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Comments
For me, it came down to those 2 and the 330i. But, like you, I decided I wanted AWD. That made the Infiniti and Volvo much cheaper than the comparable bimmer. Audi wasn't on my list because I don't trust their reliability. Volvo won my personal driving comparisons (even against the 330i), but I wound up buying a G35X purely for practical reasons (cheaper, lower maintenance, better reported reliability, better resale value). I don't regret it one bit.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Great choice!
By the way though, how do you do the changeover yourself do you have a lift? I dont want to have to take it up to the gas station every time i want to take the wheels off and on
I use a Snap-on aluminum jack and stands. I just change one wheel at a time, and it still takes less than an hour. Mark the location of each tire LF, RF, etc., so you can put them on the same corner when you reinstall them. Also, put some anti-seize on each hub before you put put the wheel on and always use a torque wrench to ensure that the lug bolts are properly tightened.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Oh, I'd have to agree. I mean, there is no free lunch. The G is considerably cheaper for a reason.
Congrats on your choice. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Hello BMW AWD? Just make sure it's turbocharged.
Any questions?
You didn't high center? You probably don't have 6" of ground clearance.
Don't get overconfident.
Hardly.
With the let-out of the clutch, the tires advanced the car without hesitation. The trail left behind was a prefect outline of the undercarriage as it leveled the snow. Had I been trying to scale a 2' pile of gravel, I would not have attempted the same maneuver.
Considering the fun I have driving the 328xi, ad especially the 335xi with the twin turbos and the AWD, as long as I'm in New England, I will consider other vehicles when my car goes geriatric, but I doubt I'll buy any other marque.
This is just too much fun.
xeye
I cannot for the life of me figure out why that might be. I used to live in Chicago and owned two turbo cars while I lived there. The only issue (if you can call it that) with cold weather that I ever found was that you were able to get significantly MORE power from the engine on very cold days, especially if the intake was intercooled (which the 335i is).
Best regards,
Shipo
I, for one, do not think it is a good idea to block the front air-intake. It is my understanding as well that colder air increases performance by increasing the horse power. And I believe that turbos and twin-turbos run a lot hotter than normal aspirated cars and will need the front air-intakes to cool them down. I'll try to find the pictures of their projects and post them here.
1) Many things that may be true for the TDI generally have zero bearing on other cars, turbocharged or not.
2) Colder air allows for increased performance due to the fact that the colder the charge, the denser it is (i.e. more oxygen molecules per given volume, allowing for a commensurate increase in the amount of fuel injected into it -- this is more of a factor with normally aspirated engines), AND the cooler the intake charge, the high the boost can be and/or the further advanced the ignition and valve timing can be before reaching the point of insipient detonation.
Best regards,
Shipo
On the other hand, Green Bay is a place where only truly die-hard Packer cheese-heads live! I don't have any doubt at all that the 335xi will perform very well in the cold. I do suggest following BMW's recommendation about top tier gas (Shell, Sunoco, etc. Your dealer can give you a list). Also, check out the right oil. I use Castrol Synthetic 5W-30. That should work for you but check with a knowledgeable mechanic.
I used to think everyone should drive a 335xi, but if that were true, I wouldn't be able to blow by other cars so easily!
Go for it. I'm sure you won't regret it. I would strongly suggest a block heater, though. I used one for many years in Montreal, and it was an engine saver.
xeye
I'm amazed that I can offer something that I'm sure you already know. It's the same reason you get lousy mileage on the same trips in the winter as the summer. The colder air is denser and the engine knows this. It appropriately injects more fuel to balance the density of air. It may produce more power, but I don't know the physics and chemistry of the equation. (College was a long time ago.)
Even though the intake may be intercooled (I wasn't aware of this), it's starting with much colder air. It depends on how the intercooler determines when it's job is done. If you have more information on this, I'd appreciate your input.
xeye
Please be advised that Castrol Syntec 5W-30 DOES NOT meet the necessary oil specifications required for any BMW built since at least the late 1990s. Running that oil is a recipe for a sludged engine and a refusal from your dealership/BMW for warranty repairs if/when the engine fails. The only Castrol Syntec that meets the BMW LongLife-98 and LongLife-01 oil specifications (equired for every gasoline powered BMW sold this decade is Syntec 0W-30. That said, you can buy a Castrol produced oil under the BMW label from your dealership that is in fact a 5W-30, but make no mistake, that is NOT the same oil as is in the Castrol Syntec 5W-30 bottle.
For all who buy their own oil, the only two generally available LL-01 oils sold here in the U.S. are Mobil 1 0W-40 and Castrol Syntec 0W-30.
Best regards,
Shipo
The most common reason why engines deliver lower fuel economy in the winter is that fuel doesn't as easily vaporize in a very cold intake charge as it does in a warm or hot intake charge, and as such, the engine needs to run a tad richer to make sure the burn inside the cylinders is properly controlled. That said, depending upon how the intake is setup, turbocharged engines have the ability to negate the cold air/poor vaporization thing by relying on the warming effect the turbocharger(s) create by compressing the intake charge. Back in the 1980s I had a non-intercooled turbocharged car that actually got better fuel economy on the highway in the winter months, in fact, the best mileage it ever got was driving across Nebraska at something like ten degrees below zero.
The question here is, "Does the 335i bypass the intercooler when the intake charge is cold and the engine is being operated at partial throttle?" Answer: I don't know for sure, but I kind of doubt it, that would be a lot of plumbing.
Taken from a different perspective, Audi, with its FSI style engines that inject the fuel directly into the hot combustion chamber, is now producing cars that vary little winter vs. summer with regards to fuel economy.
Best regards,
Shipo
AFAIK
Krzys
Anybody with more recent information?
Best regards,
Shipo
At first it varied by the time of year, but now we use E10 year-round. No change in the formula seasonally any more.
Interesting to own the same car twice, despite major differences in the powertrains.
The A4 is a nice car but more bland. An automatic transmission just doesn't get me involved in the driving process; so I treat it like an appliance, with little urge to "push" it.
New here...figured it would be an intelligent place...
Wife looking to buy a used (2004) AWD Sedan. Each has about 68,000 miles on it.
Prices are apparent differences, will deal with that later.
Looking at:
AUDI A4 1.8 Quattro
Infinity G35x
BMW 325xi
Mercedes c-240
Not looking for a 'race car'. Standard wife car; comfortable; good in snow. She likes these styles, so the Subarus are not a consideration.
Looking for opinions on each.
Maybe a quick summary that you may have on each.
Seeing that it is an AUDI forum - please feel free to let me know why I should get her the AUDI rather than the others.
I look forward to all your help.
Please be as lively and opinionated as you'd like to be !
Thank you !!!
Tooky
(Will post in the other forums also)
I've driven all of them at one point or another, last year I went to an Audi event at Summit Point and sampled the Bimmer, Benz, Audi, and a Lexus IS250 AWD.
The Benz was a bit soft, this being a 2008 or so model. For their AWD cars the suspension tuning is softer, perhaps they expect snowy climates call for different priorities, but I was disappointed.
The Lexus was softer than the Benz. Great interior, but boring compared to the others.
The Audi was new and a V6 model, but I hear great things about the 2.0FSI, so I would really encourage you to sample one of those.
The Bimmer and Audi went head to head, both were loads of fun. Tough call.
The G35 I drove on a different day and was not the AWD 'x' model. Really liked it, good all-arounder. I'd recommend those 3 for you to sample.
The Benz and Lexus only if you really want a softer, more comfy ride that wasn't as involving. If you're even searching in this thread, I sort of doubt that's the case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4CfWdoSOTk&feature=fvhl
...the famous old video of EVO8 vs. Lambo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ees2aZcDUn8&feature=channel
and lancer EVO8 vs audi s4 vs sti:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Seuvqhrsjwo
Acceleration 0-60
Avoidance Maneuver Max Speed
* The Infiniti G is highest performer overall - arguably Ultimate AWD Sports Sedan, based on CR testing anyway.
* Infiniti G is RWD, but AWD version was not tested and I assume it would have similar performance.
* EVO with its tiny 2L engine is behind of 8L Pontiac just a fraction of second.
* EVO MR with Twin Clutch transmission was not tested.
* Audi and BMW 3xx did not make both lists.
* Lexus IS, Elantra and Rio handle surprisingly well, better then BMW.
What really stands out, to me, is that the Kia Rio sedan managed to make that list. It's probably the cheapest sedan in the world!
This numbers are just about driving fun and driving performance. Not recommended cars here either have reliability below average (audi, dodge, pontiac) or did not take (or did not pass) crash test (mitsubishi):
crash-tests
.
>> What really stands out, to me, is that the Kia Rio sedan managed to make that list. It's probably the cheapest sedan in the world!
It is in fact amazing that this ugly duck handles better then BMW, Mercedes C-class Sport and 100 other sedans:
This is also largely a test of how intrusive (safe?) a stability control system is, which slows yours exit speed.
Still, it would be fun to own one of those and challenge a Bimmer in a slalom.
It would be fun indeed. In this fun MT slalom test Lancer Evo 4-door sedan beats Corvette, Viper, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Benz:
Infiniti G now comes in AWD sport, the G37XS.
Similar suspension to the RWD G37S.
Having driven both, it was hard to decide which I liked better. Unobtrusive AWD system made both very sporty feeling.
Please advise
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0a5a57.ef17adf/2587#MSG2587
I had a slight preference for the Bimmer, but half the crowd preferred the Audi, so it was a close call.
I have not sampled the 2.0T in an Audi yet.
I've only sampled the RWD G37. Loved it.
A4 - I drove a base model 2.0TFSI at a BMW event, and was disappointed. The Dynamic suspension on the V6 model I sampled earlier was much better. The small engine lags a bit, too, especially driving it back to back with a Bimmer and a Benz C300 4Matic. But what really disappointed me was the base suspension - lots of dive and squat, and too much body roll. It's just too soft for aggressive driving.
So at least get the dynamic suspension, I'd say.
I just drove a Legacy with my brother on Saturday, but it was not a GT. The 2.5i base model is on his short list. The new one is a lot bigger than the other cars here, but it still drives well. The extra room is welcome, IMHO.
Do you like your Bimmer? Why not another one? Just curious.
Prior to the Bimmer I owned a Subaru GT and it was a great car. But it lacked any class in the interior. My husband still own an Outback, he is headed to his 4th one, but the inside leather, is terrible.
The reason not another Bimmer is easy. The paint is paper thin on these cars, and if you don't have the car hand washed all the time, swirl marks prevail. I had an 05, and to make a long story short, after 3 return visits down to them wetsanding the car, it still had the marks on it. ( It was delivered to me that way). So i ended up getting an 06 for next to nothing price wise.
tx again...time for some test driving....
I'd definitely sample a G37x and an A4 Quattro w/Dynamic suspension back-to-back. Should be hard to choose!
Are you saying the BMW label sold by the dealer DOES NOT meet the necessary oil specifications required for latest BMW engines? - That would make no sense.....