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      01-30-2013, 01:27 PM   #23
sean10mm
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Inline 4 cylinder engines almost always sound bad, so it's not surprising that BMW made the N20 engine quiet.
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      01-31-2013, 06:42 PM   #24
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Whats the driver mod you were talking about, link?
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      02-01-2013, 01:37 PM   #25
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But for a street car, what's the point? Simply put, a 335 is damn near silent with stock exhaust, so it's silly to say it sounds better than a 328.
Hi, I'm new to the forums.

My current car is a 2001 GT v6 Eclipse, MT. I'm about to get a BMW 328i MT (it's on order), but over the last month waiting for it to arrive I've become concerned about how quiet the engine is.

In my Eclipse there's a constant ambient engine growl that overpowers all other sounds in the cabin, so it always lets me know how hard the engine is working and is a great cue for shifting. I've had it for 12 years so driving it is second nature.

So I'm a little worried about losing that audio cue. Test driving the 328i didn't present any problems, adapted to the clutch pretty quickly. Loved the car, and I'm looking forward to a more silent ride. I had been wondering if I should go with 335 instead, but if it's just as quiet in the cabin, then it wouldn't matter. (Dealership only had 1 MT on the lot, and it was the 328).

So I was wondering if any MT owners of 328 or 335 could share their experiences. Am I being dumb?
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      02-01-2013, 01:57 PM   #26
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If you can get a 335, go for it. Compare to 335, 328 is a family sedan.
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      02-01-2013, 02:16 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by dzt View Post
328 is a family sedan.
Yeah, I'm going from a coupe to a sedan because now I need an actual back seat for a carseat. So less engine noise will let me hear more of the little guy in the back seat. I'm just concerned it will handicap driving a MT. I could only test drive it so much and it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. But while I continue to drive my Eclipse waiting for it to arrive, I worry I'll miss it.
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      02-01-2013, 02:49 PM   #28
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Quote:
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If you can get a 335, go for it. Compare to 335, 328 is a family sedan.
Silly.

The 3 does not go from a family sedan to anything else over a gain of 40-60hp and gaining 100-150lbs.
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      02-01-2013, 02:53 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BmwFlooner
Quote:
Originally Posted by dzt View Post
328 is a family sedan.
Yeah, I'm going from a coupe to a sedan because now I need an actual back seat for a carseat. So less engine noise will let me hear more of the little guy in the back seat. I'm just concerned it will handicap driving a MT. I could only test drive it so much and it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. But while I continue to drive my Eclipse waiting for it to arrive, I worry I'll miss it.
I have a carseat at back too, 335 sport is not that loud, in comfort and EP, it is a family sedan, but in sport it will become a beast. And also the sport transmission is a must have. The loaner car feels the same as the e90 328i I had before(the new 328 is quicker). The inline-4 sounds so cheap, I think for BMW chose inline-4 is so wrong, they can put a 2.5 inline-6 with a small turbo until the new 3 cylinder come out.
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      02-01-2013, 03:05 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dzt View Post
I have a carseat at back too, 335 sport is not that loud, in comfort and EP, it is a family sedan, but in sport it will become a beast. And also the sport transmission is a must have. The loaner car feels the same as the e90 328i I had before(the new 328 is quicker). The inline-4 sounds so cheap, I think for BMW chose inline-4 is so wrong, they can put a 2.5 inline-6 with a small turbo until the new 3 cylinder come out.
The 3 cyl will feel even worse than the 4 cyl. Those engines are just not as smooth as a 6 cyl or 8 cyl.
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      02-01-2013, 03:33 PM   #31
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The inline-4 sounds so cheap, I think for BMW chose inline-4 is so wrong
I'm not really concerned about *how* it sounds so much as just being able to hear the engine at all during normal comutes in comfort mode.

I'm really surprised that the dealership had no MT 335's on the lot. I realize nobody buys them anymore (in the US), but between the 328 and 335, seems like the person who would buy the MT would immediately opt for the v6.
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      02-01-2013, 03:50 PM   #32
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Originally Posted by Jamesons Viggen View Post
Silly.

The 3 does not go from a family sedan to anything else over a gain of 40-60hp and gaining 100-150lbs.
The way the engine note changes *definitely*.
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      02-01-2013, 04:29 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisv_335EBII View Post
The major area I feel the 328 lacks is noise. The engine is very noisey compared the 335. It sounds horrible. For this reason alone I would not be able to live with the 328 on a daily bases. Random question: Does the base lines have less sound insulation? The wind noise is much worse than on the loaner than on my 335. I have never noticed the wind noise on my car but driving around on the highway I kept thinking "WTF".
I took a demo 328i Sport Line out for a 2 hr drive, then I hoped back in my 2006 E90 with 200,000 kms. My car had a MUCH less noisy engine and MUCH less wind noise compared to the brand new $56,000 car I was just in. Not impressed. I'm keeping mine.

Last edited by martyp; 02-01-2013 at 04:36 PM..
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      02-01-2013, 07:30 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by tuned2ride View Post
The way the engine note changes *definitely*.
Very happy with the sound once a proper exhaust was fitted.
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      02-01-2013, 09:48 PM   #35
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I have a new loaner right now and im loving it, thinking the same thing, I could have totally saved some money and got a 328. I have the H&K in my 335 but I actually like some aspects of the base sound system more. I am a recording engineer, I use my car to test mixes and the base system is much more accurate imo, i think it sounds great. The H&K is very bright and colored, reminds me of beats by dre which I hate. That's for my purpose though. It might be more enjoyable but I just know its eq'd and split into multiple frequency bands then further processed, i hear it. The H&K is way louder.
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      02-01-2013, 10:31 PM   #36
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Personally I like how the N20 engine sounds. True, the N55 sounds better (test drove a 2012 535xi, that thing sounded so sweet), but the N20 is no slouch. It'll definitely let you know when its working hard, and you'll have no problems hearing it past 4k rpms. At around 1.6-2k it has this really low rumble that for some reason I love, and I'd often try to hit this sweet spot when moving from rest.

Yes, as has been pointed out when idle the engine sounds more like a diesel than gas, but overall I'd say it's quite remarkable.
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      02-03-2013, 12:46 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi View Post
At around 1.6-2k it has this really low rumble that for some reason I love, and I'd often try to hit this sweet spot when moving from rest.
Nice. Sounds like I was indeed being dumb. I have similar sweet spots in my Eclipse. I'm still debating trading it in. It has been a really reliable car, surprisingly enough.

Order status on my BMW finally changed to in transit - anxiously awaiting its arrival.
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      02-03-2013, 12:51 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by rconti View Post
But for a street car, what's the point? Simply put, a 335 is damn near silent with stock exhaust, so it's silly to say it sounds better than a 328. If you want to mod the exhaust, you probably bought the wrong car -- for one, the turbo dampens the sound right off the bat, so you're not gonna hear that much anyway.

For me it's not about how loud it is, it's about what I hear. My favorite sounding car was my 2008 300C AWD with the 5.7L Hemi. The exhaust was tuned for luxury refinement, so it's really quiet, but you can hear the faint throaty V8 rumble during moderate acceleration that reminds you that you're driving a big ass American V8. (That and getting 18mpg at the pump)

My last car was a 2011 A4 2.0T, and my initial worry was that I'd find going from 340HP/400lb-ft to a 2.0T would leave me craving more power. That didn't turn out to be the case. Most of the time, I was annoyed with the engine note. The turbo-4 was always some mix of buzzing, vibrating, or turbo hissing. None of which were sounds I liked to hear. Between that and the ~2s of turbo lag when coasting or at standstill, I got tired of that car after less than 2 years of ownership.

The AH3's exhaust note is decent, presumably the same as the 335i. When you floor it, the engine delivers refined power and sounds like it's having a good time doing it. The few rare times the car idles with the engine on, it's smooth and doesn't cause the steering column to shake (which my A4 did during cold starts). The power admittedly is overkill (no day to day driving requires the kind of power this car can deliver), and I'd be fine with a 328i from that standpoint, it's just the overall feeling of refinement is not quite there.
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      02-03-2013, 01:16 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdong View Post
The power admittedly is overkill (no day to day driving requires the kind of power this car can deliver), and I'd be fine with a 328i from that standpoint, it's just the overall feeling of refinement is not quite there.
Yes. A 328i with ASS activated is just plain aggravating and annoying to me.
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      02-07-2013, 04:08 PM   #40
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My E90 328i xDrive went in for a wire grounding problem today and I received a 2013 328i xDrive base model as a loaner. I must say...I hate it. What a boring vehicle. You practically have to jump on the gas to get it to go anywhere - and even then it's not very willing. Putting it into sport mode makes a world of difference but I shouldn't have to choose between a family hauler and a sports sedan - it should do both seamlessly like my E90 does. Needless to say, I won't be running off to buy an F30 anytime soon, what a disappointment.
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      02-07-2013, 04:19 PM   #41
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My E90 328i xDrive went in for a wire grounding problem today and I received a 2013 328i xDrive base model as a loaner. I must say...I hate it. What a boring vehicle. You practically have to jump on the gas to get it to go anywhere - and even then it's not very willing. Putting it into sport mode makes a world of difference but I shouldn't have to choose between a family hauler and a sports sedan - it should do both seamlessly like my E90 does. Needless to say, I won't be running off to buy an F30 anytime soon, what a disappointment.
The point of different modes is to give you a different feeling car within the same car. The F30 328 feels like it has a lot more power than the E90 328.
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      02-07-2013, 04:29 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by MassBimmer View Post
My E90 328i xDrive went in for a wire grounding problem today and I received a 2013 328i xDrive base model as a loaner. I must say...I hate it. What a boring vehicle. You practically have to jump on the gas to get it to go anywhere - and even then it's not very willing. Putting it into sport mode makes a world of difference but I shouldn't have to choose between a family hauler and a sports sedan - it should do both seamlessly like my E90 does. Needless to say, I won't be running off to buy an F30 anytime soon, what a disappointment.
I'm confused....

so you're saying that the F30 gives you a choice, where you can put it in one mode and it's more relaxed and refined, and you can pop it in sport where it's sporty enough for your liking, as compared to the E90 which doesn't have that choice, and this is somehow worse?
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      02-07-2013, 05:36 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MassBimmer
My E90 328i xDrive went in for a wire grounding problem today and I received a 2013 328i xDrive base model as a loaner. I must say...I hate it. What a boring vehicle. You practically have to jump on the gas to get it to go anywhere - and even then it's not very willing. Putting it into sport mode makes a world of difference but I shouldn't have to choose between a family hauler and a sports sedan - it should do both seamlessly like my E90 does. Needless to say, I won't be running off to buy an F30 anytime soon, what a disappointment.
I ordered an e90 328i in 2008 (LCI model) while I was deployed overseas. Had never driven one, but I had a big V8 back in the States and gas prices were jumping up drastically from everything I was hearing. I thought the e90 would be a sporty and efficient alternative to my usual big engines. I was wrong. In fact I was profoundly disappointed every moment of every day I drove that car, especially when starting off the line.

The F30 sport on the other hand has been fantastic and I enjoy it greatly. Still keep a big V8 in my second vehicle, but the F30 is glorious. E90 328, no way in hell would I say that - even when equipped with the 6mt (as mine was). Sorry you feel otherwise.
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      02-07-2013, 06:53 PM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi View Post
I'm confused....

so you're saying that the F30 gives you a choice, where you can put it in one mode and it's more relaxed and refined, and you can pop it in sport where it's sporty enough for your liking, as compared to the E90 which doesn't have that choice, and this is somehow worse?
The problem is, the throttle response is terrible. It doesn't feel like a sport sedan. If you put it in sport mode, it improves the throttle response but then it holds gears too long and it feels like the engine is straining. It's a constant compromise, whereas my E90 is never one. I bet this car would be a lot better with a tune and throttle remapping but I would expect more from a BMW out of the box.
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