Why did you NOT mod / tune your M3?

Just picked up a '13 E92 (16k miles) last Saturday. I'm currently on the fence about an ECU / DCT stage 1 tune. I THINK my car is completely stock, although I don't SEEM to have that cold start boom sound that I've read about. I have great hearing, so maybe I'm overestimating how loud it would be? So there's a chance my car had a tune from the previous 1 owner, but I doubt it.

Anyway, for M3 owners who plan to keep their cars a while, say 5+ years, why have you not yet had a tune, or otherwise kept your car completely stock?

I'd imagine the 2 biggest reasons are that you're satisfied with stock performance, or that you're worried about long - term reliability / longevity from a tune / mod. I currently plan to keep the car for as long as I'm able (say forever lol), so I'm heavily weighing the pros / cons of tuning / modding.

Before I get bombarded with "search dude" comments, I'll say that I've read about just every tuning thread on the internet, but almost none of them are from the perspectives of owners who chose NOT to tune. Thus I'd like to hear from some of those owners.

Another thing for me to consider is that I have OEM warranty / maintenance till summer 2017, so I could wait till after that to tune / mod.

Thank you guys.

Get to know the car and develop a sense of what more you want out of it. Mod it after your warranty expires next summer.

pbonsalb wrote

Get to know the car and develop a sense of what more you want out of it. Mod it after your warranty expires next summer.

Previous car was fbo 335i with e85. That car got the "need for speed" out of me so with the m3, I'm just looking to keep it aesthetically clean.

young dude wrote

Just picked up a '13 E92 (16k miles) last Saturday. I'm currently on the fence about an ECU / DCT stage 1 tune. I THINK my car is completely stock, although I don't SEEM to have that cold start boom sound that I've read about. I have great hearing, so maybe I'm overestimating how loud it would be? So there's a chance my car had a tune from the previous 1 owner, but I doubt it.

Anyway, for M3 owners who plan to keep their cars a while, say 5+ years, why have you not yet had a tune, or otherwise kept your car completely stock?

I'd imagine the 2 biggest reasons are that you're satisfied with stock performance, or that you're worried about long - term reliability / longevity from a tune / mod. I currently plan to keep the car for as long as I'm able (say forever lol), so I'm heavily weighing the pros / cons of tuning / modding.

Before I get bombarded with "search dude" comments, I'll say that I've read about just every tuning thread on the internet, but almost none of them are from the perspectives of owners who chose NOT to tune. Thus I'd like to hear from some of those owners.

Another thing for me to consider is that I have OEM warranty / maintenance till summer 2017, so I could wait till after that to tune / mod.

Thank you guys.

No tune here. To me, this one I have was always going to be a keeper for life as IMO the model is that special...maintenance expenses be damned.

Preservation mods took precedence over performance mods.

Had my criteria been different, something other than an E92 M3 would have been my purchase. The E9xM3 had what I was looking for at the time. That being said, there will come a day when something else gets driven home, but there are no new models out there right now that induce do-want thoughts. ymmv Having to wait awhile is expected and looking backwards may be the only way to go if manual, rear wheel drive and naturally aspirated are truly passé in the years ahead.

However, the E9xM3 I drove in 2008 for the first time was as close to perfection as I could expect for any M car with its weight and size and a relative bargain too boot given its segment competition which was laughable or damn close to laughable.

P.S. Future what-did-I-do-for-my-M3-today "mod"...place order for crate S65B40 engine to have a spare in hand. Coming soon.

Focus on weight savings mods!

I plan to keep my M3 for life as well, however, the only things I've done are routine/preventive maintenance, and a transmission tune.

Unfortunately, it is my daily, because I don't want to drive anything else, ha.

I'd say at a minimum get the (official) software update for the motor to 240/241E (if not already). I've been told that it may be easier on the motor. I plan to update soon.

Maybe for the transmission consider getting the GTS DCT Tune with feature coding from Alex at Alpine (dedicated thread to that). The stock ride is real harsh at low speeds. No way that can be good for the engine. Also not comfortable for passengers, even if you can tolerate it. The GTS DCT flash fixes that, and smooths out shifts even in S mode.

Funny I bought the m3 to get out of the modding of cars. I switch off cars often so to put thousands of $$ into it only to sell it doesn't make sense. At least not to my wife. Haha

It's a fun car stock. Also to get the gains I want its supercharger or nothing. If I were keeping I'd probably buy springs.

Oh if I get a f83 m4 it's getting tuned after I sign the papers

I dont even think I am driving the m3 the way it is supposed to be driven. No modding necessary for now I guess.

Take some time to know your car before you do anything, I took first year to just drive the car and got to know it. I then did did a 3 phase mod, nothing too crazy - cosmetics (blacked out chrome and switched wheels), freed up the "breathing" and brought out the exhaust note a bit more, and a month ago decided to get a stage 1/dct tune. The tune got rid of the clod start, smoothed out and made everything just that little bit more responsive. Definitely worth it.

Not my thing

I too had a modded 335i and I guess that scratched the itch. Also I am so in love with this car the way it is I don't feel the need. My car is stock and may just stay that way. I would consider the Dinan tune but I really don't want to change anything until I get to know the car better. Hell, I am still learning how to drive it.

Keeping the car, and running it into the ground. The mods I've done to the car are:

- Gutted muffler box mod (ACM)
- Black EAS 80mm exhaust tips
- 2016 NA Navigation software upgrade
- DCT tune
- DME upgrade

No more mods for me, the car is fast enough and reliable. Just staying ahead of schedule on regular maintenance. This car is my DD so it has to be in prime running shape all the time!

Getting a canned tune which is what you will get should not cost more than a grocery bill because that's what it cost for the tuner to provide it to you (cable included) but he'll charge newbies like you triple or even four digits. I will never pay for a tune.

Mods cost money and don't add any value to the car. Took me many years to learn this one. Pretty much everyone on this forum do the exact same mods, so they all look the same....and a 100% original car becomes more unique and over time more valuable!

I am satisfied with the stock performance. I have always wondered about those aftermarket improvements from the standpoint of the E92 GTS. In order to improve the car, BMW M GmbH bored it out and reduced weight. I have never been convinced that a balanced car can be provided in the absence of proper vehicle instrumentation.

I personalize all my cars. In that BMW is a Dinan distributor and Dinan products do not affect the warranty, I had the Performance Engine Software, Dinan High Flow Carbon Fiber Intake and Dinan Freeflow Exhaust installed prior to delivery - my M3 was delivered with 437 hp/313 ft. lbs. torque rather than 414 hp/295 ft. lbs. torque. I've also had the dealership mount a modified GTS tire setup - 255/35/19 front; 285/35/19 rear.

Each person must decide what works for them rather than go with the flow and do or don't do based on what others are doing/not doing.
To me doing the DCT upgrade was a no brainer...the car runs better and is much smoother. I wanted a better sound so added the Corsa axle back and ran it for over a year before recently adding ESS X-pipe w/HFC and a tune to eliminate the CEL. Wow, what a difference! I'm glad I waited but if I had it to do over I wouldn't wait because each upgrade reveals more of the cars personality. Good luck and enjoy the car!

People thought I was crazy but I didn't even tune my leased 335i when I had it. I like to enjoy cars the way they came out of the factory (for the most part) and give the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt that the cost of their R&D is superior to any third party that claim their mods are superior.

Over the years I've seen what happens to cars that are modded and tuned...they deteriorate faster and are less desirable. I would like to keep my car forever and the most I'm doing to my car besides OEM+ cosmetic looks is the exhaust. Drivetrain and suspension will remain OEM as this isn't a Corolla and I trust that the German engineers extracted the maximum performance out of this vehicle without sacrificing reliability.

I felt spoiled after owning an Evo and getting major hp bumps for relatively little money. I just dont think the $$/hp for a na motor are worth it, unless you add a blower.

Now brakes and suspension definately, but i have not felt a deficiency in either for what i use the car for. (No track days.... yet).

I did the Dinan DCT software just to smooth things out - definitely worth it to me.

I don't know if a performance tune is worth it though? A lot of $ for minimal performance gains.

Poverty