So I just had my 1,200 mi break in service performed... (Pics!)

[Robotechnology]

So I just had my 1,200 mi break in service performed and I no longer think it was a complete waste of money to get my M3 in relation to my Z4 M Coupe. Massive to my Z4MC though!



I've been so gentle with the F80. I drive really low miles (my '08 Z4MC has only 22k miles) so it took 4 months and 1 week to hit 1,100 miles. During that time I drove my M Coupe twice. When I first drove it after having driven the M3 for a month exclusively, I was like whoa this steering feels great (of course) and whoa look at the way this acceleration feels! Why did I bother getting an M3!?! I did it again a month later and felt the same way. Then I though to myself, wait a minute, I'm babying it. No going over 105 MPH and no going over 5,300 rpm (well, except for ONE 5,800 rpm jaunt which I shut down the party immediately when the 1st yellow shift light bar showed up). No full throttle either. So I am not giving the M3 a fair shake and will promise myself to reserve judgement until such time as I have the break in service performed.



Fast forward to this past Monday, I couldn't wait any longer, so at 1,100 miles it went in! Then I took it out... HOLY SHEET! Wow, traction control light going on at 80 mph in 3rd gear! Windows down, wow, listen to those turbos spin (barely heard them before-told you I was gentle). Whoa, this car gives you an I was just shot out of a cannon feel when you're being naughty on the highway



Steering is actually similar in both cars with sport plus setting on steering in F80. The acceleration feel is just COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! Now that it is broken in, the M3 is definitely faster but, the power delivery is just very different than what I am used to in an M car. Not better or worse, just different.



So anyways... Yeah I like it and think it was worth it now

[8600RPM]

Ya you gotta rev it out to redline to get the most out the f80 even though it has great mudrange, it still is a great experience

[idocm4]

Thanks for sharing your break in experience. Beautiful M3 btw. Yeah, you have to drive it like you stole it!

[nikolaos33]

i have 3500 miles and now i can see a big difference. the car is becoming even better

[STooK]

Your post makes me want SO over YMB now…enjoy it in good health!

[haynstyleM2]

time to rip that S%@%$ up!! have fun

[Jay-K]

Brilliant! Enjoy bro!

[MatthewDavid]

Took me about 2 weeks to get to 1,200 :

[Blksnowflake]

Awesome. Nice to hear the comparison between these two. I want to see Z4M pics, those things are always cool.

[Falafel Combo]

Ok, so a few comments ...

-Sakhir Orange is the cats meow!!!

-6MT + Carbon Structure seating = what comfort food is to M3 ownership.

-The 18" wheels look exceptionally nice on the M3!

-Chances are the power has always been there. You were just too chicken to summon the power genies! Baaak bak bagaaaaak!



I can totally relate to this though. I've just completed my break in service (2,300 miles), and had been ultra babying the car prior to that. For the first 1,500 miles of that, I was thinking to myself "OK, I have to write up a thread for BIMMERPOST, to compare my f30 335i to this f80 M3, because in efficient mode the f80 feels pretty comparable to my f30 335i!". And then I realized there was still more than 50% of the throttle I wasn't using! True story.


Once I got past 1,500-ish miles I got a bit more impatient, and would start to get on the throttle a bit more aggressively once the car was warmed up. And suddenly I was facing this conundrum. Being just a few inches taller than my life-sized Tom Cruise Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation cutout board figure, every time I would get on the throttle more aggressively I would feel a drop in power. Hmmm ... is it the traction control? Because the lights aren't really coming on. Could it be some kind of break-in programming limiter? Not so sure ... And the feels felt kind of jerky too. A bit frustrating.


Long story short, it turns out the car was accelerating so fast, that I was simultaneously being punched back into those delicious Carbon Structure bucket seats, that my shoes were slipping off the throttle and clutch ... explaining the power drop and jerky shifts. That was the problem. Had to adjust my seating position forward a few times, and make sure I was absolutely planted where I was sitting so I don't have that problem anymore.


Except now it's hard to look cool driving the darned thing. Because I look like a petite old lady hunched forward, with a mere 2 inches separating my big nose from the airbag.


"How is life after the break-in service, Falafel???", some may wonder. It's awesome! I've received a couple of "loud car start" complaints from neighbors. So, I now make it a point to peel out of my driveway every morning. In reverse ... and Sport Plus! The way I see it, life after break in service ... everyday is an opportunity to ... piss someone off!