I've been looking to buy one for a few weeks now. Just a few questions I wanna know if anyone on here has one


1. Do they come in manual at all ?
2. What to look out for . What needs replacing and when. They all seem to be well over the 100k mark.. what are the engines good for Inc the clutch.

i know MSD are having great results with them being remapped so that's good know : )

i only be running around in it so i want be doing many motorway miles. Problem ? And are DPF failures common with short runs

and anything else I should know.

 

I look after an auto one that has done 200,000 miles and was going great untill he was thrashing it the other day and the auto box had started playing up and all the airbags have caused fault codes lol. Just done a set of discs and pads all round on it and the parts were less than Ł150!!!!

 

Auto box is the better option, much stronger and a hoot to drive with flappy paddles.

 

Do manual ones exist? I don't remember ever seeing one!

Someone I work with has a 335d with loads of AC Schnitzer bits on, it's pretty cool and goes well with a remap.

EDIT, his is an ACS3.5d in case anyone cares...

 

been looking for 1 of these myself for while, mate had 1 that would p##s all over my old impreza. think they never came in manual due to huge torque delivery,all seem to have high mileage,asked mechanic in work about problems and gearbox seems biggest worry

 

Yeah my customers one his box is fucked :-( it's done well over 200,000 miles now but to be fair it goes like fuck, wouldn't mind one myself but his fault has put me off now :-(

 

Not available in manual at all. Auto suits town and mway driving but is a bit crap compared to twin clutch stuff for getting on it. I came from Audi's DSG and the BM's box felt lazy and boring in comparison.

Rick

 

Yes they might be pretty nippy but don't really see the attraction. Big, heavy and pretty bad on fuel. Just defeats the object of a diesel really. If you are using it just for running around then get the quicker V8! Slightly less MPG but I'm sure you would soon make the saving on cheaper petrol, and not having bigger maintenance bills that usually come hand in hand with diesel ownership.

 

Okay fellas. Plenty to think about.

But it's hard to get a low millage one it seems. I would never go for a 150k + just seems a lot of miles.

 

You could say that about your Mondeo though - the BMW is quicker and more economical

 

Where was I comparing it to my car?

A 535d is quicker yes, but I haven't bought it for speed. It does 50mpg all day long (can a 535d do that?), fits the family in with room to spare and happily does 20k plus a year in comfort. No factory fitted dpf and a blanked egr so no issues there.

 

Sorry, I assumed it was ST 225 powered

 

I just think they are an all rounder. I would like a monde 2.2.2tdci but just want something a bit more refined and quicker. I've not even looked at how much insurance will be so that could stop me in my tracks

i was looking at the 335d but they have a smaller 3.0d engine not the 3.5 as written on the tin. Strange. But they are big money as well.

 

What spec was ya impreza ? Are the 535 d's really that quick ?

 

No mate, same engine. 535d is 3.0 twin turbo as is 335. 740d is 3.0 twin turbo too. There are 550d's that are 3.0 triple turbo but not available in this country.

Rick

 

Isn't the e60 lighter than a mondeo, with it having aluminium bonnet and wings etc.

 

Just had a look, it's the same or a little heavier depending on model

 

had a play in a long wheel base 730d today was surprised how well it moved for a luxury van squashed into a car shape lol the thing is as long as my transit haha

 

Oh right..well something must be different as the 5 series has a better spec engine and more power than the 3 series. But that's only fro. Wikipedia

535d triple turbo . Wow !!!!!

 

A well tuned one is significantly faster than my E39 M5.

 

The thing with a big power BMW is that you can have all the power and actually use it. Even at 600ftlb of torque and 370bhp mine doesnt squirm about or get unsettled, it just delivers it down to the road. The chassis is engineered properly and that makes it faster than many other RWD cars with seemingly more power. Remember, "power is nothing without control..."

Video of my remapped 635D 0-100mph when it was at stage 2.

Power graph (our stage 2)



What is there to not like? LOL

 

Nice power graph

 

Driven the triple turbo diesel engine, it's incredible and doesn't sound like a diesel at all.

 

Mate,

The 535D is a fantastic car and quick in standard form, 3ltr twin turbo, it's faster then my e46 M3 manual, on the motorway, its brilliant, a little heavy on diesel in town, but all depends on how you drive, go for the face lift model LCI model. Few pictures and some of my saphhire

 

335d = 286bhp

535d = 278bhp

5 series has longer gear ratios, apart from that they are identical in the engine department

 

Completely agree. That's one of the main reasons why I'm getting rid of my 335i after only 6 months... the auto gearbox absolutely kills the 'driving' experience. Great for traffic and town work, but the slurred and lurching changes when you're trying to make progress are absolutely fucking infuriating. Such a shame because the rest of the car is really quite impressive.

My old man has got an E63 635d and it is very impressive as a luxury cruising machine, could use a proper LSD to get the power/torque down sometimes. But he will be getting a map on it in the near future, which he is hoping will improve on his average MPG of 34 as well as open up the graph a bit too.


Cheers,
Grant

 

Of that's good to know. Just gonna keep an eye out for one that is below 100k miles if I can

 

You can help the lurching by resetting the adaptations. An Indy should be able to do that for you. It still won't make it any sharper though. You can get the 335i in a manual though and they are great at Stage 1 and 370bhp

Rick

 

Yeah, have heard a lot about the Alpina Map on the TCU and it might well have helped the experience.

My car has a Hartge Map (~365bhp), Birds Bilstein Suspension/ARB Kit and a Quaife LSD and to be fair, with a manual gearbox, I think it'd have been all the things that I wanted it to be. But as a driving tool, the auto box kills the fun for me. The later (rare) DCT model might have been better, but I'll not buy another automatic toy/fun car for a long time.


Cheers,
Grant

 

Right. Spanner in the works now. Just trying to weight things up.


What about the audi 3.0 tdi engine then ?

Will there be much in it ?

 

I had a 535d. Was remapped to 365bhp with 770nm/torque. It was quick, had every option on the list inc head up display ect, but had more fun in my 5 grand E39 M5.

The 535d was faster, was nice for long journeys ect, but if you dont do the milage they dont like short distance driving either..

Didnt read through all the coments on here but you'll need a 530d if you want a manual as the twin turbo 535d only came in auto. Keep them serviced and get one thats been looked after, they are good cars. Worth getting one with bmw history and make sure you do the manifold flap blanking mod if it hasnt been done already.

Biggest expence for me were rear tyres with the power it had...apart from the 750 euro speeding fine in France!!

 

nice power. Who mapped it for ya ? It's amazing that a stock engine and turbo so can deliver that sort of power.
And
What are these blanking mods u talk of ????

 

Im not really sure. My friend had a Litchfield map done for a GT-R, so he did a deal with mine too. All i know that it was near silverstone..

The inlet manifold have swirl flap, all to do with emmisions, but when they break off they get inducted into the engine and can be fatal, they are not really needed so you can get a blanking plate kit.

 

Ok matey thats good to know. What emisions for the MOT with them gone ?

These have DPF yea ? Just wondering about this deleated if nedded

 

Swirl flaps is just the 530d I think, e39 and e60 variants.

If your handy with spanners it's an easy job

 

They are fantastic cars and im speaking as an ex owner of one. Monster amount of torque. Silly fast for a huge car and a diesel especially when mapped - get an MSD map on it.

Things to watch out for - electrical sleeve on the gearbox leaks. This usually requires a new gearbox sump and new gearbox oil. There is some complicated procedure to re-filling the gearbox with oil. Cant just throw it in until it comes out the filler hole or something. Boost hoses split giving a huge loss in power obviously.

Swirl flaps - get them done. I'm sure of the horror stories about them failing are internet bullshit and there will be thousands more cars with them still in place than removed but for peace of mind....

I would have another one without a doubt.