Quote:
Originally Posted by xlover
But when optimizing the suspension settings, software control, etc the development time was spent with xdrive. Which having the front wheels to engage and manage requires very different tuning. the ability to independently and intelligently vector torque front and rear in addition to side to side creates a much more complex set of variables to be solved for. If you followed this cars development (which based on your commentary you may not have) it was clear the vehicle was going to be xdrive only for every market. Then at the last minute bmw NA demanded a rwd drive variant because they thought they needed it to sell to consumers who were traditionalists and would not under any circumstance accept the superiority of the awd system. The business case was "in the US market we project X% of sales at risk due to lack of consumer appreciation for xdrive". But ultimately the car was optimized from day 1 to be xdrive so that is how I would make my choice. This is why the M5 is only awd (aside from hooligan burnout mode) and now M3 is moving to primarily awd.
I will fairly admit we won't really know how compromised the rwd variant is until is compared in an apples to apples scenario against the xdrive variant, it may be significant it may not be at all
Bmw does have a history of this type of reactionary sales management , like the 6MT on previous gen M5, US only with mismatched ratios and a compromised experience.
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None of what you’re saying is true. Simply look at the part numbers for springs on a RWD 340 and compare it to the part number for the springs on an x-drive version. They are different to account for weight differences between the models and provide the right spring rates for the given application. BMW develops and optimizes each version individually. The parts are not the same across the board, nor is the programming of the electronics.
Not sure if you or someone else stated that the 330 x drive benefits from .3 second faster 0-60 than the RWD. The gap on the M340 is only .1 second. My guess is the 330 RWD did not have the limited slip diff which is standard on the M340i and pretty much eliminates the gap with awd
A properly balanced RWD car with limited slip and good tires can easily handle the power the M340 is putting out, AWD is not necessary at these power levels. If you need it for snow or whatever it’s a great feature, but absolutely should not be considered the default especially when a limited slip is standard.