E92 M3 Competition Pack
Discussion
After two and a half years with my Golf R ( https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...) which I absolutely loved, it surprised me on so many different levels, I've never really been a 'VAG fan boy' but I don't have a burning hatred for them like a lot of people on here seem to have!! 
...if you haven't driven one properly, which I understand is difficult on a 10-15 minute test drive, then I urge you to try and get hold of one for longer and drive it on some interesting roads because they really do show their worth the harder you drive them; until that point they feel very VAG-like and plain IMO.
Anyway back on topic and apologies for the bits of copy/pasting from the last big post on my Golf R thread!
After realising that the sound of a car is one of the things which I really value in a car (looking back at my history of cars, there's a lot of character in the noises that the ones I have fondest memories of made) along with the fact that I like RWD because it adds an extra dimension to the driving experience that you can't get with FWD and most 4WD cars... it kind of meant that my days with the Golf had become numbered, which was a sad realisation!
B7 RS4, TTRS (I was very close to leaving a deposit on a Plus!) and C63 AMG were all ruled out as potential replacements for various reasons; to be honest I didn't feel like I really had many options left apart from an E9* M3 with a manual gearbox... and so the start of a semi serious/part time search for an LCI M3 with a nice specification and manual gearbox in either Coupe or Saloon flavour began.
Fast forward about few months, I drove a white E92 LCI which ticked most of my boxes but I was left a little cold by it after looking through the history and finding that it didn't add up to exactly how it had been advertised to me in the pre-visit communication and then not finding anything else that took my fancy for the next wee while... I was even seriously considering a TTRS Plus but eventually realised that jumping into that might be the wrong thing to do and continued on my search for an M3. So fast forward some more and I turned up a 2010 M3 Competition Pack in quite a rare colour combination with a decent spec, low miles/owners, full BMW service history and the all important manual gearbox.
E92 M3 Competition Pack by rsgrant, on Flickr
A test drive, some negotiation, a lot of hard thinking and a cup of tea later saw a deposit left on it... I'm really going to miss the Golf, it is a fantastic car and has surprised me on so many levels; and this might very well turn out to be the wrong decision but after a long year dealing with big issues then I subscribe to the 'life's too short' way and thinking more than ever and didn't want to hold off and procrastinate over 'what ifs' any longer so I've taken the plunge and will see what happens!
Here is the spec list that I was given for the car:
A52 - Space Grey
NDH2 - Fox Red Extended Leather
XE8 - Piano Black Inlay
223 - EDC
6FL - USB Audio Interface
612 - BMW Assist
616 - BMW Assist Online Portal
620 - Voice Control
633 - Enhanced Bluetooth Telephone Functionality
654 - DAB Digital Radio
676 - Loudspeaker System - BMW Advanced
7MA - Competition Package
761 - Sun Protection Glass
BMW Carbon M-Performance Rear Spoiler
BMW Carbon M-Performance Front Corner Splitters
Black Kidney Grills
The only photos (apart from the one I took outside with the trade plates next to the Golf) are from the advert, but they'll work well as a kick off:
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-1 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-2 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-3 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-7 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-8 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-9 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-16 by rsgrant, on Flickr
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234632881-32 by rsgrant, on Flickr
Hopefully be collecting the car within the next week, just waiting for my numberplate to go onto retention/be transferred to the M3 and I'll be good to go.. will be try to keep the thread updated with my thoughts/pictures too.
...if you haven't driven one properly, which I understand is difficult on a 10-15 minute test drive, then I urge you to try and get hold of one for longer and drive it on some interesting roads because they really do show their worth the harder you drive them; until that point they feel very VAG-like and plain IMO.Anyway back on topic and apologies for the bits of copy/pasting from the last big post on my Golf R thread!
After realising that the sound of a car is one of the things which I really value in a car (looking back at my history of cars, there's a lot of character in the noises that the ones I have fondest memories of made) along with the fact that I like RWD because it adds an extra dimension to the driving experience that you can't get with FWD and most 4WD cars... it kind of meant that my days with the Golf had become numbered, which was a sad realisation!
B7 RS4, TTRS (I was very close to leaving a deposit on a Plus!) and C63 AMG were all ruled out as potential replacements for various reasons; to be honest I didn't feel like I really had many options left apart from an E9* M3 with a manual gearbox... and so the start of a semi serious/part time search for an LCI M3 with a nice specification and manual gearbox in either Coupe or Saloon flavour began.
Fast forward about few months, I drove a white E92 LCI which ticked most of my boxes but I was left a little cold by it after looking through the history and finding that it didn't add up to exactly how it had been advertised to me in the pre-visit communication and then not finding anything else that took my fancy for the next wee while... I was even seriously considering a TTRS Plus but eventually realised that jumping into that might be the wrong thing to do and continued on my search for an M3. So fast forward some more and I turned up a 2010 M3 Competition Pack in quite a rare colour combination with a decent spec, low miles/owners, full BMW service history and the all important manual gearbox.
E92 M3 Competition Pack by rsgrant, on FlickrA test drive, some negotiation, a lot of hard thinking and a cup of tea later saw a deposit left on it... I'm really going to miss the Golf, it is a fantastic car and has surprised me on so many levels; and this might very well turn out to be the wrong decision but after a long year dealing with big issues then I subscribe to the 'life's too short' way and thinking more than ever and didn't want to hold off and procrastinate over 'what ifs' any longer so I've taken the plunge and will see what happens!
Here is the spec list that I was given for the car:
A52 - Space Grey
NDH2 - Fox Red Extended Leather
XE8 - Piano Black Inlay
223 - EDC
6FL - USB Audio Interface
612 - BMW Assist
616 - BMW Assist Online Portal
620 - Voice Control
633 - Enhanced Bluetooth Telephone Functionality
654 - DAB Digital Radio
676 - Loudspeaker System - BMW Advanced
7MA - Competition Package
761 - Sun Protection Glass
BMW Carbon M-Performance Rear Spoiler
BMW Carbon M-Performance Front Corner Splitters
Black Kidney Grills
The only photos (apart from the one I took outside with the trade plates next to the Golf) are from the advert, but they'll work well as a kick off:
bmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-1 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-2 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-3 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-7 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-8 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-9 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234303141-16 by rsgrant, on Flickrbmw-m3-m3-2dr-234632881-32 by rsgrant, on FlickrHopefully be collecting the car within the next week, just waiting for my numberplate to go onto retention/be transferred to the M3 and I'll be good to go.. will be try to keep the thread updated with my thoughts/pictures too.
Edited by RS Grant on Friday 13th October 14:02
Ooh, very very nice.
I recently sold my low mileage manual Space Grey '58' plate non comp pack. I think the grey really suits the car.
When looking I wanted a manual too but when reading up about them on the different forums many people slated them for being hard work and notchey but I found mine fine. The car I bought had the F10 M5 gear knob which seems a popular mod on the manual.
Enjoy your car matey, i'm just a little bit envious
I recently sold my low mileage manual Space Grey '58' plate non comp pack. I think the grey really suits the car.
When looking I wanted a manual too but when reading up about them on the different forums many people slated them for being hard work and notchey but I found mine fine. The car I bought had the F10 M5 gear knob which seems a popular mod on the manual.
Enjoy your car matey, i'm just a little bit envious
Thanks for the replies, I'm definitely not planning to do any exterior modifications.. don't even think that I'd change the colour of the wheels if/when they need a refurb either, I am a big fan of the way a Comp Pack car looks as standard.
I would like to get a little more sound/occasion out of the V8, so considering exhaust options at the moment and have always had good results from Milltek which tend to make themselves known without ever being intrusive so that's probably the front runner at the moment. I have/am/kinda considering the cheaper 'exhaust mod' route, but I'm not sure I like the idea of chopping up a 30k mile backbox and might prefer to switch it out for a replacement part and keep hold of the OE part in its original form instead.
Gearshift didn't make itself overly known as horrendous on the test drive, however my E46 M3 gearshift was never that magical; so after I've driven the E92 for a while, if it turns out to be similar then I'll be going for a smaller/weighted F10 M5 gearknob and seeing how I feel after that. If I'm still not happy then I can ge a bit more involved with a short shift kit from AutoSolutions that should make a clear difference and give me a shorter, more precise shift and a slop-free gearstick.
I'm not planning to do any track days in this car, I bought an EP3 Civic Type R to do trackdays with a wee while back (need to update that thread too!) which covers all of those duties well; for much less outlay/worry about a trip to the gravel or getting too close to others. But for my planned trip to the Nurburgring next year then this will be the car I take rather than the Civic; there's no way I'd drive that all the way there and back when I'll have this sitting at home!!
I would like to get a little more sound/occasion out of the V8, so considering exhaust options at the moment and have always had good results from Milltek which tend to make themselves known without ever being intrusive so that's probably the front runner at the moment. I have/am/kinda considering the cheaper 'exhaust mod' route, but I'm not sure I like the idea of chopping up a 30k mile backbox and might prefer to switch it out for a replacement part and keep hold of the OE part in its original form instead.
Gearshift didn't make itself overly known as horrendous on the test drive, however my E46 M3 gearshift was never that magical; so after I've driven the E92 for a while, if it turns out to be similar then I'll be going for a smaller/weighted F10 M5 gearknob and seeing how I feel after that. If I'm still not happy then I can ge a bit more involved with a short shift kit from AutoSolutions that should make a clear difference and give me a shorter, more precise shift and a slop-free gearstick.
I'm not planning to do any track days in this car, I bought an EP3 Civic Type R to do trackdays with a wee while back (need to update that thread too!) which covers all of those duties well; for much less outlay/worry about a trip to the gravel or getting too close to others. But for my planned trip to the Nurburgring next year then this will be the car I take rather than the Civic; there's no way I'd drive that all the way there and back when I'll have this sitting at home!!
Well I finally collected the car on Saturday and I've got to say, I'm extremely happy with it... that engine is amazing, just revs for days and along with the induction howl, I'm well impressed with it. The linear power delivery might not feel as urgent as my Golf with it's boosty Stage 1 mid range, but the M3 is relentless and looking down reminds you of how quickly it gets to the naughty side of the speedo; although I do still think that they'd probably be quite well matched to around about three figures.
I'll do a bigger/proper comparison to the Golf when I've got a wee bit more time, but the M3 has given me exactly what I wanted, it's far more of an occasion to bumble around in than the Golf and when driving hard (although I've not been out for my usual 'New Car Highland Hoon' in it yet!) it looks like it'll provide the noise/experience that I felt was missing in the Golf.
I've wanted to take a couple of pictures of my car beside the Forth Rail Bridge for a while but it's not that local to me and time has never been on my side whenever I've passed previously, but the planets aligned on Saturday so it made sense to stop with the M3 on our way home. I'll share those below, however the first one is the last picture I'll take of ST15HDG which is sad times!
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
I'll do a bigger/proper comparison to the Golf when I've got a wee bit more time, but the M3 has given me exactly what I wanted, it's far more of an occasion to bumble around in than the Golf and when driving hard (although I've not been out for my usual 'New Car Highland Hoon' in it yet!) it looks like it'll provide the noise/experience that I felt was missing in the Golf.
I've wanted to take a couple of pictures of my car beside the Forth Rail Bridge for a while but it's not that local to me and time has never been on my side whenever I've passed previously, but the planets aligned on Saturday so it made sense to stop with the M3 on our way home. I'll share those below, however the first one is the last picture I'll take of ST15HDG which is sad times!
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrUntitled by RS Grant, on FlickrAmosMoses said:
Cant help but think, the E92 M3 really is a gorgeous car compared the the new F82 M4.
Enjoy it OP!
Thanks mate, I'd agree with the looks.. the M4 looks mean from the front but I think you lose the aggression in the long smooth rear arches a wee bit. The F80 M3 looks far more menacing/muscular with the more pronounced rear arches, IMO. Enjoy it OP!
The wheels that come with the Competition Pack just suit an E92 so well and the wee carbon additions might not be to everyones taste but I'd have added all three to a standard M3; so for me it was absolutely fantastic to find a car which already had them fitted.. I'm not sure about the black grills/silver sides, I think I would rather that they matched each other, but I'm still undecided whether to go all silver or all black just now.
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