blinkme_210

I haven't test driven a 335 myself yet, but BMW went with 2 smaller turbos to try to eliminate as much turbo lag from the system as they could. Anyone test driven or own a 335 should chime in about this.

Walked U

The 335i is ok. Its fast, but not the fastest thing. For the money if your looking for a german auto thats easy to upgrade aftermarket wise. The 335i is the way. But theres so many pros and cons with the car just like any other.

My car is tuned well over 300+ rwhp to the wheels and close to 400 wtq (on pump gas). But after awhile of having it, it starts to feel slow.

If anything I would wait to see what the market has in store for the n54 engine since theres not even a drop in filter for the car yet.

If you buy it now (335i or 535) all your going to get is a expensive ass cat back from milltek, or a $5k turbo back from super sprint. Theres also 3 tunners avialable selling " chips." Costing anywhere from $500-1300 + tax.

Just give it time a lot of us on the e90 boards are looking towards 400 rwhp and 475+ wtq just with bolt ons.

The car was under rated from the factory as we all know. My car dynoed stock 273 rwhp and 282 wtq. So its about 320 hp at the crank and 330 tq. Instead of the advertised 300/300.

Walked U

Just for people that are interested in learning about the install / gains with the procede, check out post #5 on this thread.

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=37472

brandsb

Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in. When I started looking at E60's a year ago, the 545 was the top dog. Then BMW dropped the 550 into the system. Now the 335 is challenging the 550. Shoulda gotten an M5 and wouldn't be debating this....

uglybear

I test drove 335 (automatic) twice and didn't like it much. I didn't see much difference in daily commute from 530i (I did not race and did not try highway as I rarely drive there, my commute is mostly suburban). I specifically didn't like low torque below 1500 rpm and sudden change in power when turbo kicks in. There is no turbo lag or almost none. However, there is some mismatch in operation between turbo and steptronic. V8 is completely different experience. I didn't try 550, but I came to dealership in my FX45 and 315hp V8 feels so much smoother although technically it is almost the same in hp and torque (315hp, 320 ft-lb) as 335.

Bubbarossa

Um...i own a 530i and ordered a 335i...and if i commuted with them and stayed near the speed limit and drove conservately...well, i guess they would be the same, but they are tons different, they aren't even in the same ballpark speedwise. I didn't notice any turbo lag (it kicks in at 1400rpm or so) and if i did, it was for a millisecond! Who cares if it kicks in at 2000rpms, it still takes any vehicle a little bit to get going at such low rpms. While driving, if you stomp on it, the vehicle is going to downshift and put you certainly above 1400 rpms so i don't understand why everyone talks about "there is turbo lag, there isn't turbo lag, blah blah." Why sit there and try to "feel" the turbo??? Who cares??? How often are you actually "cruising" at or below 1500 rpms, the car idles around 600 or 700rpms??? When i drove it, the power was instant, 'nuff said.

When i actaully get my 335 i'll get back on the board and give you some reports on it. If you need to read more about the engine, go over to e90post.com...lots of talk about the engine on that board.

heezy545i

The 535 is both underrated and a good deal lighter than a 550. Since the 535 is roughly the same weight as a 335 sedan, comparisons can be made be made between the two.

In terms of acceleration, a stock 335 has the edge against a 545 and will be on par against a 550. Below, 100mph, the 335 and 545 have comparable performance, but above 100, the 335 pulls away. I don't think there are too many "street racers" on this forum, but from a stop and a 1st and 2nd gear roll, the 545 can hold it's on against both a 335 and 550. From a 3rd gear roll at roughly 80mph however, both the 335 and 550 quickly put at least a car length on a 545 and continue to pull away.

From my experience, the 550 and 335 should have about the same performance in stock form, but the 335 of course has much more potential in terms of tuning. The Procede from Vishnu looks to be the most popular if not only software currently available for the 335. To give you an idea of the performance of a procede equipped car, a 550 with a stage 1 supercharger from VF engineering will have roughly the same performance. Not sure which will exactly be faster, but it will definitely be a good race. In terms of money though, that's about $1300 for the procede, but 8-10K for the supercharger.

Truthfully though, most of these cars, especially the e60s will remain completely stock. We may look at the potential of the 535 on this forum, but most buyers in the real world will probably not concern themselves with it. I'd argue that the typical buyer/owner of a 550, will look at the '08s no differently then they did past years. Meaning that in their eyes, a 535 will probably be no different then the past 530s. On paper, the 550 has 60 more hp and 60 more ft-lb of torque. Many buyers will simply base their decision on that. And don't forget, many buy for the badge and prestige, so in that regard, the 550 holds more weight.

Since most of these cars will not be modded, but the 550 also has the advantage of coming equipped the M-tech kit, and differentiated wheels from the factory. The 550 may come with the M-sports suspension, but if handling was really a concern, then siding with the lighter car would be the wise decision as would getting an aftermarket suspension.

uglybear

When sitting on a traffic light or braking and then accelerating back in stop'n'go traffic. I didn't say the engine was bad - don't be offended. I only said it feels different and it does not really match V8. There is more than just raw horsepower to the number of cylinders.


I don't think there is turbo lag. I think with automatic car has to downshift a bit more often simply because when rpm is low, when driver presses the accelerator and feels no power he pushes harder, steptronic downshifts and since downshift is never instant, pause between pressing accelerator and getting power is perceived as a turbo lag while actually is it gearbox issue. I am sure at 60mph cruise or with manual the feeling is different.


BTW, is automatic in MY 2008 different or it is the same thing just with electronic controls? Besides, I am still debating myself if I should switch to 535xi, that's why I test drove 335 twice. Still, major reason for me would be USB adapter, availability of 124 wheels and multicast HD which does not kill real time traffic info. Engine wise, I'd rather have 545xi or 550xi

Bubbarossa

Not offended at all! If i could go back, i would have bought the 545!

BMWSTL

Oh yea?? 550 550 550 550 550 550

When the '08's were announced, I got very interested in the 550i because of the sport package. Seeing the performance numbers on the 535 gave me a different perspective.

I have to drive them both and see which one I like better. Numbers on paper only tell part of the story. But it's good to discuss the issues.

Lou