[R4R]

i had an oppertunity to put my 335D through its paces over the weekend with a group of mates in the Derbyshire dales.

one of my other cars is a 2004 Z4 3.0 and i have to say that its no slouch! i am more that happy with the way it goes and handles very well.

all the other cars on the run (some 20 cars in 3 wings) were Z4's Z4M's///, Z3's and Z3M's///.

i would have normally taken the Z4, but i wanted to see how the 335DM sport coupe would cope with the sound thrashing!

just about 2 weeks ago i did have to replace the rear tyres as they were at 2.0mm and i wanted to get on to some different rubber. with the Z4 i am a Michelin PS2 evagelist (i can't be convinced that there is a better tyre on the market). i HAD to ditch the run flat tyres as the car was hideous to drive fast on poor roads!

i took this oppertunity to fit a pair of Michelin PS2 ZP (run flat tyre). at the moment the jury is out until i get the fronts changed. but it didn't help that the tyre fitter left then 13psi short of air. i drove to the dales with the under inflated tyres and the handling was most dubious to say the least. the lack of pressure was resolved before the saturday morning run and it did make a great deal of difference!!!.

overall the 335D was G R E A T !

its main assets being its acceleration and its breaking capacity. when on bak roads using the gearbox to always keep the engine on the boil was so so easy. infact far to easy to get ones self in goal!

on the open road it was quite fantastic. the old addage of "mirror, signal manoeuvre" is replaced by "look, squeeze, yeeha"

the only thing that dissapoints me about this fabulous car is the suspension when pushed hard. i suppose i'm asking too much of a normal road car, but even with M/// suspension it fails to cope with rebound or compression well enough.

i know i am comparing against my Z4 and that is a difficult comparison, but better springs and dampers would make the 335d a monster of a car, but not in just acceleration, but better cornering and road holding.

don't get me wrong amd think bad of me, but this IS the best car i have owned and driven bar none. flat out across country the Z4 is better point to point overall, but the lack of some 300 kg and no roof do lots to allow it to handle that much better.

best thing about the weekend was that i let about 5 different couples drive the car so that they could expirence just what time machine the 335d really was. nobody made any negative comments, just full of praise for what is a trully fantastic real world barn-storming automobile.

oh and the M/// cars had the fright of their lives. under full acceleration they just had the edge for the first 2 hundred yards where i would drop away by about 20 -30 yards, then the gap would just close and close untill we were not gapping each other and we would just run out of availabel road to keep up the pace!

Dario

[- Paul -]

Where's Carlos when you need him? It is a great car.

[330cdsport]

Good write-up there Dario. Sounds like a great day.

Is you 335d re-mapped?

The handling is supposed to be a lot better with non-RFT tyres too and is less skittish around corners.

[booforty]

Great write-up, Carlos will be your new best friend

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by 1stnewcar

Where's Carlos when you need him? It is a great car.

Yeah, where is the boy? Did he get run over by a train while sweeping leaves?

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by booforty

Great write-up, Carlos will be your new best friend

Me and Dario are already bestest buds lol aint we Dario...


I went out in his AWESOME Radical a few months back.

Dario great write up. You sound just like me with all this praise for the 335d. It is a truly remarkable car.

You really should get her mapped then pull past the Z4 M's lol.

I know your worried about limp home but Mine didnt go into limp once on track.


Carlos

[Porscha!]

How on earth did I miss seeing this convoy through the Derbyshire Dales?? Which is my very own playground!

Sounds like you had much fun Also some of the best roads in the country to stretch the cars legs, whether it be 3.0 litres of twin turbo diesel power, a small lightweight sports car or an outrageously loud supercar, Derbyshire is the only place to be!

Must say I was VERY VERY surprised by the 335d ......... as much by the stopping power as the going power, was very fast for a diesel