We have now completed 25,000 km with our Autoblog endurance tester. How do you like it? Time for the much-needed BMW 330d update!
Do you remember the BMW 325d endurance tester? We had completely modified that car within a few months. How do we do that with the 330d? It’s high time for an update! And that update is this article! Yes, yes, ladies and gentlemen, you get that for your record now. Grab a large cup of coffee and a freshly filled cookie, because we’re going to have an old-fashioned, unnecessary chat about cars!
I have had the BMW 330d since May 15, 2023 and even though the car is already 10 years old, it is still a new car to me. That’s what you get with a limited budget. Of course I constantly make the comparison between the 330d and the old 325d. We will go into this in more detail in a separate article soon, but in short, the E91 is the nicer and better BMW and the F31 is the better car.
What’s wrong with it all?
However, this particular example wasn’t perfect when I bought it. Of course, a used car never does that. Just like last time, I waited a little while before taking the car to the garage. I first wanted to get a feel for the car myself. Just get a feel for how everything functions and how you like it. If you are very satisfied with it, then it also makes less difference – emotionally – that the first service costs 1,000 euros.
There were a few things that stood out to me. The brakes performed well, but lacked a bit of bite. The first point of application in particular was too soft. The iDrive system already indicated that the rear brake fluid and pads needed to be replaced (the front had been replaced a few weeks before I bought it). Another thing that bothered me was the wheel bearing. At least I thought it was lower. Every now and then it was buzzing. Finally, the tires were mediocre. I didn’t think the grip of the premium tires (Pirellis at the front and Goodyears at the back) was great.
Appointment with Jeroen
In short, we made an appointment with Jeroen to check the car. The first big trip was planned: from the Netherlands to Lille and then from there to Munich and back to the Netherlands. Then you don’t want to be on the road with old brake oil and mediocre tires.
The first impression of the best BMW specialist in my area was clear: this car has stood still for a very long time. With this mileage, a wheel bearing is not something that needs to be replaced often, but the car was parked on the side of the road and the bearing started to rust. Normally you drive off the rust, but since the car was stationary a lot, that didn’t happen. Ergo, the bearing has been replaced.
Another indication that the car has been standing still a lot were the tires. The Goodyears still looked great, with lots of profile. However, they were from 2017. A tire may be 10 years old, but it is recommended to use a set of tires for a maximum of 5 years. Perhaps that is why the grip was not very good.
Bongiorno Boots!
The rims are not in brilliant condition (I knew in advance) and need to be refurbished. So what to do, what to do? Easy! I still had a set of BBS wheels lying around! In fact, I deliberately did not sell it with the car. Flowformed BBS wheels are sometimes quite pricey and I didn’t feel like buying a set of new wheels. This rim is more or less made for the F3X series. The width and ET are such that wheel arches are well filled.
However, one of the rims was damaged. Unfortunately I drove past a curb. I had to enter some things into my navigation system and wanted to stop the car. I entered the bend a little too enthusiastically and grazed the pavement with my right rear rim. Fortunately, Van Essen Car Cleaning can also repair the rims. Thank you, Arien!
Tyres
Then the tires: which should you choose? The last few times I have had good experiences with the Dunlop SP Sportmaxx: RT2 on the 325d and RT on the A6. But there is more on the market. In this case the Continental Sport Contact 7. At Trye Reviews they raved about it and the tire wins all tests. Yes, also the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (which is already quite old). So why not try that one?
Size-wise, I did something naughty. Just like with the 325d, I opted for a square setup and not a wide set. The biggest disadvantage of the BMW F-Series is the incredibly numb and vague steering. Yes, just worse than the Audi A6. And I immediately started working enthusiastically by ordering 255/35 19. Add to that the fact that the rims are 9×19 ET32 and you will understand that I have a very aggressive fitment: a lot of rim, a lot of tire and exactly a flush fitment. You immediately notice that the car – like almost all other Germans – hangs too low at the back and too high at the front.
Other things
What else have we done? A few little things. The string of the fuel cap was broken, so I had it replaced. And since the car was there anyway, we immediately had the oil changed. The latter was far from necessary, but I prefer to do it a little more often than indicated: around 10,000 km is perfect.
And then the question is: how does it drive? Well, we’re going to tell you: sensational! The tapes arrived in parts, instead of all at once. They had lost two tires at DSP and their customer service was – er – quite clear: “Yes, that happens often. You cannot pick up the product and there is no point in calling back.” OK…
So I adjusted the rear wheels first. The front tires were still quite new and the rear tires were the same size as before. The difference was extreme. The Conti’s have so much more grip that it’s no longer fun. I can even step on the gas before the apex of a bend and the car accelerates like crazy, instead of wheelspin and cowardly oversteer. You’ll shoot out of the bend like Alonso’s R26 from 2006. Delicious.
And the front tires!
It would be exciting for a while whether the front tires would arrive on time. Fortunately, the BMW specialist is where I get the cars maintenance have, very flexible. I was allowed to come by quickly at the end of the afternoon to put the front wheels on.
This meant the car was just in time for the big trip. Every now and then when you drive through the Netherlands you think: with a standard Golf or Astra you will be more than fine. You really don’t need more. But it is for these types of long trips that I find these ideal cars. Not too big, too bulky, or too heavy, but with enormous pulling power. You drive a diesel like that on torque. That is not the fastest in a sprint, but it is over a longer distance. You can reach extremely high speeds (255 km/h on the GPS) while consumption is very limited. About 1 in 14 on average.
Further modifications?
Have any further modifications been made? Not yet. It strikes me that this car needs less. The car is more complete than my previous one. The 8HP automatic transmission is great and the N57 engine is very powerful. Unlike the 325d before, there is no need to tickle it. But hey, not necessary doesn’t mean we won’t do it…
However, it will not be the next modification. That crazy stance with the butt low and the front high has been bothering me for a while. Maybe we can do something about that… Well, just look for Jeffrey’s phone number…
More in this series:
- We’re buying a diesel basher!
- We get a 3 Series from Germany
Cars currently in the Autoblog Garage:
- BMW M135i from Martijn
- BMW 330d Touring from WillemE
- BMW 530i Touring from Wouter
- BMW M2 Competition by Ruben
- BMW Z4 sDrive35is from Machiel
- Lexus RX500h endurance test
- Lynk & Co 01 from Michael
- MINI Cooper S Gizmo Speciale by Martijn
- MINI Cooper S from WillemE
- Peugeot 206 GTi racers
- Porsche 911 Carrera 996.2 from Wouter
- Jaap’s Porsche 944
- Saab 9-3 Cabrio from Nicolas
- Tesla Model S by Nicolas
- Volkswagen Golf V GTI by Loek
This article BMW 330d update – Autoblog Garage first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
#BMW #330d #update #Autoblog #Garage