My C230 vs BMW 535i

[dulayj]

Interesting discussion-more track days for you guys.No interest in speed on our roads-just to be safe!

 

[John]

I had a 535i E39, they are like trains once moving but they are pretty heavy so not that quick off mark.....The 540i isnt any faster is it?? The BMW to buy is a current model 535d with a remap, they absolutely fly, DMS had one that was quicker than an M5, standard 535d with remap.....

540 is 286BHP, considerably faster than the 535i @ 240BHP ish and about the same economy (530 6 cyl is better overall than the 535i as it is nearly the same figures but much better economy).

540 0-60 in 6.4s for the auto and 6.2s for the manual.

The maual is 6.7 I think, BMW auto boxes really suck the life out of the engine.

See above.

Interestingly, I had a Toyota MR2 try it on the other day.

WTF!

 

[bunter6]

Interestingly, I had a Toyota MR2 try it on the other day.

WTF!

Lol it takes all sorts I suppose, just like a Yorkie savagely yipping at a Doberman

 

[John]

Lol it takes all sorts I suppose, just like a Yorkie savagely yipping at a Doberman

Yup...

Also a Fiesta more recently (lowered, large bore exhaust, etc.).

I don't normally 'bother' with that sort of car but I showed him the error of his ways.

Chances are, unless he was as thick as pig sh or genuinely thought it was a tooled up E2*.*, then he probably wanted to see what it could do rather than thinking he had any real hope.

He didn't see much though - very quickly he was a speck in the mirror and I need little encouragement to stretch the car through my local dual carriageways.

 

[Howard]

When we all had just passed our driving tests , one of my pals had a Mk1 Fiesta 950cc , it was terrible , bright red. Complete ****box.

We pulled up ( with 4 of us in it ) against a Mulsanne Turbo on the Bayswater Road ....

Gave it a few blips of the throttle , and looked over at the Bentley driver ( old-ish man in a suit ) , who to our delight blipped his a couple of times ...

Lights went green , we dumped the clutch and sped away ....

The next set of lights we did the same thing and so did Mulsanne man .... when the lights went green , the outcome was very different.

We caught up with him at the next red lights and gave him the thumbs up , and lots of smiles , to which ( to his credit ) he did the same !

 

[Charles Morgan]

Reminds me when I had the Bentley Turbo R and I raced from traffic light to traffic light on the A41 coming through Swiss Cottage with a Ferrari F40. Despite the disparity in weight and power, the little matter of railway engine like torque combined with an auto rather than having a clutch and manual meant on all bar the long sections I won.

I used to get a lot of boyracers have fun with me in that car. It was deeply satisfying to floor it, and it would hold first gear until 64mph. Not a lot kept up with that.

 

[Dee-124CAB]

^^ The Ferrari F40 was also known for the copious amounts of turbo lag its twin turbo engine produced... Maybe had something to do with it as well.

 

[Robert-Black]

I find boy racers, as by their name will try and race anything, but to their credit/or not, with their huge exhausts, they sound like they're racing even if they're not.

 

[John]

We caught up with him at the next red lights and gave him the thumbs up , and lots of smiles , to which ( to his credit ) he did the same !

Those are the best drags - when it is a bit of fun and light-hearted.

All too often now I look and see some miserable git in shades refusing to look across.

One of my first proper drags was when I was with a mate in my first car (Opel Manta 2.0 GTE) and we sat at the lights next to a 735i (1990 sort - E32 I think).

Everyone gave it the beans and they were neck and neck up to about 70/80 and then the next set of lights loomed.

We both looked across smiling to see this bloke with (I guess) his misses leaning forward and they were both looking across and laughing...

All in good spirit...

In fact the other day, I had a 59 plate E350CDI try to see how it measured up against the E, and he obviously knew he couldn't touch it because once at the lights, I saw in my mirror he jokingly made a hand gesture suggesting I would be gone like Road Runner shortly.

He was right.

 

[Adam230K]

On the subject of 535d's... I don't think they are the car to buy at all. My mate has an 07 plate one and he's paying £95 and it returns 280miles to the tank.... My 540i (Yes it was an E39 but same 70L tank) returned 300miles always and it cost me £80.

I know which car I'd rather have and listen to every day.

 

[John]

The 4.4 V8 does sound a lot better I grant you (albeit the exhaust is never loud enough on 540s), and of course do you drive in exactly the same manner, but that 535d should do really good returns on longer runs (depends whether you friend has a facelift 2007 or not as the facelift one does a lot better than non - you can tell if facelift as it will have LED indicators at the rear), and it will hang with the 540 no problem at all.

It might only produce 272BHP or maybe more for the facelift (vs. 286BHP for the 540), but it delivers 560NM of torque and will happily pull it along without any worries.

 

[Howard]

Mambo ( a member on here who doesn't post that often ) has a DMS chipped 535D , it's a rocketship.

 

[st4]

Mambo ( a member on here who doesn't post that often ) has a DMS chipped 535D , it's a rocketship.

You really want that engine in the 3 series. Its a fair bit lighter than an 5.

 

[flango]

You really want that engine in the 3 series. Its a fair bit lighter than an 5.

we have a 535d running 350bhp and a 335d running 375 bhp now you can see on a prevous thread why I said a 335d was in a different league to a MB 320 cdi

 

[st4]

we have a 535d running 350bhp and a 335d running 375 bhp now you can see on a prevous thread why I said a 335d was in a different league to a MB 320 cdi

I have had naughty thoughts in the past re 335d's....

Why won't MB adopt a two turbo set up the the V6 CDi???

 

[flango]

I have had naughty thoughts in the past re 335d's....

Why won't MB adopt a two turbo set up the the V6 CDi???

Not sure but the best you can tune a 320cdi to is still short of 100bhp when compared to the BMW 335d. One of the problems is the 7g box cannot withstand the torque (now let others say the 7g box is good ) MB run right on the limits where BMW run well within their capabilities

BM 335d is a great racer and tuned no MB will ever beat it, makes me laugh reading previous threads, you can have 500 bhp but if you can't get it down on the tarmac it's f*ckin useless, don't judge a car by BHP it means F*ck all

I think Sweetpea summed it up perfectly though, I'd rather be driving a MB though there is just something about it

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Not sure but the best you can tune a 320cdi to is still short of 100bhp when compared to the BMW 335d. One of the problems is the 7g box cannot withstand the torque (now let others say the 7g box is good ) MB run right on the limits where BMW run well within their capabilities

BM 335d is a great racer and tuned no MB will ever beat it, makes me laugh reading previous threads, you can have 500 bhp but if you can't get it down on the tarmac it's f*ckin useless, don't judge a car by BHP it means F*ck all

I think Sweetpea summed it up perfectly though, I'd rather be driving a MB though there is just something about it

Makes it all the more frustrating that Mercedes only put the V8 diesel in the 4x4s in this country. They've got an engine sat there with 305bhp, doing nothing.

I'd put it in the S-Class, CL, SL, E and maybe the C and couple it to the *ahem* 5 speed box for all the torque.

They would sell at least twice as many CLs, I guarantee that, so why won't they do it?

 

[Adam230K]

Fact still stands though Merc diesels are far more reliable than BMW diesels.

And I know the 35d engine will paste the 45 (or old terms 40) V8 engine in the BMW line up, but I'd *still* rather have the V8, far more reliable, consistent and much nicer to listen to. I never understood the sound thing until I owned one myself, its a huge factor to a driving experience that only an enthusiast can truly appreciate.

RE: The 535d, yes his is the facelift, it cost him quite alot more money than I thought it would actually, but he did go on about how it was a facelift etc.

And when he takes it on motorway runs the computer reads 35-40mpg maximum, while the V8 will give 25-30mpg on a motorway. I'm sure when the 35d engine has been around a while and they refine it more it will have better consumption with V8 performance, but I don't believe these very first ones are the one to buy. BMW need a few years yet and they'll crack the BHP/Consumption thing. Their 2L diesel engine returns exceptional economy compared to the 2L merc equivalent, albeit with alot less reliability.