Traded my 350Z for a 330xi...

[outpost22]

Re: Bye bye Nissan...

No more plastic interior, tire feathering, drifting to the right, bouncy ride, grinding tranny, rattling dash, crappy stereo and paint chips.

When my wife and I were looking to replace our car, our criteria was that we wanted something sporty and safe and also was built well. We looked at several cars. We REALLY liked the looks of the 350Z. When we looked inside one, our hearts fell. We both looked at each other and said "cheap interior". Just leaning against the interior door scratched it. I thought this car would look very worn in a couple of years no matter how gentle you treat the inside. The salesman wanted us to drive it, and we both said "forget it". The BMW dealer was next door. We first looked at Z4's, but really settled on our 330CI. (best of all worlds for us).

I think you made a great choice.

 

[AWD330XI]

The 330xi is the best car I have ever owned. I am almost looking forward to some snow!

 

[Mick]

I have the same car, 330xi, and it has loads of power, and handles like a dream. I took it out in the snow the other day though, and I have to say, i was a bit disappointed. I was able to get the back end loose way to easily, and if I turn off the DSC it handles like a RWD car, I even did some "donuts" in the parking lot. What's up with this? My family hauler minivan with AWD doesn't do that, or my old Jimmy with AWD. Is it working right, and how do I find out?

 

[AWD330XI]

Were you gentle on the throttle? If you did not get stuck, that would be good enough for me.

 

[jonnyz16]

All I know is that the 330xi is perfect for me. It has a much better ride and feels just as quick.

The best thing is that you're absolutely happy with your decision...

p.s. The Harmon Kardan sound system leaves me wanting more..

 

[MrElussive]

I have the same car, 330xi, and it has loads of power, and handles like a dream. I took it out in the snow the other day though, and I have to say, i was a bit disappointed. I was able to get the back end loose way to easily, and if I turn off the DSC it handles like a RWD car, I even did some "donuts" in the parking lot. What's up with this? My family hauler minivan with AWD doesn't do that, or my old Jimmy with AWD. Is it working right, and how do I find out?

The 330xi distributes 62% of the power to the rear, and 38% of the power to the front. It is setup like this so the car "feels" like a RWD car, and in some cases (such as being donuts in a parking lot) it acts like one, too. I'm assuming you are using the all-season tires that came with the car, that is why your snow traction isn't so great. Your best bet is to try driving through some thick, unplowed snow or try going up a snow-covered hill...then the AWD system in your 330xi will truly shine.

 

[xLibelle]

i was just thinking, it seems highly unlikely that the 330xi will put 205 to the wheels, AWD usually suffers from a lot more drivetain power loss. any thoughts?

bumping this statement - any thoughts?

 

[BMWdude]

bumping this statement - any thoughts?

That usually means no thoughts[fake]

All I know is that true sports car can be either RWD or AWD. never FWD.

 

[bahnstormer]

yeah i have a lot of thoughts and the DYNO costs too FREAKING much
awd usually loses a lotta power that's true. nissans never had 287
i bet, they just said they did when they measured at the crank, forgot
to carry the two or something in the conversion lol

 

[coolride]

There's no way that BMW 330i (Front wheel Drive) only loose 10% off the crank HP. Generally, they loose about 16% for front drive cars and around 26% for AWD.

Anyhoo, congrats on 330 XI...

 

[frolf]

There's no way that BMW 330i (Front wheel Drive) only loose 10% off the crank HP.

wow. a bmw 3 series, in no way shape or form, has been or will ever been front wheel (wrong wheel) drive.

 

[Mick]

yeah, that threw me too!

 

[slats]

I heard somewhere that every model BMW has ever made is RWD, is that true?

 

[frolf]

rwd and awd. there might be some obscure side project that came out mutated and front wheel drive, but i'm not sure i'd believe that.

 

[LoMo987]

my roommate at college has the z. he loves it and i think its an awesome car but the price is a little steep for a vehicle that just has 287 horses! the car is not practical by any means! good luck with the 330xi, its awesome!

 

[MrElussive]

I don't think the price is that steep. Base price is $26,000...not bad for 287hp. And yeah, it's really not practical at all.

 

[LoMo987]

my roommate dished out 33k for it! I thought that was a bit much for a Nissan!

 

[MrElussive]

Yeah, it can get up to $40K for a fully-loaded Track Edition. It is a lot to pay for the Nissan tag, but a fair price for a Z car.
Either way, the Z engine is weird. It is similar to the S2000 engine in that it doesn't really produce a lot of torque until 4,000rpm, so for day-to-day driving a 330 BMW probably feels more powerful. You really need to wind up the engine to bring out all the power, but once the tach hits 4K, it is a monster.

 

[LoMo987]

Yea no doubt, that is one thing that kills me about a lot of Japanese cars is the torque set up. You have to get those engines to scream to see a lot of power. My friend has an Acura tl type s and that thing has to whine to deliver power. I am not crazy about it! But once the power comes its awesome!

 

[MrElussive]

Yeah, and you would think that having a big engine under the hood would make it nice and torquey...3.5 liter V6 is pretty big. But its behavior is still similar to that of the S2000's puny 2.0 liter 4-cylinder motor. The good thing about the VQ engine (3.5 liter in the 350Z and G35C) though, is that it loves to rev and it sounds and acts like a beast all up in the high revs.