F30 320i advice

[FerdiBotha]

There's not much to learn really.

If your foot is flat then your foot is flat. Driving style plays no role there..

The F30 is definitely way quicker than the E90 320i in every possible scenario. An auto car often feels less punchy than a manual car due to smoother and quicker changes, thus less peaky acceleration. Although an auto car may sometimes feel slower than a manual they are quicker in reality these days.

 

[Schalk94]

Congrats man!
Remember the car you have now has one of the best auto boxes in the business so acceleration feels a lot smoother than any manual and less jerky between gears. Just enjoy the car,there isn't much to learn:coolShake:

 

[Zenith]

What I mean by learning is the whole kick down thing. I put my foot down all the way and then the engine really roars in the cabin which gets awfully annoying after awhile, especially in sport when the gears take longer to shift. There is a particular pitch sound that annoys my ears.

Maybe I just need to get used to it. But that's not how I'm supposed to drive. Remember I'm coming from manual cars all my life. I have to get used to not doing that as I would with the petrol.

Do you guys use the kick down regularly when driving fast? Or how do you go about it?

 

[Broken1]

What I mean by learning is the whole kick down thing. I put my foot down all the way and then the engine really roars in the cabin which gets awfully annoying after awhile, especially in sport when the gears take longer to shift. There is a particular pitch sound that annoys my ears.

Maybe I just need to get used to it. But that's not how I'm supposed to drive. Remember I'm coming from manual cars all my life. I have to get used to not doing that as I would with the petrol.

Do you guys use the kick down regularly when driving fast? Or how do you go about it?

Put your foot down, but don't click the button- then it down gears one gear not two or three. Remember, because it's a turbo it's not fastest at the top of the rev band but rather somewhere in the middle. As you get used to it you'll find that you can gear down just by pushing your foot in a tiny bit. The car learns your style of driving and adapts the gear shifts to suit.

It has a lot more usable power than an E90 320i so you will be able to go plenty fast without pushing it too hard.

 

[Zenith]

What I mean by learning is the whole kick down thing. I put my foot down all the way and then the engine really roars in the cabin which gets awfully annoying after awhile, especially in sport when the gears take longer to shift. There is a particular pitch sound that annoys my ears.

Maybe I just need to get used to it. But that's not how I'm supposed to drive. Remember I'm coming from manual cars all my life. I have to get used to not doing that as I would with the petrol.

Do you guys use the kick down regularly when driving fast? Or how do you go about it?

Put your foot down, but don't click the button- then it down gears one gear not two or three. Remember, because it's a turbo it's not fastest at the top of the rev band but rather somewhere in the middle. As you get used to it you'll find that you can gear down just by pushing your foot in a tiny bit. The car learns your style of driving and adapts the gear shifts to suit.

It has a lot more usable power than an E90 320i so you will be able to go plenty fast without pushing it too hard.

I feel like an idiot now, because I never really felt the click. That's why it felt so jarring to me because every time the engine was just working overtime when I was trying to go fast. Maybe it was the carpet or something that got in the way.

Much, much better now. After adjusting the carpet I can clearly feel the click for kickdown. Put the car into sport and the gears shift really nicely. It's amazing how this car is almost like 3 cars in one. Eco-pro really does make the car far more sedate.

On an unrelated note, I got my bluetooth to work but when I plug the phone to USB to charge it won't allow bluetooth to work which kinda sucks. I would love to charge the phone while using the voice commands and hands-free calling. Guess I can't have everything.

 

[Schalk94]

I'm glad that you figured the box and kickdown out now. For me,personally,Eco-pro mode is just a waste of time as it makes the car unnecessarily lazy and just frustrates the driver without saving much(if any) on petrol.

 

[Lizzard]

I believe the eco mode is just to delay throttle input thus causing less fuel to be wasted on small inputs. As a driver when you get it you dont drive in eco mode and then get use to how much paddle movement it takes to get the car going in the different scenario's like driving, cruising and speeding. But due to this learning your car and driving it not in eco mode makes the car feel lazy as soon as you put it into eco mode. Just use eco mode once on cruising speed and not if you go to buy bread at the shop on the corner.

 

[Broken1]

On an unrelated note, I got my bluetooth to work but when I plug the phone to USB to charge it won't allow bluetooth to work which kinda sucks. I would love to charge the phone while using the voice commands and hands-free calling. Guess I can't have everything.

That sounds weird- they are unrelated. I haven't tried in my F30 as I am using Bluetooth for both calls and music streaming (with an iPhone) but in theory plugging it into the USB should not affect your hands free calling. I wonder if it's the car or your phone

 

[Lizzard]

You cant put two functions from the same device, so you phone is connected via bluetooth handsfree. Then you connect the same phone via usb, the car recognize the same phone then as usb plug and play device thus disconnecting the initial device which in this case is the bluetooth.

OP, have you tried the other way around. Usb connect it first and then bluetooth via switching your phones bluetooth on after it has been connected to the usb. Still dont think it will work

 

[Zenith]

I normally drive in Comfort mode, but I'm finding when I put my foot down flat, not kicking down or anything, the autobox takes a while to actually respond.

It's almost like it's a little indecisive. It takes a while for the gears to drop. Not a long time, but it's about 2 seconds or so for it to be the right gear for the most power.

Not a major deal or anything. I haven't tried messed around with Sport setting, just Eco and mainly Comfort.

 

[FerdiBotha]

I normally drive in Comfort mode, but I'm finding when I put my foot down flat, not kicking down or anything, the autobox takes a while to actually respond.

It's almost like it's a little indecisive. It takes a while for the gears to drop. Not a long time, but it's about 2 seconds or so for it to be the right gear for the most power.

Not a major deal or anything. I haven't tried messed around with Sport setting, just Eco and mainly Comfort.

You're shooting yourself in the foot by not using Sport mode. The car transforms completely in Sport.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

:ttiuwp:

Drive the car in Sport, the other modes will cause lag. :coolShake:

 

[Zenith]

Cool will do, thanks gents!

 

[ramjee13]

Use Eco Pro on long distance trips, def helps to save a bit of petrol.

I'm mainly in comfort mode, town driving.

 

[Zenith]

Something I have just noticed now. If I put the AC on, the noise is quite loud in the car even on the lowest setting.

It's definitely louder than in my E90. Does anyone else find the same thing? Should I take the car in to have this checked?

 

[Broken1]

Something I have just noticed now. If I put the AC on, the noise is quite loud in the car even on the lowest setting.

It's definitely louder than in my E90. Does anyone else find the same thing? Should I take the car in to have this checked?

Mine is not loud at all (unless it's on a high fan setting). On the lowest setting I can't hear it.

Is it on auto or do you have it blowing through a certain vent (feet, body, windscreen?). I put my climate control on 22, auto, lowest fan speed and just adjust the hot/cold knob between the vents as needed for the day. I find that way it keeps the car at the perfect temperature and don't need to look at it again during trip.

 

[FerdiBotha]

Something I have just noticed now. If I put the AC on, the noise is quite loud in the car even on the lowest setting.

It's definitely louder than in my E90. Does anyone else find the same thing? Should I take the car in to have this checked?

Have it looked at if it's louder than the E90 because it shouldn't be:coolShake:

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Check the AC system for debris.. On the F series the piece of plastic which is suppose to keep leaves out is very flimsy.

 

[Zenith]

Something I have just noticed now. If I put the AC on, the noise is quite loud in the car even on the lowest setting.

It's definitely louder than in my E90. Does anyone else find the same thing? Should I take the car in to have this checked?

Mine is not loud at all (unless it's on a high fan setting). On the lowest setting I can't hear it.

Is it on auto or do you have it blowing through a certain vent (feet, body, windscreen?). I put my climate control on 22, auto, lowest fan speed and just adjust the hot/cold knob between the vents as needed for the day. I find that way it keeps the car at the perfect temperature and don't need to look at it again during trip.

It's on auto. I haven't messed around with the climate control settings much, just noticed that when the music is turned down it sounds like the fan is swooshing way too loud even on the lowest fan setting, to the point where it felt distracting.

I think I'll check for debris in the vents, otherwise I'll take to SMG on Monday to have it sorted out. Otherwise very happy with the car. There are some minor scratches on the car and can you believe it, SMG tells me that if I go to have them sprayed at any non-BMW approved dealer that it will void my motor plan?

Crazy stuff.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

We are still waiting for pictures :rollsmile:

Yes if you want to keep the plan, you have the car repaired at an ARC.