[docbeemer]

I recently received the BMW Magazine in the mail (It's been quite a while) and whilst reading it I had some observations. In no particluar order:

- As always and as expected it has a real propaganda, blow my own trumpet kind of feel to it. (as, I suppose, it should be)

- Not enough info on the new M3. If it's so important, then why give it only 1 page and 1 photo?

- Some reasonable tech sections. I have to keep reminding myself that this this is written predominantly for "lay people" who don't really understand (or care about!) how their car works. The adaptive drive bit for example and the high precision injection bits (since we don't have ultralow sulphur petrol in OZ, does that mean our engines are detuned and therefore develop LESS power than advertised on their spec sheets?)

- some really nice pics of the E93

- It was only a small article in the news section but it really bugged me a lot. Can anyone guess? "BMW wins Bathurst". Yeah ok, they won and I'm happy for them but no mention of the type (Except one Subi Rex) and amount of competition (not much really) and, what in my mind amounts to deceptive reporting, they imply that the car was raced as stock except for the tyres: "the standard production twin-turbo coupe" and "the victory was credited not only to its sizzling six-cylinder power plant, but also the coupe's perfect natural balance that minimised component wear". WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! The two things they praise were the two things that were ALTERED but the alterations not mentioned. First, the car had a PROCEDE system installed (There's even a "Vishnu" sticker on the front bumper) to change the engine mapping, AND the car had an LSD installed (something all 335's should have as standard or at the very least as an option) which, we all know, is absolutely essential for any real track work. BMW- Give credit where credit is due and don't fool current or prospective 335 owners into thinking that they own a race car or an M3 proxy because it's just not- and yes I already own one! (rant over)

(Incidentally, there are guys in the US whose rear brakes are wearing down extremely fast- because of the traction control kicking in so often, and thus applying braking to the rear tyres when accelerating, to compensate for the lack of LSD.)

So,

What do you guys think of the BMW Magazine?

[1q2w3e4r]

Load of crap, like pretty much all BMW based magazines. There's so much crap in Performance BMW and the like it's not funny. Any car in it not from Scandinavia or Europe you can pretty much ignore as far as their performance claims or power figures go.

Bit of a shame really, the local markets full of a small number of workshops some of which do really good quality custom fabrication and others that do really shoddy work. Unfortunantly most BMW owners who have things done don't have a point of comparision to compare the quality of work to so think it's the norm.

I think generally most BMW drivers are uninformed when it comes to the performance side of car enthusiasm and as such the magazine is skewed towards that by being full of its own self importance and trumpet blowing as you mention.

[VGR00]

Hey Doc .. totally agree but I surpose that's expected from a magazine produced and supplied free of charge to all current owners. They need to keep reminding you how good they are and what new things are around the corner to keep you interested in the marque for your next car as well. I haven't had time to read it but I had a quick flick and saw that article on the Bathurst win and felt the same way as you did.

Lexus and Porsche have similar magazines and they are no different. I think just enjoy the read for what it is.

[docbeemer]

yeah I do enjoy the read- trumpet blowing and dumbing down and feel good articles. But it's the deceptive stuff I don't like. I put my car on the dyno and it put out 175kW at the wheels- This equated to 214kW at the flywheel so the 11kW difference- is it due to bad fuel, high air intake temps (a common problem for FI engines on dynos), normal variation between engines or is it detuned for our poor quality fuel? Not exactly 225kW though.

btw 1q2w3e4r nothing in this world is free esp when BMW has anything to do with it.

[e93]

Originally Posted by docbeemer

It was only a small article in the news section but it really bugged me a lot. Can anyone guess? "BMW wins Bathurst". Yeah ok, they won and I'm happy for them but no mention of the type (Except one Subi Rex) and amount of competition (not much really) and, what in my mind amounts to deceptive reporting, they imply that the car was raced as stock except for the tyres: "the standard production twin-turbo coupe" and "the victory was credited not only to its sizzling six-cylinder power plant, but also the coupe's perfect natural balance that minimised component wear". WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! The two things they praise were the two things that were ALTERED but the alterations not mentioned. First, the car had a PROCEDE system installed (There's even a "Vishnu" sticker on the front bumper) to change the engine mapping, AND the car had an LSD installed (something all 335's should have as standard or at the very least as an option) which, we all know, is absolutely essential for any real track work. BMW- Give credit where credit is due and don't fool current or prospective 335 owners into thinking that they own a race car or an M3 proxy because it's just not- and yes I already own one! (rant over)

My thoughts exactly. I generally like the magazine - must be because I like pictures of nice watches and such. This article on the Bathurst win however really pissed me off. Its misleading advertising/marketing - whatever!!! :mad:

[LEA69]

Good loo magazine though....

[Chris.G]

I was searching for the new M3 info but found ONE PAGE ONLY! The rest didn't interest me, its always the same "trumpet blowing" in each magazine we receive. I also received the BENZ magazine the other day and i must say that the new C-class article was amazing but this is off-topic sorry. I tend to like the Benz Mags more, although they are also "trumpet blowing" but at least the articles they have are more down to earth review wise of their cars.

[1q2w3e4r]

Originally Posted by docbeemer

btw 1q2w3e4r nothing in this world is free esp when BMW has anything to do with it.

Hehe I know, I could have bought a new BMW with what I've spent modifying them over the years.

Its a shame there really isn't much good content anywhere for BMW's, Porsche has some cracking magazines and great informative sites. BMW's sorely lacking in this department.

[docbeemer]

Originally Posted by LEA69

Good loo magazine though....

some might say pity it doesn't make better loo paper.

[JamieA]

I think it is a series of really lovely photos interrupted unceremoniously by the utter crap and wankings of marketing people who don't really love cars