[JamieA]

Originally Posted by AussieMarkF

You maniac... I wish I was there with you.

A few questions on this excursion of yours: Was there much wind noise? Did you have all windows and roof closed? What RPM was the tacho on at 220kmh? What do you think stopped you from hitting the theoretical limit of 245kmh? Were you alone or with a passenger? (My wife would beat me senseless if I tried such a stunt with her in the car)

I have had my E90 325i 6sp man to 180kmh on the F3 freeway between Newcastle and Sydney. It wanted to keep going but I would have gone to gaol if I had been snapped by police.

Cheers.

Hey - glad to hear of another 325 6sp man driver out there... apparently I have the only one in Adelaide, but then Adelaide is known for it's older demographic

Yes, I am a maniac, I admit it freely

To answer your questions in order:

1. There was surprisingly little wind noise, I could still clearly hear the engine, it was great.

2. All windows and the sunroof were closed.

3. Good question. I know it was hovering near 6kRPM most of the time, so I would say about there. The sound of the engine at speed was fantastic, not harsh at all. I checked the oil levels, and no oil was burned, so it didn't appear to be that stressful for the engine. In fact no oil was burned on the whole 4,000km trip (well the level stayed at the same notch, so oil usage was therefore minimal)

4. I didn't hit the limit because the road didn't have a long enough straight to get speed up. I did hit 230 once or twice. I was in 6th the whole time, so maybe would have had a better chance in 5th perhaps. Didn't think of it until I got back because I was enjoying the moment too much... will try that out next time for sure though.

5. I was alone, because my passenger for the trip - the gorgeous Stephanie would have killed me, in fact I only got to do this run because she wasn't feeling well that day and I went to King's Canyon by myself.

The trip computer is only of a short part of the drive. I did these sorts of speeds for almost the whole 150km stretch that was unlimited. I was so excited and in the moment, that it didn't occur to me to time it until the drive was nearly over - shows that I had a one track mind at the time I have to say that this was one of the most memorable and best drives of my life - fast, but with enough curves to be interesting...

Hope these answer your questions mate.

Cheers.

[youngtechman]

dude you are lucky. I wish we have road with No speed limit here in Canada.

[dtelle]

Originally Posted by JamieA

Hey - glad to hear of another 325 6sp man driver out there... apparently I have the only one in Adelaide, but then Adelaide is known for it's older demographic

Yes, I am a maniac, I admit it freely

To answer your questions in order:

1. There was surprisingly little wind noise, I could still clearly hear the engine, it was great.

2. All windows and the sunroof were closed.

3. Good question. I know it was hovering near 6kRPM most of the time, so I would say about there. The sound of the engine at speed was fantastic, not harsh at all. I checked the oil levels, and no oil was burned, so it didn't appear to be that stressful for the engine. In fact no oil was burned on the whole 4,000km trip (well the level stayed at the same notch, so oil usage was therefore minimal)

4. I didn't hit the limit because the road didn't have a long enough straight to get speed up. I did hit 230 once or twice. I was in 6th the whole time, so maybe would have had a better chance in 5th perhaps. Didn't think of it until I got back because I was enjoying the moment too much... will try that out next time for sure though.

5. I was alone, because my passenger for the trip - the gorgeous Stephanie would have killed me, in fact I only got to do this run because she wasn't feeling well that day and I went to King's Canyon by myself.

The trip computer is only of a short part of the drive. I did these sorts of speeds for almost the whole 150km stretch that was unlimited. I was so excited and in the moment, that it didn't occur to me to time it until the drive was nearly over - shows that I had a one track mind at the time I have to say that this was one of the most memorable and best drives of my life - fast, but with enough curves to be interesting...

Hope these answer your questions mate.

Cheers.

So iut hink i am really a looky man, my wife, on unlimited part of German higway is sometimes asking me to kick down the gas pedal....

She is not driving but loves high speed

[vladinecko]

Jamie, this is kind of off-topic. i've never had a chance to ask this anyone. you guys, along with GB, China, etc, drive on the left side of the road. that is still acceptable to me. but isn't it difficult/annoying/uncomfortable/unnatural/weird to shift gears with your left hand? i guess if you learn to drive that way it's completely natural but still, do you have any experience of going back and forth between left and right hand driving?

[Hej]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

Jamie, this is kind of off-topic. i've never had a chance to ask this anyone. you guys, along with GB, China, etc, drive on the left side of the road. that is still acceptable to me. but isn't it difficult/annoying/uncomfortable/unnatural/weird to shift gears with your left hand? i guess if you learn to drive that way it's completely natural but still, do you have any experience of going back and forth between left and right hand driving?

Something that's occurred to me about driving on the right hand side of the road, too. Is the gear order with 1st in the top left corner or the right?

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

Jamie, this is kind of off-topic. i've never had a chance to ask this anyone. you guys, along with GB, China, etc, drive on the left side of the road. that is still acceptable to me. but isn't it difficult/annoying/uncomfortable/unnatural/weird to shift gears with your left hand? i guess if you learn to drive that way it's completely natural but still, do you have any experience of going back and forth between left and right hand driving?

You are right if feels natural because I learned to drive that way, and the operation of the gear shift is subliminal to me.

I have gone between LHD and RHD cars, and it does feel strange to use the gear shift. Not so much because it is a different hand to grab the stick with, but because the pattern is reversed, ie 1st is near you rather than away from you, so you can't drive subliminally for a while until you adjust to the new shift pattern...

[vladinecko]

wait, so the gears are not reversed for LHD cars? it's still
1-3-5
2-4-6
and not
5-3-1
6-4-2
??

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

wait, so the gears are not reversed for LHD cars? it's still
1-3-5
2-4-6
and not
5-3-1
6-4-2
??

Correct

[pokerface]

do you get the same 3.0L 325i that North America gets? I dont have idrive, but getting 14.4L/100km fuel consumption at 200kmh average is impressive

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by pokerface

do you get the same 3.0L 325i that North America gets? I dont have idrive, but getting 14.4L/100km fuel consumption at 200kmh average is impressive

No, we have a 2.5L engine with all the features of the 330's 3.0L, ie variable stage induction etc.

It generates 160Kw and 250Nm of torque, which is roughly equivalent to your de-specced 3.0L in your 325.

I was impressed with the fuel economy also, I did a double take when I read the final results, and trust me, I wasn't driving for economy

[climkt]

u are indeed lucky to have speed derestricted roads down under. perfect driving bliss- man and machine- alone on the roads.
had the same magic carpet ride feeling in my UK e36 235i- know how u feel! that curve road ahead looks rather narrow for a high speed drive. must definitely be a one way road ,right?

[bimmerguy288]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

Jamie, this is kind of off-topic. i've never had a chance to ask this anyone. you guys, along with GB, China, etc, drive on the left side of the road. that is still acceptable to me. but isn't it difficult/annoying/uncomfortable/unnatural/weird to shift gears with your left hand? i guess if you learn to drive that way it's completely natural but still, do you have any experience of going back and forth between left and right hand driving?

They drive on the RIGHT side in China, left side in Hong Kong.

[stressdoc]

I find it almost equally convenient; if anything, shifting with my left, steering with right is slightly preferable. I'm a rather ambidextrous right hander, but there aren't any strong handedness preferences that I'm aware of in regard to driving position.

[leosong11]

Originally Posted by bimmerguy288

They drive on the RIGHT side in China, left side in Hong Kong.

LOL. You animal. Nice first post.

JamieA- your an animal too.

[StewtheBassman]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

Jamie, this is kind of off-topic. i've never had a chance to ask this anyone. you guys, along with GB, China, etc, drive on the left side of the road. that is still acceptable to me. but isn't it difficult/annoying/uncomfortable/unnatural/weird to shift gears with your left hand? i guess if you learn to drive that way it's completely natural but still, do you have any experience of going back and forth between left and right hand driving?

Sometimes I do stuff with my left hand and it's wierd, like someone else doing it.......


Nice story Jamie, and impressive results on your iDrive screen.....wow, 32kms in 9 minutes....now that's gettin' where you're goin'!!!

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

Jamie, this is kind of off-topic. i've never had a chance to ask this anyone. you guys, along with GB, China, etc, drive on the left side of the road. that is still acceptable to me. but isn't it difficult/annoying/uncomfortable/unnatural/weird to shift gears with your left hand? i guess if you learn to drive that way it's completely natural but still, do you have any experience of going back and forth between left and right hand driving?

that's what i thought when i had to do my road test in left side manual....but it wasn't that bad! BTW, only HK drives on the left. China is on the right like in NA.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by StewtheBassman

Sometimes I do stuff with my left hand and it's wierd, like someone else doing it.......

LMAO


Stew, you're an animal!!

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by climkt

u are indeed lucky to have speed derestricted roads down under. perfect driving bliss- man and machine- alone on the roads.
had the same magic carpet ride feeling in my UK e36 235i- know how u feel! that curve road ahead looks rather narrow for a high speed drive. must definitely be a one way road ,right?

It looks narrow on the photo, but it is much wider and no it isn't one way, it is a two way road.

Most of the interstate roads in Australia are like that with the exception of roads close to major cities.

[StewtheBassman]

Originally Posted by JamieA

LMAO


Stew, you're an animal!!

LOL, couldn't resist!!

[AussieMarkF]

Hi JamieA,

Good to hear you were brave enough to purchase a manual E90. Australians should be more embracing of manuals than they are. I have heard nearly 95 % of 3 series sold are steptronics. I have always got funny looks when i have shown interest in manual BMWs.

As far as I know I am the only customer of my dealership to have bought a 6 speed man 325i. It is a sweet box, a vast improvement over the 5spd manual box that was in my E46 325i. I could never get the old box right, I was still stalling it at least once a month, no feel and no engine noise (of course). My wife refused to drive the E46, but is very happy driving the manual E90.

I do a fair amount of city driving and have no trouble at all in traffic, using the torque and flexibility of the engine to minimise the number of gear changes I need to make. It is a great feeling to settle into a highway cruise and slot into 6th gear and watch the revs drop and the fuel consumption fall even further.

I was in Adelaide recently, it is a beautiful city...great food/restaurants etc.

I should drive over there some time and head north in the Northern Territory!

Regards

AussieMarkF

[tctic]

Originally Posted by bimmerguy288

They drive on the RIGHT side in China, left side in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong drives on the right and Mainland China on the left. I think this is because Hong Kong was formerly ruled by Britain. And notices that most "Island" places right on the right hand side? ex. Austrailia, Britain, Hong Kong, etc.

[Squawks]

JamieA - nice pics! I bet you had a blazingly good time with your signicficant oth---I mean car.

But, looking at the picture you posted, that road must be pretty scary to travel on at very high speeds because that upcoming turn looks sharp (at least for high speeds) and to exascerbate things, there are shrubs all over to introduce blindspots. Just imagine shaving the other incoming car (which may be pretty close to your lane).

Unless, of course, that road is a one-way road.