Drove a 335i for the first time tonight... First impressions, verbatim.

"Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare" (jbezugs)
12/07/2015 at 23:01 • Filed to: None

Authors Note: I’m riffing thoughts about my brief drive below pretty much verbatim, so if it doesn’t make grammatical sense, sorry! It’s just a lot to take in when you’ve been daily’ing a 2004 Camry for over 4 years, and very rarely get the opportunity to drive something more “enthusiast” centred.

As I get closer and closer to graduating school (currently working on an engineering co-op), the itch is increasing to get something more fun. My Camry has been a fantastic first car for me over the past 4 years, and I will always love it dearly. However, as great as it is at it’s intended purpose of trouble free Point-A-to-Point-B’ing, like on my hellish commute (I love Toronto’s traffic so much, let me tell you), I know its limitations at being a sporty, fun set of wheels to just enjoy driving.

I’ve been looking at E92 335i’s for the past few months (as well as BRZ’s and any other sporty vehicle you can name), so I was very excited when I got the chance to drive an E90 (with the 6-speed). It was everything I could of imagined and more (even with my brief drive), especially coming from a V6 Camry.

I haven’t driven stick in a little while so it took me some time to get back into the groove of things again. Not to mention the last time I drove a stick it was a 4-cyl ranger with 31’s and a 4 inch lift... So I was pretty jerky off the cuff. The basics of manual is easy, but to truly master it does take daily-driving one. I really need to get a manual, man...

Anyways, I don’t have many comments considering my brief time behind the wheel (for now), so first impressions: holy crap, are these things fast. As I got more comfortable with the transmission and started to wind the car out a little bit, there’s so much torque from down low, and pulls right to redline without breaking a sweat. Steering was weighty and tight as a drum (especially compared to the super-boosted Camry steering). It rides stiffer than what I’m used to, however, every bump is well dampened, and the car itself is very quiet and comfortable. Oh, and it sounded fantastic.

Not much else to say, except that I hope to get some more time behind the wheel of one (and test drive my other prospects) to really experience first hand what a fun, sporty car is all about.

I’ve had my free sample. Now I want the whole damm plate of pie...

DISCUSSION (13)

AM3R shamefully returns > Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare
12/07/2015 at 23:17

I just bought an E92 335i about a month ago to daily drive. The manual is awesome to daily drive, I was a little jerky with it at first. The car really pulls hard.. So much torque! I’m getting about 25mpg 60/40 highway/city(tons of traffic) so I can’t complain about that.

Manual_Noriega > Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare
12/07/2015 at 23:22

Did it have the Sport or or M package? I found the non-Sport 335i to be extremely dull (though fast), even with a stick.

The Sport package changes everything. (Ended up with a 135i eventually.)

Montalvo > Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare
12/08/2015 at 01:41

Yes, join us. One of us. One of us. One of us. We have turbos and cookies. After owning mine for about 3 months I can say I am happy with my purchase. There is a lot of potential yet to be unlocked in terms of power. Even stock it is the perfect roadtrip car and just eats the mlies in comfort and speed. You also get your choice of rwd or awd too which is nice.

jmedarts > Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare
12/08/2015 at 08:07

Don’t be too hard on yourself about the jerky clutch, the clutch delay valve makes sure your foot motion doesn’t make it through to the actual clutch.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > jmedarts
12/08/2015 at 11:16

I’d like to slap the engineer responsible for the clutch delay valve, I can count on two hands the number of quality second-gear shifts I’ve made in my 135 in the 2.5 years I’ve owned it.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
12/08/2015 at 12:28

I’ve had mine for 1 year and have the same problem. Very frustrating.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
12/08/2015 at 12:37

I’ve been too lazy to do it so far, but if I’m going to keep it any longer I need to do this:

http://www.zeckhausen.com/cdv.htm

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
12/08/2015 at 12:53

Sweet Jesus, I thought it was me!!! I have driven manual cars for 15 years, and DD’d them for the last 6, and I though I was just hot garbage in my 335xi, or perhaps it was the xDrive throwing me off...

but now I know the truth!!! I am not the only one!

jmedarts > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
12/08/2015 at 12:54

I have thought hard about that for my car.

In defense of BMW engineers, I wonder if the CDV contributes to the life of the clutch. My last car was a 2000 540i, I was the third owner and drove it from 50K to 160k miles on the original clutch. My 2007 335i is on it’s original clutch, I am the third owner, and have gone from 45k to 100K so far.

I am an on/off clutch guy, most people aren’t. That’s a long time and a lot of owners. My 1980 Olds Omega ate it’s clutch at 40k miles (about a month after I got it). I dont think the olds even had a hydraulic clutch. never mind a CDV.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW!
12/08/2015 at 13:14

No, not you at all, it makes me feel like an incompetent fool every time.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > jmedarts
12/08/2015 at 13:16

There’s a lot of debate about that on the forums and whatnot, but the common thinking is that it wasn’t done to protect the clutch but rather to protect the rest of the driveline from shock in the event of a clutch drop. Don’t know if I do or don’t buy that, but I do feel like I put a lot more wear into the clutch because of the weird takeup than is necessary. I’ve been easy on my clutches over the years, but every time I drive it I feel like I’m murdering the clutch in this car.

jmedarts > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
12/08/2015 at 17:16

shock protection is another good theory for sure, but my experience is these clutches last a good long time, unless you are riding it of course!

Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare > jmedarts
12/10/2015 at 21:19

Well that’s a relief that I’m not as shite as I thought... A lot of people remove it from what I’ve seen.