[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by jfk1975

If you want to reduce body roll, the most common way to get there is by just swapping out the antiroll (stabilizer/sway bar) for a thicker one, with the caveat that you will compromise a bit on ride quality.

Well said! Forgot your wheel setup but one more way is to drive a LCI Li/Ld with the 18" setup on identical roads and see how it feels. The staggered 18" may make a world of difference.

Bilsteins are usually stunning, but has it's set of compromises starting from warranty violation. From what I can gather, you're a family man and not a corner-carver. Bilsteins may make the ride too stiff on a practical basis.

[Arunsedanlover]

The tyres have been changed to non RFTs on the LCI. Its a staggered 18 inch set up in the pre LCI 330Li as well. And the Bilstein B4s are close to stock(the regular 3 series)as their website claims. The nose dive on braking, the front end raise on acceleration and the body roll which are a bit too much. The features and rear leg room over the standard 3 are a must for me. But the ride can be a lot floaty especially over highway expansion joints which brings down the driving experience noticeably. Searching for a remedy.

[d3mon]

330Li is not sold in too many parts of the world, so finding suspension upgrade options may be hard. As itwasntme said, it will also make your ride worse, and may not even end up delivering what you are looking for.

To what extent is the sloppy handling bothering you? And how much money are you willing to spend to fix it?

If the answer is not too much to both, enjoy the cushy ride and live with the handling compromise.

If the answer is quite a lot - trade in your car with an M340i or a 530i. The inflated prices in the used car market will mean that you'll likely lose less money than you're thinking.
Both of them will deliver fantastic highway manners at speed. The 5 comes with adaptive dampers - it's like having a 330Li like soft dampers one minute, and M340i like stiff dampers the next, depending on your mood and the driving conditions. It's truly a no-compromise solution to your problem at hand.

[jfk1975]

Originally Posted by Arunsedanlover

The nose dive on braking, the front end raise on acceleration and the body roll which are a bit too much. The features and rear leg room over the standard 3 are a must for me. But the ride can be a lot floaty especially over highway expansion joints which brings down the driving experience noticeably. Searching for a remedy.

Reflect a bit on what you are saying and then consider what the manufacturer (BMW) has done for their target audience (you being one of the many buyers of the Limo variant).

There are few markets which have chauffeur driven customers - China and India being the larger chauffeur driven markets that BMW sells in. For those markets, they made the long wheelbase variant, which puts emphasis on occupant comfort. The most tangible ones in that rear seat occupant comfort are legroom and a softer/plusher ride. That is exactly what the Limo variant is meant to address, and they've done a pretty good job at that. If "rear leg room over the standard 3 are a must for me", then you picked the right car already!

I've driven the 330 Li and Ld variants and they are indeed a bit softly sprung and ride a bit higher than the regular 3 series - seat of the pants observation. But, I didn't find the dive and roll to be that objectionable unless you are doing some spirited driving which in reality is minimal given the road and traffic conditions that most of us encounter.

In your case, it looks like you want the legroom of the Limo, but want the driving dynamics of the regular 3. You might be able to get there if you know what components to swap, budget, quality of workmanship and so on, but it might not be worth it. It is unlikely that you will get to the promised land with this approach.

You could, exactly as @d3mon said, look at the M340i or the 530i with the following caveats.

M340i: You will give up rear seat legroom. You will get all the handling characteristics you want, and more, plus that beastly B58 and X drive (additional weight aside).

530i: You are going to go a step up in class of vehicles obviously, but
a. You will feel that extra weight along with the interior plushness.
b. The turn diameter can be intimidating for narrow U-turns. I drive an Endeavour and still found the 5 struggling a bit compared to the Endeavour.
c. You might find the the Li actually has slightly more legroom than the 5.
d. Adaptive dampers, as @d3mon said already, will alleviate this a bit. Bear in mind that since you are talking about dive/squat and roll, the primary components there would be the springs and antiroll bars. The adaptive dampers hide that impact to a certain degree for sure.

If I were you, I'd stick with the Li or YOLO it and just go with an M340i.

[Gaboonviper04]

Arun,

I'll echo what d3mon and jfk1975 have said, but also from a perspective of a fellow 330Li owner.
Of course, perception of driving dynamics is subjective, and I don't mean to second guess your opinion about it. But I really don't think the LWB is as bad at handling; the setup is softer than the SWB, no doubt, but this being a BMW (I dare say), the dive and body roll are very well managed. You've chosen the Li for the added legroom, and there's a trade-off to be made. What I'd suggest is for you to find a 330i that you can drive around on similar stretches (same expansion joints, etc), and actually compare the differences. If you still feel that you need to make changes to be able to enjoy the car better, then by all means figure out what needs to be changed and how that'll affect the overall composition of the Li given the added length and weight. Or you may find the difference to be small enough for it to not be worth the hassle/expense.

[Impulsivemedusa]

Hi,
Does the LCI offer lumbar support for front seats?

[Impulsivemedusa]

Hi All,

My 330Li pre-LCI luxury line shows that I need to change rear brake pads. The car is 14 months old and has run ~15,500 kms. I am, by no means, a corner-craving driver. Out of the total distance, the car would have done around 50-60% in highways.

Is this normal? Have the pads worn-out too soon?

Any help/advice, assurance appreciated. Thanks in advance

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Impulsivemedusa

My 330Li pre-LCI luxury line shows that I need to change rear brake pads. The car is 14 months old and has run ~15,500 kms. I am, by no means, a corner-craving driver. Out of the total distance, the car would have done around 50-60% in highways.

Unusual! Do you brake harder than usual and/or drive fully laden and/or drive a lot in the hills?

15.5K km is premature; try lodging a formal request to investigate the same. For example, my SWB 330i rears lasted 26K km which is reasonable.

Further, see if you can activate BSI Plus if your usage & wear pattern continues like this.

[revsperminute]

Originally Posted by Impulsivemedusa

Any help/advice, assurance appreciated. Thanks in advance

I too had excessive break wear issues. In my case it was the fronts that went first with the rears following suit. Additionally, tyres on this car also wear out like they are made of play dough (partly due to driving style, I’ll admit).


Do you drive at varying speed on the highways? Slowing down from high speeds to ~60kmph frequently?

I’ve been told the brake balance on a lot of modern cars are becoming more and more rear biased to control nose dive under light to moderate braking, this may play a role here.

[jfk1975]

Originally Posted by Impulsivemedusa

My 330Li pre-LCI luxury line shows that I need to change rear brake pads. The car is 14 months old and has run ~15,500 kms. I am, by no means, a corner-craving driver. Out of the total distance, the car would have done around 50-60% in highways. Is this normal? Have the pads worn-out too soon?

15.5K Km is a tad earlier than normal, but nothing to be concerned about IMHO. Mine is the regular 330i and the rear brake pads got replaced at around 20K Km. It really depends on your driving style, laden state (as @itwasntme already wrote) and so on. Do you have Automatic Hold turned on? Road conditions which trigger brake intervention from the stability control system(s)? Regardless, I wouldn't really worry about the replacement at 15.5K Km, especially if you are already covered under BSI +.

[Impulsivemedusa]

Originally Posted by jfk1975

It really depends on your driving style, laden state (as @itwasntme already wrote) and so on. Do you have Automatic Hold turned on? Road conditions which trigger brake intervention from the stability control system(s)?

This is interesting. This is like the doctor asking you some unexpected but pretty relevant question for an ailment!

Yes and yes. I have emergency parking from PDC turned on and also auto hold. I've noticed a few times that emergency braking due to PDC is quite heavy. Could this be a reason? Also, why would auto hold wear out the pads quicker? Would love to know. Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by jfk1975

Regardless, I wouldn't really worry about the replacement at 15.5K Km, especially if you are already covered under BSI +.

That's the worry. I have BSI but not BSI+. I think I'll upgrade. The car is under company lease anyway

Originally Posted by revsperminute

Do you drive at varying speed on the highways? Slowing down from high speeds to ~60kmph frequently?

Yes. The operative word is "frequently". I'd admit a bit more than I used to do with my Honda city. But that's because...well it was a City. It took its time to clock speeds that you'd need to reduce.

Originally Posted by revsperminute

I’ve been told the brake balance on a lot of modern cars are becoming more and more rear biased to control nose dive under light to moderate braking, this may play a role here.

Got it. Just a bit worried about these costs. Would have made a lot more sense to get a BSI+. I just have BSI. Will upgrade.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Unusual! Do you brake harder than usual and/or drive fully laden and/or drive a lot in the hills?

No. No and no. In fact, in the only hill drive I did a few weeks back, I was in Eco Pro (downhill) and used a lot of engine braking.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

15.5K km is premature; try lodging a formal request to investigate the same. For example, my SWB 330i rears lasted 26K km which is reasonable.

Definitely reasonable. Any tips on how to launch this formal complaint?

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Further, see if you can activate BSI Plus if your usage & wear pattern continues like this.

This is the frustrating part. I have a BSI for 5 years that I got along with the purchase and looks like I cannot upgrade to BSI+ till it runs out!

[jfk1975]

Originally Posted by Impulsivemedusa

Yes and yes. I have emergency parking from PDC turned on and also auto hold. I've noticed a few times that emergency braking due to PDC is quite heavy. Could this be a reason? Also, why would auto hold wear out the pads quicker?

The intervention from PDC can be brutal, but you can change the sensitivity level in iDrive. I doubt if it that is what caused an early brake pad wear, unless you are in driving conditions where PDC intervention is heavy. It is most likely the Auto Hold function. It applies rear brakes when you are at a hypothetical 0 velocity, but then if you observe carefully, when you get back on the throttle, the release is a bit hard in the sense that the brakes still grab (presumably by design as a safety feature?). An expert will have to chime in.

[revsperminute]

Originally Posted by Impulsivemedusa

Yes. The operative word is "frequently". I'd admit a bit more than I used to do with my Honda city.

Haha, I totally get it. I think it’s time to get familiar with the paddles. Engine braking will help slow the car down without stressing the brakes too much.

Moreover, I see you’re coming from a Honda City and being a City owner myself, I’ve got to tell you these cars go through more wear and tear parts than C-segment cars. It’s just the way it is. Don’t worry about it and enjoy the beemer.

[Impulsivemedusa]

Originally Posted by jfk1975

It applies rear brakes when you are at a hypothetical 0 velocity, but then if you observe carefully, when you get back on the throttle, the release is a bit hard in the sense that the brakes still grab (presumably by design as a safety feature?)

Yes. I've observed that. But if I were to remove the auto-hold, wouldn't just pressing on the brake to keep the engine off also wear-off the brake pad? I miss just turning the key to kill the engine and pulling the hand brake with a reassuring creak in my City to just wait on signals (sigh!). Am I to replicate that maneuver with the push button and the electronic parking brake to save the pads?

[jfk1975]

Originally Posted by Impulsivemedusa

Yes. I've observed that. But if I were to remove the auto-hold, wouldn't just pressing on the brake to keep the engine off also wear-off the brake pad?

Not quite. At the stoplight

• 1. If you are using Auto Hold only (feet off the brake pedal after coming to a complete stop), only the rear brakes are applied by the car. When you hit the throttle (green light), you will feel that initial brake resistance from the Auto Hold function.
  
  2. If you are not using Auto Hold and just depress the brake pedal until you move, brakes are applied to all 4 wheels. When you hit the throttle in this case, all 4 brakes are disengaged as soon as you take your right foot off the brake and hit the accelerator. There is no initial brake resistance in this case.

I miss just turning the key to kill the engine and pulling the hand brake with a reassuring creak in my City to just wait on signals (sigh!). Am I to replicate that maneuver with the push button and the electronic parking brake to save the pads?

To what end? If you are trying to be eco and pocket friendly, you could just continue to use Auto Hold along with Auto Start/Stop.