E46 BMW M3 What do you think of 'em?

[sixpot]

I recently came across one on the way to work, and decided to see what they went like, was quite surprised at how well my car fared up to it really, as was the BM driver!!
Turns out we both work in the same place so I had a chat to him about it, and its an SMG one with various power settings? or so he says.
They have really come down in price and I was thinking of getting one, so was just asking him about ownership experiences etc..
He said he was only in low power setting btw!

[Edition30]

Stunning car, always been a big fan of them...not had the pleasure of driving one nor do I know much about them. I would get onto a BMW forum and find out any known problems etc...


Lass opposite me has one, she certainly doesnt hang around in it 

[rdfcpete]

^ I envy your housing arrangements ED30 if you live opposite a girl that drives an E46 M3!

[Jules86]

I expect he wasnt full power, they are 220bhp/ton so you would need around 300bhp to match it.

They are on my 'car to own' list. Im quite keen on getting one for a little bit until i can get either a range rover sport or RS4, think they should be depreciation free if you own it for about a year and get one well service, wont cost much to own!

[john_o]

brilliant drivers car 
ran one for nearly 2 yrs before the ED30
the selector below the SMG gearlever is for speed of change not power settings btw, but Id go for a manual (unless you want the CSL  )
346bhp , seamless delivery to redline , awesome sound , bullet proof if looked after.
running costs can smart a bit , but it is surprisingly easy on fuel
remapped ED30 is close but at higher speeds the M3 is faster, VERY different power delivery

one of my all time favs

[nick-barnes07]

i had one a few months ago that was smg, it had a few mods on, was a amazing car really regretted selling it, my mate also had one in manual which i thought drove horrible compared to mine as the gearbox's feel really sloppy in them IMO and the throw is a bit long on the manual ones, if i was to have another on i would defo have the smg gear box again,

[john_o]

dug out my review from my blog.......

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2007

M3 E46 End of Term Review
Well here we go , an attempt to sum up this car.......

I have owned my (previous) M3 for 18 months , in that time going from 10,000 miles up to 42,000 miles.
A silver grey 04 plate.
I traded in a new Mini Cooper s (modified to 220bhp+) for this car.
Most of these were spent going up and down the motorway between Glasgow and Warrington (450 miles round trip) every weekend.
I regularly saw 32 mpg crusing @ 85 mph motorway, and 27 ish general travelling around.


PLUS POINTS (so many but heres a few!

Very understated looks , only those in the know really notice.
The 'fat' rear track. The twin pipes , BMW got the subtle look just right on the E46 M3 imho.

Fuel economy! ok you dont buy one of these cars for this , but its a huge bonus,
32mpg on the motorway just insane for a 340bhp car.
Can you name another car with this much power that does that?

Practicality , huge boot yet porsche pace. Only issue is making sure you dont damage the lovely nappa leather.

Performance (surprise!), can drive slowly , amazing tractability , or race car pace when reqd
The engine! rpm range is truly brill , workable pull from 2k to 8k.
No more getting caught passing cars having to change gear , 3rd just supreme.
Rate of acceleration above 100mph+ to limiter (private test track of course).
M3 just excels at the point your licence goes out the window.

Never really drove with sport button on , preferred more progressive throttle control

The exhaust noise with rear windows open and a full 7900rpm on the clock :-)

The rasp when its cold (ok no revs allowed but you can still hear it at 2k rpm)

Those polished alloys , a brilliant contrast to a subtle body (polished alloy)

seats are supreme, hold you well , remember settings. I dont think my back ever hurt.

grip (with the right tyres GSD3 F1), feel throughout the car when pushing on , t/c rarely intervenes in the dry.
Interferes too abruptly in the wet , smoother in the wet with it off

Xenon lights :-), std equipment but a must have for any car these days

And the sheer driving 'experience' , no drive was just a trip , every journey was a joy.
Rain , Sleet , Snow (caught around Birmingham in the big snow!),
this performance machine instils total confidence in ALL conditions.

I went from 220bhp FWD to 340bhp RWD and although you do need to respect an M3 , I found the transition very easy


MINUS POINTS

The way they all seem to drive like 'dogs' from cold lol

Costs to keep it in correct 'manner' are significant , but not excessive.

'Acoustic feedback' from the transmission ! I remember the first time I reversed into a parking space and thought the whole diff had destroyed itself!
Most seem to do it , but its easy to drive 'around' it. But I do feel it could have been a bit better.

Clutch is a pain , I think a CDV delete would sort this out. 1st to 2nd was always a excercise in 'patience'
(in fact the manual version drives better when you 'push' on a bit and quicken the pace)

polished alloys , one scrape and ... refurb still not the OE finish.

interior very germanic, to the point of it being 'unexciting', maybe a bit more special (dare I say like the RS4 !)

Engine sounds like its had it, lots of noise lol

Brakes can be made to fade even on road. Never actually lost pedal totally though.

Insurance costs @ Group20 are a serious , but are probably the main reason why M3 are still kept in a specialist market . Although it seems this is now changing.

std fit audio is cr*p beyond belief for a car of this value!

Warranty costs.

Understeer wasnt bad , but I felt could be improved , and some time at Thorneys would soon sort that.

(I have outlined some negatives , but really most of them are just being very picky :-) )


My favourite moment was racing a couple of motorbikes around the roads around the Carbeth Inn nr Glasgow.
(as a former motorbike owner I know these roads :-) ), really good fun and I kept up better than I thought. I even think the bikers were impressed :grinteeth:
The M3 gets better the harder you push it. Rear squats down , tyres dig in , and the package just comes together........

Regrets? none :-) , apart from the fact i wish I had done a track day , but the poor brakes just put me off enough to never do it.



To any new M3 owners, heres some 'suggestions' :

1. Check your tyre pressures
2. Check the oil (regularly!), it may not use it (mine didnt) but just in case...
3. Use good quality tyres (PS2 or GSD3F1)
4. Use 97+RON fuel. For me the M3 felt flat on normal fuel.
5. A noisy engine is just the way it is ;-), dont worry just enjoy it :-)
6. Acoustic feedback is a way of life , just drive around it.
7. Keep up to date on bm3w , its a wealth of knowledge that often pust your mind at rest.
8. Enjoy it and make sure once its warm you exercise the full rev range, inc the brakes. M3 's are meant to be driven and hard (in the right sense)


Will I get one again? Yes I hope so, ideally a CSL in years to come.
Equivalent cars in the market today? none
Nothing matches the sheer all round ability of the M3 E46.
Its all cars to all people.
Sure performance benchmarks have moved on (the M3 isnt as invincible as we would all hope against many of todays hot hatches!)

Thats it my homage , to a car I considered a dream as I was growing up , but now Ive had a chance to enjoy.

The greatest car I will ever own ? Probably :-)

The E46 M3 , what a car .............

[WhiteGTI]

Very interesting read John. I've contemplated the M3 many times....

Haven't driven an E46 M3 in a good few years, and I have a feeling it will feel slow compared to my Golf. Perhaps I should get a drive in one next weekend.

[john_o]

on a casual test drive it prob will feel slow vs the gti (the low down torque shove of the golfs is deceptive), but thats not the whole story.... (remember the M3 was a 45k car originally too not a GTI lol)

[WhiteGTI]

Yeah exactly, the torque of the GTI will make the M3 feel a bit slow, but appreciated that the power delivery is so different. On my Lotus the power is only really there between 5-7.3K, but during that range it is manic and would cain the GTI.

Would you go back to an E46 M3 (normal, not CSL), after owning your ED30 and still be happy with the performance of the M3?

[john_o]

definitely 
in some ways the linear delivery is easier to control and a much more rewarding drive , its top end BMW vs hot hatch lol
Just cost up all the factors , tyres , servicing , parts etc. They are well cheap now , but you'd need to select a 'good' one.
Plus remember an M3 is tuned to the max from OE , any tuning costs ££££££ and gains minimal (unless you supercharge)
so the easy GTI gains just arent there....
chalk and cheese really.

even the E92 M3 is nearly down to affordable pricing 

[Poverty]

m3 power delivery is completely different, They arent that fast though and a stage 2 plus k04 is quicker. M3 is the better overall car dynamically, whilst the k04 car is better economical and day to day.

[Jules86]

m3 power delivery is completely different, They arent that fast though and a stage 2 plus k04 is quicker. M3 is the better overall car dynamically, whilst the k04 car is better economical and day to day.

Modified vs standard is a moot argument though, you could just modify the other car and it would be quicker. Turbo/supercharge the M3 and it would beat the GTI/Leon, big turbo conversion the GTI/Leon and strip it and it would beat the M3....could go on and on!

Not everyone wants to have to modify there car, i dont. Buying a car that was made to do those speeds from new, with parts that will do it all day without failing is more important to me (apart from the early models dodgy SMG lol)

Swings and roundabouts really.

[celica]

looking a bit dated now, but still in a different league

if you can hook up all controls, power, handling i'm sure it's amazing, especially watching clips on topgear etc.

but servicing isn't cheap at all

[nick-barnes07]

they also suffer from diff's going on the m3, sounds almost like the wheel is rubbing on the back, they are really good on petrol s well considering the size engine they have got, would say it was on par with a mk5 gti on petrol, i raced my mate in his s4 that was running 370bhp and he struggled to keep up with me at the time, the m3's are quick all the way through the rev range so they wouldn't feel slower than a golf!!!! mine was mapped with a few mods but the mods gave it about an extra 20-30bhp so wasnt a huge gain, simpson motorsport in lydney in gloucester do supercharger kits for them starting from about 4k i beleive, and that should see 400+bhp, they also do a 500bhp+ supercharger kit as well, they have a demo car down there that belongs to one of the guys in the workshop, they are the guys to take it to if u ever needed any work done to it, as they are one of the best bmw tuning companies around, they also do a lot of race car work, and they also have a ferrari f40 race car of there own that they race so have been around the racing industry a long time and know how best to set the m3's up

http://www.simpsonmotorsport.co.uk/default.asp?id=1&pid=1&name=Home