Test drove M240i , 340i vs my M3 E92 comp pack
Discussion
Hi , I'm new to the forum but have always enjoyed reading members thoughts on test drives etc. I thought I would post this whilst fresh in my mind . I went for a test drive today , booked in two cars . M240i and a 340i. I drove to the showroom in my E92 M3 competition package , so I could drive all back to back. The below is my findings :
M240i: Pocket rocket . Fantastic little car , loads of torque and low end grunt. Pulling away in any gear is impressive and quick . Your at top road legal speeds in seconds . Car was smaller than I thought it would be , nice interior , very agile and diverse from comfort to sport. Reminded me a little of my E30 325i for size, go kart like and fun. Not a M car but worth the 25k asking price for a year old car. Bang for buck , running costs , daily driver or weekend car all big pros .
340i: I think the M240i beats it marginally on performance but I preferred the 340i in Other ways. Interior was better , it felt more planted and had better road presents . The power delivery was fantastic, not that it was better than the M240i but felt a bit different, not sure why. Better space inside , but did feel bigger on the road . Be this a good thing or not . I think the 340i felt a bit more grown up and the M240i a bit more silly and fun. The 340 has a good chassis and felt tight but I would imagine when pushed hard this would drop off a bit . The M240i shorter compacted chassis I think would be a bit tighter when pushing hard. Both impressive cars and it's amazing what these non M cars performance levels are like now .
My car M3 E92 Comp pack : Had this car for a year , previously owned one other M car being a Z4m coupe ( One of the best cars , miss it ). Have tracked M3/M4s and do think they awesome of course. This is just my opinion but the cars of yesteryear seem more involving . Ok I am talking about M cars , but getting back into my M3 was so eventful . It took me 5 seconds to realise it's the car to own over the other two. I must add this is purely for weekend and fun times. The other two cars make amazing daily drivers and if that was what I was looking for either car is fantastic. So yes I'm sticking with the M3 for now , it's a fantastic car with plenty of power . As people always comment it doesn't have the low done torque of modern cars, and they are right. As a weekend car I like keeping the revs high and using the M mode and DCT gearbox . I thinking another 6-12 months with this car then if finances allow a newer M car if I can find the character of the old M cars out there.
All the above is just my opinion, love to hear feed back. Any thoughts on what would be worth looking at next . Love the 1M coupe but there big money now . M2? Thanks all .
M240i: Pocket rocket . Fantastic little car , loads of torque and low end grunt. Pulling away in any gear is impressive and quick . Your at top road legal speeds in seconds . Car was smaller than I thought it would be , nice interior , very agile and diverse from comfort to sport. Reminded me a little of my E30 325i for size, go kart like and fun. Not a M car but worth the 25k asking price for a year old car. Bang for buck , running costs , daily driver or weekend car all big pros .
340i: I think the M240i beats it marginally on performance but I preferred the 340i in Other ways. Interior was better , it felt more planted and had better road presents . The power delivery was fantastic, not that it was better than the M240i but felt a bit different, not sure why. Better space inside , but did feel bigger on the road . Be this a good thing or not . I think the 340i felt a bit more grown up and the M240i a bit more silly and fun. The 340 has a good chassis and felt tight but I would imagine when pushed hard this would drop off a bit . The M240i shorter compacted chassis I think would be a bit tighter when pushing hard. Both impressive cars and it's amazing what these non M cars performance levels are like now .
My car M3 E92 Comp pack : Had this car for a year , previously owned one other M car being a Z4m coupe ( One of the best cars , miss it ). Have tracked M3/M4s and do think they awesome of course. This is just my opinion but the cars of yesteryear seem more involving . Ok I am talking about M cars , but getting back into my M3 was so eventful . It took me 5 seconds to realise it's the car to own over the other two. I must add this is purely for weekend and fun times. The other two cars make amazing daily drivers and if that was what I was looking for either car is fantastic. So yes I'm sticking with the M3 for now , it's a fantastic car with plenty of power . As people always comment it doesn't have the low done torque of modern cars, and they are right. As a weekend car I like keeping the revs high and using the M mode and DCT gearbox . I thinking another 6-12 months with this car then if finances allow a newer M car if I can find the character of the old M cars out there.
All the above is just my opinion, love to hear feed back. Any thoughts on what would be worth looking at next . Love the 1M coupe but there big money now . M2? Thanks all .
I’ve driven the M140 and 340 this week, both running M performance pack (aesthetics only) with 19” and 20” rims respectively.
I agree that the 340 feels a little more grown up. I was surpised at how agile the M140 felt by comparison, albeit the ride was fairly jarring on the 19’s
Value for money, I think the M140 is hard to beat at the moment. I also felt a sense of occasion in the M140 where the 340 was lacking.
I agree that the 340 feels a little more grown up. I was surpised at how agile the M140 felt by comparison, albeit the ride was fairly jarring on the 19’s
Value for money, I think the M140 is hard to beat at the moment. I also felt a sense of occasion in the M140 where the 340 was lacking.
GC1976 said:
I’ve driven the M140 and 340 this week, both running M performance pack (aesthetics only) with 19” and 20” rims respectively.
I agree that the 340 feels a little more grown up. I was surpised at how agile the M140 felt by comparison, albeit the ride was fairly jarring on the 19’s
Value for money, I think the M140 is hard to beat at the moment. I also felt a sense of occasion in the M140 where the 340 was lacking.
gc was it on adaptive that 240i? Ive read its a hard ride...I did 30k a year in a 120d auto easily enough could you do it in that? I agree that the 340 feels a little more grown up. I was surpised at how agile the M140 felt by comparison, albeit the ride was fairly jarring on the 19’s
Value for money, I think the M140 is hard to beat at the moment. I also felt a sense of occasion in the M140 where the 340 was lacking.
Very true , pound for pound a sensational car. The sales rep , said he couldn't tell the difference in drive between the M240i and & M140i. Like I say I drove the 240 and was very impressive. My M3 E92, is just more my cup of tea for the weekend fun. But like I say for a daily the 1/240i is a great option . 
I’ve got a 140 and I test drove several with Adaptive. I ended up with the belief that whilst it was a decent option to have, it still didn’t solve the shortcomings of the setup. I ended up getting a passive car with a view to getting a decent Bilstein setup at some point with the money I saved.
R1 Dave said:
I’ve got a 140 and I test drove several with Adaptive. I ended up with the belief that whilst it was a decent option to have, it still didn’t solve the shortcomings of the setup. I ended up getting a passive car with a view to getting a decent Bilstein setup at some point with the money I saved.
Dave have you seen all the joe achilles vids re motech stuff ,,,even Berrys TRL is selling them as set up with motech productshttp://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=80&am...
Yes I’ve seen those, they do look nice. I decided to buy a 1yr old car outright rather than PCPing a new car, even with the TRL discounts it should cost a lot less over the 3 years I’ll likely own it.
The motech suspension setup is only springs though I think isn’t it? From what I’ve read the issue with the OE setup is the dampers. I’ve been considering a Bilstein B12 setup which is shocks and springs.
The motech suspension setup is only springs though I think isn’t it? From what I’ve read the issue with the OE setup is the dampers. I’ve been considering a Bilstein B12 setup which is shocks and springs.
R1 Dave said:
Yes I’ve seen those, they do look nice. I decided to buy a 1yr old car outright rather than PCPing a new car, even with the TRL discounts it should cost a lot less over the 3 years I’ll likely own it.
The motech suspension setup is only springs though I think isn’t it? From what I’ve read the issue with the OE setup is the dampers. I’ve been considering a Bilstein B12 setup which is shocks and springs.
I'm going to go for the B12 kit on my m240i, like you say the issue is more dampers. Motech changes seem to focus more on looks and stance, not for me. I don't really want any drop, but can live with the 5-10mm lower B12 kit.The motech suspension setup is only springs though I think isn’t it? From what I’ve read the issue with the OE setup is the dampers. I’ve been considering a Bilstein B12 setup which is shocks and springs.
JackReacher said:
R1 Dave said:
Yes I’ve seen those, they do look nice. I decided to buy a 1yr old car outright rather than PCPing a new car, even with the TRL discounts it should cost a lot less over the 3 years I’ll likely own it.
The motech suspension setup is only springs though I think isn’t it? From what I’ve read the issue with the OE setup is the dampers. I’ve been considering a Bilstein B12 setup which is shocks and springs.
I'm going to go for the B12 kit on my m240i, like you say the issue is more dampers. Motech changes seem to focus more on looks and stance, not for me. I don't really want any drop, but can live with the 5-10mm lower B12 kit.The motech suspension setup is only springs though I think isn’t it? From what I’ve read the issue with the OE setup is the dampers. I’ve been considering a Bilstein B12 setup which is shocks and springs.
R1 Dave said:
Totally agree. My only concern is the warranty situation. I’ve read that the steering racks on the 1 series can be prone to issues and it’s a £4K fix. It wouldn’t surprise me if the dealers tried to pin it on altered suspension if it ever went wrong. Birds do the B1 kit (which is a B12 kit with slightly altered damping) that retains the warranty but it’s double the price at £2k!!
I don't see why you'd have less warranty issues with the birds kit, neither that or the B12 is BMW approved. It's a tricky question really as they could potentially deny a claim where they could relate it to the suspension. I've been a passenger in a m135i with the birds suspension, and definitely felt less crashy. Perhaps it is slightly better suited to our roads than the standard B12 kit, but the cost difference is so big it's hard to justify. The birds kit is about £1,850 fitted I think, compared to £650 for the B12 plus fitting and alignment if needed.JackReacher said:
R1 Dave said:
Totally agree. My only concern is the warranty situation. I’ve read that the steering racks on the 1 series can be prone to issues and it’s a £4K fix. It wouldn’t surprise me if the dealers tried to pin it on altered suspension if it ever went wrong. Birds do the B1 kit (which is a B12 kit with slightly altered damping) that retains the warranty but it’s double the price at £2k!!
I don't see why you'd have less warranty issues with the birds kit, neither that or the B12 is BMW approved. It's a tricky question really as they could potentially deny a claim where they could relate it to the suspension. I've been a passenger in a m135i with the birds suspension, and definitely felt less crashy. Perhaps it is slightly better suited to our roads than the standard B12 kit, but the cost difference is so big it's hard to justify. The birds kit is about £1,850 fitted I think, compared to £650 for the B12 plus fitting and alignment if needed.R1 Dave said:
I don’t know why but I thought the Birds kit was BMW approved. It appears I was wrong so apologies for that. The huge price can’t be justified in my view. For the extra money I suspect a full adjustable setup could be bought and fine tuned. I suspect I’ll just go for the B12 kit when I get round to it. I’ve heard fitting M4 lower control arms makes a difference too but this isn’t cheap either.
I might be wrong on the birds warranty, but think they offer their own warranty on the suspension kit, but that wouldn't help with other issues. I think you could get the adjustable B16 kit for the birds money, makes more sense but think I'll stick with the B12. I think the M4 lower control arms help with the steering feel, along with front spacers. I'm going to try the suspension first and see how that goes.JackReacher said:
R1 Dave said:
I don’t know why but I thought the Birds kit was BMW approved. It appears I was wrong so apologies for that. The huge price can’t be justified in my view. For the extra money I suspect a full adjustable setup could be bought and fine tuned. I suspect I’ll just go for the B12 kit when I get round to it. I’ve heard fitting M4 lower control arms makes a difference too but this isn’t cheap either.
I might be wrong on the birds warranty, but think they offer their own warranty on the suspension kit, but that wouldn't help with other issues. I think you could get the adjustable B16 kit for the birds money, makes more sense but think I'll stick with the B12. I think the M4 lower control arms help with the steering feel, along with front spacers. I'm going to try the suspension first and see how that goes.My first port of call will be a B12 kit plus the OE rear brace from the M135
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