[cfm56d7b]

When 2013 BMW 335i xDrive is ordered with ZSL Sport Line package, 704 Sport Suspension will be deleted from the build.

Does anyone know what suspension capabilities are removed when 704 Sport Suspension is removed from the build? What suspension capabilities - other than anything traction related - are added by the virtue of the vehicle being 335i xDrive?

I understand the ride height is not lowered by 10mm and xDrive equipped 335i weighs more (200 lbs).

My dealer could not explain the differences in detail (from an engineer's perspective) and requested more details from BMW AG.

[shivaswrath]

I'd skip the xDrive if you actually live in OC.

[cfm56d7b]

Still researching this topic and cannot find a definitive answer. Short of having a BMW engineer explain the differences at the component level ...

[shivaswrath]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

Still researching this topic and cannot find a definitive answer. Short of having a BMW engineer explain the differences at the component level ...

There's no 10mm drop on the xdrive. There's no sport Line for any xdrive car.

[sean10mm]

Originally Posted by shivaswrath

There's no 10mm drop on the xdrive. There's no sport Line for any xdrive car.

Huh? You can order an xDrive sport line just fine, they just don't come with the 704 sport suspension.

You can get them with the adaptive m suspension if you order the dynamic handling package though.

[Jamesons Viggen]

It's sway bars and springs are different, just not sure if the struts/springs are different too.

I would skip x drive as well due to weight, handling, mpgs, and appearance if your weather allows.

[utenigma]

The whole suspension setup is completely different on the front due to having to accommodate a front axel

Compare these images from a 335
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...42&hg=31&fg=05

to the 335x
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...93&hg=31&fg=05

The front stabilizer bar on the X is a little beefier than even the sport (normal=21.2mm, sport=22.2mm, x=22.5mm) but they're really close

On the rear, all the components are identical except the rear stabilizer, the standard and X suspension share the same 12mm stabilizer, where the sport gets a 13mm bar.

On the front and back all 3 types get different shocks, bump stops, and springs - the X carries the same ride height as the standard suspension, the sport is 10mm lower. X has slightly heavier springs than standard to deal with the additional weight, sport springs are heavier and shorter.

The story's the same with M adaptive suspension, different shocks, bump stops and springs - the adaptive on RWD is 10mm lower than standard (same as sport), where the adaptive on X is same ride height as std.

[StealYourFace]

Why buy an xi? I live in a city known for snow fall and I get along great with a 330i and decent snow tires. That includes trips to ski country where it's much snowier with more hills.

Buy a car for the rule, not the exception.

[JK479]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

Why buy an xi? I live in a city known for snow fall and I get along great with a 330i and decent snow tires. That includes trips to ski country where it's much snowier with more hills.

Buy a car for the rule, not the exception.

Can someone get by with RWD and the all season 18s? I'm not talking 6 inches of snow, but enough to make it home is there is a few inches on the ground.

I know RWD is a danger with summer tires. But no one talks about rwd and all seasons.

Is it worse than my current fwd and all seasons? I probably will not buy winter or summer tires.

[Jamesons Viggen]

Originally Posted by JK479

Can someone get by with RWD and the all season 18s? I'm not talking 6 inches of snow, but enough to make it home is there is a few inches on the ground.

I know RWD is a danger with summer tires. But no one talks about rwd and all seasons.

Is it worse than my current fwd and all seasons? I probably will not buy winter or summer tires.

Yes, RWD on all seasons in snow is worse than FWD with all seasons in snow largely due to FWD having the weight over the driving wheels.

[JK479]

Originally Posted by Jamesons Viggen

Yes, RWD on all seasons in snow is worse than FWD with all seasons in snow largely due to FWD having the weight over the driving wheels.

Thanks James, I figured it was the case. Plus the current car I am getting rid of had 17 inch wheels on a FWD chassis. Do adding weights in the trunk really help RWD in snow on the F30?

Maybe it will be a real case to get 18 inch snow tires to take off a sportline...

[JK479]

Originally Posted by utenigma

The whole suspension setup is completely different on the front due to having to accommodate a front axel

Compare these images from a 335
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...42&hg=31&fg=05

to the 335x
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...93&hg=31&fg=05

The front stabilizer bar on the X is a little beefier than even the sport (normal=21.2mm, sport=22.2mm, x=22.5mm) but they're really close

On the rear, all the components are identical except the rear stabilizer, the standard and X suspension share the same 12mm stabilizer, where the sport gets a 13mm bar.

On the front and back all 3 types get different shocks, bump stops, and springs - the X carries the same ride height as the standard suspension, the sport is 10mm lower. X has slightly heavier springs than standard to deal with the additional weight, sport springs are heavier and shorter.

The story's the same with M adaptive suspension, different shocks, bump stops and springs - the adaptive on RWD is 10mm lower than standard (same as sport), where the adaptive on X is same ride height as std.

If I re-read all of this correctly, the only difference between a rwd 335i and a xdrive is just the suspension components and its 10mm lower than an xi?

I read the spec and weight is only 150 lbs.

In reality, those who have driven, is it about the same in sportiness. Seems BMW got serious and offered more sport on the xdrive than ever before?

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by JK479

Can someone get by with RWD and the all season 18s? I'm not talking 6 inches of snow, but enough to make it home is there is a few inches on the ground.

I know RWD is a danger with summer tires. But no one talks about rwd and all seasons.

Is it worse than my current fwd and all seasons? I probably will not buy winter or summer tires.

On good AS tires you'll be fine to get home safely with RWD, but it really depends on how good the AS tires are.
Still for the most part AS tires will get you home safely in light snow.

FWD has the advantage of better accelerative traction as there is more weight over the drive tires, so it gets the car moving easier.
In the winter I put a couple of bags of sand or water softener salt in the trunk to add weight over the drive wheels.
I'm running Conti DWS AS tires and they great AS tires, in my experience they are the best performance AS tires in the market. Their cold performance is great on dry and wet/slushy road conditions, and in warmer weather they come very close to many actual summer performance tires.

In the winter snowy conditions you may consider lowering the tire pressure to get better grip. But, I use stock psi in the winter and increase the psi to the listed high speed/over 100mph rating on the door sill.
The higher pressure stiffens the AS tires softer sidewall and nicely improves steering feel and handling, and it helps in getting better MPG over all.

We haven't had a lot of snow around Chicago this winter, but we recently had a heavy snow fall around 6-8". I drove on snow covered roads, about 3-4", and salty slushy conditions will NO problems at all.
Proper driving technique and reasonable expectations are just as important as the tires in any given road condition.
IOW, there is no need for performance style driving when the road conditions are poor. With that and good AS tires your RWD BMW will get you where you need to go as long as you aren't going to drive in very hilly terrain or going to a ski slope.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

When 2013 BMW 335i xDrive is ordered with ZSL Sport Line package, 704 Sport Suspension will be deleted from the build.

Does anyone know what suspension capabilities are removed when 704 Sport Suspension is removed from the build? What suspension capabilities - other than anything traction related - are added by the virtue of the vehicle being 335i xDrive?

I understand the ride height is not lowered by 10mm and xDrive equipped 335i weighs more (200 lbs).

My dealer could not explain the differences in detail (from an engineer's perspective) and requested more details from BMW AG.

Since you live in OC, there really is no reason for choosing AWD.
If you go skiing a lot and will be driving on very hilly and snow covered roads, then I can see needing AWD. However, even then if you had a set of snow or winter performance wheel/tire set you could just swap those on for the times when you go skiing. That way you'll have the best handling offered by RWD and traction with the snow/winter performance tires.

AWD has great advantage in snow and hilly snow covered terrain, but you lose some handling compared to RWD.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

When 2013 BMW 335i xDrive is ordered with ZSL Sport Line package, 704 Sport Suspension will be deleted from the build.

Does anyone know what suspension capabilities are removed when 704 Sport Suspension is removed from the build? What suspension capabilities - other than anything traction related - are added by the virtue of the vehicle being 335i xDrive?

I understand the ride height is not lowered by 10mm and xDrive equipped 335i weighs more (200 lbs).

My dealer could not explain the differences in detail (from an engineer's perspective) and requested more details from BMW AG.

Since you live in OC, there really is no reason for choosing AWD.
If you go skiing a lot and will be driving on very hilly and snow covered roads, then I can see needing AWD. However, even then if you had a set of snow or winter performance wheel/tire set you could just swap those on for the times when you go skiing. That way you'll have the best handling offered by RWD and traction with the snow/winter performance tires.

[pmik]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

Why buy an xi? I live in a city known for snow fall and I get along great with a 330i and decent snow tires. That includes trips to ski country where it's much snowier with more hills.

Buy a car for the rule, not the exception.

Well. Why Xi. Firstly it is not only for the snow. It has advantages during rain on wet, and taking corners on the dry. Might be a bit slower. But in my opinion has advantages.

Some prefer traditional RWD, but X are becomming more and more popular due people realising potential

[DVCperformance]

cfm - I'm in the same boat as you... I've been leaning toward an xDrive, but I was concerned about the possibility of giving up a suspension more suited to sporty handling.

I've had both RWD and xi e46 3 series over the years, and I've learned the following:

• My 2000 e46 328Ci (RWD with DSC) was *astoundingly* good on Vermont's twisty snow covered roads with the stock Michelin all-season tires... far better than the front-wheel drive VW Corrado that it replaced. I was amazed, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend a RWD car with all season tires for snow country.
• In terms of performance driving, I have come to appreciate the tenacious grip that I get when getting on the gas early in a corner - particularly on wet or otherwise sketchy pavement. I presently own two AWD BMWs (an X5 and a 325xi); my X5 Sport has camber plates and a strut brace (among other mods), and it is unshakable in corners... the limiting factors are just the weight and the high CoG. The 325xi Sport has awesome grip too, but it would really benefit from a little stiffer suspension. I'd be very curious to see how track times of RWD and xDrive F30s would match up if the suspension firmness and ride height were the same.

So from my experience, I think you won't be giving up much either way, whichever option you choose.

For me, it's less a question of bad weather safety, and more a matter of which is the preferred driving dynamic for every day driving. I am literally headed to the dealer this evening to (yet again) drive xDrive and RWD models back-to-back to try to make my choice.