Grassroots Motorsports

Coupe Scoop Feb 29, 2008

Our bright red BMW 335i Coupe--our newest long-term test car--is more than living up to our high expectations.

After 1000 break-in miles, we headed to our test track in Ocala to measure the BMW's baseline for braking, acceleration and handling. From an editorial perspective, we'd like a project car to need help. The slower the baseline, the easier our job is to improve it. BMW set the bar pretty high, though. We're going to have to work to get better times out of this one.

First off, the 2008 335i is one seriously fast car. Barely broken in, it rattled off consistent 5.0-second zero-to-60 mph times, and the box-stock 335i turned some of the fastest times we've ever run at Ocala, despite being on the stock Bridgestone tires.

And it didn't just post good numbers, it did it with composure. The suspension felt like it had a good balance from front to rear and the 335i flicked through our transition zones quickly and confidently. We also took the 335i to Moroso Motorsports Park, where we shot some in-car video.

If we were disappointed with anything, it would be the brakes. After about five laps we saw pad-related fade. Thankfully, racier pads are a quick, cheap change.

So we'll kick off the project with a brake upgrade, but then what? Well, the BMW could probably benefit from reduced body roll through uprated springs and anti-roll bars, and we'll be looking at some camber adjustment, too. Our track work chewed up the outer blocks on the front tires, and tire temperatures were considerably higher on the front's outer shoulders.

But like we said, it's going to be a difficult car to improve: The 335i combines an almost uncanny combination of ride quality, handling and class. The 335i has been getting about 20 miles per gallon in mostly around-town driving with no problems other than a defective side-mirror adjuster, which was fixed under warranty. There are, however, a few minor flaws that have bugged us.

Most noticeably, the flimsy seatbelt extenders motor the belt out to your waiting hand too slowly to do you any good. Also, we know we probably shouldn't even make the complaint, but the cup holders are unsubstantial, unstable conveyances that pop awkwardly out of the dash.

We have this car for two years, so our plans are to take it easy at first with just some mild tweaks, then start leaning on it a bit more. We plan to run a few SCCA autocrosses as well as BMW CCA and NASA driving schools. Our thinking is that the type of person who buys this car will only modify it in minor ways while it's still new, then get wilder as the 335i gets older and depreciates. We'll follow that lead. 

Six-Month Checkup Jul 6, 2008

Our BMW 335i has been with us for six months. We now have 7673 trouble-free (except for the aforementioned rear view mirror problem) miles on the car and we feel that our baselining phase is complete. Our most recent adventure at the track was part of last month’s feature story comparing the M3, the new 1 Series and our 335i.

Quite honestly, comparing our car with the light weight of the 1 Series and the incredible chassis and powertrain of the M3 left us nervous. Would we still be in love with our 335i after directly comparing it with these two machines? Surprisingly, as our story pointed out, the 335i has nearly the power of the M3 and a bit more room and stability than the 1 Series. We are still very happy with our choice.

From here we will enter the modification phase of this project. In the next few months, as we continue to clear a few more project car responsibilities from our plate, we will do an exhaust system comparison test on the 335i and make a few other mods in search of M3-level performance. From there, we will make some chassis and brake tweaks to see if we can make this nearly perfect BMW even better. 

Exhaust-ing Work Oct 21, 2008

We'll soon be comparing cat-back exhaust systems on our 335i Coupe. We're organizing the test now, but we expect to compare Borla, UUC, Supersprint, and others in the shoot-out. We'll be testing them on a dyno, evaluating fit and finish, and judging the sound quality. 

Traqmate Experiments Oct 30, 2008

We've been experimenting with Traqmate's Traqstudio software to sync our in-car video with our TraqMate data. So far, we're pretty impressed. Here's the data and video we gathered in February at Moroso (now Palm Beach International Raceway). Watch for a full review on the Traqmate and TraqStudio combination in GRM soon. 

Road Trip Nov 24, 2008

We recently took our 335i on a 1200-mile round trip from our Florida headquarters to Nashville, Tenn. On our first couple stops, we visited with our friends at Bridgestone Tire and the Lane Motor Museum. From there, we drove through a horrendous storm to catch a meeting of the Vintage Motorsport Council at Barber Raceway. Because of the awful, rainy weather, we were very pleased to have taken the BMW and not a lesser car. We were able to travel comfortably, safely and efficiently--we got between 25 and 30 mpg.