E91 Straight Six Bearding

[g3org3y]

You've sold it to me.

[MikeM6]

dcb said:

g3org3y said:

I usually keep an eye on Autotrader to see what's available 'locally'. 330is seem to be quite uncommon, especially in Touring form.

LOADS of 320is though.

Of course. 320 outsell 330 by about 10:1

As we know, 320 is about as far as you need to go.

Once you've got something that will cruise happy at 120 mph all day every day,
some 50 mph beyond the UK limit, you've got enough power.

Works well on the only unlimited roads in Europe, too.

Oh bugger, whish I knew that before buying an M6. Could have saved my self some monies

[330ti]

Edited by 330ti on Sunday 24th November 10:42

[gizlaroc]

I have mentioned this before, but I took a 320i E92 as a part ex earlier in the year, it was a manual and was the N43 engine, but was an absolute joy to drive.
Had to work it a bit but it was fun and rewarding in a way that many of the larger cars aren't, they are more about being effortless.

Don't get me wrong, I love the 330i, but I wouldn't knock the 320i.

[rallycross]

gizlaroc said:

I have mentioned this before, but I took a 320i E92 as a part ex earlier in the year, it was a manual and was the N43 engine, but was an absolute joy to drive.
Had to work it a bit but it was fun and rewarding in a way that many of the larger cars aren't, they are more about being effortless.

Don't get me wrong, I love the 330i, but I wouldn't knock the 320i.

The later ones with the N43 20i engine are terrible, they do suffer from timing chain, crank shaft and injector problems, porous sumps,worst of all they rattle on tick over like an old OHV Vauxall chevette.

If you rev them hard they go quite well as you said above, at normal revs they are gutless, especially with an auto box they are dire, I'd say that engine is really one of BMW's worst petrol engines.

[JakeT]

^ This is specifically why I would buy a 6 cylinder version over a 4 cylinder model. Older 4 cylinder stuff like the M42/44 was great. A really nice engine. But the new stuff isn't reliable. I'd rather spend money on fuel than repairs.

[ferrisbueller]

I think if you're going to buy a BMW then you need to get at least a six pot. Anything less is missing out IMO and the straight sixes are right up there with the best.

[ferrisbueller]

Anyone using Continental tyres?

[gizlaroc]

rallycross said:

The later ones with the N43 20i engine are terrible, they do suffer from timing chain, crank shaft and injector problems, porous sumps,worst of all they rattle on tick over like an old OHV Vauxall chevette.

If you rev them hard they go quite well as you said above, at normal revs they are gutless, especially with an auto box they are dire, I'd say that engine is really one of BMW's worst petrol engines.

This had had new coils, new injectors and the timing chain replaced all at BMW the previous year, so I agree, unreliable and wouldn't buy one, but I enjoyed driving it a lot and made me think sometimes cars can have too much power to properly enjoy them.

Once the novelty of the car going like stink no matter what gear/revs you are at wears off, then what have you got left?
One of the reasons I preferred the N53 330i BMW lent me when my 335i was in for work.
After a couple of days with that I decided to move the 335i on when I got it back.

[gizlaroc]

ferrisbueller said:

Anyone using Continental tyres?

I have gone back to them after saying never again.

These are winters.

I'm thinking of biting the bullet and ditching them. They are noisy, hard, crashy and just not nice at all. The DOT date on these is 2017.

Contis do tend to harden up so quickly, I had them come out to look at a set that had started to crack between the treads at 18 months old (I had them on the car for 8 months) and again got really hard and noisy even though they had 6mm left on them still.
They ended up saying they had been left out in sunlight too much?!

Seriously?!

These came on the wheels I bought for winter, but Conti would never get my money.

[ferrisbueller]

gizlaroc said:

ferrisbueller said:

Anyone using Continental tyres?

I have gone back to them after saying never again.

These are winters.

I'm thinking of biting the bullet and ditching them. They are noisy, hard, crashy and just not nice at all. The DOT date on these is 2017.

Contis do tend to harden up so quickly, I had them come out to look at a set that had started to crack between the treads at 18 months old (I had them on the car for 8 months) and again got really hard and noisy even though they had 6mm left on them still.
They ended up saying they had been left out in sunlight too much?!

Seriously?!

These came on the wheels I bought for winter, but Conti would never get my money.

That's very helpful. I've been thinking of going back to PS3s. Conti 5/6 are in the same ballpark and were decent on my M3. Any opinions on Good Year F1s? Not had those on a car for ages (probably 15 years +)

[gizlaroc]

That is what I am going for. I have a set sat in the garage for spring.

I have even gone runflat after all the praise they have been getting, thought I would give them a try, if not will go with the non run flats.

[ferrisbueller]

gizlaroc said:

That is what I am going for. I have a set sat in the garage for spring.

I have even gone runflat after all the praise they have been getting, thought I would give them a try, if not will go with the non run flats.

PS3 or F1s?

[Obison]

Just fitted hankook ventus evo rft to mine, they were a little loose for the first few miles until they scrubbed up, but they feel very good now,
Lovely tread design too if that matters, and fairly cheap.

[gizlaroc]

ferrisbueller said:

PS3 or F1s?

F1's.

[themightychimp]

^ Hey ferrisbueler. Yes, changed tyres on my E91 lci 335i m sport from Michelin runflats to Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 5s about 5 weeks ago. All good so far, a cliche regarding ditching runflats but I’d say what I really notice most is the improvement in ride quality & actually less road noise too, they seem quieter. Difficult for me to give a verdict on grip because the old tyres were on advisories & heading for MOT failure so I’d lost confidence in them.
I got what I thought was a decent deal, £423 for all 4 after discount including fitting (18 inch, 225/40 front & 255/35 rear) The deal was through a very well known nationwide fitting & service company (fill the blank, should be your first guess...), & I had testing experience with them. An amateur youth was set lose on my car, I didn’t see him remove the old tyres but if I’d not known better I’d have thought he’d hacked them off with an axe! My previously pristine alloys didn’t look quite the same, I was rather gutted... Was sent a follow email requesting feedback, & without offering any abuse I did go for it. To be fair they quickly came back to me, & they’ve now made good on the damage. They sent all 4 alloys off for refurbishment, can’t say I wasn’t a bit wary of leaving the car with them again but felt more confident when I met the branch manager who himself had a six cylinder E92 & had had his wheels refurbed at the same place. Car came back fine, & wheels are pristine, was a bit of hassle but a satisfied customer :0)

[JakeT]

I've got the Eagles on my summer wheels. Happy with them. As good of grip as I would need, and they come in the correct 255/35/18 size for the rear of these cars. I can't comment on longevity though, but a set will be going on to replace the worn out PS4s on the front come springtime.

[Mr Tidy]

I took a set off my 330i last week when I fitted my winters.

They were 17" Continental Conti Sport Contact run-flat summers. I never had an issue with them for grip, but I think my 325i rode slightly better on Pirelli P7s (also 17" run-flats).

[MikeM6]

I replaced knackered PS4s with Eagle F1 5s on my old car and they were great, maybe a touch noisier and a fraction less traction initially, but after a few miles they were superb.

[zippyonline]

Had my MOT on friday. I was quite proud of my 5 years in a row with a pass with no advisories. This time I had 6 advisories:

Repair as soon as possible (minor defects):

Central Front Upper Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.2 (a) (i))

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

Supplementary restraint system warning lamp does not illuminate (7.1.6 (a))
Nearside Front Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Offside Front Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Nearside Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))
Offside Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))

So non issues really apart from the airbag light not showing. Apart from it bl00dy does work - went to double check and airbag light does come on when you put the key in the slot...

So all non issues really (have new discs, pads and calipers ready to go on actually, and the tyres have another few thousand miles to go - and they're not actually that worn on the edge - it's actually quite even)...just annoying having a non issue flagged up. I did get complimented on the car being in good shape for 217k miles though!