2003 BMW M3 - The New Daily

[SebringMan]

shalmaneser said:

I always thought that the E46 needs to 19" rims but recently I reckon they look a bit blingy, especially with the rather small standard discs behind them.

18's look much smarter and the extra tyre makes the M3 look tougher somehow?

Definitely need spacers front and rear to push them out a touch tho.

The 18s do for sure! I've since found out while viewing other cars for a friend that 19s and spacers can catch the rears, at least on 265 tyres on the rear.

It's interesting to compare my car to one on CSLs however and yes, they are the real McCoy in this example. For those who say Mystic Blue is similar to Velvet Blue it will also hush those peeps too! Albeit mine already had a lovely layer of pollen dust on it despite only being cleaned a week ago.

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

It's interesting. I didn't really fancy a change of wheels other than 18s on mine, until now.

[e30m3Mark]

I'm another advocate for 18's. I have them on my E46 325ti and the improvement was immediately apparent. I also run 5mm hubcentric spacers.

Sad to say the Compact is going to help pay for the M3 repairs though.

[ManOpener]

IMO the best of both worlds is something like Apex EC-7s or ARC-8s in 18". Then you have CSL looks, a wheel that's lighter/stronger than the actual CSLs, 18" and a greater selection of widths and offsets.

[AdamTDSC]

Personally I can see a bunch of reasons why 18s is the right way to go

Less unsprung weight in most cases its a great place to save weight
Square setup 18s was a noticeable improvement in handling for me
The looks side of it is subjective but I prefer the look
Little bit of extra sidewall improves the ride a little

I am really happy with my Apex ARC-8

[MattOz]

Loving the thread Chas. 18's are great on the E46. Would recommend the E9* style 219's or 260's. Had them as winters on my CS and they look great.

[ManOpener]

Totally forgot about the Style 260s. They look fantastic on an E46.

[SebringMan]

ManOpener said:

Totally forgot about the Style 260s. They look fantastic on an E46.

They do indeed!

There is more to the above story, and so I figured I'll divulge more.

It seems that despite my tales of woe and expense there are still people who will buy these cars! Who? Well, good friends of mine!

To this day I am very surprised that he sold his RS4!



But people do have their reasons and of most of the time they are valid!

He flirtated with a few ideas as for what car would come next! Soon, he found it! He would buy an E46 M3! Yes, that's right. Despite me moaning endlessly about the running cotst and repairing it more than I seemed to drive it he was drawn to one!

And so this came up!

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Yup, his was a bit of a specialty! How, I hear you ask! Firstly it's an Individual M3. In his case this would mean it had a Velvet Blue exterior, Extended Leather inside (a super rare option in the M World), A genuine CSL splitter as well as CSL wheels, shod with Goodyear Eagle F1s all round! What else did it have about it besides Factory Sat Nav, etc.? Honestly, quite alot! Ths would include

-Headgasket changed
-VANOS fully rebuilt by MrVANOS
-SMG pump refurbished, complete with a new accumulator
-Clutch and flywheel changed. On a 91k car!
-New discs and pads all round
-New tyes all round

The bodywork for the best part is relatively straight. But it drives very tightly! No knocks, bangs or nothing! It's a great car! So much for the M3 fraternity staying small!

So, why have I mentioned this car in my thread? Well, let me explain.

Between me selling the W124, buying the 2CV and doing a few little things on that, in addition to life my poor M3 hasn't really been driven much! A shame! But why? It was partly because my mojo went for the car a little. While it's not the lowest mileage car, it's also not the highest by quite a way. That does make it an issue when you drive cars as much as me (i.e quite a few miles a year!).

I know people say don't worry about value, but when you are considering becoming a homeowner, these things do matter and count! But let's step away from my personal moaning and speak about the other car I posted up earlier. The M3 convertible. Yes I know. But why have I brought it up again? Basically my friend decided after a week he didn't really want it! Initially, I thought it was down to the spec. It turned out it was down to a couple of things. One of them was reliability; these M3s do come with varying reliability stories which this thread doesn't really help with! His car however was sorted there for the best part! But there was another reason which I'll come to later!

The conversation went as follows:

"Maybe you should keep the car for a while Tom, a month or two maybe"
"No, my mind is made up. I prefer wife's Ibiza, and the cheaper stuff I've had before!"
"OK, I'll drive it! As a taster!"

That last sentance was a bit of a joke, albeit with a semi-serious undertone. After all, you don't ask you don't get!

"Yeah, sure".

A few days later I would be putting my M3 into his garage and then driving his above.

Driving it initially, I noticed his gearbox slurred a little more than mine in second. I put this down initially to the gearbox software. Taking it to a local meet however had me grinning like a Chesire cat! With the roof down during the summer, the Blueflame exhaust system providing a purposeful bassy yet screaming exhaust note and the engine pulling well I loved it! Sure, it had a bit of scuttle shake down to the country singletracks but it was great! It was hard keeping the speed down! I was loving it!

As a mate of mine said, I came out looking as happy as a pig rolling around in curse word! In truth, I was! I was loving the experience! And why wouldn't I?

M3 Individual by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Individual by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Individual by Charlieboy, on Flickr

In some ways, this would turn out to be superb, but also leave me with many more questions than answers! How? That can wait until the next installment.

[e30m3Mark]

What size tyres are you running on the 18's?

[SebringMan]

e30m3Mark said:

What size tyres are you running on the 18's?

That depends .

I since sold those wheels and bought another set. But since it is you, I'll let slip a few details .

The wheels above ran stock sizes. So that's

Front: 225/45R18
Rear: 255/40R18

I since bought a set of stock rims with track tyres. These run:

Front: 225/40R18
Rear: 245/35R18

Surprisingly, that setup actually worked very well.

The plan is that when the tyres die on those wheels (which they will ) to go to stock sizes or the following:

Front: 235/40R18
Rear: 265/30R18

Edited by SebringMan on Saturday 15th December 00:35

[SebringMan]

I did write a huge reply for this but I lost the reply and in truth, it would have sent people to sleep! So here's a smaller summary.

I drove my friend's M3 and I loved it! It was one of the best M3s I've driven. That includes manuals, 30k mile cars, 150k cars and a 70k example. It was spot on! With the exhaust and with the rood down in the sun I loved the experience, and it felt great! I came very close to saying I would do a deal for the car! Even the scuttle shake wasn't too bad!

But then, reality kicks in. That interior as nice as it was is quite bright! Not a bad thing but with the roof down in a Velvet Blue car you don't half stand out and feel like a dick! I was also aware that while mechanically it wanted for nothing it did have drop top niggles. Windows that didn't close right at high speed etc. Could I really live with it? Maybe not.

I then considered looking at alternatives. One car that has always been on my mind has been the versatile BMW M135i:



Yes, it would be a finance deal, and yes the M3 would go. But I'd get a newer car, something that could crack 40MPG on a run, and a great all-round package. Or so I thought. I then went to drive one again. In short, the auto 8 speed and Turbo'd 6 pot are a superb combination! Plant your foot and boy does the speedo go on and on! Its delivery feels just like I remember my 944 Turbo! The Gearbox is unsurprisingly smoother than my SMG, and the engine has torque everywhere! The gearbox can't change down two gears as quickly as mine mind you, but it can get away with it due to the torque of the engine.

Then there's the steering. I forgot how iffy the steering feels on these. And then there's the handling. Maybe the Michelin PS4Ss on the M3 have spoiled me. This on Michelin Pilot Super Sports just didn't inspire confidence, not even compared to when my M3 was on Falkens. It just felt iffy. The car went around bends but it didn't flow in them, and you didn't know how far you could push it. In a straight line on a damp road, it just didn't feel like my M3! I'll be honest, I prefer my E320 in some ways. Am I getting old? Maybe.

But even the interior was much smaller than I remembered inside and boy some of the materials are cheap inside the M135i.

So, the M135i wasn't looking hopeful, but maybe an E91 335i would? But I wouldn't get the warranty that an M135i would qualify for. Plus good 335is are £7k still! When did good secondhand cars get this pricey? I didn't pay that much less for my M3 and the 335i isn't free of faults either!

With that in mind, I ended up keeping my M3 and keeping it as more of a weekend toy/daily. The Mercedes coming along really is a great companion, and I'm lucky it came about when it did really!

Is this the right or wrong decision? Time will tell.

[e30m3Mark]

SebringMan said:

The plan is that when the tyres die on those wheels (which they will ) to go to stock sizes or the following:

Front: 235/40R18
Rear: 265/30R18

Edited by SebringMan on Saturday 15th December 00:35

This is what I've gone with, albeit 265/35 on the rear. Also plan to run -2 deg on the rear and -2.5 deg up front.

I was looking at M135i myself, as there are some nice used examples that seem pretty reasonably priced. It was the interior space (or lack of cockpit space anyway) that put me off, combined with their own potentially big bills if stuff goes wrong. They're just a bit bland when compared to the look of a well sorted E46 too. Plus I just prefer high revving, normally aspirated engines and the S54 is a diamond.

[SebringMan]

e30m3Mark said:

This is what I've gone with, albeit 265/35 on the rear. Also plan to run -2 deg on the rear and -2.5 deg up front.

I was looking at M135i myself, as there are some nice used examples that seem pretty reasonably priced. It was the interior space (or lack of cockpit space anyway) that put me off, combined with their own potentially big bills if stuff goes wrong. They're just a bit bland when compared to the look of a well sorted E46 too. Plus I just prefer high revving, normally aspirated engines and the S54 is a diamond.

That's my mistake. I meant 265/35. Which tyres have you gone with. A number of respected geometry folks recommend that much camber ; the camber to a degree is an adjustable on a Stock M3 as well .

I knew I forgot something! I didn't realise how small they were inside either! The rear seats can look pretty bland as well until the car came with the split folding seat option.

With the big bills they can have, the M135 would have to come with a BMW/Mondial Warranty for me. Yes I could be fine, but I could also have the turbo actuators go, the HPFP go etc.

[e30m3Mark]

SebringMan said:

Which tyres have you gone with.

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's (although I usually use AR-1 on track)

[SebringMan]

e30m3Mark said:

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's (although I usually use AR-1 on track)

Interesting! They are one of the choices I am considering! Let us know how you get on with them, and how they compare to the AR-1s. How they compare to the AD08Rs would be interesting but I'm not sure you'd had those right?

[SebringMan]

So, what are my plans for the car?

I have a few things up my sleeve; A couple of us will be driving abroad again . However, it's time we look back. A while ago, you may remember where I bought another set of wheels for the M3 in the form of 18" wheels.



Well, I ended up getting rid of them. For me the tyres were a bit too old to be used, albeit they were reasonably priced and straight rims. They also came from a good source, which also helps. So, these were sold again and now have rescued another M3 ; the car in question had the wrong wheels fitted all round, so this was very much a step of rectification.

However, another set came up for sale a few weeks ago at a price that I was happy with and with a little bonus too!

M3 Track Wheels with V70A tyres by Charlieboy, on Flickr

So, the tread pattern looks not quite 'road friendly', but also sort of do. But why is this?

M3 Track Wheels with V70A tyres by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Yup, these tyres are Kumho V70a track tyres in the soft compound. Those people who know me will know that I've never been particularly convinced with Kumho tyres, especially on cars where I've had the chance to try many tyres on too. The KH31 HM, the KU31 and the older 712 didn't do much for me on the cars I had them fitted to, including a Mondeo 3.0 V6, Porker 944 S2, and then an older Jag XJ40 XJR respectively. I'll admit I didn't find the KH17 or the 711 too bad on a Volvo 740 previously on Arrowspeeds or the MGB when it was on the Sebring wheels.

These V70As have a few things in their favour mind you
-They were OE equipment on the R56 Mini John Cooper Works GP.
-From all of the reviews I've seen they're meant to be a cut above the R888, which in turn is meant to be on a par/as good as the Nankang NS-2R. I loved the R888s, but only when I wasn't faced with a downpour and when they didn't go off.

Of course, I've yet to fit them so it will be interesting to see how I get on. I'll also be able to see what the M3 is like on 18" wheels, albeit with stiffer sidewalls!

[SebringMan]

Now, back on track....

I may as well say it to avoid keeping you folks lingering! A few of us of this parish have been meaning to hit the Spa racetrack for quite some time. The idea was first discussed over a year ago, inevitably in a pub, where all sorts of dangerous things are suggested! This however, would soon become a reality a few months ago when I booked the track time, accomodation, and Eurotunnel for heading over! Typically, as I've alluded to in the Citroen 2CV thread I've been a pretty busy person lately, with a job change, a couple of evenings of getting back home later from work due to increased mileage, as well as family news testing my time limits. Couple that, with me getting the W124 ready and fit for the roads with its own set of issues the poor M3 just sat forlorn in the unit after the Retro Rides Gathering. That would all change when I got a set of wheels for it. Sure, No-one needs a set of track tyres, but like anything, they can help bring a bit of mojo back to the table with a car. Since I hadn't done a brake fluid change since I first bought the car I ended up tying those two jobs into one.

Of course, this is how the car started out:

M3 Wheels by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Wheels by Charlieboy, on Flickr

It's funny, I debate an E9x M3 at times but as time goes on, I find myself wanting one alot less. Strange I know!

With the brake fluid bought and a new bleeding device obtained I made a start on preparing the car:

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

The Laser brake bleeder was more expensive than an Eezibleed. Despite being more fragile in some ways (easy with pulling up on the pump too hard!) it's much less of a faff to use compared to an Eezibleed, and far far easier to move about! Thanks to this new device I changed the wheels and had the fluid all changed within the hour. Not a bad result at all As for the brake fluid, yes, I know it's Ford brake fluid, but being Super DOT 4, it should be an improvement over most of the stuff at my local motor factors. Which brings me onto doing the oil filter, a job I'd been meaning to do since changing the big ends:

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Under my ownership, the car has only seen genuine filters, albeit a Purflux item when I first got the car. I know it was Mahle filters before that service going by the history. This filter was a Mann that I took it. Yes, it's almost half of the price of the latest BMW/Mahle item, but the Mahle item (in the OX187 flavour, not the earlier OX68D), is said to have some good filtration material in addition to more pleats than other filters on the market, including the earlier filfilter. Maybe that seems a little overkill to do on a 16 year old car, but then again, those S54 lumps don't come cheap. Considering the filter is about the same price from BMW as an oil filter for a Focus ST/Mondeo 2.5T it doesn't make much sense to save a couple of quid for the sake of it:

It was also much eaiser to install the new filter over the Mann filter, which requires disconnecting the TPS sensor every time in addition to forcing/bending it past the inlet manifold.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&a...

At the same time I switched the rather tired looking ignition coils for 5 new Bosch items, thus meaning all of the coils in my M3 have now been replaced. But why did I change them? Now and again on the motorway and if the engine was getting warm from sitting behind someone slow for some time, like I did with someone in an MG Midget coming back from RRG (25mph in a 50 anyone?) the car would occasionally hiccup. Not firm enough to notice,but for someone like me, who has known the car for a couple years, it was bugging me. This is what prompted me to swap out the coils. BMW now sell Bosch items if you go to them, but it seems the factory items were indeed Bremi items, albeit different to how to the Bremi items look now:

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

With that done, it was time to drop the car back onto the ground. I wasn't particularly happy that the new wheels were in Silver over the factory's Shadow Chrome, but the paint finish isn't what bothered me. But in truth, I'm surprised at how the silver looks.

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

There was one more detail to add however to the car. Some will like the detail, others won't. I'll let you folks decide what you think? Am I a bit of a wannabe Frenchie, a racer, or simply adding a simple but different touch to the front of the car?

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Overall, the looks came out fairly well much to my surprise! I was debating flashing over the wheels with some Anthracite/Grey paint but after seeing another Mystic M3 at a show this weekend, I'm not so sure. It would have to be a light Anthracite, almost silver, which would, of course, make me have to go to more of a specialist wheel refinisher to get that kind of paint finish. It seems here, stock or similar to stock finishes may be the way forward, or maybe dark Bronze?

M3 with Dark wheels by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 with Dark wheels by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Hmmm, choices choices!

Choices however wouldn't be something I'd be making in terms of getting this car ready! Somehow I got the car ready and then managed to dial in the tyre pressures, something which is important to consider when going from Track tyres to normal tyres. I did mine in a bit of a layman's way, which is something Tony Angelo's Hot Rod Garage presenter discussed in only last week's episode. In short, you get an Infra Red Pyrometer (read thermometer without touching the subject) to get an idea of how warm the tyres are. If you do this on an OEM tyre at the normal pressure it's surprising what results you get, and it can help explain a little about the wear/camber issues you mau have. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules, but eventually, with a few subtle changes I got the car to behave in a manner I wanted it to. On the road anyway, the Kumho V70As were not only a Kumho tyre that I genuinely liked, but also a track tyre I could get along with! They seemed to have better turn in than the R888s I had on my 205 GTI despite the M3's extra 800kg payload! Furthermore, these things gripped! They required less warming up than the Nankang NS-2Rs on the Escort RS Turbo and were lovely! Will I buy them again? Maybe not on the M3 ; my tyre sizes aren't right ; they're a profile too short. On other cars, they certainly will be considered! They are however near Michelin Pilot Cup 2 money too it should be pointed out!

So the car was looking good and seemed to be driving good! It was time to hit the road with @maph2 in tow.

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Unfortunately, we were halted by a broken down train at the Eurotunnel. That added around 2 hours onto our travelling time! Great! It was just what we needed as the kids had broken up for Half term! Yup, it was busy at the Chunnel alright! Eventually, we go on and pressed on to head to Liege:

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

It doesn't look bad now I must admit! Damn, the car does get under your skin!

M3 Spa by Charlieboy, on Flickr


Yes, a friend of mine did turn up in a Focus ST of all things!

It was then a case of refuelling on the other side of the border, and getting to the hotel! Naturally we were quite tired once we hit the hotel at 8pm, considering we left home at 7am! Sleeping however wouldn't be easy, espeically since we were all anxious, yet full of anticipation for what awaited us the next day.

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

The following morning, we all hit the track. The details weren't looking good however! The car was saying it was 1 degrees C outside and truth be told it was super warm outside, albeit it felt warmer than the 7 degrees we currently have over here! Strange eh? With that in mind it was time to hit this spot known as Spa Francorhamps. That will be reported on later. Why? I'm trying to overlay Harry's Laptimer onto the GoPro vidoes, which it seems is easier than done! But you folks can wait until then, right?

M3 Spa Times by Charlieboy, on Flickr

[SebringMan]

Before I give the next update, here is a taster of life around Spa-Francorchamps :


https://youtu.be/IeE1f3q87os

[Felix79]

SebringMan said:

They do indeed!

There is more to the above story, and so I figured I'll divulge more.

It seems that despite my tales of woe and expense there are still people who will buy these cars! Who? Well, good friends of mine!

To this day I am very surprised that he sold his RS4!



But people do have their reasons and of most of the time they are valid!

He flirtated with a few ideas as for what car would come next! Soon, he found it! He would buy an E46 M3! Yes, that's right. Despite me moaning endlessly about the running cotst and repairing it more than I seemed to drive it he was drawn to one!

And so this came up!

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Velvet vs. Blue by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Yup, his was a bit of a specialty! How, I hear you ask! Firstly it's an Individual M3. In his case this would mean it had a Velvet Blue exterior, Extended Leather inside (a super rare option in the M World), A genuine CSL splitter as well as CSL wheels, shod with Goodyear Eagle F1s all round! What else did it have about it besides Factory Sat Nav, etc.? Honestly, quite alot! Ths would include

-Headgasket changed
-VANOS fully rebuilt by MrVANOS
-SMG pump refurbished, complete with a new accumulator
-Clutch and flywheel changed. On a 91k car!
-New discs and pads all round
-New tyes all round

The bodywork for the best part is relatively straight. But it drives very tightly! No knocks, bangs or nothing! It's a great car! So much for the M3 fraternity staying small!

So, why have I mentioned this car in my thread? Well, let me explain.

Between me selling the W124, buying the 2CV and doing a few little things on that, in addition to life my poor M3 hasn't really been driven much! A shame! But why? It was partly because my mojo went for the car a little. While it's not the lowest mileage car, it's also not the highest by quite a way. That does make it an issue when you drive cars as much as me (i.e quite a few miles a year!).

I know people say don't worry about value, but when you are considering becoming a homeowner, these things do matter and count! But let's step away from my personal moaning and speak about the other car I posted up earlier. The M3 convertible. Yes I know. But why have I brought it up again? Basically my friend decided after a week he didn't really want it! Initially, I thought it was down to the spec. It turned out it was down to a couple of things. One of them was reliability; these M3s do come with varying reliability stories which this thread doesn't really help with! His car however was sorted there for the best part! But there was another reason which I'll come to later!

The conversation went as follows:

"Maybe you should keep the car for a while Tom, a month or two maybe"
"No, my mind is made up. I prefer wife's Ibiza, and the cheaper stuff I've had before!"
"OK, I'll drive it! As a taster!"

That last sentance was a bit of a joke, albeit with a semi-serious undertone. After all, you don't ask you don't get!

"Yeah, sure".

A few days later I would be putting my M3 into his garage and then driving his above.

Driving it initially, I noticed his gearbox slurred a little more than mine in second. I put this down initially to the gearbox software. Taking it to a local meet however had me grinning like a Chesire cat! With the roof down during the summer, the Blueflame exhaust system providing a purposeful bassy yet screaming exhaust note and the engine pulling well I loved it! Sure, it had a bit of scuttle shake down to the country singletracks but it was great! It was hard keeping the speed down! I was loving it!

As a mate of mine said, I came out looking as happy as a pig rolling around in curse word! In truth, I was! I was loving the experience! And why wouldn't I?

M3 Individual by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Individual by Charlieboy, on Flickr

M3 Individual by Charlieboy, on Flickr

In some ways, this would turn out to be superb, but also leave me with many more questions than answers! How? That can wait until the next installment.

Your mate bought my dad's M3! He has been utterly gutted ever since he let it go. It got worse when I got my E85 Z4M last month!

[SebringMan]

Felix79 said:

Your mate bought my dad's M3! He has been utterly gutted ever since he let it go. It got worse when I got my E85 Z4M last month!

To be fair, it was a lovely M3. I wasn't kidding when I said it was one of the nicer examples I drove. I know the spec is something most PHers will vehemently hate, but it was just such a nice car to drive! It reminds me that I still have a couple of jobs to do on mine, but I've left a few of those for a while due to unit movements, and other cars coming into play.

But, back to Spa :

In short, a few of you saw my talk of going down to Spa. I even put up a dull video above of me driving about! For you wanting to know what the journey was like down there, here is more of an insight into how that journey went. Yup, I did stay in that spot at the begininning of the video in the car park for what seemed an eternity, once we were told to board the train! Thankfully as you know, we made it.

Once we got out of Calais things were pretty smooth sailing too!

But enough writing. To misquote Curly from Of Mice & Men "Let the video talk":

https://youtu.be/EsSLMBSytbU

What happened in the video? In short, it showed us queuing in Folkstone, travelling across Europe, a mate having his guest appearance, me having a play and a great timewith a mate in his Focus ST (it was not like that folks!) me then following Matt around the track, before I tired and decided to see what final lap the car could do. Yes, the tyres were hot and ebbing away in grip, the brakes not far behind either! But it was now or never! Was it sad to leave the track? Definitely. The right thing after we subjected our cars to the torture, but still.

Torture I hear you say?




That was the state of the tyres from one of the cars on track. Maybe my track orientated Kumhos would have faired better! Erm....



No. OK, they were better but it didn't stop the tyre from melting onto itself like the above or not picking up tyre tread on track!

But, that really didn't matter. We had bigger fish to fry in Belgium! The debriefing!





There were no Fosters cans in sight! Only the finest of what Belgium had to offer! Many bits of the cars and tracks were discussed, as well as future ideas! After all, these trips do give you something to reflect upon. But who am I kidding? We enjoyed a drink and a good meal as well!

It was great to come back to the UK and it was great to have been part of a great weekend. What started out as an idea in the pub soon materialised into something extraordinary. Do you have trips you want to go on? Do them. You shall wonder why you left it so long before you went or returned! I certainly do!

That said, the M3 still had a few things for me to do on it.

[SebringMan]

I knew I forgot something from above! Partway through the trip, I found out that a Waze App update finally gave me Waze navigation on CarPlay. Doesn't sound like a big deal eh? Well, to be honest, Google's attempt at CarPlay Maps was crap. It didn't really offer anything over the Apple Maps and it couldn't reroute through CarPlay! Are you feeling the love? Me neither. With Waze however, that was soon to change.

WhatsApp Image 2018-10-23 at 10.03.12 by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Not only can you quickly change routes on the go, it also updates the routes if the traffic changes. Furthermore, the search function is on a par with Google, probably the biggest thing over Apple Maps. This certainly helped us escape the dreaded traffic on the way back from Spa. For me, that's now become the way to work, and without using the motorway as much! After all a 1 hour 15 minute trip is better than a 2 hour one!

As I alluded to in the Merc thread, I thought I'd sort out a bugbear of mine in both cars. Mats. In the case of this M3, it came with some 50p Wilko specials when I bought the car. Not that it mattered as it took the previous owner until I bought the car that it also had the genuine mats beneath it in great condition. Being grey, and then a daily, that was never going to last. Since the Wilko mats fitted worse than Theresa May showing her dance moves during a South African convention, they had to go.

Back then I got lucky. I got some premium quality mats from Halfords. How much were they? £70? No, try £3. They were a forlorn order for over a year. That was the good news. The bad? They were a little too big, a little like a 7-year-old walking around in his dad's shoes. The fit was better than the Wilko items but they would always come adrift. Not great:

BMW M3 Nov 18 (16 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr
BMW M3 Nov 18 (17 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

But at least the rears had more coverage right? Look at the rear edge of the mats go all the way up to the edge of the seats!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (18 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Yes, yes, yes. I hear you folks. I really am trying to justify my meagre expenditure. So what did I do? Enter Stage Left:

BMW M3 Nov 18 (25 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Yup, I went on a bit of a spending spree. Seeing as the car tried to bleed me dry at times I figured a bit more cash wouldn't go amiss. The mats do look weird though!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (26 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

That is because these are Nicoman Spaghetti mats. I wasn't sure about these for a while and thought they were Snake oil. A few people I know in the 944 world however really rated them. The idea behind them is they stay clean, bury the dirt within the mat instead on top of the mat and then can be rinsed with a pressure washer and dry again in 5-10 minutes. Cheap I hear you ask? No, but in my defence I got a good deal at the NEC show for both the M3 and the Merc.

So, I had the old mats out. I've almost forgotten what it looks like with grey carpets or even the what the factory mats look like: My dad had a similar set, but in black in his E36 325tds back in the day!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (19 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

BMW M3 Nov 18 (22 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

I was aphrehensive about getting Grey mats but @retrowarwick twisted my arm at the show. Was he right for me to stay grey and not black or wrong?

BMW M3 Nov 18 (30 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

I reckon it was a good call. After a week or two of driving the car with them I must say the dirt resistance of them has been very surprising. Oddly, they show less dirt than the black mats ever did, and let's be honest, a clean car is a nice car. Which is why I thought I'd take the opportunity to get some snaps of it while it was relatively clean:

BMW M3 Nov 18 (14 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

OK, I lied. Have you seen the weather outside?

BMW M3 Nov 18 (9 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Some may say the yellow foglights are a little scene but I have come to like them!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (34 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

With that in mind I ended up taking the car twice in one day to the Fabulous Caffeine & Machine in Ettington.

You may remember me showing you guys that blue M3 a while back with anthracite wheels. It was there! It was also interesting to see a track vs. fairly stock car and Topaz Blue vs Mystic. The wheels make the car in isolation seem almost as dark as Mystic Blue.

BMW M3 Nov 18 (36 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

BMW M3 Nov 18 (37 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Why did I drive down? To meet a few folks down there I've not seen for a while. Two of which owned these beauties.

BMW M3 Nov 18 (41 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

The Clio V6 had been off the road for years, and has finally come back with a few tricks up its sleeve.

The NSX is a lovely thing indeed too! But surely there is more I hear you ask? Yes, there is and they're not always the same cars I'm glad to say:

BMW M3 Nov 18 (38 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

BMW M3 Nov 18 (39 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

The Porsche fratenity turned up

BMW M3 Nov 18 (45 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Got to love a Norton!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (46 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

That Gold 911 seems to be different!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (52 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

BMW M3 Nov 18 (48 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Ah, that would be why!

So I was having a great time and gelling with the M3 once again now that I could drive it with the dust settled from unit movements (people coming in and out). However, those Kumho V70as weren't the grippiest of things in the cold! Sure, they are great on the boil, but during a freezing November, driving to work at 6am, it's not fun. The DSC light coming on and off and the twitchiness no matter if you turned the DSC on or off wasn't much fun. So I bottled it. Yup, I'd refit the old wheels.

BMW M3 Nov 18 (57 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Adios track wheels. You'll be back soon:

BMW M3 Nov 18 (58 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

Thanfully, a rattle gun (once the nuts are cracked off) and a good jack make light work of switching the wheels about.

BMW M3 Nov 18 (61 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

It's interesting to see the difference in arch filling. The 18s look a little odd as the profile of the tyres is a little off. The stock sizes are 225/45R18 and 255/40R18. Mine are 225/40R18 and 245/35R18. I'll live with these sizes for now but on the next set of tyres I'll get closer to the factory sizing.

This is an interesting one. Comparing the tyres:

BMW M3 Nov 18 (64 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

From left to right : A rear 19" Michelin Pilot Sport 4, a fron 19" Pilot Sport 4S and a front 18" Kumho. Yup, the tyre pickup was still coming off and causing some interesting noises on the dual carriageway everytime I drove to work!

BMW M3 Nov 18 (65 of 67) by Charlieboy, on Flickr

As always I inflated the tyres; Surprisingly the 19s lost a significant amount of pressure despite being stored for 2 months. Weird!

The result? Despite the 19s" having summer tyres, it's a relief having more grip again and a set of much more progressive tyres in these conditions.

It's just as well as this has now gone back to being a daily with the Merc out of action. Oddly, I've really gelled with it this time and am enjoing the moment! Hopefully it lasts!