malvern hills 0 Report post Posted August 23, 2009 Hi all I have just become the owner of a 1999 BMW 328i sedan e46 after years of driving an r34 Nissan Skyline GTT. The BMW is immaculate and a real tribute to the owners that had it before me but quite a different beast to the Skyline. There are a few things about the stock BMW that I'm not totally happy with and hope people on this forum might be able to help me with some advice on how to rectify them. Will post a pic ASAP. Cheers Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark247 39 Report post Posted August 23, 2009 Hey hey. Welcome to BS. What factory stuff are ya thinking of changing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrantiC Report post Posted August 23, 2009 Welcome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antil33t 90 Report post Posted August 23, 2009 Welcome No intro is complete without pictures Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
malvern hills 0 Report post Posted August 23, 2009 Hey hey. Welcome to BS. What factory stuff are ya thinking of changing? I love the oh so silky smooth engine which I swear sings to you and even the gear box which although an auto does some intelligent things like intuitively changes down and therefore engine brakes for you when going down steep hills (how does it do that)? The way the traction control works is mind boggling and very clever. The car feels very solid and just shouts quality at you and I like the understated look of the thing. I'm not so sold on the steering which seems to lack "feel" somehow infact it's got more the feel of a Lexus not what I would have thought from BMW but I can live with that. My main concern is the handling, there is more body roll than I'm used to and I feel the car car needs to be closer to the ground and the suspension stiffened up. Thanks for the wellcome and I'm still struggling to upload a pic. Cheers Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
malvern hills 0 Report post Posted August 24, 2009 I love the oh so silky smooth engine which I swear sings to you and even the gear box which although an auto does some intelligent things like intuitively changes down and therefore engine brakes for you when going down steep hills (how does it do that)? The way the traction control works is mind boggling and very clever. The car feels very solid and just shouts quality at you and I like the understated look of the thing. I'm not so sold on the steering which seems to lack "feel" somehow infact it's got more the feel of a Lexus not what I would have thought from BMW but I can live with that. My main concern is the handling, there is more body roll than I'm used to and I feel the car car needs to be closer to the ground and the suspension stiffened up. Thanks for the wellcome and I'm still struggling to upload a pic. Cheers Chris Ah ha! Sorted it's a knackered front shock absorber. can't wait to see how much better it will handle with that fixed, phew! I take back any criticism of BMW, it might sharpen up the steering too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted August 24, 2009 They are a very nice car, well done. The gear box in them is one of the only Auto’s I could actually live with, can keep up with the manual equivalent on a back road and has the tip-tronic around the correct way. They are actually better than a lot of auto’s I have used in newish vehicles. Check front control arm bushes have been replaced, this needs doing around the 100,000km mark, makes a big difference. Bloody good cars out of the box are the 328i/330i. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
malvern hills 0 Report post Posted August 24, 2009 They are a very nice car, well done. The gear box in them is one of the only Auto’s I could actually live with, can keep up with the manual equivalent on a back road and has the tip-tronic around the correct way. They are actually better than a lot of auto’s I have used in newish vehicles. Check front control arm bushes have been replaced, this needs doing around the 100,000km mark, makes a big difference. Bloody good cars out of the box are the 328i/330i. Thanks for that. I'll have them bushes checked while having the shocks sorted. Cheers Chris. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites