Announcement

**Redwood** · 06-27-2005, 09:48 AM

BMWNA free autocross at TMS in new 3 series!!??

All vehicles and classes are fully booked for this event. Walk-ins are welcome for Susan G. Komen test drives.

**instigator** · 06-27-2005, 10:21 AM

BMWNA free autocross at TMS in new 3 series!!??

That sucks. Last time I went it was X5s. It would have been pretty fun in a car for a change. It's still fun to go beat the hell out of the other cars they have for test drives. Also kinda funny to see all the broken bMWs in the back of the lot.

**Fair!** · 06-27-2005, 11:06 AM

BMWNA free autocross at TMS in new 3 series!!??

Originally posted by instigator

That sucks. Last time I went it was X5s. It would have been pretty fun in a car for a change. It's still fun to go beat the hell out of the other cars they have for test drives. Also kinda funny to see all the broken bMWs in the back of the lot.

We went to the X5 launch/auto-x thing, too. That was a blast. We did one for the C230 a couple of years ago as well - Mercedes really spent a lot of coin on that event. The catered food in the air conditioned tent was 4 star!!!

**Fair!** · 07-30-2005, 08:22 AM

WOW! THIS EVENT ROCKED!

I went to this event yesterday and dragged SeanT (who took Amy's spot, since she couldn't make it). It was at the TMS bus lot (very slick, not huge but big enough) and was well run, as always. They had 6 new 330i-Sport Pkg 4-door cars, all automatics. An interesting twist - they also had two each of Infiniti G35 Sport 3.5L 4-doors and Audi A4 3.2L cars we also got to drive, back-to-back with the BMW for comparison. No contest, the BMW drove a helluva lot better.

Of course we got to dog the hell outta them. Kinda nice because I have test driven RX-8s aggressively the two previous nights in a row, and am looking for a sporty mid-sized 4-door to buy. Could one of these 3 be in my future?

The course was about 40 seconds, untimed, but we could run em all at full tilt for 2 laps each (and the BMW got 4 laps), as well as numerous rides with two other drivers per car and the "instructors" did some hot laps for us at the end. Traction Control was set to about "middle level" on the 3, but left on "full nanny mode" for the Audi and G35. Instructors ran the 3 with TC off - those ****ers.

Got some pics:

http://punky.smugmug.com/gallery/695445

My Impressions:

The UGLY 3 series is certainly UGLY, but the 255hp 3.0L engine has damn good grunt. The "valvetronic" technology (variable valve lift and NO throttle body) seems to really work well at all engine speeds. It's 3400+ pound chassis is well balanced (50:50) and turn it was the best of the group, with a touch of understeer at the limit. Variable steering ratio was also very evident at these 2nd gear speeds and worthwhile. Brakes rocked. The high cost ($45K!!!!!!!!) and excess of ugly will keep me from purchasing one, though.

Audi A4 3.2L was the heaviest of the group (over 3700) and at $42K, still not cheap. It had the worst seats (flat), the slowest steering, the worst weight balance (59:41), the least power, and of course it plowed. BLEH.

Infiniti G35 had been on my radar for potential test drives this week, but not anymore. What a softly sprung HOOPTY! It had by far the most body roll (a ****ton of lean), with the worst traction control system. Seats were better, but the car "smelled funny" according to the cute/fast female co-driver I was grouped with (her life partner was not so cute). PLOW PLOW PLOW. 280 hp didn't feel as fast as the BMW. Off the list.

Sean and I pwned the "question and answer" session at the beginning, and our mad automotive knowledge scored us a FREE TV! It's the size of a postage stamp, but still worth bragging on.

It's running all weekend out there... if you are bored and don't mind "throwing the dice", I'd go up there and get on the standby list. Not everyone that signs up shows up, so you might get to do the event. Was a LOT of fun... about 2 solid hours of driving/riding in an autocross, for free, with free drinks, food, and plenty of good SWAG.

**Redwood** · 07-31-2005, 07:26 PM

This event was a blast! Thanks to Amy for not being in town, which allowed me to take her place at the autocross, bypassing my original 5th place on the standby list. Fair and I got separated between the 2 groups for our timeslot after we dropped the mini TV off in the C6.

My opinion of the new 330i's looks is still unchanged. I don't hate it, but I'm not really fond of it either. I do like some angles quite a bit, though. I saw an Aggie (former student sticker) in a 352i the other day that looked like it has 16s. The 18s of the 330i are definitely needed to fill out the wheel well (width wise too).

Anyway, on to the driving. I had a female "instructor" that was originally from Germany from what I can tell (name & accent). Her brother's name is Claude and I don't know the last name, but she said he raced Indy 500 and Le Mans. Anyway, she was quite attractive and she seemed familiar. Maybe I saw her at a Mazda or Mercedes event or something. 3 people went in each of the 3 cars at a time and the instructor was always in the passenger seat (except on the instructor-driven hot laps). I went with a married couple in their early 30s I'm guessing. The woman was just an average driver and didn't really know how to drive very fast, nor did she push it much. She did go in too fast once. The dude was one-handing it from the 12 o'clock position (Fair said he saw this from other people too). Get a clue people! The guy was driving like an idiot. Getting on it too fast out of turns, not enough brakes, and took out a cone.

The first 2 laps in the 330i: we were told to go medium speed. I did that, but still caught up to the person ahead of me quickly. The car felt awesome, though I could tell it is heavier than my <3200lb E46 328i. The engine felt good, brakes were excellent, and the balance was superb. The active steering felt pretty good, surprisingly (I'd read both good & bad things). I wish I could compare it to the regular 330i, though. My instructor said on the slalom portion in the 330i "That was perfect" and then another time through "You nailed it!"

The next set of drives was the 330i vs. G35 sport sedan vs. Audi A4 3.2 FSI. We got 2 laps in each. That is the freshened A4 with the direct-injection 255hp V6 and new front end. I was talking to thte guy that gave us a presentation and he said they change the front tires on the G35 and A4 a lot more than they change the overall tires on the 330i. The front heaviness just doesn't help them.

Audi A4 3.2
Terry said his guy told them they even upgraded the A4's 18" tires to Goodyear F1s (what I use on my car). However, the A4 still felt a bit less grippy than the 330 and even the G35. The A4 steering was very light and the brake assist was very "obtrusive" (instructor's words after I commented). It's like somebody moved your foot over and slammed on the brakes harder. Kind of annoying. The A4 was comfortable inside and felt surprisingly balanced for such a front heavy/heavy car. It obviously had that German engineering, but it just wasn't quite as good as the 330i.

Infiniti G35 sedan
The G35 was something I was possibly considering when I hopefully replace the 328i in a couple of years. It is bigger, so it was roomier in back, but I no longer have it on my list! The grunt was definitely there and that felt good, but it handled like a pig! Huge amounts of roll (relatively in this group) and it plowed like mad. It was clearly obvious to the n00b couple in back too. The grip felt okayish (better than the A4), but the suspension/balance was just CRAP. I went through one big turn and the instructor said "That is about all you can get out of this car"

On the instructor hot laps, they were hauling ass. It was a blast! The instructor said "See the line I took through that turn, going a bit deeper...That's how Sean did it"

They gave out a "Most improved" mini-cone award and "Best Performance" in each group. This wasn't timed, which is good since we always got backed up by people ahead of us at some point in the course. Thanks to Fair not being in my group, I snagged the Best Performance award. It was commented in the award hand out that I "always took the line" (helped by the marker cones) and was very fast. Somehow Fair didn't get that award in his group. They "chose...poorly"

Anyway, it was a blast and I wish I'd known about it sooner so maybe we could have gotten more people to sign up for it. Best part was it was free! The free drinks & snacks didn't hurt either.

I'd rank the cars in this order:

#1 BMW 330i (shocking)
#2 Audi A4 3.2 Quattro
#3 Infiniti G35 Sedan

I wish the new Lexus IS350 was out so we could compare that to it as well!

**Paul** · 08-01-2005, 09:45 AM

I wonder if they monkeyed with the the G35 and A4 to make the 330i look/feel better? Wouldn't be hard to mess up the alignment and make it worse.

Brian, you have driven your dad's G35, how did it feel to you?

**Redwood** · 08-01-2005, 10:07 AM

Originally posted by Paul

I wonder if they monkeyed with the the G35 and A4 to make the 330i look/feel better? Wouldn't be hard to mess up the alignment and make it worse.

Brian, you have driven your dad's G35, how did it feel to you?

His dad has a G35 coupe from what I have been told. Those most likely aren't tuned the same way. Alignment wouldn't have done what we saw in the G35. I mean I've definitely driven much worse cars. It just blew chunks in comparison to the BMW and even the A4.

**hancheyb** · 08-01-2005, 12:30 PM

I haven't autocrossed a G35 Coupe like you guys did the 4 door. To me the Coupe feels more like a 350Z than a sedan, albeit heavy. I was impressed with it just from daily driving.

**Oversteer** · 08-01-2005, 12:57 PM

Originally posted by Paul

I wonder if they monkeyed with the the G35 and A4 to make the 330i look/feel better? Wouldn't be hard to mess up the alignment and make it worse.

I was thinking the same thing. Easiest thing would be to mess with tire pressures. You can make a car plow or oversteer easy by manipulating front and rear pressures.

**Redwood** · 08-01-2005, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by Oversteer

I was thinking the same thing. Easiest thing would be to mess with tire pressures. You can make a car plow or oversteer easy by manipulating front and rear pressures.

You can't make the body roll a lot, though.

**Fair!** · 08-01-2005, 03:55 PM

Originally posted by Paul

I wonder if they monkeyed with the the G35 and A4 to make the 330i look/feel better? Wouldn't be hard to mess up the alignment and make it worse.

Brian, you have driven your dad's G35, how did it feel to you?

This was the 4 door G35, but Sport package with the most powerful (current) engine, as was the A4 (3.2L direct injection). I doubt they'd moneky'd with them much - the Audi even had better than stock tires - they were just both much more softly sprung. The G35 Coupe is likely tuned to be more "sporty".

They felt OK as fas as power, but the turn-in was very different (most likely from inferior balance and other suspension faults), as was body roll and steering response. Those are parts differences, mostly.

**Redwood** · 08-07-2005, 03:08 PM

Motor Trend's September issue compares the same 3 cars BMW compares. The main difference being the Audi was on the all-season tires Audi sells it with and not the Goodyear F1s that BMW had put on. The Audi got PUNISHED, partly because of their poor tire choice option. The 330i reclaimed its crown (after being beaten by the G35 in the old model). This despite bigger brakes and more hp in the G35 for 2005. Note, these were all automatics. Here are the numbers:

Audi A4 3.2 Quattro
Base Price: $36,120
Tested Price: $41,520
Curb Weight: 3815lbs
Horsepower: 255@6500rpm
Torque: 243@3250rpm
0-60mph: 7.1 secs
1/4 mile: 15.1@93.4mph
60-0mph braking: 126ft
MT Figure Eight: 27.5sec@0.61g(avg)
600ft Slalom: 62.2mph
Skidpad: 0.80g
Mileage (city/hwy): 19/26mpg

Infiniti G35 Sedan sport package
Base Price: $31,460
Tested Price: $36,510
Curb Weight: 3541lb
Horsepower: 280@6200rpm
Torque: 270@4800rpm
0-60mph: 6.5secs
1/4 mile: 14.7@95.9mph
60-0mph braking: 112ft
MT Figure Eight: 26.6sec@0.66g(avg)
600ft Slalom: 65.3mph
Skidpad: 0.88g
Mileage (city/hwy): 18/25

BMW 330i sport package
Base Price: $36,995
Tested Price: $47,390
Curb Weight: 3512lb
Horsepower: 255@6600rpm
Torque: 220@2750rpm
0-60mph: 6.6sec
1/4 mile: 14.7@95.1mph
60-0mph braking: 112ft
MT Figure Eight: 26.5sec@0.66g(avg)
600ft Slalom: 67.8mph (new sedan record)
Skidpad: 0.88g
Mileage (city/hwy): 21/29

**Fair!** · 08-08-2005, 09:17 AM

The august issue of "Automobile":

SPORT-SEDAN 3-PLAY
By Joe Lorio
The BMW 330i takes on the Infiniti G35 and the Cadillac CTS in a battle for sport-sedan glory.

All three were 6-speed manuals with Sportiest package. 330i pwn3d. It was also the most expensive by a LOT.

Found this "web exclusive" article by the same mag: Sedan New Car Review - 2006 BMW 325i

Announcement

BMWNA free autocross at TMS in new 3 series!!??

BMWNA free autocross at TMS in new 3 series!!??

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment