2008 BMW 135i Coupe: Something's Not Right About the Ride

It sounds more like a lack of suspension travel and variable-rate springs tuned to avoid the bump stops. RFTs, if they're still on the car, wouldn't have helped.

I can tell big difference in the RFT and non RTF.. but I do like the BMW Perf package tire set I have on for summer. . just sexy on the car me thinks!

Never driven the 135i before but I have the same experience when driving the 328i loaner I got couple weeks ago.

It's not a big deal, at least it's better than the artificial harshness in some cars (yes, Lexus, I am talking about you...). The thing I couldn't stand about BMW is the too-heavy steering.

"I'd vote for giving it an unapologetically firm, highly controlled ride. Save the cushy stuff for the 128i."

This would be nice and is a very logical solution, but then you have all the people that want a cushy luxury car who will only buy the version with the highest number on it. Those people would then turn around and complain about the ride. Idiots.

This is why no crossover should ever be marketed as sporty, because it dilutes the term and tricks people into thinking that is what they want. Consumers should be smarter but they are not.

Three words: RUN FLAT TIRES

I will never understand how BMW's brilliant engineers are ok with how badly their cars crash over small bumps. I've owned BMW's for over 10 years, including my last two, a 2006 330i and a 2007 335i-both which I purchased new. The newer ones with the runflats hit small bumps hard and to make matters worse its as if the suspension is tuned softer than normal to compensate for this. The BMW ability to magically combine a supple ride with tight cornering has been lost all for the sake of Runflat tires. I just don't understand.

Three words: RUN FLAT TIRES

I will never understand how BMW's brilliant engineers are ok with how badly their cars crash over small bumps. I've owned BMW's for over 10 years, including my last two, a 2006 330i and a 2007 335i-both which I purchased new. The newer ones with the runflats hit small bumps hard and to make matters worse its as if the suspension is tuned softer than normal to compensate for this. The BMW ability to magically combine a supple ride with tight cornering has been lost all for the sake of Runflat tires. I just don't understand.

Yes, this sounds like case of the RFTs. The ultra-firm sidewalls combined with a very low profile result in quite the impact harshness over bad bumps. I wish BMW would give you a non-RFT tire option.

I agree with jameswilliard. Run Flats are seriously the worst thing BMW can do to one of their cars (excluding crappy cup holders). Problem is, My 2007 X3 has a pair of bald Pzero Rosso's on it, which are run flats. They only make three tires for it, 2 of them being Run Flats, while the other is impossible to find (Tirerack doesn't even have it).

I'm gonna have to agree with jameswilliard... crashing HARD over small bumps and low speed bad roads seems common to a lot of BMWs

RFTs = odd ride. My e90 330i bounced and e90 335i will literally skip over uneven pavement and send massive quakes through the chassis.

RFTs = the devil. I'm only keeping mine as they were brand new when I got the car and I don't want to drop 1k on tires.

The RFTs are the primary problem. My 1995 Club Sport has the M Technic sport suspension and it has a very comfortable ride. For that matter, my 2004 X3 has a suspension calibration that could hardly be called punishing. One of my friends(who has never owned anything but domestic iron) commented on how comfortable the truck's ride was.

It is the run flats. I have had the same experience since I got the car over a year ago. Yesterday I had new tires put on and it is now a totally different experience. It now feels stiffer when it should and more compliant when it hits a bump.

The other problem I see with the RFTs is that if you want to later swap to non-RFTs, there isn't a well in the sedans & coupes to nicely store the spare, since BMW now deems that as superfluous. Instead, the spare would take up space in the trunk, which is a major drawback. Or you can rely on roadside assistance, which seems too dependent and time consuming to me. I'd rather just the change the tire myself.

hahaha, i was about to comment, "would this have anything to do with the run-flats?" Apparently the consensus is yes.

bmw should do what mazda does with the mx5. no runflats, no spare, no on-star, just a small bag that has a can of gooo and a phone number.

cwc, I've been driving for 25 years. 1 flat in all those years and it was on my 2003 330i. The spare was fairly useless as the car was essentially impossible to drive with it.

Plenty of sports cars the world over get by without a spare.

My experience agrees with the consensus that run-flats noticeably deteriorate the ride quality. I wish BMW would just equip cars with a jack and spare, even if it ends up adding a little bit of weight.

@blueguydotcom,
I've been driving for roughly the same period of time (28 years) and have only had two to three flat tires that I can recall.

But - if it happens, I'd rather not be stuck. And my 330Ci has a full size spare, so I consider that an advantage and not useless. Did your 330i not come with a full size spare?

"Save the cushy stuff for the 128i."
Hey now, some of us only have hope of affording the 128, and while they need a serious suspension, don't see the need for two turbos and 300 hp if it's going to cost them a couple grand and MPGs.

@cwc1,

No E9x (2006+ 3-Series) BMW comes with any sort of a spare or a compartment to hold one. Instead there's a finished storage well in the trunk, which is mostly taken up by the exhaust system in the 335i.

I think both the 128i and 135i should have softer standard suspensions, optional sport suspensions, and a further optional M Sport suspension. You sort of have that choice, but not quite.