330ci to a st220-madness?

rare

rare

rare

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Am I losing the plot? Like my E46 coupe 330ci auto but been a little bored by it of late...(I am terrible at keeping cars!!) drives nice, but is a little to good for its own good?!:rolleyes:

Always loved the look of ST 220's...now I know they probably arent quite as quick as the 330i,not to fussed about this,being manual it would have course be more involving, and they make a wondefull noise. Does any one have any experience of the two? I figure I can get a 55 plate one for about 6500-7500. Do they come with PDC? What other options would have been standard on a 2005-2006 model. Xenons etc?

Or am I being silly.
:p
 
Yes to the PDC I think it was standard, with regards to xenons a high proportion do, but some people have complained of them looking good but having a weak output, so i'll stick with my reflectors with goof bulbs.

I've been in 330i's and its difficult to compare. You're best of finding one to test drive. Be warned the brakes are very progressive, some people complain that they are rubbish, but the pedal just has a very deft touch early on in the travel. If you bury your foot in the carpet you will stop!

That said I am fitting braided hoses and green stuff pads at my next service to give them a bit more feel.

Link
 
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Yes I switched last April from a 330CI to an ST220 as it happens. I'll dig out the post where I was comparing the two later on though (too early to be up right now, not with it yet) or failing that write a bit about what I thought, although I could do with reminding myself actually, since I don't have either now.

In short though, I wouldn't make the same move again given the choice, but I was extracating myself from the finance on the 330 and I bought the ST outright, in hindsight it would have been better to have simply paid off the finance and kept the 330CI instead, for the sake of a couple of extra thousand quid it would have cost to keep it, I still miss that car in some ways.

Edit: Here is the thread where I first showed off the ST220 I bought to replace my 330CI, I give some thoughts about both cars and the differances. I must say, looking back at the pictures, it was a hell of a handsome car. I don't miss the Ford interior though, it was decent for what it was but not really what I'm used to, good seats though.

I'll add this also, I noticed straight away after dropping the 330 off and driving the ST away, the 330 is actually more raw and less insulating than the ST220, not the other way around as you might expect. It rides harder, turns sharper, makes more noise, you feel more while driving it. The ST220 is surprisingly refined actually.
 
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The ST220 is no more or less boring than a 330ci really - you'll change and wish you'd not bothered after a while.
 
[TW]Fox;15830497 said:
I would say the ST is a bit slower actually. Its as big as a 5 Series.
Click to expand...

Mine matched Tom's 330 at the last meet.

Will find out of sure this year though ;)

From a standing start i'm sure the 330 would dick the ST but this was from around 30-100 and it was even.
 
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I have made my comments on judging performance by 'matching' people on the public road in the past, its pretty meaningless really as I gather even MrLOLS 300bhp Vectra didnt leave anyone for dead.

On the road a few car lenths are not noticeable but on a track a few seconds are an age.
 
I have to say that I can see where the OP is coming from about excitement. The 330 is a VERY competent car, but as a side effect of that, doesn't feel that exciting. For all that, I don't see a Mondeo improving upon that.
If you fancy something that will bring more of a grin to your face, you need to look elsewhere, preferably something with a lot less weight like a small hot hatch or similar.
 
Nice cars, I like them,

They aren't super fast 0-60 tbh, but I think they get faster the faster you go.
 
[TW]Fox;15831172 said:
He is right though I found the Mondeo to be travelling faster at 70mph than it was at 40mph.
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You guys taking the **** out of him for something that he didn't quite mean, but even if you do look at what he means, he is saying 0-10mph is slower than 130-140mph for instance...:p
 
daveydave said:
Yes to the PDC I think it was standard, with regards to xenons a high proportion do, but some people have complained of them looking good but having a weak output, so i'll stick with my reflectors with goof bulbs.

I've been in 330i's and its difficult to compare. You're best of finding one to test drive. Be warned the brakes are very progressive, some people complain that they are rubbish, but the pedal just has a very deft touch early on in the travel. If you bury your foot in the carpet you will stop!

That said I am fitting braided hoses and green stuff pads at my next service to give them a bit more feel.

Link
Click to expand...

I've put braided lines on mine and it certainly makes a difference. I'll be putting aftermarket pads on next time though as OEM doesn't cut it.
 
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