RE: BMW M3 saloon (E90): You Know You Want To
Discussion
GroundEffect said:
Avus Blue said:
You should hear one with the BMC filter on! Put one on my E92 a few months back and it's made a hell of a difference to the induction noise, sounds really angry at full throttle now.
The article is right about two things though,the V8 is a thirsty beast and the torque figure is poor for an engine of its size, both of which can become a bit tiresome on the daily grind, but the noise and grunt in the upper reaches of the rev range do make up for it on the days you get to cut it loose, it's silly fast above 6k,and if the throttle setting is in sport or sport plus it borders on violent when you stamp your foot down!
Jerez black is a nightmare to keep clean too but it looks amazing when it is. I've changed the front grilles on mine to black and the side gills to carbon which has made it look a lot more menacing, the standard chrome coloured plastic looked cheap and made the front look "toothy"
I was considering a BMC but most of the chat on cutters says it makes no difference. Odd. The article is right about two things though,the V8 is a thirsty beast and the torque figure is poor for an engine of its size, both of which can become a bit tiresome on the daily grind, but the noise and grunt in the upper reaches of the rev range do make up for it on the days you get to cut it loose, it's silly fast above 6k,and if the throttle setting is in sport or sport plus it borders on violent when you stamp your foot down!
Jerez black is a nightmare to keep clean too but it looks amazing when it is. I've changed the front grilles on mine to black and the side gills to carbon which has made it look a lot more menacing, the standard chrome coloured plastic looked cheap and made the front look "toothy"
Edited by Avus Blue on Thursday 4th February 19:31
To say there's no torque low down is all relative but on my commute to work, I am barely above 1000rpm at any point once above 2nd gear. It'll lug quite happily down to around 800rpm too.
I love my M3.
As for the lack of torque, it will trundle along quite happily at low revs in high gear but it doesn't like accelerating from there, once you have a few revs up it takes off. I think the gearing has a lot to do with it feeling gutless low down as it's built for high speed autobahn runs, if the gearing was designed more for our speed limits I'm sure it would feel more alive, more of the time. As I said, it's tiresome but not a deal breaker and it's made up for by the fireworks at the top end when you can get up there, which I do regularly!
I love my M3 too. The only gutting thing is I couldn't afford to keep my E36 version alongside it. Both amazing cars as far as I'm concerned
Never again would I own one
As soon as the revvy v8 appeal wears off its just a thirsty lump, has to be ragged to death to get any sense of occasion and the parts and running costs are just too much for a car that can be equalled on the daily drive by most diesel rep mobiles.
Far too accomplished for its own good
The best M3 was the e46 imho - felt special just being sat in never mind driving it.
E90 M3? Meh
Most have had a fair number of owners precisely for the reasons above
As soon as the revvy v8 appeal wears off its just a thirsty lump, has to be ragged to death to get any sense of occasion and the parts and running costs are just too much for a car that can be equalled on the daily drive by most diesel rep mobiles.
Far too accomplished for its own good
The best M3 was the e46 imho - felt special just being sat in never mind driving it.
E90 M3? Meh
Most have had a fair number of owners precisely for the reasons above
You make it sound like it doesn't move unless you're at the redline, that's just not true. It might not be an LS7 but on the commute it pulls easily from 1500rpm and you don't need more than 3K for any traffic. Too competent, that's the point and the genius in my mind. Besides, every morning any myth that it's too ordinary is blown when the S65 settles into a lumpy cold idle, the car fizzes around this engine, it was my first and still most immediate impression. Too expensive on parts, it's a 400+ HP V8 with a ceiling of 8500 rpm, it is not a 320d. If you want a car that will do ordinary when required then travel at ludicrous speeds the next it's a great choice. If you want a very fast 3 series that is cheap to run then look elsewhere, mapped FI is where I'd start from 
It's also something that doesn't drive itself, you have to work the engine which considering what it is should be nirvana to the enthusiast. I'm sure in years to come people will look back on it as a great.
It's also something that doesn't drive itself, you have to work the engine which considering what it is should be nirvana to the enthusiast. I'm sure in years to come people will look back on it as a great. 
BenGB said:
I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the picture for the article on the homepage is not quite an M3!
Hi guys, We thought the thumbnail had changed over to the M3, however due to some of this issues we had experienced on Monday and Tuesday the thumbnail can't be changed.
We are working hard on getting it fixed.
Nik
I did a little test this am;
3000rpm in 6th equates to 75mph ish
2000rpm in 6th equates to 50mph ish
Not going beyond 1500 rpm ever kept up with all traffic on the commute. In 6th gear it pulls from 25 mph. From 2000 rpm it is absolutely fine, feels great. I am glad there isn't an enormous torque spike down low myself, makes it easy to handle IMO.
For balance the control test showed an enormous smile as the needle went past 6000 rpm and in the school car park most other parents were driving bland diesels which sounded awful. I am glad my daughter doesn't have to put up with that
3000rpm in 6th equates to 75mph ish
2000rpm in 6th equates to 50mph ish
Not going beyond 1500 rpm ever kept up with all traffic on the commute. In 6th gear it pulls from 25 mph. From 2000 rpm it is absolutely fine, feels great. I am glad there isn't an enormous torque spike down low myself, makes it easy to handle IMO.
For balance the control test showed an enormous smile as the needle went past 6000 rpm and in the school car park most other parents were driving bland diesels which sounded awful. I am glad my daughter doesn't have to put up with that
It's a good looking car - better than the coupe in my most humble of opinions
But as above, the engine's quite tiresome in normal road use. It's just not grunty enough: Imagine travelling on an A or B road, stuck behind traffic doing about 40-45 mph (ie all the time) In third, the M3's not really quick enough to safely pick off more than one car. In second, not only is the car making a lot of noise while you're waiting for the opportunity, but when you finally go for the overtake, you're soon out of revs and having to do a gear change mid overtake, which is never ideal.
And the 'M' suspension mods: wider track, stiffer bushes, different geometry etc, can make the car quite fidgety over poor roads. I'd imagine this issue is probably better with the higher profile 18" tyres though.
Although a great car - when you're in the mood and going for a bit of blast and the traffic/road conditions are favourable, you can have much fun - but the rest of the time, the car just didn't really do it for me.
Gone back to a 330d
But as above, the engine's quite tiresome in normal road use. It's just not grunty enough: Imagine travelling on an A or B road, stuck behind traffic doing about 40-45 mph (ie all the time) In third, the M3's not really quick enough to safely pick off more than one car. In second, not only is the car making a lot of noise while you're waiting for the opportunity, but when you finally go for the overtake, you're soon out of revs and having to do a gear change mid overtake, which is never ideal.
And the 'M' suspension mods: wider track, stiffer bushes, different geometry etc, can make the car quite fidgety over poor roads. I'd imagine this issue is probably better with the higher profile 18" tyres though.
Although a great car - when you're in the mood and going for a bit of blast and the traffic/road conditions are favourable, you can have much fun - but the rest of the time, the car just didn't really do it for me.
Gone back to a 330d
Muppet32 said:
Although a great car - when you're in the mood and going for a bit of blast and the traffic/road conditions are favourable, you can have much fun - but the rest of the time, the car just didn't really do it for me.
Gone back to a 330d
I had similar frustrations with mine and I just didn't enjoy it as a daily driver and found that the running costs didn't match up to the reward the car should give you back and it was a car that very rarely hit the spot.Gone back to a 330d
I went to a 330i after it which still suffers from having very little torque like the M3 though, but I have a 640d as well because I got sick of getting left behind initially and having to thrash the life out of the M3 just to keep up with the oil burners.
The V8 M3 is a great car on paper but a bloody frustrating car to live with and I don't think many will look back at it with much fondness other than the fact it was the last N/A M car.
Max_Torque said:
I still can't work out why they don't make an M3 tourer??
They would i think sell in reasonable numbers (afterall you see a lot hot Audi estates, and they seem to hold their value well) and i think they'd look good for the same reasons the Saloon is a more aggressive looking car than the coupe (more visual mass at the rear, gives it a nose down "sniffing out trouble" kinda look, entirely missing from the coupe imo)
I don't get it either although a few posts down from your you have a person that says M3 should only have 2 door.They would i think sell in reasonable numbers (afterall you see a lot hot Audi estates, and they seem to hold their value well) and i think they'd look good for the same reasons the Saloon is a more aggressive looking car than the coupe (more visual mass at the rear, gives it a nose down "sniffing out trouble" kinda look, entirely missing from the coupe imo)
Obviously there are quite a few people who cannot understand that other people have, oh I don't know, different preferences and circumstances. Maybe people like that work for BMW...
cerb4.5lee said:
I had similar frustrations with mine and I just didn't enjoy it as a daily driver and found that the running costs didn't match up to the reward the car should give you back and it was a car that very rarely hit the spot.
I went to a 330i after it which still suffers from having very little torque like the M3 though, but I have a 640d as well because I got sick of getting left behind initially and having to thrash the life out of the M3 just to keep up with the oil burners.
The V8 M3 is a great car on paper but a bloody frustrating car to live with and I don't think many will look back at it with much fondness other than the fact it was the last N/A M car.
Being in the right gear would probably have corrected being left behind initially by the oil burners! But yes, I do know what you mean. It can get frustrating having to work the car quite hard, creating a racket, just to see off the 320d next to you.I went to a 330i after it which still suffers from having very little torque like the M3 though, but I have a 640d as well because I got sick of getting left behind initially and having to thrash the life out of the M3 just to keep up with the oil burners.
The V8 M3 is a great car on paper but a bloody frustrating car to live with and I don't think many will look back at it with much fondness other than the fact it was the last N/A M car.
Max_Torque said:
I still can't work out why they don't make an M3 tourer??
They would i think sell in reasonable numbers (afterall you see a lot hot Audi estates, and they seem to hold their value well) and i think they'd look good for the same reasons the Saloon is a more aggressive looking car than the coupe (more visual mass at the rear, gives it a nose down "sniffing out trouble" kinda look, entirely missing from the coupe imo)
not enough demand in America, apparently. They would i think sell in reasonable numbers (afterall you see a lot hot Audi estates, and they seem to hold their value well) and i think they'd look good for the same reasons the Saloon is a more aggressive looking car than the coupe (more visual mass at the rear, gives it a nose down "sniffing out trouble" kinda look, entirely missing from the coupe imo)
MDMA . said:
BenGB said:
I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the picture for the article on the homepage is not quite an M3!
What is it then ? M2.5 ? Seems like an M3 saloon to me. Would love one of these. Silverstone saloon please. Just need to drop a few more k for my liking though. One round the corner from me. Sounds awesone.
I replaced my beloved 1M with an E90 M3 because I needed some rear doors and loved the chassis balance BMW manages to create in its road cars. The biggest surprise I found going from a 1M to an M3 was the way it handled very similarly with the same chassis balance as the 1M, albeit a little heavier and a bit bigger. The next surprise was where all the fireworks went at low revs from the engine, the 1M would spin up its rears at 2000 rpm, the M3 seemed to do nothing until I ragged it!
What I do love is the way it has so much adjustability. The dampers, DCT gearbox and steering can all be relaxed when commuting or when I have the family on-board and when I grab it by the scruff of the neck and press the 'M' button it transforms and becomes a real animal with an adjustable balance awesome throttle response and great noise.
I do fancy a test drive in the new F80 M3 to see how that compares, it would be a more modern car inside but all the reviews suggest it takes some learning with that bit hit of torque!
What I do love is the way it has so much adjustability. The dampers, DCT gearbox and steering can all be relaxed when commuting or when I have the family on-board and when I grab it by the scruff of the neck and press the 'M' button it transforms and becomes a real animal with an adjustable balance awesome throttle response and great noise.
I do fancy a test drive in the new F80 M3 to see how that compares, it would be a more modern car inside but all the reviews suggest it takes some learning with that bit hit of torque!
mikearwas said:
If you want any gear grunt go for a C63 but if you like working an engine to get the performance then the M3 is the one to go for. It really is that simple.
I agree with this, my brother has the M3 I had the C63 both are great cars in very different ways the BMC air filter makes a big difference induction noise wise an X Pipe also adds to the aural drama without a huge outlay I think the saloon will become a bit of a cult classic in time.
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