BMW 3 Series Launch

[allan 295]

That's good and takes care of 2012 what about all the prevoius years when the badge on the back of the car did not truely reflect what the vehicle was.

[Greg111 13]

Going back to the 1 series then, if you buy the entry level 116 and tweak the boost you can essentially have a 120 and more?

Like has been mentioned above I thought everything possible was being done to eliminate lag from the turboed cars

Correct, with a simple tune and few tweaks here and there you could have a fast car indeed, the joys of turbos.

Confused!! I am, if you were a person looking to buy a newer bmw hope like hell the dealer can explain all the difference etc etc because just reading this thread is looks a mess. BMW needs to get back to basic's and build and badge vehicle's which tell the customer what it is, if it is 2ltr and has twin turbos bla bla then so be it. But make it clear to the consumer not all the B.S that they are handing out at present. Not wanting this to sound like a rant but have come across this first hand while looking for another beemer and it gets to be a pain in the arse looking at something which it is not just my 10cents chuckle

You do get use to it, the reason they are keeping their badging i.e 328i is because it's been around forever, if they went to new badging for what was under the bonnet then you wouldn't have 325, 323, 328 anymore which are the bench marks of the 3 series., you would have 320 and 330. Two different petrol varients isn't a lot to choose from. Edited March 28, 2012 by Greg.

[Allanw 1051]

It's what outboards have been doing for years! 175, 200, 225's are usually all the same displacement, just the cards and exhaust used to change. Now it ALL the same, and it's the ECU that does it.

Neighbour owns a marine repair shop / dry dock etc. He's the Volvo Penta agent. He can upgrade your 200HP Volvo Penta to a 400HP Volvo Penta using his computer. VOlvo charges his a lot to do it via the software, and he passes it along to the customer. Expect it to be available soon - Service, power upgrade and a new rear badge... $14000

[kwhelan 232]

I'm curious about this autostart/stop which i keep reading about. I get the idea of why but how does it work in real life,it sounds like it would feel odd to feel an engine stop while your sitting in it at the lights and how does it react when lights go green.obviously nobody would be wanting a wait while it restarted and then reengaged drive,how does this system actually work in the real world,how does it feel,is it a compromise or would you never even know it was happening,i find it hard to imagine how it could work smoothly but maybe there some magic im missing

anyone who got/ tried it comments please

[Greg111 13]

Ok, first of all, the starter motor is now mounted underneath the engine so replacing it would take 5 minutes rather having it mounted in the normal place making it an hour plus job. This is done for obvious reasons, the starter is now working ten times more than normal.

Secondly, yes you do feel it stop at the lights or what ever the circumstances are, yes it does feel wierd (for the first time, that's it), use to it now.

Thirdly, it doesn't take 5 minutes to start a car normally so doing this at an intersection is no big deal, with the start/stop system, you pull up to a stop, the car turns off, radio, aircon carry on going, as soon as you take your foot off the brake or turn the steering wheel the car starts straight away, no hesitation at all, works really well!

[allan 295]

What about the extra wear and tear on the starter motor and the battery with the extra use and maybe worse with city driving?.

[hotwire 352]

Ok, first of all, the starter motor is now mounted underneath the engine so replacing it would take 5 minutes rather having it mounted in the normal place making it an hour plus job. This is done for obvious reasons, the starter is now working ten times more than normal.

Secondly, yes you do feel it stop at the lights or what ever the circumstances are, yes it does feel wierd (for the first time, that's it), use to it now.

Thirdly, it doesn't take 5 minutes to start a car normally so doing this at an intersection is no big deal, with the start/stop system, you pull up to a stop, the car turns off, radio, aircon carry on going, as soon as you take your foot off the brake or turn the steering wheel the car starts straight away, no hesitation at all, works really well!

Could be embarrasing - starting the car at every intersection - would sound to everybody else like you stalled it

Pain in the arse too if you've got a F##ked battery & want to keep the car going - can it be overidden?

[kiwi535 538]

You need only look at power/torque and price TBH. Capacity does not translate to performance like it did in the 1970's.

http://www.bmw.co.nz/com/en/newvehicles/3s...eAndOptions.pdf

thats what BMW are trying to stick with though,in that the badge on the back IS STILL linked to the g forces applied when right foot is excercised.Its just not directly linked to the actual engine capacity.The different levels of trim being linked to a model type may be a good thing to,so that you know what you are getting in the way of options when you see an URBAN or a SPORT(made up names)Unlike now you dont know what options a 120d might have.Are LSD still available as an option?

[kwhelan 232]

Could be embarrasing - starting the car at every intersection - would sound to everybody else like you stalled it

Pain in the arse too if you've got a F##ked battery & want to keep the car going - can it be overidden?

discussing this with a merc expert ,apparantly they have now 2 batteries,one just for starting,engine stops if you stop moving for more than .7seconds and across the board accounts for 25% fuel saving

they always told us starting a car was bad even at railway lines and produced more wear than idiling,less oil being circulated etc.

and I still cant get my head around how a car can start and move off at the instant you put your foot down,there has to be a delay and a noise, unless its like toyota that starts off on electric and once moving the petrol motor fires and cuts in

no car starts effortlessly everytime in every instance of heat and cold conditions with a few kays on the clock and settles into an even instant idle and supplies instant acceleration,and rengages clutches or does the starter motor actually move the car forward until power cuts in

maybe nana and grandad wouldnt notice but i'm picking leadfoot does

[Apex 693]

thats what BMW are trying to stick with though,in that the badge on the back IS STILL linked to the g forces applied when right foot is excercised.Its just not directly linked to the actual engine capacity.The different levels of trim being linked to a model type may be a good thing to,so that you know what you are getting in the way of options when you see an URBAN or a SPORT(made up names)Unlike now you dont know what options a 120d might have.Are LSD still available as an option?

LSD would have to come aftermarket, BMW only have the LSD for the proper M cars.

I remember in the late 80's early 90's when the badge on the back of a BMW was only there as a symbol of your bank balance, it had very little to do with power and more to do with who paid more, would not want another mother in the carpark having the model up, how embarrassing! I think this is still quite a strong requirement for a lot of buyers, I mean how many drivers use the power of a 328i over a 320i, not many, they just like to know they have the better model.

An example was a friend who went to buy a BMW and come back with a 135i, she wanted the top of the range even if she has never floored a car in her life, you could put a 135i badge on any other model and she would be non the wiser.

[Greg111 13]

What about the extra wear and tear on the starter motor and the battery with the extra use and maybe worse with city driving?.

Hense why the starter is now mounted directly under the engine, BMW knew this would cause them to f**k out so have put them there for ease of removal.

Could be embarrasing - starting the car at every intersection - would sound to everybody else like you stalled it

Pain in the arse too if you've got a F##ked battery & want to keep the car going - can it be overidden?

Yes the system can be turned off at the push of a button, you don't actually hear the starter, just a vibration of the car and you're off, very instant! There are a lot of factors involved for the start/stop feature to work, battery condition is one, if the car senses poor condition then it won't activate, aircon fully blasting on a hot day, it won't activate etc etc, if you stop in rush hour traffic the car won't turn off until you have exceed 20kph so creeping forward won't be enough for it to activate. You have to remember, BMW are a very smart company, they don't do things by half.

discussing this with a merc expert ,apparantly they have now 2 batteries,one just for starting,engine stops if you stop moving for more than .7seconds and across the board accounts for 25% fuel saving

they always told us starting a car was bad even at railway lines and produced more wear than idiling,less oil being circulated etc.

and I still cant get my head around how a car can start and move off at the instant you put your foot down,there has to be a delay and a noise, unless its like toyota that starts off on electric and once moving the petrol motor fires and cuts in

no car starts effortlessly everytime in every instance of heat and cold conditions with a few kays on the clock and settles into an even instant idle and supplies instant acceleration,and rengages clutches or does the starter motor actually move the car forward until power cuts in

maybe nana and grandad wouldnt notice but i'm picking leadfoot does

BMW use one battery only, as soon as you lift your foot off the brake the car is moving forward, takes half a revolution for the car to start, very very instant. We tried this at a set of lights the other week, as soon as it went green i ripped my foot of the brake an hard on to the go pedal and it took off straight away. Edited March 30, 2012 by Greg.

[hotwire 352]

Yes the system can be turned off at the push of a button, you don't actually hear the starter, just a vibration of the car and you're off, very instant! There are a lot of factors involved for the start/stop feature to work, battery condition is one, if the car senses poor condition then it won't activate, aircon fully blasting on a hot day, it won't activate etc etc, if you stop in rush hour traffic the car won't turn off until you have exceed 20kph so creeping forward won't be enough for it to activate. You have to remember, BMW are a very smart company, they don't do things by half.

Yep, expected it to be as you have said. They will have spent zillions on R&D & catered for all variables. - I would expect:-

[my_e36 43]

Going back to the 1 series then, if you buy the entry level 116 and tweak the boost you can essentially have a 120 and more?

I am not sure how the new 1 would be but the current 118d and 120d whilst have the same engine, but all the bits around it are different (mainly fuel system and tuning), it's not just a boost level change. Hence, even if you chip both cars, 120d will still have an upper hand.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

Well, after the test drive on Friday I am pleasantly surprised with the new 320d. To start with it looked much better in the flesh than I was expecting, possibly because it was a Sport model in my favourite colour (Charcoal Grey) and I liked it much more than in press photos.

I'm not sure how much of the interior bells and whistles were additional options for the demonstator but it certainly had a lot of kit in it, although it did take some working out - first time I've use the iDrive system (took me about 10minutes to turn the radio on!!). I think the Sat Nav and the Comfort Entry were options but the leather and the multi-function steering wheel are standard options I think.

The drive was exceptional - it didn't feel as quick as my 330d but from the speedo it probably was, if not quicker. The 2.0d is only 10Nm down on the old 3.0d in my E46 and is helped by the EIGHT speed box which shifts very smoothly (except 1st to 2nd which is noticable) and the flappy paddles work in real time as well, useful for down shifts for overtaking. The oil burner is much quieter as well, even at full noise which is good.

With the stop/start technology it seemed to kick in once the engine was warm, not from the start, and is is mentioned above, it start the motor as soon as you release the brake pedal and by the time you have got onto the loud pedal it is up and running. It felt a bit odd the first time it turned off but you soon get used to it.

I didn't really have time to test the handling, and I didn't want to push it too hard, just in case. The switchable mode - all 4 of them, I couldn't notice too much, but certainly in comfort it rode very well on some poor surfaces but didn't wallow when pushed a bit into corners.

Seems to be much more room in the back seats for the kids and the boot seems huge compared to an E46.

Overall - really liked it, now to check out the options list!

Edited March 31, 2012 by E30 325i Rag-Top

[Greg111 13]

They are a neat car Jon, time for a purchace