New Space Gray/Fox Red e90 M3 owner....checking in.

[Mvy]

Welcome. And beautiful car. I do love the color combo. Jiggs is the man for helping you out too! See, this is a great community of car lovers who help each other out! Thats one of the best things about owning the car.

Now on to your questions.
1) Strong exhaust smell with stock exhaust is not really normal unless you are talking about right at cold start . Check for leaks at the points of connection.
2) Oil reports. Lots of people say they are useless, but thats because most people dont understand how they work. A single oil report isnt helpful. A trend of data over time, especially after you change rod bearings is really helpful. My recommendation is to change the bearings, then every oil change after run the report. Its not a fail safe since you bought the car used and dont know what was going on wear wise before that time, but i get piece of mind out of being able to watch trends over time. It will also help you determine how long between oil changes since the BMW interval really should be ignored (dont go 12k between oil changes for the love of god).

3) Rust on the rotors: this happens to me all the time and is not anything to worry about. The rotors are iron so they rust. Mine rust right after a car wash when left overnight. The pads clean the rotor when you brake so just drive it and have fun! Lots of brake dust is normal. You have options to switch to different pads to reduce it but on the stock brakes its just part of the deal. I spend more time detailing the wheels when I wash the car than anything else because of this and I have an after market set of rotors, calipers and pads.

[MikeyDawg]

Re the exhaust smell... I only notice it in my garage after I've gotten out of the car. So it could be from the initial cold start of the car. It doesn't really smell like raw gas like some have mentioned and it may be totally normal. Just something I've noticed recently I thought I would ask about. The other day when I noticed it I sniffed around the garage and it seemed to be coming directly from the exhaust tips. Just a little stronger than I noticed from previous cars.

The car did have a race (catless) xpipe when I got it but I immediately reinstalled the stock xpipe so it's possible I have a leak in there somewhere, but it's not audible at this point. Gonna change the oil this weekend, so I can start the car and take a closer look when the car is up on the quick jack.

As some have suggested I do have the mod bug already but aside from getting the wheels sorted, I am gonna focus on maint for now.

Thanks for the comments so far.... def a great community.

[spazzyfry123]

Did the car have a tune on it for a catless system? Hope it isn't sending more fuel than needed for one of those burble setups. If it does it may fry your cats over time.

[MikeyDawg]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Did the car have a tune on it for a catless system? Hope it isn't sending more fuel than needed for one of those burble setups. If it does it may fry your cats over time.

No tune. CEL was loud and proud when she arrived which I confirmed via Foxwell was due to no cats. I'm probably overreacting... but will continue to monitor.

[kscarrol]

Great find! But I admit to being biased...

What exhaust is on the car?

[Aktavate]

Welcome, nice spec!

[MikeyDawg]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Great find! But I admit to being biased...

What exhaust is on the car?

RPI GTM .

[zstreet86]

good find, best interior!

[Rustoration]

Congratulations on the find. It is great to hear about the brotherhood that made it possible.
I picked up an E92 in the same color combo just over a year ago with 110K on the clock. I have noticed a weird odor on initial startup I attribute it to the cold start mode.

BMW's, in general, have soft rotors and all 4 of them that I have owned do have a lot of brake dust, an issue that I will happily deal with because the driving experience is worth it.

I was a bit paranoid about the rod bearings after spending quite a bit of time here reading as much I could about the issue, both before and after the purchase. I would like to thank all the members who contributed, there is a ton of information.

I have done the rod bearings ( had a local inde shop do them) and have chased oil leaks from the valve covers to the filter housing. It seems that the gasket material gets very brittle, cracks and leaks. Not easy or cheap to work on but if they were everyone would want to have one.

[1BlackDropTop]

Originally Posted by MikeyDawg

After years of lusting over an e90 M3, I finally started my search a few months back and pulled the trigger about a month ago. I bought my M from a fellow m3post member and had it shipped across country...a nerve wracking experience but no regrets so far.

I actually need to thank a fellow member, jiggz, for taking the time to look at the car for me in person, taking her for a test drive, and giving me a full run down of the car.

So far, the car hasn't disappointed. I have a few 60k mile maint. items coming up that I need to start addressing, but other than that the car has been taken care of very well.

Few questions:
-Is a strong exhaust odor normal at times? Not from within the car, but when I park and get out the exhaust smell is noticeable in the garage. I have a stock xpipe... and I assume its the exhaust smell. (yes - this forum has me a tad paranoid regarding this vehicle). I dont see any oil leaks in the engine bay or anything.

-The car is on original RBs (its a 2009 with 59k miles), it is the consensus that blackstone reports are pointless on all MYs or just the ones with newer bearings? I eventually want to get the RBs done, but it is not on my immediate to do list right now.

-The car wasn't driven a lot by the previous owner so the rotors were rusted. I've only put about 100 miles on it myself but the rust has come off the rotors but it seems like the rotors/brakes are creating an excessive about of brake/rotor dust... is this normal? I cleaned the car this weekend, drive it a few miles and the wheels are immediately covered in rust/dust.

Anyway, I am sure I will have more questions, but enough rambling for now.... here are some pics. I did have the 220s refinished over black which I think turned out pretty well.

ROLL TIDE!! Welcome, and beautiful car

[Bemo]

OP - congratulations, she is purdy!

I too have pronounced exhaust smell and assumed it was normal. Based on what someone else posted, I'll have my indy check the x-pipe and driver sider fuel delivery unit.
As for bearings, i'm not playing the lotto. At 27k miles, I have ordered the replacement parts and getting it done next month, you should get this squared away.

Wishing you many happy (s)miles.

[Drifter2090]

Congrats! My E92 335 was the same colour combo, I tried to get the same for my E90 M3 but ended up settling on AW/FR. I have the same exhaust smell usually only cold starts.

Post pics of it sitting with the Arc-8s!

[Orion3]

Welcome, nice car!