My New Fire Orange/Competition Pack M3

[deltamonkey32]

Sweet ride, love fire orange. I would go with gloss back over the carbon fiber parts as well. Throw an exhaust on and maybe drop it and your good to go!

On a side note, haven't got a chance to check out infinte prosperity but congrats on that project!

[sin911]

Lewis, congrats and welcome to the forum

1- I'd stick to OEM Black Chrome Side Gills, goes with the front kidney grills. And get gloss black painted badge from IND

2- There was a website where you can enter the VIN and it shows you all the details about the car. But I forgot

3- A good exhaust is a must, the car is a little mute.

4- How good is your driving skills? Any racing or go kart experience? If you're willing to try DSC Off, then go to a turn that you know really well (and is wide) at night while there is no traffic, and try. But slowly!

Advice: Never shift gears while drifting!!!

[info@trinityautosport]

congrats =)

[positiveions]

congrats

[NoM3ForMe]

Congrats on the car OP, she is beautiful.

[0-60Motorsports]

Looks great mate! Congrats

[LewisMocker]

Thanks for all the replies!

Okay first i'll get the front lip on then i'll weigh up putting the CF gill / badges. Also sent away for a quote on an Akrapovic Exhaust system. Anyone got one of them?

More noob questions:

What do wheel spacers do???

To drop it more do I need all new springs?? and how will that effect handling (better or worse). Any brand suggestions?

THANKS!

[paradocs98]

Great color! Congrats!

A few suggestions:

For info on suspension modifications and lowering springs, read these good threads in the suspension/chassis section:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=339168

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=427147

You have to do your research and be somewhat careful when doing lowering springs. Some setups work well, but others just dump the car to the ground with no regard for other aspects of the suspension, and as a result greatly reduce suspension travel so that you're riding on the bumpstops, or change alignment or suspension geometry for the worse.

Wheel spacers fit between the wheel hub and the wheel itself, pushing the wheel out further toward the fender for a more flush, aggressive look. Whether or not it really helps handling is probably debatable. Lots of people use them on the M3, so there's plenty of info on that topic here. Once again, it's a somewhat controversial topic. Some people swear by them, and love the look they provide. Some people warn that they put more stress on the wheel hub and suspension over the long term due to the wheel being mounted further out with them in place. Others then counter that the Euro M3 GTS uses them, so it must be okay if BMW therefore endorses their use. Whatever you do, make sure you get high-quality, time-tested ones that are hubcentric, meaning that they fit onto the center hub's lip so that the stress of the wheel/tire assembly is not riding on the wheel studs or bolts. And if 10mm thick, they need to have their own hubcentric lip built in for your wheels to sit on. I highly recommend Turner Motorsport for this if you're going to run spacers.

As for the manufacturing date of your car, you can find it on a metal plaque mounted to the driver's door sill. It should provide the VIN, color, and manufacturing date. From that date you can probably verify the official model year.

Lastly, good pics of the car. And you look like you could be Nicolas Cage's younger, better-looking brother. Just stay away from Lisa Marie Presley--weird family.

[coogs08]

nice car...and nice watch!

[Powerbeast]

She's a beauty, congrats!

[///Madhatter]

Congrats!

[Ohh_5H1T]

Hey aren't u the guy from infinite prosperity? Haha nice to see you join the ///M family!

[mdosu]

loving the color.

[Talk2meg00se]

Beautiful car, congratulations. I will say this, however: if you're going to roll around with a GTS doppelganger, you absolutely must upgrade the performance. That thing can't be left bone stock

I'm only kidding around. Truth be told, the capabilities of a bone stock M3 will generally eclipse the abilities of its driver 99% of the time. Track junkies will tell you that you if you're going to mod, start with brake pads, maybe ajdust the suspension, and that's it - anything else, in their estimation, will be beyond what is necessary / what you will be able to handle. Having tracked my car while still stock, I'd say that I generally agree with that sentiment. I was able to hit 135ish on a short straight before being dumped into a big hairpin - is more power really necessary? Maybe if you have tons of track time under your belt, but very few of us actually do. In my case, it probably would have pushed me into a wall

Of course, I threw common sense out the window and went ahead and modified the car all the same (haha). A brief description of the mods:

1. MS pulley / MS intake / ESS tune: I lump these together as its very difficult for me to tell which one has had the biggest impact (all 3 were done at the same time). If I had to guess, the tune is probably the largest contributor to performance enhancement. I will say this, with these 3 mods, the car certainly "feels" faster - seems to have more torque, esp. down low. Of course, take this for what it is. I never had it put up on dynos. It's purely my subjective assessment. There has been debate re: the effect of bolt-ons. The threads aren't hard to find.

If you're looking to drop buku bucks, a super charger can't be beat. With the right kit, you can turn your M3 into something that is GT-R / Z06 fast.

2. Akrapovic slip-on: no real HP enhancement here, maybe a 3-5 at most; this is about enhancing the sound w/o becoming obnoxious. If you want true gains, go for the full Akra Evolution (only $1500 more, at least in the U.S.). For me, the slip-on was sufficient. It amplified the sound, without pissing off the girlfriend too much (it's now about as loud as she is willing tolerate). Also, the car remains street legal, which is very important to me. Maybe someday I will upgrade it to the full Evo system, as this apparently creates an additional 20-25 HP, but for now, I'm happy with the slip on.

3. MS spacers: as far as I can tell, they are a purely comesmetic enhancement, but I love what they do for the look. The stance just looks mean. I'd say that spacers would be a must for that GTS wanna-be .

Draw-back: tires will kick up road debris that will strike the side of the car - streaks of rubber along the side, etc. will become commonplace findings. Also, can't drive until tire dressing is dry (unless you want it all over the door panel, etc.).

4. Before modding: evaluate the effect that it will have on your warranty. I personally waited for mine to expire before touching the car. There are a lot of shop homers here that seem to indicate that you can virtually re-build the car as you see fit w/o voiding the warranty. My interactions with BMW seem to indicate otherwise. To the extent that you are interested in maintaining your warranty, I'd speak to your dealer first to see what is permissible in terms of modification. I'd take what people tell you here with a grain of salt ...

[Koop]

Congrats! Love Fire Orange.

Recommend against messing with the Roundels.

Enjoy!!

[VSmotorsports]

congrats on the purchase!

[ortho281]

Congrats! Love the fire orange. I have the Akra Evo and is very pleased with the sound.

[Ghetto2315]

Nice Lime Rock Park Edition errrr I mean Fire Orange E92 M3. Drive it in good health!

[Blindside_137]

First pic I scrolled down and only saw the top of the car and said please tell me he got it with black zcp wheels!

Looks amazing! Congrats

[MKE_M3]

looks great! I'd keep it stock, it is a special car and will stay more special w/o mods. Just my 2 cents! I'd also leave the stock ride hight. On non glass smooth roads, suspension travel is really important and it will be tough to lower it and keep stock travel. The ZCP suspension is really great and probably more competant than the vast majority of drivers, even on this forum!

[CCLSVTM3]

Very sweet. I saw one here on a freeway in SoCal a few weeks ago.... Very sick.....

[Soorena]

Nice. Congratulations.

Those shoes look comfy