just out of curiosity for those who have driven them, do they shift well or not?
i only ask as i followed one from 70-140 and only pulled say 80 feet on my remapped e90 330d, i can't absolutely commit to the m3 using the full power as i was.
just wondering if it was a case of the diesel torque being much greater, or was it the m3 driver not pushing it as hard as it could., i know up the speed it would have carried on and i wouldn't for much longer.

this is nothing to do with bragging, genuinely shocked that the gap didn't grow much at all as i was about 20 feet behind it initially.
one of those meet your irritating hero cars and felt somewhat deflated by its performance.

 

I've a e92 m3 v8 and believe me it quick! Must of been sumet wrong if it didn't pull away

 

it was pulling and shot up the speedo pretty quickly, as did my bus.
it all began with him up my arse, then i pulled in to let him past.
just straight line pull seemed very linear and not getting away fast, glad you believe it was something wrong as i still think i'll be owning one in a couple of years.

 

This was on a test track / circuit, of course, I take it?!

 

Love mine mate and I've had few cosworths, rate it highly goes very very well and handles unreal

 

A 330D once in 2 gear is a fast car . Not far off a M3 to 100 .


And yes I have a 330D and ive driven a M3.

 

my 330d is around 275-280bhp (msd mapped), in gear acceleration is good, just didn't think it would be anywhere near an e90 m3.

and yes, i hired a track for the afternoon and invited anyone to have a drive

handling on the bus is ok, far from the precision of an m3 though.

 

They shift pretty well with the DCT, driven a few a no slouch also I'm sure yours will be quick also with the torque factor.

 

They are quick-ish..

Mine was remapped and had an exhaust system. Was an awesome drive, loved that car and out off all the cars iv owned thats the one i miss and would have again. The noise is made was immense ( knocking on the doors of a C63 AMG), was so comfertable etc

Theres more to owning a M car other than just the speed. Its an amazing package.

 

Bhp sells the cars but it is torque that wins the races.....my dear ol Dad used to say.

If you tucked in behind him than he was punching a big hole in the air for you and it does take a LOT of power to blow someone in to the weeds.

I have done a lot of track days and my 3.2 Carrera with 230 bhp used to keep up with GT3s and 911 turbos until they got right up in the Rev ranges, some of those had 200 bhp more than me.

 

So you were 20 feet behind and ended up 60 feet ahead? With a deficit of 120bhp I would say he was trying hit probably not as hard as he could

 

he ended up approx 60 feet further ahead than when we were at 70.
i know that if we'd have carried on then the m3 would have buggered off as i would have run out of gears/torque band. just surprised how well the bus kept up really, makes me wonder how quick a mapped 335 would be given they can do 360bhp without dpf removal or any other mods.
makes me wonder why you would buy an m3, apart form the sound and response.

 

My E46 330d did well against a v8 m3 at those speeds but i did have 348lb/ft. ~M3 would have left me if he carried on to its top speed tho

 

To be fair, they don't have loads of torque but they drive incredibly well. The engine is a gem and it's a very involving drive. You can easily change gear at 4000rpm and be making good progress before realising you have another 4000rpm or so left in the rev range.

A mapped 335d would probably be as quick/quicker maybe on a open stretch of motorway, but it's not half as fun or rewarding to drive on any other type of road IMO.

 

I've got an E93 and love it, but yeah a 330d will be just about as fast, a mate at work has one and there's not really much in it.

 

If you want a fast M3 add a super charger.

 

A mapped 330D is virtually as quick as an M3, better on fuel and cheaper...

But i'd still have the M3 over it

 

i have a 335d e92-would rather drive an m3 though lol wonderful package particularly dct and its a quicker car if you use the rev range
the following stops me from buying
335d-£220 a year to tax m3 £500 a year
335d 40 plus mpg m3 18mpg or less

service/repair costs on m3 also very high in comparison-its a bit more sophisticated

no cost involvement it would be the m3 anyday-but being a tight git its the oil burner for me

 

I've driven a couple of supercharged E92 M3s and they are manic. Drove one in the damp which was pretty useless though, traction light was coming on at 100mph in 4th!

 

Yes they are awesome cars standard an animals with a charger.. iv seen one Id love the fastest/quickest M3 in the world as far as I'm aware 660whp on normal fuel and 710 rwhp on race fuel

 

That would be pretty mental on race fuel then! I drove one that had dyno'd at 599bhp and one that had dyno'd at 630bhp. That was plenty! lol

 

Yh i love them such a well balanced car.

 

Sold my 500+bhp 3dr last year and went for a 335d, got Stu to map it and it came off his dyno with 370bhp/810nm and was a very quick car on the right roads.
Traded the D in a couple of month back for a E92 M3 and at first was disappointed, the staight line speed was similar to the D until I realised you really have to ring the living daylights out of the M, unless you use all 8200rpm they are a little lame.
Point to point on my usual private piece of test road the M was 5mph quicker than the D but didn't feel it, you only notice how quick they are when you look at the speedo.
Now, same cars on the twisty stuff and the M really shows it's pedigree, it's just so nicely balanced and really comes into it's own.

Yes it's 2x the price to tax and sups twice as much fuel as the D but it's more than 2x better to drive and be in, 2 very different cars for 2 very different jobs. Really loved the D but it was just missing that little something that the M has in bucket fulls..... and I wouldn't swap it back for the 3dr either

 

You know my dirty old oil burner will catch you and overtake you though Al.
(At the fuel station... lol)

 

roflol, always up for a lap of Coniston...that's 1 (ONE) lap lol

 

The way you drive Al, I shall respectfully decline your kind challenge. My age has exceeded my ball diameter nowadays sadly.

 

was that with any other mods? Ive got a standard e91 335d and keep getting tempted to get it mapped. Pulls great as it is to be fair, not rapid but upset quite a few bigger fish.

 

That will be just a remap, don't need anything more on an x35d

 

810nm

 

These vehicles dont hang around. They are awesome to tune. Heres my own 103'000 mile diseasel on the dyno while I was tweaking a few packages for them.
Totally factory, still got the 103K mile old DPF/ EGR / Cats etc. She has now covered over 127K trouble free miles. In fact, i have had her one year last Monday.

Stage 1: (Made 502ftlb and 337bhp)
(This level of tune is within ZF's quoted gearbox maximum torque)




Stage 2. (Made 572ftlb and 361bhp)(This level of tune significantly exceeds ZF's quoted gearbox maximum torque)

Our Own 2008 BMW 635D On the Dyno at Motorsport Developments In Blackpool Lancashire - YouTube

Stage 3 requires DPF and cat removal and will result in visible smoke.
Ive done it on customers cars for them but its not for me. I cant stand smokey diesels.Its also pushing the factory gearbox well out of its safety zone... not for the faint of wallet. LOL

 

that does make me want a 335d, just too skint to upgrade just yet.
the 330d remapped isn't shabby though.

 

I just sold my e93 cab dct i was not to impressed with the power to be honest iv had the 535d and was more then happy with how that went

 

The M3 isnt all about raw power etc its plenty quick but doesnt feel that.. Its the package, it handles amazing, looks sleek as hell, comfertable, sounds wicked.

 

this video isn't the greatest but gives you an idea of what mine sounded like

 

 

Yip, all factory, exact same tune as Stu's 635d

 

Totally agree. It's a beautifully balanced car. Compared to a normal BMW they feel electric and pretty special IMO!

 

100% mate, i sold mine and till this day that's the only car i have regrets about selling.. So much that my next car will be a E90 M3 instead of a GTR

 

I'd say this is pretty respectable for a more or less factory car....

 

I can see why to be fair. I find the GTR hugely capable and mentally fast, but it really lacks a bit of a soul IMO.