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Boss got a new to him 335i Coupe

I hope you get, and enjoy, your test drive! I know you are ambivalent about BMWs, but the 335i (particularly with the Sport package) offers one hell of a driving experience. Do you know if it has the Sport package?
 
Is it just me, or does the 3-Series Coupe look a little feminine? (This excludes the M3.) Something about the car from the B/C-pillar on back that never appeals to me.

Unlike previous versions, I favor the sedan and convertible over the coupe.

But 'grats to your boss.
 
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Is it just me, or does the 3-Series Coupe look a little feminine? (This excludes the M3.) Something about the car from the B/C-pillar on back that never appeals to me.

Unlike previous versions, I favor the sedan and convertible over the coupe.

But 'grats to your boss.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I own an E90 but definitely prefer the looks of the E92 coupe. Practicality wins out for me, and I don't think the E90 is ugly, exactly, but I don't like it nearly as well as the E92 visually. IMO the E92 is the handsomest new BMW design in several years.
 
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Is it just me, or does the 3-Series Coupe look a little feminine? (This excludes the M3.) Something about the car from the B/C-pillar on back that never appeals to me.

Unlike previous versions, I favor the sedan and convertible over the coupe.

But 'grats to your boss.
Click to expand...

To me, the coupe looks like a convertible with a hardtop bolted on.
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Is it just me, or does the 3-Series Coupe look a little feminine? (This excludes the M3.) Something about the car from the B/C-pillar on back that never appeals to me.

Unlike previous versions, I favor the sedan and convertible over the coupe.

But 'grats to your boss.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I own an E90 but definitely prefer the looks of the E92 coupe. Practicality wins out for me, and I don't think the E90 is ugly, exactly, but I don't like it nearly as well as the E92 visually. IMO the E92 is the handsomest new BMW design in several years.
Click to expand...

I had the same opinion of GTaudiophile when the E92 came out...but my opinion has done a 180 and the coupe really appeals to me. It does require a nice set of large wheels though. The smaller the wheels, the less I like the design.
 
Originally posted by: zerocool84
E46 M3 is infinitely better looking than anything in the E90's including the M3.
Click to expand...

My plan is to acquire one next year and hopefully I can transplant the 335i drive train into it.
 
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Originally posted by: zerocool84
E46 M3 is infinitely better looking than anything in the E90's including the M3.
Click to expand...

My plan is to acquire one next year and hopefully I can transplant the 335i drive train into it.
Click to expand...

That'd be way more $$ than it's worth. There are plenty of power kits for the E46 M3 that will deliver track-worthy performance and reliability.
 
Originally posted by: Arkaign
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Originally posted by: zerocool84
E46 M3 is infinitely better looking than anything in the E90's including the M3.
Click to expand...

My plan is to acquire one next year and hopefully I can transplant the 335i drive train into it.
Click to expand...

That'd be way more $$ than it's worth. There are plenty of power kits for the E46 M3 that will deliver track-worthy performance and reliability.
Click to expand...

I know, but with the new drive train, adding power is very easy. Modding car is never about $$$ for what the car's worth, because that's something you should never consider if you're gonna start modding. You do it because it's something you want. I want the new power train, with the old styling.
 
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Originally posted by: zerocool84
E46 M3 is infinitely better looking than anything in the E90's including the M3.
Click to expand...

My plan is to acquire one next year and hopefully I can transplant the 335i drive train into it.
Click to expand...


I can't imagine this being worthwhile. Both the E46 M3 and the 335i are very complex electronically, and the transplant will be an engineering challenge worthy of NASA. That's not to say it couldn't be done, but if you value your time at some reasonable hourly rate (not to mention the cost of a nice E46 M3 and a donor drivetrain) this project will effectively cost more than an F430. On top of everything else, the stock E46 M3 drivetrain is clearly capable of considerably more power with a bit of engine work (the CSL has 360 bhp).
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Originally posted by: zerocool84
E46 M3 is infinitely better looking than anything in the E90's including the M3.
Click to expand...

My plan is to acquire one next year and hopefully I can transplant the 335i drive train into it.
Click to expand...


I can't imagine this being worthwhile. Both the E46 M3 and the 335i are very complex electronically, and the transplant will be an engineering challenge worthy of NASA. That's not to say it couldn't be done, but if you value your time at some reasonable hourly rate (not to mention the cost of a nice E46 M3 and a donor drivetrain) this project will effectively cost more than an F430. On top of everything else, the stock E46 M3 drivetrain is clearly capable of considerably more power with a bit of engine work (the CSL has 360 bhp).
Click to expand...

Listen to this man.

There are two directions you can go with the E46 power-wise. You can mod the existing setup, and the Dinan Supercharger gets you to 423hp. Various other tidbits can get you to the 450hp range.

If that's not enough, and you want more power, you can do an LS1 (or better) small block Chevy swap. It's important to remember that motors like the LS1/LS2/etc are the same basic size and weight of the BMW inline 6'ers. Without much trouble, it's easy to reach 650hp or more in a reliable setup, simply out of the reach of the 335i motor. If you really want to get extreme, you could do a 427tt, for 1100+HP on pump gas. A good middle ground would probably be a built 383, aiming for the 800rwhp range. All of this would require some significant chassis and suspension strengthening, a rear-end swap, and a totally different wiring harness/computer/dash hookup, 20" wheels + Rcomps, etc.

Going with a nice Dinan SC kit would probably cost you $10k, going with a swap to a GM race motor would cost a bit more to do it right. Done correctly, I'd imagine an 800rwhp E46 M3 to be capable of astonishing performance, but at that point someone might ask : why didn't you just buy a Vette and start there? To which you might reply : I wanted a nice interior 😉
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Originally posted by: zerocool84
E46 M3 is infinitely better looking than anything in the E90's including the M3.
Click to expand...

My plan is to acquire one next year and hopefully I can transplant the 335i drive train into it.
Click to expand...


I can't imagine this being worthwhile. Both the E46 M3 and the 335i are very complex electronically
Click to expand...

No more so than any other modern vehicle with fly by wire throttle and fuel injection. Much of the electronics complexity in those cars lies within the cabin, powering all the whirling beeping rotating flashing attention deficit disorder gizmos, not the engine.

I don't know why people love to think a BMW under the hood is any different or more complex than any other modern car. Splitting and merging an engine harness and chassis harness from two different vehicles is just as annoying on any vehicle, and nothing that can't be done in a few weeks if you take your time and have diagrams for both.

That said why bother? For the time and money, you're better off rebuilding the M3 engine with forged internals and going with a custom or turnkey turbo kit instead of limiting yourself to the OEM 335i engine (very small turbo with the turbine housing integrated into the exhaust manifold, among other retarded things). People have made monsters out of the M3 long before the 335i ever existed. Not to mention you'll have a much easier time getting parts and manuals for something that has been out for a while.
 
Originally posted by: exdeath

No more so than any other modern vehicle with fly by wire throttle and fuel injection. Much of the electronics complexity in those cars lies within the cabin, powering all the whirling beeping rotating flashing attention deficit disorder gizmos, not the engine.

I don't know why people love to think a BMW under the hood is any different or more complex than any other modern car. Splitting and merging an engine harness and chassis harness from two different vehicles is just as annoying on any vehicle, and nothing that can't be done in a few weeks if you take your time and have diagrams for both.
Click to expand...

Actually the S54 (the M3 engine) has what was, when it was created, one of the most complex engine management systems ever developed for a road car - I remember they boasted that it was capable of 25 million calculations per second. At least part of the complexity was necessitated by the fact that it employs a separate throttle for each cylinder. The N54 (the 335i engine) is definitely less complicated (as witnessed by the fact that it has been hacked by aftermarket chip manufacturers), but it still incorporates some novel electronic tricks, such as the fact that it doesn't use a throttle in the conventional sense - the "throttle" is controlled entirely by adjusting valve lift through the Valvetronic system.

God knows I've never tried to cross-breed two modern BMW drivetrains like this, but the BMW engine electronics are so Byzantine that the prospect is scary to me. You may be right that this is a more feasible project than I think, but that still circles back to the question of whether it's worthwhile (and I think you and I agree on that issue).
 
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