[Weaselboy]

Picked up my new 2011 335i coupe last Friday (4/30) and thought you folks might be interested in some pics and a comparison with my 2007 335i coupe. I now have 900 miles on the new car. The 2007 had 34,000 miles on it when I traded it in still with the original HPFP!

A little background so you understand my perspective. I have owned a 2000 328i sedan (non-sport package), 2003 330i sedan (sport), 2006 330i (sport), 2007 335i coupe (sport), and now the 2011 335i coupe (non-sport). I consider myself an auto enthusiast and pretty actively follow this and two other BMW forums.

Here are the specs. 2011 has premium package, step, heated seats, PDC, and NAV in Alpine White with saddle interior and bamboo anthracite wood trim. 2007 had premium package, sport package, step, heated seats, PDC, iPod 6FL package, and NAV in space grey with grey interior. Pretty close except no sport package on the 2011 (more on that in a moment) and of course the new N55 engine versus old N54.

Here are a few exterior shots of the 2011. These are the new style 339 17" wheels that come with the non-sport package car. I was concerned how the 17s would look in the wheel well, but I am pleased with the look. In researching this, I was surprised to find the exterior diameter of the 18" sport tires is within 1/10" of the 17" tires, so any perception that the 17s don't fill the wheel well is just that, perception. I think the lower profile tire of the 18" wheel makes it appear the wheel well is fuller.











One exterior shot of the 2007 for comparison.





Interior shots with saddle leather and bamboo anthracite wood trim. The bamboo looks more black and less brown tinted in real life than these photos. A little direct sunlight on the bamboo brings out more of the brown. I am very happy with the saddle/bamboo color combo.







Now on to the N55 engine. Compared to the N54 the N55 seems quieter and smoother at all RPM levels. How much of this can be attributed to a 900 mile engine vs. a 34,000 mile engine (N54) I cannot say. The exhaust note on the N55 has the same tone and sound, just muted a little from the N54. The specs show the peak torque on the N55 coming on 200 RPM sooner than the N54 and you can tell when driving. Part throttle acceleration in top gear from about 50-70MPH on the freeway seems stronger with the N55. I have not done any high RPM runs yet waiting for the magic 1,200 mile break in.

The N55 is definitely more efficient. On a 300 mile drive from the Central Coast of CA to SoCal yesterday I got 32.2 MPG based on the trip computer. This same drive in my 2007 would normally get me between 29.5-30.2. This was at a steady 70-75MPH indicated.

Okay, now for the bad news. There is no oil cooler on my car. I don't know if this is because I did not get the sport package or what? Here is a pic of the oil filter housing where the oil cooler lines would run from, and another pic showing the RF wheel well with the vented opening where the oil cooler goes. Not there. I have no plans to track the car, so am not overly concerned, but I will watch the temps in the summer to see if this has an impact on engine temp.







Okay, let's talk sport package. I had two issues with the sport package on my 2007 coupe. The summer performance tires were just too damn noisy on anything but a glass smooth road. If a quieter all-season tire in the 18" size were available, I'm sure that would have helped, but at this point nothing is available. On the 2007 I went from OEM Bridgestones to Michelin RFTs and that helped a lot, but still pretty noisy and rough. My second issue was the sport seats. The high thigh bolsters pressed in on the outside of my thighs and made me miserable on anything but a short drive. I am 6' tall and weigh 206, so am admittedly not svelte, but also not fat by any means.The bolstered sport seats were just too narrow in the seat cushion for me to ever get really comfortable. I am much more comfortable in the less bolstered non-sport seats. I do realize all coupes come with the sport suspension, but I had no problem with the firm suspension of my 2007.

So my 2011 without sport package has all season 225/45R17 all-season Continental tires and they are MUCH quieter than the 18s on the 2007 with sport package. I do not notice much difference in handling with these tires vs. the sport 18s during normal driving. During "spirited" driving I do notice slightly less responsive turn in and directional change. Overall, this is a good compromise for me.

I read (link below) the 2011 coupe has new Sachs shock absorbers and I can report these shocks have helped with the jarring ride motions I experienced in the 2007 coupe. Speed bumps and road dips that would have launched me out of the seat on my 2007 are now swallowed up with much less drama. I suspect this will help with the "pothole explosions." Sorry guys, but I am not going to Banzai any potholes for you to test this theory.


http://www.insideline.com/bmw/3-seri...rst-drive.html

I saw some previous comments that 2010MY owners reported less brake dust. I can confirm my 2011 has FAR less brake dust accumulation that my 2007 did. With my 2007 I would do a wash and quick detail on the wheels and within 50 miles I could see black dust all over the wheels. Below are two pics of my 2011 wheels after 900 miles, at least 100 miles of that stop-and-go driving. Almost no brake dust! Look in the lower left of the pics and you can see where I made an X in the brake dust with my finger. I don't notice any degradation in braking performance from my 2007.







As others with 2009+ have covered at length the new iDrive is far better than what I had in my 2007. If there is a specific issue I can answer about the new iDrive, I would be glad to respond, but this has been pretty well covered in other threads.

I saw some forums comments about the plastic sun visor covering on 2010MY cars. The 2011 has the same plastic covering rather than a fabric that matches the headliner and it does look a little cheesy. Here are a couple pics.







On the subject of overall quality, here is a pic of uneven stitching at the top of the seatback on my car.





I also notice more wind noise from the new, larger mirrors.

Overall, I am very happy with my new car, but some of these "cost cutting" measures we see do concern me long term.

Would be glad to answer any questions.

[light]

nice, 2011 looks sweet man. congrats

[UdubBadger]

nice write up

[bsamoul]

congrats man, good read

Nice writeup! Does the 2011 iDrive come with reading text message availability? I heard it does that on the F10 5 series.

Can you comment on the 2011 standard sound system since you came from 2007 with Logic7? Does the one in the 2011 sound really bad?

[Kolyan2k]

Good to see that there is no dust on wheels....

although its just a matter of brake pads....

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

Okay, now for the bad news. There is no oil cooler on my car. I don't know if this is because I did not get the sport package or what? Here is a pic of the oil filter housing where the oil cooler lines would run from, and another pic showing the RF wheel well with the vented opening where the oil cooler goes. Not there. I have no plans to track the car, so am not overly concerned, but I will watch the temps in the summer to see if this has an impact on engine temp.

Well, I think BMW consistent all along, oil-cooler comes with ZPP/ZMP only.
It was on MT only initially then auto gets retrofit.

Need to check mine when it comes, w/o oil cooler I'll probably pass since I am buying not leasing.

Thanks for the review.

[The J-Man]

Got any more pics of the interior? I ordered the same combo and am a bit concerned about the bamboo with saddle. I would prefer it to look more black rather than brown as in all the photos.

[BayMoWe335]

Somehow, the front of the new one looks awful to me. Is it just my eyes or is almost everything about it slightly different? Kidney grilles, lights, shape of everything, etc.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Somehow, the front of the new one looks awful to me. Is it just my eyes or is almost everything about it slightly different? Kidney grilles, lights, shape of everything, etc.

yep. 07 looks better.

[Saintor]

Sport Pack is overrated for most people. Smart to order your car without it.

[Tee212]

great contribution

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by The J-Man

Got any more pics of the interior? I ordered the same combo and am a bit concerned about the bamboo with saddle. I would prefer it to look more black rather than brown as in all the photos.

I just went out and took more pics for you. I know the pics look a little brown, but it is really very black in person. I went in the garage with the door shut and took pics with no flash and that took a more accurate pic. I held up a white piece of paper in one pic so you can compare and that pic is the closest pic to how it really looks. Very black.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by Saintor

Sport Pack is overrated for most people. Smart to order your car without it.

sport package gets you better wheels, MUCH better seats, and i am not sure whats the deal with sport suspension on 335s

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by beemer3

Nice writeup! Does the 2011 iDrive come with reading text message availability? I heard it does that on the F10 5 series.

No text message reading.

Originally Posted by beemer3

Can you comment on the 2011 standard sound system since you came from 2007 with Logic7? Does the one in the 2011 sound really bad?

The 2011 sound system is what I will call adequate. It does not sound as good as the Logic7 in my 2007, but it also does not sound "like crap" as others have posted. At normal volume driving around town with the windows up and A/C on, I think it sounds just fine, although not as full as the Logic7. Now if you like to drive 70 on the freeway with windows down and the volume up, this system does not have the wattage to overcome that kind of background noise and I think you will be disappointed. I will close by saying if you are a big music listener and like to crank up the volume, go for the upgrade.

[nyknickfan]

keep us posted on any noticeable differences after the break-in period ...and I'm a def a lil' jealous about the break dust...

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

sport package gets you better wheels, MUCH better seats, and i am not sure whats the deal with sport suspension on 335s

It really comes down to a personal decision about the comfort/handling trade-off. The sports package wheels force you into an 18" summer performance tire that is very noisy and rough with somewhat better handling. As I said, the sport seats are a no go for me. The coupes all come with the sport suspension, so that does not change. I don't know that I would just across the board say sports package is "better", just different.

[The J-Man]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

I just went out and took more pics for you. I know the pics look a little brown, but it is really very black in person. I went in the garage with the door shut and took pics with no flash and that took a more accurate pic. I held up a white piece of paper in one pic so you can compare and that pic is the closest pic to how it really looks. Very black.

Sweet, thanks for the pics. It does look better in these pictures, and much more unique than the other wood choices.

[Saintor]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

It really comes down to a personal decision about the comfort/handling trade-off. The sports package wheels force you into an 18" summer performance tire that is very noisy and rough with somewhat better handling. As I said, the sport seats are a no go for me. The coupes all come with the sport suspension, so that does not change. I don't know that I would just across the board say sports package is "better", just different.

I am fed up with the cliche that sport pack is automatically better; *this isn't true*.

I hate my 18"... they did become noisy.... those low profile tires get hit on the steel belts and get noisy easily. Not even talking about the THREE wheel repairs I had to do. Never had those issues with various 17" sets I owned. As for the seats, I would say differently in my E46, but the base ones in my E90 are just fine.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by Saintor

I am fed up with the cliche that sport pack is automatically better; *this isn't true*.

I hate my 18"... they did become noisy.... those low profile tires get hit on the steel belts and get noisy easily. Not even talking about the THREE wheel repairs I had to do. Never had those issues with various 17" sets I owned. As for the seats, I would say differently in my E46, but the base ones in my E90 are just fine.

most likely you dont hate your 18s, but RFTs...they are the ones that cause all the trouble.....i had 19s on my e46 m3 and ride was good.

[Saintor]

I don't have RFT... regulars.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by Saintor

I don't have RFT... regulars.

interesting......i am in boston where roads are shit and while my RTFs are kinda rough for me, I am pretty sure normal tires would be excellence.