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      10-12-2015, 02:08 PM   #1
supernova72
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First week with the M235i- impressions

First off--wow, so happy to make the decision to go the M235i route.
Car is 2014 and has tech, nav, premium, heated seats, HK, 6MT.

Full disclosure: coming from an E46 M3 6MT car

Surprises on the good side:
  • More powerful than I expected from "320HP". I under-estimated the torque impact.
  • The steering feel is "light" but I like it
  • Didn't realize the car had hill hold (6MT car)
  • Engine sound in and out is cool
  • NO turbo lag (you all told me so!)
  • Tech Pkg with Nav is cool (still learning some things)

Surprises on the "I'm surprised it does or doesn't or hasn't" side:
  • No temp or oil pressure gauge (missed that on my test drive)
  • Radio and Nav stays on after I turn the car off
  • Coral Red Interior looks so cool (was a bit worried here)
  • Not one person has asked "what is that?" yet. It's been just one week.

Thanks for all the help from this forum has given me on helping making this decision.

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      10-12-2015, 02:12 PM   #2
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Glad you like it.

Yes, the car is rated at "320 hp" but BMW (and other German manufacturers) generally underrate their engine outputs, especially on cars with forced induction. That "320/330" figure is closer to wheel horsepower than crank horsepower.

That and having all of that torque at about 2000 RPM does make the car feel a lot faster.
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      10-12-2015, 02:25 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supernova72 View Post
  • Radio and Nav stays on after I turn the car off
Attachment 1298114
Press the Start/Stop button a second time to turn off the radio/nav immediately.

It is a great car! Have fun!
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      10-12-2015, 02:43 PM   #4
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For OIL & TEMP readouts

Originally Posted by BMW335iOn18s
It's in the OBC hidden menu, but it's a pain to get to it every time you drive...


1. hit the start button with your finger already on the trip reset button
2. hit it until you hit unlock...
3. add the last 5 numbers of your vin, thats the unlock code
4. it's under the 4th option labeled "temperature" i believe
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      10-12-2015, 02:49 PM   #5
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The oil temp is a pain as everyone complains, but there are two options:

1 - Realize that oil takes a bit of time to heat up, and common sense will dictate when the engine is warm. The car itself will limit power if the engine is not heated up fully.

2 - If you are tracking and want a gauge, the P3 Car's vent gauge implements very neatly and is easy to install and will give you the added bonus of boost/voltage/etc.

It is annoying that it's not included by default (even my wifes Jeep Cherokee has a voltage/temp gauge), especially when it could have been done on the extended screen instead of the "235i text" which is useless - but hey, no one is perfect. German logic is fuzzy sometimes.

As far as attention, I get tons of attention/complements in the 2 - no one even looked at me twice in my 3 series. So I'm sure that will come.
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      10-12-2015, 03:00 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supernova72 View Post
  • Not one person has asked "what is that?" yet. It's been just one week.
Congrats on your new wheels!


I've had my car about 9 weeks since it was re-delivered from ED. Only one person has asked me what it is. A friend who saw my car said, "What is that? An M3?"
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      10-12-2015, 03:13 PM   #7
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Glad you like it, congrats
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      10-12-2015, 03:25 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Liquidpaper View Post
Glad you like it.

Yes, the car is rated at "320 hp" but BMW (and other German manufacturers) generally underrate their engine outputs, especially on cars with forced induction. That "320/330" figure is closer to wheel horsepower than crank horsepower.

That and having all of that torque at about 2000 RPM does make the car feel a lot faster.
Thanks for the tip on the HP being underrated. I'm having to be a bit more careful on my favorite on-ramps. I got on it a bit this weekend and felt the rear end "move" a bit!
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      10-12-2015, 03:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RWDdrifter View Post
Press the Start/Stop button a second time to turn off the radio/nav immediately.

It is a great car! Have fun!
Oh wow--I figured I'd have to do a DIY re-code. Cheers!
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      10-12-2015, 03:26 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottSinger View Post
For OIL & TEMP readouts

Originally Posted by BMW335iOn18s
It's in the OBC hidden menu, but it's a pain to get to it every time you drive...


1. hit the start button with your finger already on the trip reset button
2. hit it until you hit unlock...
3. add the last 5 numbers of your vin, thats the unlock code
4. it's under the 4th option labeled "temperature" i believe
Thanks for the great tip. I'll give that a shot!
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      10-12-2015, 03:29 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyberdemon View Post
The oil temp is a pain as everyone complains, but there are two options:

1 - Realize that oil takes a bit of time to heat up, and common sense will dictate when the engine is warm. The car itself will limit power if the engine is not heated up fully.

2 - If you are tracking and want a gauge, the P3 Car's vent gauge implements very neatly and is easy to install and will give you the added bonus of boost/voltage/etc.

It is annoying that it's not included by default (even my wifes Jeep Cherokee has a voltage/temp gauge), especially when it could have been done on the extended screen instead of the "235i text" which is useless - but hey, no one is perfect. German logic is fuzzy sometimes.

As far as attention, I get tons of attention/complements in the 2 - no one even looked at me twice in my 3 series. So I'm sure that will come.
That's funny about the Cherokee--my dads old 1985 GMC S-15 has water & oil pressure gauges as well.

Like I say I was just a bit surprised but certainly not unhappy!! Thanks for the tips!
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      10-12-2015, 05:35 PM   #12
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The glacier/coral combo is growing on me w/ the shadow line trim.
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      10-12-2015, 05:49 PM   #13
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Regarding: Radio and Nav stays on after I turn the car off

You can have your car coded to shut off the car / iDrive when you open driver's side door. In fact, there are lots of nifty things you can have coded.

I have mine to auto-unlock doors when the engine has been turned off, and then turn off interior electronics once I open the door.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyberdemon View Post
1 - Realize that oil takes a bit of time to heat up, and common sense will dictate when the engine is warm. The car itself will limit power if the engine is not heated up fully.
Source?

I was under the impression that only the current M cars did this.
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      10-12-2015, 06:45 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xiaoxi View Post
Source?

I was under the impression that only the current M cars did this.
You may be right - perhaps I've been spending too much time on the M forums and my BMW knowledge has all blurred together.

I did try getting on the car while the engine was still cool the other day and it felt like the car was very hesitant to fully build boost - perhaps that was a side effect of the tires being cold and TCS kicking in though I'm pretty sure I was in sport+ at the time. The car was definitely sluggish and wasn't breaking the tires loose. ~2 minutes later the issue was gone.

Perhaps the M knowledge simply fueled my delusion or I had something else going on.

Either way, not something I make a habit of or would want to subject the car to for testing.
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      10-12-2015, 08:52 PM   #15
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Congrats!

2'ers are awesome cars...

Mod list??
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      10-13-2015, 08:18 AM   #16
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Regarding the missing temp gauges - for about $30 USD you can buy an OBD2 adapter and a mobile device app as a substitute. I use the Dash Command app on an iPod Touch along with a wi-fi adapter. There is a sticky thread in the Nav/Electronics forum with other specific examples and instructions.
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      10-13-2015, 10:47 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wjones14 View Post
Regarding the missing temp gauges - for about $30 USD you can buy an OBD2 adapter and a mobile device app as a substitute. I use the Dash Command app on an iPod Touch along with a wi-fi adapter. There is a sticky thread in the Nav/Electronics forum with other specific examples and instructions.
Just beware that a lot of our ECUs do not output oil temps.
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      10-13-2015, 10:55 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest M235i View Post
Congrats!

2'ers are awesome cars...

Mod list??
Oh, no mods actually. I know it's a popular thing to do and I get that but for me it's so "new" nothing in mind yet. Also, I never modded my E46 M3 and still loved that car too for many years.

This is a different animal however. My first turbine car. Vroom.
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      10-13-2015, 02:56 PM   #19
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I gotta disagree on the zero turbo lag bit, but it is still a great car!
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      10-13-2015, 04:58 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottSinger View Post
For OIL & TEMP readouts

Originally Posted by BMW335iOn18s
It's in the OBC hidden menu, but it's a pain to get to it every time you drive...


1. hit the start button with your finger already on the trip reset button
2. hit it until you hit unlock...
3. add the last 5 numbers of your vin, thats the unlock code
4. it's under the 4th option labeled "temperature" i believe
Hey Scott (sorry for thread hijack - congrats on the new car! Enjoy!) - I get through to the unlock code section, how do I enter the code? Not with the idrive controller I assume.
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      10-13-2015, 06:02 PM   #21
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Find your cars VIN ( windshield or insurance card ) take the last five #'s of the vin; example WBA456770JI7632158
- take 32158 (3+2+1+5+8 = 19).

Then without pressing clutch on my manual car so engine won't start - hold down odometer reset button while pressing ON:OFF ignition switch.
Hold reset but let go of ignition button when words appear on digital read-out press odometer reset button until word code appears then press odometer reset button 19 times until the # 19 appears and continue pressing then the readout should be unlocked and you can scroll through the different modes.

Last edited by overcoil; 10-13-2015 at 06:11 PM..
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      10-14-2015, 11:38 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Transfer View Post
I gotta disagree on the zero turbo lag bit, but it is still a great car!
I should have clarified that this is my first turbine car so saying "zero turbo lag" might be a stretch since I really don't have anything to compare it to. Lol. My previous cars have been NA!
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