For NIck

[Josh (PA)]

What happened w/ the one in Buffalo?

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

What happened w/ the one in Buffalo?

Going back and forth with them. Need some movement on the price given the location and mileage and non-LCI. I offered $24k, and would settle for $25k. They are at $26.5k and noodling I actually just needled the salesperson earlier today.

I like it, but I'm not going to bid aggressively for an upstate NY car.

[Josh (PA)]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=976764

What about this for a couple years?

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=976764

What about this for a couple years?

Dunno. I borrowed Mike's 335i (he's out of town) to see how I like driving the N55 in the city. So far, the answer is that with a manual transmission, I HATE it. In my driving, it's lag city. And the turbo kicking on comes as a big pulse that's not actually welcome. (Granted, he's got a big tune on it, so the turbo behavior is more aggressive than it would be stock.)

I actually think that I'd like a 328 better so far. Out in Fairfax or on the highway, it's a completely different driving experience. In the city, though, I'm always falling off the bottom of 2nd because the gearing is too tall, and the throttle response is terrible. Also, I got 13mpg on my commute this morning, so it's not like the fuel economy would be that much better.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Dunno. I borrowed Mike's 335i (he's out of town) to see how I like driving the N55 in the city. So far, the answer is that with a manual transmission, I HATE it. In my driving, it's lag city. And the turbo kicking on comes as a big pulse that's not actually welcome. (Granted, he's got a big tune on it, so the turbo behavior is more aggressive than it would be stock.)

I actually think that I'd like a 328 better so far. Out in Fairfax or on the highway, it's a completely different driving experience. In the city, though, I'm always falling off the bottom of 2nd because the gearing is too tall, and the throttle response is terrible. Also, I got 13mpg on my commute this morning, so it's not like the fuel economy would be that much better.

The B58 Engine is MUCH smoother. When I get into the spouse's turbo 8, I have to feather the throttle to make sure I don't snap my neck. The 240 is NOTHING like that. That said, my old 328i delivered power in a old-style predictable NA BMW way, albeit a bit sluggishly.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

The B58 Engine is MUCH smoother. When I get into the spouse's turbo 8, I have to feather the throttle to make sure I don't snap my neck. The 240 is NOTHING like that. That said, my old 328i delivered power in a old-style predictable NA BMW way, albeit a bit sluggishly.

I think that part of the issue is just that you really feel the lag with the stick. I didn't have any engine issues with the N54 in my Mom's old automatic 335i. You don't feel the lag at all (or feel it as transmission lag).

I think that this is really cementing my desire for an E90 M3 as the solution to my needs. I really, really prefer the gearing and the responsiveness, and can cope with the lack of total power a lot more easily than I can cope with the lack of response around town.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

I think that part of the issue is just that you really feel the lag with the stick. I didn't have any engine issues with the N54 in my Mom's old automatic 335i. You don't feel the lag at all (or feel it as transmission lag).

I think that this is really cementing my desire for an E90 M3 as the solution to my needs. I really, really prefer the gearing and the responsiveness, and can cope with the lack of total power a lot more easily than I can cope with the lack of response around town.

Good point. I do have the 8-speed auto, which is very well matched to the engine. No discernible lag or surginess.

Edit: oh, and 19 city, vs. 13 in the slower 328.

[Josh (PA)]

Tunes seem to really effect the nature of a car (ie: equ's GTI). I've had N55s in an e90 335xi and 135 w/ the manual and have no issues with driveability, lag or peakiness. You might want to check out one w/o whatever software is squirted in to see if the issue is the car/engine or the software.

We also have the n55 in the X5. That setup is pretty heavy for the engine, but it still does pretty well. We've run ~20mpg on long highway trips (mostly because we drive pretty fast and that thing is not slippery) and 16 under normal commuting.

In any case, I can totally understand the desire for an N/A revvy v8 and an rwd e90 platform.
edit: when you say 328, I assume you mean the N/A i6 in the e90, not the pos t4 in the newer cars?

[JST]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

Tunes seem to really effect the nature of a car (ie: equ's GTI). I've had N55s in an e90 335xi and 135 w/ the manual and have no issues with driveability, lag or peakiness. You might want to check out one w/o whatever software is squirted in to see if the issue is the car/engine or the software.

We also have the n55 in the X5. That setup is pretty heavy for the engine, but it still does pretty well. We've run ~20mpg on long highway trips (mostly because we drive pretty fast and that thing is not slippery) and 16 under normal commuting.

In any case, I can totally understand the desire for an N/A revvy v8 and an rwd e90 platform.
edit: when you say 328, I assume you mean the N/A i6 in the e90, not the pos t4 in the newer cars?

I agree about the tune, especially given the relationship between increased boost and lag. If you can find an OEM one to drive, that would be a better test.

I haven't driven an N55 around town much (and have never driven a B58), but I never had any concerns about lag in my two N54s. Both of them almost perfectly mimicked an N/A engine.


EDIT: In fact, I'd go in the opposite direction. For around-town driving, my '07 335 had a more flexible and easy to access torque profile than did my '08 M3. The latter didn't suffer from boost lag, but it was soft on power ALL THE TIME until you would it out, at which point you were going 120 in a 25 zone.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

Tunes seem to really effect the nature of a car (ie: equ's GTI). I've had N55s in an e90 335xi and 135 w/ the manual and have no issues with driveability, lag or peakiness. You might want to check out one w/o whatever software is squirted in to see if the issue is the car/engine or the software.

We also have the n55 in the X5. That setup is pretty heavy for the engine, but it still does pretty well. We've run ~20mpg on long highway trips (mostly because we drive pretty fast and that thing is not slippery) and 16 under normal commuting.

In any case, I can totally understand the desire for an N/A revvy v8 and an rwd e90 platform.
edit: when you say 328, I assume you mean the N/A i6 in the e90, not the pos t4 in the newer cars?

I have been thinking that it would be interesting to flash it back to stock.

That said, part of the issue here is also my particular driving environment. It heavily rewards short gearing and good throttle response over power. With a 3.91 in the E36, 2nd gear in the E90 is closer to 3rd than 2nd. I don't have any drivability issues with the 335 out in Fairfax. It feels great. In the city, though, it can't find the turbos unless I drive in first.