Now I know why they named by sister's BMW "E92"
 

Because it's twice as good as my E46, lol.

Got a chance to spend some seat time in my sister's E92 coupe. All I can say is "WOW". I LOVE the clutch feel, the buttery-smooth and short (compared to my car anyways) shifts of the 6-speed manual and tight/heavy steering.

It just feels more solid than my car........is it because it is slightly newer and has 50k less miles than mine ?? Perhaps.

However, there are only two things I dislike about her car:

(1) it's a 328xI. I believe the RWD version of this model would be slightly more fun-to-drive,

(2) cleaning the 197 style wheels. That's why I've always liked 5-spoke wheels on my cars.

I know what y'all are thinking:

"Welcome to 2007".

:lol::lol:

Nah, I'm thinking - he's officially old. Or his e46 is seriously worn out. Or both. :D

Both.

:cry::cry:

:ack:
No, I was thinking, "Welcome to crazytown." :lol: :p

Eh. Can't say I agree with you on any of that.

As in I'm crazy in owning a 15-year old, out-of-warranty E46 with 150,000 miles, LOL.

Perhaps the M3 versions are different.

:dunno:

I've got a fair bit of non-M experience too. Steering: Heavy (good), but much more numb. Not a huge fan of the clutch feel. I'll grant that the stock shifter action is probably better.

My e90 m3 clutch was decent, had no complaints. Stick had the usual BMW long throws. With that said I dont think it was any better then my e36 M3 clutch/stick. I was happy with the e36 throws once I installed my ZHP knob.

And the clutch in our e46 wagon was the worst BMW clutch that I owned. I thought it was a wagon issue though.

The autos were GM, but I don't remember what the manuals were for the 325 engine. Getrag? The 330i was made by ZF, I think. I had no problem with the 330i clutch. Or the M3, for that matter.

Here we go:

Manual transmissions[edit]
5-speed ZF S5-39[59] (320d, 330d)
5-speed Getrag S5D 250G[60]
5 speed Getrag S5D 320Z (328i, 330i)
6-speed ZF S6-37 (2003–2006)

Automatic transmissions[edit]
4-speed GM 4L30-E (A4S270R) (323i and 328i – up to 1999)
5-speed GM 5L40-E (A5S360R) (323i and 328i – 1999–2000)[61][62]
5-speed GM 5L40-E (A5S390R) (320i, 325i and 330i)
5-speed GM 5L40-E (A5S390R) (320d and 330d)
5-speed ZF 5HP19 (A5S325Z) (323i, 325i, 328, 330i – 2000–2003)
6-speed SMG-II

Great post. I've owned several e46's (along with the current M) and several e90's.

The e46 clutch (at least the 330i's that I was used to), were springy, long travel with high engagement. The e90 had better clutches. The shifters are smoother & more precise as well (again for the non-M).

Also, you are spot on in terms of solidity. The e9X is a much more solid car, what you are feeling is not only due to the lesser miles.

Negatives for the e9x:
- Interior design. Worse cupholders, flat Buick dash (before Buicks were Opels)
- Exterior. Not as bad as the interior, but not as classic/faultless as the e46
- Runflats and no room for a donut
- M became v8 (an awesome one but dropped hwy range dramatically)

I never noticed any negative of the E46 clutch other than the absurdly long travel. But I immediately installed a clutch stop in both the E46 and E91 so that's a non-issue.

I do agree the shifter is better in the E9x.

The rest I can't really compare because it's a 330i coupe vs a 325xi wagon.

The lack of a spare tire pisses me off to no end. There's always a spare tire back there clogging up the space. Ridiculous.

True, its not like the e46 clutch was cheap, it wasnt. Really the two most major differences are 1. body solidity (huge, I always feel the e46 tweak on angles/driveways 2. N52/N54 instead of m52/m54 engines. Less NVH.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

I remember going from a ZHP 330i to the 335i back in the day. The extra power from the twin turbo engine was AMAZING, and yeah, the 335 felt more solid.

In every other respect the 330 was more fun to drive. I miss the ZHP. I don't miss the 335 at all.

Personally, I vastly preferred the clutch and shifter feel of the e8x and e9x cars to the e46 manuals. I find the steering more lively on my e46. The e9x x drive suspension had a huge flaw with the way it handles impacts like potholes

Were early E46 clutches shitty or something? Or do I just not know what a shitty clutch feels like... and I need to educate myself ASAP so I can start hating my car?

Not sure, I had an '00 328 and an '01 325. I also spent some time in a later ZHP prior to buying my m5. I agree with equ's comment about them feeling springy. The pedal load would change quite a lot as it traveled. I find the e8x and e9x clutches much more linear. I also felt like the engagement point would move in the e46, and/or that the engagement point was right where you'd overcome the springy load point making it hard to modulate.

If I were you, I wouldn't go around looking for things not to like on your 330... after all the work JV did, hopefully you can just hop in and enjoy it for a while. I love our e46 wagon, x suspension, auto tranny and all. It is the car we talk most about keeping forever.

Oh yeah, I was just kidding. I won't be getting rid of the car any time soon.

Anyone who doesn't like their E46 clutch should try a clutch stop and adjust it nice and high. I'm pretty sure everything I've seen described goes away.

You know what else fixes the crummy e46 clutch/shifter - SMG. :p

A crummier clutch/shifter? :lol:

The things I like about the E90 platform as compared to the E46 are the stiffness of the unibody, the quietness at freeway speeds and the tracking. The E90 was designed from the start to have a much lower scrub radius than the E46, and it tracks beautifully. Whenever I get in an E46 I'm reminded how badly they tramline and bump-steer.

Everything else I think the E90 was a step backwards from the E46. Interior, exterior, seat comfort, shift action, clutch action, throttle modulation, all worse. IMO.

I went from an 01 325 (stick) to 11 335 (automatic), but I remember the seats (both sports versions) feeling much more comfortable on the e92. I do remember test driving an e90 manual and found the clutch and shifter to be much better feeling. Also loved how solid it was in comparison- no squeaks or rattles whereas the e46 had a cacaphony of them. Also agree that it felt much better at highway speed with none of the tramlining from the e46. THe interior kind of grew on me (as did idrive) to the point where I didn't miss the e46. But, yes, I still think the e46 (pre facelift) has a more attractive interior/exterior. Then again, I thought the e92 was quite attractive as well - so it's really just the sedan that took a step backwards.