[climkt]

i paid 88 k US for my base e90 320 manual last year after a 5 month waiting time (special indent). so far, for cruising and comfort, i give my e90 top marks

For overtaking on motorways at speeds from 90 to 140kmph, i would usually drop 2 gears from 5th to 3rd and be greeted with pure engine harshness and a 5000rpm rev speed. this is quite a turn off. i tried the same downshift but to 4th gear at 100kmph and the revs were at 3500rpm. much better for your eardrums but a diasaster for quick overtaking in 4th gear.

In comparison, my G9 1500cc toyota corolla manual's 3rd gear can be downshifted and dragged from 80kmph to 140kmph reaching 140kmph at 5000rpm.

Sad to say this but my 5 year old jap car provides far more overtaking exhilaration than the new german car.

any e90 320i drivers feel the same way?

[mali_panj]

I dont understand your pain acctually... you can rev that engine to the 7000 rpm... you are affraid of the sound or what?

[climkt]

Originally Posted by mali_panj

I dont understand your pain acctually... you can rev that engine to the 7000 rpm... you are affraid of the sound or what?

The sound at 5000rpm is very off putting and harsh-100kmph on 3rd gear.

[timking85]

Get a 6 cylinder E90 and im sure you will enjoy the noise of that one!!

[climkt]

Originally Posted by timking85

Get a 6 cylinder E90 and im sure you will enjoy the noise of that one!!

i know, i had a UK 325i e36 coupe. the e36 6 pot was great. silky smooth even when accelerating from 160kmph to 200kmph.

[330m]

Originally Posted by climkt

The sound at 5000rpm is very off putting and harsh-100kmph on 3rd gear.

But you are overtaking, so you should expect more engine noise for that period, whatever car.

It may sound harsh as it's a 4 pot, but its fine, Just take it 7000 then 5000 will sound OK!! The induction noise of a 4 pot is easy to mistake for 'thrashing' the engine, but i've driven the 320i and it is just fine up to the red line.

Have you ever been in a Honda S2000 4 pot at 9,000 rpm??? That'll make your teeth fall out!!

[NFS]

Mine sounds great at 5000 rpm in 3rd.

Even better at 6700 in 2nd though

[climkt]

i have no problem with the engine noise at 5000rpm. it is the pitch of the engine that sounds like i am thrashing the engine.
the alfa 159 2.2. and the mazda rx-8 sound even better and sweeter than the 320i at 7000rpm.
any feed back from the other 320i drivers?

[NFS]

Originally Posted by climkt

i have no problem with the engine noise at 5000rpm. it is the pitch of the engine that sounds like i am thrashing the engine.
the alfa 159 2.2. and the mazda rx-8 sound even better and sweeter than the 320i at 7000rpm.
any feed back from the other 320i drivers?

To be fair - I would expect the alfa at 2.2 litres to sound sweeter - for one it's a larger displacement and second alfa is known for it's sweet sounding engines (it's just that bits fall of their cars too often)

As to the RX8 - again this is a unique high revving engine (1.3 wankel rotary) with a sports exhaust.

The 320i is unfortunately just a 2.0litre 4 pot with 150 hp. The old 320i would have sounded sweeter with a 2.2 litre staight six and 172 hp.

The new 320i is really just an updated 318i (I had an e46 318 touring with 143hp)

It's a lovely car - but it isn't going to sound particularly sporting.

On the bright side - if the engine is not that special - at least you get all the fabulous dynamics of the e90.

[climkt]

Originally Posted by needforspeed

The 320i is unfortunately just a 2.0litre 4 pot with 150 hp. The old 320i would have sounded sweeter with a 2.2 litre staight six and 172 hp.

The new 320i is really just an updated 318i (I had an e46 318 touring with 143hp)

Agreed on the non sporty 320i noise , it was a damn shame the facelifted 2.2 e46 172hp 6 pot got replaced by 'my diesel sounding' 1997cc 4 pot 150hp engine. it really feels like a retrograde step backwards.

[Phila]

climkt u seem to be having a lot of problems with your car....

[NFS]

Originally Posted by climkt

Agreed on the non sporty 320i noise , it was a damn shame the facelifted 2.2 e46 172hp 6 pot got replaced by 'my diesel sounding' 1997cc 4 pot 150hp engine. it really feels like a retrograde step backwards.

I think unfortunately you have to think of the 320 as an 'improved' 318.

There is quite a big gap now between the 320 and the 325, which wasn't the case with the e46.

None of which is to say that the 320i is a bad car - it's not - it's just that the engine, although smooth, is not particularly sporting.

What this has also done is to place the 320d miles ahead of the 320i - wheras they used to be quite similar in terms of performance.

BMW do seem to have this unique numbering system which sometimes takes account of engine capacity and sometimes doesn't, so it's quite hard to work out whats what.

My 323 coupe was 172 brake and 2300cc, which effectively was replaced by the 320i with 2200cc, which is now defunct.

The 318 was 2000cc for quite some time and the 316 was a detuned version of the 318. It is bloody confusing.

[Thavash]

Hi Climkt

Is your engine run-in yet ?
Mine sounds great at Redline , in fact I've hit the limiter in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. I'll agree thats it's not as fast as a 330i , but it sure sounds great - I don't consider it harsh. Maybe get it checked out at the dealer ?

[climkt]

hi thavesh. haven't heard from u for a while.
my car is run in 10,000km, had engine oil and MTF change done recently.
i think the reason why i think it sounds harsh at high revs is prob because my ears are too used to the silky smooth engine of my prev UK e36 325i coupe.
Reality is 4 pot bmws are really 2nd rate compared to 6 pot bmws.

[lux.sh]

looks like you need a s2000. rev it to 9000k and see which one you like.

[climkt]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

looks like you need a s2000. rev it to 9000k and see which one you like.

hi luxsh, before i bought my puny 150hp e90 320i , i was considering a winning blue mazda rx -8 - 230hp- same price as 320i. test drove it and it revved to 9000rpm too. sounded great!!! like a yamaha motorbike on full throttle. sadly i chose the 320i as wife was not keen on 2+2 seating config on rx-8.

[climkt]

i guess also when the soundtrack of the 4 pot car is coarse, one tends to be reluctant to rev it harder.

[climkt]

Originally Posted by Phila

climkt u seem to be having a lot of problems with your car....

Actually, my car is okay, i am reasonably satisfied with it after 1 year of ownership.
Getting a manual e90 bmw after my auto e46 was the best move i made after returning from UK in 2002.- my first bimmer was a e36 325i manual.

The 320i noise on high rev is just me being fussy.
i guess the morale of the story is once u have tasted the 6 pot bmw, never get a 4 pot bmw.

had i waited 6 months , i could have got a 6 pot 323i manual for the same price as my 4 pot 320i manual. it is difficult to be happy with a car purchase, u win some and lose some.

[NFS]

Originally Posted by climkt

Actually, my car is okay, i am reasonably satisfied with it after 1 year of ownership.
Getting a manual e90 bmw after my auto e46 was the best move i made after returning from UK in 2002.- my first bimmer was a e36 325i manual.

The 320i noise on high rev is just me being fussy.
i guess the morale of the story is once u have tasted the 6 pot bmw, never get a 4 pot bmw.

had i waited 6 months , i could have got a 6 pot 323i manual for the same price as my 4 pot 320i manual. it is difficult to be happy with a car purchase, u win some and lose some.

It's true about the bmw 6 cylinder engines. They are so smooth and the switch to a 4 pot is a pain. I went from a 323 coupe (2.5 litre 172 hp) to a 318 touring (2.0 litre 150 hp) and it clearly wasn't the same.

The 318 was lovely and smooth though, just not a 'long legged'.

On the bright side though, you save a lot of money getting a 320i over a 325i or 330i and you get all of the luxury and dynamics of the larger engined cars.

In some ways it's the smarter move.

[climkt]

hi guys, i revved my 4 pot 320i to 6000rpm in 3rd gear- brought her up to 130kmph today. she sounded loud- thunderous and coarse but i'll get use to her coarse whining at full throttle. never a 4 pot bmw again.

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by climkt

The sound at 5000rpm is very off putting and harsh-100kmph on 3rd gear.

learn how a car works before complaining about a new bmw. As for your information, japanese cars are about high rpm while bmw gives you low end torque and acceleration. As for your 4 cylinder engine, very few people actually have this and even us in HK rather spend more to get an inline 6. Gear ratios are also different. How can you even compare the two cars. Maybe you should sell your bimmer and keep your corolla.

[climkt]

Originally Posted by e90fanatic

learn how a car works before complaining about a new bmw. As for your information, japanese cars are about high rpm while bmw gives you low end torque and acceleration. As for your 4 cylinder engine, very few people actually have this and even us in HK rather spend more to get an inline 6. Gear ratios are also different. How can you even compare the two cars. Maybe you should sell your bimmer and keep your corolla.

well, the truth is i am actually considering selling the 5 year old corolla for a 6 pot e60 525i. my 320i will be my last 4 pot bmw.