New owner.. But not very happy?

[kyippee]

You might want to consider buying a Mercedes C300. Excellent daily driver, comfortable, has a Mercedes badge, relatively low maintenance, cheap used price with low miles!

[Transfer]

OP is hiding.

[BayE30]

Originally Posted by Transfer

OP is hiding.

or trolling...

[cjm41]

Originally Posted by Transfer

OP is hiding.

That's what happens when you come to a forum full of people who obsess about their M3s, bitching about ride quality and praising the cup holders and gas mileage.

[sgreer78]

I was disappointed by the EPS sound at first too, still am in a sense, but just haven't forked over the money for new subs. I've found you really have to turn it up for it to shine. At low volumes it is pretty unimpressive.

The low tq took some getting used to, but it's fine now. I kind of like having a car with dual personalities. It's odd getting in my GF's 1.8t Jetta and feeling like it's the faster car.

[EricSMG]

I thought the EPS was fantastic. Really good, crisp sound quality for an OEM system. I can't understand how someone would not be happy with it, overall.

[slowm3sedan]

Sound system? The best music is from the exhaust with the windows down. I personally never have my radio on

Can't expect Lexus ride quality from a car that was built for the track and to be able to drive it home after.

Love my M

[xander_g]

I think the op confused "sports car" with "gt car" when he made the purchase. A 6 series, e-class coupe, or an A/S/RS5 will provide the experience he is most likely after.

[TTony]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

1) You could always get coilovers, though on stock I agree it is pretty bumpy but that the best part! You feel more of the road.

2) SUPERCHARGER!!

3) Are you sure you have individual audio? Run your VIN.

Cup holders suck ass on BMWs

1) Try softer tires. Tires are typically the biggest impact to ride quality, try Michelin MP4S. i have the MP4S tires and ohlins R/T suspension and it rides softer than my Lexus IS350.

2) I have a supercharger and would HIGHLY recommend it. If you are ready to go from sports car to super car levels of acceleration, do this. Otherwise, low cost items that will help this torque deficiency are pulleys, a tune (and DCT tune if that's what you have), and an exhaust.

3) Make sure your audio source is high quality. Are you BT pairing your phone to the car?

[Immy68]

Holy! This thread went 0-100 real fast!

Let me clarify I very well knew what I was getting into, however I was the MOST surprised about the ride quality of this car. I was already aware of the low torque but coming from econoboxes I didn't think it was much of a big issue.

The ride quality hit me the most though. I never expected it to be rough like this . As far as I know everything is stock and I'm riding in comfort mode (edc off). I have the ZCP 19 inch wheels so maybe that is a big factor? There's no way I'm taking those off though as they are way to nice.

You guys may be right though that I'm not driving the car properly. This is why I made this thread to see what I can be doing better! I really want to try to love this car.

What drivelogic setting would you guys recommend driving around the city? I'm mostly playing around with d1 and d3 right now. I also tried with EDC on "normal" earlier but couldn't really tell much of a difference. I will do more testing soon.

Again I just got this car and haven't really played around with it much, I probably only used like 10% of this cars capability.

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by Immy68

Holy! This thread went 0-100 real fast!

Let me clarify I very well knew what I was getting into, however I was the MOST surprised about the ride quality of this car. I was already aware of the low torque but coming from econoboxes I didn't think it was much of a big issue.

The ride quality hit me the most though. I never expected it to be rough like this . As far as I know everything is stock and I'm riding in comfort mode (edc off). I have the ZCP 19 inch wheels so maybe that is a big factor? There's no way I'm taking those off though as they are way to nice.

You guys may be right though that I'm not driving the car properly. This is why I made this thread to see what I can be doing better! I really want to try to love this car.

What drivelogic setting would you guys recommend driving around the city? I'm mostly playing around with d1 and d3 right now. I also tried with EDC on "normal" earlier but couldn't really tell much of a difference. I will do more testing soon.

Again I just got this car and haven't really played around with it much, I probably only used like 10% of this cars capability.

Oh you're in BC too, yeah our roads are pretty ass. If you get on smooth pavement its not rough at all. I'd say majority of the reason the ride is feels like ass is cause of our roads.

Since you're local and this is your first M3, PM me, lets code some features on your car, free of charge of course.

[cjm41]

Originally Posted by Immy68

Holy! This thread went 0-100 real fast!

Let me clarify I very well knew what I was getting into, however I was the MOST surprised about the ride quality of this car. I was already aware of the low torque but coming from econoboxes I didn't think it was much of a big issue.

The ride quality hit me the most though. I never expected it to be rough like this . As far as I know everything is stock and I'm riding in comfort mode (edc off). I have the ZCP 19 inch wheels so maybe that is a big factor? There's no way I'm taking those off though as they are way to nice.

You guys may be right though that I'm not driving the car properly. This is why I made this thread to see what I can be doing better! I really want to try to love this car.

What drivelogic setting would you guys recommend driving around the city? I'm mostly playing around with d1 and d3 right now. I also tried with EDC on "normal" earlier but couldn't really tell much of a difference. I will do more testing soon.

Again I just got this car and haven't really played around with it much, I probably only used like 10% of this cars capability.

Oh man. Put the DSC on 4 or 5, downshift under a highway overpass, all of the car's issues will melt away haha.

I'm in the city, blows, I get on the interstate to enjoy it.

I ride: EDC off/no lights. DSC in 4, power ON. My car is lowered too. It's rough but we have pretty smooth highways in the Tampa Bay Area (compared to like a NYC).

I also have exhaust and a BPM stage II tune, so my car is loud and may not be as bad with low end torque (still sucks, but I hear the tune makes a difference).

[fatalelement]

Originally Posted by Immy68

Holy! This thread went 0-100 real fast!

Let me clarify I very well knew what I was getting into, however I was the MOST surprised about the ride quality of this car. I was already aware of the low torque but coming from econoboxes I didn't think it was much of a big issue.

The ride quality hit me the most though. I never expected it to be rough like this . As far as I know everything is stock and I'm riding in comfort mode (edc off). I have the ZCP 19 inch wheels so maybe that is a big factor? There's no way I'm taking those off though as they are way to nice.

You guys may be right though that I'm not driving the car properly. This is why I made this thread to see what I can be doing better! I really want to try to love this car.

What drivelogic setting would you guys recommend driving around the city? I'm mostly playing around with d1 and d3 right now. I also tried with EDC on "normal" earlier but couldn't really tell much of a difference. I will do more testing soon.

Again I just got this car and haven't really played around with it much, I probably only used like 10% of this cars capability.

I drive in the city a lot, and in SF (I came from LA which repaves perpetually), which has the shittiest goddamn roads in the USA short of like, Michigan. Trust me, I feel your pain. I'm a lawyer, and I end up driving colleagues and sometimes clients around. Usually, someone makes a comment about the ride (never clients). It's rough on the street, but that's functional. It's just the reality of a sport suspension.

The DCT engine brakes in a way that manuals (in neutral) and automatics don't, so you'll get a lot of lurch if you get on it and then back off immediately.

Keep the "Power" button off, since the throttle remap only makes the jerkiness worse when you start to accelerate and then have to stop immediately.

To be honest, I find myself driving a bit like a douche in the city because I don't really want to roll around at 1-3K RPM if I can avoid it.

In short, unless you're driving above 35mph this isn't really a super fun or comfortable car. What you will notice, coming from econoboxes or even a nice 3 series, is that if you are on the freeway or a big, wide surface street with low traffic going fast, the suspension gives you incredible stability. You will be able to go 80 without feeling like you're going fast at all. 100 feels like 65 in other cars.

Unless you're really revving the car out, though, expect to have a less fun time.

[Immy68]

Originally Posted by fatalelement

I drive in the city a lot, and in SF (I came from LA which repaves perpetually), which has the shittiest goddamn roads in the USA short of like, Michigan. Trust me, I feel your pain. I'm a lawyer, and I end up driving colleagues and sometimes clients around. Usually, someone makes a comment about the ride (never clients). It's rough on the street, but that's functional. It's just the reality of a sport suspension.

The DCT engine brakes in a way that manuals (in neutral) and automatics don't, so you'll get a lot of lurch if you get on it and then back off immediately.

Keep the "Power" button off, since the throttle remap only makes the jerkiness worse when you start to accelerate and then have to stop immediately.

To be honest, I find myself driving a bit like a douche in the city because I don't really want to roll around at 1-3K RPM if I can avoid it.

In short, unless you're driving above 35mph this isn't really a super fun or comfortable car. What you will notice, coming from econoboxes or even a nice 3 series, is that if you are on the freeway or a big, wide surface street with low traffic going fast, the suspension gives you incredible stability. You will be able to go 80 without feeling like you're going fast at all. 100 feels like 65 in other cars.

Unless you're really revving the car out, though, expect to have a less fun time.

This is what I definitely need to work on. I hate the lurchiness feeling and it definitely contributes to the rough ride !

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way.

[elteegilbreath]

My humble opinion, having owned 9 Bimmer's in my short 33 years, your probably not best suited for an M car as far as being a car enthusiast goes. I've had several M3's and quite a few non-M cars and let me tell you, there is a MASSIVE difference in them. All the things you describe are, in some form or fashion, true of almost all M cars because they're performance cars, legal race cars you can drive everyday. I think as someone previously mentioned, you would LOVE a solid 335i m-sport. You get all the good M looks, but all the comfort and driveability of a standard BMW, much lower maintenance costs and far better gas mileage. Just make sure the get the premium Harmon Kardon audio system. If you got a good enough deal, certainly consider trading for a 335. I almost went that route before buying my Jet Black E92 ZCP.

[fatalelement]

Originally Posted by Immy68

This is what I definitely need to work on. I hate the lurchiness feeling and it definitely contributes to the rough ride !

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Generally, as I said, keep the "Power" button off and just be light on the throttle if you're in traffic. The lurch isn't always super consistent but it can be pretty bad as soon as the engine starts braking.

I used to daily my track car which was on SUPER stiff springs, aggressively lowered, extremely harsh brakes when cold, and was absolutely in all ways prepared for a track and not the road. It was worse than the M3 by a reasonable amount but I do have to say I too was surprised by how close the experience was. It's not a GT car by any means.

The best way to describe it IMO is the car is kinda trying to get you to drive faster basically at all times (which it is).

[spazzyfry123]

What tires are you running?

Maybe an IS-F would have been a better dress to wear to the ball.

[Montaver]

My first car was a 1.2L Nissan Micra with 60HP and 70 ft-lbf of torque. That is a low torque car that you have to work hard to make progress. The e9x M3 has plenty of torque to make progress, and quite rapidly too. When someone says the car is low torque it says to me they haven't driven many cars.

As for the ride quality, the car is very impressive in comfort mode for a more performance focused car. I've ridden in plenty of cooking model cars (usually Uber's) such as Camrys, Accords, Rav 4's etc. and the M3 damping feels far more sophisticated than all of them. I'd question whether your suspension has an issue. My EPS sounds great, are your subs working?

Sounds like you should lease a Lexus and be done with it.

[jd501]

Originally Posted by m3jala

Regarding the cup holders, I was going to say I actually like them way better than the ones in the central console. Driving on the highway and trying to find your coffee while you look straight, lol.

Coming from an E46, those cup holders (center console) were useless. Conveniently located just below the shifter; if you actually had anything in there, it would hit your arm and interfere with shifting. You'd have to shift with your arm at a 45º angle to avoid it.

[Immy68]

Originally Posted by Montaver

My first car was a 1.2L Nissan Micra with 60HP and 70 ft-lbf of torque. That is a low torque car that you have to work hard to make progress. The e9x M3 has plenty of torque to make progress, and quite rapidly too. When someone says the car is low torque it says to me they haven't driven many cars.

As for the ride quality, the car is very impressive in comfort mode for a more performance focused car. I've ridden in plenty of cooking model cars (usually Uber's) such as Camrys, Accords, Rav 4's etc. and the M3 damping feels far more sophisticated than all of them. I'd question whether your suspension has an issue. My EPS sounds great, are your subs working?

Sounds like you should lease a Lexus and be done with it.

I'm surprised you feel rav 4 and camrys feel worst then the m3? I've driven both these cars a lot and they are way more comfortable then the m3. I'm sure my suspension is fine as I did a 55 point PPI before I bought this car. My EPS sounds fine, it's just not AS good or worth the extra money compared to other cars with similar value, or lower value. It might just be the loud sound of the engine and exhaust that you can't really make use of the sound system in the car.

I will probably keep driving this car. In the future though, I probably would be trading it in for a macan S.

[bkfastwagon]

Originally Posted by Immy68

I'm surprised you feel rav 4 and camrys feel worst then the m3? I've driven both these cars a lot and they are way more comfortable then the m3. I'm sure my suspension is fine as I did a 55 point PPI before I bought this car. My EPS sounds fine, it's just not AS good or worth the extra money compared to other cars with similar value, or lower value. It might just be the loud sound of the engine and exhaust that you can't really make use of the sound system in the car.

I will probably keep driving this car. In the future though, I probably would be trading it in for a macan S.

Macan S is a fine choice although I can't really think of anything single thing special about it. There will be millions of different iterations of macans.There will never be another car from bmw with high revving v8 (or from any company for that matter). If that doesn't move the needle much for you, then yeah Macan is the right car for you probably and there's nothing wrong with that

[nick3753]

What kind of tires are you on?