BMW M140i vs Golf R. Which is best for Britain and tuning?
Discussion
popeyewhite said:
I'd still go heavily tuned Golf r for year round fun. Tuned M2 is an option?
For all year round, brilliant car but personally I couldn't justify spending around 10k in mods on a car I'm not crazy about to get it to around 500bhp and still have the very real risk of blowing the engine. I've just never been drawn to the M2, don't know why I appreciate them when I see them but the M3/M4 has always been more pleasing on the eye to me personally
CG2020UK said:
If you have the choice between an m140i or an M4 you’d be nuts not take the M4 as it significantly better on all levels except running costs.
Yeah you see, the M4 is my personal dream car and I could have it on my drive for not that much more than a 140 which is the main debate going on in my head and i'd definitely like to spend more time in one to get "used" to it. I just wished it felt more "torquey" in a straight line, however I'm willing to believe that the S55 and B58 have completely different characters and the power trains are quite different too. Dylanaledhall said:
Bobupndown said:
How long do rear tyres last on a tuned M140?
I have absolutely no idea 
I'd assume not long because the tyres are a hell of a lot smaller than an M car's tyres. I'm going through a set of fronts a year in my ST currently Being a manual, I tend to select higher gears in the wet as 410 bhp/490 lb-ft needs a bit of respect.
Edited by Lotus Notes on Saturday 22 October 21:41
Dylanaledhall said:
Yeah you see, the M4 is my personal dream car and I could have it on my drive for not that much more than a 140 which is the main debate going on in my head and i'd definitely like to spend more time in one to get "used" to it. I just wished it felt more "torquey" in a straight line, however I'm willing to believe that the S55 and B58 have completely different characters and the power trains are quite different too.
I would caution the running costs of an M4 are significantly higher. Do you mind me asking your age as you seem quite young? Lots of lads on the M2 forum test drive them then realise they can’t get insured.
I think your use to a dump of torque as you get with remaps but this ain’t good for components or performance.
The M4 has a reputation for too much torque low down that overloads the tyres and makes it a bit unpredictable without traction control.
CG2020UK said:
I would caution the running costs of an M4 are significantly higher.
Do you mind me asking your age as you seem quite young? Lots of lads on the M2 forum test drive them then realise they can’t get insured.
I think your use to a dump of torque as you get with remaps but this ain’t good for components or performance.
The M4 has a reputation for too much torque low down that overloads the tyres and makes it a bit unpredictable without traction control.
Yes I am quite young I suppose, I'm 22, I'm not going to quote any insurance figures because they're totally irrelevant due to some will say it's extortionate, some will say it's cheap Do you mind me asking your age as you seem quite young? Lots of lads on the M2 forum test drive them then realise they can’t get insured.
I think your use to a dump of torque as you get with remaps but this ain’t good for components or performance.
The M4 has a reputation for too much torque low down that overloads the tyres and makes it a bit unpredictable without traction control.
I guess something that helps me is I've had a totally clean licence since passing in 2017 and I've never had an accident.The only running cost that surprised me was the major service being in the excess of £1000 which I thought was mental but at the end of the day, if you're buying a car like an M4 you need to take this into consideration.
I suppose it would be a different driving experience with traction semi-off but at the end of the day, it's not my car, it does have a lot of power and when it comes to driving unfamiliar performance cars I usually have very little trust in them especially within the first couple of gears.
Lotus Notes said:
My MPS4s lasted 16kmiles before being changed at 2.8mm. My Winter tyres will last 3 seasons.
Being a manual, I tend to select higher gears in the wet as 410 bhp/490 lb-ft needs a bit of respect.
My PS4s lasted less than 10k miles Being a manual, I tend to select higher gears in the wet as 410 bhp/490 lb-ft needs a bit of respect.
Edited by Lotus Notes on Saturday 22 October 21:41
but that's me just enjoying the car. I have some ps5s on the car now, very good tyre bur sometimes a bit too good because I do like a bit of wheel spin and they've practically eliminated it. They're brilliant in the wet though Edited by Dylanaledhall on Saturday 22 October 23:23
Dylanaledhall said:
Yes I am quite young I suppose, I'm 22, I'm not going to quote any insurance figures because they're totally irrelevant due to some will say it's extortionate, some will say it's cheap I guess something that helps me is I've had a totally clean licence since passing in 2017 and I've never had an accident.
The only running cost that surprised me was the major service being in the excess of £1000 which I thought was mental but at the end of the day, if you're buying a car like an M4 you need to take this into consideration.
I suppose it would be a different driving experience with traction semi-off but at the end of the day, it's not my car, it does have a lot of power and when it comes to driving unfamiliar performance cars I usually have very little trust in them especially within the first couple of gears.
I get that but at your age surely your looking at a £25K M4 with £4K+ a year on insurance if you can get insured at all? I’m assuming you’ll personal loan the car at your age which is probably another £5K a year. Tyres £500 a set and £1000 service your talking north of £10K a year running costs provided nothing goes wrong (M cars go wrong) and you don’t actually put petrol in it. I guess something that helps me is I've had a totally clean licence since passing in 2017 and I've never had an accident.The only running cost that surprised me was the major service being in the excess of £1000 which I thought was mental but at the end of the day, if you're buying a car like an M4 you need to take this into consideration.
I suppose it would be a different driving experience with traction semi-off but at the end of the day, it's not my car, it does have a lot of power and when it comes to driving unfamiliar performance cars I usually have very little trust in them especially within the first couple of gears.
I could be wrong and you are actually a footballer, serious business owner or have super rich parents but if not I doubt you’d be pulling that off.
To answer your original title the Car Wow video covers it pretty well.
https://youtu.be/m62NJftSS7g
The M140i is only going to be fastest on a dry, flat A road in a rolling race in summer. It loses everywhere else. More so when tuned as it won’t get the power done.
Apologies for slight thread hijack.
As this thread seems to be well followed, how does the 440 compare to the 140?
I've been looking at M140's but I think the I prefer the 440 size, shape and the spec seems to be better for similar money.
Does the 440 address any of the handling issue's or is it worse?
As this thread seems to be well followed, how does the 440 compare to the 140?
I've been looking at M140's but I think the I prefer the 440 size, shape and the spec seems to be better for similar money.
Does the 440 address any of the handling issue's or is it worse?
CG2020UK said:
I get that but at your age surely your looking at a £25K M4 with £4K+ a year on insurance if you can get insured at all? I’m assuming you’ll personal loan the car at your age which is probably another £5K a year. Tyres £500 a set and £1000 service your talking north of £10K a year running costs provided nothing goes wrong (M cars go wrong) and you don’t actually put petrol in it.
I could be wrong and you are actually a footballer, serious business owner or have super rich parents but if not I doubt you’d be pulling that off.
To answer your original title the Car Wow video covers it pretty well.
https://youtu.be/m62NJftSS7g
The M140i is only going to be fastest on a dry, flat A road in a rolling race in summer. It loses everywhere else. More so when tuned as it won’t get the power done.
As much as I do like to be optimistic I am also realistic, I'd never buy a car that I couldn't afford to maintain. Yeah they are scary running costs but insurance for me on an M4 is roughly £1100-£1200 a year. In comparison, an M140i to the same value for me to insure is around £800 so although it's a £300 difference you are insuring a different breed of car. I hear horror stories about the crank hubs but I hear it's a fairly inexpensive fix these days? I could be wrong and you are actually a footballer, serious business owner or have super rich parents but if not I doubt you’d be pulling that off.
To answer your original title the Car Wow video covers it pretty well.
https://youtu.be/m62NJftSS7g
The M140i is only going to be fastest on a dry, flat A road in a rolling race in summer. It loses everywhere else. More so when tuned as it won’t get the power done.
But yeah you're about right with the 4k a year payments but again in the grand scheme of things I'd probably buy an m140/m240 then move onto an M4 anyway but I don't want to go spending money bolting s
t to an M lite that's already on the car I plan to buy anyway. Even if I pay around 20k for a nice m140 once you've factored in a diff, suspension, control arms, and a map to be anywhere near an M car you're still gonna be miles off in terms of handling and you're probably 5k in mods there alone so that's my predicament.
I think the m lites give you amazing car for the money though, like I've said I didn't feel much difference in terms of legal acceleration today between the 140 and M4 (I know there is but it just didn't feel like a huge margin) and to me, interiors look very similar with the only main difference being more carbon in the M4 and the bigger screen ( oh, not to mention the nice sports seats).
It's something I need to look into more because I think there's benefits and shortcomings of both the M140 and M4. Everyone knows the M4 is the better car that goes without saying but, the 140 would be the better every day car which is what I am looking for.
I know I'm rambling on but I was planning to buy an M4 whilst I was 20 and still living with my parents but I thought that would have been a massive slap in the face to them. So instead I bought my house and put my savings down as my deposit, thought that would be a smarter use of my money. But now I've got the house I do want to look at what my options are
Easternlight said:
Apologies for slight thread hijack.
As this thread seems to be well followed, how does the 440 compare to the 140?
I've been looking at M140's but I think the I prefer the 440 size, shape and the spec seems to be better for similar money.
Does the 440 address any of the handling issue's or is it worse?
Hi there,As this thread seems to be well followed, how does the 440 compare to the 140?
I've been looking at M140's but I think the I prefer the 440 size, shape and the spec seems to be better for similar money.
Does the 440 address any of the handling issue's or is it worse?
I don't think I'm going to be able to add anything of value here but I was actually looking at 440s too because I too thought they were good value. Only thing is, I hardly ever see any YouTube videos on them or anything like that so it's obviously not as common, whereas we know m140s are very heavily documented. It's a much better looking car than the 1 series in my opinion but in terms of handling it still may be the same story of a huge engine being wedged into a normal BMW. I could be completely wrong but I don't think the 4 series is a particularly light car so I don't know how that would render the handling aspect whether it would be worse or if they've beefed it up.
I'd say definitely go drive one and see what you think, it's always better to make your own opinions up on things rather than listening to someone on the internet
Belle427 said:
Just buy the 140 and enjoy it as it is, none of those mods you mention are needed on the public roads.
A good set of rubber each corner and call it done.
I'm actually happy you've said that because I brought this up with a few family members that are into cars. I said although I would always put lowering springs/ coil overs on the 140 about 95% of the time you are travelling at normal speeds and wouldn't really get to exploit the M4 day-to-day A good set of rubber each corner and call it done.
Dylanaledhall said:
Belle427 said:
Just buy the 140 and enjoy it as it is, none of those mods you mention are needed on the public roads.
A good set of rubber each corner and call it done.
I'm actually happy you've said that because I brought this up with a few family members that are into cars. I said although I would always put lowering springs/ coil overs on the 140 about 95% of the time you are travelling at normal speeds and wouldn't really get to exploit the M4 day-to-day A good set of rubber each corner and call it done.
Belle427 said:
We all do it at some point and learn from it, I regularly see an M4 locally and drool over it somewhat but can’t see how you can really enjoy it day to day.
It's one of the big shortcomings of a car like that I suppose. Was kind of the same story with my Dad, he owned a MK3 Focus RS and used to drive it every day for about a year and did get to enjoy it. Then he got a job working from home and the RS just sat on the driveway so he sold it on but I don't think he actually misses it, yeah I'm sure he wouldn't say no if someone offered him one again but it's just not something he can justify. Sorry I don't know if you've mentioned already but do you drive an M lite? Sounds like you are fairly familiar with them
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff