[SkipSauls]

I took my 335i Coupe to a PCA autocross today and it did fairly well for a heavy car on street tires. Here's a photo of the results, with some of the times highlighted:



I placed 8th overall and was the fastest car on street tires, even beating an E46 M3 that was out there. My best time was 1/2 second faster than the M3s, and my second fastest time was less than 4 hundredths slower than the M3s best time. Now before any of you M lovers get your panties in a wad, I know that the driver, the car setup, yadda yadda yadda is a factor, but I was in a bone-stock 335i with the infamous run-flats, just over 500 miles on the car, and a Steptronic! Yes, a freaking automatic.

Perhaps even more impressive is the showing that the car made against the likes of a 996 GT3 running fresh A3S06, which are supposed to be great tires for autocrossing. He was 4 seconds faster, has been driving the car for a couple of years now, and is a good autocrosser. I have to wonder how the 335i would have done with some R compounds on it and if I had more than 500 miles in the car. And there's no telling what a set of stiffer springs and a suspension setup might do...

There were three 911s (pre-964) that were faster with four drivers, including one husband and wife team. A couple of these cars are PCA Club Racers, and I think that the third one might be as well. They're down on horsepower vs. the 335i, but have R compounds, racing suspensions, and so on. Again, a similar setup on the 335i might show some good results.

The fastest car out there was a Boxster S with modified suspension, R compounds, etc., driven by a guy who also autocrosses an E36 M3 (I think that's the model number). He's very good, often winning his class and probably the best autocrosser I know personally. I don't know that a prepped 335i would be able to hang with his car, even if I had lots more seat time. There's only so much you can do with these relatively fat-ass BMWs!

A big surprise was a Miata driven by a friend of mine. He just put on an adjustable suspension yesterday and had some Toyos from his Spec Miata on the car, and it did quite well. He was a bit over a 1/2 second faster, and was faster than a whole lot of very fast Porsches. If you've never driven one of these cars, you probably don't appreciate how well they handle and how much fun they really are.

Here's a picture of me posing with my cue ball helmet in hand:




In summary I'd say that this proves that the 335i is as good as everyone says/hopes it is. No, it's not an M3, and I'm thankful that it isn't.

[shimshimhada]

It makes sense, the 335i has more low-end torque which helps in autoxes.

[bimmer]

man, you are making me think about 335i. I just bought 330i.
The more I see e92 the more I like them!!!

[MBChariot]

It will end once the new M3 comes out. Then it will look more like this:

[JEllis]

Nice well done man!

Jason

[aris214]

Originally Posted by MBChariot

It will end once the new M3 comes out. Then it will look more like this:

and when lightly modified 335i's are on the street, it will look like this

[canucklion]

that's a clean E36 you got there

Originally Posted by JEllis

Nice well done man!

Jason

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by canucklion

that's a clean E36 you got there

no kidding, that is nice.

[Nikki]

Awesome, congrats!
I can't wait until I finally get to my first one..I have no free time

[Shinobi]

Your 335i did not beat that e46 M3. Your driving skill was better than his and that's what its all about with AutoX. I beat e46 M3s, Porsches, M Coupes, M Roadsters, M5s, etc. all the time...and this was before my car was supercharged and I drive a steptronic e46 330Ci. I have 50 AutoX trophies to prove it and was the 2004 DSP Champion in local SCCA events. However, alot of people here get beat by a Ford Escort and a Honda Civic in the hands of national level drivers.

I've spoken to a few national SCCA AutoX champions about the 335i. They all believe the 335i, is way too heavy. The SoCal region is full of national champions, and right now the e36s kick butt. e36 M3s generally dominate, but there's at least one heavily prepped e36 325i that is beating up the local competition. It only weighs 2700lbs, and I'd bet money that even a well prepped, well-driven 335i is no match for it in an AutoX.

I am very curious to see more AutoX results. I have no doubt that the 335i will do very well at the track, but I am skeptical about it at the AutoX. What we need to see are more people with 335s out there. There's a BMW event in San Diego next weekend, and one in Fontana in December. There's very few e90s out there, so come on out, have some fun, and lets see how they stack up to the competition here .

[Ray]

Good job at the X.

You simply proved that you are a better driver then that M3 owner.

Just like the track, auto crosses alway reflect the skills of a driver. The Miata with street tires beat out the two BMW's and the Boxter S killed all five of the 911's. And the 911's were either GT3's or had race tires.

[ase2dais]

Originally Posted by bimmer

man, you are making me think about 335i. I just bought 330i.
The more I see e92 the more I like them!!!

+1

[ksfrogman]

Did you have a chance to talk to the e46 guy? What were his comments?

[MrSilver]

It is a good thing you don't own an Audi, because if you did, the e92 would have "overheated" and "blown-up" after a track run like that.

[SkipSauls]

Shinobi & others, yes, I know it's not just the cars. I've been competing in the SPEED World Challenge and have honed my driving skills a bit. I don't think that I'm a great autocrosser, but I have good car control skills and a "no fear" attitude when it comes to driving that lets me go balls out in anything I get into. This post was more about having a bit of fun with the whole 335i vs. M3 debate, and is a bit of a jab at the Steptronic-haters out there.

As to the weight of the car, I agree that it's heavy for a track car, but it's surprisingly nimble, and the power certainly helps. It has power to spare, and unlike a highly-strung M3 or GT3, it doesn't need to be revved like crazy to make power. I was able to break the tires loose at several points on the course and could use this to rotate the car. Speaking of turns, on the first run with cold tires it understeered quite a bit, but once they were warm it did fairly well for a big car.

It's also quite well behaved when drifting the car through the higher speed sections of the course. There was a section with a couple of gates that could be taken at speed where I could throw the car around and use the throttle very effectively to make it go where I wanted. On the slaloms it also did very well, feeling much lighter on its toes than the weight would suggest. I had several people say that my trap speed after the final slalom appeared to be higher than almost every other car, and I attribute that to being able to plant my right foot and gently guide the car through the cones. I ran with DSC and DTC off, so I'm not sure how it would have behaved with all of the electronic nannies in place.

The Steptronic is a much better transmission than some people give it credit for. It doesn't hold the gear in manual mode like I thought it would, but once I realized that and let the car upshift it did quite well. On a couple of lower speed sections I was in 2nd or 3rd and needed to downshift, but found I could just stab the throttle and it would do so for me. Very nice! Some of the folks watching said that they could tell it was shifting very fast from the noises it made, surprising quite a few who didn't know it was an automatic.

Finally, on the subject of noise, the observers said that the 335i has a much better exhaust note that the M3. I didn't hear my car from the outside, but it's definitely got more of a growl as opposed to the somewhat muted and thin noises made by the M3. I think I'd have to get an aftermarket exhaust for an M3 as a car like that should sound more aggressive from the outside.

[SkipSauls]

Mr. Silver,

I ran the car for 5 runs, each of which was about 70 seconds, and ran the car hard. The tires were smoking, I could smell the brakes, and so on, but the car did just fine. The oil temp never went over 240, and this is at 5000+ feet, which is known for making cars more easily overheat. I think that the Audi guys are smoking crack and are just making things up in a lame attempt to paint the 335i in a bad light. Obviously they're terrified of a car that's going to stomp any Audi short of the RS models, and may give some of those a run for their money. Speaking of fat-ass cars, the 335i looks like a featherweight next to the Audi pigs!

[Shinobi]

My bad SkipSauls...I didn't read all of your original post. Looks like you certainly know whats up with driving skills and autox/track. Congrats on your car and your results and kudos to you for taking the car out to a driving event . I think you're going to hear more about 335s beating cars in straight-line drag races and street races, but BMWs really shine in the handling department and I wish more people would autox/track their cars and truly learn how to drive their cars and not depend on DSC, DTC, ADB, etc.

One benefit of the Steptronic is that if you lose...you can just say, "well, I have an automatic"...but if you win, then you really rub it in..."I beat your a$$ with an automatic, HaHaHa!". Interesting about the performance of the new Steps. In my steptronic, even with software and in manual mode, when pushed to the limits, the tranny gets confused and doesn't respond very well, though on the streets its just fine.

[jacksonjw81]

Good Sh!t,

Let us know what you run when you get some better tires on there. I like the way you blew up the times and put the car/tire combo.

[Robin_NL]

Originally Posted by MrSilver

It is a good thing you don't own an Audi, because if you did, the e92 would have "overheated" and "blown-up" after a track run like that.

lol

[ska///235i]

LOLS.....those 911 R drivers need to take some driving lessons...ahahahahha

[lcrain]

Very impressive that you beat an e46 M3. I would suspect that some of that is your driving skills. Not to talk bad about the 335 because I love it, but I think that the m3 would at least be even if not slightly better. But the torque is a definite advantage. Way to go

[akhbhaat]

Originally Posted by Shinobi

One benefit of the Steptronic is that if you lose...you can just say, "well, I have an automatic"...but if you win, then you really rub it in..."I beat your a$$ with an automatic, HaHaHa!".

People actually bite on that? Having an automatic is an advantage, especially for inexperienced drivers - you don't have to deal with the gearbox and can concentrate on your lines. I prefer the manual box, but only because it's more involving and more satisfying. The actual performance advantage has shrunk to nearly nothing over the past decade.