[ryank382]

Hi guys. I've been lurking around these forums and reading every bit of information for years on end now waiting for the day to finally get into a BMW and it might be here soon. My plan is to sell my 2012 A4 and lease one of these beautiful 6mt M235is. The original plan was to buy an e92 M3 as owning an m3 has always been my dream but i'll be postponing that for now because leasing an M235i makes more sense for the time being. Here are some general questions i was hoping you guys could answer for me

1. For those of you with RWD, do you find that the 245 super sports is sufficient for traction? i plan on eventually going jb4 and have a hard time believe it will be enough rubber.

2. For those of you with the 6MT, how is the clutch? will i be able to drive aggressively without issues? Especially with a jb4+DP

3. With regards to rarity, do you guys think it will be difficult to find a 6mt with either AW/red interior or MR/Black leather and Tech package+PDC+rearview cam+heated seats for lease?

also is there any chance that a car on the lot may have an LSD or is that always ordered seperatly or when custom ordering the car.

4. Whats the deal with sensatec? is it really different from leather? i gotta know so i can decide if i will settle for sensa tec with melbourne red.

5. Where can I find information on incentives? i remember reading somewhere that recent college graduates get $1000 off. Also my father is currently leasing 640i from a leasing company so maybe that can help somehow (maybe by purchasing the car under his name).

6. Can I expect to potentially negotiate my way to a monthly payment of under $500(10k miles 36 or 39 months)? I can put a lot of money down up front or maybe do multiple security deposits

7. Lastly will techs care if my car is modded during lease period? For example if i come in for service and my exhaust is clearly catless and loud as hell, will this cause an issue?(obv ill be back to stock at the end of the lease)

Sorry for long thread! Thanks in advance for taking the time to reply

[Xiaoxi]

2. The clutch is fantastic. Very easy with a lot of "give" and it will also assist with rev matching when needed.

3. 6MT on a lot is going to be rare regardless. Some dealers have no MT, period. Even rarer with the LSD. Might as well hunt for unicorns. Your best bet is to factory order with the configuration you want.

4. Sensatec is just BMW's leatherette. I actually prefer it because of its ease of maintenance and longevity (will last much longer than leather and hold up well). You can go to a dealer and just feel it for yourself on any car that has it.

[nike001]

Coming from an A4 to a rear-drive M235i and (seemingly) plan to immediately throw a DP & JB tune on it?

...you're gonna have a bad time.

Also, I can almost guarantee you won't find a 6MT w/ LSD hanging out on any lot.

[ryank382]

Originally Posted by Xiaoxi

2. The clutch is fantastic. Very easy with a lot of "give" and it will also assist with rev matching when needed.

3. 6MT on a lot is going to be rare regardless. Some dealers have no MT, period. Even rarer with the LSD. Might as well hunt for unicorns. Your best bet is to factory order with the configuration you want.

4. Sensatec is just BMW's leatherette. I actually prefer it because of its ease of maintenance and longevity (will last much longer than leather and hold up well). You can go to a dealer and just feel it for yourself on any car that has it.

Thanks for the reply. i figured MT+LSD would be virtually impossible. im more concerned on being able to find a MT. What did you mean by "it will assist with rev matching"?

Originally Posted by nike001

Coming from an A4 to a rear-drive M235i and (seemingly) plan to immediately throw a DP & JB tune on it?

...you're gonna have a bad time.

Also, I can almost guarantee you won't find a 6MT w/ LSD hanging out on any lot.

No, definitely not immediately. I would probably wait a year to get accustomed to the car. Im coming from a stage 2 A4 so its not that big of a power difference. And yea i wasn't expecting any luck with the LSD. I just dont want to have a difficult time trying to find a manual

[Xiaoxi]

Originally Posted by ryank382

Thanks for the reply. i figured MT+LSD would be virtually impossible. im more concerned on being able to find a MT. What did you mean by "it will assist with rev matching"?

You'll still be hardpressed to find a manual 2er on any lot.

As you're about halfway into the engagement point, the engine will adjust its RPM to match the transmission gear RPM if you're off the mark.

[hoppy6698]

Originally Posted by ryank382

Hi guys. I've been lurking around these forums and reading every bit of information for years on end now waiting for the day to finally get into a BMW and it might be here soon. My plan is to sell my 2012 A4 and lease one of these beautiful 6mt M235is. The original plan was to buy an e92 M3 as owning an m3 has always been my dream but i'll be postponing that for now because leasing an M235i makes more sense for the time being. Here are some general questions i was hoping you guys could answer for me

1. For those of you with RWD, do you find that the 245 super sports is sufficient for traction? i plan on eventually going jb4 and have a hard time believe it will be enough rubber.

2. For those of you with the 6MT, how is the clutch? will i be able to drive aggressively without issues? Especially with a jb4+DP

3. With regards to rarity, do you guys think it will be difficult to find a 6mt with either AW/red interior or MR/Black leather and Tech package+PDC+rearview cam+heated seats for lease?

also is there any chance that a car on the lot may have an LSD or is that always ordered seperatly or when custom ordering the car.

4. Whats the deal with sensatec? is it really different from leather? i gotta know so i can decide if i will settle for sensa tec with melbourne red.

5. Where can I find information on incentives?

6. Can I expect to potentially negotiate my way to a monthly payment of under $500(10k miles 36 or 39 months)?

7. Lastly will techs care if my car is modded during lease period? For example if i come in for service and my exhaust is clearly catless and loud as hell, will this cause an issue?(obv ill be back to stock at the end of the lease)

Sorry for long thread! Thanks in advance for taking the time to reply

As probably one of the few coming from a B8 A4 to the M235, will give my 2 pennies worth.

1. The PSS are more than up to handling the OEM power band, to a point. When you push enough power down, the rear end will lift any tire. It is not a tire size issue, but weight - the M235 is not a feather, but light enough to get the rear loose if you try hard enough. Plenty of reviews on youtube show the M235s drifting. However, if you are driving on normal streets to make the rear let loose, the JB4 will only make it worse/harder to handle if you never learned first.

3. The odds of finding a M235 on a lot is extremely rare. Finding one with a $3200 port installed option - even worse. The only way I could see this happening is if a dealer ordered a fully MP optioned M235 for demonstrations. Finally, the odds of a M235 on a lot, with MP LSD, in the colors and options you want is probably incalculable at this point. Long story short - If you have a particular setup you are looking for, just order it.

4. I got the leather. Had leatherette when I had little kiddies, but prefer actual leather. That said, this leather is not as refined as the Audi leather you have now. Be prepared for that. I would say the BMW premium leather in the 2er is in between the sensatec and Audi premium leather.

5. BMW USA for current incentives. What they cannot list - BMW CCA incentives and any competing bank incentives (purchasing). However, you seem to want to lease, so you may be stuck with what BMW offers only.

7. I think the modding depends on the dealership. You could always lease from one and service at another that is more tuner-friendly.

Some notes coming from an A4 2.0T as well:
-- The power in the M235 is beyond anything my tuned A4 (APR tuning) was getting, including the torque. You will not need a JB4 anytime soon and highly recommend some BMW or ACNA driving events (track) before determining if you need more power or traction.

-- I had the Bang & Olufsen option. The HK and base BMW system is a joke in comparison. Just be prepared. If leasing, I suggest grabbing the HK to have the residual accounted for.

-- The tech package (for me) is SO much better than Audi. I love it and find new stuff almost weekly. Great package in my opinion!

Good luck with the purchase!

[HarmOG]

#2 - The clutch is great.

#3 - I went to dealerships all over SoCal and could never find a single MT to test drive. I probably drove different configurations 20 times, but always auto. When I bought mine, it was a bit of faith to order the MT w/o driving it. I was totally satisfied.

#4 - I like the Sensatec. I have never had BMW leather, so I can't really compare, but it does seem nice most of the time. When getting in the car on a hot day, it does seem to breathe less that I would expect of leather, but it also seems like it will last for a while.

[gaijin]

Originally Posted by ryank382

also is there any chance that a car on the lot may have an LSD or is that always ordered seperatly or when custom ordering the car.

As others have pointed out, the BMW M Performance Limited Slip Differential is an ordered accessory ($2,895). I don't see any reason why a dealership cannot install the LSD after the sale, adding the cost to the purchase (lease price.

[jonahk]

Originally Posted by Xiaoxi

You'll still be hardpressed to find a manual 2er on any lot.

As you're about halfway into the engagement point, the engine will adjust its RPM to match the transmission gear RPM if you're off the mark.

Say what now?

I've got 1400 miles on my 2015 M235 and I've never noticed this happening. Is this always active, or only in Sport mode?

[alz0rz]

Originally Posted by Xiaoxi

You'll still be hardpressed to find a manual 2er on any lot.

As you're about halfway into the engagement point, the engine will adjust its RPM to match the transmission gear RPM if you're off the mark.

Wait.. what?

[ryank382]

Originally Posted by hoppy6698

As probably one of the few coming from a B8 A4 to the M235, will give my 2 pennies worth.

1. The PSS are more than up to handling the OEM power band, to a point. When you push enough power down, the rear end will lift any tire. It is not a tire size issue, but weight - the M235 is not a feather, but light enough to get the rear loose if you try hard enough. Plenty of reviews on youtube show the M235s drifting. However, if you are driving on normal streets to make the rear let loose, the JB4 will only make it worse/harder to handle if you never learned first.

3. The odds of finding a M235 on a lot is extremely rare. Finding one with a $3200 port installed option - even worse. The only way I could see this happening is if a dealer ordered a fully MP optioned M235 for demonstrations. Finally, the odds of a M235 on a lot, with MP LSD, in the colors and options you want is probably incalculable at this point. Long story short - If you have a particular setup you are looking for, just order it.

4. I got the leather. Had leatherette when I had little kiddies, but prefer actual leather. That said, this leather is not as refined as the Audi leather you have now. Be prepared for that. I would say the BMW premium leather in the 2er is in between the sensatec and Audi premium leather.

5. BMW USA for current incentives. What they cannot list - BMW CCA incentives and any competing bank incentives (purchasing). However, you seem to want to lease, so you may be stuck with what BMW offers only.

7. I think the modding depends on the dealership. You could always lease from one and service at another that is more tuner-friendly.

Some notes coming from an A4 2.0T as well:
-- The power in the M235 is beyond anything my tuned A4 (APR tuning) was getting, including the torque. You will not need a JB4 anytime soon and highly recommend some BMW or ACNA driving events (track) before determining if you need more power or traction.

-- I had the Bang & Olufsen option. The HK and base BMW system is a joke in comparison. Just be prepared. If leasing, I suggest grabbing the HK to have the residual accounted for.

-- The tech package (for me) is SO much better than Audi. I love it and find new stuff almost weekly. Great package in my opinion!

Good luck with the purchase!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond. i stopped by a dealer and came to the conclusion that it needs to be ordered if i want my configurations. I will definitely not be tuning any time soon. Gotta get adjusted to the rwd and extra power. will def be doing some HPDE as well. i dont plan on drifting on public roads haha

thanks to everyone else too for the responses

[Liquidpaper]

Originally Posted by ryank382

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond. i stopped by a dealer and came to the conclusion that it needs to be ordered if i want my configurations. I will definitely not be tuning any time soon. Gotta get adjusted to the rwd and extra power. will def be doing some HPDE as well. i dont plan on drifting on public roads haha

thanks to everyone else too for the responses

If you start getting into HPDE and TT stuff, we have a lot of threads hanging around about that particular topic.