355i vs 355d power potential and reliability?

[IQRaceworks]

I’ve been thinking about picking up an older 355i because of the big power potential, and how easy it is to get 400+hp with just a tune from the N54 twin turbo motor. But, I’ve also seen a few nice 335d’s for sale in my area, and after doing a little research…..these are just as easy to get some big power out of pretty easily.

As far as a daily driver, which motor would be best? Is one better than the other as far as money/mods invested vs. power gained? In real world every day highway/city driving….does the diesel get much better MPG, or are they about the same? What about auto vs. manual transmission? If I can find one, are the manuals stronger and would hold more power than the autos?
Just looking for a nice 4-door car that drives good, makes good power, and is reliable.

I currently have an 03’ JCW Mini Cooper S as my daily driver that I’ve had forever (173,xxx miles on it)….and although I love the car and it’s a blast to drive, it’s just too small and now that I’ve got a kiddo, having a 4-door would be nice. I’m thinking a 335 of some flavor would be a nice change…and a great platform to mod and make some good power.

Any info on the 355i vs 355d would be a big help!! Any specific years to stay away from?

Thanks!

[floydr]

...
As far as a daily driver, which motor would be best? Is one better than the other as far as money/mods invested vs. power gained? In real world every day highway/city driving….does the diesel get much better MPG, or are they about the same? What about auto vs. manual transmission? If I can find one, are the manuals stronger and would hold more power than the autos?

The 335d gets 5mpg more than the 335i all the time and in all conditions (my son had an unmodified except for PPK 335i).
No 335d has a manual - they were all 6HP28 zf trannies (also used on some V8's and in X5), which is pretty beefy and extremely reliable. The 335i auto was a 6HP16 with identical gearing. Diffs on 335d are much lower final drive ratio, though.

Mods on an M57 give you much more torque easily, but HP is much harder to push beyond 350 or so. Be sure you want torque rather than HP before deciding on a 335d. Search the other BMW forums for "TDIWyse", a modder in the midwest that has built his 335d and posted about it fairly extensively.

There were only about 10,000 335d's imported, model years 2009-2011. No year is better than the others. They're mostly running $7500-$10,000 right now, most with 100K-150K miles.

Frankly, the diesel subforums on bimmerfest and e90post are the best places to ask questions.

[White94RX]

Do you have emissions testing in your area on diesel vehicles? A lot of the problems with the diesel cars were the emissions components. Many tunes require removing them for maximum power. So, you wouldn't pass emissions in your state/county if that were the case.

[IQRaceworks]

Do you have emissions testing in your area on diesel vehicles? A lot of the problems with the diesel cars were the emissions components. Many tunes require removing them for maximum power. So, you wouldn't pass emissions in your state/county if that were the case.

Nope, no emissions testing in my state. It sounds like it's going to be easier to make the power with the 355i....and I can get them with a manual transmissions vs. the D that only comes with an auto. Plus, I won't have to spend all of that time and money deleting all of the emissions stuff like I would on the 355d.

[White94RX]

That sounds like a good plan. People buy the diesel because they want a diesel. It's not necessarily any better.

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