E92 M3 as a weekend car?

[Andy348]

So the Jeep SRT is out of warranty soon and I'm looking to pick up a more reasonable DD (F150).

I am looking for a fun weekend car that is manual, 2 door, fun to drive, light weight (ish), quick, and relatively DIY-able. I live in the country, long sweeping roads but with a lower speed limit than you probably think. I was thinking of something that I can throw around on weekends and have a lot of fun with, but maybe drive throughout the week a couple of days if it was nice out.

I really wanted an E30 S54 because its extremely communicative, fast enough, and a real blast. However I've been down the E30 road one too many times and dont really have the time right now to work on one.

Big fan of the E92; I love high revving engines, BMWs in general, and the looks are a huge plus to me. I am only worried about the weight. Even stripped they are 3300ish pounds, which still seems a bit heavy. I won't be running through chicanes or tracking it, so part of me feels that its light enough and communicative enough. The other side of me says that if its a pure weekend car and I have a reliable DD, why not go for something more raw..

Any suggestions?

[TrAcK TRaP]

E92 M3 is not what you want

[SAMM3Y]

I too use an e92 as a weekend car, I like the versatility of being able to take it golfing with a passenger and a couple of sets of clubs (don't think I could get three sets of clubs in the trunk) I can take it on track days with two passengers and gear. Road trips, the dog can have the back seat. It checks a lot of boxes. It doesn't feel it's weight/size behind the wheel but it's no Miata.

[Damage Inc]

Budget?

Maybe a Boxter or Cayman for the pure driving experience?

E9x is a great platform but more of a GT then canyon carver.

[roastbeef]

op, sounds like you haven't driven one- go drive one and then decide on the weight.

[Andy348]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

op, sounds like you haven't driven one- go drive one and then decide on the weight.

You are correct - I tried to Turo one in Florida but the guy cancelled on me. If I drove one I could definitely answer this myself, but my nearest dealership is 3hrs away and doesn't have one in stock.

Budget is pretty open. I'm not in a huge rush and the budget is just a function of how long I want to wait, if that makes sense. For the M3 I would budget the supercharger kit, BBK, exhaust, KWs, etc anyways.

I read a lot of people saying the E92 M3 is a daily driving, occasional track car that isn't the right choice for weekends.. and then I see people stripping them out and using them sporadically as weekend/track cars.

[roastbeef]

the e92 is a fantastic daily driver. however, when some of those opinions that it is not, i think you should consider what mods they have done to make it not a good daily driver.

for example, i leased a smart car for three years and daily drove that as i tracked and modded my e92. after my lease was up, i daily drove the m3 for about three months before i bought a smart car. i was miserable during those three months- but it has some context... i went from not worrying about warm-up, not worrying about speed bumps or driveways, and not going to the gas station every 3-4 days to driving the m3. when you're not used to all that stuff, all of it becomes a pain in the ass.
so if you're going to put a lip on your car and lower it, you might be frustrated if your other car is a SUV or a truck (i see you have a jeep). it starts to become more of a pain in the ass depending on how you mod it.

i presume since you're up north that this would be your summer love.

the weight is there, but its not terrible. i'm thinking this car is going to stay relevant and popular at the track for a very long time.
i'm sure you'll note the low torque in the lower rpm's since you're coming from a jeep srt. just be sure to visit the upper rpm's on a twisty road for a proper taste.

[kyrix1st]

E92 M3 with bucket driver's seat is what you want.

Your body moves around too much to explore the limits of E92 in sport EDC.

The car is definitely heavier off the line compared to E36/E46 but high speed cornering is where its capability is at. E92 clocked 2:28 on Suzuka completely stock on PS2 tires which isn't far off the M4's 2:25.7 with PS4S.

[JackieChiles]

One key question. Do you need / want back seats?

I have an e92 as a weekend / fair weather car but I have 2 small kids and my son loves to ride in my car.

If I didn’t need back seats I would not choose an e9x as a weekend car.

I would be driving a 911 or a cayman.

I also would definitely not spend all that money on an e92 when you could be in a 991.1 s or even cayman gts/gt4 for that money, which is a much better true sports car. Unless you have a serious need for straight line speed the m3 cannot compete with a purpose built sports car.

That said I love mine, and love sharing the experience with my son. It is a great value for what it offers at the price point.

[Montaver]

There is nothing lightweight about the e9x. It's a great all round machine but for a weekend car I don't think all round capability really matters as much. In stock form its more GT, I certainly wouldn't describe it as raw. If you are happy with 2 seats and something more compromised for daily driving - Exiges and Elises are great buys right now, lightweight and you can wrench on them yourself. Plus you wont lose any money on them. I'd also look at Boxster / Cayman for that flat six magic. If you want to stay in BMW land, a Z4M is also a great buy right now.

[nick3753]

If you don't need backs seats, and you're concerned about weight then I'd go another route as listed above. Z4M, Cayman/boxster, vette, s2000 come to mind.