Im not sure if you tint all the windows of a sedan the same, or the front a lighter shade, but my avant has 20% back and 50% front, which I happen to like a lot.

2/2/2011 9:55:46 PM

The best 335i is a white sedan with cinnamon interior and aluminum trim. 6 speed, of course.

A close 2nd is the lighter of the 2 blues they offer, with a grey interior.

2/2/2011 10:20:04 PM

^ basically the two best BMW combos ever.

the best iterations are:

1. Alpine White on Cinnamon (e46)
2. Estoril Blue on Dove (e36)

2/2/2011 11:24:38 PM

Well, there's the white e36 M3 also...

PS: White should come on more sports cars.

2/3/2011 12:33:25 AM

...with the motorsport graphics

(my favorite E36 scheme)



I don't even have any special affinity for white cars...I just tend to like white 3-series BMWs.

2/3/2011 12:36:22 AM

Well I mean, it's a good thing your tastes are correct...

2/3/2011 1:05:54 AM

how does the 335i xdrive compare to the 335i?

2/3/2011 10:44:14 PM

^if 335i had LSD it would be a MUCH better car. i almost regret buying an "i" instead of "xi". differences are somewhat big...1-2mpg worse fuel economy, raised suspension for more ground clearance, 2% worse weight distribution and way more understeer in comparison to "i"

2/3/2011 10:52:20 PM

yeah, unless you lived in a snowy climate and really needed AWD, I'd WAAAY rather have the 335i.

Really, even in the snow, I'd rather have an AWD or 4x4 beater...and a 335i.

2/3/2011 10:55:23 PM

^Agreed! ...but the car TERRIBLY needs limited slip. there is so much torque even with stock boost levels. two nights ago i activated traction control by accident when flooring it in 4th at 70mph. it was slightly wet outside and i have skinnier 225/50/17 snow tires, but still....it should not spin the wheeL at highway speeds. 1-2-3 in wet...FORGET IT. you will spin if you are not gentle with the right foot. xi on the other hand will put all that torque to work. driving M3/M5 for last 6 years spoils you when it comes to LSD.

[Edited on February 3, 2011 at 11:22 PM. Reason : h]

2/3/2011 11:17:57 PM

haha, my Z06 was kicking in TC at 70 mph in the dry with 295/35 Pilot Sports and limited slip. they were old tires, though...it doesn't do that now with the new Nittos.

but yeah, the lack of limited slip is a big reason i'm hesitant about a 135i/335i, and more inclined to ante up for an E92 M3.

2/4/2011 12:07:42 AM

Quote :

"inclined to ante up for an E90 M3"

2/4/2011 7:51:32 AM

that's a big ante. i wonder how much it would cost to swap an lsd into the 335i.

2/4/2011 9:34:18 AM

^I actually went ahead and got a quote from Dan from diffsonline. They have really nice Wavetrac unit. It would be $2100 to install for '07 335. For '08s it would be like $3k.
Early '07s have welded ring gear, whereas late '07s and up don't so it costs more to install.

It's not a bad price, but then again...it's one of those things where you start pumping money into a regular 3-series to have M3 standard features. And that I hate!

2/4/2011 10:37:01 AM

^when you're sick of that 335i, I have a e46 m3 for trade.

2/4/2011 2:14:40 PM

im ready!

2/5/2011 4:19:16 AM

just had the HPFP go out this morning. this is now 3rd fuel pump. taking the car tomorrow morning to the dealer.

have a feeling i will go back to Ms really quick...

3/20/2011 12:46:01 PM

I just moved from the STI to an E46. Come back to the light.

3/20/2011 1:46:13 PM

three M3s and one M5 never left me on the side of the road. this 3-series garbage has.

light...i like that. clever.

3/20/2011 1:57:01 PM

When was the current (bad) pump installed? I'm still not clear on how many part revisions BMW has had for this part. Is the latest pump a "fixed" part?

3/20/2011 4:12:57 PM

Last one was done in August 2010, which I was told is the latest revision that supposedly fixed the problem. Then again, BMW said that few times before. At one point, I kept track of HPFP part numbers, but since the car is under CPO warranty, I really don't care anymore. It will get fixed as warranty is in effect and HPFPs are warranted for 10years/120k. It just sucks that car left me stranded. I usually have personal policy that I sell the car if it leaves me stranded.

3/20/2011 4:23:51 PM

You know, I was looking through some diagrams from the BMW technical manual on this engine. Their HPFP is a weird design (the overall architecture, unsure about each revision) and I can't figure out what the advantage was supposed to be. Ford's and VW's are simpler and make a lot more sense to me. I'll see if I can put up some diagrams when I get home.

3/21/2011 10:48:56 AM

Has the aftermarket created a better HPFP yet? I know it's a radical departure from lightweight flywheels and suspension components, but it seems like it would be a gold mine for the first company to make a reliable one.

Anyone know how to make a fuel pump and want to make a few hundred thousand bucks?

[Edited on March 21, 2011 at 11:47 AM. Reason : l]

3/21/2011 11:45:06 AM

The complicated thing is that there seem to be many different HPFP designs. On a regular port injected engine the fuel pumps are all pretty similar, and so are the fuel injectors. Direct injection is pretty complicated and there are more options.

I'm going to be totally pic bombing this thread but here are some diagrams to illustrate the differences in designs for Ford, VW, and BMW designs. The Ford one from the Ecoboost 3.5 seems to be the simplest (and I suspect most likely to be reliable) by far. It's just a single piston pump driven by the cam on the head plus a simple system for regulating the fuel pressure.





[Edited on March 22, 2011 at 11:17 AM. Reason : .]

3/22/2011 11:16:43 AM

Here is a VW design from their first generation GDI engines. I'm not sure if they still use this design or not. You can see that it is sort of like a radial version of the Ford design.

3/22/2011 11:18:53 AM

.

[Edited on March 22, 2011 at 11:24 AM. Reason : dbl post]

3/22/2011 11:21:47 AM

Ok now here's BMW's design. It's definitely significantly different and to me seems way more complicated. Now I know the BMW engines use a different style of injector than the Ford and VW engines in my previous posts. Some of the extra components like the thermal compensator may be necessary or at least very useful to work with the rest of the fuel system.





You can see that there are clearly big differences in fuel system designs for direct injected engines. It's not like a port injected engine where basically you can throw a simple and inexpensive Walbro fuel pump into almost any engine with minimal modifications required.

3/22/2011 11:23:32 AM

VW uses a flux capacitor!?!?

3/22/2011 11:26:38 AM

good info arghx

i picked up the car today. it ended up that HPFP was fine, but I had misfire on cyl#1. they replaced all 6 injectors and car runs great now. i switched to summer tires and of course it will snow tmrw.

3/22/2011 12:32:40 PM

so.... how does one mod theses pumps for higher flow rate??? lol

No... good info arghx

3/22/2011 4:52:54 PM

people run up to 500-540whp with RB turbos on stock pump. im not sure past that number, but i haven't heard anyone on e90 forums upgrading walbro or whatever else is out there.

3/22/2011 6:07:29 PM

^^^ A misfire on one cylinder left you stranded?

3/22/2011 6:42:50 PM

yes. entire drivetrain was shaking, CEL, revs going down to 300-400. i certainly was not going to drive it and risk further damage without having access to code reader to know what is the problem exactly.

3/23/2011 8:49:59 AM

N54 fueling explained

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=512759

4/11/2011 12:38:58 PM

Does getting the fuel pump changed on a 2004-2005 bmw 325-330i still apply? I'm looking at buying one of those years/models.

4/13/2011 11:45:05 AM

If it's not the direct injected turbo models (135/335/535), it does not apply.

4/13/2011 11:58:00 AM

also... I looked through the explanation of the fuel system. On the low pressure side I am impressed at how they managed to put together a surge tank in such a simple way, using venturis and small bucket.
The PWM-based low pressure fuel pump control is nothing new or unusual, although they used closed-loop control which isn't found on a lot of cars.

There is a part 2 to the article: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515398

They are making a big deal about the fact that the low pressure fuel system runs at 5 bar fuel pressure. Well GM runs their current LSx engines up to 6 bar.

4/13/2011 12:19:21 PM

slightly off topic at this point, but I finally got my trim switched out

5/28/2011 2:18:10 PM

just drove mine 4200 miles cross country. boston->NC->SF. broke down and went to limp mode on a mountain at 11,000 feet in very rural southern Colorado. Had to drive 374 miles to SLC to get it fixed. That was the nearest dealer. actually there is only one dealer in entire Utah! next nearest was Las Vegas 500+ miles. Crazyyyy! Of course it happened at 9pm on a Sunday. vacuum line going to wastegate actuators bla bla bla...drove 6 hours in limp mode, slept in dealer parking lot. great night!

so far 3 dealer trips and 14k in 4 months of ownership. 74k on odometer.


US-50 in Nevada...also known as the Loneliest road


[Edited on May 29, 2011 at 11:50 PM. Reason : t]

5/29/2011 11:40:02 PM

^dude, time to go back to the e46 m3.

5/29/2011 11:59:39 PM

^^damn you've had horrible luck with that car

also here's your pic:

5/30/2011 12:01:58 AM

New BMWs scare me, a lot. This is the reason I like 996s so much, but maybe I've been dodging a bullet on those as the internet keeps saying they're terribly unreliable.

Anyway, nice job on the alu. trim, looks nice. Also, get these pics working people, I wanna see more hawt BMW action!

5/30/2011 1:26:33 AM

^^^yes, E46 is missed!

^^thx, imageshack started some gay registration? not sure what is going on. i did have bad luck, but car is first year production and i knew that going into the purchase. luckily CPO is still there.

[Edited on May 30, 2011 at 4:23 PM. Reason : g]

5/30/2011 4:22:02 PM

so my service module thing is telling me that my brake fluid is low. do i really have to get "BMW DOT4" or can I put any DOT 4 in there?

nevermind, fluid level is ok. i guess it's due for it's 2-year brake flush and fill. Leith is quoting me $120 for the service, plus $60 to "perform a full system computer check" which evidently is the way they reset the currently red brake fluid indication. Also asked about oil changes and they're $160. Granted it helps that they're only 15k intervals but still...i might pursue some other options.

European Performance quoted $90 or $95 for the service and $110 for the oil change (using Pentosin oil...I guess that's ok?) so I'll probably end up going there.

[Edited on September 21, 2011 at 2:14 PM. Reason : [/blog]]

9/21/2011 1:45:32 PM

is it normal to have to replace the brake fluid every 2 years on a BMW? That seems awfully frequent.

9/21/2011 3:17:27 PM

That's what the service schedule calls for. The car is programmed to call for it every two years. I wonder if I should just have the light reset...the fluid looks fine

9/21/2011 3:38:43 PM

Most manufacturers recommend 2 year brake fluid change intervals, including I believe your Integra and S2000. I usually change mine far more often.

9/21/2011 6:09:04 PM

^^^ There is no way I would keep that hydroscopic shit in there more than 2 years. Prob flush it annually if I planned to track it.

9/21/2011 7:31:44 PM

Honda's service interval is 60k miles.

Of course I track mine so no I do not leave it in there that long. If I didn't track it? Yes I would.

9/21/2011 10:55:25 PM

Iim surprised that HPFP pendulum setup doesn't have inherent balance and wear issues, it certainly is an odd way to do it but they know more than I ever will.

VW recommends 2 year brake flushes as well.

9/21/2011 11:31:21 PM