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

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

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Discussion

MikeM6

4,985 posts

101 months

Saturday 9th April 2022
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e28525e said:
Lovely car! However, having had a 130i and an E92 as a daily - I would have chosen the M3 over the 335i. Mine averaged 27mpg on my commute, only 2mpg less than my 130i.
It's not so much the fuel cost that gets me, but the maintenance. Everything seems to be at least 1k to sort! The 335i was much cheaper to run.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Saturday 9th April 2022
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Court_S said:
I need to check the tyre pressures because it’s had new fronts fitted and the tyre guys always seem to add a million PSI.
I always noticed this as well whenever I have new tyres fitted! I always end up pulling over on the way home from the tyre fitters to let a load of air out of the tyres. I don't know why they do it!


Matt Bird

1,450 posts

204 months

PH Reportery Lad

Saturday 9th April 2022
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Congrats, looks great!

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Saturday 9th April 2022
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So the car arrived today bang in 3pm as promised. It’s pretty grubby already because minutes after it arrived it bloody rained and I had to pop out to run a few errands so there aren’t really any pics yet. Filling it up certainly stung her if been used to cars with diddy tanks for so long.

It went down well with my seven year old who proclaimed that the the car ‘was sick’.



He loves sitting in the back with the rear arm rest down.

After I’d finished the boring stuff, I got home and started fiddling straight away, I wasn’t sure in the wood trim, especially with black leather so I tracked down some brushed aluminium stuff on eBay which has a few marks (mainly around the seatbelt buckle area) but it was cheap enough. I popped that in which has broken up tey unrelenting sea of black / dark interiors that German cars love.

From this…



To this



I’ve also fitted the BMW performance gear selector and gaiter (rude not to with an eBay 15% discount code).



I also bought the BMW stainless pedals too. The nuts for the brake pedal are horrible to fit but they look nice.



Tomorrow I’ll fit the alcantara steering wheel trim and muck about with the paddle wiring at the same time.

I’ve already ordered a CarPlay solution from Andream and an M3 style lip spoiler which I’ll fit once we’re back from Christmas.


Having used the car today I’m pleased with it; the old girl has got a turn of pace. It’s not got the shove of my old M140i but it has a lot more punch than the 130i. The heavy hydraulic steering made me look like a Doris in a car park today though. hehe Whilst still be relatively impractical (being a coupe) there is lots more room in the back for my little boy. He looks tiny in the back of this compared to a 1 series.

I’ve noticed that the drivers side seat bent extender is hit and miss so that’ll need replacing at some point. There’s a slight rattle I need to track down at some point too. It’s coming from the rear near side (I previously ignored it because the seller had s leather satchel with massive clips and I assumed it was them….it’s not).

Tom4398cc

251 posts

33 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Looks great Sam. Fully respecting “each to their own”, to my eyes the aluminium interior trim makes that car look 10 years younger.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Blimey Sam...you definitely don't mess about when it comes to making a car your own so quickly for sure! thumbup

I personally much prefer the aluminium trim to the wood trim. Nice work and keep enjoying the car.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Tom4398cc said:
Looks great Sam. Fully respecting “each to their own”, to my eyes the aluminium interior trim makes that car look 10 years younger.
That was what I was aiming for! laugh I might be approaching 40 but I don’t feel quite ready for wooden trim in my cars yet. I think wood with a lighter leather works well though.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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cerb4.5lee said:
Blimey Sam...you definitely don't mess about when it comes to making a car your own so quickly for sure! thumbup

I personally much prefer the aluminium trim to the wood trim. Nice work and keep enjoying the car.
It appears I don’t! I’d bought the BMW Performance parts before if even decided which 335i I was buying. Although that was pretty much down to the 15% eBay discount code.

I prefer it too, especially against the black leather.

B'stard Child

28,324 posts

245 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Looks a good purchase - will be following

roadie

593 posts

261 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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I'd love to understand what MPG people are achieving or of their 335i, whether manual or the later SMG on the N55 engine. I am averaging just under 32MPG on my 130i whose main use is commuting down A roads and Motorways at GPS 70MPH into and out of Southampton. I wonder if a 335i could top that if driven in the same manner?

Really looks like this is going to be a project to watch!

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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roadie said:
I'd love to understand what MPG people are achieving or of their 335i, whether manual or the later SMG on the N55 engine. I am averaging just under 32MPG on my 130i whose main use is commuting down A roads and Motorways at GPS 70MPH into and out of Southampton. I wonder if a 335i could top that if driven in the same manner?

Really looks like this is going to be a project to watch!
First impressions are that it’s going to be a bit more economical than my 130i. The average consumption of that car was circa 28mpg (60 mile commute twice a week, heading to Cannock for bike rides and general pottering about). The 335i is showing 32mpg right now albeit without the short school run which kills the economy. My 130i never saw more than 33 on a really really long run.

So far it’s good, it’s much more relaxed than the 130i and us quite happy slushing along. It’s not as much fun, but it’s bigger and heavier and doesn’t have the Birds suspension. Early signs are good. It reminds me of my 330 (which I really really loved) but turned up a bit.

b14

1,060 posts

187 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Great choice.

I had a 2006 E92 335i with the manual box. Sold back in 2014, cosmetically wasn't great as I parked it on the street in London but mechanically it was A1. I bought it with 42k on for £16k and sold it 2 years later with 80k on it for £8.5k... terrible deal, wish I'd kept it.

I loved the car. The only thing that went wrong with mine was a low pressure fuel sensor, and the water pump expired at pretty much bang on 60k miles. It did occasionally go into limp mode for no reason too. But the manual was a joy and it was really quick. Got a 340i now with full Birds B3-40i treatment but I still miss the manual in my old 335i.

I may buy another one if a manual E92 comes up. Where are you YH56 TXT?!

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Have you got a link to the gear lever? Re B4s. I’d recommend the B8s as the fronts have internal bump stops for better ride quality.

MikeM6

4,985 posts

101 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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I've had 43mpg on a run, but mid 30s is more likely.

I drove mine to Lake Garda via Belgium, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a mix of motorway, city driving and mountain passes (or should that paßes?) and the average was something like 32mpg over the 3000 miles or so.

f1nn

2,692 posts

191 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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Congratulations on the new car.

I have fond memories of my time with mine, I created a thread which you may found interesting.

The warranty was always an odd one for me, the N54 is begging for more power which negates the requirement for a warranty as I very much doubt BMW would honour a claim if the car was obviously modified, and if you are not going to tune it, I can’t help but think the more reliable N55 engine in the later cars, especially as they have the DCT box, is the way to go.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
quotequote all
b14 said:
Great choice.

I had a 2006 E92 335i with the manual box. Sold back in 2014, cosmetically wasn't great as I parked it on the street in London but mechanically it was A1. I bought it with 42k on for £16k and sold it 2 years later with 80k on it for £8.5k... terrible deal, wish I'd kept it.

I loved the car. The only thing that went wrong with mine was a low pressure fuel sensor, and the water pump expired at pretty much bang on 60k miles. It did occasionally go into limp mode for no reason too. But the manual was a joy and it was really quick. Got a 340i now with full Birds B3-40i treatment but I still miss the manual in my old 335i.

I may buy another one if a manual E92 comes up. Where are you YH56 TXT?!
Sounds like yours was a good car. Manual is a rare beast.

MikeM6 said:
I've had 43mpg on a run, but mid 30s is more likely.

I drove mine to Lake Garda via Belgium, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a mix of motorway, city driving and mountain passes (or should that paßes?) and the average was something like 32mpg over the 3000 miles or so.
That’s pretty good going. It’ll be interesting to see what it does tomorrow when I’m in the office on my 60 mile round trip.

f1nn said:
Congratulations on the new car.

I have fond memories of my time with mine, I created a thread which you may found interesting.

The warranty was always an odd one for me, the N54 is begging for more power which negates the requirement for a warranty as I very much doubt BMW would honour a claim if the car was obviously modified, and if you are not going to tune it, I can’t help but think the more reliable N55 engine in the later cars, especially as they have the DCT box, is the way to go.
Got a link to your thread?

I’ve not ruled out a map in the future, depending on how it goes over the next year. My car crossed over with later cars, but this was so nice it was hard to turn down.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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helix402 said:
Have you got a link to the gear lever? Re B4s. I’d recommend the B8s as the fronts have internal bump stops for better ride quality.
Here you go…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Performance-Genuine...

And the gaiter just in case…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Genuine-Sport-Gears...

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th April 2022
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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.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Monday 11th April 2022
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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. laugh

Looking forward to seeing what else you change!


Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Monday 11th April 2022
quotequote all
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. laugh

Looking forward to seeing what else you change!
It’s an affliction! laugh

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.