Discussion
Evening
Due to a terrible company car list, a £6.2k allowance and the fact I only do about 10-12k miles a year I recently made the decision to opt out and buy a daily.
I set a budget of £10k as due to an impending house purchase and my age (26) I wanted to avoid any form of finance despite the temptation.
I narrowed my choices down to either a E Class Coupe or a 3 series coupe both in 6 cylinder diesel form and decided despite already having a Z4 the BMW was by far the better drive.
I viewed a few and plumped for this one due to it being the right colour combo and having a decent spec which was is as follows (extras)
Professional Nav
Heated Seats
19" Alloys
Parking Sensors
Folding Mirrors
Sun Protection Glass
Sliding Armrest
Bamboo Wood
All in this meant a list price of just over £40k so at £9,250 on 80k miles I felt it was a good deal.
I have owned the car three weeks now and I am really pleased with it. Currently I am averaging about 35mpg with a lot of start stop driving.
The only future plan is a remap as on the LCI it is a detuned 330d model and as such circa 300hp is achievable in comparison to the 210hp it has now.
Few pictures from the advert below
Due to a terrible company car list, a £6.2k allowance and the fact I only do about 10-12k miles a year I recently made the decision to opt out and buy a daily.
I set a budget of £10k as due to an impending house purchase and my age (26) I wanted to avoid any form of finance despite the temptation.
I narrowed my choices down to either a E Class Coupe or a 3 series coupe both in 6 cylinder diesel form and decided despite already having a Z4 the BMW was by far the better drive.
I viewed a few and plumped for this one due to it being the right colour combo and having a decent spec which was is as follows (extras)
Professional Nav
Heated Seats
19" Alloys
Parking Sensors
Folding Mirrors
Sun Protection Glass
Sliding Armrest
Bamboo Wood
All in this meant a list price of just over £40k so at £9,250 on 80k miles I felt it was a good deal.
I have owned the car three weeks now and I am really pleased with it. Currently I am averaging about 35mpg with a lot of start stop driving.
The only future plan is a remap as on the LCI it is a detuned 330d model and as such circa 300hp is achievable in comparison to the 210hp it has now.
Few pictures from the advert below
That looks really smart. 
I'm another Z4 owner who bought an E9* as a daily! I got an E91 325i as luckily I no longer have a commute, so economy was less of an issue! And probably because it doesn't commute it's averaging 33 mpg anyway.
If your car has the stop/start feature you might want to consider turning it off. I had a 123d with it and the AGM battery that has to be coded to the car didn't last 5 years - and the replacement cost over £250 in 2011. Then after 6 years the starter motor died - replacement of that cost over £600!
I'm another Z4 owner who bought an E9* as a daily! I got an E91 325i as luckily I no longer have a commute, so economy was less of an issue! And probably because it doesn't commute it's averaging 33 mpg anyway.
If your car has the stop/start feature you might want to consider turning it off. I had a 123d with it and the AGM battery that has to be coded to the car didn't last 5 years - and the replacement cost over £250 in 2011. Then after 6 years the starter motor died - replacement of that cost over £600!
Very tidy car with nice spec. Enjoy!
Re. the remap, check which gearbox you have; I had a F10 525d with the 205hp 3.0d but the gearbox was a lower rating than the one used in the 530d and a remap would have taken it way beyond it’s design limits. I know yours isn’t the same box (6sp v 8sp) but it’s worth checking. Oh, btw pretty much every tuning company I looked at were happy to take the car way beyond spec and had no idea about the box - they largely assumed it was the same 8 speed as used in the 530d so I’d do your own research!
Edit: having taken a shufty over on realoem it seems you have the same auto box as the 330d so a remap is definitely possible. As you were.
Re. the remap, check which gearbox you have; I had a F10 525d with the 205hp 3.0d but the gearbox was a lower rating than the one used in the 530d and a remap would have taken it way beyond it’s design limits. I know yours isn’t the same box (6sp v 8sp) but it’s worth checking. Oh, btw pretty much every tuning company I looked at were happy to take the car way beyond spec and had no idea about the box - they largely assumed it was the same 8 speed as used in the 530d so I’d do your own research!
Edit: having taken a shufty over on realoem it seems you have the same auto box as the 330d so a remap is definitely possible. As you were.
Edited by pointedstarman on Monday 28th January 07:15
Mr Tidy said:
That looks really smart.
I'm another Z4 owner who bought an E9* as a daily! I got an E91 325i as luckily I no longer have a commute, so economy was less of an issue! And probably because it doesn't commute it's averaging 33 mpg anyway.
If your car has the stop/start feature you might want to consider turning it off. I had a 123d with it and the AGM battery that has to be coded to the car didn't last 5 years - and the replacement cost over £250 in 2011. Then after 6 years the starter motor died - replacement of that cost over £600!
No start stop on this thankfully I'm another Z4 owner who bought an E9* as a daily! I got an E91 325i as luckily I no longer have a commute, so economy was less of an issue! And probably because it doesn't commute it's averaging 33 mpg anyway.
If your car has the stop/start feature you might want to consider turning it off. I had a 123d with it and the AGM battery that has to be coded to the car didn't last 5 years - and the replacement cost over £250 in 2011. Then after 6 years the starter motor died - replacement of that cost over £600!
I was tempted by a petrol model but would probably get about 25mpg with my commute and a fairly heavy right foot plus... Also they don't have the remap potential of the diesel models but are no doubt a great still
greggy50 said:
No start stop on this thankfully
I was tempted by a petrol model but would probably get about 25mpg with my commute and a fairly heavy right foot plus... Also they don't have the remap potential of the diesel models but are no doubt a great still
Good news about no stop/start! I was tempted by a petrol model but would probably get about 25mpg with my commute and a fairly heavy right foot plus... Also they don't have the remap potential of the diesel models but are no doubt a great still
But a 335i would have remap potential, although your economy would definitely suffer!
Done about 2k miles now and had no issues at all.
I have got used to the power now though however so will be getting a remap booked in with DervTech tuning in Manchester
They can take these engines from circa 205hp 450nm to 320hp 650nm which should make a major difference. As per previous posts the LCI model run the same engine and box as a 330d and leave the factory massively detuned
This would give me about 40hp more than a 335d so 0-60 in the low 5 second range 😀
I have got used to the power now though however so will be getting a remap booked in with DervTech tuning in Manchester
They can take these engines from circa 205hp 450nm to 320hp 650nm which should make a major difference. As per previous posts the LCI model run the same engine and box as a 330d and leave the factory massively detuned
This would give me about 40hp more than a 335d so 0-60 in the low 5 second range 😀
greggy50 said:
Done about 2k miles now and had no issues at all.
I have got used to the power now though however so will be getting a remap booked in with DervTech tuning in Manchester
They can take these engines from circa 205hp 450nm to 320hp 650nm which should make a major difference. As per previous posts the LCI model run the same engine and box as a 330d and leave the factory massively detuned
This would give me about 40hp more than a 335d so 0-60 in the low 5 second range ??
Remap the gearbox whilst you’re in there. It makes a massive difference. I don’t know if DervTech (we work in the same industry) do it but look for your nearest xHP dealer (not sure on outside linking rules - Google xHP gearbox) or do it yourself by buying the xHP app from the Google App Store. I have got used to the power now though however so will be getting a remap booked in with DervTech tuning in Manchester
They can take these engines from circa 205hp 450nm to 320hp 650nm which should make a major difference. As per previous posts the LCI model run the same engine and box as a 330d and leave the factory massively detuned
This would give me about 40hp more than a 335d so 0-60 in the low 5 second range ??
I use the xHP stage 3 map on my car (~470BHP E60 535D) and have no issues at all with it.
Edited by twink on Monday 4th March 17:59
twink said:
Remap the gearbox whilst you’re in there. It makes a massive difference. I don’t know if DervTech (we work in the same industry) do it but look for your nearest xHP dealer (not sure on outside linking rules - Google xHP gearbox) or do it yourself by buying the xHP app from the Google App Store.
I use the xHP stage 3 map on my car (~470BHP E60 535D) and have no issues at all with it.
Sorry to hijack. I use the xHP stage 3 map on my car (~470BHP E60 535D) and have no issues at all with it.
Edited by twink on Monday 4th March 17:59
Twink. How much difference do you find the gearbox map makes? I’ve a 335d that’s been mapped and the box could really do with sharpening up.
Mikeeb said:
twink said:
Remap the gearbox whilst you’re in there. It makes a massive difference. I don’t know if DervTech (we work in the same industry) do it but look for your nearest xHP dealer (not sure on outside linking rules - Google xHP gearbox) or do it yourself by buying the xHP app from the Google App Store.
I use the xHP stage 3 map on my car (~470BHP E60 535D) and have no issues at all with it.
Sorry to hijack. I use the xHP stage 3 map on my car (~470BHP E60 535D) and have no issues at all with it.
Edited by twink on Monday 4th March 17:59
Twink. How much difference do you find the gearbox map makes? I’ve a 335d that’s been mapped and the box could really do with sharpening up.
I’d also recommend a fluid change. BMW say it’s sealed for life, but having done the fluid in mine twice (I bought the car on 128k and there’s 149k on it now) I certainly wouldn’t want to leave it in any longer. ZF fluid isn’t cheap, but it certainly felt better after a fluid change before I mapped the box. I’ve done it again since.
As a quick update I have had the car remapped today by dervtech
The car now runs 318hp and 480lbft and it has made a huge difference. On the base run the car ran 205hp which was bang on what BMW claimed.
The 335d of this era were 280 ish hp so this has a useful bit more.
I also had the autobox oil flushed and changed a few weeks ago which made a big difference.
The car now runs 318hp and 480lbft and it has made a huge difference. On the base run the car ran 205hp which was bang on what BMW claimed.
The 335d of this era were 280 ish hp so this has a useful bit more.
I also had the autobox oil flushed and changed a few weeks ago which made a big difference.
Lovely car, great spec. I really like that interior, the leather goes really well with the wood. The remap makes a lot of sense, these use the newer and larger lump which I believe is essentially detuned, and not much more than that. Pre-LCI is a different story, with the 2.5L lump, I wouldn't be too sure about 300hp from those.
I see you bought from Dace, how were they? We considered a GL from them but felt they were charging a lot for a considerably older car in the segment. They didn't have any good spec X5's either.
I see you bought from Dace, how were they? We considered a GL from them but felt they were charging a lot for a considerably older car in the segment. They didn't have any good spec X5's either.
cerb4.5lee said:
The E92 is such a nice shape and yours is a lovely colour combo. Those remap figures look awesome and I bet it feels really quick now. I think these are lovely all round cars. Enjoy it
It certainly feels quick to me I would say performance once going is in line with something like a standard Golf R but with more torque having driven one. I had to take a trip on the M6 Toll late at night and it pulled to a fairly easy indicated 16 leptons before I lost my nerve...
Day to day I can still get 45mpg on a run so that doesn't seem to have changed.
Edited by greggy50 on Tuesday 14th May 20:20
rayyan171 said:
Lovely car, great spec. I really like that interior, the leather goes really well with the wood. The remap makes a lot of sense, these use the newer and larger lump which I believe is essentially detuned, and not much more than that. Pre-LCI is a different story, with the 2.5L lump, I wouldn't be too sure about 300hp from those.
I see you bought from Dace, how were they? We considered a GL from them but felt they were charging a lot for a considerably older car in the segment. They didn't have any good spec X5's either.
Thanks, the earlier models only map to about 260/270 whereas the LCI as you say has the same engine as a 330dI see you bought from Dace, how were they? We considered a GL from them but felt they were charging a lot for a considerably older car in the segment. They didn't have any good spec X5's either.
Dace were fine, I could have got one slightly cheaper but the spec of this one sold it for me as I really wanted heated seats and the pro nav etc.
Just an update to say the car is running fine post remap and I have had no issues at all.
The car does seem really nippy now and I didn't realise how quick it was until I had a 420d as a loaner recently which felt like a 1.2 in comparison...
Did a little test and timed a 50-120mph run in circa. 11/12 seconds this is close to a 100-200kph run and puts it in pretty good company.
https://youtu.be/Vn0Rw7m6PxA
The car does seem really nippy now and I didn't realise how quick it was until I had a 420d as a loaner recently which felt like a 1.2 in comparison...
Did a little test and timed a 50-120mph run in circa. 11/12 seconds this is close to a 100-200kph run and puts it in pretty good company.
https://youtu.be/Vn0Rw7m6PxA
Edited by greggy50 on Tuesday 25th June 23:22
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