[kaishang]

My 330d is here

I drove it straight from picking it up from the dealer, to the Dover-Calais ferry then 3,900km around Europe in 10 days including to the BMW museum in Munich.

SE
Black sapphire
Beige leather
Walnut trim
Full electric seats
Hi Fi Biz stereo, USB interface
Sunroof
Active cruise control
Split rear seats
Automatic

Few other minor options.

I didn't get iDrive or Bluetooth - they weren't worth £2,500 to me.

Things I wish I'd got:
Grey shade band on top of windscreen
Harmon Kardon stereo



One from the BMW museum

[BanziBarn]

Wicked photos. Sounds like a great journey to run the car in. Should be nicely loosened up now!

[ghosty]

great photos with some stunning scenery. car looks and sounds great!
thats def one way to enjoy it!

[vikzE92]

fab pics something i'd love to do one day!

[kaishang]

Thanks

I don't see where the complaints on some other threads about run-flat tyres are coming from. I think the ride is really smooth... although it is an SE on 17" wheels... maybe the people complaining have M suspension and 19" wheels...

[cdb]

sounds like a great way to break it in

[Rob55]

That's one way to run the engine in anyways !

Nice car, enjoy! LCI rear is SOO much nicer than pre-LCI

[Em135eye]

Nice - like your wheels too - which ones are they?

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by kaishang

Thanks

I don't see where the complaints on some other threads about run-flat tyres are coming from. I think the ride is really smooth... although it is an SE on 17" wheels... maybe the people complaining have M suspension and 19" wheels...

I have M suspension and 19" wheels with the, much maligned, run-flats on my '08 E92.
I've had the car for just over a year/15K miles and I'm still thoroughly delighted with the handling. Yes, it can crash a bit over the bumps, but it's a sublime long-distance cruiser and no other car has given such confidence through the corners and I guess a degree of harshness is the trade-off.
I've driven a few variants of the 3er on different wheel sizes with 'SE' and 'M' suspension, but I happily come back to my set-up every time.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by kaishang

My 330d is here

I drove it straight from picking it up from the dealer, to the Dover-Calais ferry then 3,900km around Europe in 10 days including to the BMW museum in Munich.

Great pictures, especially the first one by the lakeside; what a fabulous spot for a picnic with a chilled bottle or two.
It must have been a super trip; good to hear you're enjoying the car.
Any chance of letting me know the name of that particular lake? It would be a definite must-see for me.

[kaishang]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Nice - like your wheels too - which ones are they?

They are one £75 upgrade from the standard wheels on the 330... still 17". Type 284. Ooh, I had mudflaps fitted, I like mudflaps


I'll have a look at the map and get back to you on the lake name, Jon D.

[Em135eye]

Originally Posted by kaishang

They are one £75 upgrade from the standard wheels on the 330... still 17". Type 284. Ooh, I had mudflaps fitted, I like mudflaps


I'll have a look at the map and get back to you on the lake name, Jon D.

A rare breed on here:

Black SE 6 cylinder diesel owners with 17" alloys. I stuck non RFTs on mine - well worth doing eventually.

Cool

[kaishang]

ha ha, if BMW still sold it I would have got an even sportier black 330i petrol, still with 17inch wheels and SE suspension....

What do you do about potential flat tyres now? Spare? Repair plug kit?

[Em135eye]

Kaishang - Tyre weld, a 12v compressor and a fair bit of hope (that the tyres won't pop)!

If I was going far, I'd get a BMW space saver and stick it in the boot.

[kaishang]

I drove around Europe with a foot pump and a set of temporary plugs+CO2 cylinders - since AFAIK as long as you don't let the run-flats go to zero pressure, you can safely repair them. I've driven across Australia on run-flats. As the newspaper car reviewer put it when reviewing the then new Beamers with runflats "It's at least a thousand kilometers in any direction to the nearest BMW dealer"

Every puncture I've ever had has been a nail or screw + usually slowish loss of pressure, so temporary plugs should work...

[makammo]

I drove from London to Malaga, Portual, Marbella, Valencia, Paris, Germany, Andorra and a few other places I forget about earlier this summer on a european roadtrip. Four brand new non runflat tyres and a thing of tyreweld in the trunk.

Was bricking it in the more remote mountainous regions, but I figured that's what I took out European breakdown cover for. I would be the european equivalent of the guy that had to call out the AA to change a flat tyre in the UK.

[Em135eye]

I called the AA for a flat tyre once. Felt a bit of a fool BUT it was on a very dangerous section of road (I'd had a front blow out) and I was parked at a very dodgy angle on a verge - my jack just sunk into the grass. Needed a proper trolley jack to get it off the ground.

My R32 Golf was similar - no spare just tyre weld and a compressor. Thankfully I never had any issues with it.

[makammo]

That old chestnut... :P

I'm also guilty of it. My only reason was I was on route from work (in a suit) and didn't want to 'grease myself up' for lack of a better phrase.

[kaishang]

I checked out the map. The lake is Lake Konigssee in Germany near the Austrian border. It's just south of Berchtesgaden.... which is of course where Hitler's Eagle's Nest is!

Originally Posted by Jon D

Great pictures, especially the first one by the lakeside; what a fabulous spot for a picnic with a chilled bottle or two.
It must have been a super trip; good to hear you're enjoying the car.
Any chance of letting me know the name of that particular lake? It would be a definite must-see for me.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by kaishang

I checked out the map. The lake is Lake Konigssee in Germany near the Austrian border. It's just south of Berchtesgaden.... which is of course where Hitler's Eagle's Nest is!

Thanks Kaishang, it's on my list.

[zltm089]

nice wheels and scenery!!!...i like the bonnet!...

[kaishang]

I'm a big fan of not-too-firm suspension and not-too-big rims.

I've done a lot of driving in Oz and if you often end up on a dirt road... often a corrugated dirt road. More ground clearance and a bit of suspension travel to soak up bumps is handy....

Originally Posted by 335diesel

A rare breed on here:

Black SE 6 cylinder diesel owners with 17" alloys.

Cool

325i - on 17 inch wheels and standard suspension - at pub near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Had to drive on about 30km of dirt (a lot worse than what you can see in this pic) to get there and it was raining. The DSC worked really well; at one stage while I was driving I got out to have a look and it was so slippery I could hardly stand up



Same 325i on side track off Eyre Hwy on Nullarbor Plain