hehe - herman the german E46 M3

[Trackday Addict]

I've never been in virgin territory before

Right then as some of you know i have sold my soul to the devil & went german a few weeks back& bought a 2003 E46 M3 6 speed manual with 16000 miles on the clock & here's a chance for me to say what i think i guess for anyone else thinking of buying one

Good points

• Build quality is simply brilliant, really impressed by the way it's screwed together, no rattles, squeaks etc & the materials used are top notch. Paintwork seems fantastic.
• Performance for a n/a engine is mindblowing - especially in sports mode. Gearchange is brilliant & very quick/direct & brakes seem ok (will find out properly at the ring with Moff). Very very quick all the way through the gears.
• Steering - very direct & precise - not the quickest but point it somewhere & thats where it goes
• Sound - std exhaust system & no mods at the mo, sounds great especially in sports mode. Not boomy just purposeful
• Prescence - really like the look of the car, cracking sized boot & it's still discreet enough not to get to noticed
• Comfort - like a favourite armchair, have driven 400 miles in a day in it & honest it felt like 40. Very comfy, all controls are dead easy to use & at hand. Seats are superb & easy to find a good driving position with about 10,000 choices - devours the miles
• Servicing - 15000 mile oil changes - bloody brilliant

Bad Points

• Bit alcoholic - but to be expected i guess (averaging around 21 - 24 mpg) at the moment on not particularly hard driving
• Fueling - not the best i've ever seen especially on part throttle in sports mode. Takes the ecu a couple of sec to catch up some times & you will get a split hesitation before you get moving
• Ride - very hard (harder than the 33gtr i had) does not like pot holes or b roads that much & you do have to back off sometimes on a typical country b road
• Presence - it's not a skyline
• Tossers - this car seems to attract double or triple the amount of idiots i ever had in the GTST or GTR. Very common to have someone right up your arse even on the school run !!. Even the missus has commented when she's driven it
• Computer - takes a lot of playing with to work out what the functions do
• servicing - no doubt not cheap but i dont do to many miles these days

[Gavin]

I've never been in virgin territory before

Been a while for me

[Big Mark]

Haven't forgotten about that quote for the Supersprint John Just haven't been over to the shop for a while.

[The Mad Welsh Man]

You missed out one thing in the Good points and one in the bad points

Good points

Don't need indicator's as i own the road and every one should know where i am going i got a BMW.

Bad points

Other car drivers give me the ****er sign every time i go to turn off the road

[Trackday Addict]

Cheers mate - neither would I if it was - 30 outside

Haven't forgotten about that quote for the Supersprint John Just haven't been over to the shop for a while.

[Moff]

You sure will be testing those brakes as I chase you round the track all day long

Would you really change the oil every 15k miles tho ?


Moff

[Trackday Addict]

Depends on driving really Moff, if i have done a trackday or the ring etc then no i'd change it soon after.

For normal motorway or town driving i'll let it go to 10 -12 000 at least i think without worrying. The 15000 is not fixed - depends on how you drive it (can move up or down accordingly)

p.s - getting seriously excited about the ring

You sure will be testing those brakes as I chase you round the track all day long

Would you really change the oil every 15k miles tho ?


Moff

[Checkpoint]

Cool, good to see some honest opinions about other cars

There are so many cars out there now with Skyline levels of performance and to be blinkered into thinking Skylines are the be all and end all would be naive.

One of my mates (bike racing nutter) has an E36 M3 Evo and loves it, and an ex scooby owning customer has had an E46 M3 for a couple of years now and loves it too.

The thing with cars is that if there is enough of a following with any particular make / model then there will soon also be a market for tuning them, after all where would the Skyline be if you couldn't make it go faster? I've just come back from a break in New York and must have bought every car mag there i couldn't believe the amount of cars that are being modified to 400bhp plus and plenty to over 7 - 800bhp everything from old yank barges to the latest BMW's and Merc's.
I'm not suggesting we all sell our Skylines but some more real life views on other performance cars especially compared to Skylines would be great

[Andy M GTS]

I've just come back from a break in New York and must have bought every car mag there i couldn't believe the amount of cars that are being modified to 400bhp plus and plenty to over 7 - 800bhp.
I'm not suggesting we all sell our Skylines but some more real life views on other performance cars especially compared to Skylines would be great

So you'll have plenty of ideas then

[Drifty]

Wheres the f**king pics? *burp! *Hic

[Trackday Addict]

Now added - now get yourself back to the Betty Ford clinic

Wheres the f**king pics? *burp! *Hic

[Moff]

Brucey, stop bothering John, get your drunken arse over to my teccie thread about ideal torque curve, I could do with your drunken advice

[Checkpoint]

So you'll have plenty of ideas then

Hell yeah but 24" chrome spinners might not catch on here

[Mad Dog]

very nice john, glad your enjoying it,
you certainly can't beat there build quality,
my last car was a e36 328 coupe

[Daemon]

You definitely got it in teh right colour John! Might I suggest some CSL wheels? - they're so gorgeous....

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