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2011 BMW 335is Coupe and Convertible - Driving Impressions
In a tale of two turbos, this performance variant edges closer to the mighty M3.

By Douglas Kott

January 22, 2010

Let’s get this turbo thing straight right off the bat. The “ordinary” 2011 BMW 335i Sedan and Coupe use a new 3.0-liter inline-6 engine, dubbed N55, that employs a single twin-scroll turbocharger combined with Valvetronic variable valve timing and lift and direct fuel injection. Yet the perfectly good N54 twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 that we’ve come to know and love in the former 335i is still around, and is said to be better suited to higher-horsepower applications.

Got that? So now the old girl has been enlisted for duty in the 335is, bumped to 320 bhp and 332 lb.-ft. of torque, with an overboost function that allows joyous 7-second intervals with as much as 370 lb.-ft. Transmission choices are traditional (6-speed manual ) and cutting-edge (the 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission, now actuated with generously sized steering wheel paddles that are dedicated side-to-side for upshifts and downshifts).

And it’s more than a simple engine swap, as the 335is models get M sport bodywork including an aggressive front fascia, aero-sculpted side sills, a dramatic body-colored rear diffuser and split-spoke 18-in. M sport wheels painted a stealthy ferric grey. There’s also black-out window trim, a black chrome finish for the twin round tailpipes and, for the first time, a satin black finish on the trademark double kidney grilles. In a nod to function over style, the Coupe version forgoes foglights, done to increase the duct area for both the offset additional coolant radiator and remote engine oil cooler.

Inside, there are M bits galore, including a sport steering wheel, seats, sills and shift knob. Instrumentation gets fancier with dark gray gauge faces set off with white pointers, and aluminum trim embossed with a diamond pattern and painted a dark glacier silver. iDrive, noticeably improved in this latest iteration, is standard with an 8.8-in. display.

Our brief experience with the 335is Coupes consisted of 8 rain-slick laps around Portugal’s famed Estoril circuit, but I can say the Sport-spec suspension and 140-treadwear Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires (225 mm front, 255 mm rear) offered reassuring grip, stability and composure in a chassis that simply refuses to do anything wrong or make its driver look bad. BMW claims a 0-60 time of 5 seconds flat with the DCT gearbox, easy to believe as we’re rocketing out of Estoril’s low-speed sweepers with an instant, gratifying hit of torque. Brakes carry over from the regular 2011 335i, but their rotors are generously sized (13.7 in. front, 13.2 in. rear) and only hinted at fade toward the end of the lapping session. And this sucker sounds good too, its sport exhaust issuing a lower-pitched resonant note that’s way short of obnoxious.

It’s quite a car, one that narrows the gap between it and the M3, for nearly $9000 less—the Coupe is $50,525, and the Convertible lists for $59,075.

scheherazade wrote:Only difference between this, and the existing 335i (+ performance power kit package, $1600 iirc), is a different flywheel, and a different tune.

A simple TMAP interceptor (a-la JB+) gives more power than the 335is or the 335i+PPK have to offer.
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2902
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3127

-scheherazade

scheherazade wrote:Only difference between this, and the existing 335i (+ performance power kit package, $1600 iirc), is a different flywheel, and a different tune.

A simple TMAP interceptor (a-la JB+) gives more power than the 335is or the 335i+PPK have to offer.
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2902
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3127

-scheherazade

GaToR wrote:

scheherazade wrote:Only difference between this, and the existing 335i (+ performance power kit package, $1600 iirc), is a different flywheel, and a different tune.

A simple TMAP interceptor (a-la JB+) gives more power than the 335is or the 335i+PPK have to offer.
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2902
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3127

-scheherazade

Anyone started tuning the N55 yet?

GaToR wrote:

scheherazade wrote:Only difference between this, and the existing 335i (+ performance power kit package, $1600 iirc), is a different flywheel, and a different tune.

A simple TMAP interceptor (a-la JB+) gives more power than the 335is or the 335i+PPK have to offer.
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2902
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3127

-scheherazade

Anyone started tuning the N55 yet?

scheherazade wrote:Terry Burger has one on order.
I don't expect it to be long before we see some results.

I'm excited about the larger single... can't wait to see how it does.

The n54 header/housing combo assembly is really biting people in the rear.
TD03 + no room to grow = pita.

I picked up a spare set of turbos (ebay) in case a good re-build comes on-line (there are a few in the works).
Waiting to see what happens.

-scheherazade