Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

Gaygle · 27 Jan 2015 at 03:44

loltim said:
and smg.

jk mrk m8. Lovely looking car.

Yeh it does look seriously well looked after.

On that topic, I completely see why he would get the manual, as I'm looking for one also. SMG is OK but the potential to give £2000 bills with no warning whatsoever and without you being able to move the car is just too great. This wouldn't be so much of an issue, but with the backdrop of a car that costs £700 for a set of tyres, up to £800 for a service, headgasket problems, clutch changes and subframe issues ON TOP of your regular normal car issues, you start wondering if you really need yet another thing that can drop a bill of such magnitude. I don't care what people say about how the internet has exaggerated the problem, the bottom line is that a 11 year old car with 70-100k miles will have a failing SMG pump at some point. It might be tomorrow, it might be in a year or two, but it will happen.
Not to mention you have the salmon relay problem which although not expensive or time consuming, could be annoying. And you can often get clutch slur even with half the clutch still there. Then there is the low speed clunky gear changes.

For day to day driving I think a manual would just be better. For that time when its dry, the road is clear and you want to give it some, SMG would be great. Every other time, manual would be best.

mrk · 27 Jan 2015 at 07:47

I dunno Gaygle, I'd say manual is best every time anyway unless on a track

Marvin said:
Lovely car and great sound. Appreciate the magic instrument blurring - seems a handy option .

Dust on the lens at that very moment most likely!

Eliot · 27 Jan 2015 at 09:30

Gibbo said:
Only 5 new coils, surely make sense to do all 6?

Oops forgot to explain!! He had one done the week before, 2 days later another went, So I said, "buy 5 bosch ones from ECP and we will do the rest"
plugs has been done on the service only a few thousand miles ago so I knew it wasn't those

sunny007 · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:05

very nice car!!

MeAnBoY · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:13

With the lights on the rev counter, am I right in thinking that the M3 limits the revs to 4k from cold? Good touch if so

Gibbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:13

Eliot said:
Oops forgot to explain!! He had one done the week before, 2 days later another went, So I said, "buy 5 bosch ones from ECP and we will do the rest"
plugs has been done on the service only a few thousand miles ago so I knew it wasn't those

Why I got all six as ECP were selling them at £21 each at the time so it just made sense to change them all at that price. Once one goes the rest tend to follow.

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:18

MeAnBoY said:
With the lights on the rev counter, am I right in thinking that the M3 limits the revs to 4k from cold? Good touch if so

I think the orange lights on the rev counter simply give a visual indication of the "ear sex" zone

mrk · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:45

MeAnBoY said:
With the lights on the rev counter, am I right in thinking that the M3 limits the revs to 4k from cold? Good touch if so

Havana_UK said:
I think the orange lights on the rev counter simply give a visual indication of the "ear sex" zone

The redline is variable, it will increase as the engine warms up and the engine/exhaust will be in loud mode until 5500-6000rpm variable has been reached. Once at normal engine temp, a single amber and 2 reds will remain at the top end

SMG models have a shift light which lights up all the lights to indicate a good shift moment, the manual can have this enabled with a reprogram. Evolve charge £50 for this or you can do it free if you have the right cable and software.

Here's the shift lights in action on someone else's manual car:

Tom|Nbk · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:57

Nice touch on the lights might get that enabled on my manual

Using this thread as an opportunity to post a pic of my manual coupe

Dogbreath · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:35

mrk said:
- I don't like the slight clunk you get at very low speeds in the 1st to 2nd gears. This is normal and noticeable more in a manual depending on clutch position. BMW call it "Acoustic Feedback" where load reversal takes place on M drivetrains for instant torque to reach the rear wheels. Browsing owners clubs, it seems to mostly be noticed by M3 owners all the way from E30 to E92 in both manual and SMG/DCT.

I would still jack it up and check the diff mounts. It's such a common failure that unless they've already be done fairly recently. they are probably quite tired.

FWIW, any kind of clunk under load reversal means you AREN'T getting instant torque at the wheels by definition, since there must be some backlash in the drivetrain

mrk · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:41

Ah yeah, the moment you apply throttle the torque is there and it's tight and all is well, it's when just gently moving forwards and shifting casually between 1st and 2nd at very low speeds it can be heard!

Heard the same noise in others too including the CSL.

Tom|Nbk · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:44

Mine does it also

Gibbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:55

Just the diff locking up or is a bit tired.

When my diff is rebuilt I will let you know if it goes.

mrk · 27 Jan 2015 at 12:32

Aye but still good to get it checked whenever it's in the garage next I guess

Scania · 27 Jan 2015 at 13:45

Dogbreath said:
I would still jack it up and check the diff mounts. It's such a common failure that unless they've already be done fairly recently. they are probably quite tired.

FWIW, any kind of clunk under load reversal means you AREN'T getting instant torque at the wheels by definition, since there must be some backlash in the drivetrain

I had this type of shunt through the driveline on my 325i, I thought it was the Clutch delay valve thingy only to subsequently discover my rear diff mounts had torn themselves from the chassis, in three different places. :/

Get somebody to put the car in gear and bring the clutch to the bite point (with the front wheels chocked or your foot on the brake) whilst your looking at the diff from underneath, if it noticeably moves (as mine did) get it thoroughly inspected as a matter of urgency.

Gibbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 14:04

Scania said:
I had this type of shunt through the driveline on my 325i, I thought it was the Clutch delay valve thingy only to subsequently discover my rear diff mounts had torn themselves from the chassis, in three different places. :/

Get somebody to put the car in gear and bring the clutch to the bite point (with the front wheels chocked or your foot on the brake) whilst your looking at the diff from underneath, if it noticeably moves (as mine did) get it thoroughly inspected as a matter of urgency.

On the E46 M3 I think there is just two diff mounts or three, two at the rear which are part of the diff plate/seal and BMW only sell it complete for about £130 and maybe one bush up at the front.

When my new diff is put in I shall also have all new bushes done too as I believe the diff bushes are different to the subframe bushes and as such will be the only bushes not yet replaced on my car.

Scania · 27 Jan 2015 at 14:11

So is the M3 less prone to this subframe tearing issue that did for mine then?

Sounds possible!

Clarkey · 27 Jan 2015 at 15:08

Nah they are by far the most prone for it, lots of tyre and a locking diff connected to a powerful motor puts a lot more load through the rear end.

Gibbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 15:41

Scania said:
So is the M3 less prone to this subframe tearing issue that did for mine then?

Sounds possible!

All M3's will suffer subframe failure at somepoint in their life, including CSL's as well. Some have literally had the boot floor and subframe fall out, any specialist/BMW dealer should inspect the area come MOT/Service as its a known weakness.

Mine had very minor cracking at 100,000 miles, it has being welded, re-inforced and resin injected now, so should be fine.

ThundyCat · 27 Jan 2015 at 15:51

So want.

Reminds me of Will Gill's.