My "New" 2012 F30 320d Sport - First drive impressions

[alantiong]

If u like the comfort, u can just try firmer springs ( eg. H&R or Eibach) with the stock shocks.

Much easier on the wallet

I have just done some works on my suspension.

Stock setup is "piece of work" that non real bmw drivers fancy.. bouncy..

Tried titans on stock spring.... took the bounciness away.. and still very comfortable.. immediately realised the car is underpower.. as you can push much much harder.. except... rear ride height is a bitch... like petronas twin tower.. for normal drive its really nice.. on a slalom.. aiyoyo!! it rolls.. approx 2-3" each side... which is a lot for a 3 series.

Then i drop the height with HnR springs.. 30mm all round... looks super sexy now.. ride is relatively comfy but there is a hint of harshness when you have rough roads. Feel very much like E90 on M-sport. body roll is reduce to 1-1.5" per side. and steering feels very direct.

 

[wz3k]

Just got my E90 320d M-Sport back from ingress. Man, this car is a lot more fun to drive.. but it is more a driver's car.. I have to cater for wife and kids as well.. hehe

I noticed right away that the E90 is much more lowered compared to the F30 version. This can be attributed to the m-sport spring and also the tires. I notice the tires on F30 are 225/50/17 while the E90 are 225/45/17 and 255/40/17.. one more thing I noticed is the iDrive downgrade in F30. The new iDrive for F30 320d is the small type 6.5" and without Navi. Although I always use garmin anyway, I like the bigger screen in E90. The controller also seems more quality in the E90..

 

[alantiong]

Just got my E90 320d M-Sport back from ingress. Man, this car is a lot more fun to drive.. but it is more a driver's car.. I have to cater for wife and kids as well.. hehe

I noticed right away that the E90 is much more lowered compared to the F30 version. This can be attributed to the m-sport spring and also the tires. I notice the tires on F30 are 225/50/17 while the E90 are 225/45/17 and 255/40/17.. one more thing I noticed is the iDrive downgrade in F30. The new iDrive for F30 320d is the small type 6.5" and without Navi. Although I always use garmin anyway, I like the bigger screen in E90. The controller also seems more quality in the E90..

you are right about the quality of build. I feel E90 was a better built car than F30> at least at the time it rolls out from showroom. I have to go HnR and titan to get the F30 to ride like stock Msport E90.

 

[initialM]

my opinion E90 is the best 3 series ever built in term of built and driving feeling. However F30 320d is better in term of the engine maybe due to low rev attribute to 8 speed gearbox which is awesome. I dun like the idea of EPS which takes away the driving feeling of bmw. Bmw want to put less stress to the engine since its 2.0 litre and 4 cylinder. In short you cant have everything in 1 car. You just have to compromise and as long ur happy

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[_M_]

you are right about the quality of build. I feel E90 was a better built car than F30> at least at the time it rolls out from showroom. I have to go HnR and titan to get the F30 to ride like stock Msport E90.

Compare apple to apple la.. F30 also hav M Sport rolling out of showrooms.

 

[Bruce_Z]

my opinion E90 is the best 3 series ever built in term of built and driving feeling. However F30 320d is better in term of the engine maybe due to low rev attribute to 8 speed gearbox which is awesome. I dun like the idea of EPS which takes away the driving feeling of bmw. Bmw want to put less stress to the engine since its 2.0 litre and 4 cylinder. In short you cant have everything in 1 car. You just have to compromise and as long ur happy

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 4

Yeah..the main culprit is the darn EPS in the F30. Its been a year for me, and i still dont like it...and the Variable Sport Steering is also not really relevant for me. its unfortunate that EPS adapted for performance cars are no difference to the EPS in "normal" cars. Even Porsche is facing many criticisms due to their adoption of EPS in its halo car - the 911 ( the 991 series). I hope BMW, Porsche does better next time.

 

[wz3k]

haha.. true as well.. I sat in it when ingress SA sent me back home one day.. the steering look awesome.. love the fact that it has the paddle shift there.. I'm dont remember the iDrive in this m-sport version if it comes with Navi or not..

Compare apple to apple la.. F30 also hav M Sport rolling out of showrooms.

 

[wz3k]

for me the EPS is a love hate thing.. when parking the car, I really love the EPS.. but when driving on highway, changing lane etc, not loving it.. I guess they could make it firmer since it's all electronic anyway..

Yeah..the main culprit is the darn EPS in the F30. Its been a year for me, and i still dont like it...and the Variable Sport Steering is also not really relevant for me. its unfortunate that EPS adapted for performance cars are no difference to the EPS in "normal" cars. Even Porsche is facing many criticisms due to their adoption of EPS in its halo car - the 911 ( the 991 series). I hope BMW, Porsche does better next time.

 

[Bruce_Z]

for me the EPS is a love hate thing.. when parking the car, I really love the EPS.. but when driving on highway, changing lane etc, not loving it.. I guess they could make it firmer since it's all electronic anyway..

If not for the glorious N20 twin power turbo engine , and the fantastic ZF 8 speed sports auto tranny, the Malaysian spec F30 (except the EB Msport variants) could possibly qualify as the 3 series for metrosexuals and "wife's car"

 

[m-sports]

the vss really surprised me the 1St time i made a u-turn. the EPS lack of direct feedback from the front wheels, fortunately the steering precision is still remained. I just make myself adapt to it and I don't see any 1St time beemer owner criticize the EPS..