Unpopular Opinions Thread (Moderator: No Politics)

[SLC Steve]

I like the updated iDrive and having the menu for seeing stuff and programming the sound settings easy and the MDM stuff easy. Who cares of it has a nav that is worthless? I have a phone for nav.

I think the enhanced/individual sound system is actually quite good and there is no reason to swap out for anything else.

Pulleys and tunes seem like a worthless "upgrade" and if you want to do that sort of thing you just bought the wrong car.

Non-OEM roundels/diff colored roundels have NO BUSINESS being on any BMW and I silently disapprove the car and owner when I see them.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by SLC Steve

Pulleys and tunes seem like a worthless "upgrade" and if you want to do that sort of thing you just bought the wrong car.

Why is this? I have heard nothing but praise on both the "stage 1" tunes as well as the DCT tunes. Drastic change in both cases as I understand it (I do not have any tunes on my car short of the song of the S65 gods for what it's worth).

Genuinely interested. First I've heard against a tune and certainly an unpopular opinion! I'm considering a tune through Alpine myself.

[EJT86]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Why is this? I have heard nothing but praise on both the "stage 1" tunes as well as the DCT tunes. Drastic change in both cases as I understand it (I do not have any tunes on my car short of the song of the S65 gods for what it's worth).

Genuinely interested. First I've heard against a tune and certainly an unpopular opinion! I'm considering a tune through Alpine myself.

I did tune and pulleys at the same time and YES you can feel the diff. Mid range. I’ve since gotten numb to it but I also remember the tires chirping 2-3 shift where previously they didn’t

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Why is this? I have heard nothing but praise on both the "stage 1" tunes as well as the DCT tunes. Drastic change in both cases as I understand it (I do not have any tunes on my car short of the song of the S65 gods for what it's worth).

Genuinely interested. First I've heard against a tune and certainly an unpopular opinion! I'm considering a tune through Alpine myself.

It's the unpopular thread Tyler, so yes his post goes against the grain on what most all of us who have these items know to be true. My tuned DCT car with Dinan pulley walks other fully stock E92's. A pull from a rolling start, say 20mph to 70mph and I'll have a one car length lead if not more against a DCT car. Closer to 2 car lengths against a 6MT car. On brand new pavement I have heard my tires chirp 3rd.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

It's the unpopular thread Tyler, so yes his post goes against the grain on what most all of us who have these items know to be true. My tuned DCT car with Dinan pulley walks other fully stock E92's. A pull from a rolling start, say 20mph to 70mph and I'll have a one car length lead if not more against a DCT car. Closer to 2 car lengths against a 6MT car. On brand new pavement I have heard my tires chirp 3rd.

Steve is saying it's worthless because it doesn't really make the car THAT much faster. One car length improvement isn't a huge difference in how a street car feels, and the goal isn't necessarily to win races. If you want a seriously fast car that feels noticeably different, a supercharger is the only way to go. Pulleys and intake will get you a slight (forgettable IMO) butt-dyno gain but will end up being removed when it comes time to bite the bullet with a supercharger to get the performance level most of us desire. I understand and mostly agree with his unpopular opinion.

Here's another unpopular opinion of mine: baby blue is a terrible looking color on all cars. Looking at you Laguna Seca Blue and Yas Marina Blue. I'm a die hard fan of blue cars but never understood this smurf fad that started with the E46 and has since trickled down to many other cars.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Steve is saying it's worthless because it doesn't really make the car THAT much faster. One car length improvement isn't a huge difference in how a street car feels, and the goal isn't necessarily to win races. If you want a seriously fast car that feels noticeably different, a supercharger is the only way to go. Pulleys and intake will get you a slight (forgettable IMO) butt-dyno gain but will end up being removed when it comes time to bite the bullet with a supercharger to get the performance level most of us desire. I understand and mostly agree with his unpopular opinion.

Here's another unpopular opinion of mine: baby blue is a terrible looking color on all cars. Looking at you Laguna Seca Blue and Yas Marina Blue. I'm a die hard fan of blue cars but never understood this smurf fad that started with the E46 and has since trickled down to many other cars.

Agreed, SC is the only thing that will wake an E9X up. But it is nice to win regardless of by how much

[EJT86]

An SC will cost $6000 at least! Pulleys and tune are about $1200 is there a better way to spend $1200 to add more power to an NA car? Of course money being no object you can always do things to “wake up the car better” get a 4.4L lower compression and run twin turbos. But no everyone can do that and I think if someone has $1200 to spend looking for a lil something more then pulleys and tune are a good option

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by EJT86

An SC will cost $6000 at least! Pulleys and tune are about $1200 is there a better way to spend $1200 to add more power to an NA car?

Nope. Which is why I would keep the $1200 in my pocket instead of spending it on the futile endeavor that is modding an NA car.

[EJT86]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Nope. Which is why I would keep the $1200 in my pocket instead of spending it on the futile endeavor that is modding an NA car.

Yea YOU would, but someone that has only that much money and wants a tune and a lil power there’s only one option.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by EJT86

Yea YOU would, but someone that has only that much money and wants a tune and a lil power there’s only one option.

A little bit of power is not worth $1,200 - might as well stay stock than burn money on such a marginal and forgettable gain. A lot of power is worth $6k. If someone can't afford to do the worthwhile mod, just leave it alone and spend the money elsewhere.

/unpopular opinion.

[EJT86]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

A little bit of power is not worth $1,200 - might as well stay stock than burn money on such a marginal and forgettable gain. A lot of power is worth $6k. If someone can't afford to do the worthwhile mod, just leave it alone and spend the money elsewhere.

/unpopular opinion.

Neither are BBKs on street cars, Eventuri kits etc etc etc. it’s gonna be Pandora’s box if you try going down the list of what’s “worth it” everyone buys things they don’t need. Yes 1200 will get you more on an N55 but it’s an NA car and 1200 doesn’t get you as much same as $1200 on a VW gets you more than $1200 on a BMW plus the M tax. You might not see value in it but I don’t think it’s worthless and I wouldn’t tell someone who doesn’t know any better to stay away from it

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by EJT86

Neither are BBKs on street cars, Eventuri kits etc etc etc. it’s gonna be Pandora’s box if you try going down the list of what’s “worth it” everyone buys things they don’t need. Yes 1200 will get you more on an N55 but it’s an NA car and 1200 doesn’t get you as much same as $1200 on a VW gets you more than $1200 on a BMW plus the M tax. You might not see value in it but I don’t think it’s worthless and I wouldn’t tell someone who doesn’t know any better to stay away from it

Agreed that BBKs, Eventuri kits, etc are all worthless on a street car as well. I don't see value in it and I would tell someone who doesn't know any better to not waste their time/money.

I am posting here because this is the unpopular opinions thread. People need to stop getting their jimmies rustled by the things mentioned here. I'm glad you disagree, it means I am doing it right.

[EJT86]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Agreed that BBKs, Eventuri kits, etc are all worthless on a street car as well.

I don't see value in it and I would tell someone who doesn't know any better to not waste their time/money. I am posting here because this is the unpopular opinions thread. People need to stop getting their jimmies rustled by the things mentioned here. I'm glad you disagree, it means I am doing it right.

I’m fine with the unpopular opinion I just think when people like spazzyfry read that it’s “worthless” while considering it themselves might be getting screwed out of something he wants because of a one sided opinion by someone who may or may not have done pulleys and tune. I didn’t comment at all when the first guy said it’s worthless I only said something when spazzyfry was wondering where that opinion came from

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by EJT86

I’m fine with the unpopular opinion I just think when people like spazzyfry read that it’s “worthless” while considering it themselves might be getting screwed out of something he wants because of a one sided opinion by someone who may or may not have done pulleys and tune.

The one sided opinion is the one we hear mentioned over and over across the board, which is that NA mods like pulleys and intakes are worthwhile. Guys like spazzyfry should absolutely consider opinions like mine which are rarely brought up and no less legitimate.

Originally Posted by EJT86

I didn’t comment at all when the first guy said it’s worthless I only said something when spazzyfry was wondering where that opinion came from

The opinion comes from guys like me who don't feel a need to justify to themselves and others the fact that they spent $1200+ on a forgettable gain. For reference, I have experience with stock, stage 2, ESS 550, and ESS 625 power levels and have a clear understanding of how the car feels in each configuration. My opinion is worth the same 2c as yours.

[Ngilbe36]

All white, grey, silver and black M3s are boring and might as well be a 320i.

[SLC Steve]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Steve is saying it's worthless because it doesn't really make the car THAT much faster. One car length improvement isn't a huge difference in how a street car feels, and the goal isn't necessarily to win races. If you want a seriously fast car that feels noticeably different, a supercharger is the only way to go. Pulleys and intake will get you a slight (forgettable IMO) butt-dyno gain but will end up being removed when it comes time to bite the bullet with a supercharger to get the performance level most of us desire. I understand and mostly agree with his unpopular opinion.

This is and your subsequent posts are exactly the sentiment behind it. The only additional thing I would add is that for what appears minimal gains it also would decrease the value of the car to a potential buyer. I wanted no part of a tuned/modified car when I was looking for mine. Plus these tunes that "unlock" the redline to 8600 RPM? I want no part of that.

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Here's another unpopular opinion of mine: baby blue is a terrible looking color on all cars. Looking at you Laguna Seca Blue and Yas Marina Blue. I'm a die hard fan of blue cars but never understood this smurf fad that started with the E46 and has since trickled down to many other cars.

Here I thought I had found an ally but then you go and say this.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by SLC Steve

Here I thought I had found an ally but then you go and say this.

If it helps, I do still think it looks more interesting than white, grey, silver or black on an M3.

[BayE30]

putting a blower on a beautiful NA ITB High revving v8 is stupid. If you want FI, there are plenty of other platforms to go with. the s65 wasnt meant to whine, its meant to scream.

[New2Roundel]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Agreed that BBKs, Eventuri kits, etc are all worthless on a street car as well. I don't see value in it and I would tell someone who doesn't know any better to not waste their time/money.

I am posting here because this is the unpopular opinions thread. People need to stop getting their jimmies rustled by the things mentioned here. I'm glad you disagree, it means I am doing it right.

I will say that I'm in 100% agreement with you on this. The e9x M3 is just about perfect out of the box. There isn't really anything that can be done cheaply on this car that really improves performance to any substantial degree. I would argue that spending $1k plus on a tenth or two improvement in acceleration isn't very compelling to me. It's not like you're all of a sudden going to be hunting down modern 911 turbos with a tune and pulley. Lol.

IMO with with engines similar to the S65 (simple bolt-ons don't get you much), you either go all in (forced induction) or you get something else if what you're after is big performance.

On my own car, I have the "modded" factory muffler and a Dinan intake. My mods were not done for performance in any way, but for better sound. Were my purchases a "value"? The muffler was like $120 and sounds perfect to me, so I would say the value quotient is pretty high there. I bought the intake new for like ~$800. It adds a fantastic noise to the engine, but make no mistake, the cost is way more than it should be. The value quotient is pretty low, IMO. Having said that, nothing of any quality is cheap for this car. And if you want decent stuff on the car, you're going to have to pay for it. If you want actual performance gain, you're going to have to pay for it as well. If you don't want to pay for it, perhaps something like a Chevy SS (which is a very decent car in its own right), is more your speed. I'm sure the value quotient for performance mods on the SBC is much better than what we have.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by SFCM3

putting a blower on a beautiful NA ITB High revving v8 is stupid. If you want FI, there are plenty of other platforms to go with. the s65 wasnt meant to whine, its meant to scream.

If you want the glorious sound of the S65 V8 along with the power to backup the bark, I can't think of a better alternative platform at this price-point. If you don't want to hear the whine, just don't get a Harrop.

But I accept your semi-unpopular opinion.

[EJT86]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

The one sided opinion is the one we hear mentioned over and over across the board, which is that NA mods like pulleys and intakes are worthwhile. Guys like spazzyfry should absolutely consider opinions like mine which are rarely brought up and no less legitimate.



The opinion comes from guys like me who don't feel a need to justify to themselves and others the fact that they spent $1200+ on a forgettable gain. For reference, I have experience with stock, stage 2, ESS 550, and ESS 625 power levels and have a clear understanding of how the car feels in each configuration. My opinion is worth the same 2c as yours.

You’re mentioning options that aren’t actually options tho. He wanted to know why pulleys and tune were “worthless” he was considering them himself I’m sure he’s not dumb and knows he’s not going to put down 450rwhp on a NA tune, I told him my exact experience with adding pulleys and tune as did BOOF. If he reads first hand reviews and says nah doesn’t sound like enough of what I want then fine but he should probably get more advice then “no don’t do it just because” no ones debating whether an SC adds more power then bolt ons so that’s not even a topic of debate I have tune and pulleys and I’d rather have an SC but I can’t do it and I’m sure there’s other like me that can’t spend the cash to play hard. I’m not saying you’re route wasn’t worth it I’m just saying for those who can’t that a pulley and tune doesn’t do “nothing” an intake does nothing, pulleys and tune do a lil something noticeable, catless stage 2 does a lil more, but that wasn’t his question

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by EJT86

You’re mentioning options that aren’t actually options tho. He wanted to know why pulleys and tune were “worthless” he was considering them himself I’m sure he’s not dumb and knows he’s not going to put down 450rwhp on a NA tune, I told him my exact experience with adding pulleys and tune as did BOOF. If he reads first hand reviews and says nah doesn’t sound like enough of what I want then fine but he should probably get more advice then “no don’t do it just because” no ones debating whether an SC adds more power then bolt ons so that’s not even a topic of debate I have tune and pulleys and I’d rather have an SC but I can’t do it and I’m sure there’s other like me that can’t spend the cash to play hard. I’m not saying you’re route wasn’t worth it I’m just saying for those who can’t that a pulley and tune doesn’t do “nothing” an intake does nothing, pulleys and tune do a lil something noticeable, catless stage 2 does a lil more, but that wasn’t his question

You are overthinking this. Positive opinions like yours and Boof's are popular and he wasn't asking for that. He was asking for elaboration on Steve's negative opinion: why some of us consider NA power mods worthless. If you want to be pedantic, let's call it "low-worth" instead of "worthless" since nobody is arguing against the fact that there are marginal gains to be had from NA bolt ons. I'm not saying "no don't do it just because." Myself and other are saying don't do it because it's not enough to be worthwhile given the cost and results. That is the opinion he was asking about. It is expected that people like you and Boof will disagree and deem these mods "worthwhile" in your popular opinions.

Really no need to continue beating the dead horse here. Let's share other unpopular opinions and move on.