BMW 3-Series 2006

blueguydotcom · January 2006

They said if I buy an e90 by Jan 31, they'll take back my e46 330i and absolve me of my remaining lease payments. What the heck?

I'm tempted to order one now but with word of the 335i going into production on 9/06 I'm not going to take the bait. I want a car that's at least as raw as my ZHP and the e90 330i sure isn't.

ivan_99 · January 2006

...but with word of the 335i going into production on 9/06

I have not heard this wordplease elaborate if you have any further info.

blueguydotcom · January 2006

Seen it from a number of sources. So far it's just chatter from Bimmer employees, not confirmed by BMW. I think BMW could drop that bomb in April at the NYIAS. They'll definitely intro the e92 coupe for May introduction. The 335i just might not get an intro at a car show. We'll see...

no_exit · January 2006

At this point anything you hear on this subject is a rumor. BMW has not confirmed or denied the 335.

dl7265 · January 2006

How many months are left on your lease ? on the other hand if you were planning on a ED, you could probably just get a better deal on your own when your ready. So much for HIGH Demand vehicle huh ? eating your lease to get a sale...

DL

blueguydotcom · January 2006

Actually sales of the e90 are well ahead of the E46 for the past few years. Especially the 330i.

3 payment months are left on my lease.

blueguydotcom · January 2006

BMW employees have confirmed it. That's good enough for me. We'll know for certain in the next few months. Considering Everybody else has significantly more power, it'd be wise of BMW to step.

kyfdx · January 2006

The "pull ahead" lease program is only on certain models..

It is mostly a marketing scheme, as it intrigues people, and might cause them to lock in to another BMW, before they get a chance to get out and shop for a different car.. Usually, it costs BMW very little, as the selling dealer is generally required to buy your trade-in at a set value. Something to keep in mind, as it may affect the deal you negotiate on the new car.

Here is a post by Car_man in the BMW Z4: Lease Questions forum.. with information on the models that are included.

regards,
kyfdx
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fordforme · January 2006

At this rate the 3 series may catch up to the 5 series in displacement. I really love the look of the new 3 series. It is really much nicer than what they did to the 5. I may actually add this to my list of cars to test drive. I am in the market but won't be buying until late Spring.

davidd3 · January 2006

Did they give you a sense of the anticipated power #s for the 335, such as hp, 0 to 60, quarter mile, etc.? Are we talking about 300hp and 0 to 60 in about 5 seconds?

Did they say if the 335 will replace the 330, or will there be 325, 330 and 335?

All other things being equal, did they say how much extra you could expect to pay for a 335 as compared to a 330?

Why didn't they just come right out with the 335 at the time they introduced the e90 in the Spring of 2005?

blueguydotcom · January 2006

Current plan, supposedly:

335i/ci = 310-320 hp.
328ci/i = 255 hp using 3.0 liter from 330i.

I'm not sure why they feel the need to go 328i and not 330i? My guess is it's an effort not to hurt the 2006 e90 330i, as the 07s will be "different or new". Dunno,

Most people are expecting a minor bump in price - $300-500.

Perhaps the 335 wasn't ready yet? We'll probably know more after BMW intros the new coupes.

bryncerdd · January 2006

This observation is a bit late, and pertains to earlier questions about mileage between oil changes. Forgive the tardiness.

The chemical composition of synthetic oils differs from traditional petroleum-based products. I am no chemist, but I have been assured repeatedly by those who are appropriately informed that these synthetic oils do not break down from the constant battering (heating, cooling, gasoline dissolution, etc.) they encounter during normal use. Presumably, it is for that reason that longer periods of use, i.e., longer periods betwenn oil changes, do no harm to moving parts. And, another assumption, the oil filter presumably does its job in removing solid contaminents. I still feel better changing oil at intervals of 3K, but synthetic oils are no longer new, and the record suggests the longer oil usage is OK. In addition to that, BMW probably feels it necessary to meet the competition in providing longer service intervals.

Bryncerdd

shipo · January 2006

There are many factors that allow BMW to extend the OCIs of their engines, not just the improvement of the oils (which is not insignificant). Chief among them are the incredibly efficient engines that they are building (as compared with just a few years ago) and the cleaner burning gasolines that we are now feeding our cars with. The fact is that the fewer the combustion byproducts the engine makes, the cleaner the oil will stay and the longer it will last before it starts to break down.

Then there is the filter issue that you spoke of. When I get my first BMW with the recommended 15K OCI, the filter it came with turned out to be not quite capable of dealing with the full 15K duration. Not surprisingly, BMW redesigned the filter element so that it would easily last the full duration and then some.

Funny thing about oil filters (and other filters in general), the newer they are the worse they are at filtering (until they clog). As they age and gradually clog, their ability to filter the oil improves all of the way up to the point where the bypass starts to open. My understanding from the BMW Technician that told me about the upgraded filter (back in early 2000) is that this new filter was easily capable of going 20K miles in the early E46 engines, engines which are far less efficient (ie. dirtier) than the ones currently coming out of the factory.

Hmmm, let's see, the filter that was good for 20K miles in my old 328i, and is still being used in the newer mills that are far cleaner, could it be that 25K or even 30K miles for an OCI is just around the corner.

Regarding BMW feeling "it necessary to meet the comptition"... IIRC, only Porsche beat BMW to the extended oil change, forcing most if not all of BMWs true competition to play catch-up.

Best Regards,
Shipo

corvette · January 2006

If memory serves, there was a study done on BITOG that suggested that, at least in the application tested (an Escort?), the filter clogged and opened the bypass within a few thousand miles, but it was still safe to do extended drains. In the same study, an engine was run with an empty oil filter (the filtering material was removed) for several thousand miles, and the oil analysis from that sample was still acceptable. Pretty impressive!

dl7265 · January 2006

From the Oil analysis reports Ive seen from Blackstone industries there has been no issue of "breakdown" but a few more particles of aluminum and magnesium ( new engine components) than they would prefer , and the first change (break in ) they said that the year change should be fine.

Now I ordered the kit (free) but have not done the analysis ($20) Why ? well Ive added a quart. yes you mark as such on the report, but I still wonder how this could skew the report. If I give in i'll provide the results.

DL

rbkfour · January 2006

That bump in price of $300 to $500 sounds unlikely. It's rumored to be a twin-turbo putting out 330 hp, you can't buy that kind of extra powere for so little money...

http://autoblog.com/2006/01/12/twin-turbo-bmw-335i-in-the-works/

blueguydotcom · January 2006

Latest word is no turbo

The 3.5 is more likely as BMW's worried about reliability issues with the turbos in the US (supposedly). As they did a pretty lousy job with the e46's 3.0, I'm not sure they can get much worse. Shrug.

Regardless, they're not gonna touch the price much. They've gotta fight Lexus's IS350, MB c350 and Infiniti's upcoming g35/37. We'll see...

oriente · January 2006

East coast is New Jersey........I would guess it will take about 4 weeks after built.

corvette · January 2006

I take back what I've said about the countdown on the service interval computer. After I got to nearly 10,200 miles, the countdown for the spark plugs finally changed from 100,000 to 90,000. Strange, since the other service counters seem to count down in 1,000 mile increments.

stan_330i · January 2006

I have a 2006 330i with the sports package and a manual transmission. I'm thinking of getting a car for my wife, also with manual transmission. She finds a friend's 2005 5 Series with sports package easier to shift smoothly than my 330i. I'm wondering what the differences are between a sport and non-sport version of the 330i as they might affect the shifting. I thought I'd read somewhere that the throw of the shifter is shorter. A friend suggests that the clutch travel (and hence the rate of clutch engagement and disengagment) is greater for the 5 Series than the 3 Series with sports package. Would the throw and clutch travel differ on a 330i without the sports package? What other things might affect the ability to shift smoothly and how do they differ on the sport and non-sport versions of the 330i? Any help would be appreciated. My dealer doesn't have a 330i non-sport manual transmission to drive.

corvette · January 2006

The sport package would make no difference in shifting. The clutch and shifter are the same. Both the 3-series and 5-series have a Clutch Delay Valve that some people find bothersome--it can be removed. Is it possible that your friend's 5-series has had the CDV removed?

The E46 3-series clutch had a "dead spot," even with the clutch pedal an inch or two off the floor, the clutch was completely disengaged. The new E90 3-series does not seem to have this characteristic. I don't know how either of these compare to the newest 5-series (the E60).

stan_330i · January 2006

Thanks, Corvette. I don't think he had the CDV removed. He would have mentioned that.

bdr127 · January 2006

East coast is New Jersey........I would guess it will take about 4 weeks after built.

Charleston, SC for dealers in the southeast and some central US...

lehrer1 · January 2006

Hi everybody,
does anybody know what is CDV and what it is for?
Please, look at #5601 by corvette.

corvette · January 2006

As I stated, CDV is a Clutch Delay Valve. To elaborate further, the valve prevents the clutch from being released too quickly. This reduces wear on the clutch if the driver has revved up the engine to a high RPM before releasing the clutch. Reports indicate that this may be at the expense of increasing wear on the clutch during normal driving. Also, many people who are used to driving a conventional manual transmission (without a CDV) find that the CDV's presence makes it more difficult to shift smoothly.

lehrer1 · January 2006

Thank you, corvette.
I think the clutch pedal travel is too long on 325i. It took a while to get used to it. The engine is very good but it comes to life starting with 2000 RPM. It is good that the red line is very high. So fun driving starts with 2000 RPM.
The shift travel is a little too long.
325 takes curves marvelously. In a whole it it a great machine!

lehrer1 · January 2006

Thank you, corvette

toons · January 2006

Well, I took my car in for the update. They told me that I have to leave the car for a day, because it will take 6-8 hrs. I decided to reschedule.

I actually need some one to explain about E90? What does it mean, because they said because it's E90, it'll take longer to reprogram it.

Oh Well!

davidd3 · January 2006

"I actually need some one to explain about E90? What does it mean, because they said because it's E90, it'll take longer to reprogram it."

E90 means the newest generation of the 3-Series sedan that was introduced last Spring. BMW people, especially technicians, often refer to the car in this way. As of now, I believe that E90 consists of the following 2006 models: 325i, 325xi, 330i and 330xi.

alibajalajaula · January 2006

Excellent post. I watched the end and could only share the same thougths a s you, people like that shouldn't trash a E90 that way. The only good if any can be had of this, in a way, was that no one got hurt... and for once it was nice to see the cops couldn't catch the bimmer..

dl7265 · January 2006

"for once it was nice to see the cops couldn't catch the bimmer"

Thats a real responsible statement ...

DL

ivan_99 · January 2006

I thought it was just light heartedhence the smiley.

Dont let em take ya alive boys!!

heejoman · January 2006

Never owned a BMW.
Friend has the 2005 325. Deep discount last April.

Test drove the 2006 BMW 325. Wow, it is fun to drive. I felt like I was playing a car racing video game. The tires felt like they were part of the road. I do like the I-drive. From the driver's view, it feels roomier than the 2005. Very nice car.

No spare tire concerns me. Even that Houston police chase run on flat thingy isn't comforting.

However, once you get to back seat, the legroom in particular was too tight for me. (Got in-laws bumming rides from us all the time)

I then test drove the 525. Plenty of room. Feels even more luxurious. Not as tight handling (perhaps the size). 215 hp was plenty in my opinion. I can't imagine the 545 or 550.

Bottom line? 325 is a beautiful car.

I went home empty handed though. I wish I could get the 5 series for the price of the 3 series.
If I live in a trailer home and eat just hamburgers and hot dogs everyday . . or betted big $$ on North Dakota State last Saturday . . .:P

cdnpinhead · January 2006

Thanks for the report.

I've never driven a BMW before, let alone owned one, but have the 325 at the top of my list of potential next cars: RWD, manual transmission, excellent handling, straight six (loved my 240Z) & decent fuel mileage.

Oh, and they offer a real color (as opposed to three silvers, black, two grays & four gold variants, which seems to be all that everyone else offers) -- Electric Red.

dl7265 · January 2006

OR you could do ED and get a 5er for about the price of a 330i.

DL

dfosher · January 2006

When the temperature falls below 20 degrees, my rear window makes a squeaking sound. It goes away once the inside of the car is warmed up. Anyone else notice this problem?

surfdaddy · January 2006

Hi you all,

Does anyone have the BMW service code number for the bluetooth software update? I have a date to bring the car in next Thursday and it would be nice to tell them. When I contact my sales guy he acts like it is a problem with my car only and refuses to acknowledge that it is problem with other 325 owners.

Thanks!

no_exit · January 2006

It is CIP 20

mrdude1 · January 2006

Any news out there on styling changes for the '07 sedans? I note the grill work on the upcoming coupe is different than the '06 sedans. Wonder whether this change will migrate to the sedan.

pearl · January 2006

I doubt that there will be any serious styling changes this quickly; however, one change I truly hope occurs is the addition of a DIPSTICK on the 3L engine. Maybe I am too traditionalist; however, NOT being able to LOOK at my oil bothers me tremendously. Has anyone thought about the possibility of taking your 3 series in for an oil change, they claim they did it, but all you have to go on is a computer readout saying you have a "full oil level". BS. SHOW ME THE OIL! I want to be able to see it and touch it. I wonder how many people will be "taken" for $100 oil changes that never happened and you have no simple way to find out?

shipo · January 2006

The other issue with the dipstick (or lack thereof) is that some of us do our own work. In my case, because I question the quality of the Castrol oil that BMW uses, I'm inclined to do a 7,500 mile change and use Mobil 1 0W-40. The problem here is that I use an oil extractor that sucks the oil up through the dipstick tube. By eliminating the tube, BMW has all but forced me to crawl under the car to pop the plug. Grrrr. :mad:

Best Regards,
Shipo

corvette · January 2006

If you've run the oil 5/10/15,000 miles, I think you can see enough residue under the filler cap to determine whether the oil is fresh or not. Not as precise as looking at a dipstick, as the filler cap may be prone to collecting residue because it's not part of the area where the oil flows.

dl7265 · January 2006

I think it was Roundel that recently had an article regarding the use of a oil extractor. As I recall they recommended against it as the oil that is left behind (sediment) in the bottom is the worst. The recommended getting on your creeper....

Perhaps its a tactic to promote more oil service sell's , but does kind of make sense.

DL

erickpl · January 2006

I have done this on my 325xi both with and without the extractor. After draining with the extractor, I opened the drain hole on the bottom. Nothing came out.

No worries after that. I use Mobil 1 oil and OEM filter from BMW parts.

-Paul

shipo · January 2006

They recommended against the oil extractor??? "Hogwash" I say. The first time I used the oil extractor on my 530i and again on one of our Grand Caravans, I crawled underneath and pulled the plug. Guess what? I got about one drip from each (probably from the drain plug itself). In my experience, the oil extractor not only gets more oil from the bottom of the pan than the drain plug, but it also gets more of the junk that collects down there. And why do I say that? Consider the following:

Prior to using the oil extractor on our oldest car, the 1998 Grand Caravan 3.8, I had used the same old yellow plastic drain pan for 65,000 or so miles worth of oil changes. Each time I drained the oil, I wiped said drain pan clean with a paper shop towel, looking for metal fragments and such, very little was found. The first time I used the extractor, I dumped the contents of the extractor into that same yellow drain pan, and I couldn't believe the HUGE amount of metal filings that showed up. I didn't even need to wipe it out to see them, I simply drained off the old oil and there they were! The second and third time I used the extractor I got lesser and lesser amounts of metal, and now I'm getting about the same amount as I got before the extractor was used (hardly any).

With all of that in mind, I'd be hard pressed to understand how/why simply pulling the drain plug is a superior method of extracting the old oil from an engine.

Best Regards,
Shipo

kyfdx · January 2006

If you extract all of the liquid, but there are solids still in the drain pan, then "pulling the plug" and having no oil drip out doesn't really prove anything.. The solids have no liquid left to use gravity to flush them out..

I'm not saying they are right... just that the "experiment" with the drain plug doesn't mean they are wrong...

regards,
kyfdx

shipo · January 2006

Ahhh, but then there was the 7,500 mile oil change on the new 530i and the 7,500 mile oil change on the new 2003 Grand Caravan that didn't get but a drip and showed very little metal as well. What I was trying to illustrate with the 1998 Grand Caravan was that not only will the extractor get all of the oil, it will also get the other stuff as well. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

blueguydotcom · January 2006

I'm about to order my e90 and much to my chagrin BMW only offers aluminum/titanium trim or some god-awful wood trims. I'm set on gray leather as my e46 has it but my e46 has black cube aluminum trim and a black headliner, thus the car is a nice two-tone.

The e90 appears to have a weird whitish/cream headliner and there's no black trim option.

Do any of you guys know if BMW's individual program will allow someone to order an e90 (european delivery) with a black headliner and black trim (black of any kind as long as it doesn't involve wood)?

corvette · January 2006

You could always compromise and pull the plug (or have someone else do it) every X number of changes. But, Mercedes factory protocol used to involve using an extractor instead of the drain plug. I guess that's changed since some of them also have no dipstick.

My dad had one of the drill-powered extractors that was designed for outboard motors, and it quit working after about 15 oil changes.

shipo · January 2006

"You could always compromise and pull the plug (or have someone else do it) every X number of changes."

I'm not sure that I see any benefit. For my part, I'd be more than happy to pull the plug if I thought it would do any good. That having been said, if I decide to get a new E90, I guess I'll have no choice.

Best Regards,
Shipo

BMW 3-Series 2006

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