E91 Straight Six Bearding

[pmorg4]

helix402 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

A bit toppy perhaps as you say. However it is a well specced lovely rare car though. I wouldn't mind this myself! I do love an E9x.

If that’s worth 14.5k mines worth 20!

Stick a manual gearbox in and it might well be! Strange old market on these, manual E91 335i tend to fetch a pretty chunky premium. Even as a manual fan I'd struggle to justify paying the uplift, although in theory you'll get it back when you sell.

[helix402]

pmorg4 said:

Stick a manual gearbox in and it might well be! Strange old market on these, manual E91 335i tend to fetch a pretty chunky premium. Even as a manual fan I'd struggle to justify paying the uplift, although in theory you'll get it back when you sell.

Mines a d. Auto only as manual can’t cope with the torque.

[bodhi]

I thought I - well I say I, I mean my friendly indie - had to do the sump gasket on my 125i, however on closer inspection it turned out the sump itself had corroded and was the source of the leak. With the age of the car most in scrappys had the same issue, so it was off to BMW for the part - only 500 quid, plus VAT....

Now it's just using oil, rather than leaking it. So I still need to top it up every 2000 miles or so, but at least my driveway is clean.

[pmorg4]

helix402 said:

pmorg4 said:

Stick a manual gearbox in and it might well be! Strange old market on these, manual E91 335i tend to fetch a pretty chunky premium. Even as a manual fan I'd struggle to justify paying the uplift, although in theory you'll get it back when you sell.

Mines a d. Auto only as manual can’t cope with the torque.

That's the official BMW line but many of the 335i tuners in the US actually prefer the manual for highly tuned cars running significantly more torque than standard. I expect it's probably the standard clutch that is the weak point, which is replaced for a beefier item as part of the tuning process.

[helix402]

pmorg4 said:

That's the official BMW line but many of the 335i tuners in the US actually prefer the manual for highly tuned cars running significantly more torque than standard. I expect it's probably the standard clutch that is the weak point, which is replaced for a beefier item as part of the tuning process.

I have experience tuning the M57 and found the DMF was the limiting factor.

[pmorg4]

helix402 said:

I have experience tuning the M57 and found the DMF was the limiting factor.

That would make sense, I think a single mass flywheel is a popular upgrade for higher power cars, for better or worse.

[pmorg4]

Just spotted this, N52 330i auto with high mileage, but nice colour, one of the most highly optioned E91s I've seen and it has an LCI conversion at the rear.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305057...

[ATM]

pmorg4 said:

Just spotted this, N52 330i auto with high mileage, but nice colour, one of the most highly optioned E91s I've seen and it has an LCI conversion at the rear.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305057...

Been sold several times on ebay and then relisted again.

[Court_S]

nipsips said:

I did my sump gasket myself, and I can honestly say that I’ve never done a job that was that much of a pig - although to be honest the manual cars are slightly easier as access is slightly less restricted. It’s still subframe off more or less completely at the very very least - I think next time (god I hope not) I’d completely drop it just to make life easier.

The only leak I’d be really concerned about and get done as a priority is the oil filter housing gasket - and if you do it yourself make sure you prime it before starting the car.

These have a habit of leaking onto the belt and causing the belt to fail. In fact for how cheap they are even for genuine or fit an auxiliary drive belt and a tensioner as preventative maintenance.

The cooler / filter housing gaskets on her 125i weren’t too bad to do once the manifold was off.

I had them done on my 335i whilst verge carbon clean was being done.

[Court_S]

bodhi said:

I thought I - well I say I, I mean my friendly indie - had to do the sump gasket on my 125i, however on closer inspection it turned out the sump itself had corroded and was the source of the leak. With the age of the car most in scrappys had the same issue, so it was off to BMW for the part - only 500 quid, plus VAT....

Now it's just using oil, rather than leaking it. So I still need to top it up every 2000 miles or so, but at least my driveway is clean.

My mate sent me this the other day and it reminded me of your cars love of leaking.

[bodhi]

Court_S said:

My mate sent me this the other day and it reminded me of your cars love of leaking.

Haha, funnily enough I've been sent that recently from a couple of mates - along with this one :



Although from experience I don't think that BMW in particular wants to die, probably just needs a new sensor somewhere

[Gad-Westy]

Does anyone use cross climate tyres on a 335i? I previously used them on our 525i and I’m a huge fan but I’m a bit worried about how well they’ll deal with the turbo delivery? Not cheap in standard sizes so don’t want to get this wrong. Maybe better just to buy a set of winters?

On a related subject, what do you all do, if anything, about a spare wheel?

[pmorg4]

Gad-Westy said:

On a related subject, what do you all do, if anything, about a spare wheel?

I have a few options at my disposal. I have the BMW mobility kit (bottle of goo and an inflator) which lives under the boot floor. However that's a last resort and usually I'll carry a space saver spare in the boot secured using the lashing points in the corners of the boot. The only time this comes out is if I need all of the space in the boot, or on longer journeys where I don't need the boot space in which case I carry the full size spare.

The thing I like most about the latter is that if I'm doing an 800 mile round trip and I get a puncture anywhere on that trip, I can swap the wheel and carry on with my journey without worrying about speed or distance restrictions that afflict all the other options (tyre goo, space saver and RFT running on the sidewall all impose such restrictions). Often I do such journeys late in the evening so driving to the nearest tyre place isn't a viable option. I can then get the punctured tyre repaired or replaced at my convenience.

[helix402]

Gad-Westy said:

Does anyone use cross climate tyres on a 335i? I previously used them on our 525i and I’m a huge fan but I’m a bit worried about how well they’ll deal with the turbo delivery? Not cheap in standard sizes so don’t want to get this wrong. Maybe better just to buy a set of winters?

On a related subject, what do you all do, if anything, about a spare wheel?

I have Michelin Cross Climates on my 335d winter 17s. They are horrible. Noisy and give the car a very floaty feeling. I’ve not used them in snow or ice yet to tell if they’re any good. I have a genuine BMW alloy space saver spare wheel which is light. I hear a steel space saver from another model may fit.

[MajorMantra]

Gad-Westy said:

On a related subject, what do you all do, if anything, about a spare wheel?

I have a space saver semi-permanently living in the boot. Occasionally I get grumpy about it, but I have a deep paranoia that the day I stop carrying it around I will of course puncture.

[ATM]

helix402 said:

Gad-Westy said:

Does anyone use cross climate tyres on a 335i? I previously used them on our 525i and I’m a huge fan but I’m a bit worried about how well they’ll deal with the turbo delivery? Not cheap in standard sizes so don’t want to get this wrong. Maybe better just to buy a set of winters?

On a related subject, what do you all do, if anything, about a spare wheel?

I have Michelin Cross Climates on my 335d winter 17s. They are horrible. Noisy and give the car a very floaty feeling. I’ve not used them in snow or ice yet to tell if they’re any good. I have a genuine BMW alloy space saver spare wheel which is light. I hear a steel space saver from another model may fit.

Probably worth mentioning if you are comparing RFT 18 Summer to Go Flat 17 Winter as the difference will be massive. You cant expect a winter or a cross climate type tyre to feel direct. Especially if going down an inch and especially if going from RFT to Go Flat and especially if going from Big Flat Summer type tread blocks to bendy winter type tread blocks.

[JakeT]

I use a dedicated winter and summer set, so can’t add anything there.

I do use a BMW kit for a space saver, and have goo too. The wheel only goes in for long trips, usually Scotland or Europe. It robs some boot space, but plenty goes in around it.

[Gad-Westy]

Thanks all. I think I better find a space saver kit and bungees. I must admit I was a bit disappointed to find that BMW had left no provision for a spare. I know it's not unusual these days but still annoying.

I think I'll probably keep an eye out of a set of winter wheels too. I get a bit fed up of having sets of wheels everywhere but maybe it's the best option here.

[Mr Tidy]

Gad-Westy said:

Thanks all. I think I better find a space saver kit and bungees. I must admit I was a bit disappointed to find that BMW had left no provision for a spare. I know it's not unusual these days but still annoying.

I think I'll probably keep an eye out of a set of winter wheels too. I get a bit fed up of having sets of wheels everywhere but maybe it's the best option here.

I ran my E91 on run-flats partly to avoid those issues. Even with a space-saver (plus jack and wheelbrace) if you need to use it you'll have to get a full size wheel in the boot!

My winters were also run-flats.

[Gad-Westy]

Mr Tidy said:

Gad-Westy said:

Thanks all. I think I better find a space saver kit and bungees. I must admit I was a bit disappointed to find that BMW had left no provision for a spare. I know it's not unusual these days but still annoying.

I think I'll probably keep an eye out of a set of winter wheels too. I get a bit fed up of having sets of wheels everywhere but maybe it's the best option here.

I ran my E91 on run-flats partly to avoid those issues. Even with a space-saver (plus jack and wheelbrace) if you need to use it you'll have to get a full size wheel in the boot!

My winters were also run-flats.

I just really dislike run flats which I admit is a bit of a problem on a car with no spare but I think I'd rather carry the spare than put up with the run flats.

Good point about needing space for the other wheel to go in as well. If I end up with a set of winters, maybe I'll just use one of those as the spare and a summer tyre in winter.

How does the TPMS system on a pre-LCI E91 work? Will I need winters with TPMS valves or is it done off the ABS?