[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Pull the wheels out 15MM or so... Stance. I just think it looks great on a wagon.

Gotcha... Thats what I figured... I need to replace my style 156 16" RFT so I have been looking at fitment options. Kinda thinking about going 17x9 et30 all around with a wide 40 or 45 series tire for a beefy look. But I would also like to reduce weight so I have lots of research to do.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by tlow98

$20k + BAT fees (10%?) + suspension + wheels/tires + front seats = 25k lololol IF you did it all yourself.

We have an e90 sedan in the family and the difference in handling is larger than I thought it would be. Granted the Sedan has slightly less miles and is x-drive - it’s a much more fun car to drive. Feels stiffer and more buttoned down in all situatuons. It also seems quieter, but that could be my imagination. Also, the rear hatch is incredibly heavy and is as far back as possible. I like how solid it is, but it comes with a weight penalty.

FWIW, I was kind of disappointed after getting back in the wagon. Enough that I started lookng at sedans to buy. In the end I the struts on my well-used city wagon are just passed due.

Hass has both for a while - I’d be interested if he found the same.

I have an E91 (non-sport), and an E90 330i 6MT sport pkg. When I first bought the E91, it was simply awful (non-sport suspension, 16" runflat 205/55 tires, etc), rolling a lot, sloppy turn-in, my wife hated driving it. It's also the only automatic we have, so we both hate that part of the E91. Anyway, after adding an Eibach front swaybar and an E93 M3 rear sway plus 219M 18" M3 wheels with Michelin PSAS3+ tires, it's acceptable to drive now.

The monster sunroof in the E91 is susceptible to rattling over bumps, and I've attended to some rattles in its mechanism. I'd give anything if these had come without this crazy thing.

Summing up, it's really hard to compare these two cars as the E90 330i has ZSP and 6MT, so the seats and steering wheel feel great, comparatively, the suspension feels a lot better (we've put Bilsteins on it too), and the driving experience of the higher hp and 6MT make the 330i so much more fun to drive.

Speaking of which...just sold the E90 330i this afternoon after a bit over 13 years (we ordered it new to get 6MT, ZSP, comfort access, electric red, etc). The car is in amazing condition, and I tried to let BaT allow me to list it after I had such a successful auction there with my E39 M5, but they wouldn't accept the car.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

Gotcha... Thats what I figured... I need to replace my style 156 16" RFT so I have been looking at fitment options. Kinda thinking about going 17x9 et30 all around with a wide 40 or 45 series tire for a beefy look. But I would also like to reduce weight so I have lots of research to do.

I ran VMR CSL replicas for around 260,000 miles in 18x8.5 (fitted 235/40 x 18 tires). I found the VMR CSL's to be a very tough wheel. They served me well.

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I ran VMR CSL replicas for around 260,000 miles in 18x8.5 (fitted 235/40 x 18 tires). I found the VMR CSL's to be a very tough wheel. They served me well.

I was kinda hoping to run a 17" just because I like the look, but I will check that out.

I want square first and foremost... 17x9 et30 just looks good in my eyes... something along these lines... Yes I know these are R compounds and a set of street tires will look a little different, but you get the idea...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

I was kinda hoping to run a 17" just because I like the look, but I will check that out.

I want square first and foremost... 17x9 et30 just looks good in my eyes... something along these lines... Yes I know these are R compounds and a set of street tires will look a little different, but you get the idea...

That stud conversion is just... hideous

Just sayin'

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

That stud conversion is just... hideous

Just sayin'

Agreed, but the sidewall of those tire is NICE

[Schmitz]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

My E90 has way more rust on it than that E91

Nothing bad. The oil pan is pitted pretty bad and some fasteners. Body is in great shape.

Lol, I'm not saying mine doesn't have rust... Just it's looking pretty good compared to all the pickups I see...

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

I have an E91 (non-sport), and an E90 330i 6MT sport pkg. When I first bought the E91, it was simply awful (non-sport suspension, 16" runflat 205/55 tires, etc), rolling a lot, sloppy turn-in, my wife hated driving it. It's also the only automatic we have, so we both hate that part of the E91. Anyway, after adding an Eibach front swaybar and an E93 M3 rear sway plus 219M 18" M3 wheels with Michelin PSAS3+ tires, it's acceptable to drive now.

The monster sunroof in the E91 is susceptible to rattling over bumps, and I've attended to some rattles in its mechanism. I'd give anything if these had come without this crazy thing.

Summing up, it's really hard to compare these two cars as the E90 330i has ZSP and 6MT, so the seats and steering wheel feel great, comparatively, the suspension feels a lot better (we've put Bilsteins on it too), and the driving experience of the higher hp and 6MT make the 330i so much more fun to drive.

Speaking of which...just sold the E90 330i this afternoon after a bit over 13 years (we ordered it new to get 6MT, ZSP, comfort access, electric red, etc). The car is in amazing condition, and I tried to let BaT allow me to list it after I had such a successful auction there with my E39 M5, but they wouldn't accept the car.

Congrats on the sale!

I think you recently sold your e39 M5, too?

What are you moving on to - any plans?

WRT the wagon non-sport seats - oddly, after only swapping to the sport seats the 'car' feels so much sportier. Hard to explain, but the base seats are bouncy, of course, don't hold you in place at all.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Congrats on the sale!

I think you recently sold your e39 M5, too?

What are you moving on to - any plans?

WRT the wagon non-sport seats - oddly, after only swapping to the sport seats the 'car' feels so much sportier. Hard to explain, but the base seats are bouncy, of course, don't hold you in place at all.

I know, I don't care for these flat base seats at all.

The 330i sale was planned, but my wife didn't want to let it go until she was certain she'd like her new car. We both really love this E90 330i. There's something about the combination of a normally aspirated BMW 6-cylinder engine, manual transmission, sedan --- the E90 330i was the peak of that formula which created the sport sedan for BMW. One of our favorite examples of that formula was an E28 535i 5MT we bought almost new in 1986 which she drove for many years, and a few years later I bought an E32 735i 5MT which was an awesome car at the time too. That M30 was a really advanced engine design when it was created in the late 60's....the N52 was the peak expression of the concept imo.

She's now driving an M2 Competition in its place. She had a few requirements: new, no larger than an E90, 6MT, most possible fun to drive -- so far we're both very happy with the M2C. We were worried about the EPS but BMW has retuned/reworked it on the M2C, and it's actually acceptable now. Decent build up of steering wheel torque with cornering loads, and I took the car to the Michelin skidpad where I evaluated it approaching/at/over the limits, and the feedback through the wheel was again far improved from their earlier attempts at EPS. This thing is smaller than an E46 M3 and with the S55 stuffed in it a wild beast.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

I know, I don't care for these flat base seats at all.

The 330i sale was planned, but my wife didn't want to let it go until she was certain she'd like her new car. We both really love this E90 330i. There's something about the combination of a normally aspirated BMW 6-cylinder engine, manual transmission, sedan --- the E90 330i was the peak of that formula which created the sport sedan for BMW. One of our favorite examples of that formula was an E28 535i 5MT we bought almost new in 1986 which she drove for many years, and a few years later I bought an E32 735i 5MT which was an awesome car at the time too. That M30 was a really advanced engine design when it was created in the late 60's....the N52 was the peak expression of the concept imo.

She's now driving an M2 Competition in its place. She had a few requirements: new, no larger than an E90, 6MT, most possible fun to drive -- so far we're both very happy with the M2C. We were worried about the EPS but BMW has retuned/reworked it on the M2C, and it's actually acceptable now. Decent build up of steering wheel torque with cornering loads, and I took the car to the Michelin skidpad where I evaluated it approaching/at/over the limits, and the feedback through the wheel was again far improved from their earlier attempts at EPS. This thing is smaller than an E46 M3 and with the S55 stuffed in it a wild beast.

Nice post. It must have been hard to give up a '06 330i, I wouldn't have done it personally.

Regarding BMWs EPS. I don't know why BMW just didn't stick with the EPS system they developed for the E85/86 Z4. I honestly didn't know my Z4 Coupe DIDN'T have hydraulic power steering when I bought it used in 2014. After I got it home I went to check the fluids levels and surprisingly didn't find the classic BMW PS reservoir I was expecting to see . I immediately dug into Realoem.com to verify. And found the E85/86 (non-M) powers the steering column with a motor located under the dashboard rather than using an EPS steering rack. This to me makes more sense engineering-wise if steering feedback is a desired goal of the system.

I'm sure it is more expensive to power the steering column than use a variant of the various EPS racks manufactured by ZF, TRW, etc. But it is BMW after all...