[Nobber]

Morning All,

Thought I would start a build thread for my 335i Touring.

Started looking for the right car about 6 months back and found it quite a struggle due to the 335i touring being so rare, especially in the right spec. At most in my search there were a maximum of 6 nationally on Autotrader with only 1 of those being suitable!!

Eventually one that was very close to the right spec, the only issue I had with it was the semi auto box but decided to go and take a look anyway. So off I went to see Jason Barker at Birds Garage. I've got nothing but high praise for Jason, so a good guy, friendly, helpful and genuinely enthusiastic about M, 135 and 335 engined cars. I recommend him completely to anyone looking for this type of car.

After owning nothing but VAG based cars for the past since I was 18 (17 years) I was somewhat nervous about buying a BMW and most of all a RWD car, so after driving the 335i touring I was sold on the idea.

Being a turbo junky and having been bitten with a previous NA Audi, the 335i touring turned out to be the perfect compromise for me. Space, quality, tuneability and looks.

D-Day arrived and I went to pick up Bernard (name given to the 'old mans' car) and the new era of car ownership began.

Collection pictures:





Got it home (Saturday) and within 10 minutes the first 2 mods were complete:

(private plate and black grills)


On the Tuesday it went in to the body shop for a couple of touches:

(Gloss Black rear valance and gloss black roof rails to match the window trims etc)



Got the Car back on the Friday Morning and drove it straight to Storm Developments for the next phase of mods. Then drove it to Amsterdam on the Saturday to let the suspension settle!!!:

(Eibach Pro Kit springs, 19" BBS LM's, reps of course, I'm not made of money! Depo rear outer lights and a stage 1 map)




I then popped along to a Rolling Road session just to see what the bus was running:




With just the map it ran 353bhp and 385lb/ft:



I'm not done just yet with the mods, not by a long way! The Mod List is as follows:

Decent Tyres
Spacers
Wagner Tuning Intercooler
Full Exhaust including downpipes (recommendations welcome)
Uprated HPFP (if there is such a thing for the 335i?)
Intake solution of some kind
Coilovers
Rear tints
Stage 2 map
Re-Trimmed Recaro CS's

Couple of previous cars just for fun:

(S3 with 383bhp and 386lb/ft)




(B7 RS4)





(Leon Cupra K1 with 380bhp and 380lb/ft)





I could go on but I won't as there has been a few over the years!!!

Cheers

Nobber aka Paul

[adamroutley]

Absolutely delightful!! Also a VAG man at heart!!

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by adamroutley

Absolutely delightful!! Also a VAG man at heart!!

Cheers Adam. I'll always be a VAG man I think and until circumstance are different or I can afford the 'right' VAG car, the 335i is here to stay!

[Shere]

Nice set of cars, I've especially never seen an a3 look so nice!

You like your personal plates it seems

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by Shere

Nice set of cars, I've especially never seen an a3 look so nice!

You like your personal plates it seems

Easy with that A3 business....it was an S3!!! Just kidding buddy!

Thanks for the praise. I do love my modified cars and keeping them as clean as possible. The private plates just tend to finish them off and also hide their age!!

[E90325iM-SPORT]

Wow that rs4!!! Nice 335 btw

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by romanbmws

Wow that rs4!!! Nice 335 btw

Yeh that's what I thought when I got the chance to buy one!! My dream car, perfect in every way etc etc. In reality it was just a bit........ well, dull!! Way too capable car, too easy to drive extremely quickly but still not as quick as my Leon.

Lack of turbo grunt and ridiculous running costs meant it only stayed with me for about 10 months in total.

My rule on cars is simple maths really:

If running costs => fun factor, sell it.
If fun factor => running costs, keep it.

[Tak1986]

I like the VAG collection you had before, especially the RS4!

Congrats on the purchase, you might want to put some blackline rear lights on (look on germany ebay), it will transform the rear look of the car.

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by Tak1986

I like the VAG collection you had before, especially the RS4!

Congrats on the purchase, you might want to put some blackline rear lights on (look on germany ebay), it will transform the rear look of the car.

Thanks buddy!

Yeh I just noticed a wanted thread in the forsale section for a set of the Blackline lights. A quick search on eBay.de and I now have another mod to add to the list!!!

[Ste133]

Lovely touring.

I also like your past collection of cars and each one is sweetly tuned and pushing good power.

Planning to keep this one a little longer then the others? How's the car compared to your RS4?

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by Ste133

Lovely touring.

I also like your past collection of cars and each one is sweetly tuned and pushing good power.

Planning to keep this one a little longer then the others? How's the car compared to your RS4?

Cheers mate!! I plan on keeping this one a little while. The S3 was with me for over 2 years (a record tbh!) and the K1 a good 18 months!! The only one that got moved on quickly was the RS4!

Compared to the RS4.....Hmmmm that's a tough question as they are quite different beasts. They both have pros and cons but bang for buck the BMW wins hands down really and as mentioned previously I do love me a turbo'd lump so the RS4 just can't compete there.

I do miss the seats in both Audi's oh and obviously the noise the RS4 made!!!

I could show you a few other VAG's that have graced my driveway but I won't bore you with them!!!

[Hotcoupe]

Do you deal in personalised number plates, Huh?

That Cupra must have been a beast!

[Tak1986]

Originally Posted by Nobber

Thanks buddy!

Yeh I just noticed a wanted thread in the forsale section for a set of the Blackline lights. A quick search on eBay.de and I now have another mod to add to the list!!!

Dropped you a PM regarding to the seller I purchased my set from.

keep us update on the mod list! I have dropped my touring couple of months ago, it transfer the look and handle of the car

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

Do you deal in personalised number plates, Huh?

That Cupra must have been a beast!

some got some nice horses there...

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

Do you deal in personalised number plates, Huh?

That Cupra must have been a beast!

The Cupra was a bit of an animal to say the least, it turned the standard clutch to chocolate after about 1000 miles on that level of tune! Feathering the throttle and learning when and where to give it the death was essential!

As for the plates, I'm a bit of a fan yeh. Hides the age of the car mainly!

Originally Posted by Tak1986

Dropped you a PM regarding to the seller I purchased my set from.

keep us update on the mod list! I have dropped my touring couple of months ago, it transfer the look and handle of the car

Thanks for the PM buddy, much appreciated. The mod list will no doubt continue to grow over time, doubt I'll ever be fully happy with things! For now though the Eibach springs will have to do drop wise.

Originally Posted by zltm089

some got some nice horses there...

Thanks mate. It's certainly no slouch, but still some way to go for the numbers I'd like!

[Nobber]

Recent Mods added to the bus:

New Goodyear Eagle F1's alround
Full LED Interior lighting kit
LED Halo Conversion
Black/White BMW Badges
Debadged rear end
20mm Rear Spacers
15mm Front Spacers

To do list:

Blackline Rear clusters
Rear tinted windows
Focal Component Speaker Upgrade
Subs Upgrade
Dension gateway 500
Wagner Tuning 5" EVO 2 IC Kit
VRSF Downpipes
AFE Power Magnum FORCE Stage-2 PRO 5R Intake
Coilovers......

[Shere]

[Nobber]

Lol @ Shere! He's wayyy too dirty right now for pics. I will try and get it cleaned over the weekend but considering I'm still in the office right now, I'm not sure I can be bothered!!

[jimborae]

Hi Mate,

Have you got your DP's fitted yet? Just wondered if theres anywhere local you might recommend as we're in the same town?

PS- Sweet E91

Cheers

J

[Nobber]

Alright J!

Another 335i touring rolling round Newbury, good to know! What colour is yours? Any mods?

DP's are in the garage currently after taking 8 weeks to arrive from the US!! Well worth the wait though as the quality on the welds etc is excellent. They will be fitted in July as I've got other more pressing outgoings from the 'slush fund' at the moment.

I get all my mechanical work including remap's done by Andy & Alex at Storm Developments in Aldermaston. I've known the boys for years now and they have worked on all my cars. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I get all my bodywork done by Fraiser at Headley bodyshop. He's a top bloke and always sorts me out with a good price for a quality finish. Again I can't recommend him highly enough.

Drop me a PM with some contact info mate, be good to meet up.

[Marshall878]

The plates are awesome, i recognise them though....instagram user?

I love the cupra one... K1 OMFG.

I had CL10 FTW on my Clio 200.

Definately need one for the E92!

The wagons look so good with the 335 twin pipes!

[Nobber]

Originally Posted by Marshall878

The plates are awesome, i recognise them though....instagram user?

I love the cupra one... K1 OMFG.

I had CL10 FTW on my Clio 200.

Definately need one for the E92!

The wagons look so good with the 335 twin pipes!

Thanks Marshall

Yeh I do have a bit of an 'issue' when it comes to plates, mainly to hide the age of the car as even though the cars I buy are slightly older, I like to keep them tidy!

Never been on instagram buddy, but spent many years on the internet, on numerous forums and at quite a few shows. New owners of the previous cars could be on instagram though.

Loving the Clio plate mate, that's quality.