Nonsense Thread

[MrBurgundy]

NA r56 MINI coopers are the best bang for your buck for fuel to cost of ownership, including purchase price..

They zip around and car great to drive.. Plenty of room for the tall boys.

Easily 40 MPG on the highway.

Fuck buying a new car to save on gas... kinda defeats the purpose.. Buy some used turd that's almost embarrassing to be in.

[DEV0 E30]

I've said it before, and us as "old" E30 owners can attest to, currently the 00s are the E30s of our youth. They are relatively cheap being at the bottom of their depreciation and if you can find one thats been well-maintained around its 2nd or 3rd owner, its a great buy to have as a daily driver so the E30 can be driven for enjoyment. I like my current 06 TDI Jetta, it offers excellent fuel economy and is fully 'throw-away' status if something bad were to happen. I wanted a E39 530 with a manual box, but the MPG it was going to return made it much less appealing. If I commuted at freeway speeds I could've made a case for it. the MK5 had a bunch of failing plastic and an old 6-disc changer headunit but some cheap ebay switches and then a good headunit has bluetooth, and some other goodies so its now modern enough.

Good time to buy a 330 with either a M54 or even an N52. I think the turbo stuff will falter and I think eventually a 128i would be a wonderful buy

Going back a bit in this thread, for more N52 love. I already think the 128i is being seen as a great buy if you can get a clean one. They are showing to be a good fit for something analog-ish and simple compared to other models. You know, on a budget and all. The 1M was one of the best lover letters ever IMO. I think there is something to be said about doing the absolute minimal amount of modifications and just enjoying the damn car as a car. This is usually something newer vehicles have over older ones obviously.

I think almost everything I've been interested in for the past few years has priced itself out of contention (at least north of the border here)

Otherwise I have half a mind to just get the nicest Land Rover LR4 I can find and try to keep it alive forever instead of continually upgrading the larger daily.

You're spot on that new cars + rates are not at all appealing. There aren't many "new" vehicles that tickle my fancy honestly. The GR86 or BRZ is one of few, maybe Miata too - but family needs and space sort of take precedent. The E30 will run some day, so that's the fun checkbox for me. Any other real car purchases, aside from maybe some cheap distractions would need to fit multiple roles.

The new Land Cruiser US (Prado) and GX550 are cool, but again pricing wise plus markups are going to be even more insane. Also, unproven reliability - more so for the LC (GX550's V6 twin turbo is in other vehicles already). I love the idea of the new LC getting 20+ mpgs, but the hybrid turbo 4 hasn't been proven, but I suspect it will. I mean it will be an option on the new Tacoma and 4 Runner on higher trims, 3 vehicles that share a lot. Still though, a used v8 200 series I think is going to be a better deal, MPG be damned. That's a special use case vehicle though, and would only really make sense if I no longer owned the 100. I do think an R2S would be a great people mover as said before, but having paid off older vehicles is just an easier thing to stomach these days.

[Northern]

I think almost everything I've been interested in for the past few years has priced itself out of contention (at least north of the border here)

Cheap truck would be convenient for this hobby and home renos, but we went from a decently equipped new Ranger being like 37k to a complete barebones spec being 45k.

Volvo has cut all their wagons besides the Subaru Outback LARPing editions and the fucked up PHEV versions, the MSRP on all their stuff has rocketed since COVID, they've removed a bunch of features/options while adding nothing of value. Nobody else makes any wagons worth buying either (and even if the current M5 is coming as a touring, it's going to be so expensive it's not even worth mentioning.)

I'd do another (Newer) Mini, but the JCW stuff went from 30K MSRP to 50K MSRP and it is absolutely not worth that, plus I like mine and have no plans to get rid of it.

Sequioa/GX would be nice to replace the XC90 when it's time, but they're pricey and Toyota is batshit for 9%APR on new cars.

Somehow the new Land Rover Defender 110 is reasonably priced, but I think they stealthily killed the I6 which was the obvious choice for the engine.
Now you're stuck between their POS 4-cyl or 500hp SCV8.

The only exceptions are fun cars - If I were in the market I'd definitely look at a new GR86 (if the interest rate weren't shit or I could secure alternative financing/buy cash), or a Supra if I were looking to spend too much money.


Otherwise I have half a mind to just get the nicest Land Rover LR4 I can find and try to keep it alive forever instead of continually upgrading the larger daily.

[DEV0 E30]

Yay N52 talk! Someday, the N52 in my e30 will run, sigh. Looking forward to it, it is an amazing engine, and the engine isn't too much money, just everything else is to make it work in a car it didn't come in.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think all US f31s are 4-cyl turbos with automatics. I've read about timing chain problems on early n20 engines, but the b48 seems to be very reliable. They are really nice cars and have plenty of power for such a small engine, I'd give it a look. I feel like my f30 is built very similar to how an e46 or e90 is put together. So although it's a little different, it's not completely alien to work on.

Correct, F31s are only 4 cyl turboskies and are only automatic. Either gas (328i) or diesel (328d), the final year(s) send off 330i is still a 4cyl too.
Friend had one for a long time (for him), was on coils, large BBS wheels, gorgeous. His replacement was an E63s AMG Wagon. Makes sense.

I may be wrong, but I think most journos were saying E90 drives far better than most newer 3 series. F31s look better, but E90s are better build quality and drive better.

================

On the topic of old cars, my 100 series land cruiser is still the workhorse, and the only replacement I see is a 200 series. It's big, dumb, but man, I still love the thing.

Now for a fuel efficient daily I'd consider:

1. New Prius, I dunno, I love the design and again if I needed the MPGs. Maybe a barely used of the new gen in a few years if MPGs is required, but also depends on commute and needs.
2. Honda Fit, Manual - (again used, probably GE gen) Slippery fun slope to a slow but fun car, no engine swap, but suspension? Sure. It echoes back to the golden era Hondas but unlike those, not too much concern of it getting stolen.
3. Cheap used, throwaway Tesla - but only if I had to commute a ton, which currently I don't.

Now, if I had way more money, I would consider a Rivian R1S, the R2S however is going to be a great buy.
Something big or medium sized and efficient and used as the family mover, is a win/win.
There are too many dirtbags with lifted super duties here. Too many people in general honestly. Stupid fastest growing city.

[McGyver]

Had to look this up, they definitely look goofy! But worth it to make the things sound better I suppose.

It's an interesting concept and I can see how the equal length makes it sounds better. I'm wondering if BMW didn't use them because of the added cost to manufacture, or the added back-pressure/decreased flow impacts performance. There's no way those squiggles are doing anything good for flow.

[Panici]

I would really like to know who greenlit the exhaust tuning on those cars, they are easily the worst sounding stock BMWs of all time, and probably one of the worst sounding I6s. It's especially baffling since they sound a bit better with those goofy wavy midpipes that are available now, all it took was making the lengths equal-ish.

Had to look this up, they definitely look goofy! But worth it to make the things sound better I suppose.

[varg]

I don't know, I feel like a stock n55 sounds pretty good. It's still got a smooth straight six noise. It's even better this the MPPK muffler.

Also, n55 is a single turbo with a single cat and a single pipe to a single-in dual-out muffle, the n54 had twin turbos and 2 cats

Stock for stock it definitely sounds better than anything they make today. Especially the M3/4 which continues to sound like total ass. I would really like to know who greenlit the exhaust tuning on those cars, they are easily the worst sounding stock BMWs of all time, and probably one of the worst sounding I6s. It's especially baffling since they sound a bit better with those goofy wavy midpipes that are available now, all it took was making the lengths equal-ish.

[Northern]

Hopefully they used better vbands than on the MINI. The nut & bolt just look like one blob made of rust. If I look at it the wrong way, it's going to fall apart.

[McGyver]

It's nice to just have 2 v-bands to take off and the cat comes right out. It's also tucked up in a spot that would be impossible to cut out. The stock one is on a shelf now and I've got a 49-state legal AA high flow cat on there. A cat, down pipe, intercooler, and a tune is really all that's needed to get an easy hundred hp.

[Northern]

surprised either of those had less than two cats per exhaust stream, seems very un-bmw of them.

Edit: at least in NA market. I know there are some markets where they've historically only used a single cat since at least E30s and thru at least 2013

[McGyver]

I don't know, I feel like a stock n55 sounds pretty good. It's still got a smooth straight six noise. It's even better this the MPPK muffler.

Also, n55 is a single turbo with a single cat and a single pipe to a single-in dual-out muffle, the n54 had twin turbos and 2 cats

[MrBurgundy]

The tiny turbos they use make it sound like ass..

[Northern]

I'm sure multi stage DISA, turbos, DI, Valvetronic, etc all make a difference in the sound of any current BMW engine

Probably a lot better once swapped and you get all the intake muffling and half a dozen cats/mufflers out of the way.

[varg]

BMWs in general sound like ass, especially modern ones, I have no doubt the B38 would be any different.

As for all of this N55 talk, plus talk of sound. This one has been making the rounds and it sounds decent. It would probably sound better without a screamer pipe and with a muffler to tame some of the mid to low rpm rasp.

[Northern]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think all US f31s are 4-cyl turbos with automatics.

Yeah BMW pulled the same bullshit with the E91 - no 335 in wagons, later in production (at least in Canada) dropped manuals, non-xdrive, and even the 330, so by end of production it was just auto 328ix when I thought about trying to buy one.

N20s seem kind of shit. B38/46/48/whatever seem solid as they're 3-4cyl cut down B58s. Would really love to see the B38 in an e30.
Triples sound stupid good on bikes, but the B38 probably just sounds like a straight 6. Not sure how much they can take power wise, but I imagine 300hp is fairly easy pending ECU stuff.