Pros and cons of going from 3.0 e85 to 35i ???

S

Southwestz4

Member
Happy new year to all on here !!
I am considering selling my very clean low mileage 3.0 e85 soft top and upgrading to a 35i ...what are pros and cons ( apart from laying down more cash ! )....does anyone have any experience of doing this ?
:?
 
Two very different cars out of the box.

The E85 is a more engaging sportscar
The E89 is less sporting and more like a GT but it is quicker in a straight line

Depends what you how you drive your current one, or how you "see yourself using it"

In my head im 23 and spending all my free time driving a-b lake roads through Cumbria. In reality I have done half a dozen spirited drives in 2 years and it spends most of its time in the garage when it comes out its on the motorway driving up to Cumbria from Manchester and barely even stretches its legs.

Looks wise both are great looking sports cars.

My personal opinion when I test drove the E89 felt very similar to a E92 3 series in almost all respects. In a 3 series body its impressive in a 2 seater less so but it is much more comfortable to do miles in than the E85, feels more refined and obviously has better tech.

On a technical route the 35i has its fair share of issues including injectors and if it has adaptive suspension those can be problem some but nothing crazy. The roof is also a love or hate its the real difference really its heavy and the last place you want weight is high up in a sportscar but it has the added bonus of being a really good year round car.

The 3.0l is simpler and pretty solid but the twin turbo unit is quicker and I was surprised how good it sounded.

I personally like both, but they are very different cars. If I was doing a few miles the E89 would be perfect because its easy to live with and looks great but for a weekend blast the E85 would get the nod.

If it were me I would head toward an Z4M as is the 3.0 on steroids and a good M roady can be had from 14k they are just really special cars the general advice on the forum is the Coupe is the one to have but I went the other way M coupe to M roady because in the 6 years I was out of one the price went up 10k and the roadies didn't really move. Honestly the extra rigidity on the road is completely unnoticeable and essentially its the same car just with the added benefit of the soft top which makes the experience imo.

I never really understood roadsters until I bought a 987 Boxster and realised how much more involving having the roof down is. The S54 induction and exhaust sounds amazing in the roady and in the coupe its much more washed out and drones. I didn't realise how good the coupe sounded until I had my dad driving it for me to photograph it.

Otherwise I would head toward another brand like a 981 Boxster/Cayman as they are just better in almost all aspects but also more expensive.
 
Pro. the 35i has a turbo, so can make way more power :evil:
Con. the 35i has a turbo, so has less throttle response, and isnt as good at the redline :cry:
 
Thanks all and tomscott for taking the time to type that :thumbsup:
I mainly do weekend 'b' road stuff at the moment but as I can't get enough of the straight 6 soundtrack I was thinking it would be good to do some longer trips ...longest trip I have done is Cornwall to Dorset and back in the e85....I love the drive of the e85 but maybe would like slightly more comfort on the long distance stuff.
Agreed the e85 looks better in the flesh and as mine is quite low mileage ( 72k ) maybe it will be a better financial investment in the future :|
Help...I'm still 50/50 at the moment :rofl:
 
Alll this IMHO..

The folks I do my runs with are a very mixed bag of E85/E86/E89 and now G29. We've done about 30,000+ miles together over 5 years..

We rack up between some big transit mileages getting to and from the starts of our runs / weekend trips etc plus a fair degree of 'hooning' on the days we are together.

Most of the cars are relatively stock apart from bigger wheels/stickier tyres.

For what you articulate a NA 30i maybe your best choice.

You get the comfort of the E89, the reliablity of the N52 engine.

With the xHP app you can upgrade the 6HP auto to be as quick as the 8HP. Of course you may prefer a manual.

35i/35is are expensive time bombs for someone, be that the last owner, the current owner, the future owner or the warranty provider.

35is wallows like a drunken whale and a B road is the last place for one of those.

Around 250 bhp is all you need to have a whole load of fun on b roads..

The E85 being a better handler than the E89 I think is folklore..the E85 makes you think it handles but its just telling you how uncomfortable you are..not my words but a couple of our E85 associates.

If you want to make an E89 sharper there are few easy mods to do at no expense to comfort if that's your bag.

Of course a N20 version is the best..I can supply a 6 cylinder mp3 track to play on the stereo to solve your soundtrack problem..
 
So if my e85 is 231hp ( or was 17 years ago), would a newer e89 30i feel about the same performance wise seeing as it is a bit heavier?
 
Southwestz4 said:
So if my e85 is 231hp ( or was 17 years ago), would a newer e89 30i feel about the same performance wise seeing as it is a bit heavier?
Click to expand...

The 3litre e89 uses the later n52 engine as opposed to the m54 in your car, they make 255bhp & have a little more torque along with better economy :thumbsup:
Rob
 
I think Tom has pretty much summed up nicely, e85 is more engaging but if you want to do a few hundred miles the e89 is far more suitable.

Its horses for course and I would go with an e89 if you plan on driving anything over 200 miles
 
Southwestz4 said:
Thanks all and tomscott for taking the time to type that :thumbsup:
I mainly do weekend 'b' road stuff at the moment but as I can't get enough of the straight 6 soundtrack I was thinking it would be good to do some longer trips ...longest trip I have done is Cornwall to Dorset and back in the e85....I love the drive of the e85 but maybe would like slightly more comfort on the long distance stuff.
Agreed the e85 looks better in the flesh and as mine is quite low mileage ( 72k ) maybe it will be a better financial investment in the future :|
Help...I'm still 50/50 at the moment :rofl:
Click to expand...

You will get more comfort in an E89. If you decide to take some of the advice above and look at a 30i instead of a 35i (having owned a 30i and 35is) it's worth mentioning that the 30i on SE suspension, while very comfy (neither me or the other half had any complaints after a road trip to Venice and back), is 100x worse in the corners than the 35is on adaptive M Sport suspension. I suspect that, coming from an E85, you might want to find a 30i with M Sport suspension. Either way though, it is a heavier car and you can feel that in the way it drives.

Go take a few test drives and see what you think. There are very few modern BMWs without an "M" in the name that hold their value particularly well, so I would forget any idea of it being investment, whatever you decide!
 
I’ve traded a well-kept 2003 3.0i E85 with 130K miles for the 35is below. No regrets.

The E89 is more comfortable, more GT, with more silly ‘upgrades’ that don’t sway a prospective buyer one way or the other.

The big surprise was how unsporty it is straight out of the box. It took US$7K to keep it planted on the tarmac.
 
Southwestz4 said:
B21....you mention some mods to improve handling...what would they be ?
Click to expand...

On E89s again IMHO..in order of effect..

18”/19” GY Asy 5 / Conti Sports 5/ Michelin PS4/ your other premium brand

Bilstein B8 shocks either on existing MSport springs or Supplex sport equivalent

E90 M3 front steering linkages / E90 M3 RTABs

H&R ARBs

That combo easily keeps up with E45s whilst not ruffling your G+T…
 
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