F31 335d xDrive - experiences?
Discussion
bad company said:
I just look at 335 as one of the best daily drivers I have ever owned (the other was an M5). I take your point tho, the sun is shining today so I will be going out in the TVR. 
And that seems to a recurring theme with many 335d owners; they say how good it is (and as a daily driver that's true) but then you find they have something else to provide the fun and engagement which (IMO) the 335d lacks. I think I'd be much happier to overlook some of my car's shortcomings if I had a Caterham or an Elise (or a TVR!) sat in the garage for weekends but if it's your only car that lack of sparkle becomes more of an issue (or at least it does for me!). If I was doing a lower annual mileage with a budget in the mid to high £30k's I think I'd be looking at a second-hand C63 estate rather than an F31 335d; in many respects a less well-rounded vehicle but I suspect I'd be happy to live with that in exchange for more character and a much nicer noise!JNW1 said:
If I was doing a lower annual mileage with a budget in the mid to high £30k's I think I'd be looking at a second-hand C63 estate rather than an F31 335d; in many respects a less well-rounded vehicle but I suspect I'd be happy to live with that in exchange for more character and a much nicer noise!
+1If I had to collapse my cars into a single vehicle.
JNW1 said:
If I was doing a lower annual mileage with a budget in the mid to high £30k's I think I'd be looking at a second-hand C63 estate rather than an F31 335d; in many respects a less well-rounded vehicle but I suspect I'd be happy to live with that in exchange for more character and a much nicer noise!
That was the other option for me. Sadly, my wife is vehemently opposed to it.Osinjak said:
That was the other option for me. Sadly, my wife is vehemently opposed to it.
Sometimes it's better to be a dictator than a democrat!! 
Seriously, though, what's the objection to a C63? They don't look especially flash unless you opt for the black drug-dealer alloys and are presumably quite docile unless provoked? Sheepshanks said:
Yet it's common to see people getting shut of M5 and C63 after only owning them for a few months - M5's as they're too intense for day-in day-out use and the usual C63 complaint is people get fed up of having to buy new tyres every 4K miles.
The M5 is a wafty barge when you want it to be, in the default settings it falls asleep. Wills2 said:
The M5 is a wafty barge when you want it to be, in the default settings it falls asleep.
I think it's complete myth that M-cars are too hardcore for everyday use; my E46 M3CS was used as a daily driver for over 4 years and more than 60k miles and I'd go to an E92 M3 without hesitation if I didn't need the space and wasn't doing the best part of 20k miles/year!JNW1 said:
Osinjak said:
That was the other option for me. Sadly, my wife is vehemently opposed to it.
Sometimes it's better to be a dictator than a democrat!! Seriously, though, what's the objection to a C63? They don't look especially flash unless you opt for the black drug-dealer alloys and are presumably quite docile unless provoked? I bought a new M5 in 2001 (sorry I don't do 'E' numbers), at the time I was doing c25,000 miles a year so thought long and hard about the fuel consumption and insurance etc., before buying. It was brilliant as an every day driver, well behaved at low speeds and exciting when I wanted it to be. The only problem for me was that I had not budgeted for changing the tyres every 8000 miles. 
I have a 335d tourer- had it for 18 months and done 42k miles in it. For the enthusiast driver it needs the springs changed as a minimum, and ideally a few more things. As standard it's a wallowy disappointment. I've done the ARB's and changed to Pilot super sports tyres, and between those 3 things I now have a car that I'm very happy with. It's very very fast cross-country, like a fast Audi, but you can still bring the tail in to play. Steering is still a little numb, but that's just the times we live in now.
I'd happily have an M3 as a DD, and no doubt would prefer it, but I like to drive my car fast as much as possible, and I just couldn't afford to do that over the 25-30k miles per year that I do.
So my car now handles better than my E90's ever did, but has much better ride comfort.
As a single all-rounder, on a certain budget, I can't think of anything else I'd have, as long as I can do the necessary mods.
I'd happily have an M3 as a DD, and no doubt would prefer it, but I like to drive my car fast as much as possible, and I just couldn't afford to do that over the 25-30k miles per year that I do.
So my car now handles better than my E90's ever did, but has much better ride comfort.
As a single all-rounder, on a certain budget, I can't think of anything else I'd have, as long as I can do the necessary mods.
Wills2 said:
I sincerely hope it doesn't remind you of an XR3i! ACS would be horrified.
Why? Re read the post. The Xr3i was stuck to the road like my acs car,the xr3i was a hard ride,unlike my acs car which is far better than the standard suspension,think they would be quite pleased my big lump of a 3 series reminds me of my lightweight 80s escort handling wise.bad company said:
And expect them to increase your premium.
Seriously, what is wrong with the BMW setup?
Pretty minimal change in costs for changing the springs. I Have a lot mods, inc a remap and it's barely cost me any extra to declare them all.Seriously, what is wrong with the BMW setup?
What's wrong with the standard set up?.... It handles poorly, too floaty, rolls too much, no body control, it's not in any way fun, and aesthetically it sits way too high.
It's annoying buying an expensive new car and then having to spend money modifying it, but now it's done it's been well worth it. There's clear space between a top Msport and an M car, and I think BMW need something there, like Audi do with the S cars, so I've effectively made my own one since they won't!
Tengocity said:
bad company said:
And expect them to increase your premium.
Seriously, what is wrong with the BMW setup?
Pretty minimal change in costs for changing the springs. I Have a lot mods, inc a remap and it's barely cost me any extra to declare them all.Seriously, what is wrong with the BMW setup?
What's wrong with the standard set up?.... It handles poorly, too floaty, rolls too much, no body control, it's not in any way fun, and aesthetically it sits way too high.
It's annoying buying an expensive new car and then having to spend money modifying it, but now it's done it's been well worth it. There's clear space between a top Msport and an M car, and I think BMW need something there, like Audi do with the S cars, so I've effectively made my own one since they won't!
As a first question does anyone even know what the spring rate change is? I know the car sits 10mm lower on the ACS which I thin kwould be hard to spot anyway. I am sceptical
julian64 said:
Hmmm every time someone posts on this thread about the obvious upgrade I am less and less likely to take it up. People are confusing spring rates with dampening in their hyperbole about the benefits of simply changing the spring rate.
As a first question does anyone even know what the spring rate change is? I know the car sits 10mm lower on the ACS which I thin kwould be hard to spot anyway. I am sceptical
It's more than 2cm difference between the standard and ACS springs.As a first question does anyone even know what the spring rate change is? I know the car sits 10mm lower on the ACS which I thin kwould be hard to spot anyway. I am sceptical
You're right that one shouldn't necessarily look at just springs or dampers in isolation. But bear in mind that when you've got adaptive then arguably either comfort or sport damping is 'more appropriate' for the spring rate that's been chosen ie. It's always a compromised set up over a well developed passive arrangement.
The fact is though, there are dozens of people on the BMW forum who've made that modification and every single one said it's a massive improvement over standard.
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