BMW and M Power Owners

sigma said:
I sat in an M4 recently, it felt so similar to a 320d M-Sport :-\ (although I guess that's the point of the M-Sport, or whatever the trim level is?) also on idle and slow pull off it sounded quite odd, I'm sure it sounds great when going and you hardly buy an M4 for it's interior, but still, not what I'd be happy with for £50k+ the exterior is obviously pretty fap-worthy, mind.
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That's a rather similar reason as to why I went Porsche instead of M3... I'd been driving a 320d for 3.5 years and despite falling in love with an E92 on track... it just didn't feel all that different to my E46 on the road. Sure the engine is great... it just felt like a small upgrade rather than something special.

Still love the E92 M3s... that V8 is spectacular.

Drove the M4 on track a couple of weeks ago and it was a major let down... the E92 coupe was sooooo much better.
 
In what way was the M4 a let down?

Speaking to the owner of the car I sat in he said it feels a bit like "point and go" and it does all the work for you. I guess it's a bit different on the limit though?
 
sigma said:
In what way was the M4 a let down?

Speaking to the owner of the car I sat in he said it feels a bit like "point and go" and it does all the work for you. I guess it's a bit different on the limit though?
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I'm assuming he means the engine mostly. There's really no replacement for a race inspired naturally aspirated engine. The noise and the feeling of stuff happening as the rpm climbs toward 8000 is something special - Forced induction doesn't really inspire the same emotion.
 
crinkleshoes said:
No it isn't... it's an automated sequential... that stick and those flappy paddles aren't pulling the gear selector forwards and back manually... they're switches triggering an automated system to do it for you.

Don't get me wrong... I absolutely adore proper sequential boxes and BMW SMG is sublime... but it is NOT a manual box.

It's a bunch of switches triggering a robot to do the "manual" selection for you... ie... auto ;)

A true manual sequential is the kind of thing you get in many race cars & underneath the robotic arm ;) it's the same thing in SMG... only it's not manually actuated... it's automated ;)

People who list an E46 M3 with SMG as manual should be slapped... especially when the choice is only H-box or SMG...
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Quite. If it has a 'D' mode, it's an auto IMHO.
 
mrk said:
I'm assuming he means the engine mostly. There's really no replacement for a race inspired naturally aspirated engine. The noise and the feeling of stuff happening as the rpm climbs toward 8000 is something special - Forced induction doesn't really inspire the same emotion.
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There's no denying that and on the track I'd much rather have the v8 but on the roads no. In order to get the best out of the engine you need to be getting into the top of the power band 6k+ which on our roads opportunities are few and far between.

The m4 for me personally just felt more fun to drive around town as it has more usable power throughout the rev range than my e92 m3 did. It's the reason after test driving one that I sold my m3 within a week.
 
xs2man said:
I was at an auction the other day where cars were making more than they were on private sale (I thought it was very strange to be fair).

Anyway, there was a 63 plate 330d MSport with Xdrive with almost the same miles as your mates, and similar sort of spec sheet, and it went through for around £21k. I suspect your price is more realistic than his to be honest. It's only got 5 months warranty left on it after all, so it's not like he can be asking dealership prices.
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Dis86 said:
He's living in la la land. I think he'll be lucky to get 17.
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SS-89 said:
17 sounds about right
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Despite my advice he advertised it for £20,500 and had an offer within the day of £18k... he managed to get him up to £18,800 - so I suspect he's done incredibly well! Apparently it's a younger bloke who's been trying to find one with the upgraded hifi for ages :D
 
iaind said:
Despite my advice he advertised it for £20,500 and had an offer within the day of £18k... he managed to get him up to £18,800 - so I suspect he's done incredibly well! Apparently it's a younger bloke who's been trying to find one with the upgraded hifi for ages :D
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He's done very well
 
SS-89 said:
There's no denying that and on the track I'd much rather have the v8 but on the roads no. In order to get the best out of the engine you need to be getting into the top of the power band 6k+ which on our roads opportunities are few and far between.

The m4 for me personally just felt more fun to drive around town as it has more usable power throughout the rev range than my e92 m3 did. It's the reason after test driving one that I sold my m3 within a week.
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I suppose it totally pulls down to your style of driving. I rarely do town driving, most of my driving is A and B road or motorway, so exploiting the rev range is much more involving and enjoyable.

If most of my driving was city based, then I'd have a 2nd car for the city tbh.
 
Hi there

Not really done many updates on the M3, engine feels stronger than ever after I rebuilt it and am really just enjoying driving it. Some pictures I took other night, sorry they are bit dark, it was dusk:


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sigma said:
In what way was the M4 a let down?

Speaking to the owner of the car I sat in he said it feels a bit like "point and go" and it does all the work for you. I guess it's a bit different on the limit though?
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It was just underwhelming on track really.

It felt well planted and it was fast, there's no denying that... it just feels like they've reigned it in compared to the E92 V8... it feels closer to the 435/440i.

The E92 V8 sparks into life at the top end of the rev range, it's an amazing feeling.

But then... you really have to be at the top of the rev range to enjoy it.

Then the E92 felt more like it was on its tip-toes, able to dart around more and dance on the track... the M4 feels more like it's stuck on rails and doesn't want to play as much.

I can see how many would prefer the M4 as a road car... the mid-range is much more usable leading to easier daily driving... it's just not an 8250rpm NA 4L V8...

mrk said:
I'm assuming he means the engine mostly. There's really no replacement for a race inspired naturally aspirated engine. The noise and the feeling of stuff happening as the rpm climbs toward 8000 is something special - Forced induction doesn't really inspire the same emotion.
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Quite right... but even the wider rear-track, some might prefer it feeling a bit more stuck to the road (although it's not as if the E92 felt like it was going to throw you off at every corner)... the E92 just felt more like a ballet dancer with a muffin top.

Howard said:
Quite. If it has a 'D' mode, it's an auto IMHO.
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Quite right...

SS-89 said:
There's no denying that and on the track I'd much rather have the v8 but on the roads no. In order to get the best out of the engine you need to be getting into the top of the power band 6k+ which on our roads opportunities are few and far between.

The m4 for me personally just felt more fun to drive around town as it has more usable power throughout the rev range than my e92 m3 did. It's the reason after test driving one that I sold my m3 within a week.
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Pretty much this... when that V8 kicks into high gear, it sparkles :)

This is the same reason I ended up not buying an E92 as I'd rarely get a chance to play with it on track...

mrk said:
I suppose it totally pulls down to your style of driving. I rarely do town driving, most of my driving is A and B road or motorway, so exploiting the rev range is much more involving and enjoyable.

If most of my driving was city based, then I'd have a 2nd car for the city tbh.
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Even on quiet German back roads, I found it hard to properly use the top of the rev range where it feels alive and as soon as I did, I was doing speeds that would have got me in quite a bit of trouble.

Even there I think you would have trouble exploiting the rev range on the V8. The E46 S6 is much easier to play with... which is why I've been thinking about one of them as my next car ;)
 
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crinkleshoes said:
It was just underwhelming on track really.

It felt well planted and it was fast, there's no denying that... it just feels like they've reigned it in compared to the E92 V8... it feels closer to the 435/440i.

The E92 V8 sparks into life at the top end of the rev range, it's an amazing feeling.

But then... you really have to be at the top of the rev range to enjoy it.

Then the E92 felt more like it was on its tip-toes, able to dart around more and dance on the track... the M4 feels more like it's stuck on rails and doesn't want to play as much.

I can see how many would prefer the M4 as a road car... the mid-range is much more usable leading to easier daily driving... it's just not an 8250rpm NA 4L V8...



Quite right... but even the wider rear-track, some might prefer it feeling a bit more stuck to the road (although it's not as if the E92 felt like it was going to throw you off at every corner)... the E92 just felt more like a ballet dancer with a muffin top.



Quite right...
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The M4 is an overall improvement as a super-fast car to be used daily, its weak point for an M car is its engine.

The S54 was very special, straight 6 with 8000rpm that loved to be revved. The S64 (V8) again 8500rpm a very special engine and both engines make peak power at the rev limit more or less meaning they are great fun to rev out and sound awesome when doing so.

The new engines in M3/M4 are in my view no longer M engines, they are just the regular 435/440i engines running more boost and some minor tweaking and are not race inspired. The engine is no longer that of an M car and now Porsche have gone the same way.

If I had unlimited money, I'd buy an E92 M3 and an E60 M5 as they are the true greats along with the E46 M3.

If I sell the 911 in October, I will probably just buy an M5 to own until Mustang comes along, need to get that V10 tick box ticked! :D

But like you say what the M4 does have is huge A-B ability, 0-100mph is like GTR quick in sub 8s and huge grip, but I feel with all the systems turned off they are not quite the E46 or E92 for hooligan mode and a bit more oooops I just hit the curb/hedge. :D
 
Gibbo said:
The M4 is an overall improvement as a super-fast car to be used daily, its weak point for an M car is its engine.

The S54 was very special, straight 6 with 8000rpm that loved to be revved. The S64 (V8) again 8500rpm a very special engine and both engines make peak power at the rev limit more or less meaning they are great fun to rev out and sound awesome when doing so.

The new engines in M3/M4 are in my view no longer M engines, they are just the regular 435/440i engines running more boost and some minor tweaking and are not race inspired. The engine is no longer that of an M car and now Porsche have gone the same way.

If I had unlimited money, I'd buy an E92 M3 and an E60 M5 as they are the true greats along with the E46 M3.

If I sell the 911 in October, I will probably just buy an M5 to own until Mustang comes along, need to get that V10 tick box ticked! :D

But like you say what the M4 does have is huge A-B ability, 0-100mph is like GTR quick in sub 8s and huge grip, but I feel with all the systems turned off they are not quite the E46 or E92 for hooligan mode and a bit more oooops I just hit the curb/hedge. :D
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My ideal would have been to keep my e92 M3 as a track toy and use the M4 as a daily (even then I only use my car 3-4 days a week as I work in Central) :p Maybe in a few years once E92's hit 10k I will do just that.
 
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