RE: BMW M3 and M4: Review

[rosino]

Wills2 said:

Perhaps but most of the reviews point to how much better the brakes are, but fail to mention that they are 6k extra. (although PH do point this out)

People have always complained about the M3s brakes although I've never had an issue with them, so for the press reviews to state the problem is solved when driving it on CCB is a bit misleading until we have the verdict on the new steels.

Edited by Wills2 on Sunday 11th May 11:48

I did a BMW track day at Bedford on the GT circuit. My M3 had performance friction 2piece front discs, uprated brake fluid and pagid rs29 all round. I went around and car would not suffer any fade driven at decent speed for 5-6 laps. I like to keep my cars in good shape so didn't do longer sessions. BUT the standard M3 could barely complete one warming lap and one fast lap and their pedal would go soft. Spoke to a few of the owners on the day and they were all gutted.

Standard brakes just didnt hold up on track. But my set up was equally horrid for brake squeal in town. Unbearable. Goes without saying my 911s have been on another planet re brake performance with standard steel set-up.

[E65Ross]

rosino said:

Wills2 said:

Perhaps but most of the reviews point to how much better the brakes are, but fail to mention that they are 6k extra. (although PH do point this out)

People have always complained about the M3s brakes although I've never had an issue with them, so for the press reviews to state the problem is solved when driving it on CCB is a bit misleading until we have the verdict on the new steels.

Edited by Wills2 on Sunday 11th May 11:48

I did a BMW track day at Bedford on the GT circuit. My M3 had performance friction 2piece front discs, uprated brake fluid and pagid rs29 all round. I went around and car would not suffer any fade driven at decent speed for 5-6 laps. I like to keep my cars in good shape so didn't do longer sessions. BUT the standard M3 could barely complete one warming lap and one fast lap and their pedal would go soft. Spoke to a few of the owners on the day and they were all gutted.

Standard brakes just didnt hold up on track. But my set up was equally horrid for brake squeal in town. Unbearable. Goes without saying my 911s have been on another planet re brake performance with standard steel set-up.

And how much does a new 911 cost compared to a new M3? Quite a bit more, AND you don't get all the added practicality an M3 brings, so I'd bloody hope that money goes somewhere. At the end of the day, the M3 isn't a track car, it's a road car. The brakes hold up fine for fast road use. If you want a car that will hold up on track buy a dedicated sports car or upgrade the brakes.

If they made the car an extra £4-5k as standard but with better brakes, you increase the cost to EVERY single buyer, yet give additional benefit to what.....2-3% of buyers?

[ManOpener]

Amirhussain said:

Timbergiant said:

Illustrates my point perfectly. All else being equal, (which in this case they are), the saloon does, to my eye at least, look much better proportioned than the coupé. Much more aggressive, too.

[BeirutTaxi]

Too heavy etc.

[HoHoHo]

BeirutTaxi said:

Too heavy etc.

What was the new M4/M3 like when you had a drive?

[Wills2]

HoHoHo said:

BeirutTaxi said:

Too heavy etc.

What was the new M4/M3 like when you had a drive?

I think the whoosh parrot is needed.

[Amirhussain]

ManOpener said:

Amirhussain said:

Timbergiant said:

Illustrates my point perfectly. All else being equal, (which in this case they are), the saloon does, to my eye at least, look much better proportioned than the coupé. Much more aggressive, too.

Agreed, I want to like the coupe more, but the saloon looks better, wouldn't say no to the coupe though!

[HoHoHo]

Wills2 said:

HoHoHo said:

BeirutTaxi said:

Too heavy etc.

What was the new M4/M3 like when you had a drive?

I think the whoosh parrot is needed.

Ah, did I miss something?

[BeirutTaxi]

HoHoHo said:

Wills2 said:

HoHoHo said:

BeirutTaxi said:

Too heavy etc.

What was the new M4/M3 like when you had a drive?

I think the whoosh parrot is needed.

Ah, did I miss something?

Ah Oops didn't make it obvious enough! I was having a dig at the people who moan at it for not being a stripped out racer and then it turns out that they aren't in a position to buy one, whereas people who are tend to want a high spec for everyday use.

Edited by BeirutTaxi on Sunday 11th May 20:22

[PunterCam]

Very plain cars, quite dull. Without the exciting and slightly exotic engines of old, I don't see why you'd buy one of these over a turbo diesel.

[Mermaid]

PunterCam said:

Very plain cars, quite dull. Without the exciting and slightly exotic engines of old, I don't see why you'd buy one of these over a turbo diesel.

So which one did you drive? This good looking one that will go GT3 hunting soon.

Edited by Mermaid on Sunday 11th May 22:05

[E65Ross]

Mermaid said:

PunterCam said:

Very plain cars, quite dull. Without the exciting and slightly exotic engines of old, I don't see why you'd buy one of these over a turbo diesel.

So which one did you drive?

Obvious troll is obvious. Maybe he thinks an M car is just about the engine?

[Amirhussain]

E65Ross said:

Mermaid said:

PunterCam said:

Very plain cars, quite dull. Without the exciting and slightly exotic engines of old, I don't see why you'd buy one of these over a turbo diesel.

So which one did you drive?

Obvious troll is obvious. Maybe he thinks an M car is just about the engine?

Watch when proper reviews of the M3/M4 come along, I just know the comments section is going to be full of;

• No more NA engine
• The last proper M3 was the E30
• The last proper M3 was the CSL
• M is no longer Motorsports, but Motoring
• Its too heavy
• BMW's are no longer made for enthusiasts, but for company reps and accountants
• In my day blah blah blah
• I miss the V8

Feel free to add your own.

[E65Ross]

Amirhussain said:

Watch when proper reviews of the M3/M4 come along, I just know the comments section is going to be full of;

• No more NA engine
• The last proper M3 was the E30
• The last proper M3 was the CSL
• M is no longer Motorsports, but Motoring
• Its too heavy
• BMW's are no longer made for enthusiasts, but for company reps and accountants
• In my day blah blah blah
• I miss the V8

Feel free to add your own.

The brakes hold up fine in the road but are rubbish on track

They should strip out the electric seats, air conditioning, radio etc and make it like a lotus elise

Too much torque and don't need to rev it so now it's like a diesel (as opposed to "not enough torque and you need to rev it to move")

[Sampaio]

PunterCam said:

I don't see why you'd buy one of these over a turbo diesel.

Welcome to Pistonheads! Surely this is your first time in here?

[Mermaid]

E65Ross said:

Amirhussain said:

Watch when proper reviews of the M3/M4 come along, I just know the comments section is going to be full of;

• No more NA engine
• The last proper M3 was the E30
• The last proper M3 was the CSL
• M is no longer Motorsports, but Motoring
• Its too heavy
• BMW's are no longer made for enthusiasts, but for company reps and accountants
• In my day blah blah blah
• I miss the V8

Feel free to add your own.

The brakes hold up fine in the road but are rubbish on track

They should strip out the electric seats, air conditioning, radio etc and make it like a lotus elise

Too much torque and don't need to rev it so now it's like a diesel (as opposed to "not enough torque and you need to rev it to move")

Both of you are wrong - people are going to be wowed, best M3 yet (although not as charismatic).

[vsonix]

lewisf182 said:

Have to say I think the previous E90 M3 saloon is the better looking car. These don't look that much different from M sport equipped cars bar the 4 exhaust? are BMW starting to head down the AMG route where their AMG body kitted lower level cars look like the real deal AMG's? I Hope not.

What? The whole point of 'M' cars is they've always looked very close to the standard range with only slightly more aero styling and wider wheels. There have always been 'sport' models like the 318is which, since the days of the E36 have been very similar in appearance to full-fat M-cars. Things like the 1M are way more overtly aggressive than M cars of yore, it stands to reason the Sport trim further down the range would look more aggressive too.

[jontysafe]

I see the m3 and m4 have a water to air chargecooler like the m5/m6. That really interests me as I'm thinking of ditching and going plain old air to air (on a completely different engine).
Would love the chance to talk to their engineers.

[Chris Harris]

PunterCam said:

Very plain cars, quite dull. Without the exciting and slightly exotic engines of old, I don't see why you'd buy one of these over a turbo diesel.

Look up 'uninformed' in the dictionary, and this is now the new definition.

[Wills2]

Chris Harris said:

Look up 'uninformed' in the dictionary, and this is now the new definition.

Better get the video up sharpish!