# Sport seats without the sport package for ED?



## dlloyd1975 (Sep 8, 2002)

Well, I just completed round two of test drives, and the sport package is a blast! I espically like the sport seats and find them to be far more supportive and comfortable than the regular seats. I could really see this coming in handy for cross country trips (my mother is in Denver, my in-laws are in Arizona and we're in St. Louis). However, I really worry about extra wear and tear on the rims/tires that are included with the sport pagckage. Since we live in the city of St. Louis, there are tons of potholes and other tire eating things. I'd hate to go through a set of tires/rims a year just because they can't manage to patch the roads correctly. So, I'm wondering if the sport seats are available as a "hidden" stand alone option. I've done a cursory search of the forums and I could only find one reference and that seemed to indicate that BMWNA had really clamped down on ordering "hidden" options for ED. ED is a must, so worst case scenario, I'll just have to watch out for tire eaters a bit more.

Oddly, I didn't find the sport suspension to be too jarring, in fact, it was just about right. It felt more supple than the suspension on my 97 Protege, yet it handled much better, with much less roll through the corners and much sharper turn-in. Devil, crossroads, midnight?  

Also (and this is non-Jon related) does anyone have any good or bad dealer experiences in St. Louis? I've been talking with the guys at Autohaus of Clayton and they seem pretty darn nice. I'd like ot give them my business, but I'd also like to know if anyone has any dirt.  

Thanks!


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## IXinCO (Dec 11, 2002)

*I did it*

I ordered the sport seats as a stand alone option on my ED 325Xit.


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

My experience has been that BMW wheels are pretty tough. If you keep the tires inflated to about 38-40PSI all around, you ought to be fine.


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## dlloyd1975 (Sep 8, 2002)

*IXinCO*

I don't suppose you remember what the option code for the sport seats by themselves is, do you?

Nick325xiT:

OK, thanks for putting my mind at ease. One of my co-worker's wife has a saab 9000 aero. A chuckhole on I-44 (which is usually in pretty good condition) ate two rims and two tires. I was just worried about having a sudden $600 expense due to the wonderful St. Louis road crews.


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## Llarry (May 17, 2002)

Did somebody say code?  

Sport seats = 481


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## bpa (Dec 7, 2002)

I've got a 330i on ED order without SP mainly because I don't want the tires that come with SP since I'll be driving through the Alps in March. If I could get the SP seats as a stand-alone option, I'd do it, but I thought my sales guy told me I couldn't. Do I understand that it CAN be done? Any special tricks/effort required by my dealer? Thanks.


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## Gelbster (Nov 29, 2002)

One thing both of you can think about is taking the package and then swapping with someone (I expect there would be many; just post here) who would like to have the sport package wheels and tires but decided not to spring for the extra expense.

I have a 95 325 sport package and I have definitely bent a couple of wheels while I've owned it. (And that was with 16 inch wheels). Overinflating them a bit may be a good idea or, at the very least, making sure they don't get underinflated. (I sometimes forget to check them.)

I'm getting a 330 which is only available with 17s anyway so I figure I'm not taking on any additonal risk. For the life of me, though, I can't figure out how people outside of the sunbelt can deal with 18 inchers.


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## dlloyd1975 (Sep 8, 2002)

LMC said:


> *Did somebody say code?
> 
> Sport seats = 481 *


You know what the ED invoice price is on that option? I can't find it anywhere.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

dlloyd1975,
Your 325 won't come with sport suspension unless you order Sport Package and you won't be happy!:tsk: 
If your only concern is tire/rim damage you can just change wheels. I'm sure it's easy to find 16" BMW wheels or swap yours with somebody as changing wheels is the most common modification people do to their cars.
Go get that SP, you won't regret it!


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## IXinCO (Dec 11, 2002)

*Sport seat invoice*

I was unable to find a price for the sport seats so I had to rely on my salesman. I am sure he "got well" off this option- I had him at about $1100 over invoice. You might try looking for the invioce price on some of the german or swiss (french)web sites. I paid $605 for seats alone so it was no deal relative to the entire sports package (remember the 325Xit wagon does not get the sort suspension- just steering wheel and rims). For me the seats delayed delivery until after December 1st and guess which ship my car was on? But BMWNA made no fuss about sport seats on the rebuild.


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## Llarry (May 17, 2002)

German price for standalone sport seats: 450 euros


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## Jon Shafer (Dec 15, 2001)

As a general rule, European Delivery and "special order"
are mutually exclusive programs... 

Unless things have changed recently (which may be the case),
sport seats (option code #481) as a "stand alone option" 
would be very tough (if not impossible) to get. 

If IXinCO did get them, then maybe the restrictions
have been loosened recently. In the past, such a
request would have been categorically denied.

As is always the case, the "menu" of available special order 
items is always changing; often on a month-to-month basis.

The only way to find out for sure at any given point in time
is to enquire with Vehicle Distribution, and in a situation like
this, the European Delivery Department...


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## AF (Dec 21, 2001)

dlloyd1975, like others are saying, you should get the sport package and then sell off the wheels and buy a set of non-sport wheels

Non-sport 325 wheels are VERY easy to find and are very cheap where as the type 96's(sport package wheels) are higly desired and you will have no problem selling them . . . in the end, you'll probably make money on this though I know that's not your intentions.


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