M3. V8. Saloon.

[chris_p]

I'm so full of want for one of these it's ridiculous.

I know they're by no means a rare car, but they are very special, and they will be remembered as a great.

 

[Ian_182]

I would love a Silverstone one of these with CSL rims and some red/white leather.

 

[ForceIndia]

An m4 overtook me this morning, max attack. Such a dull noise. The e90 sounds immense in comparison.

 

[AdDaMan]

Love St Michaels Mount!

 

[Ian_182]

An M4 came past me today on my bike in traffic, admittedly no noise as such but jesus Christ what a rear end. So wide.

 

[Poopensharten]

Aye the M4 is unmistakable for anything else, @ian 182 , eh!?

A consultant in work has one, massively overshaddowed by the fact that he's a bigger bum than ten arses!

 

[Rich-D]

I think you need to try one then, the way people talk about the e39 M5, i think an e90 would be a good natural progression, although from what you say, the lack of torque below 2k rpm would be different to the e39, you do need to make sure of the box a decent amount in the e90. On the flipside, having just been down to Cornwall for the weekend, whilst it is epic letting it fully rev out to 8k+ rpm, it travels ground really rather well from 3-5k rpm and with the 2 pipe mod does sound wonderful. The noise under load in that rev range is sublime, lovely induction noise along with the warble/wail of the V8, my god does it love to rev though, the throttle response is magic even in normal mode, in Sport Plus its electric.

Its got plenty of space for 4 people and their luggage and cruises quietly at 80mph with a decent sound system & full iPod integration (the "base" sound system is also more than good, far better than in the M135i where it was terrible!), with the EDC set to "comfort" the ride quality is very good, with some slight firmness added in "normal", "Sport" will be set for when im by myself and the roads are billiard table smooth i think, the M Button is currently set for Sport+ throttle, Sport steering, Normal EDC and TC On, if i want MDM ill turn that on manually i think.

All in all, ive owned it for a week and done 1k miles over a variety of roads & speeds, both myself & with 4 up. Barring the slight thirst, 15 around town, 24 on the trip to Cornwall (compared to 27 in the e46 M3 and 31 in the M135i) and small fuel tank (just enough range to get from Weybridge to Penzance), i can safely declare (thankfully as its cost more than anything else ive owned), that its the best car ive had, quite easily.

It surpasses the wonderful e46. Whilst do miss the rasp of that car, the V8 sounds fantastic in a different way, more broad chested/deep and it just sings to the top end. Easier than the 6 in the earlier cars imho, it never sounds strained, similar to the vtec lumps in a Honda, it feels like if there was no limiter it would happily go far higher with no sign of strain or unhappiness. The overall usability and feel of the car is just that bit better than the older ones, but again, imho, better than the new ones, purely as the quality of the interior materials is just higher, perhaps the e92/e90 era was a great one as it matched the higher build quality of the e46's with the modern tech of the F30's, but without the penny pinching of the modern era, im not sure, but i do love the car. The perfect family car perhaps, but bugger me, it wont be cheap to own i dont think.

Does sound like you are very happy with it, they have always been on my want list.

Like I said though, one day... I've got the Golf R for 2 years, which I'm loving as its a very different car from what I've had for the past few years, can't match the M5 for noise, not much can!

 

[Ali]

Great motor.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Well Dave besides all the arguing about fun, its lovely! I love driving my Dads E92, the noise is special when it get going. You can keep your Mercs with their loud exhausts, its all about being subtle until the time is right not farting and spluttering at 30mph.

I tend to agree, my boss has an e63 AMG and the noise whilst amazing, is a little "forced" sounding i think!

I'm so full of want for one of these it's ridiculous.
I know they're by no means a rare car, but they are very special, and they will be remembered as a great.

Thanks Chris, im loving it so far, have actually ony ever seen 1 other saloon, so i do think they are alot rarer than the coupe

Love St Michaels Mount! :smile:

You & me both, luckily my parents live about 15 mins drive away, so i tend to walk along the beach there every time i go home!

First modification at lunchtime, new number plate.

Not as good as the mini's one imho, but i didn't want to swap them around unnecessarily.

 

[Martin.]

Two very nice motors, and two very nice plates!

 

[Brookie.]

I keep seeing D4 VYJ on a black Golf near me, always reminds me of yours!

 

[cat171]

I keep seeing D4 VYJ on a black Golf near me, always reminds me of yours!

Ah, the real Slim Shady, I bet he'd kill for that plate

 

[Gally]

There is one like that near me on a Red R26... he might have it on an Audi now. Looked identical to Dave's one.

 

[Stay Puft]

I really want a D4VY plate, my surname . The only one atm for sale is something like D6VY F, and F has no relevance

 

[Sir_Dave]

I keep seeing D4 VYJ on a black Golf near me, always reminds me of yours!

Ah awesome!! I originally wanted D4VEJ, but it was £8k lol.
@Davyy whats your first name?

 

[Stay Puft]

Sam. Ideally after something involving my initials (SJD) or like the above.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Id probably be looking at these from the DVLA Website:
D15VYS - £499
S19AVY - £250

 

[Stay Puft]

S 19AVY would be naughty spacing wouldn't it?

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Any non-standard spacing is naughty spacing.

 

[Stay Puft]

In that case, it'll look naff The hunt continues.

On topic, car looks lovely!

Since I commented on the lights, i've bought a 318 in this shape, (obviously can't compare) but the rear lights have grown on me.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

On the contrary, non-standard number plates looks naff. Like you wanted a private plate but couldn't afford what you actually wanted. But this is coming from someone who would rather just blend in number plate wise.

 

[alistairolsen]

On the contrary, non-standard number plates looks naff. Like you wanted a private plate but couldn't afford what you actually wanted. But this is coming from someone who would rather just blend in number plate wise.

Irish plates are acceptable.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Irish plates are acceptable.

Agreed, but it's still standard though despite being a different layout- 4 numbers, space, 3 letters right?

 

[alistairolsen]

Agreed, but it's still standard though despite being a different layout- 4 numbers, space, 3 letters right?

Other way around but it's the cheapest way to hide the age of a car and not look out of place as plates which actually spell something are exceptionally rare and expensive.

 

[cat171]

Northern Irish plates are cheap for a reason! They look so crap! (I'm sorry for taking this further OT)

 

[Iain C]

Love that. Really prefer the 4 door to the 2 door.

 

[jesus]

There's a super easy and reversible solution to the lights - gunsmoke Lamin-x over the clear/white bit. If it looks s**t, just peel it off.

EDIT: Or just leave them lol.

 

[Rich-D]

S19AVY - £250

 

[Jamie86]

I dread to think how much DVLA have made out of you on plate swap fees!

Nice car though

 

[M444TTB]

A PGAC / Performance Car Club nostalgia trip led me here. Didn't think I'd get 2 for 1 with Dave and Phil in one thread! M3 looks sweet. I've considered one for a daily driver but I really want an estate, don't really need a daily driver and have an E36 touring that won't die! A S4 Avant will probably appear eventually (or maybe a C or E63 estate).

 

[Sir_Dave]

A PGAC / Performance Car Club nostalgia trip led me here. Didn't think I'd get 2 for 1 with Dave and Phil in one thread! M3 looks sweet. I've considered one for a daily driver but I really want an estate, don't really need a daily driver and have an E36 touring that won't die! A S4 Avant will probably appear eventually (or maybe a C or E63 estate).

Ha ha, good to see you floating around Matt, hope you're well!! Impressed you still have an e36 as well lol ...
Taken a couple of silly little videos over the past few days, the iPhone still doesnt really capture the sound very well, but its ok :hearteyes:

 

[Mr Burns]

Just been to the 'Ring in one of these... Very nice motor that does pretty much everything well.

 

[Sir_Dave]

So, still no changes with the M3, just been driving it. The mini being broken for so long has made me question the point of having a trackcar when i already have this though, i simply love the car, the way it pootles around town, but then absolutely devours miles when im on it is a constant source of amazement.

In addition, the money i'm looking to spend on fixing the mini would pay for some better pads/lines/fluid or 6 pots & a spare set of wheels/tyres for this (& insurance!!) ... and no matter how much power the R53 has, this is still quicker, out of the box. RWD track driving is perhaps something that i need to discover.

As an aside, my wheels are beginning to upset me, the lacquer has peeled & buggered the polished finish, so i am pondering buying some Avant Gardes, for £660 delivered, they probably arent that much more than getting the wheels properly refurbed. These are my 220M's vs genuine OEM M359's, the Avant Gardes have a slightly wider offset (equivalent to a 12mm spacer on the front):

 

[Brookie.]

Those wheels look epic. Do it! Like you say, when you take into account the cost of a good refurb it's a no brainer really!

 

[BIFCAIDS]

As an aside, my wheels are beginning to upset me, the lacquer has peeled & buggered the polished finish, so i am pondering buying some Avant Gardes, for £660 delivered, they probably arent that much more than getting the wheels properly refurbed. These are my 220M's vs genuine OEM M359's, the Avant Gardes have a slightly wider offset (equivalent to a 12mm spacer on the front):

Don't f**k about just get them bought, they look far better and still look OEM. Below was mine 2 months ago, not Avant Gardes but CMWheels didn't stock them at the time and to import them it was going to cost me £1400 for a set so I got these instead. I know mines not an M3 but you get the gist.

 

[Cookson]

Avants. NOW!!

 

[_Tom]

Although I prefer Avant gardes I'd stay oem..😊

 

[Lukas1]

Although I prefer Avant gardes I'd stay oem..😊

Yeah I'm with this, looks cleaner IMO.

 

[Gally]

So when do the CSLs come?

 

[Barron]

OEM