The M3 - a true all rounder
Discussion
Yesterday I took the girlfriend up to in the pouring rain for a walk on the beautiful Constantine beach in North Cornwall. Living in the wild west the number of Vpower fuel stations are limited and due to a mis-calculation I had ended up at my parents house with only 23 miles left on the ever optimistic computer with 24.9 miles to get to the Shell station on the way to the beach.
Like any true bloke I was confident I could make it!
Ignoring everyone else telling me to go to the nearest Shell station 12 miles away in the opposite direction.
So I really nursed the CS all the way, getting very frustrated when I met anybody in the lanes which caused me to stop and loose the flow! The journey was a mixture of A and B roads along with some town driving. It was actually really intense trying to extract every last bit of MPG available.
The result: 34.9 mpg and made it with the computer still on 17 mile range. I kept pace with the traffic the whole way. Before the big hill coming out of Bodmin I was in the high 36's!
After giving the //M a fill of Vpower it was time to have some fun. I'd been looking forward to driving in the wet for weeks and it didn't disappoint. A few lovely controlled sideways exits of various t-junctions and roundabouts got the juices flowing (loads of space + no traffic), then some brilliant flowing A roads through North Cornwall. The engine potent, the sound fantastic, the car felt beautifully balanced with masses of grip (despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
) and all with some good music, hugging leather heated seats, climate control and well sorted ride.
Sorry to go on but it was just brilliant.
24mpg after filling up I'll admit
Can anyone beat my 34.9?
Like any true bloke I was confident I could make it!
Ignoring everyone else telling me to go to the nearest Shell station 12 miles away in the opposite direction.So I really nursed the CS all the way, getting very frustrated when I met anybody in the lanes which caused me to stop and loose the flow! The journey was a mixture of A and B roads along with some town driving. It was actually really intense trying to extract every last bit of MPG available.
The result: 34.9 mpg and made it with the computer still on 17 mile range. I kept pace with the traffic the whole way. Before the big hill coming out of Bodmin I was in the high 36's!
After giving the //M a fill of Vpower it was time to have some fun. I'd been looking forward to driving in the wet for weeks and it didn't disappoint. A few lovely controlled sideways exits of various t-junctions and roundabouts got the juices flowing (loads of space + no traffic), then some brilliant flowing A roads through North Cornwall. The engine potent, the sound fantastic, the car felt beautifully balanced with masses of grip (despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
) and all with some good music, hugging leather heated seats, climate control and well sorted ride.Sorry to go on but it was just brilliant.
24mpg after filling up I'll admit
Can anyone beat my 34.9?
leeson660 said:
despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
I don't recall anyone saying they were undriveable though I haven't read every post featuring M3s. I had two and providing you weren't in a hurry they were fine when it was raining/damp/slightly moist.
leeson660 said:
Can anyone beat my 34.9?
That's pretty good!OP Lovely story and glad you are enjoying surely one of the finest BMW M Powers ever made :-)
OP did you have DSC off ; M-Track mode on ; DSC on for those sideways action ?
I manage about 15-20mpg but I live in London so is different. On motorways the mpg improves a lot. I did a trip to Brighton not long ago and was my first trip and was a great drive. I do not know about you .... But .... I get really paranoid about parking and where to leave it. I find was a little bumpy on the motorway but could be just to surfaces.
OP did you have DSC off ; M-Track mode on ; DSC on for those sideways action ?
I manage about 15-20mpg but I live in London so is different. On motorways the mpg improves a lot. I did a trip to Brighton not long ago and was my first trip and was a great drive. I do not know about you .... But .... I get really paranoid about parking and where to leave it. I find was a little bumpy on the motorway but could be just to surfaces.
goldblum said:
leeson660 said:
despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
I don't recall anyone saying they were undriveable though I haven't read every post featuring M3s. I had two and providing you weren't in a hurry they were fine when it was raining/damp/slightly moist.
I even find that in the wet you can really push on without any problems. Maybe it is the tyres people are running? I have the Michelin Super Sports all round and they are absolutely top notch in the wet. Sure if you want it go sideways you can, but if your smooth you can really put the power down no problem. Edited by leeson660 on Tuesday 25th September 18:43
They really are great cars. I once loaded mine up with golf clubs, ski gear etc and headed off to Europe for a month. Fantastic as a GT and then when I was stayin gin the Swiss Alps for most of that month after a day on the slopes I'd get the M3 out and blast around the mountains for a couple of hours every evening. Happy times.
goldblum said:
leeson660 said:
despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
I don't recall anyone saying they were undriveable though I haven't read every post featuring M3s. I had two and providing you weren't in a hurry they were fine when it was raining/damp/slightly moist.
goldblum said:
Are you saying that a driver who likes to press on will find the M3 secure in the wet? Or is this the default response from a blinkered M car fanboy that ones driving skills are lacking if you can't handle an M3 in the wet? I just try to get from A - B quickly as possible..in the wet the M car's performance is wasted.
I've had two M3s,both from new.I couldn't believe how bad they were on anything damp.I'm not tarring all RWD cars by any means..I switched to a 997 C2s which was an order of magnitude better.
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1157139&r=21890631&hm=205904&mid=205904#21890631I've had two M3s,both from new.I couldn't believe how bad they were on anything damp.I'm not tarring all RWD cars by any means..I switched to a 997 C2s which was an order of magnitude better.
I, and others, thought you were talking tosh, so it's good that you've reconsidered.
leeson660 said:
Sorry to go on but it was just brilliant.
You carry on mate!I'm increasingly of the view that the M3CS is the best all-rounder I've owned. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I end up with another before too long. Great mix of pace, practicality, fun and (as you've demonstrated) economy.
Brilliant cars. Very pleased to hear you're enjoying it.
Gruber said:
goldblum said:
leeson660 said:
despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
I don't recall anyone saying they were undriveable though I haven't read every post featuring M3s. I had two and providing you weren't in a hurry they were fine when it was raining/damp/slightly moist.
goldblum said:
Are you saying that a driver who likes to press on will find the M3 secure in the wet? Or is this the default response from a blinkered M car fanboy that ones driving skills are lacking if you can't handle an M3 in the wet? I just try to get from A - B quickly as possible..in the wet the M car's performance is wasted.
I've had two M3s,both from new.I couldn't believe how bad they were on anything damp.I'm not tarring all RWD cars by any means..I switched to a 997 C2s which was an order of magnitude better.
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1157139&r=21890631&hm=205904&mid=205904#21890631I've had two M3s,both from new.I couldn't believe how bad they were on anything damp.I'm not tarring all RWD cars by any means..I switched to a 997 C2s which was an order of magnitude better.
I, and others, thought you were talking tosh, so it's good that you've reconsidered.
To clarify - I still remember how awful I thought they were in the wet..but that was pressing on; hence 'providing you're not in a hurry'.
My original comment on this thread stands.
goldblum said:
Gruber said:
goldblum said:
leeson660 said:
despite what some people on PH who say M3s are un-driveable in the wet
I don't recall anyone saying they were undriveable though I haven't read every post featuring M3s. I had two and providing you weren't in a hurry they were fine when it was raining/damp/slightly moist.
goldblum said:
Are you saying that a driver who likes to press on will find the M3 secure in the wet? Or is this the default response from a blinkered M car fanboy that ones driving skills are lacking if you can't handle an M3 in the wet? I just try to get from A - B quickly as possible..in the wet the M car's performance is wasted.
I've had two M3s,both from new.I couldn't believe how bad they were on anything damp.I'm not tarring all RWD cars by any means..I switched to a 997 C2s which was an order of magnitude better.
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1157139&r=21890631&hm=205904&mid=205904#21890631I've had two M3s,both from new.I couldn't believe how bad they were on anything damp.I'm not tarring all RWD cars by any means..I switched to a 997 C2s which was an order of magnitude better.
I, and others, thought you were talking tosh, so it's good that you've reconsidered.
To clarify - I still remember how awful I thought they were in the wet..but that was pressing on; hence 'providing you're not in a hurry'.
My original comment on this thread stands.
Mine is bloody brilliant in the wet you really can push on without any problems it really does feel planted. It's so much fun to just feed on the power out of the corners knowing that if you do smash the throttle it will break loose. I think it must be down to tyre choice I cant really think of anything else that would explain such a contrast in experiences.
Either that or I'm not going fast enough
King Eric said:
Driving the 25 miles home from work yesterday I was chuffed to get 24.6mpg in my E90 M3. Have seen 29mpg when reset on Mway on cruise at 70 for about half an hour. Came off a slip, did two stints up a dual carriage way. Bit of town driving and viola 22mpg. Every time! lol
You lot! How dare you break into the 20s! Try that with the V10...I always found my E46 CS had plenty of grip in the wet, yes you could provoke it easily enough but for spirited driving it felt planted.
I was quite surprised when I got my E92 M3 on how lively it is even in damp conditions. Yes it's absolutely fine in normal driving but is does give up grip a lot earlier than the E46 when you start to push. Saying that it does do it with sublime balance, it will drift forever, if I had the skill to hold it that is!
I presume it's because the peak torque comes in a lot lower with the E92 (I think)?
Back to the OP, enjoy the CS! Probably the most fun, chuckable car I've ever owned.
I was quite surprised when I got my E92 M3 on how lively it is even in damp conditions. Yes it's absolutely fine in normal driving but is does give up grip a lot earlier than the E46 when you start to push. Saying that it does do it with sublime balance, it will drift forever, if I had the skill to hold it that is!
I presume it's because the peak torque comes in a lot lower with the E92 (I think)?
Back to the OP, enjoy the CS! Probably the most fun, chuckable car I've ever owned.
thepony said:
Only once. Would love to own one.
Exactly, the CSL was/is/will be a car people aspire to where as the CS is a very good car (I loved mine) but not the best E46 M3.Very tidy CSL's will increase in price, CS's will hold a good price point over the standard M3 but won't appreciate.
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