[fancyfl1ght]

Hello,

I am considering a 235i convertible. Previously wasn't happy about the cowl shake in the 135i. It was actually very bad. Bad enough for me to trade the car in after 3 years.

How are cabriolet owners feeling about cowl shake in the 235i?

All the reviews I have read have stated that there is no difference between the cabriolet and coupe.

Did BMW finally get it right? I would appreciate experiences to help me decide.

Proposed car configuration:

M235i cabriolet.

M-Performance exhaust and a Limited Slip Differential installed at the dealer.

Heated Seats.

[Cyberdemon]

Generally the chassis is very stiff. Over some badly broken roads you notice the flex and some squeeks/vibrations but in general I would not ever consider it bad enough to get rid of the car, and nowhere near as bad as older convertibles I've driven where the whole car feels like a wet noodle.

If you feel that strongly about it I would suggest trying to find one to test drive and drive it over some broken pavement with the top down to see how you feel about it.

[fancyfl1ght]

That is promising. The 135i cabriolet had a frenetic quality around turns while its straight line accelleration was intoxicating. The last part kept me from trading it in immediately after purchase.

Non run flats helped a bit but I wouldn't do it again. It helped me take turns faster and smoothed out the twitchy cowl shake around turns, if you took the turns slow enough. The difference was not big enough for the cost for everyday driving.

[Cyberdemon]

I drive the piss out of the car, have never had it feel twitchy on me. The handling of the car is a bit more lively than my F30 was, but that's a good thing in my book.

But the run flats are awful. Since you're in CA the stock PSS tires are wonderful. I was forced to take the stock all seasons since I got a car off the lot here in the Northeast and replacing them was the best thing I did. I have them on the car right now before my winter tires get mounted and the handling is again awful - tons of vibration and road impacts get passed on to the driver since the tires are so stiff.

[Spydeputy]

I just stepped out of a 2012 335is E92, it was a very firm ride.
My M235i F23 is almost as firm.
Most times I feel no difference.

[fancyfl1ght]

All seasons are a good long term choice. Staggered summer tires only put a hole in my wallet. It's worth experiencing though, at least one.

[fancyfl1ght]

Originally Posted by Spydeputy

I just stepped out of a 2012 335is E92, it was a very firm ride.
My M235i F23 is almost as firm.
Most times I feel no difference.

That is very interesting! The 335is had the incredible N54 twin power turbo, which to this day I still think is the best engine BMW made. Of course minus the high pressure fuel pump issue.

This makes me want to try a convertible again, even though I was dead set on a coupe.

How do you like the pumped up N55 in the m235i?

[Spydeputy]

Originally Posted by fancyfl1ght

That is very interesting! The 335is had the incredible N54 twin power turbo, which to this day I still think is the best engine BMW made. Of course minus the high pressure fuel pump issue.

This makes me want to try a convertible again, even though I was dead set on a coupe.

How do you like the pumped up N55 in the m235i?

The stock N55 is quick, but I felt the need to add the JB4 for higher performance.
I have a JB4 in my 2008 335xi since 2009, and still going strong with no issues.

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by fancyfl1ght

All seasons are a good long term choice. Staggered summer tires only put a hole in my wallet. It's worth experiencing though, at least one.

If you want tires with a longer wear life, that's fine - there are plenty of less aggressive tires, but keep in mind with 300+ foot lbs getting the power down with the all seasons is not possible without coming on the power easy. Which is fun when you want to slide the car around all the time, but not if you're trying to drive quickly.

But the standard runflats come with a substantial hit to the comfort of the vehicle. Riding over sewer grates on runflats feels like the car is bottoming out, vs with non RFT's where you notice a normal bump.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Generally the chassis is very stiff. Over some badly broken roads you notice the flex and some squeeks/vibrations but in general I would not ever consider it bad enough to get rid of the car, and nowhere near as bad as older convertibles I've driven where the whole car feels like a wet noodle.

If you feel that strongly about it I would suggest trying to find one to test drive and drive it over some broken pavement with the top down to see how you feel about it.

I tend to agree with Cyberdemon. I have not noticed any cowl shake at all, and believe me I know what cowl shake is after owning a Volvo C70 convertible about 15 years ago :-) But, yeah, I do notice a small amount of body flex. The M235 vert is not quite as "vault like" as the Mercedes SLK and Porsche 996 Carrera Cabrio that we also own. As Cyberdemon mentioned, there's nothing like a test drive as your tolerance may be different versus ours.

[shark715]

BTW, I neglected to mention that ours is an xdrive model. Not sure if there are any structural differences versus the non xdrive model.

[OpenAir]

Cowl shake/flex is only noticeable in very aggressive and bumpy turns. Having come from a VW EOS, I can say that the flex is minimal at best and I'm still on the crappy OEM RFT's.