BMW and M Power Owners

mjt said:
Only downsides are the dodgy synthetic engine noise (yes, you can hear it), and the rather flat exhaust note
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That's a pretty big downside surely :p

Part of an M car has always been its character, the noise and how that noise gives a sense of occasion whether you were inside or outside the car, especially at higher rpms. Look at the E30 M3, not a particularly powerful engine, nor is it a particularly well handling car either, but it makes a great noise, and everyone raves about how it feels/sounds. The same applies to all M3s after it up to the E90/E92 v8. You could hear any of those from round the corner and you'd know exactly which one it was. This is no longer the case with current M cars.

And that's where the problem lies for me (and many others it seems). The eco brigade have forced manufacturers into turbo charging to reduce emissions. It seems only AMG are capable of blending the two together without having to produce synthetic sounds through the speakers.

You say the '17 M3 handles so well and has exceptional acceleration. This might be true, but the same applies to many modern cars, especially hot hatches like the A45, and that's a 4 cylinder! The thing with an M is that it should have a character that has always been associated with that badge, and to me, that character was lost once the N/A engines were dropped in favour of turbo ones. The new cars are really fast, but at the expense of character. BMW are in part to blame, because Mercedes has shown that you can have the best of both worlds, just BMW chose not to go that far ahead. IMO the new M3/M4 look amazing, but they don't sound how they look.

If I ever change my car to something newer, then it probably would be an AMG. I don't like the modern BMW exhaust notes, and the engine sound just doesn't do it for me either. The closest to decent sounding so far has been the M2, which sounds quite a bit nicer than the M3/M4, but I still can't get on with the back end styling of the 2 series :(
 
mrk said:
That's a pretty big downside surely :p

Part of an M car has always been its character, the noise and how that noise gives a sense of occasion whether you were inside or outside the car, especially at higher rpms. Look at the E30 M3, not a particularly powerful engine, nor is it a particularly well handling car either, but it makes a great noise, and everyone raves about how it feels/sounds. The same applies to all M3s after it up to the E90/E92 v8. You could hear any of those from round the corner and you'd know exactly which one it was. This is no longer the case with current M cars.

And that's where the problem lies for me (and many others it seems). The eco brigade have forced manufacturers into turbo charging to reduce emissions. It seems only AMG are capable of blending the two together without having to produce synthetic sounds through the speakers.

You say the '17 M3 handles so well and has exceptional acceleration. This might be true, but the same applies to many modern cars, especially hot hatches like the A45, and that's a 4 cylinder! The thing with an M is that it should have a character that has always been associated with that badge, and to me, that character was lost once the N/A engines were dropped in favour of turbo ones. The new cars are really fast, but at the expense of character. BMW are in part to blame, because Mercedes has shown that you can have the best of both worlds, just BMW chose not to go that far ahead. IMO the new M3/M4 look amazing, but they don't sound how they look.

If I ever change my car to something newer, then it probably would be an AMG. I don't like the modern BMW exhaust notes, and the engine sound just doesn't do it for me either. The closest to decent sounding so far has been the M2, which sounds quite a bit nicer than the M3/M4, but I still can't get on with the back end styling of the 2 series :(
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Very true. Nothing like the sound of my old M52. I was more blown away by the overall performance and balance of the thing that engine note seemed less important at the time, but upon reflection you are right. I heard something about all cars being electric from 2025, so I mean who cares any more anyway? :p
 
Reads like nostalgic rubbish to me, the E46 M3 was never known for sounding good outside the car for example and it was the handling, not the noise, that made the E30 M3 popular.
 
All cars electric by 2025?! That's a pretty huge infrastructure change in under 10 years if true.

The E30 racecar version handled better than the road version iirc, the 4cyl engine sounded much better than expected n it. The E46 always sounded good as that's one of the things every review made sure to point out during that time. It was only in later years with the internet did the "omg sounds like spanners" brigade emerge :p

Note that I'm on about the sound when driving enthusiastically, not just cruising about.
 
The turbo Ms have a weird fart on gearchanges with DCT version, some like it some don't :D

Event tyres managed to get my locking nuts off the front of mine yesterday, so off to BMW later for a new set of and them to replace the rears. PS4S on the front and went 10mm wider to 255, no more stretched look.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Just renew the BMW one. There isn't a better one for the money.
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Just ran a quote on my next e38, thinking it's sub 60k miles and I've read so many good things about it......

£218.89 per month, £100 excess including emergency service!

On the one hand,I was surprised they even quoted and doubt I'd get a warranty worth the paper it was written on anywhere else no matter what the premium, I'll just be banking a few quid each month I think...
 
I know, I know, I post every now and again to say I'm still looking to replace my now aged Accord.

I've been looking at 328i, 335i and more recently at the 328i GC as I'm looking for something with 4 doors that will seat 5. The 335i GC is out of my budget which is around 20k, ideally.

Which out the 3 I've listed would be the best to aim for as on paper the 328i looks like more than enough for me but the only problem with the 328i is getting one with the upgrade entertainment system and xenons whereas most of the 335i I've looked at always seem to have these.
 
chroniclard said:
New M3's/M4's in the carpark sound pretty good to me.
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The green M4 sounded nice from the outside, but the M3 didn't from the inside. But as discussed, I guess that's what happens with Turbo'd 6s. What happened to the induction noise like on the CSL?
The M3 sounded OK when I nailed it in 3rd, but that's about it really. Still really flat and uninspiring.
 
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