f30 328i AT noline, some pros and cons

Pros:
1. AT in comfort mode is comfy, 1.5k rpm and 8-th gear results in breezy highway cruising.
2. noline standard suspension handles great for someone who is a non-sport bimmer guy.
3. auto-stop/start is annoying, but it helps to reduce engine temp, maybe that can improve reliability?
4. electronic steering is vague as hell, however one can steer with little effort, which is pretty cool for some(like me)
5. mine has road force balanced wheels, it pulls straight like an arrow and no shimmy, very nice ride
6. lighting package is bright as daylight and it inspires confidence during night time driving
7. comfort access is very cool, works every time and in same way as remote control

Cons:
1. for a lifetime MT guy, going around corners in AT( not just f30) needs retraining, no more downshift to 2nd to hold the curve(or if someone can provide instructions on hot to do the same in DS mode ....)
2. plastic compartment on doors seem a bit cheap, can at least put some felt material there. are sports/modern/luxury lines better than noline on felt material?
3. for some reason there are lumps of glues on leather, plastic trim, carpet and such, seems like the robots or human made errors.
4. runflat makes constant rumbling noise, not as bad as some sport tires, but it is annoying
5. at low speed, the AT can hunt for gear, in couple instances mine nearly stalls, have to blip the gas pedal. Anyone else experiences this on f30?

more pros:
8. DS mode de-activates auto-stop/start, very handy.
9. standard non-sport seats on noline have small but practical "wings", so getting in and out are easier than sports seats
10. F30 road visibility is very good, for a reasonably disciplined driver, there is little use of driver's assist features
11. standard speakers are not too shabby for someone with no clues of intricacies of high fidelity.
12. the alarm is convenient, especially in parking lots with lots of F30

more cons:
6. manual mode in DS is no way near a real manual transmission, so for anyone who wants "driver and machine as one" experience, do not get AT
7. engine noise is muted considerably in cabin, it makes using DS manual mode difficult if one uses engine rev pitch as cues to shift; for those who want MT, 335i(with inline-six revs) maybe a better choice than 328i
8. trunk lid is hard to close(several owners at service bay said the same), looks like a fit/alignment issue from factory; the pivot mechanism of the trunk lid takes valuable space from trunk

Originally Posted by namelessman

Pros:
1. AT in comfort mode is comfy, 1.5k rpm and 8-th gear results in breezy highway cruising.
2. noline standard suspension handles great for someone who is a non-sport bimmer guy.
3. auto-stop/start is annoying, but it helps to reduce engine temp, maybe that can improve reliability?
4. electronic steering is vague as hell, however one can steer with little effort, which is pretty cool for some(like me)
5. mine has road force balanced wheels, it pulls straight like an arrow and no shimmy, very nice ride
6. lighting package is bright as daylight and it inspires confidence during night time driving
7. comfort access is very cool, works every time and in same way as remote control

Cons:
1. for a lifetime MT guy, going around corners in AT( not just f30) needs retraining, no more downshift to 2nd to hold the curve(or if someone can provide instructions on hot to do the same in DS mode ....)
2. plastic compartment on doors seem a bit cheap, can at least put some felt material there. are sports/modern/luxury lines better than noline on felt material?
3. for some reason there are lumps of glues on leather, plastic trim, carpet and such, seems like the robots or human made errors.
4. runflat makes constant rumbling noise, not as bad as some sport tires, but it is annoying
5. at low speed, the AT can hunt for gear, in couple instances mine nearly stalls, have to blip the gas pedal. Anyone else experiences this on f30?

I also have the "line-less" model and agree with your pros. The ASS will be re-coded when I get the chance to bring the car in. I've gotten used to the electronic steering and will shift to sport mode when going through the curvy roads to our home; on the freeway, I'm typically in Comfort mode. Regarding the cons of the plastic door compartments, feel the inner part which is lined with a carpet-like material to help muffle sounds from items knocking around in that compartment. I haven't come across any glue lumps, but maybe wasn't particularly looking for it either. Also haven't had any issues with the 8-AT.

Originally Posted by namelessman

more pros:
8. DS mode de-activates auto-stop/start, very handy.
9. standard non-sport seats on noline have small but practical "wings", so getting in and out are easier than sports seats
10. F30 road visibility is very good, for a reasonably disciplined driver, there is little use of driver's assist features
11. standard speakers are not too shabby for someone with no clues of intricacies of high fidelity.
12. the alarm is convenient, especially in parking lots with lots of F30

more cons:
6. manual mode in DS is no way near a real manual transmission, so for anyone who wants "driver and machine as one" experience, do not get AT
7. engine noise is muted considerably in cabin, it makes using DS manual mode difficult if one uses engine rev pitch as cues to shift; for those who want MT, 335i(with inline-six revs) maybe a better choice than 328i
8. trunk lid is hard to close(several owners at service bay said the same), looks like a fit/alignment issue from factory; the pivot mechanism of the trunk lid takes valuable space from trunk

The trunk lid does take a little more force, and what I've found works well is to use the inner handholds to start the closing, then just as it's almost at closure, I use the lip area just below the license plate to give a little more force.

Thanks for tips on trunk closing techniques, will try it out. Yes the vertical walls of the plastic compartments at doors have carpet-like material, but the horizontal floors do not, hence the plastic-to-plastic clinging sound(e.g. on my sunglass case). I wonder if there is OEM or aftermarket felt/carpet-like parts that I can install. I guess that's cost control from BMW. BTW, the F01 and F10 have felts all around in those compartments.

For people used to 5-sp and 6-sp manual, it is an exercise to figure out the rpm's of each of 8 AT gears to get control on DS manual IMO. The 5-sp is very nice, with one shift from 1st to 2nd, the car can go to 60mph at 6krpm. Hopefully the AT can be just as fun.

One pet peeve on the AT flight simulator joystick, it does not have relative position(e.g. forward is D, backward is R), hence one must get visual confirmation, or else bad things can happen.

No issue with electronic steering, esp. when one realizes the simplicity of the unit, and hopefully no more $$$ of mysterious steering rack failures for minor squeaks and PS hoses on hydraulic steering. :0)

Originally Posted by namelessman

Thanks for tips on trunk closing techniques, will try it out. Yes the vertical walls of the plastic compartments at doors have carpet-like material, but the horizontal floors do not, hence the plastic-to-plastic clinging sound(e.g. on my sunglass case). I wonder if there is OEM or aftermarket felt/carpet-like parts that I can install. I guess that's cost control from BMW. BTW, the F01 and F10 have felts all around in those compartments.

For people used to 5-sp and 6-sp manual, it is an exercise to figure out the rpm's of each of 8 AT gears to get control on DS manual IMO. The 5-sp is very nice, with one shift from 1st to 2nd, the car can go to 60mph at 6krpm. Hopefully the AT can be just as fun.

One pet peeve on the AT flight simulator joystick, it does not have relative position(e.g. forward is D, backward is R), hence one must get visual confirmation, or else bad things can happen.

No issue with electronic steering, esp. when one realizes the simplicity of the unit, and hopefully no more $$$ of mysterious steering rack failures for minor squeaks and PS hoses on hydraulic steering. :0)

If you're a purist who can't warm up to the idea of an AT, then get the MT. But if it's driving experience you value most, I wouldn't hesitate to get the AT. It's a great AT and mates really well with the motor. I downshift regularly and find it works well. I had an MT in my last 3 series and find myself appreciating the AT more than missing the MT, although at times feel both ways.

The steering is very precise and competent once you adjust your technique a little. At first it does feel weird.

The folks at BMW Munich did earn their keep to make N20/N26+ZF 8HP work. I am happy to have this as my first AT.

do you plan on upgrading to 18"?

No plans to upgrade to 18". The stock 17" looks nice IMO.

Originally Posted by namelessman

no plans to upgrade to 18". The stock 17" looks nice imo.

+1

After putting in a full-tank of 91 premium, the low-speed near stall is gone, and AT seems to downshift just fine. So the issue was that the stealer put in non-premium gas during delivery!@#$%! Buyers beware!

Another trunk closing technique. I watched the service delivery person at my dealership closing the trunk when she was going over features and delivering my car. She just put her hand on the license plate frame and used that to swing the door down fairly firmly and that's how I've been doing it. It works quite well although it would be nice in a car of this price point to have a motorized trunk lid.

Another option is to adjust the two plastic "legs" at bottom of trunk lid by a quarter-turn, and now it works pretty well.

more pros:
13. the stock 17" tires(Pirelli P7 Grand Touring All-season) are quite competent even with non-sport suspension
14. the light steering feel plus 50/50 allows the car to turn on a dime

more cons:
9. AT joystick has no relative position(as previously mentioned), aesthetically it looks cool.
10. hood panel and trunk lid alignments("mind the gap") are not as tight as F01 and F10, maybe churning out 900 cars a day takes a toll.
11. coworkers played tricks by kicking below trunk to open it, this exposes a potential issue with comfort access, what if those are criminals? any way to disable comfort access in IDrive if needed?

I REALLY like the 6MT in the 328i.

A buddy has a 328i 6MT too, I rolled that boat a few times, it is predictable and dependable as expected. It would be great if 6MT is $1.5k cheaper than AT in US like the old days(and still the case in Europe). The AT does nicely shift up/down in no time, and I am now conditioned to cruise at 1.5krpm in all speeds.

Originally Posted by namelessman

more cons:
9. AT joystick has no relative position(as previously mentioned), aesthetically it looks cool.
10. hood panel and trunk lid alignments("mind the gap") are not as tight as F01 and F10, maybe churning out 900 cars a day takes a toll.
11. coworkers played tricks by kicking below trunk to open it, this exposes a potential issue with comfort access, what if those are criminals? any way to disable comfort access in IDrive if needed?

9. The AT joystick does imitate the older R-N-D set-up seen in cars with AT. It just that the "P" or Park is now a button on top of the joystick and not a detent in front of the "R" notch. I was also confused at first until Jon Shafer pointed this out to me.

10. If the hood or trunk alignments look off, have the dealer check this out. It's possible the gaps are slightly wider by design? Not sure.

11. In order for comfort access to work, your key has to be in the immediate vacinity, so unless you have been hijacked by criminals, the CA wouldn't work.

Good points. It does seem most gaps are wider than previous bimmers and/or F01 and F10. The door gaps are relatively well aligned. In addition to design cues, wide gaps can be a cost saving measure too, 1/16-inch on both sides translate to 1/8-inch reduction in sheet metal!

Yes, key needs to be close by for CA to work. If bad guys appear unexpectedly while one is about to open door, then I guess one can use the panic button(of anti-theft alarm) to scare them off.

more pros:
15. Mine is a N26 SULEV, there is virtually no exhaust smell even at early morning cold start, in CA weather :0) glad to do something good for the environment.
16. Took a ride in a N20 328i, in comparison, the N26 has zero turbo lag. The N20 has a slight jerk when turbo kicks in.

OK, we confirmed that for CA, the driver with key next to door does not allow trunk sensor to work(no kick opening), phwew.

more cons:
12. on downhill twisties the 328 US spec brakes(312x24) show some weakness, it would have been great if US also gets Euro-spec 328 brake discs(330x24). 335i should be OK(US and Euro spec same size it seems)
13. US(and maybe just CA) adaptive light is a downgraded(de-cdded) version of lighting/visibility package in Europe/Canada, I wonder if Euro Delivery can bypass this or not.

what the hell does de-cdded mean?

typo, variable light decoding(build sheet 8S4), as in the variable light function is de-coded(not coded).

I also have a no line AT. in DS mode without shifting, on hard driving it knows which gear to be in. On city street type of driving, not so great. Basically the harder you drive it the longer it wants to stay in gear, even when slowing down itll either hold or downshift. During hpde and autocross i wanted to see what it can do on its own it did everything right except on quick turn in followed by hard breaking and a long sweeper - it was one gear too high and didnt downshift when slowing down considerably. Other than that it seemed to hold. Im curious to see hpw it would behave with a pro driving it. Im not good enough.

Aesthetics wise I love the sportline.
Suspension wise I am happy even with the no line. I dont know if the sport suspension would make me that much better but with more seat time probably.
Interior i too dont see any lumps anywhere. The painted plastic is fine with me. The seats dont throw me around too much and dont really notice it if it is. Maybe im a perfect fit for the seat?

Basically Im happy with the performance but when i see a sportline I drool over the looks. One can always fix that with aftermarket though.

Originally Posted by namelessman

more cons:
12. on downhill twisties the 328 US spec brakes(312x24) show some weakness, it would have been great if US also gets Euro-spec 328 brake discs(330x24). 335i should be OK(US and Euro spec same size it seems)
13. US(and maybe just CA) adaptive light is a downgraded(de-cdded) version of lighting/visibility package in Europe/Canada, I wonder if Euro Delivery can bypass this or not.

What does the euro spec adaptive lights have that we dont? They always get the good ****. Ha

Originally Posted by namelessman

13. US(and maybe just CA) adaptive light is a downgraded(de-cdded) version of lighting/visibility package in Europe/Canada, I wonder if Euro Delivery can bypass this or not.

What do you mean, exactly?

BTW, ED cars are exact-spec US cars. Just picked up over there.