BMW M140i vs Golf R. Which is best for Britain and tuning?
Discussion
Dylanaledhall said:
You had your engine built? I'm aiming for 330bhp on standard internals so wish me luck 
. I've got a few more parts I need like crossover pipe, boost pipes, diverter valve, actuator and the turbo itself. I'm looking at 2 different turbos, I'm looking at either the X47R from Pumaspeed or the 350R turbo from Sabre tuning. Still torn between the two at the moment.
Built as in added the bolt on's (intercooler/hybrid turbo/suspension etc) & other parts so I just turned up & drove away swiftly . I've got a few more parts I need like crossover pipe, boost pipes, diverter valve, actuator and the turbo itself. I'm looking at 2 different turbos, I'm looking at either the X47R from Pumaspeed or the 350R turbo from Sabre tuning. Still torn between the two at the moment. 
Oh one thing mine was running a flex fuel set up so I could run normal & super which was very handy.
ZX10R NIN said:
Built as in added the bolt on's (intercooler/hybrid turbo/suspension etc) & other parts so I just turned up & drove away swiftly
Oh one thing mine was running a flex fuel set up so I could run normal & super which was very handy.
Ah I get you Oh one thing mine was running a flex fuel set up so I could run normal & super which was very handy.
I've got a thread on what I've done to my current ST if you want to have a look? I can give you the link if you're interested. Dylanaledhall said:
I do mostly motorway miles so as long as it's happy to put the power down in a straight line at motorway speeds I'm happy.
If you mash the throttle pedal at around 60mph in the wet on a straight dual carriageway, (just to see what would happen) it will fully light up the dashboard and get impressively/scarily sideways in a straight line.JD said:
If you mash the throttle pedal at around 60mph in the wet on a straight dual carriageway, (just to see what would happen) it will fully light up the dashboard and get impressively/scarily sideways in a straight line.
The reality is I'm just going to have to get used to it. This is a video of how an M140i behaves in wet conditions and it does look scary, but again, the bloke does look like he's provoking it a lot as well. https://youtu.be/bA92njXlu08
We've owned an M140i from new for two years now, prior to that an A45 from new for 3 years.
Firstly, i'm bemused by these references to the M140i being "tail happy". I drive / have driven our M140i at some obscene speeds cross country and i've never yet had an instance where the tail let go on me. Frankly - its nigh on impossible because the traction control catches any loss of grip. So i can only conclude people saying that either (a) havent driven one, (b) cant drive and should stick to Playstation / XBox racing games, (c) are seriously going out of their way to make the car do it, (d) driving in a way thats inappropriate for a high performance car for the road conditions they're experiencing to make it do it.
The only times i'd any traction issues was when the MPSS rear tyres were down almost to their limiters on a wet, cold road and i give it (purposely) too much power and it did let go. Controllable but it did let go. The new MPS4s fitted the following week resolved that.
We fitted the lower rear underbody brace early on and thats a cheap, easy fix. Good quality, high grip rear tyres such as the MPS4 are also a really good idea.
The car has real personality because of that big straight six up front. Very different from the drive of an AWD four pot.
We find the standard 340BHP more than enough. Once its out of warranty we'll maybe look at a remap just because we can.
A45 - ridiculously quick car. Manic. If the O/Ps dad found it "slow" then i'd suggest they were having him drive it in Comfort mode - they need to be driven in Sport / Sport+ all the time frankly. Comfort mode gets them off the turbo and actually quite sluggish to the point of being scary pulling out of junctions.
We did find the A45 driving experience to be a bit uninvolved. Incredibly quick but all the driving aids and AWD dial out a lot of the fun for day to day driving. I would expect a Golf R to be similar, only slower which is why we ruled one out.
Firstly, i'm bemused by these references to the M140i being "tail happy". I drive / have driven our M140i at some obscene speeds cross country and i've never yet had an instance where the tail let go on me. Frankly - its nigh on impossible because the traction control catches any loss of grip. So i can only conclude people saying that either (a) havent driven one, (b) cant drive and should stick to Playstation / XBox racing games, (c) are seriously going out of their way to make the car do it, (d) driving in a way thats inappropriate for a high performance car for the road conditions they're experiencing to make it do it.
The only times i'd any traction issues was when the MPSS rear tyres were down almost to their limiters on a wet, cold road and i give it (purposely) too much power and it did let go. Controllable but it did let go. The new MPS4s fitted the following week resolved that.
We fitted the lower rear underbody brace early on and thats a cheap, easy fix. Good quality, high grip rear tyres such as the MPS4 are also a really good idea.
The car has real personality because of that big straight six up front. Very different from the drive of an AWD four pot.
We find the standard 340BHP more than enough. Once its out of warranty we'll maybe look at a remap just because we can.
A45 - ridiculously quick car. Manic. If the O/Ps dad found it "slow" then i'd suggest they were having him drive it in Comfort mode - they need to be driven in Sport / Sport+ all the time frankly. Comfort mode gets them off the turbo and actually quite sluggish to the point of being scary pulling out of junctions.
We did find the A45 driving experience to be a bit uninvolved. Incredibly quick but all the driving aids and AWD dial out a lot of the fun for day to day driving. I would expect a Golf R to be similar, only slower which is why we ruled one out.
Deep Thought said:
We've owned an M140i from new for two years now, prior to that an A45 from new for 3 years.
Firstly, i'm bemused by these references to the M140i being "tail happy". I drive / have driven our M140i at some obscene speeds cross country and i've never yet had an instance where the tail let go on me. Frankly - its nigh on impossible because the traction control catches any loss of grip. So i can only conclude people saying that either (a) havent driven one, (b) cant drive and should stick to Playstation / XBox racing games, (c) are seriously going out of their way to make the car do it, (d) driving in a way thats inappropriate for a high performance car for the road conditions they're experiencing to make it do it.
The only times i'd any traction issues was when the MPSS rear tyres were down almost to their limiters on a wet, cold road and i give it (purposely) too much power and it did let go. Controllable but it did let go. The new MPS4s fitted the following week resolved that.
We fitted the lower rear underbody brace early on and thats a cheap, easy fix. Good quality, high grip rear tyres such as the MPS4 are also a really good idea.
The car has real personality because of that big straight six up front. Very different from the drive of an AWD four pot.
We find the standard 340BHP more than enough. Once its out of warranty we'll maybe look at a remap just because we can.
A45 - ridiculously quick car. Manic. If the O/Ps dad found it "slow" then i'd suggest they were having him drive it in Comfort mode - they need to be driven in Sport / Sport+ all the time frankly. Comfort mode gets them off the turbo and actually quite sluggish to the point of being scary pulling out of junctions.
We did find the A45 driving experience to be a bit uninvolved. Incredibly quick but all the driving aids and AWD dial out a lot of the fun for day to day driving. I would expect a Golf R to be similar, only slower which is why we ruled one out.
Hi there, Firstly, i'm bemused by these references to the M140i being "tail happy". I drive / have driven our M140i at some obscene speeds cross country and i've never yet had an instance where the tail let go on me. Frankly - its nigh on impossible because the traction control catches any loss of grip. So i can only conclude people saying that either (a) havent driven one, (b) cant drive and should stick to Playstation / XBox racing games, (c) are seriously going out of their way to make the car do it, (d) driving in a way thats inappropriate for a high performance car for the road conditions they're experiencing to make it do it.
The only times i'd any traction issues was when the MPSS rear tyres were down almost to their limiters on a wet, cold road and i give it (purposely) too much power and it did let go. Controllable but it did let go. The new MPS4s fitted the following week resolved that.
We fitted the lower rear underbody brace early on and thats a cheap, easy fix. Good quality, high grip rear tyres such as the MPS4 are also a really good idea.
The car has real personality because of that big straight six up front. Very different from the drive of an AWD four pot.
We find the standard 340BHP more than enough. Once its out of warranty we'll maybe look at a remap just because we can.
A45 - ridiculously quick car. Manic. If the O/Ps dad found it "slow" then i'd suggest they were having him drive it in Comfort mode - they need to be driven in Sport / Sport+ all the time frankly. Comfort mode gets them off the turbo and actually quite sluggish to the point of being scary pulling out of junctions.
We did find the A45 driving experience to be a bit uninvolved. Incredibly quick but all the driving aids and AWD dial out a lot of the fun for day to day driving. I would expect a Golf R to be similar, only slower which is why we ruled one out.
I'm really happy you've addressed the "tail happy" comments because I watched a video featuring Joe Achilles ( ok yes it was an M135i and not an M140i) but he showed even in wet conditions and putting your foot down around a corner will not result in any tail happiness if you have the TC switched on. I didn't want to comment this previously because I didn't know if the extra grunt of the B58 in comparison to the N55 would make a massive difference in driving experience ( on the tail happy side)
As for the A45 it was a very quick test drive and although he said the speedo was increasing in speed quite rapidly it just didn't feel involving at all. But then again, we all have different opinions on what we enjoy driving
But thank you so much for the information, was really good to get information from you as you've owned one for so long, so again, massive thank you Dylanaledhall said:
Hi there,
I'm really happy you've addressed the "tail happy" comments because I watched a video featuring Joe Achilles ( ok yes it was an M135i and not an M140i) but he showed even in wet conditions and putting your foot down around a corner will not result in any tail happiness if you have the TC switched on. I didn't want to comment this previously because I didn't know if the extra grunt of the B58 in comparison to the N55 would make a massive difference in driving experience ( on the tail happy side)
As for the A45 it was a very quick test drive and although he said the speedo was increasing in speed quite rapidly it just didn't feel involving at all. But then again, we all have different opinions on what we enjoy driving But thank you so much for the information, was really good to get information from you as you've owned one for so long, so again, massive thank you
Theres the keyword! I'm really happy you've addressed the "tail happy" comments because I watched a video featuring Joe Achilles ( ok yes it was an M135i and not an M140i) but he showed even in wet conditions and putting your foot down around a corner will not result in any tail happiness if you have the TC switched on. I didn't want to comment this previously because I didn't know if the extra grunt of the B58 in comparison to the N55 would make a massive difference in driving experience ( on the tail happy side)
As for the A45 it was a very quick test drive and although he said the speedo was increasing in speed quite rapidly it just didn't feel involving at all. But then again, we all have different opinions on what we enjoy driving
But thank you so much for the information, was really good to get information from you as you've owned one for so long, so again, massive thank you Yes, exactly. Chances are he was getting there very quickly, you just dont feel like it is. Where you get "the speed" is not in a straight line but cross country where you can really throw it in to corners at obscene speeds and it'll sort it all out for you and make you look like a Driving God.
We opted for the Sports exhaust on our A45 for the full pops and bangs experience too (switchable if needed).
Elatino1 said:
I'm guessing not everyone drives with the traction control on and certainly not on trackdays.
Agreed.If someone wants to switch traction control off on a high powered RWD car, then its hardly a surprise though if they find it "tail happy".
Doesnt mean the car has a general problem - it doesnt.
If i was looking a track day small BMW, i'd go for an M2.
An M140i is a great every day all rounder.
Deep Thought said:
Theres the keyword!
Yes, exactly. Chances are he was getting there very quickly, you just dont feel like it is. Where you get "the speed" is not in a straight line but cross country where you can really throw it in to corners at obscene speeds and it'll sort it all out for you and make you look like a Driving God.
We opted for the Sports exhaust on our A45 for the full pops and bangs experience too (switchable if needed).
I think it's involvement he was wanting he just didn't seem to get any from it. I think the problem is the fact that a car such as the A45 has had so much engineering and work out into it, it becomes so refined it might be quick but it really doesn't come across. Again, I want to make it clear I wasn't in the car on the test drive so maybe I'd have felt completely different to him. No doubt it is a quick car, I mean on paper 360bhp and ( I can't quite remember the torque I'd imagine around the 330lb/ft ?) So definitely a quick car. Yes, exactly. Chances are he was getting there very quickly, you just dont feel like it is. Where you get "the speed" is not in a straight line but cross country where you can really throw it in to corners at obscene speeds and it'll sort it all out for you and make you look like a Driving God.
We opted for the Sports exhaust on our A45 for the full pops and bangs experience too (switchable if needed).
ZX10R NIN said:
Okay send the link please.
Again, I'm not quite finished as it is a work in progress but quite a bit of info on there from other ST owners:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
ZX10R NIN said:
He's provoking that they drive normally in the wet unless you're acting like a t
t or have rubbish tyres on you won't have any real big issues, as others have said fit a diff & it'll be much more progressive when it breaks away.
Exactly. t or have rubbish tyres on you won't have any real big issues, as others have said fit a diff & it'll be much more progressive when it breaks away.Normal, fast road use, yup, fantastic all rounder for the price.
If someone wants to do something over and above that, there are options.
Dylanaledhall said:
Deep Thought said:
Theres the keyword!
Yes, exactly. Chances are he was getting there very quickly, you just dont feel like it is. Where you get "the speed" is not in a straight line but cross country where you can really throw it in to corners at obscene speeds and it'll sort it all out for you and make you look like a Driving God.
We opted for the Sports exhaust on our A45 for the full pops and bangs experience too (switchable if needed).
I think it's involvement he was wanting he just didn't seem to get any from it. I think the problem is the fact that a car such as the A45 has had so much engineering and work out into it, it becomes so refined it might be quick but it really doesn't come across. Again, I want to make it clear I wasn't in the car on the test drive so maybe I'd have felt completely different to him. No doubt it is a quick car, I mean on paper 360bhp and ( I can't quite remember the torque I'd imagine around the 330lb/ft ?) So definitely a quick car. Yes, exactly. Chances are he was getting there very quickly, you just dont feel like it is. Where you get "the speed" is not in a straight line but cross country where you can really throw it in to corners at obscene speeds and it'll sort it all out for you and make you look like a Driving God.
We opted for the Sports exhaust on our A45 for the full pops and bangs experience too (switchable if needed).
That later model is the one to aim for.
And yes, its manic but not terribly involving.
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