[BentZero]

I spent the last few couple of days detailing, tinkering and getting to familier with Zero. I just want to list some things that I love about this car so far though.

First the controversial one: ASD. Honestly, I can't tell if I have ASD or not. It may be because I have the base hi-fi audio, but to me it's seamless and sounds really good. I may change my mind when I upgrade the audio.

The exhaust. Even in stock form, while a tad quiet, it sounds really good. Drove through a parking garage tonight and it sounded amazing.

Exhaust tips. I thought they were supposed to be chrome, but mine are a gun metal silver that goes well with the diffuser and my orbit rims.

Torque and HP. Gobs of it. I can't wait to get through break-in. It's like a caged beast right now. I can feel it there. Begging me to rev beyond 3k.

Eco-pro. Yup, more controversy. I like the graph and seeing the stars and extra miles tick up. Maybe it's the gamer in me. With the exhaust valve solenoid unplugged I don't lose much exhaust note either. ASD is obviously more muted. ASS is pretty much ass though. My wife chuckled at it tonight lol.

The pedal layout. Executing heel and toe down shifts is so much easier in this car than cars I've driven in the past. I'm still perfecting it, but worrying about foot position in relation to the pedals is a non-issue. It's so easy to blip the throttle. Especially in sport mode. Getting a perfect downshift mid-turn is SOOOO satisfying.

The way it looks. My god is this a beautiful vehicle. Just beautiful. I love it. I added two layers of Power Lock this weekend and it already looks good. Can't wait to see it next weekend when I wax it.

I could keep going man and sorry for rambling. I've been in the dad mobile for far too long. It's amazing to finally be back in a true Zero. Very few, if any, of you will get the Zero reference....sorry.

Anyway, that's my list. What does yours look like?

PS: People want to race me at stop lights for some reason. :/ Do you get this a lot? Mostly mustangs and golf gtis.

[allthatisntnow]

Good stuff! Glad you're enjoying it. Just wait until the tuning bug bites

I used to think stock was torquey.....but now.....

[X54TH]

Originally Posted by allthatisntnow

Good stuff! Glad you're enjoying it. Just wait until the tuning bug bites

I used to think stock was torquey.....but now.....

Is the tune the MPPK or Dinan? is there a MPPK? I saw the Dinan Stage 1 & 2. That was pretty insane.

[Zooks527]

Reminder: Change the "Drives" listing in your user description;

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

Reminder: Change the "Drives" listing in your user description;

Haha, oh yeah.

[qnet]

I'm really enjoying my car also. I haven't really noticed the ASD that much also, or maybe it just not bothering me as much. I don't get a lot of people/kids trying to race me. I mainly get a lot of tailgating, and aggressive driving, but people in my city drive stupid anyway. It's not as bad as when I had my Evo.

I like the exhaust sound but it could be a little louder. I've been debating on getting the MPE but, I'll probably hold off on that.

Some of my reasons for really liking this car may be different from others. This is my first new BMW. I had a 95 E36 M3. This car has a lot of the stuff that I wanted to add to my M3 and my Evo X.

My M3 was an nice car and it was loaded. The only thing I wanted was the angel-eye lights that were Xeons.

The Evo X in 2014 could be ordered with a package called sight & sound. This package came with a sunroof, leather-heated seats, Xeon lights, and a premium sound system. Long story short, I got talked into getting the sunroof and leather installed in a regular Evo by the dealer. The leather was nice, but I was never happy with the sunroof. It worked well and didn't leak, but make creaking noises. I also didn't get any of the other stuff I wanted had I ordered a car.

My M235i came loaded with everything I originally wanted in the Evo and then some. I know a lot of these things are not a big deal to some, but at 47, I've come to enjoy some of the nice options in my cars. It's one of the reasons getting the M235i vs. waiting for an M2 was an easy decision for me. The M2 comes with some nice options, but if I absolutely had to have a raw track-ready car, I could have just kept my Evo X.

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by qnet

I'm really enjoying my car also. I haven't really noticed the ASD that much also, or maybe it just not bothering me as much. I don't get a lot of people/kids trying to race me. I mainly get a lot of tailgating, and aggressive driving, but people in my city drive stupid anyway. It's not as bad as when I had my Evo.

I like the exhaust sound but it could be a little louder. I've been debating on getting the MPE but, I'll probably hold off on that.

Some of my reasons for really liking this car may be different from others. This is my first new BMW. I had a 95 E36 M3. This car has a lot of the stuff that I wanted to add to my M3 and my Evo X.

My M3 was an nice car and it was loaded. The only thing I wanted was the angel-eye lights that were Xeons.

The Evo X in 2014 could be ordered with a package called sight & sound. This package came with a sunroof, leather-heated seats, Xeon lights, and a premium sound system. Long story short, I got talked into getting the sunroof and leather installed in a regular Evo by the dealer. The leather was nice, but I was never happy with the sunroof. It worked well and didn't leak, but make creaking noises. I also didn't get any of the other stuff I wanted had I ordered a car.

My M235i came loaded with everything I originally wanted in the Evo and then some. I know a lot of these things are not a big deal to some, but at 47, I've come to enjoy some of the nice options in my cars. It's one of the reasons getting the M235i vs. waiting for an M2 was an easy decision for me. The M2 comes with some nice options, but if I absolutely had to have a raw track-ready car, I could have just kept my Evo X.

Nice. I like the Evo. This is my first BMW, but I HAD to have the angel eyes. By the time I optioned a 228 I was $2,000 off from the M235. Once I drove the 235 it was game over.

[XutvJet]

I picked up my M235 6MT (moonroof delete) about a month ago. It is definitely the nicest, best driving car I've ever owned. It only has 1,300 miles and not until about a week ago did I really open it up. It's the fastest car I've ever owned including my modded 1994 Z28 from 20 years ago (LOL) and my prior Stage 1 2012 WRX.

The M235 has topend legs, pure and simple. Is it late model GM/Ford V8 like power? Absolutely not. The stock power in this 6MT is really interesting to me. It feels so much like my buddies old 1990 Mustang 5.0 notchback with 3.73 gears, meaning lots of torque and happy to tug along at 1,700rpms. When you get on it, the turbo comes almost instantly alive and the mid range power reminds me of that LT1 in my old Z28. In most late model, twin-scroll single turbo cars, the power hits hard and starts to die off in the mid 5000rpm range. Even my non-twin scroll WRX behaved similar (big wallop of power at 3,500rpms and tailed off a lot at 5,000rpms). With the M235 though, I swear this motor finds a second set of lungs and there's an additional push in power that can be felt right at around 5000rpms and the power actually climbs like an NA motor to around 6500rpms. Driving around town and getting on it from 2,000-4,500rpms feels really really good and is plenty for almost every situation, but if you stay in it, it gets really good. But you're also really speeding too and will be looking a BMW elitist punk. In the upper RPMs, this factory tuned N55 reminds me of my of old modded 1996 Nissan Maxima which had some aftermarket intake manifold wizardy to make strong power in the 5000-7000rpms (about 50whp over stock) and it was velvety smooth up to the extended 7,200rpm limiter. I loved that Nissan VQ motor and the N55 reminds of the VQ in the upper rpms (smooth and strong pull), but with even more acceleration on the topend. This definitely feels like a 108-109mph 1/4 mile car which is more than enough for the street and light track duty and faster than 99.5% of the cars on the road. I'm not sure a tune would be ideal if it ends up hurting power delivery characteristics. The car is already traction limited in certain situations.

My biggest gripe is the stiff accelerator pedal; and the light, long travel clutch; and heavy dual mass flywheel. The WRX was the exact opposite. Heavy clutch, lightning quick accelerator pedal, single mass flywheel. That car was incredibly easy to rev match on downshifts. The additional NVH didn't hurt either by allowing you to feel the rpms. With the BMW, I'm having a hell of a time consistently finding that smooth rev match. It's so refined and so much slower to rev in neutral (even in Sport modes) than my brain and feet are used to. I suppose it will just take time.

[allthatisntnow]

Originally Posted by X54TH

Is the tune the MPPK or Dinan? is there a MPPK? I saw the Dinan Stage 1 & 2. That was pretty insane.

Its a JB4: forgoes the warranty dinan offer, but has much higher potential vs cost. Technically, the 235i already has the MPPK from factory being 326 vs 306hp of its equivalent gen N55 35i cars. There is no option for it to be added on.

[X54TH]

Originally Posted by allthatisntnow

Its a JB4: forgoes the warranty dinan offer, but has much higher potential vs cost. Technically, the 235i already has the MPPK from factory being 326 vs 306hp of its equivalent gen N55 35i cars. There is no option for it to be added on.

Thanks. I figured it today when I looked at the specs and compared them to our F15. The MPPK brings the X5 to that HP of the M235. Also, I saw a video that explained why the M is in front of the 235. That positioning of the M indicates a performance enhancement beyond the M appearance package (M Sport line).

I'm tempted to do a piggyback on both the F15 and F22 but i don't want to put the warranty in jeopardy which is why many of us are looking at Dinan which is crazy fast. Saw a video of a M235 with 400 HP using a Dinan Stage 3.

[nike001]

Originally Posted by BentZero

PS: People want to race me at stop lights for some reason. :/ Do you get this a lot? Mostly mustangs and golf gtis.

Ha. I do but it's mostly civics or neons... or basically any diesel truck or Toyota Tundra

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by nike001

Ha. I do but it's mostly civics or neons... or basically any diesel truck or Toyota Tundra

Haha, I can't remember the last time I saw a Neon.

[1LegitM235i]

Congrats! Glad to hear your analytical detailed views of our car. Not many drivers of our cars here who left the F22 scene right away for something better, really knew what they had. Yet there are still some of us that can still appreciate the best qualities of this car.

Since you're still in the breaking period, you will notice the best performance in power and handling still to come. A friend who also has a fairly unbroken in 235i noticed the difference in my car when he drove it. Clutch, throttle, shift, handling will open up in a whole new level. Just be patient and get to know your car in the mean time.

I agree to most of your comment. The exhaust could be a little louder but I'm glad it doesn't sound like most of its competition out there. I can't stand aftermarket loud exhaust from big V8s that's barely putting out horsepower. That's why I love ours being subtle in sound but not in power. Yeah the ass is less than attractive but you can upgrade that later. I did mine after a week, I couldn't stand it.

[Deutsche-Broke]

Originally Posted by BentZero

I spent the last few couple of days detailing, tinkering and getting to familier with Zero. I just want to list some things that I love about this car so far though.

PS: People want to race me at stop lights for some reason. :/ Do you get this a lot? Mostly mustangs and golf gtis.

Congrats.. That sounds awesome.. Enjoy it....

[Merc for hire]

Enjoy the honeymoon! It won't last long though!

I had my car for 4 month now and it faded off for me. I am drooling at Porsche 911s now... Can't wait for my 3 years lease to be over, lol

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by Merc for hire

Enjoy the honeymoon! It won't last long though!

I had my car for 4 month now and it faded off for me. I am drooling at Porsche 911s now... Can't wait for my 3 years lease to be over, lol

Dang. :/ I'm not like that with my cars. I tend to hold them for about 10 years.