[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Sounds nice. But what happens if we spec the M Sport + pack that includes upgraded brakes? Does this pack upgrade them further?

Nope not the fronts, it just comes in blue. It does upgrade the rears the to aluminium 2 piston calipers.

By rights it should be reduced price, but something tells me it isn't

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

Sad as 15 years ago I was just starting out driving and couldn't afford much. Now I can afford a nice car its getting hard to make good use of it.

Joint the club, new police powers out today and more : "trouble and eye in the back of your head needed to boot"

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

By rights it should be reduced price, but something tells me it isn't

This is what I was thinking and thats why I asked....

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by johnbmw6

Whats different about that, I have the same one in my 330d M S F31.

Difference will be Sports Automatic vs Automatic stick I think..

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by SGLL66

Left it all unpainted as does not really stand out with mineral grey.

Great Car SGLL, nice write up thanks.

I too was considering the M Performance kit on a 3er or 4er. Were you given options for the front lip, matt unpainted, match car or black gloss? Latter would be my preference to match grills and high gloss shadowline etc etc. All ££ no doubt!

Enjoy that fine motor though

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by ChesterX5

Difference will be Sports Automatic vs Automatic stick I think..

330d comes standard with Sports Auto, exactly like 335d

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by dopper99

This is what I was thinking and thats why I asked....

Welcome to the world of BMW options. I think I paid for Black panel display 3 times on my spec.

[SGLL66]

didnt ask for painting options as preferred the matt look. But have seen cars with painted performance parts and carbon fibre too - its just a matter of preference and budget I guess.

[nicks3]

Thanks so much for this write up.

I have 2 questions:

Do you think the 20" rims spoil the ride or is it ok?

Can you post a picture of the car from the side as a normal height shot as the photos posted as a close ups of the wheels make it look like there is a large gap.

Thanks.

[Hornady]

that car sits very high

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Hornady

that car sits very high

They seem to sit higher than the M sports anyway.

[SGLL66]

Originally Posted by nicks3

Thanks so much for this write up.

I have 2 questions:

Do you think the 20" rims spoil the ride or is it ok?

Can you post a picture of the car from the side as a normal height shot as the photos posted as a close ups of the wheels make it look like there is a large gap.

Thanks.

The ride with 20's is rather hard as the tyre is very low profile. I have 20's on my M5 and they are of a higher profile and a lot more comfortable. With hindsight I think 19's would have been better.

That is the only negative.

In terms of how high the car sits - it's not as bad as non x drive people are making out. It sits marginally higher as you would expect, but you do have the 4wd to fit under it. I've driven the 330d and was underwhelmed with the power and performance. This wasn't to do with my car being an M5 - I got back to the dealer and said if the 330d is the best then I'll leave getting a 3series. It was the 335d that I was after and it leaves 330d standing.

If I was travelling on demanding roads I would put it into sport plus to firm up suspension and or sharpen throttle response. Most of the time it will be in comfort or Eco mode as you are in traffic or crusing on the motorway.

I've been driving it hard and even in the wet with TC off it just grips and goes. My M5 struggles to put down it's power as soon as the road gets damp, never mind if it was actually wet. I'm sure when others have their 335d's in a few weeks most will concur with what I am saying.

[BMWSKI]

Thanks for this SGLL66 Makes me happier about ordering an x-drive now...

[nicks3]

Thanks for that. My car is specced with the 19" wheels and I am contemplating fitting the m performance kit and 20" wheels but don't want to spoil the ride or have hassles with potholes etc......????

[FastLaneJB]

I think this video gives a good idea of what an xDrive can do for grip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQqRLDhzAqE

This is on the old E91 330d xDrive vs a E90 335d. You can see the xDrive lets the 330d shoot off the line but after a while the 335d starts to claw it back.

Also in the 3rd attempt when I guess the road is a bit wetter the 330d xDrive shoots off again and you can see the 335d back slide out slightly as it struggles for traction. So in that one the 335d isn't even in the running.

So we might not get so much snow in the UK but clearly xDrive is very helpful in the rain as well which the UK does get plenty of. I've enjoyed a bit of a rear end wiggle on occasions in my 330d but I'm also no pro racing driver and without the DSC I'd probably have lost control off it on occasions especially when I first got it as it's so much more powerful than any car I'd driven before it.

[nicks3]

Just how hard is the ride on 20" and does the adaptive suspension help at all? Would you swap the look of the 20 to 19 for a slightly better ride or is it not 'that bad'.

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

I think this video gives a good idea of what an xDrive can do for grip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQqRLDhzAqE

This is on the old E91 330d xDrive vs a E90 335d. You can see the xDrive lets the 330d shoot off the line but after a while the 335d starts to claw it back.

Also in the 3rd attempt when I guess the road is a bit wetter the 330d xDrive shoots off again and you can see the 335d back slide out slightly as it struggles for traction. So in that one the 335d isn't even in the running.

So we might not get so much snow in the UK but clearly xDrive is very helpful in the rain as well which the UK does get plenty of. I've enjoyed a bit of a rear end wiggle on occasions in my 330d but I'm also no pro racing driver and without the DSC I'd probably have lost control off it on occasions especially when I first got it as it's so much more powerful than any car I'd driven before it.

That is funny as fook, I bet the guy in the 335d was getting a bit pissed off by the 3rd set of lights.

To be fair, we dont know how good the tyres where fitted to each car in that vid, you only need a set of well worn tyres vs brand new tyres and it makes a difference.

[FastLaneJB]

Originally Posted by dopper99

That is funny as fook, I bet the guy in the 335d was getting a bit pissed off by the 3rd set of lights.

To be fair, we dont know how good the tyres where fitted to each car in that vid, you only need a set of well worn tyres vs brand new tyres and it makes a difference.

Yeah tires can make a big difference but there's no way I've ever managed to get my 330d to launch off the lights like that guy was doing with his xDrive. The initial launch time has to be why the 0-62 times are lower on the xDrive models because of the extra grip to get off the line, I imagine a rolling start would actually be in favour of the sDrive's if it's a dry day.

I can imagine with a launch like that though some people won't know what hit them, especially as mine will be debadged. It always amuses me when someone pulls up to try and pull off the lights quicker than you to then cut you up yet in reality they end up just a small object in the rear view

[SGLL66]

Originally Posted by nicks3

Just how hard is the ride on 20" and does the adaptive suspension help at all? Would you swap the look of the 20 to 19 for a slightly better ride or is it not 'that bad'.

The ride varies from hard to extremely hard. There just seems to be no compression in the tyres to aid going over potholes or drain covers and you end up with the a thud!!!

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that our roads are covered in pot holes so you end up doing a slalom on some just to avoid hitting them.

They do look very good and to be honest the 19's wouldn't do the performance kit justice - however, you've got to weigh up comfort with looks and as you are going to be in the car driving rather than outside the car looking at it most of the time then maybe going with comfort might not be a bad thing.

I have seen a comment that you should change the profile of the tyre to something not as low but still on a 20 that may well be worth considering for those who have ordered 20's but not yet had their cars.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by SGLL66

The ride varies from hard to extremely hard. There just seems to be no compression in the tyres to aid going over potholes or drain covers and you end up with the a thud!!!

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that our roads are covered in pot holes so you end up doing a slalom on some just to avoid hitting them.

They do look very good and to be honest the 19's wouldn't do the performance kit justice - however, you've got to weigh up comfort with looks and as you are going to be in the car driving rather than outside the car looking at it most of the time then maybe going with comfort might not be a bad thing.

I have seen a comment that you should change the profile of the tyre to something not as low but still on a 20 that may well be worth considering for those who have ordered 20's but not yet had their cars.

Advise makes good sense.

[FastLaneJB]

I hope the ride is a bit more comfortable on the 19s. The misses will give me hell if the ride is too firm

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

I hope the ride is a bit more comfortable on the 19s. The misses will give me hell if the ride is too firm

Probably best to ask someone that has gone from 18/19 to 20". From a thread I read, the poster said there wasn't that much difference when he went to 20's. although could have gone non run flat?

There was imperceptible difference between two MSports I drove back to back, 18 vs 19.