E92 M3 Competition Pack
Discussion
sagarich said:
Fantastic car and updates OP!
Thanks mate. 
MikeGoodwin said:
I haven't even got an m3 until Saturday but I'm buying a high kick spoiler....
What warranty do you have please? Maybe you saw in my thread ill be getting bmw warranty on mine.
Yeah the spoiler isn't huge, but it makes a big difference to it.. I absolutely love the exterior touches of my car, still unsure whether to go for matching black side grills, return front grills to chrome or get carbon front and sides to go with the splitters/spoiler/roof. What warranty do you have please? Maybe you saw in my thread ill be getting bmw warranty on mine.
It's got a year of AutoTrust Formula X warranty on it, which appears to be comprehensive from the handbook ( Link Here) and after ringing them to double check today, they confirmed that I have zero excess too, which puts my mind at ease a little... although we'll find out how comprehensive and how easy the claim procedure is on Monday!!
MikeGoodwin said:
Aftershox said:
just from the pictures has nearly tempted me into buying one!
Yeah, RS Grant is basically responsible for my recent M3 purchase as well 
Looking forward to some photos of your MC after collection Mike, it's a stunning colour.. a guy on M3 Cutters has got one and done the small additions that I'd do to one as well; so, to me, it looks even better now.
nav p said:
Mike335i said:
It would lost likely be a wheel speed sensor giving dodgy readings. This causes the system to go into failsafe mode and switch off all assistance.
A scan for error codes will point you in the right direction. Even if the abs pump is gone, I think there are cheaper ways of fixing it now.
Wheels speed sensor...normally front passenger side!A scan for error codes will point you in the right direction. Even if the abs pump is gone, I think there are cheaper ways of fixing it now.
Geat car btw
I love mine
Regarding the scanning of fault codes, I was going to buy Carly for BMW, is that the one to go for? If so, are there any preferred/trusted sellers for it?
Well, dropped the car off at the BMW Dealer along with the warranty company details and left in a 118i M Sport courtesy car.
From this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
To this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
To be honest I thought it was a nice car, lots of spec (but no cruise control weirdly?!) and was nippy enough for a 1.5 3cyl petrol, plus it had 'Sport Displays' which were a constant reminder of the kind of numbers it was capable of pumping out:
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Anyway to the M3, I got a call from the dealer saying that it had been diagnosed as an ABS sensor (and possible wheel bearing) issue and that the warranty company wanted to send an assessor out to verify their findings. Now, I'm not totally comfortable that part of my warranty process is essentially having someones work checked over to make sure they've got it right/weren't trying to pull the wool over the warranty company's eyes... doesn't sit well with me, however, that all happened without a hitch and the sensor was approved and fitted.
In addition to the ABS sensor there was a historic error with the EDC Control Unit. I'm not sure how much it was fubar'd but the suspension definitely changed when I tried out the EDC button before, so it may have been an intermittent fault. Anyway, the issue here was that the fault pre-dated the warranty on the car being taken out by the dealer where I bought the car and understandably the warranty company wanted nothing to do with that particular repair. So I got the ECU codes and invoice details emailed over to me and bounced them on to the supplying dealer; who agreed that it was something they should have checked/sorted before it was delivered and paid the outstanding balance without question.. I really can't speak highly enough of that dealer, the buying/aftersales experience has been fantastic.
After all that was fitted, the car still had an error message showing, so a wheel bearing was required.. as per the ABS sensor, the warranty company wanted to send out an assessor to check the fault and once satisfied, they ordered an OEM bearing and had it delivered direct to the BMW dealer who fitted it and I'm glad to report everything is now tip top and error free.
I collected the car earlier today and took it on a little 20-30 mile run to free things off and charge things up after it'd sat around at the dealer. I've been driving an F80 M3 the past couple of weeks which I had been offered at trade value by my parents and if I'm honest, I genuinely prefer my E92... it feels so much more special and given the roads aren't bone dry just now it is less lairy/easier to make progress with the difference in mid range torque between the two.
Since I was passing, I stopped off for a quick picture at Carnoustie Golf Links; which was pretty quiet at the moment, but won't be long until things get more hectic for The Open starting in July.
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
From this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrTo this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrTo be honest I thought it was a nice car, lots of spec (but no cruise control weirdly?!) and was nippy enough for a 1.5 3cyl petrol, plus it had 'Sport Displays' which were a constant reminder of the kind of numbers it was capable of pumping out:
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrAnyway to the M3, I got a call from the dealer saying that it had been diagnosed as an ABS sensor (and possible wheel bearing) issue and that the warranty company wanted to send an assessor out to verify their findings. Now, I'm not totally comfortable that part of my warranty process is essentially having someones work checked over to make sure they've got it right/weren't trying to pull the wool over the warranty company's eyes... doesn't sit well with me, however, that all happened without a hitch and the sensor was approved and fitted.
In addition to the ABS sensor there was a historic error with the EDC Control Unit. I'm not sure how much it was fubar'd but the suspension definitely changed when I tried out the EDC button before, so it may have been an intermittent fault. Anyway, the issue here was that the fault pre-dated the warranty on the car being taken out by the dealer where I bought the car and understandably the warranty company wanted nothing to do with that particular repair. So I got the ECU codes and invoice details emailed over to me and bounced them on to the supplying dealer; who agreed that it was something they should have checked/sorted before it was delivered and paid the outstanding balance without question.. I really can't speak highly enough of that dealer, the buying/aftersales experience has been fantastic.
After all that was fitted, the car still had an error message showing, so a wheel bearing was required.. as per the ABS sensor, the warranty company wanted to send out an assessor to check the fault and once satisfied, they ordered an OEM bearing and had it delivered direct to the BMW dealer who fitted it and I'm glad to report everything is now tip top and error free.
I collected the car earlier today and took it on a little 20-30 mile run to free things off and charge things up after it'd sat around at the dealer. I've been driving an F80 M3 the past couple of weeks which I had been offered at trade value by my parents and if I'm honest, I genuinely prefer my E92... it feels so much more special and given the roads aren't bone dry just now it is less lairy/easier to make progress with the difference in mid range torque between the two.
Since I was passing, I stopped off for a quick picture at Carnoustie Golf Links; which was pretty quiet at the moment, but won't be long until things get more hectic for The Open starting in July.
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrLovely. Which warranty company? The MC I originally wanted was under warranty from warranty wise and after he sold it I messaged to ask his opinion on them. He rated them highly saying he had a fair bit done with no issue.
Actually ignore me you said already. Doh.
Actually ignore me you said already. Doh.
Edited by MikeGoodwin on Wednesday 31st January 13:19
Loving reading this and you made PH homepage!! Congratulations!
I am glad the faults have been rectified seamlessly for you, my previous mention of filling my performance gap later on in the year may have been brought forward a touch, thanks in the most part to this thread!!!!
Keep it up.
Si
I am glad the faults have been rectified seamlessly for you, my previous mention of filling my performance gap later on in the year may have been brought forward a touch, thanks in the most part to this thread!!!!
Keep it up.
Si
This has really been my week on PH! First a 106 Rallye thread (had a black S1 for 4 years and loved every minute of it!) and now a bit of M3 love. I had an E36 3 litre for 10 years, great car but was starting to lose the battle against the rot and I don't have a garage that I could've retired it to as a toy so it had to go. I love E46 M3's but felt they were a bit too similar to what I already had, plus I'd lusted after the E92 M3 since I first saw and heard them. After a bit of man maths I decided I could afford it and took the plunge nearly 3.5 years ago. Bought used from Sytner Newport. Jerez Black with Fox red leather, manual box and non EDC dampers, style 220's and a few other options ticked. I've done a few little bits to it over the past 3 years. As an early 57 plate one the kidney grills were all chrome, surrounds and slats and it made the front look a bit toothy so they were swapped out for a set of genuine BMW gloss black ones. I wanted the side gills to match but BMW wouldn't sell them to me as I don't have the right chassis number! Ended up buying some carbon ones with a weave to match the roof. The carbon is good, but fitting was a bit of an ordeal and took some fettling to get them sitting right. I wanted the bonnet vent surrounds to match but after the experience with the gills I bought some genuine ones unpainted from BMW and had them carbon dipped, cost half as much as aftermarket carbon, fit perfectly and unless you look closely you cant tell they aren't carbon. I had the BMW performance rear spoiler fitted last year and I'm really happy with the improvement. Not cheap but definitely quality. Corner splitters are next and possibly mirror caps, will be going for the BMW ones as the fit and finish is so much better than the aftermarket stuff. I've also got Avant Garde M359's in gloss gunmetal which suit the darker paint scheme and de-chroming I've carried out perfectly. Only issue is that the offset on the fronts is very aggressive at ET15 and with 255/35's on there its rubbing the arch liners a bit so will be going back to 245/35's shortly.
The OP mentions an exhaust upgrade. I've got a Remus "wolf inside" cat back on mine, with gloss black and carbon tips and I love it. Nice tone without being boomy or droning, came in at around £1400 with the tips I chose. The other engine upgrade I've done is a BMC filter and this again makes a lovely noise, much deeper induction noise than standard. The two together have made a noticeable improvement to engine pick up. It gets through the lower part of the rev range so much quicker now. Not really more power, but definitely more response. Another trick I found is in the M settings you can set the throttle response to sport as soon as the key is in. I've then got it set for sport + on the M button. In "normal" I found the throttle response to be a bit mushy. They do lack a little bit of low down torque, but if you're prepared to rev them out it more than makes up for it at the top end. 6K to the redline is epic, and never fails to put a smile on my face.
Like the OP I have access to some amazing roads quite locally in south wales, had many blasts around the beacons and black mountains, up around Devil's Bridge and Elan Valley etc. The past two summers my mates have done a trip to north wales, Evo triangle etc. Last year was especially good. We had a great bunch of cars, my M3, an M4, a GTR, Golf R (manual), B6 S4, a bonkers 400 bhp Mk2 Focus RS, a 310 bhp Mk2 Focus ST and a Corrado VR6 that unfortunately only made it as far as the layby at the base of Pen Y Fan before cooling problems forced it to turn back. I had a go of the M4 up on the "alpine" section of the triangle and came away disappointed. Very fast but way too PlayStation. Foot down, a couple of farty gear changes and it was doing silly speeds, but no noise and no involvement. Was definitely glad to get back in my car. I'd like to try a manual just to be sure, but right now I can't see me choosing one come changing time. On the other hand I was completely won over by the Golf R. I was very cynical about them before the trip, but came away very impressed with how it performed. It didn't have the outright firepower of the M3/M4/GTR but point to point it was rapid, and overtaking was a breeze in it. I think a lot of the haters on here have never experienced one in the wild and have made their minds up before doing so. This years trip is going a bit further afield, return to the M3's homeland taking in a 24hr race at the 'ring, via a bit of sight seeing at Spa and Reims along the way. Really looking forward to letting it off the leash on the autobahns! Not looking forward to the fuel bill though, my daily commute currently has it sitting at a smidge over 18 mpg, and I've never managed more than 320 miles out of a tank and it was literally on fumes by the time I got back to the petrol station for some much needed V Power. But BHP over MPG every day of the week!
Congrats on the car OP, you have a beauty there, and to the others on the thread with E92's. They are cracking cars, and need to be enjoyed before the electric, self driving revolution happens and they are confined to museums.
The OP mentions an exhaust upgrade. I've got a Remus "wolf inside" cat back on mine, with gloss black and carbon tips and I love it. Nice tone without being boomy or droning, came in at around £1400 with the tips I chose. The other engine upgrade I've done is a BMC filter and this again makes a lovely noise, much deeper induction noise than standard. The two together have made a noticeable improvement to engine pick up. It gets through the lower part of the rev range so much quicker now. Not really more power, but definitely more response. Another trick I found is in the M settings you can set the throttle response to sport as soon as the key is in. I've then got it set for sport + on the M button. In "normal" I found the throttle response to be a bit mushy. They do lack a little bit of low down torque, but if you're prepared to rev them out it more than makes up for it at the top end. 6K to the redline is epic, and never fails to put a smile on my face.
Like the OP I have access to some amazing roads quite locally in south wales, had many blasts around the beacons and black mountains, up around Devil's Bridge and Elan Valley etc. The past two summers my mates have done a trip to north wales, Evo triangle etc. Last year was especially good. We had a great bunch of cars, my M3, an M4, a GTR, Golf R (manual), B6 S4, a bonkers 400 bhp Mk2 Focus RS, a 310 bhp Mk2 Focus ST and a Corrado VR6 that unfortunately only made it as far as the layby at the base of Pen Y Fan before cooling problems forced it to turn back. I had a go of the M4 up on the "alpine" section of the triangle and came away disappointed. Very fast but way too PlayStation. Foot down, a couple of farty gear changes and it was doing silly speeds, but no noise and no involvement. Was definitely glad to get back in my car. I'd like to try a manual just to be sure, but right now I can't see me choosing one come changing time. On the other hand I was completely won over by the Golf R. I was very cynical about them before the trip, but came away very impressed with how it performed. It didn't have the outright firepower of the M3/M4/GTR but point to point it was rapid, and overtaking was a breeze in it. I think a lot of the haters on here have never experienced one in the wild and have made their minds up before doing so. This years trip is going a bit further afield, return to the M3's homeland taking in a 24hr race at the 'ring, via a bit of sight seeing at Spa and Reims along the way. Really looking forward to letting it off the leash on the autobahns! Not looking forward to the fuel bill though, my daily commute currently has it sitting at a smidge over 18 mpg, and I've never managed more than 320 miles out of a tank and it was literally on fumes by the time I got back to the petrol station for some much needed V Power. But BHP over MPG every day of the week!
Congrats on the car OP, you have a beauty there, and to the others on the thread with E92's. They are cracking cars, and need to be enjoyed before the electric, self driving revolution happens and they are confined to museums.
mike150 said:
Very interesting..........
I've just sold an 07 E92 manual M3 in red with competition pack wheels, M Performance exhaust, carbon splitter and spoiler for..............
A DSG Golf R!
I loved the M3 for its character, presence and driving dynamics on a dry day but on the greasy winter roads and on a dark commute I found it a bit of a chore.
I've only had the Golf a few weeks but it's so easy and comfortable to drive both fast and slow, it's great in all weathers and situations. I will say it's not as good on a nice sunny empty fast B road but the rest of the time it's better and that is probably 95% of the time. Mine has has a remap and is just as fast as the M3 but you can use the power more due to the nature of the engine and the 4wd. I found the M3 a bit like a Honda vtec as in if you wanted fast you had to keep it over 7000 rpm and that was hard in the long geared manual. I have travelled all over Scotland on fast motorbikes and I would say that the M3 is better suited in that environment than where I live so that's a factor.
Everyones different and I'm happy with the M3 to Golf R route and you're happy the other way around.
I've just sold an 07 E92 manual M3 in red with competition pack wheels, M Performance exhaust, carbon splitter and spoiler for..............
A DSG Golf R!
I loved the M3 for its character, presence and driving dynamics on a dry day but on the greasy winter roads and on a dark commute I found it a bit of a chore.
I've only had the Golf a few weeks but it's so easy and comfortable to drive both fast and slow, it's great in all weathers and situations. I will say it's not as good on a nice sunny empty fast B road but the rest of the time it's better and that is probably 95% of the time. Mine has has a remap and is just as fast as the M3 but you can use the power more due to the nature of the engine and the 4wd. I found the M3 a bit like a Honda vtec as in if you wanted fast you had to keep it over 7000 rpm and that was hard in the long geared manual. I have travelled all over Scotland on fast motorbikes and I would say that the M3 is better suited in that environment than where I live so that's a factor.
Everyones different and I'm happy with the M3 to Golf R route and you're happy the other way around.
Edited by mike150 on Friday 2nd February 22:39
Brilliant car, I hope you enjoy.
I had one of these a few years ago, it was technically superb - fast and comfy but sadly it did nothing for me. Came out of it into a W204 C63, a completely different animal that whilst was nowhere near as accomplished did more for me.
Sadly that too has been replaced now. Enjoy these larger engined cars whilst you still can....
I had one of these a few years ago, it was technically superb - fast and comfy but sadly it did nothing for me. Came out of it into a W204 C63, a completely different animal that whilst was nowhere near as accomplished did more for me.
Sadly that too has been replaced now. Enjoy these larger engined cars whilst you still can....
RS Grant said:
Well, dropped the car off at the BMW Dealer along with the warranty company details and left in a 118i M Sport courtesy car.
From this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
To this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
To be honest I thought it was a nice car, lots of spec (but no cruise control weirdly?!) and was nippy enough for a 1.5 3cyl petrol, plus it had 'Sport Displays' which were a constant reminder of the kind of numbers it was capable of pumping out:
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
Anyway to the M3, I got a call from the dealer saying that it had been diagnosed as an ABS sensor (and possible wheel bearing) issue and that the warranty company wanted to send an assessor out to verify their findings. Now, I'm not totally comfortable that part of my warranty process is essentially having someones work checked over to make sure they've got it right/weren't trying to pull the wool over the warranty company's eyes... doesn't sit well with me, however, that all happened without a hitch and the sensor was approved and fitted.
In addition to the ABS sensor there was a historic error with the EDC Control Unit. I'm not sure how much it was fubar'd but the suspension definitely changed when I tried out the EDC button before, so it may have been an intermittent fault. Anyway, the issue here was that the fault pre-dated the warranty on the car being taken out by the dealer where I bought the car and understandably the warranty company wanted nothing to do with that particular repair. So I got the ECU codes and invoice details emailed over to me and bounced them on to the supplying dealer; who agreed that it was something they should have checked/sorted before it was delivered and paid the outstanding balance without question.. I really can't speak highly enough of that dealer, the buying/aftersales experience has been fantastic.
After all that was fitted, the car still had an error message showing, so a wheel bearing was required.. as per the ABS sensor, the warranty company wanted to send out an assessor to check the fault and once satisfied, they ordered an OEM bearing and had it delivered direct to the BMW dealer who fitted it and I'm glad to report everything is now tip top and error free.
I collected the car earlier today and took it on a little 20-30 mile run to free things off and charge things up after it'd sat around at the dealer. I've been driving an F80 M3 the past couple of weeks which I had been offered at trade value by my parents and if I'm honest, I genuinely prefer my E92... it feels so much more special and given the roads aren't bone dry just now it is less lairy/easier to make progress with the difference in mid range torque between the two.
Since I was passing, I stopped off for a quick picture at Carnoustie Golf Links; which was pretty quiet at the moment, but won't be long until things get more hectic for The Open starting in July.
Untitled by RS Grant, on Flickr
BMW dealerships are far better than most will give them credit IMO.From this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrTo this:
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrTo be honest I thought it was a nice car, lots of spec (but no cruise control weirdly?!) and was nippy enough for a 1.5 3cyl petrol, plus it had 'Sport Displays' which were a constant reminder of the kind of numbers it was capable of pumping out:
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrAnyway to the M3, I got a call from the dealer saying that it had been diagnosed as an ABS sensor (and possible wheel bearing) issue and that the warranty company wanted to send an assessor out to verify their findings. Now, I'm not totally comfortable that part of my warranty process is essentially having someones work checked over to make sure they've got it right/weren't trying to pull the wool over the warranty company's eyes... doesn't sit well with me, however, that all happened without a hitch and the sensor was approved and fitted.
In addition to the ABS sensor there was a historic error with the EDC Control Unit. I'm not sure how much it was fubar'd but the suspension definitely changed when I tried out the EDC button before, so it may have been an intermittent fault. Anyway, the issue here was that the fault pre-dated the warranty on the car being taken out by the dealer where I bought the car and understandably the warranty company wanted nothing to do with that particular repair. So I got the ECU codes and invoice details emailed over to me and bounced them on to the supplying dealer; who agreed that it was something they should have checked/sorted before it was delivered and paid the outstanding balance without question.. I really can't speak highly enough of that dealer, the buying/aftersales experience has been fantastic.
After all that was fitted, the car still had an error message showing, so a wheel bearing was required.. as per the ABS sensor, the warranty company wanted to send out an assessor to check the fault and once satisfied, they ordered an OEM bearing and had it delivered direct to the BMW dealer who fitted it and I'm glad to report everything is now tip top and error free.
I collected the car earlier today and took it on a little 20-30 mile run to free things off and charge things up after it'd sat around at the dealer. I've been driving an F80 M3 the past couple of weeks which I had been offered at trade value by my parents and if I'm honest, I genuinely prefer my E92... it feels so much more special and given the roads aren't bone dry just now it is less lairy/easier to make progress with the difference in mid range torque between the two.
Since I was passing, I stopped off for a quick picture at Carnoustie Golf Links; which was pretty quiet at the moment, but won't be long until things get more hectic for The Open starting in July.
Untitled by RS Grant, on FlickrGassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff