sidewall height helps on our potholed roads, especially with the chocolate 225M wheels! (I’ve always said I’ll have another e92, still got a perfect set of those wheels ready for it).
If I read your post correctly, you’re at 112k (ish). Mine was feeling pretty tired in suspension terms by then, getting into a same-age 50k miler showed the difference - it’s so gradual a decay in control you don’t notice from day to day, and having driven the Birds car, I can wholeheartedly recommend their package, expensive though it is.
You could also buy a cheap ebay boroscope & have a look down the inlet, it might be a bit claggy due to the mileage, which walnut blasting should sort, and help on the mpg front too.
Enjoy.
I suspect some of your ‘missing’ mpg is down to the wider tyres, you’ve more width to push against vs. standard. To be fair though, I used to run mine on 235f/265r, so I understand why they’ve done it. One side advantage of the 10mm increase in width was that the associated increase in rolling radius made the speedo pretty much accurate, and when you’ve got 30profile rear, every little bit of sidewall height helps on our potholed roads, especially with the chocolate 225M wheels! (I’ve always said I’ll have another e92, still got a perfect set of those wheels ready for it).
If I read your post correctly, you’re at 112k (ish). Mine was feeling pretty tired in suspension terms by then, getting into a same-age 50k miler showed the difference - it’s so gradual a decay in control you don’t notice from day to day, and having driven the Birds car, I can wholeheartedly recommend their package, expensive though it is.
You could also buy a cheap ebay boroscope & have a look down the inlet, it might be a bit claggy due to the mileage, which walnut blasting should sort, and help on the mpg front too.
Enjoy.
Prinny said:
Congratulations, I still think these are a fantastic looking car, and in many ways I miss my 335d still, even though I’ve moved on as I don’t do the mileage to justify diesel anymore.
I suspect some of your ‘missing’ mpg is down to the wider tyres, you’ve more width to push against vs. standard. To be fair though, I used to run mine on 235f/265r, so I understand why they’ve done it. One side advantage of the 10mm increase in width was that the associated increase in rolling radius made the speedo pretty much accurate, and when you’ve got 30profile rear, every little bit of sidewall height helps on our potholed roads, especially with the chocolate 225M wheels! (I’ve always said I’ll have another e92, still got a perfect set of those wheels ready for it).
If I read your post correctly, you’re at 112k (ish). Mine was feeling pretty tired in suspension terms by then, getting into a same-age 50k miler showed the difference - it’s so gradual a decay in control you don’t notice from day to day, and having driven the Birds car, I can wholeheartedly recommend their package, expensive though it is.
You could also buy a cheap ebay boroscope & have a look down the inlet, it might be a bit claggy due to the mileage, which walnut blasting should sort, and help on the mpg front too.
Enjoy.
Cheers bud. Yea I agree they are very good looking cars and the 335d is something of a PH hero, especially when mapped I suspect some of your ‘missing’ mpg is down to the wider tyres, you’ve more width to push against vs. standard. To be fair though, I used to run mine on 235f/265r, so I understand why they’ve done it. One side advantage of the 10mm increase in width was that the associated increase in rolling radius made the speedo pretty much accurate, and when you’ve got 30profile rear, every little bit of sidewall height helps on our potholed roads, especially with the chocolate 225M wheels! (I’ve always said I’ll have another e92, still got a perfect set of those wheels ready for it).
If I read your post correctly, you’re at 112k (ish). Mine was feeling pretty tired in suspension terms by then, getting into a same-age 50k miler showed the difference - it’s so gradual a decay in control you don’t notice from day to day, and having driven the Birds car, I can wholeheartedly recommend their package, expensive though it is.
You could also buy a cheap ebay boroscope & have a look down the inlet, it might be a bit claggy due to the mileage, which walnut blasting should sort, and help on the mpg front too.
Enjoy.
I was thinking the same about the tyres, the extra width must be harming mpg if even slightly as that's quite a bit more rubber to be pushing around. Will be getting changed soon, most likely when the rear kuhmos turn from almost illegal to illegal
I'm kind of hoping Redish find a knackered 02 sensor or something to explain the mpg figures, time will tell. Agree also with the suspension, I can't compare it to anything else similar but no doubt a new Bilstein setup will really highlight the improvements possible.
Yes I've heard of the walnut blasting, will look into it, great recommendation
Mr Tidy said:
Your car looks great OP. 
Gotta love an N52 engine - I didn't want anything else when I was E91 shopping earlier this year.
Cheers bud Gotta love an N52 engine - I didn't want anything else when I was E91 shopping earlier this year.
it certainly is a superb engine, I think it was in the top 5 engine ever made in 2007 or something like that? So pleased to have it in mine now too. stewies_minion said:
Lovely car. Iirc my 330 did about 22mpg around town. 17 mpg pressing on and about 30g on a run. Delightful engine and gearbox combo. Enjoy it.
FWIW I'm pretty sure it was the N53 engine that needed walnut blasting due to coking up - I don't think N52s need it. I'm lucky enough to no longer need to commute, so I don't get involved with rush hours any more!
I use my E91 (manual 325iSE) for a few local trips, but probably 95% of the time it's 30+ miles trips on motorways and dual-carriageways so my OBC is showing an average speed of 33 mph and average mpg of 35.3! Just shows what they can do in the right conditions - it was showing 35.7 mpg in the summer.
ah maybe a byproduct of the N53 direct injection? That rings a bell
ok ok stop showing off
I really do hope I can raise its average, as said the tyres will hopefully give me 1 or two!
I got bored this evening, looked outside and it wasn't raining so decided to take a look at the air filter
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
Pulled it out and it looks relatively clean, not in need of replacement any time soon. I'll take it back out tomorrow when it's daylight, fire up the compressor and blow any dust/crud out of it but I've seen worse.
ok ok stop showing off
I really do hope I can raise its average, as said the tyres will hopefully give me 1 or two! I got bored this evening, looked outside and it wasn't raining so decided to take a look at the air filter
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrPulled it out and it looks relatively clean, not in need of replacement any time soon. I'll take it back out tomorrow when it's daylight, fire up the compressor and blow any dust/crud out of it but I've seen worse.
That's it, I'm putting 4 space savers on!
It's really not that bad and room for improvement I'm sure. I'm possibly doing a longer run tomorrow up to Brecon, will see what I can average then. To be fair I've only done very short/stop start trips since I've had it so results may be skewed to the lower end of the scale.
It's really not that bad
and room for improvement I'm sure. I'm possibly doing a longer run tomorrow up to Brecon, will see what I can average then. To be fair I've only done very short/stop start trips since I've had it so results may be skewed to the lower end of the scale.My manual N53 330i gets ~22mpg for town driving and ~35mpg for motorway driving, OBC figures from a full tank of generally a particular sort of driving. The OBC seems to be fairly accurate.
(My E46 330d (M57) would do ~29mpg and ~45mpg for the same sorts of journeys.)
I expect my motorway trips are pretty average, but my town driving might not be, as I live in Sheffield, and there's typically a lot of hills involved. But the N53 is supposedly more efficient than the N52, so it probably evens out, meaning if you get somewhere between these two sets of figures then maybe there's nothing horribly wrong with it.
(My E46 330d (M57) would do ~29mpg and ~45mpg for the same sorts of journeys.)
I expect my motorway trips are pretty average, but my town driving might not be, as I live in Sheffield, and there's typically a lot of hills involved. But the N53 is supposedly more efficient than the N52, so it probably evens out, meaning if you get somewhere between these two sets of figures then maybe there's nothing horribly wrong with it.
squareflops said:
ah maybe a byproduct of the N53 direct injection? That rings a bell
Bugger, I read it wrong, sorry - thought it was an N53. - I agree walnut blasting isn’t needed on the N52. (You should still get a boroscope ‘cause it’s cool & s
t...) 
Top tip (as most BMW owners never remember this - apologies again if you do), you can store much more than radio presets with the number buttons - i.e. number 7 was ‘call home’, number 8 turned the i-drive screen off. Basically, if there’s a menu item, you can long press a button to store that item. Comes in quite useful for the stuff you use frequently.
Nice car Squareflops and the perfect tool for a European road trip. I've done several long trips to the south of France before and going back again next July. We have 2 weeks in Provence with family and little one, then me and wife to be are off via French Riviera to Italian lakes for 1 week to include return leg home.
Im unsure what route to take back from Italy so keeping am eye on your thread for inspiration. Thinking Switzerland and Germany as we have done most of France now, including route Napoleon. Very good btw.
Im unsure what route to take back from Italy so keeping am eye on your thread for inspiration. Thinking Switzerland and Germany as we have done most of France now, including route Napoleon. Very good btw.
My 2 trips for reference. Page 3 onwards https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Prinny said:
Top tip (as most BMW owners never remember this - apologies again if you do), you can store much more than radio presets with the number buttons - i.e. number 7 was ‘call home’, number 8 turned the i-drive screen off. Basically, if there’s a menu item, you can long press a button to store that item. Comes in quite useful for the stuff you use frequently.
I had no idea dude, that would come in handy with turning the idrive off as I do most of the time. Something I've noticed is if you just hover a finger over the buttons they 'activate' by showing say preset stations for the radio, how do they do that.. si_xsi said:
Nice car Squareflops and the perfect tool for a European road trip. I've done several long trips to the south of France before and going back again next July. We have 2 weeks in Provence with family and little one, then me and wife to be are off via French Riviera to Italian lakes for 1 week to include return leg home.
Im unsure what route to take back from Italy so keeping am eye on your thread for inspiration. Thinking Switzerland and Germany as we have done most of France now, including route Napoleon. Very good btw.
Sounds great Si Im unsure what route to take back from Italy so keeping am eye on your thread for inspiration. Thinking Switzerland and Germany as we have done most of France now, including route Napoleon. Very good btw.
it really is something to look forward to isn't it. I'm contemplating going up through Germany too tbh for one reason which you've already guessed. a TF session at NBR. It will totally depend on the day and access etc but it's a possible, might just see on the day sort of thing, it's only about a 600 mile detour, one way! I'll keep things updated for you! Brecon was lovely today, but I've tuned into the crashiness everyone refers to.
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrWell that's thrown a spanner in the works for Friday @ Redish. I can't see any way of getting a new tyre fitted by Friday lunch time as I'm in work until then.
Went out for a drive and caught a nice square edged pot hole coming over a small brow so saw it in enough time to think "oh s.." Don't think the wheel has sustained any damage and thankfully not far from the house so limped it home.
Choices are
replace with the cheapest wanli/accellera/pingpong tyre I can find in the (as fitted) incorrect size
order two of the 4 correct replacement tyres I was going to get in spring anyway
Order brand new 19" BBS CH reps from CMWheels and get 4 new tyres fitted those instead
3 is very unlikely to happen. This is quite inconvenient though. Was a brand new tyre too
What was that about 19"s being a pain
popped back up in the Audi to take some pictures. Might actually consider claiming from the council on this one as there's no road markings of any kind and it looks like it's been squared off on the leading edge recently. Any thoughts? Will become more pertinent if the wheel is damaged too
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
cigarette lighter for scale (I don't smoke!)
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
and guess what, when I got home I noticed the rear off side
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickr
Flat!
WTF
Not my day (or evening) for tyres
Hovering over the buy now button for 4 vredestein vortis. Redish definitely not happening on Friday.
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickrcigarette lighter for scale (I don't smoke!)
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on Flickrand guess what, when I got home I noticed the rear off side
Untitled by Kaeser Devon, on FlickrFlat!
WTF Not my day (or evening) for tyres
Hovering over the buy now button for 4 vredestein vortis. Redish definitely not happening on Friday.
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