Any M3 owners with no track intentions

[GoGeo]

Amen.

Originally Posted by shift@red

99% of m3s will never see the track. its a gt car and not even close to a street legal race car. its better as a dd than it is a track car and is good for a dd that can be driven on the track with some brake work. if you want a race/track car than can be a good dd buy a porsche or ferrari.

[RayC]

Although the M3 does well on the track, by no means is going to the track a requirement. Besides, if you're the one paying for it, who cares what you do with it.

That being said, I'm finally hitting the track next month! Need pads and high-temp brake fluids!

[quality_sound]

I DD mine and bought it with the intention of driving it year round, which I do. We just had the longest winter in 3 decades ,from what I'm told, and the M3 handled it like a trooper. A good set of winter wheels/tires and all was good. I have been to The Ring twice but I'm not track rat by any stretch of the imagination and I don't see my self becoming one.

I picked the M3 over the 335i simply because it's a better car, in every aspect except mileage, and it's a palpable difference. That difference was worth the price difference to me.

[cukoodukoo]

wow, thanks for the opinions guys.

I can say for sure that financially I might not be a millionaire but have just started a promising career.I enjoy cars but had to wait a bit to have the $ to buy a car like an M3.This would be my second vehicle.My first vehicle is a CRV and was purely bought keeping the families needs first.

So, speaking straight my experience with sporty cars is zero and would like to enter this domain.When It didn't take long for me to floor the 135i during the test drive[not my car] .But I am pretty sure i might not be able to floor the M3 right away from day 1 as I care for my toys.Is the M3 too low that you have to drive carefully on uneven surfaces?

Oh BTW ,I would only buy stick and it would be the present coupe.

[quality_sound]

The M3 isn't low at all. I think the 335 actually sits lower. Maybe the M3 needs more wheel travel to stay stable in the corners at high speed? I'm not sure, but there does seem to be more wheel gap than on the 335.

[BMWMFAN27]

Originally Posted by cheesy9

Probably not, especially since I'm getting a convertible...

Same, have a vert on the way.

[GoGeo]

If you were able to "floor" the 135i, you can certainly floor the m3. The M3 will be a much easier car to handle than the 135i. The M3 is a better car when it comes to handling and stability. Most M3s, like most GT cars will never see a track, think Range Rovers and four wheel driving.

This thing about the m3 being a superior car than the 135i and the 335i is a bunch of crap, the m3 is greater at handling and speed. The m3 is a fairly heavy car and it disappoints when you keep the revs low. The 135i and 335i are excellent around town and for a quick sprint on the fwy. If you're unwilling to stretch the m3 and or track it, you'll be driving a beautiful car but never really enjoying what it can do...

However, if you want a true sports car experience, you'll simply have to go to a different car manufacturer...try a 911TT or an S, much more raw than anything that BMW puts out and you can DD a P-car without worries.





...

Originally Posted by cukoodukoo

wow, thanks for the opinions guys.

I can say for sure that financially I might not be a millionaire but have just started a promising career.I enjoy cars but had to wait a bit to have the $ to buy a car like an M3.This would be my second vehicle.My first vehicle is a CRV and was purely bought keeping the families needs first.

So, speaking straight my experience with sporty cars is zero and would like to enter this domain.When It didn't take long for me to floor the 135i during the test drive[not my car] .But I am pretty sure i might not be able to floor the M3 right away from day 1 as I care for my toys.Is the M3 too low that you have to drive carefully on uneven surfaces?

Oh BTW ,I would only buy stick and it would be the present coupe.

[starkraven]

Originally Posted by piloto

If one were buying a car predominantly for the track, there are better (lighter) options than the M3, though by no means is the M3 a bad choice in that respect. However, the biggest appeal of the M3 is that it's a jack of all trades (except fuel economy), and it's great on the track and on the road.

+1

[ShadeD1]

I'd vote for the 135 or 335 as a DD...I love my M but it is a compromise on the street. Someone said "awkward" and thats how it feels to me on the street...However, I bought it for a track car so I am VERY happy

[J08M3]

Mines not going to the track.... Mostly cause the closet one to me is about 3 hours away. It's a perfect daily driver. Way more fun to cruise around than a 335. The 335 is nice, but kind of boring in my opinion. The M3 is only slightly more money than a 335 w/ some options. It drives way better, looks much cooler, is definitely faster, a ton of fun on the open highway and on the twisty back roads. What more reason do you need?

[dimabimmer]

^^^^^^^

very well said. I agree with this one +1

[serge]

Originally Posted by GoGeo

This thing about the m3 being a superior car than the 135i and the 335i is a bunch of crap The m3 is a fairly heavy car and it disappoints when you keep the revs low.

Even though I respect your opinion, I'm starting to get tired with all the negative comments about the M3. They all seem to come from 135/335 owners. Please watch this video and give it a thought:

[dimabimmer]

^^^^^^^^^^^

awesome video!
... it says it all,- M3 has an edge.

[BMWMFAN27]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

^^^^^^^^^^^

awesome video!
... it says it all,- M3 has an edge.

+1 great Vid

[335rocket]

Its interior is actually not identical. The seats are totally different as well as the grade of leather, which is much softer and more comfortable

[smmmurf]

To the OP, if you have no intentions of tracking it but just want a fun daily driver, the 135i/335i are plenty for the street. Most of the M hardware only truly comes in handy when you are pushing the car hard (i.e. high redline, limited slip differential, chassis tuning/balance). It is great on the street but so is a 335i for $20k less. In some ways, the calmer personality of the 335i (more low end pickup, easier gearchange) is better than the M for just tooling around- and the MPG is a LOT better... 335i can get probably 50% better MPG (20 vs. 14) and go 300 miles between fillups instead of just 200.

[BigHat]

Originally Posted by shift@red

99% of m3s will never see the track. its a gt car and not even close to a street legal race car. its better as a dd than it is a track car and is good for a dd that can be driven on the track with some brake work. if you want a race/track car than can be a good dd buy a porsche or ferrari.

This

[ferrari6891]

I dont, and I still love it. I would love to track it, but I can't take more time out for my car than I already am between mods and meets. I'm sure that the m3 really screams on the track...no doubt...but it is still a lot of fun on the streets. And if you're even considering buying an M3, it means you can afford it, so I wouldn't say that you're "wasting" money on getting "just the badge." There's so much more to this car then just tracking or DD-ing

[garek]

I agree with smmmurf. I owned a 2006 E90 330i 6MT prior to my M3, and I have to say that if you're not going to take the M3 to the track, the 335i is the better choice as a pure DD. For the extra $20K that the M3 costs, what you get for the most part is added performance.

However, if you never take it to the track, you can't take advantage of that extra performance. The M3 has far more performance than you can use on the street. Anybody who says that you can use the M3's performance on the street is either a) blatantly disregarding the traffic laws or b) only thinks they are using its performance.

Most of the time, your M3 will be stuck behind some minivan slowly accelerating to 40MPH. And when you do find some open road and you do open it up, you have to lift even before you hit redline in 2nd gear. That reminds me of the Top Gear episode where Richard Hammond gets to drive an F1 car and he says "I experienced full throttle in an F1 car." May asks, "for how long?" Hammond says "well, for half a second." So if all you do is keep your M3 on the street, you'll be able to experience the acceleration for a second here, or a second there, but that's it.

So in essence you would be paying an extra $20K for performance that you won't use. It's like buying a bottle of expensive wine, and just looking at it.

Also, there are a few things about the M3 as a DD that are not ideal. First, the engine is a high revving engine, and is most responsive above 4000 rpm. Well, keeping the engine in the upper revs is not really ideal for street driving. There was a massive thread about the low end torque, which I'm sure nobody here wants to get into. Second, even if you don't care about MPG, the cruise range in the city is quite short - the thing will start complaining it needs more gas after about 160 miles of street driving. For these reasons, I think the 335i is better for driveability on the street.

[garek]

Originally Posted by shift@red

99% of m3s will never see the track. its a gt car and not even close to a street legal race car. its better as a dd than it is a track car and is good for a dd that can be driven on the track with some brake work. if you want a race/track car than can be a good dd buy a porsche or ferrari.

I have to disagree with that. In my experience, M3s are some of the most frequent visitors to track events. I'm quite certain that BMW as a make is by far the most common German brand I've seen at track events (yes even more common than Porsche). I live in a city of more than 1 million people, and I can honestly say I've seen more E9X M3s at the track than on the street.

But yes, the M3 is not a race car, it is a gt car that does well at the track. Like others have said, the great thing about the M3 is that it is a jack of all trades. It can be your one car to do everything. Porsches and Ferraris are great, but it would be difficult to have one of those as just your only car.

[pokerface]

Originally Posted by cukoodukoo

I am in the market to buy a sporty car and have M3 on the list of cars to try.I have no intentions to try it on track.It would be purely a daily drivers car[irrespective of weather].I have test driven the 135i and liked it [though the lag was noticeable].I haven't test driven an M3 yet.I wanted to know if there anyone her who used the M3 just as a regular daily car.Pros and cons?

The others in the list would be probably a S4[sry I am not brand loyal yet].
TIA

Congratulations on being on the market for one! I too hope to make that move some day.

don't really want to state the obvious but the only issue with this comparison is that the S4 is closer to a 335i xdrive than the M3... it seems that you currently drive a CRV. How willing are you to put up with RWD in the winter? Granted snow tires do a lot towards mitigating this problem but 70% of the people I talk to avoid RWDs for this reason.

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by cukoodukoo

I am in the market to buy a sporty car and have M3 on the list of cars to try.I have no intentions to try it on track.It would be purely a daily drivers car[irrespective of weather].I have test driven the 135i and liked it [though the lag was noticeable].I haven't test driven an M3 yet.I wanted to know if there anyone her who used the M3 just as a regular daily car.Pros and cons?

The others in the list would be probably a S4[sry I am not brand loyal yet].
TIA

me because i dont know where a track is