Lighter...but not better.

J

john-e89

Lifer
At the stealers today I tried an E89 28i manual, it's a car that's been on my mind for the 100 odd kilo's weight reduction, 245BHP, roughly a second off the 35is, not that I'm into the 0-60 rubbish, 400NM so should be a good drive. All I can go on is a comparison with the 35is and is not meant to be an insult to the 28i but wow, chalk and cheese, I came away thinking just how good the 35is really is. What surprised, and it was a big surprise, was just how much a difference 2 more pots and another turbo make, as said on paper there's not a gulf between the 2 but in reality the gulf is huge, the 28i is no slouch but ran out of puff quite easily, take off felt like I was towing a boat, the 35 keeps pulling HARD right up to the red line with zero tail off, the 28i really struggled in comparison, perhaps not unsurprisingly. But what really made me open mouthed was the handling, I expected the 28i to run rings round the 35 due to weight, but not so, the 35 was so much more composed over rough back roads, the 28i, again in comparison, was very skitty, unsettled, i felt that the extra weight of the 35 made it more composed, less crashy, neither car was in sport mode. So without wanting to appear rude a 28i is off the list, a 35i is the least I can go, that's due to not taking a step backwards. It's probably a very unfair comparison, and if I had'nt had a 35is the 28i would be awesome, but after having one....

Twin Turbo on here has been very very generous and offered me a drive of his chipped 28i that I was going to take up the offer but I went to the dealers to talk turkey and they had one.

I don't mean to sound a snob or mean any insult at all to any other car but it was just a test with 2 cars that I have to be honest about. You pay so much more for the 35is but I can really see why.
 
The only way to feel it really, but coming from the top model going down was never going to be easy.

Does not make it easier for you though.
 
Sounds a bit superior, so apologies in advance, but i could never go to a 4 pot after a lifetime of driving 6-bangers.
Even low down the rev range the delivery is just always sublime.
Jus sayin.
 
Horses for courses hey John :wink:
Ive said before that a decent mapped 35Is is more than a match for most things short of hypercars & can be got that way from around £15k upwards
Then again a Scirocco R with some tweaks will probably do the same with a extra 2 passengers in :oops:
Its all about what you want from a car , want you want in a car & what you are prepared to have tied up in a car
If you wanna be the fastest for the cheapest how about a 3.0Si with supercharger :thumbsup:
 
No desire to be anything Andy, I'm just so surprised at the gulf between the 2 cars, and the other weird thing is the 28i was on 18's and mine is on 19's.
 
As everyone knows I am a advocate for the 28i

But your comments I can not disagree with from my own personal experiences -

The 28i you need to drive hard to get the most out of the car, Its can be very entertaining as there is more driver input as for starters been an manual.

Another factor the IS has active suspension which is more advance than standard MSport suspension.

It be interesting on your feedback you having a play in mine - with its modified engine and suspension.

Before the final nail is in the coffin
 
Even chipped the 28i would still struggle quite badly in the top of the rev range. Partly because there's less headroom in the stock turbos and partly because there's no real tuning for the 28i engine, it's all piggybacks which are limited in what they can achieve (just additional boost and fuel).

There really is no replacement for displacement, especially for smooth power delivery. The 3.0 N54 engine is about as small as I would go.
 
I'm surprised that you're surprised!

100kg is .. a person, in exchange for greater power and tuned sports suspension. no brainer imo (and i've only ever driven the 35is).

Imagine how fun an ///M is :p Different kinda car though (different strengths), imo.
 
In which case - he should definitely share thoughts then! (risking the wrath of the ///M contingent and their undying love!)
 
I really thought you might say that John.

The great news is that you can get a 35i and remap it to 360 and enjoy all the iS benefits but for significantly less money. Especially if you find one with adaptive. Some even have DCT !
 
I went from 23i to 35is. All I can say is 2 very different vehicles.

Loved the 23i for looks and I the 6pot screams on smooth Tarmac. Great car for weekend hoon.

35is a GT with a great soundtrack. 35000 miles of pleasure a year.
 
3rdPillar said:
I went from 23i to 35is. All I can say is 2 very different vehicles.

Loved the 23i for looks and I the 6pot screams on smooth Tarmac. Great car for weekend hoon.

35is a GT with a great soundtrack. 35000 miles of pleasure a year.
Click to expand...

Err, are you my doppelganger :o

Like a lot of cranked up 2 litres on the market the 28i is limited by the size of its lungs. I drove a 1.6 turbo thing a few weeks ago, great fun around town but I was changing gears like a mad person :headbang:
 
John,

The offer to have a drive in my E89 is still there -

As you need to remember, it has an updated engine and also suspension - so the limp driving experience has been removed - as the M Sport suspension has been removed and replaced with KW3's
 
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