Pics of 2011 M3 so pristine it displaced my Porsche Turbo from the garage. :-)

[cannga]

Edit 10/2019 Ohlins Coilover Added
Finally updated with Ohlins Road and Track coilover in October 2019. Very highly recommended to get rid of the excessive body roll and ponderous nature of stock M3. Discussion here: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...9#post25392269


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Original Review
Hi, I am long time P. owner, but for many years now also want a BMW to "complete" the garage. (Long story: Actually ordered the 550i in 2004, car arrived, dealer was painting their facility and accidentally painted many cars, mine included, with a coat of paint; deal canceled when I found out accidentally - they hadn't planned on revealing to me what had happened, then on a whim I switched to Porsche.) The wife wants a 4 door, and I want a natural aspirated V8 of this generation, so I've been searching for a 2011 M3 for a while.

Got an email alert from Carmax at 11 pm Saturday a couple of weeks ago, had to rub my eyes to make sure I was not seeing things: 5900 miles on a White M3 with dual clutch transmission. By noon Sunday, I bought car for 54k + 6 year Carmax Extended warranty for 2k. We had the car on the lift for inspection and our jaws dropped: pristine underneath and appeared never exposed to water, not much dirt either.
It seems previous owner had ticked every package and option on this car: premium package, competition package, moon roof, enhanced stereo (so so sound), heated seat. It has been a garage queen for whatever reason and for that I am thankful.
Car still has new car smell and it is so pretty that it actually has displaced my Turbo from our garage for now , to preserve that new car smell a while longer.

My assessment so far: I am in love ; this is an utterly fantastic car to drive, very likely the finest sports sedan I've ever come across, and now I know why BMW has been on top for so long. First the engine: the naturally aspirated V8 is for me the hallmark of this car and the reason why I bought current generation M3 instead of waiting for next generation. Power delivery is linear, wonderfully so compared to my Porsche Turbo, and once above 4000-5000 rpm feels endlessly powerful - the sweet sweet V8 is the heart and soul of this car and the main reason why I want it. Car does not feel light and quick off line but once up to speed on freeway is every bit a pleasure to drive as my Turbo. Throttle sensitivity is set to Sport as Normal feels a little too lazy for me. This engine seems biased for high rpm power delivery, meaning torque is weak at low rpm, and I think the more sporty throttle response compensates for that. As I daily drive a tuned 6 speed Turbo, almost every car I switch to feel anemic in its response. Much to my surprise, and probably related to the V8 and Dual Clutch gearing combination of the M3, I have not missed the tremendous power push of my Porsche Turbo as I drive the M3 (versus Cayman, Boxster, etc. for example). Especially for street driving, this car is as powerful as, and as "fun" :-) as I need it to be.

Steering feel and response is the best I've ever felt for a sports sedan, close to the best period , and this has taken me by surprise. So good that I am now ranking steering to be almost my number one love for this car. It's interesting to compare M3 (variable power assisted, going to zero at high speed) versus Turbo steering (power assisted and too much so in Turbo). Of the four primary parameters I am considering:
feedback,
weighting,
response,
precision,
while the Porsche Turbo wins the "feedback" contest (you feel the road and the wheel more), that's the only win. M3 has perfect-10 weighting (steering feels heavy at speed, light in parking), perfect 10 steering response (very quick), and the feel of precision. I also enjoy very much the feel of the thick and meaty steering wheel.
Oddly, unlike many, I prefer the steering with Servotronic setting on Normal, as opposed to Sport. The Sport setting is a little too abrupt for me.
To put things in perspective, I would still rank Cayman and GT3 steering to be better than M3, primarily for not just feedback, but also how intuitive and natural it feels in those cars.

Handling? A perfect 10 for a sports sedan, firm yet still comfortable, some degree of body roll, but not too much so. In other words, the best that I've ever experienced. I much prefer M3's handling to some other excellent cars that I've driven: Porsche Panamera, Cadillac CTS, BMW 5 series, Tesla (the sedan). For the track, I would probably want stiffer springs/coilovers, and replace some rubber suspension bushings with firmer counterparts, but for street driving, this car is a perfect 10 compromise between ride and handling.
Car understeers a little bit, but this is perfect for our use (street car, not taking to the track). Were I to take this M3 to the track, I probably would increase front camber to decrease the understeer.

Damper setting: Comfort and Normal are excellent, and Sport is too stiff. Sport setting reduces compliance quite a bit and this is not necessarily good, especially for street driving. Car as a result feels jittery and loses road contact more readily. Has anyone compared if the track time is better with the Sport setting, even with smooth surface of the track?

The exhaust could be a little louder but since this is the wife's car, it will have to stay stock. With the right after-market exhaust, boy I know this V8 gem of an engine is going to sing! That said, the stock sound is beautiful, if not loud, and I actually prefer the sound of BMW V8 to Porsche 997's Flat 6 in the 997. The BMW has a more musical nature LOL to it as RPM changes; it grunts and howls more, and you do hear it more when you are inside car.

Brake is probably what I like least about the M3. What I mean is that M3 brake might be good or above average for its class of sports sedans, but in comparison to heavy hitters such as Porsche, it feels "weak" somehow. This is purely a subjective comparison, without knowledge of stopping distances, so anyone pls correct me as needed. Perhaps it is not a fair comparison because my Porsche Turbo has the PCCB composite carbon brake, which stops you as if it is the hand of God.

BTW, compared not just to my Turbo, but even to my Lexux SUV V8 GX 470 to emphasize the point, the initial response of the M3 is curiously lazy from standing start at partial throttle. Even for its normal setting and for such a heavy car, the Lexus "jumps" off a dead stop with throttle application, much less "lazy" than the M3. I believe it is this sluggish start that gives the impression of the M3 being "heavy." M3 *is* heavy, but not that heavy at 3800 lbs or whatever to give it such a reputation, and a lot of heavier cars don't feel as sluggish off line, for example, the Porsche Panamera.
Once up to speed and on freeway, perhaps because of the DCT, which IMHO hides (at least subjectively) the lack of M3's low end torque by its seamless shifting, for me the DCT M3 is the best I've ever driven for any car, including 911 C2, 911 Turbo, Tesla, Panamera, BMW 5 series, etc. It is just so effortless, so precise, so fantastic!

The Enhanced Premium Stereo has no low-end response to speak off in its neutral setting, but this could be corrected. I am a seasoned and over-the-edge audiophile and think they most certainly could do better with the amount of money they charge for his option. For the stereo, I would recommend to set
Surround to off,
Equalizer about +7 on the lowest frequency of 100 Hz, and +2 on the next frequency up.
Tone: +5 on Bass, +1 on Treble depending on your personal taste.
Set as above, I've found the sound to be a huge improvement over the stock setting. Someone recommended to me "Malek's setting," which I have tried and do not like at all. I actually think Malek's setting does more harm than good as it doesn't address the lack of low frequency response of this system, but this is strictly a matter of personal preference.

The M3 has been a perfect company for my Porsche (NA vs. turbo, dual clutch vs. manual), a gem and a long-term keeper for me, primarily because of the naturally aspirated V8, which unfortunately I don't think we will ever see again in the M3. We are very lucky to have this driving experience.

[pkimM3r]

good find! thats exactly how mine was with only 4400 miles....i did however buy it from a buddy who was overseas for over a year....it was concealed in a car tote - if that makes sense, with anti moisture bags underneath the car with a fresh detail and coat of swissvax. not a crease in the seats. i was amazed.

now lets drive the snot out of it!!

car will have some understeer but if you really turn the wheel, it will release in the back....or you can always power oversteer (yeah that worries me a bit. )

[rpl77]

congrats, looks clean!

[Will911t]

Pics of Porsche?

[Longboarder]

Congrats that's a perfect e90. Nice write up as well. Welcome to m3post.

[baba louey]

Extra nice photos. Great focus and composition. Also lighting.

[davesaddiction]

Congrats and welcome!

Great get - thanks for sharing your initial take on the car. Always interesting to hear the thoughts from guys experienced with other (more expensive) cars.

[positiveions]

Congrats. Car is clean! Another E90 M3mber

[FVM3]

nice ride

[saeedg48]

good car!

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by saeedg48

good car!

heard you got downpipes for your beast. Now get a tune and lets do some runs

[T3X4S]

Congrats. Pristine indeed.

[lsmkr01]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

heard you got downpipes for your beast. Now get a tune and lets do some runs

TP's + BPM Tune takes the car to the next level. Can't imagine driving a stock car again.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by lsmkr01

TP's + BPM Tune takes the car to the next level. Can't imagine driving a stock car again.

oh sorry referring to saeed's new M6. not OP's m3.

[M3ZCP6MT]

Great find! Great comparison from a Porsche Turbo owner.

[lorinzo]

Nice find!

For the reasons stated... why I upgraded stereo and exhaust.

[Transfer]

Welcome and congrats! We have the same car but my ownership started at 18k miles.

Look up settings for the stereo here on the forum to get started then tweak to your liking. If you get it right and turn off the surround crap, I think it sounds quite good but if you don't take some time setting up the EQ, it sounds like butt. Regarding the competition package EDC, I used to prefer normal mode but now I use sport whenever i'm feeling frisky. It makes everything more direct and is compliant enough that I don't feel the car gets very upset over bumps.

Be sure to look up the Mike Benvo BPM Sport tune for stock exhaust. It doesn't add much horsepower but it certainly feels like torque is significantly improved and the overall drive is much much better.

[WonderWagon]

Nice find! Which CarMax in Socal? Good thing they didnt mount the front plate!

[cannga]

Will911t, pics of my Turbo:

[05Mdriver]

nice cars.. love the turbo !

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by cannga

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Pics of my Turbo:

Damn.

[cannga]

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

baba louey, I am as nutty about photography as I am about car and stereo. Camera is Canon 1D, lens Canon 85L 1.2, shot in raw developed with Capture One for anyone interested.

Wonder Wagon, unfortunately yes Carmax Irvine punched 2 holes that I've photoshopped out. I am making bumper plugs from Home Depot nylon plugs and primer+paint combination spray can.

Transfer/lorinzo: Yes, first thing I did in all car stereos is to turn off the Surround. No big deal but have to admit this is one of the worst sounding (no punch whatsoever in mid bass) "upgraded" stereo I've run across. Again, thank God it's the wife's car LOL so I think my $$$ will be spared. BTW, Is it true the Surround mode in the BMW M3 is from Dirac Live? Does anyone know pls?
Agreed the exhaust could be louder but this one I have to stay stock for the wife - too bad really because I could hear the incredible potential ready to be let loose :-).

Free Maintenance, questions please: Too lazy to read up. Do I have this as second owner for this used car and when is the first maintenace please? Car was brought in 10/2011. Now with 5900 miles. What next as far as free maintenance?