[mrugu]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Hi Mrugu, one question - I believe the 50 Jhare edition has 19 inch wheels, with very low profile tires (40 front, 25 rear) - how do you find the ride comfort? Is it very bumpy and rough? Is it comfortable enough on our city streets and highway runs or very jiggly and shaky?

The official review here in Team BHP was of the standard M340i which had 18 inch wheels, and even then, the opinion was that, the ride is definitely more stiff than the 330i and just about acceptable. So with 19 inchers, has it gone off the cliff ?

The ride quality is stiff for sure. One correction - The tyres are 40/35. Not 40/25. But generally very slim profile and visibly so.

I think what is okay and acceptable versus not acceptable is relative. So I cannot comment on how stiff a ride quality is too stiff.

Sufficient to say that out of all the cars I have owned (I provided a list in my review), this is stiffer by a decent margin. But then, it also has the most agility, manoeuvrability and no body roll. And it wins that battle too by a good large margin.

My overall take is that it is fairly acceptable as a daily drive. It is no E Class or A6 with its air suspension. But it is definitely fine.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by mrugu

The ride quality is stiff for sure. One correction - The tyres are 40/35. Not 40/25. But generally very slim profile and visibly so.
My overall take is that it is fairly acceptable as a daily drive. It is no E Class or A6 with its air suspension. But it is definitely fine.

Thank you, sorry about the typo, I was going to write 35 rear profile and typed 25 instead. Good to know it is fairly acceptable. BHP-ian Karan also substituted his 18 inchers with 19 inchers on his pre-M-Jhare 340i with the same 40/35 profile tires, but then he installed Michelin pilot sport tires right from showroom instead of the run flats, so he may be having a different result in terms of ride stiffness.

[mrugu]

Update: The car completed 1800 kms. Headed for a road trip this Sunday. Will try and post a review as well as a trip review.

[84.monsoon]

Hi Mrugu, How was your long trip? Any issues noticed, with the ground clearance or the stiffness of suspension? Please do post some updates!

Did you consider switching the run-flats for tubeless tires? Looks like you kept the runflats, butt he worry is tire damage or alloy wheel damage due to such low rim widths.

[mrugu]

I had a long drive (~1200 kms) in the car. The route was Marathahalli -> Mahabalipuram -> Trichy -> Thanjavur -> Trichy -> Marathahalli.

What was good?

The car is lovely. Everything said about the responsiveness and its driving dynamics is accurate. Since I run it in by this time, I could use Sports Plus. I have named it "Insane" mode for the family. And it is so responsive and thrilling (A rollercoaster and motion sickness giver to the rear passengers) that I have been warned to first seek permission from the rear occupants (my son, usually) before I can put the car in Sports Plus!

The handling is great too. Very precise and you can do corners like a breeze.

The sound system has also grown on me.

The seats are super comfortable. I felt less fatigue than the seats in my 330i GT and way better than my Nexon (no comparison).

Outstanding headlights. Laser light will just cut through and illuminate. You can see the beam.

What is not so good?

The ride is bumpy. On all flyovers you can feel every joint. You will feel each pothole. I dont think the slim profile tyres are helping the cause.

The GC will be a concern - especially on the roads after Vellore! Horrible pathetic roads. Large potholes, tall speedbreakers or ramps that have a high approach angle need to be treated with respect and you have to slow down/be careful. That said, if you are a little careful, the car deals with them. So far, in 3600kms of usage I have hit the underbelly 5 times exactly and 4 times it was just a minor scrape at <10 kmph because I was being careful. The car does come with underbody protection so BMW told me that minor scrapping should not be a concern. Like I said - I did negotiate the horrible Chennai highway with just one scrape on a really badly designed ramp.

Sharing a few pictures from the drive as well





The above is on the highway near Tirupathur





At Iskcon temple on ECR in Chennai

[krishnadevjs]

Thanks mrugu for the quick review and those mouthwatering photos!

Hearing your challenge with GC on roads in KA and TN, which have relative smooth roads, gives me major heartache!
In two to three weeks (hopefully), I’d be driving my LCI in Mumbai, on the pathetic excuse that BMC calls roads! Shudder to think how bad my daily commute would be if every single expansion joint and pothole are felt! Is it bad enough to warrant a swap of the RFTs right on delivery?

[mrugu]

Originally Posted by krishnadevjs

Is it bad enough to warrant a swap of the RFTs right on delivery?

I tried swapping RFTs to tubeless on delivery but could not do so since the lead time to source Michelins was too high. You can definitely think about it.

I have always been on the fence given safety concerns with tubeless and knowing that I drive frequently on long highway trips!

One other important observation.

Consistently driving the car in Sports or Sports Plus does cause wrist and hand fatigue. The steering is definitely stiffer and weighs up more than a steering in sports mode of a 330i or the X1 (these are the BMWs I have owned before). While the responsiveness and directness of the steering is super, don’t expect too much assist. Weaving through traffic on the Bangalore -> Chennai route for 2-3 hours in Sports Mode will leave you wanting a break!

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by mrugu

Consistently driving the car in Sports or Sports Plus does cause wrist and hand fatigue. The steering is definitely stiffer and weighs up more than a steering in sports mode of a 330i or the X1 (these are the BMWs I have owned before). While the responsiveness and directness of the steering is super, don’t expect too much assist. Weaving through traffic on the Bangalore -> Chennai route for 2-3 hours in Sports Mode will leave you wanting a break!

Does 340i not allow you to set just the steering to comfort and the rest to sport in individual settings?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by mrugu

I

What was good?

The car is lovely. Everything said about the responsiveness and its driving dynamics is accurate. Since I run it in by this time, I could use Sports Plus. I have named it "Insane" mode for the family. And it is so responsive and thrilling (A rollercoaster and motion sickness giver to the rear passengers) that I have been warned to first seek permission from the rear occupants (my son, usually) before I can put the car in Sports Plus!

The handling is great too. Very precise and you can do corners like a breeze.

The sound system has also grown on me.

The seats are super comfortable. I felt less fatigue than the seats in my 330i GT and way better than my Nexon (no comparison).

Outstanding headlights. Laser light will just cut through and illuminate. You can see the beam.

What is not so good?

The ride is bumpy. On all flyovers you can feel every joint. You will feel each pothole. I dont think the slim profile tyres are helping the cause.

The GC will be a concern - especially on the roads after Vellore! Horrible pathetic roads. Large potholes, tall speedbreakers or ramps that have a high approach angle need to be treated with respect and you have to slow down/be careful. That said, if you are a little careful, the car deals with them. So far, in 3600kms of usage I have hit the underbelly 5 times exactly and 4 times it was just a minor scrape at <10 kmph because I was being careful. The car does come with underbody protection so BMW told me that minor scrapping should not be a concern. Like I said - I did negotiate the horrible Chennai highway with just one scrape on a really badly designed ramp.

Congratulations on getting one of the most touted engines in a BMW car- The glorious B58.

Nice crisp review. Since you already owned a 330i and X1, it would be interesting to see a dedicated post comparing the M340i with those other 2 cars that you owned.

As a fellow B58 owner which is a fully equipped one, I am hard-pressed to identify things that I don't like about my car from the 23,000 miles (37,000 kms) that I clocked in 2-years.

Here are a few things that I am not so impressed :

1. Harman music system is average. It is most definitely better than the 10-speaker Bose system in my previous SUV.

2. Wireless Car Charger is not useful as it charges a phone extremely slowly.

Hmmm. Seriously, I can't think of anything else. Haha!

On a different note, I feel sad to see the roads in your pictures as a beautiful car like yours deserves better infrastructure to be enjoyed to it's full potential.

Nice to see another BMW owner on the forum who is putting his car to good use (3600kms in 2 months is great).

Originally Posted by Cresterk

Does 340i not allow you to set just the steering to comfort and the rest to sport in individual settings?

Yes it allows but, only for Sports and Eco-Pro modes.

There is no "Individual" settings for Comfort mode and it cannot be configured like the other 2 modes.

Mine is set for Sports for all settings for these modes (Sports, Sports + and even Eco-Pro). And, since the roads out here are like "butter", I really enjoy it in these settings.

Even when I am trying to extract gas mileage, I still want the feel to be "Sporty".

[mrugu]

Originally Posted by mobike008

On a different note, I feel sad to see the roads in your pictures as a beautiful car like yours deserves better infrastructure to be enjoyed to it's full potential.

Actually the pictures are taken either with the car past the shoulder of the road in one instance and in a highway side parking lot in the other.

Trust me - 90-95% of highways and Expressways in India are perfect for enjoying the M340i I have lived in the US for many years and driven in the world - so can easily say that with full awareness/knowledge!

[harik5]

Long after I moved from the US I am back with a performance car in India. Having lived in California for over 12 years and driving an Acura TLS, WRX, Q7 and A3, I couldn’t fathom the inflated prices of luxury cars in India.

But as most philosophical feelings have an expiry date, I bit the bullet an am a newly minted (pre owned) M340i owner - 2021 model Tanzanite Blue. My pre owned dealer wound up swapping rear tyres to 255/45 in place of 255/40 and had the wheels totally out of balance. After some TLC to the wheel balancing and alignment sections of the shop near my place in BLR, AWD is now not turning off and seems to be working a whole lot better and the front wheels don’t lift off on acceleration.

However I see a “tyres not recognised” info warning on the messages. Will this increase in sidewall profile cause a significant enough issue or should I be ok with a TPMS reset (couldn’t get to driving enough to let the reset happen). I love cars and driving but don’t fully understand technical consequences.

An open question to my technically knowledgeable few low BHPians - should I ask to swap the tyres to stock specs? Also these are now tubeless and not RFT.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by harik5

But as most philosophical feelings have an expiry date,

Ha ha well said! Like the famous saying: These are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others.

An open question to my technically knowledgeable few low BHPians - should I ask to swap the tyres to stock specs? Also these are now tubeless and not RFT.

You will have to register the new tires, assuming they are within allowed range. You don’t need to spend money to go back to spec tires. It’s common for people to put winter tires and summer tires which will have some variations. Just need registration - I don’t know if it can be done using iDrive or you need to visit the dealer. As long as rolling dia is within spec and tire pressure is maintained, there is little to worry

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by harik5

My pre owned dealer wound up swapping rear tyres to 255/45 in place of 255/40 and had the wheels totally out of balance. After some TLC to the wheel balancing and alignment sections of the shop near my place in BLR, AWD is now not turning off and seems to be working a whole lot better and the front wheels don’t lift off on acceleration.

Congratulations on your M340i! Please share some more pics & details of the car when you can.

About the tyres - DO NOT USE NON-FACTORY TYRE SIZES WITH XDRIVE.

More specifically, XDRIVE has very strict tolerances for the variance in circumference of tyres installed on all 4 axles. Variance of more than 1% is not allowed. This is because when AWD is engaged, all 4 tyres must be of the same circumference, else the AWD transfer case / clutch will come under huge stress as it cannot handle the continuous slip from front/rear axles trying to turn at different RPMs.

In your case, the circumference is 3.8% off from the factory spec (and from the front tyre)

If you continue to run this setup, you run the risk of ruining your XDRIVE hardware. So please swap out the tyre for the original spec ASAP - you've already been getting warnings which means the car is not happy. RFT or tubeless does not matter - pick your poison but get the factory size.

[harik5]

Originally Posted by androdev

Just need registration - I don’t know if it can be done using iDrive or you need to visit the dealer. As long as rolling dia is within spec and tire pressure is maintained, there is little to worry

I will try this tomorrow AM once I get in the road but I have a feeling it’s still not going to register coz the factory size is not the same - but I’ll still give it a shot.

Originally Posted by d3mon

Congratulations on your M340i! Please share some more pics & details of the car when you can.

About the tyres - DO NOT USE NON-FACTORY TYRE SIZES WITH XDRIVE.

More specifically, XDRIVE has very strict tolerances for the variance in circumference of tyres installed on all 4 axles. Variance of more than 1% is not allowed. This is because when AWD is engaged, all 4 tyres must be of the same circumference, else the AWD transfer case / clutch will come under huge stress as it cannot handle the continuous slip from front/rear axles trying to turn at different RPMs.

In your case, the circumference is 3.8% off from the factory spec (and from the front tyre)

If you continue to run this setup, you run the risk of ruining your XDRIVE hardware. So please swap out the tyre for the original spec ASAP - you've already been getting warnings which means the car is not happy. RFT or tubeless does not matter - pick your poison but get the factory size.

Attachment 2415221

Thanks much. It’s a Tanzanite Blue that had 22K Kms on it. Carbon fibre grille, spoiler, rear diffuser and side skirts + T-Carbon paddle shifters (replacements).

I am working in parallel with the dealer to get factory spec tyres - these are brand new continentals and I am told by my neighbor hood shop that the 255/45 is an odd spec that is not commonly used else they would have swapped and got one at differential prices. I’m also going to tyre shop tomorrow to see if they would be willing to swap.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by harik5

I will try this tomorrow AM once I get in the road but I have a feeling it’s still not going to register coz the factory size is not the same - but I’ll still give it a shot.

Please ignore my advice as I assumed your new tires are within spec but based on the post by @d3mon, they are way off for a car equipped with AWD. Margin for variance is extremely low for AWD cars.