[HighRevving]

It was the August of 2021. The Octavia TSI had completed 50,000 KMs in 3.5 years despite covid and I wanted something better.

2018 Octavia TSI, had a mechatronic failure in 2021 after which reliability was my biggest concern. The car is doing fine after mechatronic unit was replaced under warranty - 70,000 KMs and running well now. I drive into hills and remote areas with narrow roads and sometimes, no mobile network. So if the DQ200 fails, it is hard for me to even flatbed the car.

I was in the market looking for something that was:

• Fun to drive turbocharged-petrol.
• RWD preferred.
• Practical. Should be able to do 500+ KMs in a day without looking like Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Don't need rear seat comfort or large boot space, as it is mostly me and my girlfriend that travel distances - would prefer a shorter wheelbase and lighter car instead.
• I have driven various Mercedes cars extensively and don't find them to be just as engaging as the Bimmers. Audis were never on the list: FWD + Good Old VAG platform + Smaller petrol engines =

So the choice was between 330i, 340i and 530i within the prescribed budget. Used M2C/M3/M4 were ruled out as reliability and more importantly, practicality was very important.

• Ruled out the 530i as I did not need the extra space or features like larger iDrive etc - also the engine is slightly detuned compared to the 330i i.e. 350Nm vs 400Nm and hence, a few horses less.
• It all boiled down to 330i vs 340i.
• Spoke to friends who have driven 340i and all of them said the same thing - the car is too stiff for the kind of drives I do, which are at least 300KMs one way. It was hard to imagine a very stiff car with our ever-changing road conditions; heart said 340i, mind reminded me of my Laura vRS with VW racing springs that made me memorise unevenness of the road, through my back.

Stage 2 tuned Laura vRS lowered with VW racing springs, car in the background was my Stage 2 tuned Laura TSI.

So I made a visit to Navnit to speak to my usual SA. It was simple. There was no stock of either 330i or 340i, only waiting periods and minimal discounts. Asking for discount was like going to the seller of a beautiful home in SF and placing a lower offer than what they already have - it was and still is, a seller's market. SA informed for either of them, I had to wait till December - there could be marginal discounts on the 330i but there would be none on the 340i.

I am someone who does not like driving others cars so asking a friend to let me drive their 340i was a big no-no. I continued to speak to my friends. Someone I know in the media drove it around Buddh extensively, called me and said "yes, definitely too stiff for our roads if you are doing regular long-ish drives".

340i is a far better car - I-6 engine with +100 horses and +100 Nm, alcantara seats, laser headlights etc. But costed 20 lakh more on-road MRP vs MRP compared to the 330i MSport and that's not as if the price difference was of a nail file. 330i offered pure RWD but 340i had too many pros. I was thinking sunset orange if it is 340i, portimao blue 330i. At that point in time, portimao blue was only available in MSport trim so it was adding up well for me.

Few days passed by and I got a call from Navnit SA, he said "Sir, we have been allotted a portimao blue 330i MSport. The vehicle is in transit, manufactured this very month." I had driven the demo car in the same spec, so I knew what I was signing up for. 18" wheels on the MSport aren't as comfortable as the 17" ones in Sport but I really wanted the sportier looks including the wheel arches to be nicely filled up, M-seats and of course, the colour. I thought through it for sometime - maybe the 330i can be the practical mile muncher while I can plan an impractical thoroughbred performance car in a few years. So finally, the decision was made, booked the car at Navnit and started negotiations.

In the meanwhile, I started getting calls from Deutsche Motors, saying they would better whatever price Navnit had offered. They did not have the Portimao Blue or ready stock, so I just ignored them assuming they're into some aggressive sales strategy. Besides, my experience with Navnit has been just fine. At the same time, a friend was buying a LCI 530d from Deutsche Mysore and his experience with them wasn't great and that feedback further pushed me to stick to Navnit.

Did the PDI and everything looked fine.

I decided to buy the all weather M mats and M-performace carbon fibre spoiler from Navnit in the meanwhile. Strangely, the MSport has no chrome part anywhere around the car, including window beading but the large grill in front, is in chrome. I know a service advisor in Navnit from time I had an F30, who offered to have it painted in black from their paint shop. Something told me, I shouldn't do it. So I checked with their accessories division and figured out they do sell a black M grill - it was expensive, think ₹15,000 + taxes but I really did not want to scrape the paint off an original part of the car I hadn't even driven. Part was not readily available, so I placed an order and moved on.

By the time the payment was done and procedures completed, the inauspicious time had kicked in. While the superstition is debatable, I personally do not like to take chances when people around me advise against doing something, especially when there is nothing to lose. So the car was registered and ready to be driven, but I couldn't.

One of the things I did not like about my experience with Navnit was how the SA tried to push me to a particular detailer. I don't know if this trend still exists but a year ago every SA used to send the customers to one particular detailer. Worse, they would sometimes ask the customer where they were planning to detail their car and call that detailer saying they're sending a customer to them, which means the customer would pay inflated prices just because they revealed where they were getting the detailing done.

I decided to put the car in a container and send it to Ceramic Pro, Indiranagar. Shoutout to Rahul from Ceramic Pro who was very professional - met with me and spent time in showing his setup. The cars parked in his shop instilled great confidence about his product and workmanship. The machine-cut XPEL Ultimate PPF was going to expensive but I chose to put it on the entire car to maintain uniformity across, instead of just protecting front of the car like many people do. I called for a flatbed straight to Navnit.

I watched, as the sales advisor drove my car into the container. The wait continued.

Rahul continued to send me updates about the car. He was sending me pictures of work being done and assured me that the car would be delivered on 8th of October, which was when I was planning to drive it out.

Finally, on 8th October 2021, the car was detailed and ready to hit the road. We'd already made plans to drive to Coorg the same evening and off we went.

[HighRevving]

Now to the good, bad and the ugly.

Performance, wheels & tyres and braking
MSport comes with staggered setup of 225/45-18 in the front and 255/40-18 at the rear, providing sufficient grip in all conditions. I have never experienced wheel spins even while accelerating from standstill, but that may be because the ZF-8 moves to the second gear very quickly and I have never tried accelerating in the first with paddles. With all the 400Nm going to the rear wheels, the acceleration though nothing phenomenal at 5.8s to 100, feels good.

My experience with the PS4ZP RFTs has been really good. In the F30, I swapped the RFTs for Primacy 3STs (sport was not available in that size back then) mostly because the quality of Bridgestone RFTs 8-9 years ago was simply pathetic. I have never launched my car and do not intend to, but the first set of rear tyres lasted only 10,000 KMs while the front tyres are still going good at 27,000+ KMs.

The car is a big leap from the F30.

• 258hp and 400Nm is practically enough for any road, there is little turbo lag that is hard to even notice. Honestly, I never felt like I needed more torque or power, though there is no such thing as too much horsepower. Engine is quite refined for a 4-cyl and sounds nice too.
• ZF-8 does really well with gearshifts. I find the shifts to be best in Sport with M/S mode; Sport+ is for long open roads, feels overkill otherwise. Exhaust valves open only in Sport mode but MPE sounds best in Sport+ with M/S mode. You'll notice that in Sport+ and M/S mode it hardly shifts above the 6th gear.
• Paddles work really well and the gearbox is very responsive. Quality of the paddles could have been better.
• Gearbox is really good in comfort mode in the city. ZF's shifting in low speeds is exceptionally good. I have never used EcoPro mode.
• Reverse tachometer is a bummer. In D/S mode, when it is needed the most, a thin line is displayed right underneath the speedo reading and that turns green, yellow, orange and red - filling up from left to right. Quite a nice touch.
• Pure RWD makes the car feel well balanced with unadulterated steering in the front and power delivery at the rear.
• The chassis feels considerably stiffer, suspension is tuned really well. No "soft" feeling that was felt in the F30, especially on highway undulations or lane changes at speeds.
• Suspension is stiff enough to avoid bouncy feeling/roll at high speeds and cornering but soft enough to keep your spine.
• Steering feel is good and feedback is good at high speeds. Individual Sport setting allows you to change the sportiness of engine, gearbox shifts and steering feel which is a very welcome move. I personally enjoy weighted steering feeling - while I cannot expect the hydraulic steerings to make a comeback, this is a refreshing change from the Octavia steering which is almost dead.
• Can eat corners for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• I am assuming the harder sidewalls of the RFTs help in reducing sidewall flex, so I am going to stick to RFTs. The comfort of the RFTs in the PS4ZP is quite good and does not feel harsh except for very bad roads.
• The M seats go really low and electronically adjustable driver's seat bolster is a blessing while driving around the bends.

There was a time when a Laura vRS used to feel like a handler with stiffened springs. But the G20 with proper RWD with modern electronics makes you realise how comfortably you can take corners without satan waiting around the bend.

The stock exhaust on the car is just, meh. This is one department where I really missed the 340i - not for lack of power or torque but a revving engine that could not be heard. The fake noise from the speakers is sheer annoyance, especially if you have experienced a quality exhaust like Milltek on my vRS. Keeping in mind the warranty and reliability of the car, there was no plan of installing a custom exhaust. The ECU for the G20 was locked and folks in Europe have cracked it, but it is totally detectable and not worth risking, especially in our country where warranty could be void even if the modification does not directly affect the part that fails.

A friend helped me source the M Performance Exhaust from BMW through their official channel and have it installed by them. Oh what a relief, I thought. They said one last exhaust is readily available and costs about ₹1,50,000, however, from their experience claimed that the stock tips wouldn't bolt onto the MPE and there might be a little rattle. My OCD went through the roof. The MPE Carbon Fibre tips cost ₹50,000+ and paying that kind of money for exhaust tips which is 30%+ the cost of the actual exhaust, is like buying a wall clock for ₹1,000 and paying ₹300 for the nails that mount it. I went ahead and ordered it because the last thing I wanted, is irritation on a 500KM drive. It all seemed ridiculous until I saw them.

The carbon fibre tips look really nice in my opinion. I am not sure if the price is justified but I just assumed the total cost to be the cost of exhaust and moved on.

The ugly in this car, were the wheels. A really busy design with the reputation of bending easily. The chrome finish all over didn't help either. I thought of doing something about it. Called up folks at Navnit and they could only offer the wheels from Li MSport and they seemed as ugly if not uglier.

The good folks at Madhus had an option that was available with PJ Speed, which I thought would be a bold decision. Burnt gold BBS RI-A forged rims. I was not a fan of installing larger wheels and these were in the stock 18", which worked out well for everyone.
Big shoutout for @nikhilb2008, for recommending these wheels and the support through and through. Even though I had the contact of PJ Speed I went with Madhus and they proved it time and again that it is worthwhile dealing with them. I would not have invested this kind of money on wheels but for my confidence in what Madhus folks recommend.

Here is how the car looks with the BBS wheels. Lots of people say the combination is similar to Subaru and call it 'JDM vibes'.

Braking of the car sufficiently complements the acceleration, making it comfortable to accelerate and brake all the way to 3-digits and back. The bite is good and I am sure the 18" PS4s also help the cause. I personally love auto-hold for city driving but some people complain about it being a bit jerky - which to some extent is true because when the car is in auto-hold mode, the throttle is unresponsive for a fraction of a second and then pounces the car forward; it's important to maintain distance in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The electronic handbrake works really well with a nice touch of sound while applying and releasing it.

The electronic handbrake sometimes throws an error when parked in extreme gradient conditions, which is a good feature as we can then use additional measures to stop the car from rolling.
Notice the busy design of stock wheels on the MSport.

I was driving the car across South India, climbing the western ghats, hills in Tamilnadu and coastal Karnataka. As my driving was predominantly around bends, I got my first brake pad replacement warning at mere 8,000 KMs. Turns out the DSC/TC works overtime around bends and keeps applying brakes. Folks at Navnit said "Sir, you just took delivery of your car", when I went to them. I had done 8,000 KMs in less than 3 months. Navnit replaced them under BSI+ and again at 16,000 KMs.

The uneven wearing of rear brake pads.

The front pads were going good until there was sudden judder from the brakes at around 24,000KM mark.

The road to Kolli Hills.

Exterior design:
Except for the wheels, I have nothing to complain in the MSport variant. I think the aggressive sportier bumpers change the overall stance of the car and totally worth investing in. The Sport bumpers are mellow and have chrome bits, which combined with beige interiors if opted for, really take away the sporty looks.

The M black front grill goes a long way in making the front look aggressive.

When the G20 was first launched, it felt like the F30 was a better looking car but the G20 design I think has eventually turned out to be better. Looks fresher with chiseled elements.

Nice rear DRLs and a sporty bumper with twin exhaust tips. Notice the chrome vs CF exhaust tips.

Notice the line that runs from the front fender all the way into the rear door. This is nicely complemented by the design of the bumpers. I however, think one has to be careful in city traffic as getting a dent on these design elements may require a complicated fix. It appears the line is further emphasised by the line on the rear bumper.

M Designation on the sides.

Some observations with the exterior/design of the car:

• The proportions are good and the individual bits such as ORVMs are integrated well. But, the left ORVM does not have auto-dimming. I mean, for a car that costs twice as much in India than in the other countries, this is a bad cost cutting move.
• The ground clearance is not great. I hardly drive with any passenger in the rear and it still manages to scrape bottom on tall speed breakers. I have had to cover speed breakers sideways to avoid scraping even while driving alone.
• The front bumper scrapes underneath if driven on bad/uneven surfaces.
• The front windshield is acoustically treated. While it is great in keeping the overall NVH levels low (quite noticeable actually), the replacement of windshield will be an expensive proposition. With my highway runs, I already have quite a few dots and may have to replace in a year or so. Also, not sure if it damps the engine sound as well, which wouldn’t be welcome if not in this, for sure in the 340i with its inline-6.

[HighRevving]

Fit & finish and interiors
The car has run over 27,000 KMs today after my recent trip to Goa over the weekend. Doing a road trip or two every month, I manage to run the car over 2,000 KMs a month, which is gradually coming down after I've got the Thar. Most of the city duties are done by the Thar.

The car manages to be completely rattle free. Some people have complained of sunroof rattle in their G20s but I haven't had any such issues. The door pads, glove compartment, central armrest and console and plastics in general are of very good quality.

• This pre-LCI MSport comes with a sufficiently large iDrive 10.25" Control Display which has very good resolution and is clear even in bright sunlight with the sunroof open. The screen is integrated very well into the dash unlike the upcoming LCI, which looks like an aftermarket display installation. 12.3" full digital cockpit is of good resolution too.
• Unlike F30, the iDrive does not show the due in KMs for brake pads. The warning just pops up when it is due in 2,000 KMs or so. The TPMS is quite intuitive and very helpful for long distance runs.
• Wireless CarPlay works like a charm. However, the wireless charger in the central console is useless. The iPhone 13/14 Pro does not even go up by a percent after 10-15 minutes of charging. For a while I thought it needed replacement until I tried my base iPhone 12 which showed some signs of charging.
• Audio quality of the hi-fi system is good but nothing great. My SA says this one is manufactured by Harman Kardon as well, just that the specification is lower than the ones that display the HK label. The speed chime is seriously annoying; it’s connected to the same speakers as your audio system so increasing the music volume will only make it worse. The chime is so loud and annoying, it could give you a headache or even irritation.
• Glove box storage is average, does not hold much.
• Basic controls retain buttons, including skip track buttons on the driver side which is a very useful feature for someone like me who doesn't like clicking buttons on the steering often.
• The armrest is at the same height as the one on the door handle giving a comfortable resting position for both hands.
• No complaints with the air-conditioning. Leaps ahead of F30.
• No one really sits in the back seats of my car, but the leg room seems quite good. Cannot compare space with the Octavia and definitely not the boot space. Like I mentioned earlier, it's usually just two of us in the car so the boot space has been manageable but the boot gets filled even then.

• Some complaints:
• The visibility is great all around, however the headrest of the rear middle seat interferes quite a bit in the IRVM view.
• The compartment within the armrest is spacious, but the surface is scratch-prone.
• The little pocket underneath the headlight controls has a flimsy door.
• The gesture control is absolute nonsense. With gesture on, I used to notice the music pausing abruptly.
• "Hey BMW" is just a gimmick. Has no real use in everyday life.

• The MSport steering has the right amount of grip and looks sporty.
  
• To me, it is important that I see quality knobs and buttons in cars. From quality focus on materials, switches and buttons manufacturers have been moving the making just touchscreens and improving the quality of screen and touch response - which is quite disappointing. I was hoping to see the same combination of buttons and touchscreen in the upcoming LCI but unfortunately that does not seem to be so. With touchscreens and EVs gaining popularity, I wonder if automobile engineering courses will have to be changed.

Source: https://www.bmwblog.com/2022/05/17/b.../#lg=1&slide=2

The upcoming LCI's screen integration looks like an aftermarket job.

• M Seats with leather vernasca look sporty and provide good support. Electronic bolster control for the driver is a blessing around bends.

• The knobs for the headlights have been replaced with buttons. Not sure if this is a cost cutting move, but the 530d even in LCI has knobs. The blue ambient lighting looks good!

• Speaking of headlights, the 330i comes with LED but only semi-adaptive. At this price point fully adaptive must have been provided, a bad miss by BMW.

After sales support, warranty and maintenance packs
I negotiated 3 year BSI+ and BRI with the car. Navnit has been trying to make excuses in doing some replacements under BSI+ stating 'premature wear'.

• There have been 3 regular engine-oil, filter etc services till now. Strangely, every time the service is completed the due gets reset to 12,000 KMs but drops dramatically with every trip. A 500-600 KM trip easily brings the service due by a 1,000 KMs. I know this depends on driving style and conditions, but this cannot happen every time, every thousand KMs and every service. I am thinking they've tweaked the logic to increase service revenue. Also, they do not service the car if the iDrive shows the service due in say, 1,500 KMs while you may be wanting to drive to Rajasthan and back and need the service beforehand.
• When the first set of rear brake pads wore out at 8,000 KMs, Navnit acted funny saying this could be because of excessive launching. I asked them to check the logs and see if I have ever launched the car after which they replaced them under BSI+.
• Similarly when the front rotors wore out, they said I had parked the car for too long during the monsoons and that might have damaged the rotor. Then they blamed it on driving style - I had to point out to them that the pads were still intact and there was no way I could wear out the rotors without wearing out the first set of pads. They eventually agreed and replaced it under warranty.

While I have mixed views on BSI+, I think I will start paying for service instead of buying BSI+. I don't want to negotiate after the BSI+ has been paid for, in full. BRI on the other hand is worthwhile, considering how expensive components like air-conditioner compressor etc would cost to replace.

Brake pad replacement warning comes up with a 2,000 KM notice. In the F30 the life would be displayed continuously but we all know the notorious F30 brake pad sensors, the life would drop from 8,000 to 800 KMs all of a sudden. Also notice in the G20, the resetting service station's code is displayed, so no more servicing outside the BMW network if you want to retain the warranty.

Couple of pictures of the car

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Dr.AD]

Congratulations @HighRevving on the absolutely gorgeous and fast 330i MSport. The car in that blue color looks stunning.

This car is one of my favorite cars in India today. Great power, great handling without losing any ride qualities (surprisingly good ride and handling balance, something that most other manufacturers struggle with), and of course, great looks.

However, more than just the car, what I am impressed with is the way you drive the car and utilize it to the fullest. Your weekend long drives and taking the car to all parts of country is what makes your ownership really special. For a driving enthusiast, there is nothing more appealing than seeing a really good car that is also utilized to its full potential, driven hard and driven a lot!

Congrats again and wish you many happy miles and drives with this car. Please keep this thread updated with your driving experiences and photos. I am looking forward to that.

[vjbox]

Fantastic write up and it's a killer of a machine. I drove the 330i extensively and went onto try the 340i and yes it's considerably stiffer. But that performance! Just for the heck of comparing, I again tried the 330i and appreciated it's comfort oriented setup. But the 340i ruins you with it's explosive nature. Nevertheless in your case you seem to have been clear with your requirements and the 330i shall serve you well for a very long time! Enjoy several miles!

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by HighRevving

It was the August of 2021. The Octavia TSI had completed 50,000 KMs in 3.5 years despite covid and I wanted something better.

Congratulations HighRevving on your latest acquisition and what a choice to own "Something better"!!

IMO Portimao Blue is THE shade to pick if one wants to buy anything from 330i and beyond. This shade makes it visually sporty as otherwise it might be lost a sea of Bimmers out there. And those bronze rims that you have chosen only accentuates the sportiness

Wish you a very happy, safe, long and free revving motoring.

[Philomath55]

Congratulations on your purchase HighRevving. The 330i is a lovely car, especially in this shade of Portimao blue.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

Stage 2 tuned Laura vRS lowered with VW racing springs, car in the background was my Stage 2 tuned Laura TSI.

I find it really difficult to upgrade from a VRS post a stage 2 tune in terms of the price bracket. It really spoils you.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

By the time the payment was done and procedures completed, the inauspicious time had kicked in.

I usually don't believe in this but when I'm taking delivery of the car I follow it religiously.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

One of the things I did not like about my experience with Navnit was how the SA tried to push me to a particular detailer. I don't know if this trend still exists but a year ago every SA used to send the customers to one particular detailer.

This still exists. However I have personally not seen this practice from a Toyota dealership.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

The machine-cut XPEL Ultimate PPF was going to expensive but I chose to put it on the entire car to maintain uniformity across, instead of just protecting front of the car like many people do. I called for a flatbed straight to Navnit.

XPEL ultimate is really good. A friend of mind installed it on his 330i as well, it saved him quite a few when the car got hit.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

The ugly in this car, were the wheels.

True! I felt the same but the design has now grown on me.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

Even though I had the contact of PJ Speed I went with Madhus and they proved it time and again that it is worthwhile dealing with them. I would not have invested this kind of money on wheels but for my confidence in what Madhus folks recommend.

Always hear good reviews when it comes to Madhus. Have a few friends who drove from Chennai to Bangalore for a tyre upgrade when the entire country had low stock of Michelin PS4's.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

Here is how the car looks with the BBS wheels. Lots of people say the combination is similar to Subaru and call it 'JDM vibes'.

Well, one cannot go wrong with blue and gold. Car looks amazing with these wheels. A lot of research must have been gone behind this.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

Braking of the car sufficiently complements the acceleration, making it comfortable to accelerate and brake all the way to 3-digits and back. The bite is good and I am sure the 18" PS4s also help the cause.

I can vouch for the 330i's braking. We had a near miss when a generous cyclist decided to suddenly swerve for no good reason. The tailend slipped quite a bit, literally one of those heart in the mouth feelings.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

• I have had to cover speed breakers sideways to avoid scraping even while driving alone.

Haha, you must be enjoying those occasional stares that you get for going sideways on the speed breaker. I get that so many times.

Also noticed you are not interested in tuning the car right away as you don't want to tamper with the warranty. By changing the alloys would it bring any hiccups in the warranty?

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, drive safe.

[megazoid]

Nice car, catchy colour and fun to drive. You also use it quite well. Many congratulations.

Originally Posted by HighRevving

[b]

• When the first set of rear brake pads wore out at 8,000 KMs, Navnit acted funny saying this could be because of excessive launching. I asked them to check the logs and see if I have ever launched the car after which they replaced them under BSI+.
• Similarly when the front rotors wore out, they said I had parked the car for too long during the monsoons and that might have damaged the rotor. Then they blamed it on driving style - I had to point out to them that the pads were still intact and there was no way I could wear out the rotors without wearing out the first set of pads. They eventually agreed and replaced it under warranty.

They have seen too many cars running for centuries without the pads and rotors ever needing any attention. So someone charging up and down asking for a replacement makes them uneasy. That there is so much electronic intervention to keep the owner alive is intriguing. Wish there was a turn off all aid button too.

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Congrats again and wish you many happy miles and drives with this car. Please keep this thread updated with your driving experiences and photos. I am looking forward to that.

Thank you, doc for the kind words. I hope to do exactly that and look forward to your participation on the thread as well.

Originally Posted by vjbox

But the 340i ruins you with it's explosive nature. Nevertheless in your case you seem to have been clear with your requirements and the 330i shall serve you well for a very long time! Enjoy several miles!

Thank you, there are many times I think I should have gotten the 340i, especially after some owners have mentioned that it is totally manageable. But I guess it's a day late and dollar short now. I however, have no regrets of buying this car, maybe there is something bigger and better to come.

Originally Posted by Philomath55

I find it really difficult to upgrade from a VRS post a stage 2 tune in terms of the price bracket. It really spoils you.

Also noticed you are not interested in tuning the car right away as you don't want to tamper with the warranty. By changing the alloys would it bring any hiccups in the warranty?

Thanks! I think it's to do with how good Skoda's value proposition is. The Laura and Octavia in all variants are all-rounders. Add to it, the tuning potential of the petrols. Now that the next generation vRS is more or less confirmed to be hybrid, the current Octavia vRS cars will be owned, tuned and driven by a lot of petrolheads - these are cars that score in all departments and not push you to upgrade prematurely.

Changing the alloys should not be a challenge, though BMW says changing from RFT to tubeless also voids the warranty, which is simply stupid. These BBS RI-A wheels are forged alloys that can be picked up and held with pinch grip. I have only improved them from the bulky stock wheels that bend at the sight of a pothole, in the interest of safety and better handling. Push comes to shove, I will have to use my contacts.

Originally Posted by megazoid

They have seen too many cars running for centuries without the pads and rotors ever needing any attention. So someone charging up and down asking for a replacement makes them uneasy. That there is so much electronic intervention to keep the owner alive is intriguing. Wish there was a turn off all aid button too.

Thank you! That sounds like a fair explanation, lots of people like to simply park their cars; know quite a few of them who have never done a highway run in years. And yes, DSC can be completely turned off but in a powerful RWD it is too risky especially in slippery conditions. I now turn off the first level traction control keeping DSC on, that way the rear pads have been lasting much more.

[Cresterk]

Oh those rims look beautiful with the blue. Congrats on your new ride!

[niranjanrvce]

Congratulations on a lovely car HighRevving! Another 330 owner from Blore here, albeit in the Li trim.
Love your choice of wheels - sure it looks a bit like a STi but who said that's a bad thing?

On the rotors, I noticed a lot of brake noise too when parked for long after driving in the rain/post wash. The pad noise was so bad once that I had to stop and check if something was broken. Started using Wurth brake cleaner spray regularly and usual pad noise is all but gone. Would recommend trying it out.
Also, please get the speed dings removed at your nearest tuner/online - the car is undrivable on highways otherwise.
Happy mile crunching!

[George Thomas]

BMW has always been one of my favorite brands ever since the now classic E46 BMW M3 CS came out on 2001 I think. Your car looks amazing with the changes you have done especially those alloy wheels, looks similar to 2022 BMW CS M5.
https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/42...m-fans-ordered

[HighRevving]

Completed 30,000 KMs during my recent trip to Goa. The route taken this time was a circuit: BLR - MYS - Mercera - Mangalore - Manipal (stay) - Karwar - North Goa (stay) - Belgaum - Hubli - BLR.

I will update how the service duration came down during the trip once service becomes due in a few hundred kilometres. Astonishing how the 12,000 mark upon reset never comes down at the rate you expect it to. I am looking at another engine oil service in February.

For those who keep wondering about the ground clearance of this car, I have to say you cannot get adventurous at all. In my recent trip, I happened to park the car in front of a bungalow with a little steeper than usual incline. I was also focusing on getting the car onto the slot and did not pay attention to taking it diagonally or having the passenger get down, mostly because this was a very busy road in the evening and vehicles were piling up by the second at that time.

As you can see, this is not something most of us would worry about, the gradient is smooth and there seems to be no trouble getting on to it. But as luck would have it, I ended up scraping the front bumper underbelly. I am not sure if this is more specific to M-Sport as the bumper design appears to be lower or just my bad luck. Though this seems like just the PPF peeling off, a closer look makes me think this will need some TLC from the paint booth during my next service.

[HighRevving]

So after 34,000 KMs of driving this car, I decided to take the car on a long-ish drive. The idea was to go up to North India and drive the Samruddhi Mahamarg somewhere in between. I had a good two-week break from work so I decided to use the time well.

All packed, left Bangalore by noon time and was on my way. Stopped in one of these reasonably good looking food court places and I was on my way to Hyderabad. As luck would have it, there was a little patch of road that seemed to be pretty much harmless on a regular day, but turned out to be something else for me. My rear tyres, 255/40-18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 ZP, ₹34,000 a piece were replaced about a week ago at Madhus. The rear left wheel managed to kiss this little patch of road, while I was within perfectly legal speeds. Here is a video from my dash cam footage, take a look and guess what could have happened:

https://youtu.be/qXOxiNKGSH8

A closer look at the patch of road, zoomed in from the same video. I wish I could go back and take a high-resolution picture to show the Michelin folks if they suspect a manufacturing defect, but the mid-day sun and the circumstances did not allow me to.

In a minute or so, I ended up with this instrument cluster.

And the iDrive obviously threw an error.

The tyre had gone to 0 PSI in no time. The ZP (zero pressure) tyres were not much of a concern, the expensive alloy wheel was a thing that worried me. Also, with the way the pressure dropped, I had no hope of retaining the tyre. So I treaded carefully, looking for a decent puncture shop that could at least put my spare wheel on - I could have tried doing it on my own, but the sun and the luggage at the back made me think I would just drain myself out.

(The screen isn't as dusty as it looks, just the camera emphasising the little bits )

I found a puncture shop well within a kilometre, until when I drove as slowly as I could and finally got to replace the wheel.

Replaced the wheel and decided to drive to Hyderabad as usual and asked the good folks at Madhus to send a tyre to Hyderabad and planned to install it there. I had anyway planned two nights in Hyderabad, to meet some friends and for the biryani of course.

I was close to 350 KMs away from Hyderabad and limping on the donut wheel. It was no fun, trying to be overly careful and looking at reaching Hyderabad only by 10PM or so. Then I decided to turn around and come back to Bangalore, a decision I am proud of today.

Looking at the road patch, it is almost impossible for anyone to gauge that something that small could do this to the tyre.

Worse, I am happy I turned around because that little pothole or whatever it was, whatever it contained managed to dent the forged BBS alloy, I mention forged and make of the alloy, to emphasise the quality of the alloy. It was so bad, it produced a bulge on the other side.

I decided this was not to be taken to a local repair shop to have a shoddy patch work done, because the alloy has to bear high pressure and another pothole could spell doomsday to me. I decided to replace the wheel altogether. So, even if I could find a replacement tyre, I could do nothing about continuing on the journey with the damaged alloy. My stock wheels were stored somewhere and I could installed them right away, but the whole shock of what happened during this incident made me pause and think.

PJspeed in Chennai has the stock of these wheels but he will let go of only full set. BBS Japan says it will take 120 days for wheels to arrive if I order say one or even two. Lots of thoughts on my mind, should I replace the entire set? If I am replacing, should I go with another make or design? Should I just put the stock wheels for time being?

Finally decided to just put the stock wheels on and ordered two (one front as backup and one rear) for now. Just goes to show how important it is to be really careful with alloys that are hard to find, can literally stall your car or have it parked in the garage for weeks or even months. I am just happy I kept my stock wheels in storage or I would have had to pay for them in addition to these two new wheels.