BMW e91 325d Touring
Discussion
As a long-time lurker (and now first-time poster!) I’ve enjoyed whiling away many an hour here in Reader’s Cars, so thought it about time I try to offer something in return with a thread of my own. It certainly won’t be as fascinating as some of the stuff on here (PPBB’s mega-mile 996, for example) but hopefully it’ll be of interest to someone.
Before getting into the e91, I’ll share a couple of pics of my last two cars, both of which were BMW 130s. One an LCI e87 M Sport and the other an e81 LE:
It’s fair to say these cars really got under my skin and turned me on to the BMW brand; I’d been on a run of 4 VAG cars previously and was intending to purchase my 5th (a Golf R32) when I half-heartedly went to view the silver e87… The rest, as they say, is history. I’m now officially a BMW fanboy.
So, why the switch from the glorious sounding (especially with BMWP intake and exhaust) and free-revving N52 to the N57 oil burner? Offspring. I would’ve liked a 330i touring but really wanted an LCI model which meant the N53, which I didn’t want. I swiftly moved on to looking for a facelift 335i touring, but then realised how rare they are! So finally, partly due to impatience and partly down to being curious of high-torque remapped diesels (I’d never had one), I opened the search up to include 6 cylinder ‘d’ models.
Within a couple of days the image above popped up on an eBay search and, despite not liking the colour, corner splitters or wheels, it piqued my interest. It was a couple of hours away from me, but as luck would have it, I would be in the area with work later that week… A phone call was made, a viewing took place, and a sale agreed.
There it is then, an automatic 2011 e91 325d M Sport with the detuned 3 litre N57 lump. Was purchased with just shy of 87k miles, a full main dealer history and a reasonable spec, the highlights being:
Adaptive xenons with high-beam assist.
Cruise control with braking function.
Widescreen pro navigation.
Black heated leather.
Retractable front armrest.
Sun protection glazing.
Also, being a late LCI model, it has the much-improved DCT style paddle shifters and low-slung roof rails.
I’ve owned the car for approaching 12 months now so the thread will begin retrospectively and, hopefully, catch-up to present day at some point.
Thanks for reading!
Before getting into the e91, I’ll share a couple of pics of my last two cars, both of which were BMW 130s. One an LCI e87 M Sport and the other an e81 LE:
It’s fair to say these cars really got under my skin and turned me on to the BMW brand; I’d been on a run of 4 VAG cars previously and was intending to purchase my 5th (a Golf R32) when I half-heartedly went to view the silver e87… The rest, as they say, is history. I’m now officially a BMW fanboy.
So, why the switch from the glorious sounding (especially with BMWP intake and exhaust) and free-revving N52 to the N57 oil burner? Offspring. I would’ve liked a 330i touring but really wanted an LCI model which meant the N53, which I didn’t want. I swiftly moved on to looking for a facelift 335i touring, but then realised how rare they are! So finally, partly due to impatience and partly down to being curious of high-torque remapped diesels (I’d never had one), I opened the search up to include 6 cylinder ‘d’ models.
Within a couple of days the image above popped up on an eBay search and, despite not liking the colour, corner splitters or wheels, it piqued my interest. It was a couple of hours away from me, but as luck would have it, I would be in the area with work later that week… A phone call was made, a viewing took place, and a sale agreed.
There it is then, an automatic 2011 e91 325d M Sport with the detuned 3 litre N57 lump. Was purchased with just shy of 87k miles, a full main dealer history and a reasonable spec, the highlights being:
Adaptive xenons with high-beam assist.
Cruise control with braking function.
Widescreen pro navigation.
Black heated leather.
Retractable front armrest.
Sun protection glazing.
Also, being a late LCI model, it has the much-improved DCT style paddle shifters and low-slung roof rails.
I’ve owned the car for approaching 12 months now so the thread will begin retrospectively and, hopefully, catch-up to present day at some point.
Thanks for reading!
Had a similar history of cars to you, I have now owned an LCI E91 325d just over a year after owning an E87 130i for nearly 3 years. I do miss the 130i, and would have another if I found the right one. My E91 has pretty much the same options as yours. Have been thinking of a remap, but would like to get the gearbox serviced before going down that route!
Your E91 looks great. 
I'm another BMW fan starting with an E46 320td Compact, E87 123d, E86 3.0Si Coupe, E46 325ti Compact, another E86 3.0Si Coupe, an E91 325i and currently an E90 330i and E86 M Coupe.
When I was looking for my E91 manual 330is with the N52 were so hard to find, and expensive, so I settled for a 325i. But it felt a bit sluggish so I tried again but had the same issue, so the compromise was my E90 330i in 2019 as I just wasn't doing the mileage to justify a diesel - and I'm doing even less now!
But I don't think the M57 engines have a DPF so that's one less thing to go wrong! Although the LCI E9*s don't have the cooled cup-holder in the central armrest.
Still hopefully yours will fit the bill (with maybe a sneaky re-map) so enjoy.
I'm another BMW fan starting with an E46 320td Compact, E87 123d, E86 3.0Si Coupe, E46 325ti Compact, another E86 3.0Si Coupe, an E91 325i and currently an E90 330i and E86 M Coupe.
When I was looking for my E91 manual 330is with the N52 were so hard to find, and expensive, so I settled for a 325i. But it felt a bit sluggish so I tried again but had the same issue, so the compromise was my E90 330i in 2019 as I just wasn't doing the mileage to justify a diesel - and I'm doing even less now!
But I don't think the M57 engines have a DPF so that's one less thing to go wrong! Although the LCI E9*s don't have the cooled cup-holder in the central armrest.
Still hopefully yours will fit the bill (with maybe a sneaky re-map) so enjoy.
NorcyUK said:
I do miss the 130i, and would have another if I found the right one. My E91 has pretty much the same options as yours. Have been thinking of a remap, but would like to get the gearbox serviced before going down that route!
I have to say i'm still keeping my eye on 130s too, and have a bit of an itch for number 3. Like you say though, it'd have to be a good 'un.Funnily enough I have a ZF service kit sat by my desk right now
DC.11 said:
Dave!
Yep, it's fair to say I felt a bit of a prat when realising the error of my ways.
I'm pleased to say the old girl is doing well and hasn't skipped a beat.
Nice to hear that it’s been no trouble, I didn’t imagine you would have had any though. Yep, it's fair to say I felt a bit of a prat when realising the error of my ways.
I'm pleased to say the old girl is doing well and hasn't skipped a beat.
I look forward to the updates.
All the best
Mr Tidy said:
When I was looking for my E91 manual 330is with the N52 were so hard to find, and expensive, so I settled for a 325i. But it felt a bit sluggish so I tried again but had the same issue, so the compromise was my E90 330i in 2019 as I just wasn't doing the mileage to justify a diesel - and I'm doing even less now!
Although the LCI E9*s don't have the cooled cup-holder in the central armrest.
I very briefly had an e90 325i myself, but similarly found it lacking compared to the full fat N52. It's a shame BMW didn't go down the same route as the 125i/130i and use the same (but restricted) engine.Although the LCI E9*s don't have the cooled cup-holder in the central armrest.
And this is the first i've heard of cooled cup holders!!! I'm off to read about them...
Jhonno said:
That looks great! Lovely thing.. Are they BMW wheels or aftermarket?
Thanks. The wheels are genuine BMW 640m, which are a winter option for M2/3/4 models.I mentioned in my opening post that I wasn't keen on them at first, but they definitely grew on me. The concave is great!
Having said that, they're not on the car at the moment.
I like the wheels! Look decent. I like these cars a lot; they're top of my list for a new family car... but, I've now had more than person tell me they're tiny in the back and do not make good family cars!?
I'd be looking to get one of these
https://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/product/twin-e...
I'd be looking to get one of these
https://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/product/twin-e...
Upon first viewing the car, it was very well presented with only the lower edge of the front bumper letting it down slightly… It appeared to have had a smart repair at some point in its life that was now looking a little flat and typically stone chipped. Also, the front corner splitters (which I didn’t like, then did like, then didn’t like… You get the idea) weren’t the best fit with a good 7mm or so gap to the fog light surrounds.
I decided to remove them… Taking half of the aforementioned smart repair with them. It was time for a visit to my local paint guy:
As always, he did a great job at a fair price. I'd asked him to fill the screw holes from the dealer-fit number plates too so that I could use my shortened front plate. Despite having to paint higher up the bumper than he would've liked (Because of the screw hole filling), the colour match is perfect, with no noticeable difference to the wings or bonnet:
Much better!
Oh, and the kidney grilles had a lick of B27 Dark Shadow Metallic (as used on F** series cars) with satin clear coat.
I decided to remove them… Taking half of the aforementioned smart repair with them. It was time for a visit to my local paint guy:
As always, he did a great job at a fair price. I'd asked him to fill the screw holes from the dealer-fit number plates too so that I could use my shortened front plate. Despite having to paint higher up the bumper than he would've liked (Because of the screw hole filling), the colour match is perfect, with no noticeable difference to the wings or bonnet:
Much better!
Oh, and the kidney grilles had a lick of B27 Dark Shadow Metallic (as used on F** series cars) with satin clear coat.
Edited by DC.11 on Tuesday 2nd February 20:40
Edited by DC.11 on Tuesday 2nd February 20:41
Edited by DC.11 on Tuesday 2nd February 20:43
DC.11 said:
I have to say i'm still keeping my eye on 130s too, and have a bit of an itch for number 3. Like you say though, it'd have to be a good 'un.
Funnily enough I have a ZF service kit sat by my desk right now
Where did you get it from? A lot of the kits I’ve found when searching seem to be for the ZF8 boxFunnily enough I have a ZF service kit sat by my desk right now
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