I'm in the market for a new ride...

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted by Patman
Lately I've been very obsessed with the more unique BMWs of the past couple of decades, like the 1 series or my newest flavor of the week, the 335is. This one in particular seems a lot of fun, it's kind of a sleeper since it looks very similar to every other 3 series coupe of that era but comes with a twin turbo 320hp straight six, so it's kind of like an M3 in disguise, but for much less. It also has an overboost feature that allows it to run more boost for 10 second bursts so it'll make much more than 320hp during quick passing manuevers or a launch off the line. I want one, so you should too!

The tough thing about any N54 powered 1/3-series is to find one in stock trim. The motors are very popular with the tuning crowd. For some reason I think the 335is could be spec'd with DCT as well.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by Patman
Lately I've been very obsessed with the more unique BMWs of the past couple of decades, like the 1 series or my newest flavor of the week, the 335is. This one in particular seems a lot of fun, it's kind of a sleeper since it looks very similar to every other 3 series coupe of that era but comes with a twin turbo 320hp straight six, so it's kind of like an M3 in disguise, but for much less. It also has an overboost feature that allows it to run more boost for 10 second bursts so it'll make much more than 320hp during quick passing manuevers or a launch off the line. I want one, so you should too!

The tough thing about any N54 powered 1/3-series is to find one in stock trim. The motors are very popular with the tuning crowd. For some reason I think the 335is could be spec'd with DCT as well.

^This.
Those engines are known to take 900hp easily.
Yes, it is DCT of not manual.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Patman
Lately I've been very obsessed with the more unique BMWs of the past couple of decades, like the 1 series or my newest flavor of the week, the 335is. This one in particular seems a lot of fun, it's kind of a sleeper since it looks very similar to every other 3 series coupe of that era but comes with a twin turbo 320hp straight six, so it's kind of like an M3 in disguise, but for much less. It also has an overboost feature that allows it to run more boost for 10 second bursts so it'll make much more than 320hp during quick passing manuevers or a launch off the line. I want one, so you should too!

hp bump in 335is is not that dramatic, only 20hp.
But it is torque jump that makes that car fast. 369-lb-ft comapared to 300 lb-ft in regular.
What is strange, N54 engine is know to be problematic, but this version in 335is seems much more reliable.

It's interesting that the torque goes up so much with that overboost feature but not the horsepower. I figured that both would go up by about equal amounts.

It's a function of cylinder head design. I know the old Datsun L series would just make more torque from more boost without some serious head work.

SAAB 9-5 V6.
In Opel Omega (Cadillac Catera) it made 211hp and some 200lb-ft around 3500 (not sure exactly)
In SAAB with LPT, 210 hp and I think 220lb-ft at 1500.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Patman
I haven't seen a 135is up here at all, but even though I like the 1 series a lot, I don't feel like it's as good looking of a car as the 335is.

Definitely not as pretty, but it's all the same running gear in a smaller, lighter, more nimble chassis.

The 335is is a very refined machine with a hard edge. The 135is is a madman!

I drove once 135i with N55. That thing is dangerous!

 

[CBR.worm]

I'm a bit biased, and I know this is not staying in line with the German desire, but if you could find a clean Infiniti 05+ G35/G37 6MT that hasn't been owned by 5 kids, they are decently fun cars that are very reliable if taken care of, and they are also very comfortable to sit in for hours a day - more so than the 350z/370z, and not a huge performance penalty. Mine has about 182K miles on it and still has the original clutch, and aside from the cracked dashboard, the interior looks like new. Having been kept in a garage most of its life, the paint still looks great too. It isn't as fast as the modern cars, but rear wheel drive with about 300 HP can be fun. There are specific years to avoid due to slave cylinder issues on some cars with the concentric slave cylinder, and they are known to consume oil and the engine noise is offensive to some, but maintenance is cheap and they appear to run forever if they are cared for.

I have enjoyed many track days, lots of mountain driving, drag strip passes, canyon carving, etc. and it still feels great and I still enjoy driving it. It is unmodified and worth about $2K, I am the first owner. Obviously, I will never sell it, but there are others like mine out there.

 

[RooflessVW]

I would consider a G37 convertible with the 7AT.

 

[CBR.worm]

That's an interesting idea. I don't know that I have ever seen one in the wild.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
I would consider a G37 convertible with the 7AT.



Definitely test drive one. I drove a few before buying my E90. The engine sounds good but a few things about the G37 just didn't appeal to me. The transmission just always seemed to be in the wrong gear, and the throttle response was strange. The seating position was higher than other cars, which I could probably get used to, but felt a bit interesting. The steering was also a bit "twitchy". Your results may vary. I did like everything else about the car, but in the end I loved the E90.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
They've got some very nice inventory.


Yes they do. I just checked their inventory and it appears just about all the cars I linked from them are gone. I've noticed that in the past, that they don't last too long.