JN Garage E92 M3 : S65 V8 Adventures in Detroit

Purchased this 2009 E92 M3 with a healthy options list in New Hampshire in May 2024 with 62,000 miles on it. The car drives fantastic and is everything I wanted in a sports car that I could take to the track for lapping days in the future with my father. It came with Apex ARC8s that I rather like but then I started watching hours of nurburgring videos and combined with 15 years of subaru ownership I relapsed back into gold wheels.

Specs
2009 E92 M3
Carbon Roof
Cold Weather package
Jet black exterior
Black leather interior
Navigation

It has been extremely well maintained so far its just been oil changes outside of the DCT shifter stopping to send can signal one day.


Modifications

Fluids
Liquimoly 10w60 or Motul 10w60 oil
Liquimoly DCT oil
Liquimoly power steering fluid
Motul RB660 brake fluid

Interior

Mr12 Volt carplay integration ( Best $300 spent )
Valentine 1 radar detector

Exterior

Gold Apex ML10 18x10 +25
275/35/18 Pilot Sport 4S
Oem trunk lip
20% ceramic window tint

Performance

Supersprint Xpipe
Akropovich catback exhaust
Stoptech 355mm brake kit





My old E39 touring I sold to make garage space and stop it from oiling my floor with 5w40

I had dream of S62 swapping it but it would have ended up being another $40,000+ car like my old subaru.


I also have this old bugeye that I keep in the garage because I am emotionally attached to it and have spent way too much money since 2013 on it.

Its a simple S204 EJ207 / 6mt conversion on E85 making around 400-420hp

Congrats! Subarus with gold wheels are a perfect stable mate to the M3 😈

I’m definitely considering gold wheels for my car. I’m just so used to that look. Or maybe bronze.

During June 2024 just a month into owning the car I was cruising on Woodward next to a 997 GT3 in metro Detroit when the iconic dash chime went off displaying the gear selector.

Not knowing a lot about the vehicle I got it towed back to my house which was only a few miles away and started diagnosing what the issue might be, turns out there were a bunch of DKG can errors that my foxwell scanner detected.

The DCT gear selector just stopped sending signal so the DME did not even think it existed. I drove up to a local shop that does ZF8 / DCT swaps called Seems Legit and was able to source a replacement gear selector for $100 which was fantastic as FCP had them for around $600. I had read that the new oem part would also require coding so I decided to try a used one instead.

After a few hours of removing the old part and installing the new one the car fired back up with a fully functional DCT !

DCT / DKG codes that happened when I had a shifter failure

5A25
CF12
CF27

Relapsing into the classic subaru gold wheel addiction was fun this summer, I think this is like my 10th or 11th set of gold wheels now.

18x10 +25 Apex ML10 with 275/35/18 Pilot Sport 4S

spammysammich wrote

Congrats! Subarus with gold wheels are a perfect stable mate to the M3 😈

I’m definitely considering gold wheels for my car. I’m just so used to that look. Or maybe bronze.

Dakar is just such a nice color I think my bother had the same color in his 1995 M3 back in 2010-2011 except it had substantially less clear coat than normal M3s.

Dakar 1 is single stage. Dakar 2 in the newer cars has clear coat.

spammysammich wrote

Dakar 1 is single stage. Dakar 2 in the newer cars has clear coat.

Ah that would explain it then, still was a very cool car I have a soft spot for the S/M5X engines.

Woodward Dream cruise week was fun and I even got a bonus fault code






Bonus daily driver and a GT2 with 80k miles on it



DKG faults, not sure if I just caused the module to have a stroke or what

Cleared it and it went away

Slowly getting back into hobbies now

Subaru needs a full interior overhaul along with stocking up on spare hoses for cooling and oiling systems. Likely will have the ID1050x injectors cleaned, fuel pump replaced and spark plugs replaced in 2026.

E85 has been getting 15-18mpg seeing 8000rpm often and has around 600 miles on it this year.

Part of me is tempted to throw on one of the AKD twinscroll turbos that respond like a VF36 while making 400-480whp on E85. That might be risky considering its an unopened S204 engine from 2005 with factory headstuds and it would require additional ecu safeties that only a standalone from Link, Emtron or Haltech would offer.

But it would be rather fun to terrorize domestic V8s and BMWs with crackle tunes.

E92 M3 is just getting normal service with a suspension overhaul in 2026.

Currently debating Billstein B6 EDC shocks or Ohlins RT along with a host of bushings.

My little brother was nice enough to drive the Subaru to a local event and was impressed by the driving experience compared to his Turbo Cobalts. Going to throw him in the M3 next.

Did you replace the fuel lines on the subie? Some locals have had their lines wrecked with e85 when they don’t drive much.

Check all your grounds on the E92 including the ones at the rear on the muffler, yeah weird I know.

spammysammich wrote

Did you replace the fuel lines on the subie? Some locals have had their lines wrecked with e85 when they don’t drive much.

Check all your grounds on the E92 including the ones at the rear on the muffler, yeah weird I know.

Yeah we serviced all the non hardlines and filters a few years ago.

I will go pull up the diagram and check all the grounds next time I have it on quickjacks.

Looks like I am checking my grounds earlier than expected, another DCT shifter fault this weekend after a nice road trip to Grand Rapids.

Just over 70,000 miles I am pretty sure I have a weird electrical issue or ground problem.

dropped you a follow on IG! Both drive subarus on track and m3 on street and both professional IT nerds.

GL with the DCT faults. My e92 is DCT as well and I think it's a good choice but the failures are stressful... I did a full oil/filter service this season and it was like $2k but hoping that will keep it happy.

m3_ultra wrote

dropped you a follow on IG! Both drive subarus on track and m3 on street and both professional IT nerds.

GL with the DCT faults. My e92 is DCT as well and I think it's a good choice but the failures are stressful... I did a full oil/filter service this season and it was like $2k but hoping that will keep it happy.

We seem to love troubleshooting CAN messages after working all day on syslog or SIEM.

I will swap the module out this weekend in between Battlefield 6 and a techno show.

Cleared the codes after the BMW sat for two weeks and it drives like normal.

Very odd DCT shifter codes that is for sure.

Drove it around this weekend then took the subaru out to burn off the last of the E85 in the tank before storage.

Its cars and Coffee season so I have been driving both old financial nightmares a decent amount.

No major upgrades for either this year as medical and house expenses have taken over the car budget this year.

Subaru will need some GR STi heated seats or something more comfortable than the old Evo 8 Recaros then some service next year with a new oem replacement clutch after 10 years of exedy twin plate along with whatever other parts need service.

M3 will get some Ohlins in the future and hopefully a track day in 2027 along with the usual service items. Aluminum under tray and oil change are coming up in a few weeks.

Subaru is about to hit 175,000 miles
BMW is at 70,000 miles

I have more updates on instagram and hope to put a youtube video or two together this year but overall I am a lot less active on social media now preferring to relax at home with my cat.

Fun fact the E60 M5 in this picture is almost at 240,000 miles and has been to a majority of the lower 50 states.