My brave pill: E92 BMW 335i with the infamous N54 engine

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Bit more fiddling with the car today. Decided that I’d swap the wheel trim for the BMW Alcantara one I’d bought. I also retired the left paddle so it downshifts when you pull it rather than upshifts.

Started out like this



I disconnected the battery and removed the airbag which is easier than trying to prise the trim out from under the airbag.



Trim removed and controls loose.



These three wires in the plug are for the paddle shifter. Moving the wire from plug one to three means that the left hand paddle will downshift when pulled. As stock you pull for an upshift and push for a downshift.



Redundant wire taped up and unplugged.



Alcantara wheel trim fitted and the airbag back in place.



Popped the battery connection back on and this is when the fun started….

Not long after I popped out and was greeted with the battery discharge warning message and no time stored. Tits. I drive 25 miles to Cannock for a ride and the car seemed fine but I got back to no time stored in the car but no warning message.

I wasn’t sure if it was the el cheapo Y cable I’d bought but even with this unplugged it would loose the time if left for a short time. I refitted the negative battery connection again just in case but when I started it the battery discharge warning reappeared. I plugged Carly in and cleared a bunch of random codes and turned everything off (AC, auto lights, radio etc). It’s been a few hours and the car isn’t loosing the time when left. The battery voltage was ok when I checked that so hopefully the battery isn’t dying,

With hindsight it might have been the CD player / DVD drives rather than the Y cable that were playing up because one of them was whirring loads after the battery was reconnected. The DVD drive was reluctant to eject the disc but it did eventually. Hopefully it’ll be ok in the morning when I go to work.

Having done the best part of 100 miles in the car now, I’m really pleased with it even taking into account the issues following my fiddling. It’s very happy cruising about but has a turn of of pace when you want or need it. It’s noticeably more comfortable than my 130i with better ergonomics and one of my favourite features is the tilting headrests which I had in both my E46 and E90 but none of the subsequent cars and I have missed them. It feels a chunk bigger than the cars I’ve driven for the last three years or so although in reality it’s not that big (my Mk3 Octavia vRS dwarfed my old E90 330).

I’m not a fan of the slightly shiny leather wheel; it doesn’t feel great to touch and it’s too thick (the last wheel was made thinner when it was retrimmed) so it looks like a retrimmed, slimmed down wheel from Royal is on the cards.

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Mr Tidy said:

So you are getting stuck in to the mods already - what a surprise! But it's good to get a car how you want it.

I know what you mean about the fat rims on M-Sport steering wheels - to me they just feel too fat for the size of the wheel.

As I'm an old git now I can live with wood trim in my E90, complete with beige leather - I'll get me slippers now.

Looking forward to seeing what else you change!

It’s an affliction!

The thinner wheel I had on my 130i was definitely nicer to hold so that’s now on the list at some point.

Wood trim with beige works well. Wood trim with black doesn’t for me plus it was quite dark.

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d_a_n1979 said:

Some good jobs getting done there

What are the next plans and anything related to the mechanicals?

I prefer a thicker steering wheel TBH; then again I've hands like shovels and hate thin steering wheels. The wife's Racing Jazz has a thin, old persons plastic steering wheel

Thanks Dan.

Not sure what the next plans are really. I’d like to lower it slightly because it rides quite high especially the front and I might fit new dampers at the same time just because.

I’ll probably change the rear diff oil this summer and possibly get it booked in for a gearbox service (having helped a mate do his ZF6 last year not sure I fancy that again).

A slightly thinner alacantara wheel is definitely on the cards although they’ve got a massive backlog so that might be a while.

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MDifficult said:

Fantastic car and a brilliant new thread to follow!

Just personal preference but I'd add some small spacers to your 'to do' list. I always think the non-M E92s look very 'under wheeled' but pushing the wheels out slightly should make a world of difference.

Or reach for those CSLs we discussed

Thanks.

Having washed the car for the first time yesterday, the style 225’s are absolute pigs to clean so won’t be long for this world!

At some point later in the year the CSL’s will be happening.

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JakeT said:

Ah yes, I agree. I have driven a friends 130i with the B12 pro kit on it, and it’s busy, but not too much.

Also, YES to tilting head restraints. Especially E90 sport ones with the ‘wings’. Saddens me they were removed.

Yeah it’s a real shame they were removed.

The car was lovely on my commute this morning; it’s a much less busy and frantic place than the E8x cars.

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d_a_n1979 said:

Sounds all good pal

You know me & my thinking re suspension; unless you really want to lower it a lot, the likes of Sachs OEM spec sport shocks and Eibach pro-kit springs usually do the job perfectly! That's what my pal fitted to his 335D touring and it drives superbly

He's just cracked another OEM 18" alloy to, so he's decided to pull the plug on some APEC ARC-8s (I think) and stick with the Vredestein tyres he's currently running. It's back on his winter alloys & tyres now

Diff oil is easy; but agree the autobox, deffo a job for a specialist IMO. I still need to get my land barge booked in for an autobox service, I'll do that in the next few months as I'm slowly talking the wife's into a week away in North East or North West Scotland with the caveat of going to visit Skye too. So a road trip like that will do better with a freshly serviced box IMO

It only needs a wee drop, nothing crazy so a set of Eibach are on the way with Bilstein B4 dampers which. I am using this combo on my other half's 125i and its worked well to date and is reasonably gentle on the wallet!

The Style 225's really did my head in yesterday because of the tiny gap between some of the spokes...they'll piss me off even more in the winter when they're full of grit etc.

acme said:

Congrats on the new car, will be following.

As you know we've had discussions on here about the E92 M3 and my ownership, for what it's worth I think in your situation you've done the right thing.

I love mine (even though it's for sale - plug, late LCI low mile manual!) but if you're doing lots of miles especially for work your opportunities to use it as intended will be few and far between.

Cheers

Thanks - it feels like the right choice. It won't set the heart racing like an M3 would, bit equally I don't think the fuel bills will cheese me off as much.

It was a nice step up on my drive into the office this morning. The E9x platform is a lot more refined than the E8x; early impressions are that it'll do what I want / need it to.

In another news, the battery discharge warning seems to have been banished after its tantrum yesterday.

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Filibuster said:

This is the only point I'd have done other than you

I quite like the wood, especially against black leather. I had this in my B6 Audi S4 Avant (dark walnut against black leather) and I really rather liked the look of it. Without wanting to diminish any of your work, imho the dark wood looks more classy than the aluminium.

Otherwise great work and make sure to enjoy the car! Good read and nice pictures.

ETA:
I'd love to know whether you could sand down the varnish on the wooden veneers to have a matte, open pore texture
This would look fabulous

Edited by Filibuster on Monday 11th April 14:19

No offence taken at all; we all have different tastes. I've kept the wood trim just in case (my little boy loved it and wasn't impressed with the aluminum trim when he next got in the car).

Is there actually any wood in it? From what I can tell its plastic.

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Mr Tidy said:

I think you are right, and I seem to be afflicted.

I don't have large hands so the SE wheel suits me fine but I believe Jack at Royals can slim down M-Sport wheels or fatten SE ones depending on your preference - no wonder he is so busy!

Those wheels do look like hard work to clean. My first Z4 had MV2s and they were also a pain to clean.

As B'stard Child says I believe the wood trim is a veneer, so while it is very thin it did come off a tree!

Beige, wood and SE steering wheel here.

Apologies for getting a bit off-track, but I'm looking forward to seeing what else you do to your 335i.

I’ll definitely be getting the wheel thinned down; it’s a bit too fat for me. I used to like the wheel in my 330, but having had a thinner one I do prefer it.

If there’s wood in it, fair enough. I’d assumed that it was just a plastic replica of a tree. It’s still staying in the garage for now!

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ahas said:

Bookmarked! Fellow (/former) BabyBMW'er.

Lovely purchase, looking forward to the build and updates!

Thanks.

Updates will slow down a tad after this month because I’m due to have an operation on the wrist that I broke in 2020. No idea how long I’ll be in a cast etc for but it’ll prevent me from changing the springs etc.

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alec.e said:

Car looks great, really like these!

Your doing a great job with the personal touches.

In my opinion, the wood looked much better though

Thanks….I still prefer the aluminium! For me it brightens the interior up a bit.

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survivalist said:

Having owned an E91 N54 335i and an E92 M3 at the same time, I'd actually say that it's a difficult choice even if fuel costs weren't a factor. I love the looks of the M3 in terms of the bonnet, bumper and front arches, but in daily driving the lack of torque meant that the N54 could often be the more exciting engine as it was easier to get the chassis moving at lower speeds. It was also fun accelerating out of junctions and slower corners. That said, having moved on to a 340i I've come to the conclusion that my 335i was remapped as the 340i feels less powerful. It also had a quaife diff in it.

If you want to make the interior feel a a little plusher you could always put the seats and door cards from an M3 in - seem to be loads of these being turned into track cars so interiors frequently come up for sale for sensible money. Only (bizarre) downside is that you seem to sit a bit higher on the M3 seats than the standard E92 ones.

Thanks. It certainly feels like a good decision so far. The M3 does look a lot better, especially from the rear. It’s certainly brisk enough when you press the accelerator. I’ve not really had chance to take mot for a fun drive yet.

The interior feels plush enough so far, it’s a step up from the 1 series (even my M140i). The door bins are all properly flock lined so they don’t rattle if you dare to put stuff in them. My only criticism is that I do feel like the seats are a bit high, certainly higher than my old 330. If I recall, BMW fixed seats like in a saloon are lower than the folding seats in a coupe and being electric makes them higher again.

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The car still seems to be filling its brief well; it was a nice place travelling into the office on Monday being a chunk more relaxing than my previous 130i. It’s brisk enough when you get on it. The weather has been against me, so it had a quick wash yesterday.





The paint is certainly in very very good condition for a 14 year old car.

I need to collect a few bits from Sytner today; new drivers side seat belt extender because the drivers side is inevitably not working and a cubby to replace the ashtray which is more useful for chucking a phone / wallet in.

The car has behaved since the earlier battery discharge warning.

I have a few bits incoming which I should be able to get fitted before my wrist op;

• CarPlay screen
• M3 lip spoiler

Any suspension tweaks will need to wait until later in the summer. I still want to lower it slightly because the front especially sits way too high for my liking.

I’m not sure my car cleaning OCD can cope with the style 225 wheels either so I’m pretty sure a set of CSL reps will find their way onto the car before the winter.

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Tom4398cc said:

The Coupe is looking lovely Sam. Can’t believe it’s 14 years old!

It does look remarkable for its age. There are a handle of minor age related bits most of which I’m sure will polish out.

cerb4.5lee said:

+1

It looks absolutely ace in those pics for sure.

Cheers Lee.

SWoll said:

Like the 225's, really suit the car. The ride height also looks a decent compromise and would avoid a rear spoiler.

Basically, leave it alone man as it looks great.

I like the 225’s style wise, I just hate looking after them and that’s with summer muck!

The rear ride height is largely OK, it’s the front which is very high. Although interestingly I parked next to my friends 125i coupe which is properly low and the roofline of this is a smidge lower.

Tom4398cc said:

+ 1 for no rear spoiler (sorry Sam)

The spoiler is inbound.

It’s only a wee thing like the OE M3 one rather than the M4 high flick ones that are very in at the moment. Maybe it’s because I’m used to smaller cars but the bum seems quite big and flat to me. It’s a bit naked and needs just a little something, painted to match the body colour.

If it looks pap it’s only held on with tape so is easy enough to remove.

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Popped to Sytner today to pick up a few odd and sods including a new seat belt extender for the drivers side. Hopefully I’ll get time to do that before my wedding / trip to Scotland.

I also picked up a cubby to replace the ash tray. I find them much more useless having fitted them to my 130i and my other half’s 125i. A wallet / phone for in nicely and unlike the 1 series there is no need to dismantle the entire centre console to fit them!



Another minor tweak is LED interior bulbs. I hate halogen bulbs especially after 11 years or so of cars with LED interior lighting.

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Me Alec said:

Your car? …. those hideous brushed aluminium dash panels should be illegal ~ they even put them on the Bentley Sports …. WTF did they thing they were doing?!!! As for the other bits and pieces, it's your car ~ your choice.

All that I've done is to replace the front chromed plastic kidney grills with the same but in black. I've also had the brake calibers painted bright red ~ subtle-ish.

The 335i Coupe is a fast car ~ not super-car, but fast. I thought about re-chipping and contacted a guy who sold the idea to me. He arranged for his guy in a van to come out and carry out the work with the assurance that if I wasn't totally pleased after a fortnight, his guy would return, reverse the process and return my £350. On the morning when the work was due to take place, the guy 'phoned me, said that he was returning my money because as he put it, his guru came back and said that under no circumstances should the E92 with the N54 engine management system be tinkered with ~ the reactions from the engine were never favourable.

Sounds like you had some fun and games with your car but got there in the end.

The aluminium trims are certainly proving decisive! I personally like them and have had them in a few of my previous cars including my M140i which I spec’d from new. There isn’t a great deal of options for these. It’s the wood which I don’t like, the aluminium which I do but most on here don’t seem to, painted silver or black which make the interior feel like a cave.

As stock they’re certainly quick, more than quick enough. I doubt I’ll go chasing power. I definitely can’t whilst it’s under warranty.

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MikeM6 said:

I like the aluminium trims, I had them in mine and I thought they lifted the interior nicely

Edit to fix my atrocious typing!

Edited by MikeM6 on Sunday 17th April 19:15

B'stard Child said:

I have the "textured" aluminum trim in my 125i - I don't think that's popular either but I like it - I would have still bought the car if it had wood but would have swapped it out asap because black on black with dark headlining and dark wood is a cave for sure

MissChief said:

Although I have a 2015 F36 428i GC I have to agree. My car is black with black leather, not even any contrast stitching and I’m forever thankful the original owner specified the aluminium interior. Without it it would be a black hole of light.

Which is basically why I changed them. The black leather with a dark headlining makes for a very dark interior.

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Craikeybaby said:

I didn’t realise you had a new car Sam! I saw this thread shared on Facebook from the PH account.

It all happened quite quickly once I’d realised that an M3 wasn’t a realistic option.

Pleased with it so far. It scrubs up well for an old car, just need to hope that the N54 doesn’t give me too many issues.

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Craikeybaby said:

My mate had a 335i (alongside an M3) and it was a nightmare, but yours sounds like it has already had the work done, and a BMW warranty so should be a good one!

Fingers crossed!

They sold loads of 35i cars back in the day, so they can’t all be turds. Surely?

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Joe M said:

Heatstyleuk said:

Get the gearbox software XHP massive improvements

Another vote here for this, massive improvement and very easy to do.

I’ll see how I go for a while before I start doing stuff like that given that it’s under warranty again.

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josh-cg608 said:

Beautiful car mate always had a soft spot for these with the 19's I'd been keeping my eye on these the last few weeks as although I love my 130i especially now it's had the b12 kit fitted and front refresh alot of my miles are done going away on long drives so thinking next something like this may suit more. Will be keeping an eye on updates. How fast actually are they?

Thanks.

I think officially they’re 5 point something to 62. It feels a chunk quicker than the 130 but it does so with less effort. I guess that’s the old school slush box extra torque and being a bigger, better insulated car than the 1 series.