Team-BHP - BMW 320d & 328i (F30) : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by himanshu_j (Post 3819531)

The Alpine kit for the F30 replaces the 2 front midrange drivers, adds 2 tweeters and more importantly a 4 channel amplifier (4*80W).

That said if BMW India is indeed offering the Alpine upgrade kit at a good price, it could be well worth it.

thats true and I had enquired about the same, the cost to do this retro fit is INR 80 k as per one of their dealers in Mumbai. attaching the details received from the detail on alpine.

clap:

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolling_stone (Post 3819654)

Hello guys! Does anyone know if noise cancellation is embedded in the F30 audio system? Lately i've been noticing a crackling sound from mostly the driver side pillar tweeter and occasionally from the left pillar while playing music. Occasionally pressing the horn makes a distorted horn sound emerge from the pillar too and the outside noise a tiny bit more audible (akin to having a fraction of one window rolled down). The local dealer hasn't been able to nail the problem as yet. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

Is this happening only when you're listening to the radio? In any case no type of crackling sound should be coming from the speakers, suggest you get it checked. I've not heard of any BMW's having active noise cancellation, it would not work that well because the cabin is a large open space anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by himanshu_j (Post 3819531)

The Alpine kit for the F30 replaces the 2 front midrange drivers, adds 2 tweeters and more importantly a 4 channel amplifier (4*80W)

Is it really a 4 channel amplifier? The PDF posted by Saint shows that BMW is retrofitting a 6 channel DSP amplifier, 2 channels for front components, 2 channels for rear door speakers and 2 channels for under seat speakers.

Am also interested in this upgrade but the quoted 80k cost is bit high for a speaker upgrade and an amplifier. There is no other way out, we can not get speakers retrofitted from outside in this car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetjohn (Post 3819548)

Hearty congratulations on owning a 3er. You are building up one awesome garage there. clap: Awesome choice of shade.
And looks like you will need to remap the Fiesta soon. ;)

Thanks brother and as for that remap - it is going to wait now as am completely out of money after buying this bavarian lol:, did not have any thing left to even buy the BSI packs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Saint (Post 3819900)

thats true and I had enquired about the same, the cost to do this retro fit is INR 80 k as per one of their dealers in Mumbai. attaching the details received from the detail on alpine.
clap:

Thanks a lot for sharing the pdf, the quoted cost is a bit on the higher side for replacement of front speakers and an addition of a 6 channel amp. Was this quote inclusive of the labour required in retrofitting?

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickdraw (Post 3820020)

Is this happening only when you're listening to the radio? In any case no type of crackling sound should be coming from the speakers, suggest you get it checked..

Actually it is happening even with the CD and USB. Since it is episodic and the local service guys don't have a clue, I guess it would be best to write to BMW India. They might be able to do a database search.

BMW 320d & 328i (F30) : Official Review-sportmode.jpg

Hey guys, I was wondering something the other day. I remember some people mentioned when you change the driving mode in iDrive it shows what all aspects of the car are affected. And I noticed my 328i shows the suspension in orange as-well. Now since its a CBU I am confused if it comes with adaptive dampers. Mine is a Euro Spec car. The VIN check doesn't mention suspension and I tried looking online but everywhere people were talking about adaptive and adaptive M suspension. I remember reading BMW India deleted the adaptive suspension from the F30. I've asked my dealer, but can any of the 320D or 328i owners here see if their iDrive screen looks the same as above or different?

Quote:

Originally Posted by urban legend (Post 3822875)

I was wondering what are the options available to upgrade the quality of sound without having any warranty issues. Does the alpine upgrade give a significant improvement in sound quality? When I had test driven the luxury line, the system did sound better than the one on my prestige.

Luxury line would be having hifi while the one in yours would be base audio. Alpine upgrade is among their official accessories IINM and it should be an improvement over your base audio definitely, but not the best of upgrade options available out there. It should not be having any warranty issues if it is through the dealer. But since you are worried about warranty, you are restricted with the upgrades BMW India offers officially. Not much choice to worry about in that case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by urban legend (Post 3822875)

Find whichever dealer in India has it in stock. That way you can bargain with them. If SQ is important for you I think 50k is a decent deal for it. Alpine usually would have cost 30-40k anyways if they are from their high end range and 10k BMW tax.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axe77 (Post 3823050)

Hey guys. What does one do if dealer provides a VIN number? What should you check and from where? I'm considering a 3 GT and asked them to give me the vin but don't know what to do with it. Thanks.

Here:

http://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/BMW

OR

http://www.bimmer.work/

Follow any of these links and enter your VIN. It will show up the date of manufacturing of your vehicle and other data about it. You'll come to know how old the car is that the dealer is selling to you. :)

hi folks,

just got a nice upgrade done to my 3er sports line, got the car in march 2014 white with red interiors and last few lucky ones to get the mppk kit installed from bmw, its white color with red interior with minimal mods.

I did bilstein suspension to correct the softness and the bounce of the F 30 suspension which was such a disappointment after having the E90 for almost 18 months. IMO bilstein is a must do upgrade to bring back all the confidence back while cornering and driving at high speeds. I am totally sold on bilstein, while even KW street comfort line was an option, but I didn't want to lower the GC of my car as I reside in mumbai. I am using KW in my other car and very happy with KW as well.

so my 2 cents either do bilstein if you have GC issues basis the city you reside, if GC is not an issue go for KW street comfort line.

Finally a must do upgrade, M paddle shift steering, this car definitely needs a paddle shift steering, as per my driving experience:

D- is too sluggish and when you need to overtake in a gap there is a lag and you miss out on the opportunity.
S- is too aggressive not ideal to be used in heavy traffic city conditions.

This is where the paddles come in which gives you the best of both sides and full control to you, I don't like to be in the hands of electronics all the time, I love paddle and the control it gives you to drive.

with the paddles we also did coding which activated the sports transmission, trust me the shifting has become lighting fast and the feeling is great.

I would like to thank bhpians Himanshu_j and akshay 1234 for all the help, guidance and smooth installation. they helped me entirely with this upgrade.

I hope this helps to all. if you are looking for an upgrade then paddles should be on the top of your list with other things you have in mind.

I few pictures of the steering, it is lighter, its leather and adds to the cabin to give more sporty look.clap:

cheers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Saint (Post 3823651)

hi folks,

I did bilstein suspension to correct the softness and the bounce of the F 30 suspension which was such a disappointment after having the E90 for almost 18 months. IMO bilstein is a must do upgrade to bring back all the confidence back while cornering and driving at high speeds. I am totally sold on bilstein, while even KW street comfort line was an option, but I didn't want to lower the GC of my car as I reside in mumbai. I am using KW in my other car and very happy with KW as well.

D- is too sluggish and when you need to overtake in a gap there is a lag and you miss out on the opportunity.
S- is too aggressive not ideal to be used in heavy traffic city conditions.

This is where the paddles come in which gives you the best of both sides and full control to you, I don't like to be in the hands of electronics all the time, I love paddle and the control it gives you to drive.

with the paddles we also did coding which activated the sports transmission, trust me the shifting has become lighting fast and the feeling is great.

Hey congrats on the upgrades! The M Performance Steering looks sweet.

Can you please share the costs and source of all the mods that you did? Also what all did you get changed via coding? Were you able to add launch control to your car?

I had a question for fellow F30 owners. Every time before i switch off the car, i manually switch off the climate control by long pressing fan speed low button. Now when ever i switch the ignition on, the climate control comes back on its own. If i have set it to off before shut off, i expect it to remember that setting and not come on before i want to as it is in other cars.

Is the behaviour similar for others or there is some issue with coding in my car? The iDrive screen also does not go off until i step out and lock the car, pushing the volume button just mutes audio.

Have the center vents dial on blue marking and noticed car blowing cold air even when the A/C switch was off, does the compressor kick in even without switching the A/C on? Not much of a headache since i drive this car always with windows up and have so far not lit a single cigarette inside as i do not want to spoil the lovely new car leather fragrance :D

Does any one know on how to set up the key so that the car automatically sets seat and mirror position as soon as the car is unlocked?

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolboy007 (Post 3824254)

I'm not sure about the ac setting remember you can ask your dealer.

When the ac is shut it might still give faint amount of air if its in fresh air mode

The key settings are automatically remembered. You don't have to do anything. Keep only one key in pocket and set your seat lock the car and then try unlocking with the other key. The seat will move around.