Engine Sound during Idling

[mikey19]

so, I have a E90 M3 with about 300 miles. I know its very new and still in the break-in phase. But during idling (when warmed up already), the engine makes a sound that does not remind me of a 414hp V8.

but more like a clanky Inline 4

i mean it has this cycled clanking sound .... is this normal? what do y'alls M3 sound like when Idle (from the front i mean).
the exhaust note is nice, although very quiet...

[MMMazing07]

its not a muscle car. its a M3

the clanking sound is probably from the idle settling down.

[montreal red]

i know what you mean... the m5s have this rough idle sound too... i think its characteristic of M engines... they only sing at high revs.

[Dascamel]

Yeah, need to rev it a bit.

[masmole]

If you're referring to the metallic old-diesel-like sound when you start it up from cold, that's typical of the S85 V10 in the M5 & M6 also. It's the exhaust system or something or other making that racket and goes away when it warms up. My M5 was worse but the M3 does it too but not as obvious. Even when it warms up, the idle still has a metallic clanking going on if you stand outside and listen closely. This is just part of the engine design. It's obvious that the engineers at M-Division placed "sounds-good-at-idle" close to the bottom of their priorities list and put "high-revving-ass-kicking" closer to top. I'm not going to argue with that logic.

[Irb Digital]

I actually love the raspy sound coming from the front of the car. I goes against the refined look and appearance of the car, giving it some needed rough edges. To me it adds personality. It was one of the things that made me smile before I took my first test drive.

[Kadarin]

The car sounds like it has a good ol' fashioned gear drive instead of a timing chain.

[adamr]

Originally Posted by mikey19

so, I have a E90 M3 with about 300 miles. I know its very new and still in the break-in phase. But during idling (when warmed up already), the engine makes a sound that does not remind me of a 414hp V8.

but more like a clanky Inline 4

i mean it has this cycled clanking sound .... is this normal? what do y'alls M3 sound like when Idle (from the front i mean).
the exhaust note is nice, although very quiet...

i think its fucked!!!! 4 of your cylinders aint working ... take it into BMW ASAP!!!! ...

[midlifecrisis]

At a NJBMWCCA meeting last year Rich Brekus of BMWNA mentioned that some new M owners were bringing their cars in because of the funny engine noise during warm up. This is normal, and sounds like a tinny exhaust rattle or rough idle. If I remember correctly, its actually the equivalent of raw gas being injected into the exhaust header and lit off to heat up the catalyst more quickly. It should go away after a minute or two.

[RandyB]

Originally Posted by Kadarin

The car sounds like it has a good ol' fashioned gear drive instead of a timing chain.

Actually, the exhaust cams are gear driven off of the intake cams. I'm sure steps have been taken to eliminate the noise associated with gear drives but they are straight cut gears.

[RandyB]

Originally Posted by Irb Digital

I actually love the raspy sound coming from the front of the car. I goes against the refined look and appearance of the car, giving it some needed rough edges. To me it adds personality. It was one of the things that made me smile before I took my first test drive.

Same here. The headers sound great when the car is cold started before everything gets up to operating temp.

[booforty]

Its says in the M3 manual (p108):

Warming Up The Engine
During the warm-up phase the high performance V8 engine runs a little more roughly due to its emissions control system. For technical reasons, the exhaust system sounds slightly more metallic when the engine is cold.

[drvai]

I still find that the car doesn't sound good enough. At high revs sounds great, but fro inside you can't hear it and if you open the window, the wind will cover all the music.

I wish it sounded like a ferrari

[Fkellym3]

Originally Posted by mikey19

so, I have a E90 M3 with about 300 miles. I know its very new and still in the break-in phase. But during idling (when warmed up already), the engine makes a sound that does not remind me of a 414hp V8.

but more like a clanky Inline 4

i mean it has this cycled clanking sound .... is this normal? what do y'alls M3 sound like when Idle (from the front i mean).
the exhaust note is nice, although very quiet...

yes i know excalty what you are talking about.. My car does that too...its normal... no worries..



but especailly starting the engine and warming up the oil is the sounds i dont like..

[booforty]

Originally Posted by drvai

I wish it sounded like a ferrari

You can buy a Tubi exhaust for the E92 M3 - same exhaust system as supplied to Ferrari http://www.scuderiasystems.com/

[nusevad]

the sound is normal, don't get too paranoid lol.

unfortunalty our cars won't sound like ferraris but it has it's own unique note that I love

[JEllis]

paranioa is running rampant on these forums......

Jason

[FunRevn]

I love the sound of the car about 20 seconds after start up and it last about another 20 seconds or so.

But today my car started to sound different after driving for about 20 min. Deeper and a bit drone like. Basically the sound changed. I have about 550 miles on her. Did anyone else notice this.

[Heat00]

yea I kind of like it to, definetly notice it more than on my 335 which did do it a bit too..
but it sounds mean and nasty... sweet

[FunRevn]

bump