BMW F30 330d Msport

[Cliff J]

So I sold my previous BMW E64 645ci, 4.4L V8 and have gone a different route.

After buying a lovely new house, a bigger mortgage came with it and I needed more than 17mpg.
I decided I wanted an F30 shaped BMW but had a dilemma of 320d or 330d.

The 320d is cheaper to buy, is only £30 tax per year, ULEZ compliant and cheaper on insurance by a little bit, but…. It’s a 4 pot engine with timing chain issues, which is an engine out job.
The 330d, 6 pot, £130 tax, and 5.6 seconds 0-60…. BUT not ULEZ friendly!

I paid £11k for this with fBMWsh on the iDrive screen, 85k miles, 10 months MOT, Xenons, 19” 403m alloys, but no HK sounds, no Mperformance brakes and small screen iDrive.
Apart from black grilles and wheels it was a standard car with a minor bit of a ding on the NSR wing (£250 quote).

Previous to my house sale and purchase I had stashed parts away ready for my imminent F30.
These consisted of.

1. Gloss black 3 piece splitter
2. Gloss black skirt extensions
3. Gloss black spoiler
4. Gloss black grilles
5. Gloss black mirror covers
6. Gloss black rear diffuser
7. BMW badge vinyl overlays
8. 15 and 12mm wheel spacers

Here is the car as bought, in Alpine white.

2CB38A04-0CB4-43BB-93B1-BB2C9EF1E833 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr


0610F996-4BFD-4E15-8487-2A763FAB6BE2 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr


And now with the added extras…


98610951-C740-4AC1-B53B-F783E3DA81C8 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

A8EF4B4B-BF05-4B78-8C0C-EF3F76C533EB by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

EE2D65DB-E1B4-4B56-AE3C-F3D3BD2CBE02 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

7C7512EA-EB10-4FD2-84F2-569E6F888808 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

To say I’m impressed is a huge understatement. It’s rapid, very easy to forget it’s a Diesel, it even sounds decent too.
Speeds of 50mph to jail are so easy for this car… I’m really enjoying it on all types of roads, it’s so competent.

More as I go, lots of bits still to do and journeys to enjoy.

Edited by Cliff J on Friday 16th July 01:11

[MissChief]

Very smart looking! The additions go so well with the white. I'm considering a boot spoiler and rear diffuser for my 428i Gran Coupe but I fear a front splitter will just get smashed to pieces on a speed bump round here. They're everywhere.

Edited by MissChief on Thursday 15th July 10:30

[Court_S]

White and red is a great colour combo. The gloss black bits work well with white too (I did similar with my M140i).

The 330d is quick. I had one as a courtesy car a few years back and was surprised at how quick it was especially once rolling.

[sortedcossie]

Lot of performance and kit for the money. Looks nice.

Where did you buy the front splitter and side skirts from?

[Cliff J]

MissChief said:

Very smart looking! The additions go so well with the white. I'm considering a boot spoiler and rear diffuser for my 428i Gran Coupe but I fear a front splitter will just get smashed to pieces on a speed bump round here. They're everywhere.

Edited by MissChief on Thursday 15th July 10:30

Yeah, even on Msport suspension you have to take it easy. I’ve touched it twice now and can feel a rough patch underneath but no visual damage.

[Cliff J]

Court_S said:

White and red is a great colour combo. The gloss black bits work well with white too (I did similar with my M140i).

The 330d is quick. I had one as a courtesy car a few years back and was surprised at how quick it was especially once rolling.

Every time I get in it I’m still surprised by how quick it is, it’s also a big car but super nimble.

[Cliff J]

sortedcossie said:

Lot of performance and kit for the money. Looks nice.

Where did you buy the front splitter and side skirts from?

I bought the kit from a company called KITS UK, highly recommended by F3x owners on Facebook. It fits really well too.

[5mileofdeath]

Lovely looking motor..

Looking at one of these to replace my E91 330d as it’s not ULEZ compliant and from October I can’t stomach giving TFL £250 for the privilege of driving to outer London!

Would have to be an F31 for me just because I love the estate/touring look..

Congrats though op!

[okenemem]

love the interior

[Cliff J]

5mileofdeath said:

Lovely looking motor..

Looking at one of these to replace my E91 330d as it’s not ULEZ compliant and from October I can’t stomach giving TFL £250 for the privilege of driving to outer London!

Would have to be an F31 for me just because I love the estate/touring look..

Congrats though op!

Mine is not ULEZ compliant, but I do have another car that is for going into London when I need fo.

[Cliff J]

okenemem said:

love the interior

Yeah, it’s a nice change from my usual black leather.

[sortedcossie]

Cliff J said:

I bought the kit from a company called KITS UK, highly recommended by F3x owners on Facebook. It fits really well too.

much appreciated!

[P9DH]

My estoril blue Touring has the red leather interior. I love it, it was the thing that made it stand out to me in a sea of black seats at the dealership. Bet it looks fab in your white car as well.

[cerb4.5lee]

I had a bit of fun with one of these when I had my E90 330i, and it made the 330i feel embarrassingly underpowered I thought.

I've always been a fan of the 330d(I'd happily have another one for sure) and I had the E90 version for 6 years and over 150k miles.

They are great all round cars I think and yours looks lovely. Yours looks great value for what the car offers as well I reckon.

Enjoy it.

[BlueJ]

Nice car OP, the upgrades really make a difference.

Another endorsement from a former owner - I had the F31 version for 4 yrs / 80K, really good cars. Mine was mainly a motorway car, I loved locking it in 8th and using the torque to full effect. Or "short shifting" using the paddles, for the same reason. Off the motorway you can disengage (or at least reduce, I was never sure) the traction control and loosen the rear, particularly out of greasy roundabouts!

The only issues I had were a new EGR valve at 50K, then a new EGR cooler at 66K, otherwise perfect over 4 years.

Enjoy!

[Cliff J]

So I’ve done a few things myself, all,simple,jobs…

1. New low tone horn replaced
2. Steering rack fix fitted
3. MPerformance Side skit decals fitted.


BMW F30 330d by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW F30 330d by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW F30 330d by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW F30 330d by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW F30 330d by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW F30 330d by Cliff Judson, on Flickr


I just went through a tank of diesel, 459 miles from full before I filled up with 60 mile on the range left.
That was a mixture of central London, M40, A roads, high streets, sensible, hooligan and mixed driving, with the air con on for probably 90% of that.
I achieved 38mpg with an average of 30mph.
I think that’s decent… although I just got 3 points too along the way!

[Cliff J]

This is an exciting update for me… I’ve sold the OEM BMW style 403m 19” alloys with the 225/40/19 and 255/35/19 tyres, and bought some BMW OEM style 437m wheels in 19x9” front with 245/35/19 tyres and 19x10” rears with 265/35/19 tyres.
I’m now running Michelin PSS all round.

These wheels are from the M2/M3/M4 and require no spacers or mods and are beautifully wide on the F30.

BMW f30 330d Msport by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW f30 330d Msport by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW f30 330d Msport by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW f30 330d Msport by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

8D875A72-2FBB-4651-9E51-163E4897A82C by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

C1E3385B-AA5F-4F10-A2E4-998EC5F0BD3B by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

283809EF-E377-4FFE-83DB-228A7A3D5BC4 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

BMW f30 330d Msport by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

Next up is a set of GTS OLED rear lights and Eibach lowering springs.

[Cliff J]

Today I realised how far the car has come in a short period, I had to take a photo or two as I walked back to it and felt super proud.

3330430A-356C-4B47-BADE-F5E1B72A6018 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

4ED27DD3-91D3-4454-A278-9EBB7C3B24E6 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

[Pica-Pica]

Cliff J said:

Today I realised how far the car has come in a short period, I had to take a photo or two as I walked back to it and felt super proud.

3330430A-356C-4B47-BADE-F5E1B72A6018 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

4ED27DD3-91D3-4454-A278-9EBB7C3B24E6 by Cliff Judson, on Flickr

Even the trees have skirts on!

[cerb4.5lee]

Cliff J said:

This is an exciting update for me… I’ve sold the OEM BMW style 403m 19” alloys with the 225/40/19 and 255/35/19 tyres, and bought some BMW OEM style 437m wheels in 19x9” front with 245/35/19 tyres and 19x10” rears with 265/35/19 tyres.
I’m now running Michelin PSS all round.

These wheels are from the M2/M3/M4 and require no spacers or mods and are beautifully wide on the F30.

Absolutely loving the new wheels!(I'm biased because I have exactly the same ones on my F82 M4 though!).

They look so much better on your car because they sit inside the arches too much for me on the M4. A great addition for sure and they look fantastic I reckon.