i've been thinking about the 335xi

[B0B]

Hi everyone, i'm pretty new here and i dont know too much about BMW's.

i recently got a job at BMW Northwest, and i have really taken a liking to these cars. a few questions i have a bout the 335xi...

any pro's/cons about the AWD? how much heavier are they than the 335i? i definitely want a coupe not a sedan, and i definitely want a 6 speed manual. also, the mechanics at work say they can up the hp to 400/400trq with just a tune. is this true? sorry for all the noobish questions but i would like to learn more about these cars!

[Bonds 25]

I have a 08 335xi coupe 6 spd. I love it....absolutly love it. The AWD makes it a little heavier, and sit a little higher. Other than the fact you cant spin the tires I can barely tell its AWD. There are a handful of tuners that are available if your looking to increase HP, and they have all been discussed on this forum.

[B0B]

cool thank you. i want to go awd because in western WA its raining more often than not. also i like snowboarding and it would be nice if i could take it to the mountain

[Bonds 25]

Im in south eastern WA and Im glad I have AWD, It snowed aprox. 4 times this winter and I had no problem getting around with my high performance summer tires on. Living in western WA you might want to invest in some all-seasons during the winter months. Unlike a lot of people I dont see the need for winter tires with the xi, but of course Ive lived in Buffalo, NY most of my life and have done a lot...A LOT of driving in the snow.

[Corky71]

Hi everyone, i'm pretty new here and i dont know too much about BMW's.

i recently got a job at BMW Northwest, and i have really taken a liking to these cars. a few questions i have a bout the 335xi...

any pro's/cons about the AWD? how much heavier are they than the 335i? i definitely want a coupe not a sedan, and i definitely want a 6 speed manual. also, the mechanics at work say they can up the hp to 400/400trq with just a tune. is this true? sorry for all the noobish questions but i would like to learn more about these cars!

Don't worry about the weight difference....they are just as fast or maybe even faster due to better traction, and I believe the handling is very similar. I love the "i" because I have another car for unfavorable weather conditions, but I wouldn'r hesitate at getting the "xi" if the situation warranted.

[VooDooAddict]

Im in south eastern WA and Im glad I have AWD, It snowed aprox. 4 times this winter and I had no problem getting around with my high performance summer tires on. Living in western WA you might want to invest in some all-seasons during the winter months. Unlike a lot of people I dont see the need for winter tires with the xi, but of course Ive lived in Buffalo, NY most of my life and have done a lot...A LOT of driving in the snow.

While summer tires might be 'ok' in light snow that's just below freezing. Any really bitter cold or a heavy snow you are going to need All Seasons or Snows.

[JunkStory]

The 335 doesn't have LSD, and that might worsen your situation in snow. Definitely get 335xi if you travel a lot on the slippery surfaces.

[Bonds 25]

I never said stick with the summer tires, I was explaining that where I live, the snow is very limited so Im gonna get by without snow or all-seasons. I suggested all- seasons to him. With the xi I think winter tires are overkill. I actually had no problems getting around in 8 inches of snow with my summer tires on. This was of course in buffalo, ny a week before I moved to eastern washington. BTW my car was better in the snow with summer tires than my buddy's civic with snow tires.

[mryakan]

This never gets old: xi, x-drive, awd, etc etc don't help you stop any better, snow tires do. Keep that in mind. Whether you need snow tires in your locale is another issue, and open for debate.

[psucelticXI]

I'm also looking at the 335xi, but I have to double check to see what the difference in insurance is going to be between that and the 328xi..

[Bonds 25]

I would think it shoudnt be that much...Im only paying $400 more a year than I did with my 05 Nissan Altima SER.

[GreenThree]

I'm also looking at the 335xi, but I have to double check to see what the difference in insurance is going to be between that and the 328xi..

I pay $940/yr for ins my car

[SpunkyE30nOk]

the e92xi coupes are hot...seen 1 in the shop a couple weeks ago...alpine white w red coral leather, 6spd manual.. I had to step away before i drooled on it. But yea the awd is a lil heavier, but you also get alot more traction off the line. I'm going to lease a 335i b/c I auto-x and I like to drift *maybe thats just me*, I know it'll suck til I get a lsd, but if i lived where it snows alot I'd buy an xi in a heartbeat.


well I'd probably get an e30 325ix over the e92 just b/c I prefer the mechanical awd over the mostly electrical awd

[PERFORMANCEGUY]

I have had mine for about a month now, here in wintery Michigan. I am kind of a car "nut"..I have four right now. The other three would be considered performance cars, but that is the problem. They sit idle in my garage for up to half the year..so I went with the 335xi as my daily, winter driver (after flirting dangerously close to getting the Audi S5-a whole seperate story).

LOVE this car...LOVE it! Smooth, silky power available through the entire RPM range, excellent handling in all weather conditions. This is not my first BMW-once owned 2004 745 Li. But this one is even better, if measured by how confidence inspiring it is to drive. Great balance, feedback from the steering wheel/chasis, excellent ride/handling balance..just a great car. Dare I say, on sunny days, I sometimes take this one instead of one of the others.

In snow and on wet roads, the AWD feature is obvious. On dry pavement, I completely forget it is awd...no torque steer or turbo lag in this car. Oh..and the launches from a dig..oh my! Its like a strong RWD car on Drag Radials...EVERY time.

Because you really don't need SUMMER PERFORMANCE TIRES (yes.I think the conversation on this is backwards) you can get some high perfromance all seasons. I added Goodyear Eagle F1 AS tires..they are awesome. Wrapped them on some 19 lightweight racing wheels (Enkei RPF1s), through on an aggressive tune and some catless downpipes...and this car goes right next to my summer cars, each well over 400 hp. This may be the best all around car I have owned..and I have owned some beauties.

[VooDooAddict]

...
(after flirting dangerously close to getting the Audi S5-a whole seperate story).
...


I'd be very curious on that story as I considered trying to order a bare bones S5 instead of the decently equipped 335xi Coupe.




...
Dare I say, on sunny days, I sometimes take this one instead of one of the others.
...

2006 STS-V
2007 CHARGER SRT8
2006 300C (MODS GALORE)
2008 BMW 335XI (MY NEW WINTER CAR)


That makes me smile quite a bit. As many months ago I thought about getting a Charger R/T AWD to replace my Passat. Knowing that you can enjoy the 335xi and don't long for the power of a Charger SRT8 is a good feeling.

[PERFORMANCEGUY]

I'd be very curious on that story as I considered trying to order a bare bones S5 instead of the decently equipped 335xi Coupe.




That makes me smile quite a bit. As many months ago I thought about getting a Charger R/T AWD to replace my Passat. Knowing that you can enjoy the 335xi and don't long for the power of a Charger SRT8 is a good feeling.

When I decided (actually went nuts) that I was tired of driving the Tahoe I had (wonderful vehicle) and walking past he thre amigos parked in the gargage..I focused in on the S5. Found one locally at dealer...drove it..LOVED it. Amazing car..said "I will take it". One problem..the title was in Germany and they didn't want to deliver it to me. So..as the days passed and they didin't call me (I had to keep calling them)..I started checking out the 335xi option. Drove it, loved it, and most importantly, found relatively inexpensive and highly effective mods. BMW dealer was very aggressive..so, I did it. Happy with my decision.have a tune (JB2H and downpipes). Of course, later that day when I told the Audi dealer, they suddenly were willing to dleiver without the title.

The other cars are a riot! American v-8 muscle is addicting. But this BMW is so fast and smooth under acceleration, I am not missing the v-8s as much as I would. Waiting for better weather to see how they do side by side..but I think this car will acount for itself very well.

[tjsolimeo]

I picked up my 335xi sedan December 15th. I added an SSTT. All I can say is that my '07, 400hp 'Vette sits in the garage. The 'Vette has 6000 miles and the Bimmer already has 5000. The Bimmer just flys..............

[MrOffshore]

I have a 2007 335xi sedan (auto)...gotta say it's a real nice car...handles great on dry, wet or snow...it's not a truck but it gets me to work in Northern Indiana once in 18" of unplowed snow going over my hood at times in drifts...no snow tires, just the standard all seasons...sure snows would be better, but they're not necessary for my area and level of driving expertise (let the flaming start!).

As for the AWD system...it's actually a nice system and if it weren't available this car wouldn't be in my garage...dry, wet or snow it will out handle any stock two wheel drive 335xi (at least with me driving...flame some more!!). You can feel the system work in turns on slick surfaces...adding power to some wheels and braking to others...even if you acclerate it won't take your input until you are safely receiving traction...sometimes that's not a good thing to me as it takes my control away a little longer than I might like, but overall it's a phenominal system.

Power is beyond belief...I have the JuiceBox JB2R (haven't installed my "H" yet) and it's putting down some serious power with no issues to report. I finally got the time to load half a tank of 100 octane and a half tank of 93 octane for a 96 octane cocktail...wasn't certain what to expect, but let me tell you, it surpassed what I thought I might get from it...it's just SO FREAKING FAST...I promise you I think my vision gets blurry when I launch. Even on wet or rain soaked roads the tires never lose traction...it just bites hard and runs like a scolded dog. I haven't run anyone on the road, never had ideal safe conditions...but when someone comes up on your @$$ and you don't like it, just drop the right foot and say, "see ya"...it's that simple. I can't think of many cars it won't smoke and yet it's still a nice family sleeper.

You can't go wrong with this car...the coupe is nice, but I just wanted a five passenger four door that won't draw attention. AWD vs. 2WD is no big deal..it's a few hundred pounds heavier I believe, but the AWD is faster everytime. Heightwise I believe it's under 1" taller and not noticeable...what is noticeable is pulling hard on a ramp and leaving the 2WD models 20 yards back. AWD is the only way to go!! Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

[Corky71]

I have a 2007 335xi sedan (auto)...gotta say it's a real nice car...handles great on dry, wet or snow...it's not a truck but it gets me to work in Northern Indiana once in 18" of unplowed snow going over my hood at times in drifts...no snow tires, just the standard all seasons...sure snows would be better, but they're not necessary for my area and level of driving expertise (let the flaming start!).

As for the AWD system...it's actually a nice system and if it weren't available this car wouldn't be in my garage...dry, wet or snow it will out handle any stock two wheel drive 335xi (at least with me driving...flame some more!!). You can feel the system work in turns on slick surfaces...adding power to some wheels and braking to others...even if you acclerate it won't take your input until you are safely receiving traction...sometimes that's not a good thing to me as it takes my control away a little longer than I might like, but overall it's a phenominal system.

Power is beyond belief...I have the JuiceBox JB2R (haven't installed my "H" yet) and it's putting down some serious power with no issues to report. I finally got the time to load half a tank of 100 octane and a half tank of 93 octane for a 96 octane cocktail...wasn't certain what to expect, but let me tell you, it surpassed what I thought I might get from it...it's just SO FREAKING FAST...I promise you I think my vision gets blurry when I launch. Even on wet or rain soaked roads the tires never lose traction...it just bites hard and runs like a scolded dog. I haven't run anyone on the road, never had ideal safe conditions...but when someone comes up on your @$$ and you don't like it, just drop the right foot and say, "see ya"...it's that simple. I can't think of many cars it won't smoke and yet it's still a nice family sleeper.

You can't go wrong with this car...the coupe is nice, but I just wanted a five passenger four door that won't draw attention. AWD vs. 2WD is no big deal..it's a few hundred pounds heavier I believe, but the AWD is faster everytime. Heightwise I believe it's under 1" taller and not noticeable...what is noticeable is pulling hard on a ramp and leaving the 2WD models 20 yards back. AWD is the only way to go!! Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.


I am glad you like your car....enjoy it. But you make it seem as if the 335i is a 328 compared to your xi. Far from it. The xi may get SLIGHTLY better 0-60 times due to traction from a standstill but once you get going the "i" will win everytime. The extra weight does come into play in these situations obviously. They are both great machines.

[Bonds 25]

Please no more i and xi debates....no test between the 2 yet...so all comments are opinion....plus there is no such thing as a 2 wheel drive xi

[MrOffshore]

I am glad you like your car....enjoy it. But you make it seem as if the 335i is a 328 compared to your xi. Far from it. The xi may get SLIGHTLY better 0-60 times due to traction from a standstill but once you get going the "i" will win everytime. The extra weight does come into play in these situations obviously. They are both great machines.

I don't mean to make it sound like a 335i is slow, far from the truth...but the facts are facts and the AWD xi is faster out of the hole than a 2WD i. The extra weight is not a detriment to the 0-60 times...and that is where weight would be more critical than after it were already up and moving. I am not certain where you're getting your data that shows where the "i will win everytime"...weight does play a factor but the xi hooksup "NOW"...no wheelspin...NONE. And once the cars "mass" is moving, weight becomes far less of a factor. The xi advantage is fairly negligible, to the point that a good driver (at least driving a manual transmission) could make up for it...meaning an "i" manual superior driver running against an "xi" manual novice driver.

I find that this is highly debated on the forums, but I think it is also fairly clear that the xi is quicker than a standard "i"...I would even go so far say that an automatic would be a better choice for getting maximum 0-60 times than a manual tranny...granted if you're on your top game everytime (and NO one is) you can find an advantage with a manual tranny, but the automatic is fool proof...brake torque it a bit and let it launch...the car does all the work and it's dead on everytime...no mistakes.

My point here is that so many people think that the "sportier in their mind" 2WD is faster or better than clunky, heavy AWD...and they're simply wrong. The same is true of the manual transmission...you can argue all you want about it, but in my "opinion" the automatic transmission is going to out perform the manual tranny on a regular basis. Granted it might not be as sporty or fun as the automatic, but that's not what I am debating here...just which one will move you quicker and more effectively.

But...I will state again, the "i" is not an inferior automobile to the "xi" just a bit different. I actually don't think the 328 is inferior...it's just different!

[Corky71]

I don't mean to make it sound like a 335i is slow, far from the truth...but the facts are facts and the AWD xi is faster out of the hole than a 2WD i. The extra weight is not a detriment to the 0-60 times...and that is where weight would be more critical than after it were already up and moving. I am not certain where you're getting your data that shows where the "i will win everytime"...weight does play a factor but the xi hooksup "NOW"...no wheelspin...NONE. And once the cars "mass" is moving, weight becomes far less of a factor. The xi advantage is fairly negligible, to the point that a good driver (at least driving a manual transmission) could make up for it...meaning an "i" manual superior driver running against an "xi" manual novice driver.

I find that this is highly debated on the forums, but I think it is also fairly clear that the xi is quicker than a standard "i"...I would even go so far say that an automatic would be a better choice for getting maximum 0-60 times than a manual tranny...granted if you're on your top game everytime (and NO one is) you can find an advantage with a manual tranny, but the automatic is fool proof...brake torque it a bit and let it launch...the car does all the work and it's dead on everytime...no mistakes.

My point here is that so many people think that the "sportier in their mind" 2WD is faster or better than clunky, heavy AWD...and they're simply wrong. The same is true of the manual transmission...you can argue all you want about it, but in my "opinion" the automatic transmission is going to out perform the manual tranny on a regular basis. Granted it might not be as sporty or fun as the automatic, but that's not what I am debating here...just which one will move you quicker and more effectively.

But...I will state again, the "i" is not an inferior automobile to the "xi" just a bit different. I actually don't think the 328 is inferior...it's just different!


Yeah, I have already conceded to you that the "xi" is faster off the line, but as your moving and traction becomes less and less of an issue the extra weight will start to become a factor. I would think the "i" would definitely be quicker (granted slightly, like the xi from a standstill) say 60-120 than the "xi" all other things being equal.

It was not my intention to get into this debate in which, like you have said, has been discussed many times over. It was just the way you posted your original message that made it seem like these 2 cars weren't even in the same class. Maybe you were overcompensating I don't know. Like I said though, both of these cars are great machines with very similar performance numbers which would surely make any race a drivers race.

[MrOffshore]

Yeah, I have already conceded to you that the "xi" is faster off the line, but as your moving and traction becomes less and less of an issue the extra weight will start to become a factor. I would think the "i" would definitely be quicker (granted slightly, like the xi from a standstill) say 60-120 than the "xi" all other things being equal.

It was not my intention to get into this debate in which, like you have said, has been discussed many times over. It was just the way you posted your original message that made it seem like these 2 cars weren't even in the same class. Maybe you were overcompensating I don't know. Like I said though, both of these cars are great machines with very similar performance numbers which would surely make any race a drivers race.

I understand the point your making, but I don't necessarily agree with it, meaning that I don't think that the weight of the 335xi (3825lbs.) and the 335i (3594lbs.) with just a difference of 220lbs. is going to be making any significant issue at higher speeds...it would play a much bigger role in baseline accelleration. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one...respectfully of course.

As for your last statement, I couldn't agree more, they are both absolutely awesome cars and certainly my intent on my first post was not to disparage the 335i in any way.

[Corky71]

I understand the point your making, but I don't necessarily agree with it, meaning that I don't think that the weight of the 335xi (3825lbs.) and the 335i (3594lbs.) with just a difference of 220lbs. is going to be making any significant issue at higher speeds...it would play a much bigger role in baseline accelleration. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one...respectfully of course.

As for your last statement, I couldn't agree more, they are both absolutely awesome cars and certainly my intent on my first post was not to disparage the 335i in any way.

It's all good. In hindsight I probably blew what you were saying out of proportion. As far as the weight thing goes I have definitely noticed a difference even when accelerating at higher speeds when I have a heavy passenger (a friend of mine who was in it is 290 lbs) aboard as opposed to when i'm by myself. It's nothing dramatic obviously but I could really feel it. In fact I remember teasing him about it because he "slowed my car down". :D