[sharaleo]

Why did nobody tell me these cars were so good?



Acquired a 2011 E90 LCI 330D about five months ago. Bone stock, 110k, excellent condition. No M options, but it's the Exclusive trim, paddle shift, full leather, comfort access, etc.

My VE Calais was just getting a little long in the tooth at 170k on the clock. That beast was 400rwhp, cammed, tuned and sounded amazing when on throttle. Loved the sound and it was a really great car - drove nicely, went hard, put power down well (despite open diff), well equipped being a Calais, etc, but it was thirsty, averaging nearly 20l/100km on mostly city driving.

Running cost was not the major concern, since I don't do that many kilometers, but I had kinda decided I wanted to find a nice performing diesel. The other family car is a 2.2 diesel Kia Sorento and I love how effortlessly that car drives generally.

I narrowed down to a 330D reasonably quickly and tested the local market. There were only a few, but this one popped up for a steal. 40k less on the clock than any of the others, much better condition than the other one I viewed (E92) and maybe $5k less than what I reckon the going market rate should have been. Too good to be true?

After inpection, only real concern was a CEL, primary codes of concern - EGR and Glow Plug. I was going to tune it anyway, so EGR was no concern and the GP code is a faulty module, a common enough issue and low cost fix.

I picked it up and it was in for a service at a local BMW specialist for a service, transmission flush, a few window seal replacements and a few other minor repairs.

Since then it has been stage one remapped (EGR deleted in code, no DPF removal) and XHP flashed, Burger Motorsports pedal tuner, with several cosmetic changes - 20mm wheel spacers, black vinyl wrapped the chrome window trim, mildly tinted head and tail lights, blacked grille, etc. Not a huge fan of the Style 286 wheels, so I have a set of Z4 Style 202's in for a refurb at the moment - they should actually play nicer with the 20mm spacers anyway.

Water/meth injection will added in the coming weeks after waiting ages for a Snow Performance boot tank kit to arrive.

Pretty damn happy with the car to date. No major issues uncovered, other than not having gotten around to replacing the glow plug module yet.

It drives beautifully - much more planted and connected to the road than the Calais, not surprisingly. Feels much nimbler, more akin to driving my turbo'd NB MX5 SP, which I had prior to the Calais.

And it goes. Like, hard. And you barely even know it's a diesel, certainly does not sound or rev anything like my Kia. Superb engine. In practice, on the street, I think it's quicker than my Calais. At the moment, pre-water/meth, on paper it's not as quick. Calais would do dead on 5s 0-100 and maybe just on or over 13s 1/4 mile. The 330D I think is at around 5.5s 0-100. But outside of a flat out drag, I don't think my Calais would hold onto the 330D. The BMW has a much, much better transmission - even without the XHP flash - it easier to be in the right gear, changes faster and the torque is more readily available. The Calais, even having only a mild cam, really wanted to rev a bit a to get going. The 330D doesn't care. Sure, a little turbo lag, but the torque just comes on strong from 1200 RPM. And if you get to a corner, well, the Calais was heavier and a lot softer.

Really, I could not be happier and as a first time BMW owner, I am super impressed at what a superb package this thing is.

Oh, and doesn't matter how I drive it - I am getting 7.5-8.5l/100km. 600km to a tank, vs the Calais 275km!

[Ken Oath]

Originally Posted by sharaleo

Why did nobody tell me these cars were so good?

Because it's a secret - sshhh!

Obviously your lead foot is a hindrance to fuel economy. Around town should be low 6's and 900km plus range, better on highway.

[ADEe92]

Welcome!

Yes - I'm with Ken, gotta keep the myths alive so used values drop like stones so we can pick them up cheap when they're just off lease

Good to hear you're enjoying the 330d. The BMW diesels are surprising for their fuel economy after driving a big engined petrol for a long time. I average around 1000km per tank from my 320d with mostly urban driving.

[shannon1]

Welcome to the club mate. Yeah the 330D is awesome beast. I wanted to get a diesel but couldn't find one local for a decent price. Here on the East coast everyone has gone crazy with their prices just cause its a diesel. Glad to hear you're loving the car, the handling, feel and responsiveness of BMW's is the main reason enthusiasts love BMW's.

[StiffUpperLens]

Old thread but I'd have said exactly the same thing about my 330D - its a weapon. The performance v fuel economy makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong - I'm a leadfoot, but I get 900kms to a tank. Pity about diesel prices though.

Your range seems low, did you manage to sort that at all?

Did you end up doing any of those mods?

[Socket]

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