Overtaking in a 20i

Deepseaskateboard

Deepseaskateboard

Senior member
How do people generally find it?

I am not talking about driving like a chav, but as and when you pull up on a camper van or lorry blocking the view of the welsh country side.

Do you feel the car is adequate at performing or could it do with more power?

What gear or rev range do you use etc?
 
I didn't feel the standard 20i had a massive amount of grunt and had mine remapped, so it's about 80bhp richer. The difference is night and day - it makes progress really quickly and smoothly. Even at high speeds it has enough in reserve for a safe pass.
I've got the 8 speed auto and put it in Sport on roads such as you are suggesting - you're always in a responsive gear without having to wait for it to kickdown.
 
:? Every overtake is different, so many different things to consider, how fast the car accelerates is but one small part of the equation. I have no problem over taking caravans safely, at the right point in any journey, in a humble Mazda2. So I would hope any 89 is more than up too the task. :wink:

Of course more grunt changes the important TED during any over take. But pretty much any modern car above a 1.0 will dispatch a dawdling tourist safely. The rest is just nice to have and chat about here. :D :thumbsup:
 
I found mine as OE was a bit disapointing with its 8 speed auto. At the time the 326m wheels with runflats held me in check!

On the same roads my Volvo XC70 D5 or the Mini Cooper SD seemed to do a better job of overtaking unless I had pre-planned the manouevre.

Part of the problem is that when they neuter the N20 engine to create the 20i it creates a very flat torque curve which then tails off and hence the BHP curve..so changing gears pre-emptively doesn't result in the expected boost in performance.

As buzyg states you can overtake in any car but I found it anticlimatic as OE..

So I found best approach was sports mode and shift so I had say 4k on the rev counter then overtake and allow theauto to shift at peakish revs..

As Ming states and many have founded a re-map, especially with the auto utterly transforms the feel and actual real world performance with both the ability to do low rpm high gear overtakes and also high rpm low gear overtakes.
 
I agree with the guys above

My 20i is stock (at least I assume it is?) and it feels like it would definitely benefit from a remap

I really like the 8 speed auto and I've never driven a 28i but I think getting the engine up to 250bhp+ would really be worth it

It's on my list of things to do once the BMW warranty expires
 
I've been driven in a 20i manual and it was punchy, but my 28i auto defo has more punch, it pushes you back in the seat, you feel it much more in sports mode as there's no delay when you accelerate.
 
Jasonn said:
I'd love to remap mine but the insurance would be prohibitive
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I had a remap recently; 156hp to 280hp. Insurance cost me nothing extra , not a penny.
OP: It's not the BHP that is noticeably transformed by a remap; it's the torque. Overtaking is now "any gear, any revs, any speed". I should copyright that and sell it to a tuner! :D
 
Remapped mine and never had to worry about an overtake. As per Pondrew above, it's the torque that really helps. If I recall correctly, an increase of an additional +150 ft lbs.
 
Unfortunately with a remap, limited mileage of 8k with 3k of that being commuting/work visits, class 1 business use I was looking at around £1500 per year with a 1k excess.

Currently paying just shy of £500 - no convictions, last set of points was in the late 80s for excess speed, last claim was to replace a bumper and respray a wing back in 2001when someone hit my car in the carpark. 51 year old Environmental health officer, named driver is my wife (who won't drive the car but has her own vehicle) who's a teacher no crashes or convictions.

Specialist brokers gave me a higher quote (for those that quoted)
 
I use LV for all our cars..slightly older but with ahem speeding conviction..around £230 ish per vehicle..

They charge about 10% extra for modded vehicles…for me..
 
Pbondar said:
I use LV for all our cars..slightly older
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Ditto with LV on a multi-car. Live in centre of a town I'm 53 and wife is 47. No claims or convictions in 10 years. We pay £170 for the Z4 with a remap. I think it the lack of claims and convictions that helps. I also pay less for a £23k 300bhp Ford with business use!
 
You've got it all wrong, You've got the wrong car, you need a 35i with a remap, when I overtake in mine it's like going at warp factor 9 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
This really depends for me.

When I had my 2.0 i struggled to keep up with friends on a 'spirited' drive as over takes are difficult.

Car was plenty quick but really lacked grunt for over taking.
 
Jollyjoiner said:
You've got it all wrong, You've got the wrong car, you need a 35i with a remap, when I overtake in mine it's like going at warp factor 9 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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How much power does a remap release on the 35i?

I thought it was naturally aspirated?
 
Deepseaskateboard said:
Jollyjoiner said:
You've got it all wrong, You've got the wrong car, you need a 35i with a remap, when I overtake in mine it's like going at warp factor 9 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Click to expand...

How much power does a remap release on the 35i?

I thought it was naturally aspirated?
Click to expand...

No it’s a twin turbo and gets about an extra 60 bhp, they really are a very tuneable engine and can go up to 800 bhp
 
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