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New 330i ZHP - My comments!

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Phantasie 
#1 ·
Hi All.

Well, I finally got my BMW. Here are the details (PICS to come soon):

- 2004 Jet Black 330i
- M Performance Package (ZHP in states)
- Alcantara interior
- Heated seats (standard here in Canada, but mentioning for the Americans )

Comments

I really like this car, and its grown on me since I bought it. My wife and
I left after we picked it up for a 2 week vacation out east (Nova Scotia,
PEI, etc). Started trip with 25 km, returned with 6100 km - OUCH! Worth it
though. Anyway, I wanted to give some of my thoughts (both good and bad)
about this car.

1) Speed/Tourque. Hate to start with something remotely negative, but I
have to mention this. My previous car was a Ford Countour SVT (195HP, 169
tourque), and previous to that Taurus SHO (~200HP iirc). I
expected the BMW to be much faster. I hate to admit it, but
I was kind of dissapointed with the low end pickup on the bimmer. From the
line its not as fast as I hoped it to be. However the high end is very
impressive. I guess I was hoping for more of that push you back into your
seat during 1st/2nd. Dont get me wrong, its not slow by any means though )

2) Gas milage. I was pretty happy to begin with (600KM for a tank),
however once I found out how much it costs to fill up, id say im impartial
on the gas milage. Granted the car, I cant complain :p. Id say I averaged
8.5 L/100 KM highway during the trip (mountains).

3) Looks. Damn, BMW sure knows how to design a good looking car. I just
love the look of E46. With the M ground effects, its even better. For mods
I want to add a black grill, and clear lights (I know :p ) - sort of going
for the whole black and white look.

4) Seats - Comfortable, though I wish it had lumbar controls - personally
I dont like much lumbar support and would like to lower whats there.
Manual seats are standard in Canada, and I didnt upgrade to power due to
cost. (See next point). I like that alcantrara but dont love it. Biggest
plus is how it dosent get hot.

5) Cost. This really bugs me. I pay 50+ grand for a car, and it dosent
even come with power seats. In Canada its an $1800.00 option. This really
irks me! Fold down seats is a $600 dollar option. WTF?

6) Rain sensing windshield wipers - Amazing!

7) Drive - Very stiff and handles well around corners. However those
massive 18inch tires really make you feel every bump in the road. This,
coupled with the evil winters up here, have me thinking some 17inch rims +
snow tires are in order. (and to go with this, brake dust will forever be
my bane).

8) Jet Black - shows every little smudge, dirt, water mark, etc. Only get
black if this dosent bother you or you can clean it every day. When clean,
its looks amazing.

9) Windshield. 3rd day in car, wife driving down highway. Truck drives by
and a rock size of golf bar bounces off hood (minor scratch, will buff
out), but cracks windshield pretty bad. Gets replaced tommorow. Doh!

10) Tinting. I just added tint - 20% high performance metallic.
Unbelievable improvement in looks. Amazing! Probably will get the clear
bra this weekend.

11) Steering wheel. Looks/feels nice, however does anyone else get sore
hands from holding on to it for long periods? While I have large hands,
it seems to me that the diameter of this wheel is slightly larger than
standard. Hopefully I just need to get used to it.

12) Dreaded idle stall - runs great, not problems.

Thats it - Ill add more as they come to mind. Would love to hear any
comments from people on what ive said.

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
I just picked up my 330i ZHP today. I didn't feel a whole lot of torque out of 1st gear, but then I haven't really driven it hard yet. From 2nd on however, I did rev it a bit, and it was everything I remembered the test drive was.

My knock - there's no built in garage door opener! - My last car had this, and I just figured it would be in there. I don't even know where my opener is...

Rough idle - It's not the smoothest when idling, but I'm sure that's the tuning of the engine (tell me if I'm wrong)
 
#3 ·
Torque is the same through the revs regardless of gear....

Should have tried an M3 or 530d.
 
#4 ·
Originally posted by Phantasie@Jul 14 2004, 09:05 AM
10) Tinting. I just added tint - 20% high performance metallic.
Unbelievable improvement in looks. Amazing! Probably will get the clear
bra this weekend.
What brand of tint did you get? Warranty?

I have a clear bra. Very worth while.

If you do a search on the forum, I have posted many pics on my installation.
 
#5 ·
Originally posted by Silver4evr+Jul 15 2004, 08:09 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Silver4evr @ Jul 15 2004, 08:09 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Phantasie@Jul 14 2004, 09:05 AM
10) Tinting. I just added tint - 20% high performance metallic.
Unbelievable improvement in looks. Amazing! Probably will get the clear
bra this weekend.
What brand of tint did you get? Warranty?

I have a clear bra. Very worth while.

If you do a search on the forum, I have posted many pics on my installation. [/b][/quote]
Hmm, cant remember name - I called around to alot of places. Didnt want some overnight out of garage typer place. Once i finally found was same place BMW/Acura/Lexus/etc send cars to be done, been in business 16 years, etc. Warrenty was lifetime through company first. I asked them what if they go out of buisness and they said at that point you call manufactiuer and they send you to nearest dealer. That sounded good enough to me. At the end of the day, its really only a couple 100 bucks, so as long as im reasonably secure im happy.

They were great there and well priced based on other quotes. Company was Insultint in St. Catharines Ontario (not that more that a handfull of people on this board will know where that is/ive nearby :) ).

As for clear bra, ive seen them installed, etc. Did you do yours yourself?
 
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