BMW

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Brace yourselves…

Posted by Malc on November 22, 2018
Posted in: Misc. Tagged: , .

…the snow-pocalypse posts are coming!

Yup, winter is pretty much in full swing here, so I went and bought myself a set of winters.

Well, I went and bought stage 1. Spotted a set of wheels with tyres for sale on the F3X UK Facebook group, sadly I was about to go on honeymoon so left it. When I got back, they were re-advertised, now £500 cheaper than 3 weeks ago. Done!

My car came with the MSport Plus spec 704M wheels but they’d been kerbed by previous owners. These were refurbished and painted anthracite prior to me buying the car. With the painted finish, they would be the ideal candidates for winter wheels where I wouldn’t need to worry about the salt getting in about the OEM diamond cut finish.

So I actually bought a new set of summer wheels, 704Ms with anthracite insert, wrapped in barely used OEM spec Bridgestones. They were fitted to a brand new car that the buyer decided to upgrade to 20in MPerformance alloys, they’ve barely lost the mould hairs!

Now I just need to source a set of winter rubber for my current wheels. Having these is making me debate lobbing one in the boot for winter, allowing me to go for non-runflat winter tyres which could save around £400

10 weeks, 5k miles

Posted by Malc on September 3, 2018
Posted in: Misc, Tests & Reviews. Tagged: .

430d 5k miles

That’s me 10 weeks in to ownership and I should tick past 5,000 miles done since picking her up at some point tomorrow.

Thus far I’ve managed to only skud the splitter once!

Anyways, last weekend I was participating in the 3hr C1 Endurance race at Rockingham so a good chance for the car to stretch its legs and do some distance work.

I wound up taking my kit and another one of our drivers’ stuff down as well. I’m convinced the boot on this is smaller than my e46, will need to check the stats. Still, it all fitted in and there wasn’t any danger of it sliding about.

On a side note, when I’m just taking my instructing helmet to the circuit for a weekend shift, the cargo net is brilliant. No more stuffing jackets on top of my helmet on the back seat to stop it flying about!

Friday I was heading down after work, then got a last minute call to pick up some graphics for the racecar from over in Edinburgh, this changed the route plan so I ended up going all the way down the A1 [previously, would have been doing M74 – M6 – A66 – A1M].

A1 was the usual for a Friday afternoon, plenty of trucks and people bumbling along but I wasn’t particularly in a rush, but then I got near Newcastle and a truck was broken down on the dual carriageway just after the Metro Centre

– For those familiar with the area, from the junction on the A1 with the A19 right through to where it becomes the A1M was done at a maximum of 20mph, more often 5-10mph

– For those not familiar with the area, 14.6 miles took me an hour and 20 minutes

After that the road was largely clear all the way to Rockingham to meet the team. Sorted a few things out with them setting up the pop-up etc for the weekend then headed off to our hotel in Kettering. Few hours sleep, returned to the Rock, did our race and at half 5, headed home along the exact same route, as I was now dropping off one of our drivers in Edinburgh.

Journey stats:

– Outbound: 347 miles, average speed 51.6mph, consumption 52.8mpg

– Return: 349 miles, average speed 58.7mph, consumption 52.6mpg

I refuelled half way home on the return leg and the actual brim-brim mpg calculation showed 51.4mpg over the 588 miles, exactly what the trip computer said. [I use the vehicle stats on the iDrive for journey to journey fuel economy and average speed, reset the instrument trip computer at each fill up]

Thoughts:

Driving up the A1 at night was the first time I have used the adaptive headlights: WOW! I know some people like them, some people don’t, I thought they were absolutely brilliant. Its not the twistiest of roads but the beam aiming in to the corners was useful and it was amazing to watch the beam adapt to remove sections to avoid dazzling oncoming cars.

I really need to update my satnav. The recent A1M sections are just far enough away from what was the A1 to confuse the satnav and give you a constant chirp of “follow the road in the direction of the arrow” and “make a U-turn where possible.”

It’s a seriously competent cruiser this car. The armrests seem to line up better with my body shape than my e46’s ones. In fact, in the e46 I largely used the window ledge for my right arm and nothing for the left, on this, both armrests are perfect position to use both. The seats are nice and supportive, think I’d fit the back bolsters a touch better if I trimmed a few pounds right enough.

Still the highest economy 430d on Fuelly although there’s a new entrant with a 2017 car that’s nipping at my heals.

Month 2 with the F32

Posted by Malc on August 16, 2018
Posted in: Misc. Tagged: , .

2 months today I’ve had the F32, about 3200 miles done under my captaincy. I’m not going to lie, it took a while to settle in to, perhaps unsurprisingly given I’d spent 10.5 years settling in to its predecessor!

Immediately noticeable is the size difference, but not particularly any weight difference. In kerb weight terms, there’s 50kg added beef on the 4 series. When you consider that’s adding an extra 2 cylinders and an autobox in addition to the physically bigger stature of the car, that’s really pretty impressive. Took a while to figure out where the front of the car was as the front end seems more bulbous than the E46, same for placing the passenger side with the higher beltline and bigger haunches. One thing that is noticeable and will not go away, the rear visibility is way worse than the E46, not Lotus/Lambo letterbox territory but definitely worse than my trust old 3 coupe.

I’m enjoying the shift to automatic as well. I still use the paddles for some engine braking when required, or when having fun, but the 8HP ZF box is every bit as good to live with as I had expected from various stints driving cars equipped with it round the track.

When required, the turn of pace is brisk. I’m not going to say fast, its also not that big a step up from my 320Cd which was remapped [167hp/ton vs 140hp/ton respectively], but it’s a lovely smooth delivery and ridiculously fuel efficient when not being hustled along. Currently the most fuel efficient 430d being tracked on Fuelly…

Added 2 cylinders & 2 gears

Posted by Malc on August 15, 2018
Posted in: Misc. Tagged: .

At the beginning of the year I started looking for a replacement for my E46. A little over ten years after setting out to buy a 330Cd and coming home with the 320Cd, this time I was 100% focussed on a 430d. Why a 430d given the legend of the BMW 35d engine and the current feelings towards diesels? Well, lets expand on that…

30d vs 35d: I have no doubt whatsoever the 35d engine is a phenomenal power unit and mappable to hilarious numbers whilst retaining good fuel economy figures, but there is a rub, xDrive. I don’t dislike 4 wheel drive per se, it’s a very useful feature on a car at times, but there’s 2 main issues; I do ~20k miles a year all funded out my own pocket and the 35d with xDrive is >10% worse on fuel & even MSport spec cars with xDrive come on SE spec springs hence ride ~30mm higher.

The ride & ride height is probably the biggest issue, I like stiffer sprung cars for when I’m enjoying a drive. The standard ride height looks like you could smuggle people across the border tucked in your wheel arches and that combined with the softer springs doesn’t do much for CofG or handling. Yes there are lowering springs available to rectify this, however;

–          BMW didn’t raise the ride height for the sake of it, its to protect the transfer case on the transmission and with bumpy country roads and never ending speed tables around, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to risk smashing the transmission

–          Do you really want to buy a new car knowing full well you need to modify it to properly like it?

The fuel economy issue I could probably swallow tbh, extrapolating real world numbers, the difference would be in the region of £300 a year which isn’t much, although it is the wife’s Christmas present budget several times over…

Don’t you care about the environment though? Why replace a dirty diesel with another dirty diesel? Why not buy a hybrid / plug-in hybrid / electric car?

Well, contrary to the bile spewed forth in the media, diesels are still very good for certain use scenarios. My usage profile is massively tilted towards extra urban use, in fact I’m sad enough to know just under 88% of my driving is extra urban. At higher speeds, hybrids are less efficient than in a low speed, stop start, urban scenario.

Plug in hybrids would potentially be a better solution, there is the geek element of me that really likes the concept of energy regeneration and I always use as much engine braking and reading the road to minimise braking anyway, its just wasted energy after all. The problem comes from my typical destinations. My driving routine is very predictable, again, over 80% of my journeys are the same week in week out, and next to none of them have a charger at the destination. I could top up each night no problem, but during the day there’s no facility to top up.

What about pure EV? Most of my use would be covered by an EV with 100 miles range, but finding a pure EV I would actually want to drive is the bigger issue. I like coupes, always have, indeed, if the 330e had been a 430e, there’s every chance I would have man-math & rose tinted away the tales of random drivetrain faults etc I read up about and taken the plunge. On the pure EV front, there’s next to nothing out there. The Tesla Model S is coupe shape[ish], but its also double the budget, looks are meh and trim materials and panel fit are nowhere near the price point its sold at.

I have no doubt my next car will be PHEV or full EV. Right now, for my tastes, usage profile and budget, a diesel is the best solution.

So on to my new car. I didn’t really mean to buy it.

As I said, at the start of the year I was looking at buying a 430d. My spec was pretty specific:

Model: 430d in 2WD

Trim: MSport

Colour [in order of preference]: Mineral Grey -> Estoril Blue -> Sapphire Black

Must Have Options: 4 pot / 2 pot brake upgrade, Pro Nav, Harman Kardon, 19in wheels [which translates to MSport Plus spec]

I was looking at cars up to 3 years old and under 30k. Start of February I was ready to pull the trigger, had a chunk of savings, topped up with a personal loan, had found a car and arranged to buy it. Finished work at noon on Friday as always, scarpered out to my car, out the carpark by 12:01, pointed the nose south and lit the afterburner. 270 miles later, just after 4pm I rolled in to the car park at the dealers to check out their black 430d MSport Plus. Problem, it wasn’t their 430d, it was a friend of someone in the dealership and they were selling it sale or return for them. I have nothing against that, it can work out nicely for all involved. What I do have an issue with is a car that’s been poorly prepped with manky barrels on the wheels, muck and leaves all over the shop under the bonnet, one side of the boot soaking wet, condensation in both taillights and both front tyres missing any discernible corner tread where the car had been battered through tight roundabouts. Pretty pissed off to say the least at this point, not helped by the salesman suggesting as it was still under its original BMW warranty I could get them to look at the boot leaking and taillight condensation problem after buying it, this of course after telling me they all do that [taillights] and it must have been the jetwash [boot seal]. Return of holding deposit agreed, off to find a Tesco for a snack and some diesel to return home. 10pm, home after 10 hours and 550 miles of wasted time.

I went with main dealers after that, a few cars came up but also went quick. Missed out on 3. With my wedding pending and the decision to sell my flat, I decided to park the new car search until I had sold my flat. Then a mate got a 430d in stock…

Older than I had been after, by 1 year. Higher miles than I had been after, nearly 3 times the mileage in fact. Within budget, actually £8k / 30% cheaper than the other ones I had been looking at. Also came with carbon front splitter and rear spoiler, sunroof and a ton of other options [spec’d one on the BMW website the other week to the same spec, less the carbon spoiler and splitter, £49,945!]

Deal done. Determined I’m getting this one to quarter of a million miles…

SMRC Round 1 Summary

Posted by Malc on April 13, 2014
Posted in: News, Races. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

The first round of the SMRC season got off to a slippery start on Sunday at Knockhill Racing Circuit with rain on both Saturday’s test session and Sunday’s raceday.

Even allowing for the rain, the track was particularly treacherous for qualifying, with the drivers fighting to keep the cars under control for the whole session. Malcolm eventually put the car in 6th place on the grid, feeling rather ambivalent about his performance saying, “Given it’s the first time we’ve ran the car in the wet I probably shouldn’t be that disappointed, its on par with what I was doing last year, at the same time, my last hot lap I was over half a second up coming in to Clarks but over cooked it and got a big tail slide on which wrecked the lap, ultimately I should have done better.” Steph was disappointed with her 20th place in qualifying with a car slowing down coming out the hairpin, ruining her final lap when she was several tenths up, and leaving her second placed ladies qualifier.

Race 1 was straight in to typical Scottish MINI Cooper Cup action. Malcolm maintained position in 6th after a tricky start on the wet side of the grid, being warned for circuit limits on lap 4 leaving him unable to challenge the cars in front. “I was settling in to the race and getting ready to push on when I saw the warning flag coming out. Having used the best part a full washer bottle for the mud coming off the cars in front, to say I was surprised it was me getting the warning would be the understatement of the century. After the flag I just couldn’t risk pushing on as any other mistakes would have been a 5 second penalty.” Luckily for Malcolm, 2 of the cars in front did receive penalties for just that later in the race, promoting him to 4th place, with Kenny Thirlwall, Joe Tanner and Oly Mortimer taking the first 3 places respectively. Steph managed to pass her main ladies championship rival, Hannah Chapman, early on in the race and then spent the remainder of the race battling with Will Smith and chasing down James ‘Biffa’ Bruce. Crossing the line 17th she was delighted with her first Ladies’ Cup win of the 2014 season.

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Race 2 started in changeable conditions with teams have to make a last minute call on set up in the holding area with a sudden rain shower dampening a previously drying track. Off the start, Malcolm maintained position and positioned himself chasing down the lead trio. The first main incident of the race came on lap 2 with Chapman attempting a move up the inside at Clarks before realising waved yellows were in place due to an off for Aiden Moffat. In trying to back out the move she collided with Steph and ended up beached in the gravel alongside team mate Moffat, the safety car being scrambled as a result. Off the restart, Thirlwall pulled a blinder, Malcolm getting held back with wheelspin. With conditions drying, Malcolm’s car didn’t have the same sweet spot it had before the safety car and he found himself just having to maintain the gap to Jock Borthwick in 5th, hoping the leaders would slow themselves down battling in the later stages. Steph found herself in the mix with Smith and Bruce again, this time finishing 16th and claiming her second Ladies’ Cup victory, but disappointed at just missing the main championship points.

Race 3’s reverse grid was drawn at P6, giving Chris Reid the pole alongside Borthwick. Mortimer lined up alongside Malcolm, with Tanner and Thirlwall on row 3. Off the start, again Malcolm found wheelspin an issue but joined the train of cars defending the inside in to Clarks. As Thirlwall threaded through the field, Malcolm was collected hard by a train of cars from behind, firing him in to the back of Borthwick before Kyle Reid got clipped trying to go round the outside of the train. Unable to determine whether it was tyre smoke or steam coming out the front of his car, Malcolm tried to push on whilst keeping an eye on the temp gauge. Midway through lap 2 the temps started to rise, forcing Malcolm in to his first retirement in 3 years. Steph got off to a good start making up positions in the chaos, unfortunately all the good work was undone on lap 3 when a late lunge from Des Wheatley at Clarks resulted in heavy contact to the rear quarter panel and both cars spinning off in to the mud. Eventually Steph managed to rejoin, albeit 2 laps down, finishing the race and claiming 3rd place points in the Ladies Cup.

So a weekend of mixed emotions, but two strong performances from two brand new cars. Why not come along and joing us for the next round at Knockhill on May 4th and sample the action for yourself…?

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