[e36jakeo]

I had a rod bearing failuire in my stock 08 M3. I broke it in as per BMW, then did some 1/4 mile tests with ~2500 miles on the engine. After returning to normal driving I heard a rattling in the engine. Took it to BMW and they said it was a rod bearing. They claimed 2 overrevs to 8700 rpm which, given , the fact it can run to 8400 all day, and many chips allow it to go to 8600 or higher, should not cause engine failure.

The folks from BMW came in to look into it. I wound up with a brand new engine uinder warranty. I now have over 32K miles on her, including about 6 track days, and no problems. I think the early engines may have had rod bearing issues based upon my experience.