Are you happy with your M3/M4 after the better part of a year?

[gprgeorge]

I've had my 2016 M3 for almost 4 weeks. I have to admit at first I was underwhelmed. The seat was digging in my thigh, the clutch felt heavy, the engine did not sound
Great. But after a few weeks I'm driving it harder, MPE roars, torque in the 4 and 5 revs is good, the clutch/seat got better. I'm happier with the car. Still miss my E92 M3 a little but this new m3 is more practical for me

[captainaudio]

The more I drive it the better I like it. Everything I did not like about my 335i E93 has been improved on the F83.

[TheFlyingMouse]

Is the MPE a huge improvement to the exhaust sound at low speed/rpm?

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingMouse

After getting my M3 back here in the States last weekend, I'm finding it a bit boring on the daily drive. There isn't much theatre from the engine or chassis when you're stuck in the city. When I can open the throttle, it's great fun, but most of the good twisty roads around here are clogged up with econoboxes, hybrids, and SUVs.

I loved the car in Europe, even in the speed limited countries. It's wonderful on open roads, but now that I'm living with it day to day, I feel like it's missing some special sauce here in the SF Bay Area.

I was never one for comfort mode and leisurely driving, and I find myself configuring Porsche Cayman S's multiple times a day.

What am I doing wrong?

The M3 feels a little too large driving in traffic, and the exhaust doesn't snap crackle pop or really do much on overrun at low speed/rpm. Any way to fix that? (Tried Sport+ mode already). Broke her in while I was in Europe.

You sound like me older brother and his knocks against his e63. He got a gt4 and now loves how comfortable the 63 is and how much pace it delivers with little effort and lots of luxury.

Get the cayman if you can. You might love your m3 more

[Bimmer6]

Boys and cars will never be satisfied is what I say. I have learned to appreciate cars for what they are mechanical marvels that we are forunate to have. All cars have ups, and downs but some people buy a track car and never use it to its full potential and complain. It's your right just an expensive garage queen. Enjoy your cars boys.

[TheFlyingMouse]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

You sound like me older brother and his knocks against his e63. He got a gt4 and now loves how comfortable the 63 is and how much pace it delivers with little effort and lots of luxury.

Get the cayman if you can. You might love your m3 more

Only room for one car! Maybe I'll rent one for a week to decide. There are a lot of things I love about the M3. I'm hoping that an exhaust and a few other adjustments will take care of the issues. Driving in Sport instead of comfort is helping the road feel quite a bit.

[samboy37]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingMouse

Is the MPE a huge improvement to the exhaust sound at low speed/rpm?

I'm interested in this too especially what it sounds like in the cabin
Do you need to have the windows down if you leave asd on

[Honda]

Originally Posted by gprgeorge

I've had my 2016 M3 for almost 4 weeks. I have to admit at first I was underwhelmed. The seat was digging in my thigh, the clutch felt heavy, the engine did not sound
Great. But after a few weeks I'm driving it harder, MPE roars, torque in the 4 and 5 revs is good, the clutch/seat got better. I'm happier with the car. Still miss my E92 M3 a little but this new m3 is more practical for me

Your feedback doesn't seem very exciting. I would give you another year or even 6 months and would love to hear your feedback by then

lets hope you didn't decide to trade in the car by then

[jewels]

Originally Posted by AM4ZING

Only thing i am unhappy with is the damn mileage i keep putting on the car..

I agree with the above.

Recent past history as my DD, 2000 Audi S-4, Porsche 997 GT-3, GTR....

M4 will be 1 year old Thanksgiving.

I have never enjoyed an automobile, that I can remember, as much as my M-4 Vert. Yes, some of this is the Vert...but the car is amazing. I enjoy it so much that I even run it in our harsh winters.

I have plenty of transportation devices in the garage (4 bikes, 2 sidecars, Tundra, FF MK-IV Cobra & 435M Vert) they are all jealous.

Happy man

[sraj]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingMouse

Only room for one car! Maybe I'll rent one for a week to decide. There are a lot of things I love about the M3. I'm hoping that an exhaust and a few other adjustments will take care of the issues. Driving in Sport instead of comfort is helping the road feel quite a bit.

Steering or suspension in Sport? Or both?

[dhoggm3]

How about 1+ years and 14K miles? Yes! It has a few mods and it's a beast that loves to cruise the freeway too.

[TheFlyingMouse]

Originally Posted by sraj

Steering or suspension in Sport? Or both?

Both, varying throttle between sport and sport plus. I like the steering best in sport. For the suspension, I feel like sport adds just a little more road feel over comfort, while sport plus is a little crashy on the street to me (as in the dampers aren't absorbing bumps perfectly).

[Bluex]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingMouse

After getting my M3 back here in the States last weekend, I'm finding it a bit boring on the daily drive. There isn't much theatre from the engine or chassis when you're stuck in the city. When I can open the throttle, it's great fun, but most of the good twisty roads around here are clogged up with econoboxes, hybrids, and SUVs.

I loved the car in Europe, even in the speed limited countries. It's wonderful on open roads, but now that I'm living with it day to day, I feel like it's missing some special sauce here in the SF Bay Area.

I was never one for comfort mode and leisurely driving, and I find myself configuring Porsche Cayman S's multiple times a day.

What am I doing wrong?

The M3 feels a little too large driving in traffic, and the exhaust doesn't snap crackle pop or really do much on overrun at low speed/rpm. Any way to fix that? (Tried Sport+ mode already). Broke her in while I was in Europe.

What are you doing wrong? Why don't you feel the same way you felt in Europe?

Why....because ED spoils you, my good man!

You drive the car the way it deserves and was built to be driven....with no care in the world about law enforcement scolding you for doing so. You have the windy twisties of the world class driving passes of the Alps....you have the unbeatable feeling of seeing your car delivered to you, in the spotlight on the Welt showroom floor.

Unbeatable scenery, Unrestricted performance, beautiful well-maintained driving surfaces....these are things you can never have in the States and everything else will seem a bit mundane, comparatively....as it should.

What can you do to try and recapture some of that?

Do some HPDE, get your car out on the track......

Or what I did the past few Sunday's was find some great back driving roads in your area and just drive. I didn't map out my course...I just took a look at a map, found a great back area road and just drove the car with no particular destination. Pushed the car when I safely could, but just truly enjoyed my 1v1 time with the car.

It will never be Europe, but you can still have a blast with this car....if anything it truly allows for some great back road driving. That torque......

[W///]

Originally Posted by S65-M3

Your feedback doesn't seem very exciting. I would give you another year or even 6 months and would love to hear your feedback by then

lets hope you didn't decide to trade in the car by then

I still want an F80 by next fall. However, I know it was not love at first drive when I test drove one. I didn't have one of those "I MUST HAVE THIS CAR" feelings when I drove the M3/4, but I did when I drove the E9x.

However, like other people said, as a DD, it should work out really well for me. I'll save the E36 and E92 for the weekends.

[Damasconian]

13 months, 4 track days, 1 BMW driving school, multiple road trips and some sly parking lot hijinks have made this the most fun car I've ever owned.

When I think of the Best car I've ever owned I somehow am always drawn back to a 2007 4Runner I bought new. The car was perfect, did everything I asked it to do, and drove on day 1000 the same way it did on day 1. I miss that car.

[///M///]

Sorry for the poor video quality but I am enjoying it every single day

[W///]

Originally Posted by Damasconian

13 months, 4 track days, 1 BMW driving school, multiple road trips and some sly parking lot hijinks have made this the most fun car I've ever owned.

When I think of the Best car I've ever owned I somehow am always drawn back to a 2007 4Runner I bought new. The car was perfect, did everything I asked it to do, and drove on day 1000 the same way it did on day 1. I miss that car.

Funny you mention that. I really would love to pick up the current 4Runner (basic, 2WD, SR5) and drive it till the wheels fall off. That engine was the definition of bulletproof.

Currently have a 97 4Runner with over 300k miles on it, so I think it might be time to replace that too. Would love to pick a new one up and drive it till the wheels fall off.

[phyek]

I've only had the car for 2 months but it's the best car I have ever owned (owned e36 m3, e46 m3, lotus, gti, lexus, p800 gtr). It is perfect all around car. Great drive into the office and I often take it up on a drive on the weekends to tear it up. BMW did a gr8 job w/ this one. Next step would prob be a turbo/gt3.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingMouse

After getting my M3 back here in the States last weekend, I'm finding it a bit boring on the daily drive. There isn't much theatre from the engine or chassis when you're stuck in the city. When I can open the throttle, it's great fun, but most of the good twisty roads around here are clogged up with econoboxes, hybrids, and SUVs.

I loved the car in Europe, even in the speed limited countries. It's wonderful on open roads, but now that I'm living with it day to day, I feel like it's missing some special sauce here in the SF Bay Area.

I was never one for comfort mode and leisurely driving, and I find myself configuring Porsche Cayman S's multiple times a day.

What am I doing wrong?

The M3 feels a little too large driving in traffic, and the exhaust doesn't snap crackle pop or really do much on overrun at low speed/rpm. Any way to fix that? (Tried Sport+ mode already). Broke her in while I was in Europe.

It has been my comment more than once.

BMW was able to make a better daily driver (as well as a better track car) out of the F8X. This means it has lost some soul and excitement in the process. I think a lot of it has to do with the character of the S55.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Damasconian

13 months, 4 track days, 1 BMW driving school, multiple road trips and some sly parking lot hijinks have made this the most fun car I've ever owned.

When I think of the Best car I've ever owned I somehow am always drawn back to a 2007 4Runner I bought new. The car was perfect, did everything I asked it to do, and drove on day 1000 the same way it did on day 1. I miss that car.

I agree 300% on 4runners and I would already have one as a 2nd car if the current gen didn't come w such an abysmal engine for the weight of the car... not even any power issue, just tq.

[TheFlyingMouse]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

It has been my comment more than once.

BMW was able to make a better daily driver (as well as a better track car) out of the F8X. This means it has lost some soul and excitement in the process. I think a lot of it has to do with the character of the S55.

I think I agree. The chassis seems fine other than size, but there is something about the S55 that makes it much more on/off docile vs. fun. There is no middle ground like my previous BMWs. That missing part is what I would exploit on back roads with traffic. You could reel out the Prius, then have fun on some corners with partial power, and the engine was still very rewarding audibly. The S55 certainly has plenty of power from 3-5k rpm, but there's just a hint of lag involved and something is missing in the sound unless you can mash the throttle.

I guess my big issue on the sound is the overrun. I specifically bought the BMW performance exhaust for my 128 to get that behavior, and the M3 doesn't do it.

[pertierr]

Got almost 4000 miles on my M4, I am very happy with the purchase. I feel the car presents such a perfect sweet spot in terms of performance and practicality, that I have a hard time imagining what I would ever replace it with, other than another M3/M4.

The engine is absolutely intoxicating. My favorite aspect is the chassis, it is an amazing accomplishment specially considering the size of the car. I don't quite understand the comments about the sound. Windows down, pedal to the floor it sounds incredible.

That said, if I could change a few things these would be it:
- It's tuned too 'Autobahnny', and daily life is not an Autobahn for most people:
-- It needs a faster steering ratio. Why was there such a huge ratio change from the E92? This would make it more enjoyable in the 99% of daily driving.
-- The DCT slips too much and then suddenly engages when starting from a standstill in daily driving, it's kind of annoying.
- It could use improvement in the creaks/cracks/rattles department.
- There are a few factory defects in the leather that should not be there in an M car.
- Fix the annoying bugs/errors (chassis malfunction errors, etc)

That's it. imho this is not enough to loose sleep over.