[uncle don]

been a member here awhile....
ive had 4 or so BMW's ive lost count...
im wanting to buy one to modify...play with, maybe some 1/4 mile racing, general fun with... it will be my toy...maybe my daily but mostly toy.

I like the numbers I see on this site for twin turbo cars...some easily down in the 12's with mild bolt on mods. reminds me of my buick grand national days....ive had a few turbo buicks as well...

my questions is I know parts are pricey for these things so I want to keep the breakage down to a minimum...if im beating on the car a weekend or two a month .

all wheel drive XI would get me nice 60ft. times...great on the street out of the hole etc... im just uncertain of the front axels, unjoints, how much they can take. but it appears I wouldn't have to have drag radials all way around either....

the rear wheel drive I cars look to be the most common by far when straight line drag racing, atleast on this forum and reading all the time slips. is there a reason for this? less parts to break? just put some drag radials on the rear and roll on? does the rear wheel drive cars hold up better than the all wheel drive cars when it comes to straight line racing? I get mixed reviews when researching and reading on here.

my goals eventually would be to run mid to high 7's 1/8 mile and low 12s to high 11's in 1/4 mile... am I better off with the rear wheel drive?
Do all models have LSD? or what do I need to look for in buying a car that already has that? do the sport models have the LSD from factory?

I know this is a lot of questions and comments and im rambling...but this forum is awesome and has helped me in the past on my past bmw's. and I appreciate that.

I want automatic, twin turbo, N54, 2006 up body style 335i or 335xi.
if I took a stock 335i or xi and did the JB4...and went racing...which would benefit me in better times at track, most likely to not break....and will take the most mods I start throwing out at it...

[Kevin39]

None of the 335s came with an LSD from the factory. At mild power levels, I wouldn't worry too much about the AWD either.

[buster84]

I own a rwd e93 twin turbo and a 335xi awd sedan and both are fun to drive and the difference between AWD and RWD isnt to much. At higher power levels the XI will have higher chances of breaking over RWD and regular maintnence will cost more since the AWD versions require alot more to remove to reach things to get fixed.

I wouldnt make the choice between an AWD vs RWD decision based on power, i would base it on safety. If you live in a place with lots of rain and snow the AWD will be safer. I live in FL and we dont get snow, but we get heavy rain and i spun out once in my RWD and because of that i picked up an AWD and its alot better to drive in the rain. I also enjoy snowboarding so a trip upto the snow once a year gave me another reason to grab awd.

Just keep in mind to look at the maintnence history, miles and how well the condition of the car is. If the inside is good, thats usually a good indicator that the owner cared for the engine too. The injectors and Turbos go out on these cars around 90-100k miles on average (some last longer and some shorter) The water pump usually around 80k.

If you can, search for a car that has had the turbos/injectors/water pump replaced because if you can find that then you wont have much to worry about outher than valve cover/oil pan leaks if your over 100k miles.

[whyyoumontague]

I bought a higher mileage (169k) 09 335i with xdrive with no mods in June 2017. The AWD was fantastic during this past winter here in Iowa, truly had zero slip and got around better than my friends with jeeps. That said - and since you asked about front axles, I had a run in with a bad pothole in Feb. and the front passenger axle went out. I just had it repaired and finished up mid March. I am now dealing with what seems to be a bad injector after replacing coils, spark plugs and valve cover gasket. I would heed the advice of buster84 and look into the turbos/injectors/water pump.

Originally Posted by buster84

If you can, search for a car that has had the turbos/injectors/water pump replaced because if you can find that then you wont have much to worry about outher than valve cover/oil pan leaks if your over 100k miles.

[uncle don]

so if I go the 335i route and I want to drag a little, and put drag radials on for the track...it only has single one wheel peel fun...??
I just looked up a few to make it posi trac or LSD about $1,000-$2,000 wow...
leans me to the 335xi all of a sudden.....

[TemjinX2]

if you stay stock turbos and FBO...awd shouldnt be a issue. Long as you dont do too many launches. You should be able to do 12's with FBO, stock turbos and e85.

Problem with awd is with good tires and high hp from upgraded turbos or single, all the power goes straight to the drive train. Your basically just shoving the power to the weakest parts of the drive train until they break.

BMW didn't design the transfer case and front axeles to handle 700-800whp.

RWD all the excess power is lost through wheel slip

[Kevin39]

Originally Posted by uncle don

so if I go the 335i route and I want to drag a little, and put drag radials on for the track...it only has single one wheel peel fun...??
I just looked up a few to make it posi trac or LSD about $1,000-$2,000 wow...
leans me to the 335xi all of a sudden.....

It has a sort of fake electronic LSD that will try to drag the brake of the spinning wheel. At least that's how I understand it to work but it doesn't do a very good job. As someone who has recently put in a real LSD, it's night and day. I'm assuming many people have run 11s and 12s without an LSD though. I think making sure to get an auto or dct would be more crucial to getting a good time rather than which drivetrain you picked but Im not an expert.

[dsjr2006]

Good thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1347098

I’ve owned both. Currently a ‘E90 RWD or I. The XI I had before was full bolt-on and I ran it several times at the track. Hooked up well and was fun to drive even in winter, but they’re slightly heavier and require more maintenance than the I. The power limit I hear is around 500-600 HP/TQ for the transfer case and front diff, but you won’t quite be there with just a tune and standard bolt-one.

The XI has limited suspension travel up front which becomes more of an issue with lowered cars. The front diff and axles also tend to get in the way during many common maintenance procedures, not a huge deal but makes the jobs more complicated or take longer. The main advantage of the XI is traction of course and it’s rear biased so it still feels more like a RWD 335i.

If you go RWD you’ll probably want an LSD, which can be had for less than $2k especially if you do the pumpkin swap yourself.

Also as noted, the Auto and DCT are faster. They shift faster than most people can and the auto comes with different gearing.

There are quite a few threads discussing XI vs I though.

[4 Doors]

I have a 335xi (E90) pre-lci and love it! However, my choice was based on a daily driver. I wanted AWD as I daily this car and live in the snow belt in Michigan. Rough winters and weather changes made me want a AWD for ease and safety with wife and nieces/nephew. But it is still fast and can really get out of
The hole quick; however, as said above, axles can go.

[uncle don]

if axles do go...and I push one to the limit. what kinda price we looking at to replace axles and is there upgrades if that happens?

[4 Doors]

About $120-$180 for aftermarket, OE BMW costs about $500-700 for the axle assembly!

[TemjinX2]

i'm sure you can find shop that can make you custom axels if you want to make big power. just depends on how much power you want to make.

stock axels should be find for stock turbos.

[uncle don]

love the comments guys. appreciate them. I am still shopping for the right deal. I am not sure I care to much about high mileage at this point as its going to be a toy I beat on a little...but I do want nice and clean. I usually like buying one owner, all maintenance done, etc... I will be paying cash so on a budget lol...

[4 Doors]

Yeah take your time until the right one pops up. Don't know if it was mentioned; however, if you are looking to do a lot of pulls, find a sport package that came with the stock oil cooler. Not all of the older 335i's had oil coolers with the sport package.

[Jklad]

For drag racing if your planning to make some Power I would go with a RWD especially if your going to throw some Nitto drag radials on it. The reason you see poor 60ft times for the rwd is mainly bc Bmw owners don't rarely if ever run drag radials at the track - they're more interested in autocross type racing and road &track handling performance.
Drag radials and knowing how to launch would make a large difference in 60ft and qtr mile times all by itself. Also, with the stock diff you will not get one tire fire - both spin.

[Jklad]

Originally Posted by 4 Doors

Yeah take your time until the right one pops up. Don't know if it was mentioned; however, if you are looking to do a lot of pulls, find a sport package that came with the stock oil cooler. Not all of the older 335i's had oil coolers with the sport package.

+1 also watch out for 07 and early 08's with the msd 80 dme - it will fry out. Oh, and the n54 cars after I think 2010 have the updated front subframe which makes it less likely that the power steering pulley will smack the (old version) subframe and shred the belt which gets ingested into the front seal and then blows up your engine.

Best bet is get an IS, or a 2010 or later with most of the updated parts.

[Quick335XI]

Please get AWD.

I have only owned dawd every since, like you, racing in the 90s unwatched many Buick GNs and my own mustang get DESTROYEd by little AWD TALONS

Traction is everything. Doesn't matter how much power ur making if u can't get it to the ground.

When I got back I to performance cars I knew I wanted two things: turbo and AWD. I can barely soon my tires even with over 500awhp. It's just lovely! Lol
And AWD isn't just important in first gear... Many guys soon thru third with 2wd.

There's a reason the new m5 only comes with
xdrive...

[hcopeland]

One of my buddies broke a few axles on his RWD. But he is on MMP stage 2 at 500whp. If it sticks you will have a lot of stress on the drivetrain so I would go RWD and Auto so you don't have to worry about any AWD stuff. Also you can launch much harder in an auto.

[whyyoumontague]

Originally Posted by uncle don

if axles do go...and I push one to the limit. what kinda price we looking at to replace axles and is there upgrades if that happens?

I went with an OEM assembly for $520 and paid my local shop to get it done. Out the door with alignment total cost was just under $800.

[Quick335XI]

Originally Posted by hcopeland

One of my buddies broke a few axles on his RWD. But he is on MMP stage 2 at 500whp. If it sticks you will have a lot of stress on the drivetrain so I would go RWD and Auto so you don't have to worry about any AWD stuff. Also you can launch much harder in an auto.

I completely disagree. There aren’t a whole lot of 500+ 335s period no the road but there are a number of them that are AWD. I’ve only heard of a couple breaks and like u said rear axles can break too...AWD is so worth it

[hcopeland]

But the weight, maintenance, pain in the ass to work on, and all for nothing but quicker 60'. just get a tire unless you live in snow country...

[1hunglow]

Lot of these cars have been ridden hard & ditched when Big maintenance bills start to show up.

Just be careful, a compression & leakdown test are your friend

Cheers