v_therussian

Since I've firmly decided to sell my car (oh, about 5-6 mods ago ), I haven't really been able to decide between 535, 550, 335 coupe and e92 M3. While all of the above would make your humble narrator EXTREMELY happy, I've decided to go with the lightest and most economically moddable of the four - the 335 coupe. Now, I'm trying to figure out whether the coupe is really better in RWD or should I just opt for Xi and not worry about winters - it does snow in NY on occasion, global warming or not. Northeasterners driving RWD cars, what would you recommend?

aresh

go with the xi, but then your gonna want a drop. I live in NY too, snow sucks. But if you do go with RWD, getting winter tires may be all you need. I know C's Bimmer used winter tires on his m5 and had no problems.

v_therussian

Yeah, but C also has the X5 that he can rely on. In my case, it'll be either the coupe or the MTA

I like having AWD on the 530 bc the car is pretty heavy and having some extra traction helps in the twisties. On an e92 a RWD is both - better balanced and lighter, so it makes for a better experience. But again, I'm just guessing, since my driving experience of a RWD e92 is limited to one test drive I took about a year ago. Another thing I'm curious about is the LSD - it appears ludicrous that BMW would refuse to fit a proper Limited Slip Differential on their basically fastest non-M coupe.

Looked into some aftermarket LSDs real quick, but its retarded how much money they are. I'm planning to lease, so no LSD for me, unless I get the Xi, which - if I understand it correctly - has to come with at least some sort of differential...

PS COME TO THE BBQ MEET ON THE 11th!!!

Krozi

I'd get the E90 4 door M3

sdg1871

335i is a great choice. A beautiful looking and very fast car -- fully capable of smoking my 550 in a stoplight war (I need the 5 Series' extra room).

I run 4 dedicated snows in the winter and always have (no 4 wheel drive for me -- I am sort of an old-fashioned puriust). Generally, I have been able to get around fine in a RWD car with 4 snow but it is not nearly as much traction as a 4WD. I have no run my 550 in the winter yet. My 540 was fine in the winter with 4 snows and I took it up to Vermont for skiing without a problem.

08white

right, if you live in new york or north, get XI
winter tire can handle light snow, when it comes to heavy snow, nothing compare to AWD

i live in new york as well, i get RWD only if i have another AWD, but too bad, i only have one car, so must be AWD

pjinca

I grew up in Denver, so I got more snow (even have a Nov birthday so I took my driving test in the snow), I couldn't give up the handling advantages of a RWD car, not to mention the weight savings. I would get the M3 4-door. Then get a good set of winter tires and you should be fine. I know very well how to drive in snow, but the main concern living in the Northeast (and I lived in NY for years) is black ice and 4WD won't help you at all on that. Get the RWD and have more fun when it isn't snowing.

radzM

M3 FTW!!!

ObD

The 335i coupe curb weight is only 60 lbs less than the 535i. Throw on some light wheels, non runflats, and dump the spare tire and the curb weight will be even. Any xi is going to be a few hundred lbs heavier. Since the E60 is also in its last year of production it will be the better financial deal as well aka incentivized. The M3 is nice but you'll pay a premium to have it in cost and insurance. The M3 V8 and the I6 TT have about the same amount of torque.

RE: Xi, you don't need it. Get a set of dedicated winter wheels/tires.

v_therussian

Yeah, I'd be running a dedicated set of A/S tires for the wetter/colder months and a set of rims and tires for drier weather only with low profile performance tires - that's the benefit of the RWD car, actually - that I'll get to have a more dedicated "handler" in the summertime.

if you got the money
But I'm decided on the 335 - just not sure whether I should get the xi or i

The difference is 89 pounds, actually (per bmwusa.com) and I'm not taking the spare out AND running non-RFT. Matter of fact, I'll prolly have an extra few pounds just from the tools I'll carry in the trunk. More important than anything is the fact that the 335 does not have the LSD and there is no cheap way to compensate for this. On the other hand, the Xi has a differential - though, as far as I can see, it does not have a Limited Slip Differential. However, AWD can - to an extent - compensate for lack of the LSD.

I don't want to pay the extras - neither is price, nor insurance. Nor do I particularly see the reason for paying so much money for an M3, when you can get a 335coupe, customize the sh!t out of it and still have 10 g's left for a cross-country vacation drive.