Feedback from BMW or other premium brand converts?

[destructure00]

I purchased a RWD Model 3 and then traded up for the Performance to do some track driving and have been super satisfied so far. The car drives fantastic and Autopilot makes my daily commute so simple and stress free. I've taken it to Buttonwillow and passed my fair share of BMW's on the track as well

You definitely need to lower Model 3 to get an aggressive look, also new wheels as the current stock ones on Performance are super heavy/not very wide and meant for efficiency. I'd suggest getting a 9 or 9.5" square set-up instead of the stock 8.5" and it really looks good.

As far as the car's overall styling of being too "happy", i kinda agree. Unplugged Performance makes some great body parts to change the look of the car including a front fascia and rear bumper (i'm testing it for them, it looks sweet!) if you want to go that route: Ascension Front Fascia System for Tesla Model 3

Here's a shot of my car lowered and with more aggressive wheels/tires and the Unplugged front lip spoiler: Tesla Speed on Instagram: “New PB at Buttonwillow! Always a good day when you go faster. #tesla #trackmode #teslacorsa #speedventures #unpluggedperformance”

Your car looks great, at least the parts that I can see. Do you have any other shots that are in better lighting? It's kinda hard to make out the details in that IG post.

Definitely would lower the car and replace wheels, I really loved the pics in the post from 2018M3 that I linked to above. The stance is about perfect, and I'm blown away that he got a square set of 265's under there. That would be a sweet setup for tracking I think.

2015 F36 435i Gran Coupe here. Custom ordered, with all the M Performance upgrades, Dynamic Handling Package, etc. Three BMWs prior to it (E46 325i 5mt, E90 335i 6mt, E39 M5).

The P3D absolutely obliterates them all in acceleration, response, brake pedal feel, cornering, and daily comfort. The steering is sharp and accurate with a shockingly fast ratio. To me, there's plenty of feel, certainly more than the outgoing F3x series BMWs. At Buttonwillow, I was amazed at the car's capability, particularly with Track Mode enabled.

Two issues: fender-to-wheel gap (purely aesthetic), and springs/dampers that are too soft (for my tastes). The rear end gets tossed around during mid-corner bumps (both on track and off), which saps a bit of confidence. My 435i has adaptive dampers, which do a great job of limiting body motion and maintaining a controlled, composed ride. I'm hoping a set of coilovers will address both issues. I've got the MPP Sports on preorder.

The MSRP of my 435i was almost $64k. A new P3D is $58k. Add $2500 for coilovers, maybe $500 in brake pad/fluid upgrades, and you've got a monster of a deal for $61k.

The BMW is a full-time Turo rental now. Still love it, but it's simply not as fun as the Model 3.

I have the adaptive suspension in my current 340, it's comfortable for DD'ing but I can stiffen it up quite a bit when I want to. That's one thing I'd miss. Will keep an eye out for coilover results.

To both of you quoted above...how does the car do at a full day track event? Does performance fade a bit after a couple laps? Brake upgrades? Fluid swap? How about charging...are you having to keep the car topped up during the day? Or will it last a whole day? I've been trying to read up on that, see a few posts from people with Performance but a handful from RWD models as well.

 

[andy92782]

I used to own an E90 ('07 335i). I loved that car, but It was also very unreliable in typical BMW fashion: turbos/wastegates, water pump, oil leaks, you name it. When the F3x was introduced in '12, I was massively disappointed: numb steering, brittle ride and a way cheaper-feeling, plasticky interior.

The Model 3 brought back the joy of driving I haven't felt since the E90. It's simply a fantastic daily driver. As for your 340i, selling it now will cost you a lot of money in terms of depreciation. On the other hand, if you keep it, it'll start costing you even more money in terms of post-warranty repairs. Don't kid yourself if you think an out-of-warranty BMW won't start costing you an arm and a leg in repairs and maintenance.

 

[Mwolfe]

I still have my BMW and prefer several of it's features better than the M3P (soft close doors, ventilated seats, B/O audio, heated steering wheel, auto open and close back hatch). With that being said, I have put 5,500 miles on the Tesla and only 1,000 on the BMW in the last 3 months. The Tesla is fun to drive. For date night tonight though it's the BMW.

 

[kbecks13]

Definitely would lower the car and replace wheels, I really loved the pics in the post from 2018M3 that I linked to above. The stance is about perfect, and I'm blown away that he got a square set of 265's under there. That would be a sweet setup for tracking I think.

Yea you can relatively easily fit 265 tires on 9.5" wheels (that's what i've got as well), some people have even done 275 i believe. Here's mine lowered a little more than an inch

To both of you quoted above...how does the car do at a full day track event? Does performance fade a bit after a couple laps? Brake upgrades? Fluid swap? How about charging...are you having to keep the car topped up during the day? Or will it last a whole day? I've been trying to read up on that, see a few posts from people with Performance but a handful from RWD models as well.

I've tracked it about 5x times and before track mode it would have power fade after only 1-2 laps, but now with the increased cooling capacity (they use the AC compressor to cool the motors) it can pretty easily do a 20 minute session. You do have a bit of power fade after 3-4 laps if you go 100% consistently, but it's only about a 10% loss in peak power - without track mode it would be more like 30-40%

Stock brakes are pretty capable, but definitely fade/boil fluid after 2-3 laps of consistent hard braking. You can still have tons of fun with stock setup, but fluid and pads is a pretty good idea.

Charging is a bit of a problem, you use about 30-40% of battery in a 20 minute session (totally depends on track though) so typically people do 1-2 sessions and then supercharge for the afternoon sessions. We really need more trackside chargers, hopefully we can get Chademo or CCS support and 3rd parties can install them...

 

[donalah]

My performance 3 leaves my husband's Alpina B6 in the dust, though his car is simply BEAUTIFUL and luxurious(I guess it's fast too). He likes the heavy noisy feel when he drives his car. But with my car, I sometimes wonder if my wheels are even touching the ground.

We picked up his Alpina in Germany, drove it all along the Autobahn. Response doesn't compare to the performance 3. All I could think as I was driving it was: if only I could drive my Tesla there... perfectly maintained road, dry warm weather, no speed limit...

But when it comes to service, quality of appearance and manufacture, luxury, turnaround time with repairs, BMW usually wins. Don't get me wrong, there were significant issues with getting his Alpina to the US from Europe afterwards, about four months in fact. And the check engine light went off halfway through our trip through Europe and nobody in BMW in Germany could figure it out because, well, how often do they see an Alpina with US specs?!? So we had to drive it around Europe with the check engine light on, then it sat in customs for a couple of months, then US BMW did diagnostics, then we had to wait for parts from Germany...At least the dealership worked hard to give us some token financial compensation, etc...

But honestly, kind of similar experience with my model 3, which took 4 months to repair after someone hit me. (1 month for the body shop to get to it, 1-2 months for parts, another 2 weeks to reorder a part that was defective.) And I'm waiting on my $5k refund in exchange for super charging. I know they're good for it, I have received other returns from them for deposits I had made, first for the model 3 reservation after I thought i wanted an S instead, then for the deposit for the S when I realized no amount of luxury could compensate for the fun of the performance 3.

So it depends on how much you want to have fun with driving vs how much you care about luxury. My mom's X5 is super convenient and fully loaded. I like the heated steering wheel, programmable shortcut buttons, parking assist is excellent. But it can't park itself and going from my Tesla to her car is incredibly frustrating as I have gotten used to immediate responsiveness when I want my car to do something.

Both my 70 yo mom and my husband are intimidated by the computer based interface of my car, which is just the way I like it. I don't want them to know that it's actually even simpler to use than their cars with all their random menus and buttons everywhere.

 

[trojaneen]

We had 5 BMW’s in the last 25 years - 1-7, 2-3’s, and 2-5’s. We got rid of a 335 with a sports and luxury package to get our Model 3. I loved the 335, but would never go back after driving our Model 3 for the last year.

Why I prefer the Model 3 LR:
Economy- the BMW’s were really expensive to maintain
Environment
Charging at home is a huge time saver and SO easy
Acceleration is incredible
Smoothness of ride (in part due to sports package/low profile tires on 335)
Quiet - I had no idea how much I would enjoy the silence
Responsiveness- handles better than the 335
Regen breaking
Software updates constantly add new features to the car
Technology- this is the future

The Model 3 FAR EXCEEDS our expectations, and the only thing I wish ours had was a sunroof. It is a dream. We have a long range, rear wheel drive with 19” sports wheels. Best of luck to you on your decision.

 

[Electroman]

Auto pilot is worthless,

The car drives fantastic and Autopilot makes my daily commute so simple and stress free

I am in the later camp. If not for the Autopilot I will probably be driving a Nissan Leaf now. I have completely stopped complaining about my stressful long commute - thanks to AP.

 

[asus389]

Every BMW 3er I ever owned eventually (before 100k but after the 50k warranty ended) needed a new water pump, new thrust arm bushings, a new valve cover gasket, and usually window regulators. Hard to beat the BMW straight six and a manual with that telepathic steering. Too bad they got rid of it.

I went from two back to back e90s to a mk7 GTI and then to the model 3. The GTI was less fussy than the BMWs and a sporty yet efficient daily driver but I wouldn’t go back to an ICE car at this point. Electric is the future and the model 3 is the best electric car you can get at the moment if you like driving.

 

[ngogas]

No regret moving from German car. At the end of the day it’s your decision and how you feel. Go with what makes you smile.

 

[destructure00]

Well I took the next step and rented a Performance 3 from Turo for 2 days this weekend. Picking up at 5pm Friday

 

[destructure00]

Yea you can relatively easily fit 265 tires on 9.5" wheels (that's what i've got as well), some people have even done 275 i believe. Here's mine lowered a little more than an inch

How did the wider tires affect your range? Any noticeable impact? Car looks great BTW!

 

[kbecks13]

How did the wider tires affect your range? Any noticeable impact? Car looks great BTW!

Yea it's sorta noticeable, maybe 5-10% range loss or so BUT it really really depends on driving style. I can only give those range numbers because i spent a few days driving as patiently and slowly as humanly possible, but that's not why i bought the car!

Normally i drive it like i stole it and have an absolute blast, with that method of driving i'd say i can still get at least ~200 miles of range on a single "tank" and it's more than enough for me. If i'm on the highway on a long trip, i ensure to top up my tires to a little higher pressure and stay around 70 mph or less to stay efficient.

Basically i'm trying to say that you can easily offset the change in efficiency from wheels/tires with your driving style and with a car that is so much fun, it's tough to resist punching it at every red light.

 

[destructure00]

Yea it's sorta noticeable, maybe 5-10% range loss or so BUT it really really depends on driving style. I can only give those range numbers because i spent a few days driving as patiently and slowly as humanly possible, but that's not why i bought the car!

Normally i drive it like i stole it and have an absolute blast, with that method of driving i'd say i can still get at least ~200 miles of range on a single "tank" and it's more than enough for me. If i'm on the highway on a long trip, i ensure to top up my tires to a little higher pressure and stay around 70 mph or less to stay efficient.

Basically i'm trying to say that you can easily offset the change in efficiency from wheels/tires with your driving style and with a car that is so much fun, it's tough to resist punching it at every red light.

Love it! I can appreciate this attitude...I think mine would be close to identical

 

[Aaron14902]

I came from an E90 (2006 325i stripper) to a LR AWD (last December build). I got tired of maintaining the E90 so I wanted an EV primarily for low maintenance. I actually didn't know what I was getting into with the Model 3 until I test drove a RWD at Santana Row here in Santa Clara, CA. I had absolutely no clue that these things were so fast! It felt like a cheetah! I wanted white over white so my only option was a LR AWD so I went in on it sight unseen. When I drove it out of delivery, it felt like a gorilla with rockets strapped to it!! Again, something I was not expecting. Living with the Model 3 I have to say it improved my daily workflow (or life flow). Everything with the MCU, Homelink, Easy Entry, home charging, calendar notification, etc, it felt like everything in my life was now integrated.

The two things I liked about the E90 more were the flat handling and styling (hard lines are my preference). I do not miss the maintenance of gaskets, hoses, regulators, pumps, stereo LCD screen (where the pixels fade away when it gets warm), and any of the other electrics that didn't work. I actually wanted to keep it at first to let it go to pasture in front of my house, but decided to let it go completely. I will always have a soft spot for the E90. The only thing I regret is that if I had known I'd love the car so much that I would've planned for a Performance. To this day I still think it's unbelievable that something like this exists.

 

[Electroman]

I actually didn't know what I was getting into with the Model 3 until I test drove

One consistent theme I am seeing:

"I actually didn't know what I was getting into with the Model 3 until I test drove"

Now where will the next Needler test drive?

 

[Knightshade]

One consistent theme I am seeing:

"I actually didn't know what I was getting into with the Model 3 until I test drove"

Now where will the next Needler test drive?

At their local Tesla service center.

I'm baffled why people think test drives are going away.

Service/delivery centers are where most of the loaner cars are already- and where new cars are prepped for delivery. It'd be trivial to have one or two of the front-end people doing test drives using their already-there loaners.

The sales centers didn't really add much value (especially given how often they gave me factually wrong answers to even basic car feature questions)

 

[CrazyCoconut]

I've had several BMWs (e92 335i, e89 Z4 35i. 2x i3s) as well as an Audi R8 V10. Love the P3 so far, though I wish it had a more aggressive appearance vs the non-Performance models. This is one area I think BMW and Audi does well. You can tell at a glance that a car is their Performance version.

 

[destructure00]

Here's my ride for the next 48 hours

 

[kbecks13]

Here's my ride for the next 48 hours

Nice! Looks like they've got aftermarket wheels, the ride might be slightly different depending on the tires they have just FYI.

 

[surfrasch]

Oh my the silver, wish I could have gotten that color!