What's faster.. 330ci or 330i?

[Black330]

I know that both have the same engine and the body is the same weight but my friend told me that he saw a race between those two once and the 4 door 330 (i) passed the two door 330 (ci).. Weird but true..

 

[MrElussive]

I'm sure it was because one driver was better than the other, not because of the difference in body styles. Also, perhaps one was the manual transmission and the other was the automatic transmission (the manual is about half a second quicker to 60mph).

 

[JamieD22]

www.edmunds.com states:

'03 330i - 225hp, 214tq, 3285 lbs, 0-60 = 6.7 sec
'03 330ci - 225hp, 214tq, 3285 lbs, 0-60 = 5.9 sec

Not sure how that works... Giving edmunds.com the benefit of the doubt, could be the gearing... In the past the coupe actually weighed a few lbs more than the sedan... At any rate, for the sake of the thread, given the specs in each car it would just depend on the driver's skill (assuming they're both manual transmissions).

 

[JVillan]

I think the 330 Performance Package has an increase in horsepower, and its only available as a sedan.

 

[Black330]

www.edmunds.com states:

'03 330i - 225hp, 214tq, 3285 lbs, 0-60 = 6.7 sec
'03 330ci - 225hp, 214tq, 3285 lbs, 0-60 = 5.9 sec

Not sure how that works... Giving edmunds.com the benefit of the doubt, could be the gearing... In the past the coupe actually weighed a few lbs more than the sedan... At any rate, for the sake of the thread, given the specs in each car it would just depend on the driver's skill (assuming they're both manual transmissions).

The figures you have are wrong.. BMW.com says that both have a 6.5sec from 0-60

 

[greeps]

I believe the 6.7 seconds is for the convertible which is over 300 pounds heavier.

 

[Black330]

330i is 6.5secs
330ci coupe is 6.5secs
330ci convertible is 6.9secs

 

[330hp]

330i PP - 5.9 secs

 

[metallus13]

The new 330i PP is stated at 5.9 to 60 but CD mag just ran it at 5.6. That is a big increase and mostly do to the gearing in the PP.

Check PP post for more.

 

[justdrive]

THE 330i now comes standard with a six speed transmission...I wonder if this will change 0-60 times....because I can't believe the extra ten horses in the performance package is anything significant...atleast not enough to drop almost a full second off the 0-60 time

I could be wrong...but ten horses is not much.


JUST DRIVE

 

[MrElussive]

10hp is a big difference, and it has a revised camshaft. That's how it does the 0-60 in 0.5 seconds quicker than the regular 330i. I believe that the gearing is virtually the same from the 5-speed manual to the 6-speed manual, except that the 6th gear is just an overdrive gear for better fuel economy.

 

[greeps]

The rear end is different in the PP. It results in more torque, faster 0-60 times, and higher RPM when compared to a non PP package car at the same speed.

When you drive it, it feels quicker than the non PP car and I believe it is the rear end that makes most of the difference in both the feel and the faster 0-60 times.

 

[metallus13]

The PP was just tested in CD mag and it ran the 60 at 5.6. That is more than a half tick quicker than the reg 330is and it is .3 lower than BMW even stated. Gears play a big role in acceleration.

 

[BEEMIN]

The PP difference is amazing - you really need to test drive it to understand. I'd test driven the 330i convertible and coupe and then just test drove the 330i Performance Package this past Saturday. Amazing. That thing takes off and the engine growls. I for one believe the 5.6 easily. I was impressed.

 

[Bryan330i]

I just took delivery of my 330i pp. I purchased it after driving a number of cars and currently have only 200 miles on it so I am not sure of it's peak performance yet. It does have a very different feel though, more aggresive and responsive than other 330's I drove.