not sure if you guys were aware of this, but the N55 and N20 do not use piezoelectric injectors. They use solenoid injectors like most other GDI engines, which should be easier/cheaper to replace.

2/3/2012 9:47:24 PM

Quote :

"Got quoted $675 for a front brake job at Leith including rotors and pads. Can't I just throw a set of pads on there and save the rotor exchange for when it's actually needed? The dealer acts like the rotors have to be changed every time. Also any recommendations on pads (and rotors for when the time comes)? I'm thinking I need to get on this soon if I want to get out of buying rotors."

Anyone else do a E90/92 brake job without replacing rotors...or is it pretty much required with each pad change?

2/15/2012 10:13:45 PM

I've never owned a BMW so I can't speak from experience. But from what I've heard (on here and elsewhere online) BMW spec's their cars with soft metal rotors that wear out quickly. I.E. you should replace them every time the pads are replaced.

Enjoy your Beamer!

2/16/2012 10:57:06 AM

6 new plugs, took 45 min, she runs like a champ again

2/16/2012 11:41:48 AM

Gonna go take a long hard look at an 08 335i sedan today. Tired of 135i's selling out from under me before I get a chance to go to the dealer.

2/16/2012 12:39:34 PM

135i=ugly, small, WAY cheaper interior down to instrument cluster font, and only 150lb lighter from 335i.

it's totally not worth getting.

2/16/2012 1:19:27 PM

Quote :

"MW spec's their cars with soft metal rotors that wear out quickly. I.E. you should replace them every time the pads are replaced."

Newer Lexus models also have this issue (at least the front rotors). Go aftermarket (ie: EBC) and you'll only have this issue once.

2/16/2012 1:24:30 PM

^^well I suppose it's good that I bought the 335, then, I guess.

2/16/2012 4:28:09 PM

I suppose... I guess ... if you say so...

2/17/2012 12:18:46 AM

Sorry, didn't mean to be passive aggressive. 08, 31k miles, crimson red, black/aluminum interior sedan. Opened the hood and found a nice suprise in the form of an intake. Carfax checked out, and has been dealer serviced, so i pulled the trigger. Pics forthcoming.

2/17/2012 12:32:41 PM

Was it a lot cheaper than the CPOs?

2/17/2012 2:43:24 PM

^I would not consider that a nice surprise. means the previous owner probably ragged the hell out of the car. Any other signs of modification (intercooler piping clamps not OEM, welded exhaust, rats nest in DME box, etc?


[Edited on February 17, 2012 at 2:45 PM. Reason : ]

2/17/2012 2:44:28 PM

It's a Dinan intake, so I really hope someone didnt spend $1000 on an intake to rag out the rest of the car. the rest of the engine bay looked standard to me, I didn't see anything else out of place.

^^ cost me a grand more than you paid for yours.

2/17/2012 3:59:33 PM

pic or ban!

2/17/2012 6:56:57 PM

Tomorrow, after they detail it for me!

2/17/2012 7:45:58 PM

http://cl.ly/2P361I1d0i3A3D2O2s2k

http://cl.ly/2p0y2V280H0c3N453f24

http://cl.ly/3e3s0I19093a3u270I0W

Just some quick pics from my phone. Nice to get it detailed and have it rain the next day.

2/19/2012 4:16:46 PM

currently looking for a 2009/2010 335d

2/19/2012 10:24:41 PM

Quote :

"It's a Dinan intake, so I really hope someone didnt spend $1000 on an intake to rag out the rest of the car. the rest of the engine bay looked standard to me, I didn't see anything else out of place. "

In that case it is a nice surprise (I was thinking DCI), wonder if they had a Dinan flash they left on there as well. Congrats

[Edited on February 20, 2012 at 10:40 AM. Reason : ]

2/20/2012 10:40:20 AM

I've been wondering the same myself.... I have no idea how I'd check, though.

[Edited on February 20, 2012 at 10:42 AM. Reason : I mean aside from plopping it on a dyno and doing the math]

2/20/2012 10:40:56 AM

baller

2/20/2012 10:59:24 AM

^^ after test driving a few i'd think you could notice a difference

2/20/2012 12:32:42 PM

single turbo 335i finally

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=650145

585whp stock block/pistons/rods

2/21/2012 2:41:16 AM

good, it should... what do they do to the injectors?

what turbo are they running, i don't see it listed in either thread. Nevermind... it's a modified PTE 6235 which is a great turbo.

shit 4k for that kit isn't bad if the chassis can hold it. i figured since it was in german land they would put some crazy ass 15k sticker on it (cough HPF pay attention)

How much boost do they run stock ?

and do they run into tranny problems etc at these power levels? i wonder if some dot 10.5 slicks would start breaking shit.



[Edited on February 21, 2012 at 8:10 AM. Reason : .]

2/21/2012 7:50:04 AM

^^ 627whp @ 22.5 psi posted last night. Breaking 700 should be no problem.

2/22/2012 9:52:38 AM

yeah it should be... because that turbo isn't good for 700chp let alone 700whp.

I mean bigger turbo you should be good to go.... but not that one.

2/22/2012 10:16:49 AM

they are tuning with their 'mid-range' turbo at the moment. They have another one that he says will make ~950 crank.

2/22/2012 1:04:03 PM

335i sedan with over 120k on the clock - steer clear? safe to assume if it's made it this far the kinks with the hpfp, injectors, and such are worked out?

2/22/2012 2:23:30 PM

If price is right I'd jump on it. I have 84k now. HPFP at 47k and injectors at 60k, waste gate rattle fixed at 75k. Runs like a champ.

Check that HPFP, injectors have been addressed. Brake squeak is part of life with these cars. Waste gate rattle is annoying, but it doesn't mean turbos are bad. Mine rattled since I bought it until I had CPO finally fix it.

Not sure I'd pay more than $15-16k for it.

2/22/2012 2:36:51 PM

I'm lookin to get this for 14k

2/22/2012 3:13:44 PM

great price. id buy. kids these days ask that price for 20 year old E36 M3s.

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 5:41 PM. Reason : f]

2/22/2012 5:38:26 PM

Gas mileage in my 08 STI really taking a toll on my wallet (I barely hit 20mpg on the highway).

Thinking about a 335d. Do I have any chance of finding a CPO with a Manual for $30k-ish or less?

[Edited on February 26, 2012 at 2:24 AM. Reason : ]

2/26/2012 2:21:10 AM

no, as the 335d wasn't offered with a manual in america

2/26/2012 3:03:53 AM

ah damn, didnt know that. thanks

2/26/2012 3:41:50 AM

What year ? And are you sure it's not your driving or something jacked up with the car? I get 29 in my larger, lower geared, bigger turboed legacy.

I mean I'm cranking 3400rpm@80.

I'd love a 335 tho. Especially if I didnt have to worry about pump and injectors.

2/26/2012 6:35:04 AM

So here's a question...

Where the hell is this electric pump/ fix a flat combo device thing supposed to go in my trunk? I opened compartments and looked at the manual, but nothing seems right. Right now it's just sliding around back there and annoying the piss out of me.

2/26/2012 7:24:16 PM

I keep mine in the little recess where you would usually keep a spare tire in a regular car

2/26/2012 8:03:00 PM

pic? I tried that, and mine does not fit.

2/27/2012 5:31:32 PM

Quote :

"Gas mileage in my 08 STI really taking a toll on my wallet (I barely hit 20mpg on the highway). "

Good god, might as well get a v8 and a real car.

2/27/2012 7:09:34 PM

I'm going to put this in my technical ramblings thread but I thought it appropriate for here since this is directly related to the 3 series.

It looks like the new N20 turbo 4 has a different style high pressure fuel pump than the N55/N54. BMW has two styles of HPFP: the 3-plunger style, used in the N54/N55 6 cylinder engines, and the single plunger style used in the N20 (4 cylinder), N63 (8 cylinder), and N74 (12 cylinder). Here is the N54/N55 style that I covered on an earlier page:



and here is the N63/N74/N20 style:



Both styles are demand-control pumps which is now a standard characteristic. A demand-control pump has a valve controlling how much fuel enters the pump, as opposed to having some kind of pressure relief system after the pump outlet like you would find on early direct injected engines, such as the early VW 1.4 GDI engines. For reference, here is the HPFP of a 3.5 Ford Ecoboost engine:



and here is the early VW type I discussed on an earlier page:



Note that this is a radial pump design (camshaft lies in the middle) with no demand control valve.

3/1/2012 10:58:30 PM

Glad I found this thread.

I'm going to tomorrow to trade in my 2006 Subaru STi with 93,500 miles on it. It's got a great service history but the rims have been curbed, it's got an aftermarket intake and exhaust (came on when I bought the car, no OEM parts) and it has some minor scratches in the paint.

They're giving me $16,200 for it. Is that fair? Carmax said $13,000. Had an offer on craigslist for $15,000.

Buying an immaculate (not a scratch inside or out) grey 335i coupe with the red leather interior. It's a manual, and has 48k miles. They recently "knocked it down" from 28k to 25k. They said an old lady traded it in but that's probably bull shit. I went down last night and haggled for an hour with two salesmen and they wouldn't come down at all on the price. I started at 22 and got them to around 23 but their manager wouldn't approve it, so I walked. I came back in to get their card and I saw the manager and asked if he'd take 23. He very angrily said that he was "stuck on 25". I drove back to Raleigh pretty pissed off because they had said that they would negotiate on the price before I left. The salesman called me back today and I haggled with him over the phone and got it to $23,800 out the door, with the $16,200 guaranteed for my car.

Is this a good deal?

3/2/2012 3:43:25 PM

^ what year is the BMW? What packages are installed in the car?

3/2/2012 4:03:26 PM

2007. I think it has premium. I'm not sure how to tell if it has the sports package. I didn't see a button that said sports near the radio area though but I could be wrong.

3/2/2012 4:04:32 PM

Quote :

"got it to $23,800 out the door, with the $16,200 guaranteed for my car. Is this a good deal?"

Doesn't sound like a bad deal. I got my 07 with 14k less miles for 24,700 + tax and doc fee, but that came with a CPO warranty which is worth ~$3k I'd think. Do you like the red leather or are you settling? Also what do you like and dislike most about the car?

How long has your STI been posted on CL? Did you try Autotrader? That's where I sold my GTI, which is similar to STI in that people seek them out from out of town, which CL doesn't help with. It took me a couple months but I sold my GTI for what I think was top dollar using Autotrader.

If you need help figuring out which packages the car has send me a PM with a link to the car and I'll tell you everything I can - you can believe i won't buy it from under ya, already got one . Don't buy this thing until you figure out the packages...for example you don't want one without the sports but I can't imagine there are many coupes without it.

I'd look through the paperwork in the glove box and see if you can find the "old lady's" name so you can confirm their story.

I'd also pay BMW $100 to do a pre-purchase inspection.

Whats the maintenance record on it? Some of that will be on the Carfax, and you can have a local BMW dealer pull the records, which I would strongly recommend

If you don't get this one I'd recommend trying to find one that has a CPO warranty. I hear these things are expensive to fix

[Edited on March 2, 2012 at 5:43 PM. Reason : how to tell sports package - http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485339

3/2/2012 5:21:14 PM

^^it's an ok deal. FWIW, i paid $22,500 in January 2011...more than a year ago...

'07 CPO, ZPP, ZCP, ZSP, rear sunshade (no navi though), E92 335, 60k miles.

3/2/2012 5:45:11 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/2820168059.html

That one has 11k more miles, but has a warranty that's probably similar to a CPO seeing as how it was purchased from a BMW dealer. Also listed at 22.9k and you can talk down from there...

[Edited on March 2, 2012 at 5:57 PM. Reason : ]

3/2/2012 5:56:20 PM

ok from reading that I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any of those features but I've emailed to find out. Also still waiting on the Carfax.

The price seems pretty good on the trade to me. I had it on craigslist for a while til the ad expired at like 18,500 just to see if I'd get any bites. only got stupid trade offers. I put it back on there at 16,999 yesterday and got an offer for $15,000 I haven't replied to.

I'd prefer the car with everything on it, but this car really does seem to be in incredible condition and I love the color combination. in pictures the read looks gaudy but when you see it in person it's actually very well done. this car really doesn't have a scratch on the whole thing. I mean I've never seen a 5 year old car look this good. The dealer doesn't have pics of it online yet but it's from a reputable dealer, although non-bmw.

I guess I feel like waiting two months or whatever to try to get more on auto trader - which has the value maybe 2,000 more in excellent condition, which this is not honestly in, may depreciate the car more than selling it now and I've had trouble finding coupes that have a MT, under 60k miles, and come from a certified dealership and not Joe's Backyard Bimmers have been hard to come by.

3/2/2012 5:59:03 PM

Quote :

"til the ad expired at like 18,500 just to see if I'd get any bite"

Expired? You can "renew" it every 3 days to bump it back to the top. I usually start higher and progressively lower the price every couple weeks. But I would seriously have it on Autotrader too...

Quote :

"I've had trouble finding coupes that have a MT, under 60k miles, and come from a certified dealership and not Joe's Backyard Bimmers have been hard to come by."

It doesn't have to come from a dealer...it can come from anywhere as long as it's been through he CPO process at some point. The warranty comes with the car.

I started off like you being stuck on coupes, but I expanded my search to sedans and am happy I did as I got a great deal on a nearly fully loaded CPO car in great shape.

Quote :

"The price seems pretty good on the trade to me."

The price on the trade might be good, bit don't let that motivate your decision too much. It should be about the car you're buying...and if it doesn't have the sports package (which i doubt it doesn't) I wouldn't get it.

Quote :

"may depreciate the car more than selling it now"

It's not going to depreciate it *that* much. I had my car listed for 17.5k. For the first 1.5 months, all I got via CL was the weekly lowball offer for $15k, and only 1 tire kicker over the entire time. After two months I ended up selling for $17k to an out of town buyer through Autotrader. All that to say you have to find the right buyer for your car and you'll get the best price.

3/2/2012 6:12:51 PM

Haha, whats with all the STI owners trading up to BMW's. I'm looking at this guy over at performance:

http://performance-bmw.ebizautos.com/plugin-detail.aspx?iid=8220062&src=ebizemail

i didn't look up the wholesale cost, but figured wholesale + CPO reconditioning should be closer to $26k. any idea what i should expect before going into negotiating?

Also, any of you guys look into putting in a Dinan LSD? Does it void the warranty?

[Edited on March 3, 2012 at 12:46 AM. Reason : ]

3/3/2012 12:30:01 AM

so what are you guys getting mpg-wise in your 335i's if driven somewhat conservatively?

3/3/2012 12:41:10 AM

i get 24 with fbo's and cobb tune

3/3/2012 2:26:36 AM