Going from an F80 M3 to an E90 M3/E46 M3

[thomsonsss]

Little update:

Sold the F80 about a month ago, was craving another M car and ended up scooping my buddy's E46 M3, 6MT!

Loving the agile handling characteristics so far. Definitely not as powerful as the S55, but surely a blast to drive!

[Mracer88]

My 2 cents.

No car is an investment lets clear the elephant. Especially as a daily or track toy. Some choice cars might make the list of cars to buy for an investment, but then u cant drive it or modify it etc. then its a paper weight in hopes of a value increase.

I currently own a track built e36 m3, cams and all. I also own a 15, f80 6mt, with a bm3 stage 2 e30 mix, dps, cps, spacers, and pss10.

Im also a track instructor/amateur driver, (tt, nasa, 24hr lemons,etc) porsche and bmw fanatic.
And from my point of view.
I want an e46 csl rep for a dream car purposes and some track use, a car to keep. best M in my opinion ever, and has a high potential to increase in value. My e36 is great also, but it old tech, and ive far passed it limits and i dont wanna boost it. Super cheap reliable thrill machine. a miata on steroids. Will try to keep it forever.
and finally, the F80 is a great reliable fast car. but it is no track toy. its an absolute monster exiting corners with 500wtq, chewing up rear tires alot, and trying to modulate the throttle is also difficult. Perhaps a wider set of track tires and wheels could fix the exiting wheel spin.. next, the steering. Man'o man, the steering wheel is as numb as it gets. I have issues on track finding what the front wheels are telling me, tho it has grip for days, and minus the wild oversteer, its tamable, but the f80 will make u work for it. i promise that. i have little complaints other than sound, and steering feel. The f80 requires coilovers, or the driving experience is shit. the factory edc suspension sucks. i hated the car until i dropped the pss10s.
I dont personally have much experience with e92s, but my buddy did and it was ok fast and reliable after the rod bearing fix, and he came up from a 100k track built e46 m3.
he liked the motor in the e92, but it was heavy, and the feel of the e46 chasis was better. I think the f80 is better than the e92. but e92 has better steering feel which is a big deal.
Honestly, if porsche (turbo 997 or gt3 997 only) fails me after my f80 m3, and i have the time and money, an s65 swaped e46 m3 track car would be GOD.. anyone remember when Porsche execs, cried to the race officials to ban the e46 m3 gtr..?. I sure do. There is also a video on youtube, where the guy builds a e92 m3 for the cost of the 991 gt3, and he enjoys it more and cost significantly less.

M car ratings

#1 e30 m3 evo
#2 e46 m3 csl
#3 f8x gts
#4 e92 m3 gts
#5 e36 m3 euro gt/ LTW

[dmk08]

Not sure why you didnt include an M2 comp if the e46 size was okay. Thats what I would have gotten.

[Colinv6]

I keep thinking of making the change back.... Would have to be an immaculate DCT comp package.


I’ve had 3 F8x and currently 2 years into an M4CS. Which is a beautiful, amazing car.

Yet I spend hours on YouTube watching e92 clips, I crave that V8 engine. As my car is a pure toy not in daily use, I feel it would actually be more special on this sort of use.

[dmk08]

Originally Posted by Colinv6

I keep thinking of making the change back.... Would have to be an immaculate DCT comp package.


I’ve had 3 F8x and currently 2 years into an M4CS. Which is a beautiful, amazing car.

Yet I spend hours on YouTube watching e92 clips, I crave that V8 engine. As my car is a pure toy not in daily use, I feel it would actually be more special on this sort of use.

The grass is always greener IMO.

When I went back to an e9x after owning two F8x I loved the visceral effects but missed the power, comfort, and tech of the F80. As a manual guy I also feel the S55 is much better paired to the stick than the S65.

I never missed the S55 exhaust. Hoping the S58 sounds better.

[Colinv6]

Originally Posted by dmk08

The grass is always greener IMO.

When I went back to an e9x after owning two F8x I loved the visceral effects but missed the power, comfort, and tech of the F80. As a manual guy I also feel the S55 is much better paired to the stick than the S65.

I never missed the S55 exhaust. Hoping the S58 sounds better.

So I did it yesterday!!

[slowdown_dan]

Originally Posted by stevehifi

why bother. G8x will be out in a year and will be better then any of these platforms.

This didn't age well.