[nbgambler]

Hi all,

I am more a reader than a poster on this community, but wanted to give back a little, if my experiences are of any value. Before I start though, some caveats.

My 2008 E9X ///M3 (may she live on forever) is the greatest car I have ever driven or owned. I have a run, never drive what you can't afford, it could crush your soul. Anyway, I found and bought her in April 2015 w/ 68k miles, my Silverstone, 6MT, loaded 4 door unicorn finally popped on Autotrader for under $30k. It was good Friday and I was off work, sipping coffee and dreaming of summer. 30 minutes later I had pants on, had confirmed the trade in with my wife (2011 Audi A6 w/ APR Stage 1 - nice car, if I was 100lbs heavier and didn't like corners all that much), called the dealer, and was on my way to Okemos. Giddy during the test drive, I'm sure the sales guy know I was hooked. Later that day I drove home in my new ride, loving every minute of it.

A month or so after that I bought 220Ms, new tires/TPMS, the car came with 219s, powder coated nicely, with winter tires.

Then the reality of a daily drive M3 on 19s in Michigan set in. My then pregnant wife couldn't get in easily, although that might not have been entirely the ///Ms fault, and she hated the razors edge that this car was - and what we enthusiasts love about it. That and winter was coming!

Flash forward to an easy Michigan winter, the car performed admirably. Winter 255's in the rear, 235s front, it was better in the snow than many a FWD drive with crappy all seasons that I have owned, but the roads, OH THE ROADS! Even on the higher sidewall 18s, suspension on the softest setting it was pretty teeth jarring. Had to warm up the system to avoid the weird surging on a cold ///M, and FE dropped even lower. I know, I can hear you all screaming 'You don't buy an M3 for fuel economy!!! Idiot!" but I always track numbers, and filling up 2 times a week was getting a little old.

So then it was April again, and I had now an not pregnant wife, but a cute as a button little girl, who liked a smooth ride in mommy's Grand Cherokee, not so much in the ///M. Compound that with the scary looming repair bills...

Clutch + Flywheel, $2500
7 Spark Plugs and Coils $1000 *One failed already, which I was able to quickly diagnose and replace
Oil Changes $150
Tires! $infinity

So my search continued again. AWD or RWD? 6MT being a must, as was a 4door, I had a pretty limited selection. Audi S4? Chevy SS? No and No. Cheap winter beater and a 996.2? Too many people would give me a hard time, plus 2 old cars is a bit scary. So just like I started with, a 335i M-Sport, 6MT was my only real choice, xdrive or otherwise. 10 minutes and a AT/Cars.com search later, my local Audi dealer had a Black, E90 2010 335iX 6MT with only 48k miles. Over there at lunch, a little negotiating, and I got it for 20k, they took my love/time bomb on an M3 (coming up on 85k miles), and I had an all new ride.

So what is different? Well, stock xdrive suspension, even MSport is pretty high and soft. Corners OK, but I can see about a 10mph difference on sweepers (i.e. freeway entrance and exits). But the ride is wonderful! It is the Luxury to the ///Ms sport. You want a track car, get the ///M, but for a daily, the 335 is pretty fantastic. Exhaust note - not bad, inline 6 with a few snails to quiet it up vs NA 4l v8? No comparison. I'd be happy to replace Barry White with the E9X M3 exhaust not in the bedroom if the wife would allow it. People say 'Intoxicating', but they don't even know what that means until you've heard this (or presumably Flat V8s ala Ferrari and now Ford).

But where is the pep? Of course it is slower, I knew that. But with the extra weight and getting used to the turbo response and HP/TQ curve it took some getting used to. But who has time for that? So 1 week later I was at Erhard BMW getting my Dinan Stage 2 flash. They had some hiccups with the Dinan connection, but 3 hours later, and a very cheap $1000 shorter I had my car back. How was it you may ask?



The N54 was already plenty torquey, but lacked a throw you back in your seat a bit, or the eternal pull that is the S65. Dinan stage 2 was a game changer. All the Torque! Plenty of HP. It did loose the near v8 linearity of the original tune, but you can still drive it cool as a cucumber, or hit the GO pedal and fly away. I'm not a 0-60 guy, although I like the metric in the car mags, but its faster - possibly even with the M3. 20-80 on a freeway entrance ramp (I brake down to that, really its 45 or 50 - 80) is pretty similar to the ///M. 40mph up to go to jail speeds have plenty of pickup in 6th. Hit 3rd at 70 and make cars go bye bye. Not quite like the M3 there, that's a clear win for sports car. But its nice! I imagine minus 200 lbs, a RWD 335 would feel even closer.

But what now? I bought an AFE Elite intake from an excellent forum member (Agent11br), along with some Matt Schnell scoops (install this weekend I hope!) Unlike many, I don't hate on the rake of the xdrive. Could it turn sharper, ride firmer, get closer to that razors edge? Sure, and not even too expensive to do. Who knows, maybe I will? But not for now. Maybe a DP? Do I even need more power? Did I really just say that? Let me check my temperature. I know my pulse is going quick because I just thought about 2 of the greatest cars I have owned!

:tldr
M3 fast, 335 not as fast... Maybe
M3 Track machine, sadly me not track guy
335iX with tune de jour is sweet, especially gently used for pennies on the $$
I really miss RWD, maybe I can sway bar/strut tower only?
Car payment when down almost $200 a month, that's a lot of diapers!
I wrote ///M a lot.
Can I still use my ///M coffee mug in a MSport?

Thanks for reading, and yay e90post!
Jeff

[sirdaft1]

Appreciate the write-up, how does the wife and baby like riding in the 335? My little guy loves riding in the 335, and he gets a smile when I do a nice spirited acceleration onto the highway

And I'm sure you'll hear it from others as well, so I'll be the first to say it... "what were you thinking getting a 335 because it was more reliable than an M3?!?". What you may not have included in the budget equation was the amount you will be spending on modifications for the 335. I can attest, once the mod bug bites, she bites hard with these N54's

[335xs2dinan]

Upgrade the suspension and you ll be all set. Coilovers wont work with a baby, or at least didnt for me, but Dinan springs/Koni yellows and sway bars give a big upgrade in performance and comfort.

[DailyN54]

Great write up. I have 2 e92s. Wife loved my 335xi and made me buy her a e92 335i. I also have a 911 turbo. A year later we had a baby. We have been struggling with two door cars but the baby is comfortable. I wish I would have bought a 4 door. I have driven the e92 M3 and loved it. However, there is just something about a twin turbo 335xi with kw3, UUC sways, full bolt on, tuned to 18psi on e30 blend that just makes me grin ear to ear when driving to work. Both cars are great. Welcome back lol.

[nbgambler]

Originally Posted by 335xs2dinan

Upgrade the suspension and you ll be all set. Coilovers wont work with a baby, or at least didnt for me, but Dinan springs/Koni yellows and sway bars give a big upgrade in performance and comfort.

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, another month in and I am really missing the handling, but man is that I6 smooth as butter! I really just want to get to a step softer than the M3 comfort setting, not 5 steps (making up a number) Which sways do you use/recommend? I know you can get a Dinan rear sway, but they don't offer a front Sway upgrade on the Xi...

Thanks!

[nbgambler]

Originally Posted by DailyN54

Great write up. I have 2 e92s. Wife loved my 335xi and made me buy her a e92 335i. I also have a 911 turbo. A year later we had a baby. We have been struggling with two door cars but the baby is comfortable. I wish I would have bought a 4 door. I have driven the e92 M3 and loved it. However, there is just something about a twin turbo 335xi with kw3, UUC sways, full bolt on, tuned to 18psi on e30 blend that just makes me grin ear to ear when driving to work. Both cars are great. Welcome back lol.

Tunes sure get you close to M3 power and speed, unless you are on a fast track (presumably... I'm basically just a commuter wanting to drive a rocket ship), but I miss that exhaust! Hows the 911? My plan is to get a 996.2 vert for the three of us to cruise on the weekends in the summer in the coming years, althogh I don't think her college fund wants me to get a turbo!

[335xs2dinan]

Originally Posted by nbgambler

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, another month in and I am really missing the handling, but man is that I6 smooth as butter! I really just want to get to a step softer than the M3 comfort setting, not 5 steps (making up a number) Which sways do you use/recommend? I know you can get a Dinan rear sway, but they don't offer a front Sway upgrade on the Xi...

Thanks!

I got the UUC front and rear for the xi, AFAIK they are the only option for the front although on the rear you have other options - dinan, m3, maybe others I'm not sure.

[Agent11br]

Love the write up, nice snag! Appreciate the kind words... hoping you are enjoying the new parts