Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...
- Thread starter mrk
- Start date
Gearbox and engine mounts will be done next service for mine. Bushes were refreshed last year
Yep they are old cars, keeping them in good shape you gotta do preventative maintenance. I did a compression check on car three years ago, all spot on, its having it done again next month just to be safe, as like the rod bearings, the HG is also a weak area and known to fail on higher mileage examples. So next month I might just give it a full inspection 2 along with HGF replacement to be on safe side as the gasket kit and fitting cost less than the whole need of skimming the head should it fail and not get spotted in time.
For now I've pretty much settled on keeping it forever haha, I've got new wings and a carbon (real carbon CSL) to fit, just no time to get stuff done at the moment. Once that is done might get the car a full respray, wheels refurbished and alcons re-painted to bring the aesthetics back to new as well.
F10 M5. I've also had an (SMG) E46 M3 and drive a friend's DCT E92 M3 fairly regularly.
CSL roof or boot lid Gibbons?
I'm confident in my car's aesthetic condition and mechanical state, just stuff like mounts are the obvious replacement at this mileage so should be seen to.
Everything so far feels and sounds spot on.
I want the evolve carbon plenum, but it's £lolll
I'm confident in my car's aesthetic condition and mechanical state, just stuff like mounts are the obvious replacement at this mileage so should be seen to.
Everything so far feels and sounds spot on.
I want the evolve carbon plenum, but it's £lolll
True. The M5 is fairly sterile. It's ridiculously fast, but there's no drama until it tries to go sideways. Which it does regularly. I think half the issue is the soundproofing. It doesn't feel fast because there's so little noise. I borrowed a friend's E60 M5 for a weekend, shortly before buying the F10, and that didn't feel quite as clinical. The engine and gearbox combination (yes, 'jerky' SMG-II...) helped there though. Obviously neither are M3s; they're cruisers.
The DCT in the M3 feels slightly less refined to me, as it should, it's much older and in theory you have a few extra modes for it, but you get a bit more noise overall so the overall experience is different.
The point I was trying to make last night was that the gearbox is part of the character of the car. SMG was a product of its time. Driving SMG cars today is fun, it's nostalgic. Like the open gate in a manual Ferrari. Modern cars are all very similar and I find that dull.
CSL roof or boot lid Gibbons?
I'm confident in my car's aesthetic condition and mechanical state, just stuff like mounts are the obvious replacement at this mileage so should be seen to.
Everything so far feels and sounds spot on.
I want the evolve carbon plenum, but it's £lolll
I've already got a CSL boot lid, its a CSL roof I have and some new lighter vented wings as mine have properly corroded, I was gonna get them done this month but find myself spending too much time in the Mustang and holidays. I am hoping to have the M3 carbon roof, new wings, fresh paint and wheel refurb all done by Spring next year, Summer at the latest, mechanical I think I've replaced everything haha, just really the HGF left to do as preventative maintenance on it, the rest is all done, boot floor, rod bearings, bushes/mounts throughout, brakes, suspension, differential. Not sure I ever posted but the car is now also running an E60 M5 LSD. I am also trying to get it to around 1250kg but in a Clubsport spec so its still a fine car to use on the road, in short no worse than say driving a CSL or older GT3, the only main difference is this is quicker and has a lot more grip, particular in wet conditions.
With the lack of weight and motorsport diff I'd say its as quick as my Mustang even though its nearly 150 horses short, it shoots well above its weight in acceleration but then when it corners the handling is on another level yet it remains super composed and has good ride comfort. Lets just say this one rides better than my CSL did, a miracle considering its on KW Clubsports which are the firmest (spring rate) of the KW offerings for the E46.
1250kg and 380HP puts it at over 300HP per tonne and the short gearing and quick SMG gear shifts just make it a lot of fun and unlike regular M3's is not getting thrashed by the new hot hatches of the world. People see an M3 these days in their Focus RS or new CTR and think easy kill, though an E46 M3 with some weight pulled, shorter ratio's surprises a lot of stuff, even the big boys.
Mine does not shift slowly in S6, its pretty bloody quick and i think it would beat me in a manual, and 100% be more consistent when "on it" then i could be. Also the the fact i can stick it in S6 and just point and shoot is a good thing. Have you driven or owned an SMG equipped car? And was it working correctly as gibbo eludes to as if it wasnt that may be the issue with your experience. I havent been in a newer DCT equipped car so cant compare. All i know is so far the SMG is great in my experience, yes its old and it has its quirks but it works in this car and it works for me
Jinxed myself?!
Fired up the car this evening and a short drive later the check engine light came on. Got home and did a diagnostic run. I should add that the car drove normally, sounded normal and all fluids and everything are normal.
Looks like my Lamba sensor is on the way out which in turn has thrown off the other codes? Either that, or the secondary cat is failing...
I've cleared them all and will do another drive tomorrow to see which ones remain.
Me and my big mouth eh.
Realistically, unless you have INPA/DIS you're not going to know when each of those codes were thrown, so best do as you have done - clear them and see if they come back.
It'll either be an anomaly or an oxygen sensor i reckon.
It'll either be an anomaly or an oxygen sensor i reckon.
Hmm it does sound like o2 sensor, but I guess if it was the cat, then an emissions test would reflect that. That would be during MOT, but that's not due until Feb, and my next service is 6500 miles away at present.
Think I'll see if it comes back, could just be as you say, an anomaly. Stranger things have happened to others
Although a quick Google shows faulty lambda sensors are not uncommon.
Think I'll see if it comes back, could just be as you say, an anomaly. Stranger things have happened to others
Although a quick Google shows faulty lambda sensors are not uncommon.
So you know, it's a £950 job at TI and the head skim accounts for just £50 of that.
Thanks for the info, thought if head needed skimming it would add a whole lot of complication, in that case if compression check is an all OK, I shall just leave it well alone. But now when it comes to all things E46 M3, I let Ti do everything as they are very good, I know they've done around 20 boot floor repairs now, a few rod bearings and a couple of HGF, one because it had failed.
Drove this morning, error code hasn't come back. Most likely an anomaly.
PS4s being fitted Saturday too. Overall an interesting week
My zed loves to throw random errors especially after shutting engine off for a few mins.. say when filling up.
Usually abs/TC/tps errors pop up and go away after next start up.
I'm thinking weak battery as I had that in my Mazda when battery was nearly dead it would fail to do all checks..
Zeds battery is old af.
Ti's pricing is very fair, their boot floor repair is under 1k including the plates and their welding work is quality. Other places want 2k plus for the same job!
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E60 M5 diff, what are the gains with this Gibbo? Not heard of this swap before.
Mines in with Mr Vanos in a couple of weeks time for rod bearings, preventative vanos work and I'm mulling over a headgasket while he's at it. £2100 if I go for all 3. Any thoughts?
The car has ticked over 10500 miles now, no problems at all, but I'm intending to keep it so its the right thing to do, the rod bearings at the very least.
Mines in with Mr Vanos in a couple of weeks time for rod bearings, preventative vanos work and I'm mulling over a headgasket while he's at it. £2100 if I go for all 3. Any thoughts?
The car has ticked over 10500 miles now, no problems at all, but I'm intending to keep it so its the right thing to do, the rod bearings at the very least.
What's he doing with the VANOS, full rebuild? If so, £2100 for all 3 is a good price but you really don't need to think about the HG until it's blown; then you will get a lot of tell tale signs and if you periodically compression test you'll be able to keep on top of it. The HG issue on E46's has been blown (see what I did there) way out of proportion.