[akuan99]

After 12 week long wait I've just picked up my new 228i M-Sport Track 6MT car.
I traded my 2011 128i pictured in the background.

Here is some of my initial impressions after driving it for short trip home.

Positives

- EBII color with ferric gray color wheels really looks great
- Sport seat is more comfortable than E82 sport seat
- Standard Hi-Fi stereo is better than E82 Hi-Fi (this is a shocker)
- Clutch pedal action is nice, light and short
- Sensatec material feels really nice and I actually prefer it to the Boston leather on my old 128i


Negatives

- Manual shifter has a bit of rubbery feel
- Interior material is not better than E82
- Some rather strong engine vibration transmitted to manual shifter during idle

I will wait for the weekend to take good pictures of it and I will post them later.

[NY10]

Looks amazing, love the color

[akuan99]

Here is another picture after I brought her home.

[issaacrumel01]

Great looking 228! I have one on order. Would be interested to hear your feedback about engine power and handling. Curious how it accelerates in first. I had test driven a 328i and there seemed to be a bit of a lag in 1st. Congrats on the new car!

[akuan99]

Originally Posted by issaacrumel01

Great looking 228! I have one on order. Would be interested to hear your feedback about engine power and handling. Curious how it accelerates in first. I had test driven a 328i and there seemed to be a bit of a lag in 1st. Congrats on the new car!

I only drove it back home during rush hour so I did not get a chance for a quick pick up.
Pick up in 1st seems a little sluggish in comfort mode and it is better in sport mode but I certainly detected some lag.

[NY10]

Can't wait to try out mine. I guess the real test with these cars is bringing it out for a long drive without any traffic or other cars around. I am planning a long road trip upstate the week I get mine so I can play around and test it out in full force without the NY traffic and hassle of other cars around.

[danimal]

Hopefully you'll adjust to feel of the shifter quickly. I didn't love it the first time I tried it, but it's really grown on me, and I now think it's just about perfect. I definitely like it better than the shifter in my E90 328i.

[mrbrett]

Congrats! Looks great!

I don't know if I am getting used to it, or if the car is more broken in, but the rubbery-ness of the shifter seems much less now that my car has near a 1000 miles on it.

[zkeeper]

I'll probably get flamed for the following as some say, drive it like you stole it. BUT, get the proper break-in miles on it, differ the RPMs, in various situations, and the car just gets better and better when you let it all get "friendly" in there.

[mrbrett]

Originally Posted by zkeeper

I'll probably get flamed for the following as some say, drive it like you stole it. BUT, get the proper break-in miles on it, differ the RPMs, in various situations, and the car just gets better and better when you let it all get "friendly" in there.

I've always broken in my cars hard (except for brakes for first couple hundred miles) and never had any mechanical issues because of it, but I also don't keep my cars for 200K miles either. Anyway, many people "test the performance" of cars during test drives, so most cars off the lot probably have multiple runs up to or near the redline before the car goes to its forever home.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by mrbrett

I've always broken in my cars hard (except for brakes for first couple hundred miles) and never had any mechanical issues because of it, but I also don't keep my cars for 200K miles either. Anyway, many people "test the performance" of cars during test drives, so most cars off the lot probably have multiple runs up to or near the redline before the car goes to its forever home.

Past luck without breaking-in a car is really irrelevant. It's your car to do as you wish but the guys that build it recommend you break it in. If you have gotten away with it the past or bought into the max friction of piston on machined cylinder liners that are often referenced again that is all irrelevant. These motors are using a new-to-BMW cylinder bore welding technique without a cylinder liner in the aluminum block! I even had a BMW mechanic tell me the same silly thing about past luck not understanding that material is now welded directly into the
Block bore. So the guys that design them recommend you break them in. I'm not sure why everyone thinks they know what is better for the
Motors than the experts that build them. Furthermore I have worked in the dyno room breaking-in and performance mapping motors for
Factory race team and we would do whatever it took to get ANY sort of longevity and or performance advantage. If they told us that taking a crap in the oil would give us another 2 horsepower we would do it! Yet every race team has some sort of engine break in process too.

Again if you want to do that to your car that's you're right but I worry about telling others that they should ignore the experts because in the past you didn't have a problem.

[tccox]

Shifting really improves as you put the miles on. Love my 228 after 4500 miles

[akuan99]

Originally Posted by tccox

Shifting really improves as you put the miles on. Love my 228 after 4500 miles

I'm hoping it will get better.
I can't wait for break-in period to be over so I can drive it a little harder.

[david.orr]

Nice congrats! Colour coded mirrors is much nicer

[mrbrett]

Originally Posted by nachob

Past luck without breaking-in a car is really irrelevant. It's your car to do as you wish but the guys that build it recommend you break it in. If you have gotten away with it the past or bought into the max friction of piston on machined cylinder liners that are often referenced again that is all irrelevant. These motors are using a new-to-BMW cylinder bore welding technique without a cylinder liner in the aluminum block! I even had a BMW mechanic tell me the same silly thing about past luck not understanding that material is now welded directly into the
Block bore. So the guys that design them recommend you break them in. I'm not sure why everyone thinks they know what is better for the
Motors than the experts that build them. Furthermore I have worked in the dyno room breaking-in and performance mapping motors for
Factory race team and we would do whatever it took to get ANY sort of longevity and or performance advantage. If they told us that taking a crap in the oil would give us another 2 horsepower we would do it! Yet every race team has some sort of engine break in process too.

Again if you want to do that to your car that's you're right but I worry about telling others that they should ignore the experts because in the past you didn't have a problem.

I'm not convinced the experts wrote that, I would bet a lawyer did. Meanwhile engineers know that people don't read their manuals.

For the record, I didn't tell anyone one to ignore anything. I spoke of my experience and it's just that... my experience. If I want to floor it getting on the freeway or pass someone full throttle, then I do... and I hardly believe that makes a difference.

I totally respect your opinion, but my point is, from an engineering standpoint is not that important. It would be stupid for these mass produced cars to be engineered so delicately that anyone who breaks the break in rules are punished by having a car that is a nightmare mechanically (can it happen? Yes, statistically probably not). It doesn't make financial sense either for car makers. It's a recommended break in period that's probably more legalese save their butts than anything else. If the break in was important, they could easily limit the throttle via the ecu for the first 1200 miles.

More specifically this motor is bread and butter of the bmw lineup (it's not some fancy bespoke or hand built motor). Most people buy them and drive them however they want, and don't have problems. They are engineered to hold up against any common driving style from day one.

I took a tour of the BMW factory last year in Munich (which was awesome btw) and the cars sit on rollers and they run them pretty hard. I believe the nice German lady to about 115 miles an hour.

Again, this is all my opinion. I just don't think break in periods are that important.

[Sportstick]

I'm just at 1000 and took it relatively easy (4-5000 rpm max) so far and indulged either the car, myself, or both with an early oil change last week for whatever good it might do with the metal particulates. The Service Advisor asked if I was leasing or if I bought the car. When I told him I bought and added the 7 years/70k warranty, he agreed that oil change was advisable. Before that, he was suggesting to skip it. It was on special for $79. He said he'd leave the service indicator alone so it shows the usual interval, as if I did not do the 1000 mile change.

[HarmOG]

Originally Posted by akuan99

I only drove it back home during rush hour so I did not get a chance for a quick pick up.
Pick up in 1st seems a little sluggish in comfort mode and it is better in sport mode but I certainly detected some lag.

Sounds about right. It feels fun, but a touch slow in "comfort", but when I put it into "sport" it drives great. Had a WRX previously and that had much more noticeable turbo lag. It was pretty much useless below 2300 rpm. The 228 seems to be much more responsive, even at low rpm.

[akuan99]

Here is a quick update after driving few more trips.
Sport mode should be default mode for cars with Track package.
Suspension in sport mode is still comfortable for city driving and actually feels softer than my E82 non-adaptive sport suspension.
However car felt well planted on a few twisties I've tried with less lean compared to my old 128i sport.
I reved engine a few times to 5k RPM and it definitely pulled a lot harder than NA 6cyl engine.
I just need to practice a little more on my gear shifting skill as driving auto only for past 10 years has made a little lazier and slower.

[mfourn20]

Originally Posted by HarmOG

Sounds about right. It feels fun, but a touch slow in "comfort", but when I put it into "sport" it drives great. Had a WRX previously and that had much more noticeable turbo lag. It was pretty much useless below 2300 rpm. The 228 seems to be much more responsive, even at low rpm.

First gear bogs a little if you don't launch it. A nice smooth clutch release from about 1.5k rpm and woooo weee.

I find I drive the car a lot more smoothly with it in sport mode...I like the gas pedal nice and sensitive and comfort involves a little too much pedal travel. I came from a Mazda3 which actually felt a lot more sensitive.

My only complaint with the car is the somewhat rough startup.

[Cal]

Very nice car! I'm jealous that the M235i doesn't come with those wheels as standard. Can't believe BMW put nicer wheels on the 228i.

In regards to the MT, I test drove one and found the shifter to be extremely nice. Nice short throws and not as notchy as previous BMWs. Coming from an e36M3, I found the shifter to have shorter throws (and have more precision) that the e36 even with a short-shift kit. My only minor complaint on the F22 MT would be that the clutch is actually too soft and smooth. I'm used to the clutch engagement point being firmer and having more of that "kick-back" feel (like the old M3). This makes it easier to feel the clutch and make a smoother shift. With the F22, the clutch is so smooth that it's hard to feel the engagement point (relatively speaking). I'm sure I would get used to it and make smoother shifts as time goes on, but on the short test drive, this is what I noticed. Oh yeah, the clutch travel is also a little too long. It definitely needs a longer aftermarket clutch stop (I had this on my old car too).

In any case, enjoy your new car! It's beautiful.

[akuan99]

I drove 40 miles last two days and it couldn't really be more happy about my purchase.
I originally was not planning on getting the adaptive suspension and I added Track Package because that was the only way to get M brakes.
Now I love the feel of the adaptive supension and the quicker steering ratio setting when set to sport mode.
It is the best combination of comfort and athletic feel.

I've just finished putting my first mode and it made look great from the inside.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Nice!!