[E90Toad]

To start, I have autox'd 3-6 times a year for 4 seasons. First couple years with an E36 325i vert, next couple with an E36 M3/4. All my races have been in the local BMWCCA chapter events. Most of my finnishes have been 1-3rd in class, always running on street rubber. Just a little background so you know where this opinion comes from.

My stock E90 335i gave me my first ever 5th place finnish. The competition ahead of me: 2 heavily modded Cooper S', one really heavily modded E36 328i autox dedicated car and an E46 M3 with upgraded springs and front camber plates. The Mini's and the 328 got me 1.5-2.5 sec and the M3 by .5 on a 70 sec course. The 5-6 I beat were mostly E46 M3's and mostly stock.

Rear grip on the stock Bridgestone RE050 RFT's was actually really good. I was really concerned going in that having no LSD would be my worst problem. That was not the case, even on the tight turn around at the end of the course the wheelspin was minimal. My biggest issue was push, much more than I was use to with either of my E36's and I couldn't get it under control with tire pressure changes. I guess a heavier car IS harder to turn.

I also was having trouble feeling the brakes. It wasn't that the car wasn't stopping, but that it was hard to feel what the brakes were doing. They felt very isolated which made it hard to regulate brake pressure between full on and full off. It may just take getting use to, but I've never felt that before.

I was really happy with the car in the slaloms, very easy to find a rythym. Acceleration was really good except for the first run when I forgot to turn off DTS, oops. At 5200 ft elevation I probably had the advantage over the M3's in my class.

Overall it was really quite capable on the tight circiut. Three out of the four cars ahead were on rubber that is barely street legal and all had mods. I look forward to the day when I can race against a fellow E9x owner to judge my skills vs the cars.

[kevbh]

I bet the elevation did help level the playing field a bit with the normally aspirated M3s. I'm still pretty new to autocrossing, but my experience at the BMWCCA events has been that modified Minis on sticky tires are VERY quick and tough to compete with. However, at my most recent event, it was cold and wet, and I beat most of them. Not sure if I'm getting better, it was the conditions, or a combination. But I'll take it either way!

I'm with you - we need more E90s out there for comparison purposes!

Thanks for posting the write-up.

[S4to335]

I think it pushes pretty bad on the track..and that would also be evident on the autocross course. I have a bit of experience in autocross getting third in CSP in 2000 in the very competitive SF Region (this was in my 2000 Audi S4)...I competed in 16 autocrosses that year.

[Adham]

yeah, the car will push for sure, its a heavy-ass car. that being said, its quite nimble for its weights, especially in stock form (relatively). The E46 was a heavy car too, but not as heavy as the E90. You probably already know this, but if you slightly decrease your speed at turn in and get on the throttle a little more aggressively at or after the apex you may be able to combat the understeer a bit better. just a thought.

[HyperM3]

Ive been out of the auto-x field for a bit but since when is the cooper in the same class as the 335?

[S4to335]

Originally Posted by HyperM3

Ive been out of the auto-x field for a bit but since when is the cooper in the same class as the 335?

At BMW club autocrosses here in the west...they have unlimited classes..where all kinds of cars run together. When I was sportin a modified B5 S4 back in 2000...my friends and I took our four Audis to the BMW autocross and got 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th best times overall for the event. By accident the announcer said into the mic..not knowing it was on.."who invited these audi guys?"

We ran in that class with lots of supercharged M3s and such.

[HyperM3]

Originally Posted by S4to335

We ran in that class with lots of supercharged M3s and such.

Really? That would have been awesome. I actually quit auto-x after I supercharged my M3 because they didnt have a class for me. They put me with the open-wheeled racers. All the thrill was gone when these guys were 3-4 seconds faster than me.

[E90Toad]

Originally Posted by HyperM3

Ive been out of the auto-x field for a bit but since when is the cooper in the same class as the 335?

Our classes are determined by a point system and street vs racing rubber.

Actually, Cooper S' start in CS, my 335i is in BS. The Mini's were modified, therefore they were bumped up in class due to additional points from the mods. I have room in the points to do some minor mods, wheel widths, camber plates, strut braces, etc. without going to AS, but I don't plan on that right now so I'll just have to get used to the beating.

Hopefully I will also get a little better at driving my E90 as well, or a course with a few long straights would be nice.

[bg_27]

did you turn DTC completely off for your runs? meaning you held the button down for 5 secs? Just curious what others are doing

[bmw0perat0r]

This might just be an initial impression...well anyway

I pulled out the 335xi for some testing on country back roads in MD, some of which are quite twisty and well designed and resemble track turns. Went through a set of turns - right then left ....at speeds that felt faster than one should enter them at (40-50mph) - 90 degree right turn with sloping upward about 15-20 degrees with a 15 degree bank (roughly) - the car was very balanced...you can almost feel the car switch power from the rear wheels to the front at first pushing you into the turn then pulling you out. Second turn was left 90 degree with negative bank and sloping down at a shallow angle...again very balanced, no distinguishable understeer and no oversteer. This is with the 225 17's on all corners (factory RFT's), style 159.

Definitly felt different than my e36 m3 did around those turns....push to pull really was interesting...i guess BMW knew what they were doing when they designed the awd - the first i've driven.

I'd like to see how the Xi's do at the track, hopefully someone reading this will take theirs and report back - i'm won't be.

[E90Toad]

2nd autox update.

Same results, beat all the E46 M3's although there was a new guy who narrowed the gap to .5 sec. Getting killed by a couple of 07 Mini's with 30mm wider than stock tires, one with suspension too.

I found that if I run the rears 4-5 lbs higher the car rotates a bit better but looses a bit of rear grip on hard acceleration. It feels better to drive this way imo.

BG 27 - Yes, I run with the system completely off. I forgot once to turn it off and the performance was extreamly limited.

[jkalex05]

My friend was auto crossing in his 335i Steptronic sedan, stock. He said it was running preety cool. He did a couple of normal runs to check out the track and said he did a couple of fast laps when he felt the car starting to lose power. Oil light came on and SES light came on. He went to check his oil and it had lost half its oil. Not to mention the engine was overheating completely.

Im hoping this is just a problem my friends car is having and not all the 335i's.

Right now the most consistent BMW's I see on the autocross are M3's, and the Z4 M.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by jkalex05

My friend was auto crossing in his 335i Steptronic sedan, stock. He said it was running preety cool. He did a couple of normal runs to check out the track and said he did a couple of fast laps when he felt the car starting to lose power. Oil light came on and SES light came on. He went to check his oil and it had lost half its oil. Not to mention the engine was overheating completely.

Im hoping this is just a problem my friends car is having and not all the 335i's.

Right now the most consistent BMW's I see on the autocross are M3's, and the Z4 M.

I'm confused at your description of events.

Your friend did 2 slower ~50 second runs, with a 5+ minute wait in between runs, then did the same with a bit more power, and lost half his oil?

Are you talking about track sessions instead of autocross runs? Track sessions are generally +30 minutes each. If so, there has been quite a few reports of the newer cars getting hot and going into limp mode.. none with loss of oil though that I've ever read about.

If you are talking about autocross, there is no way he would have been able to spray 3 quarts of oil on the course without it being noticed.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

I was really happy with the car in the slaloms, very easy to find a rythym. Acceleration was really good except for the first run when I forgot to turn off DTS, oops.

You said DTS. Do you turn off just DTC or DSC?

[E90Toad]

Originally Posted by ksfrogman

You said DTS. Do you turn off just DTC or DSC?

Whatever the letters, I turn everything off, this I'm sure of.

[ATL_Architect]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

2nd autox update.

I found that if I run the rears 4-5 lbs higher the car rotates a bit better but looses a bit of rear grip on hard acceleration. It feels better to drive this way imo.

What PSI are you running front and rear?

.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

Whatever the letters, I turn everything off, this I'm sure of.

I've always wondered what would be better. Turning off everything is definitely old skool (*respect*). I'm sure I'd at least turn off DTC. I wish that were the default. I'm tired of the electronic choke of the engine when I floor it. For the large sweeping curves, I wonder if keeping DSC on might be better.

[E90Toad]

I have wondered as well but have yet to try it. One of the things I think it would hinder is being able to rotate the car with power. The 335i pushes/understeers quite a bit, taking the ability to power the back end around would not help.

The other thing I found is that it is harder to judge what your doing when a control is taken away from you. For instance, when I forgot to turn the system off, I really had trouble keeping my foot from stomping on the gas when power was taken away, just an instinct. Since control has been taken away electronically from your foot there is no feel for when you get control back either. When you loose traction without the assistance, it's more natural to make smaller adjustments to regain control.

I do know, system full on > system full off, that I know for sure.