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I've had two E92 M3s, and in my opinion they are extremely overrated. They feel heavy and numb, there's zero low end power even with all the bolt on performance bits and tunes you can throw at it, and stock there's no sound to it so you need an exhaust to make it sound decent. I loved the way it looked, but it was just too heavy and underpowered, and I never liked the way it drove. Even my heavy X5M feels more agile and fun than my E92s ever did. Not to mention it has the power the E92s never had.
E92 did not feel heavy IMO. Not unless you're comparing it to a Lotus or 911. The S65 made glorious mechanical noises. Yes, you had to wring it's proverbial neck to get the power out, but when it was singing full song it pulled hard. The chassis was also amazing. It felt special driven at low speeds. Direct steering. Was it as special/good as it's predecessors/E36/E46 ? IMO, no. But it is night and day better than the F8X platform, which IMO is the first non M3 BMW has produced. It's a 435i with more power and stiffer suspension. It feels like any other BMW. Not M special.
Not enough miles to necessarily know, as it can take a long time to fatigue. The class action lawsuit did not remedy and repair it, it only offered an inspection and repair if you had the problem right then. And if you opted into the settlement and took the inspection, you waived your ability to make any claims in the future. I opted out and made sure the next owner knew that I had opted out. From what I read, a lot of E46s had the rear sub-frame issue eventually, as did the M Roadsters with the bigger motor. I loved the car, but couldn't live with that hanging over my head.
I agree. I traded mine in too eventually. Once warranty was up. But it was such a special car. Looked the business too.
E92 did not feel heavy IMO. Not unless you're comparing it to a Lotus or 911. The S65 made glorious mechanical noises. Yes, you had to wring it's proverbial neck to get the power out, but when it was singing full song it pulled hard. The chassis was also amazing. It felt special driven at low speeds. Direct steering. Was it as special/good as it's predecessors/E36/E46 ? IMO, no. But it is night and day better than the F8X platform, which IMO is the first non M3 BMW has produced. It's a 435i with more power and stiffer suspension. It feels like any other BMW. Not M special.
I think it felt very heavy and numb as opposed to nimble and direct. Both of mine felt the same way, but of course "feel" is subjective. I just couldn't connect with the car. Of course I also had a 991.1 GT3 at the same time, so I was jumping from that into the E92s. Maybe that made it more obvious how heavy it felt compared to a more light and nimble car. Not a fair comparison perhaps, but over time I just liked the E92 less and less. Whenever I pushed it I never felt confident, whereas the GT3 I could push as hard as I wanted and it made me feel invincible.
The E46 I think is much more special, and that was the car I originally tried to find. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a manual car in good condition at a reasonable price, so I went with the E92. I will say though, the E92 M3 is a beautiful car, especially with the right subtle visual mods.
I've still not tried the F80/F82, but I've heard a lot of complaints about them. I'm not too fond of the looks of the M4 since it doesn't look aggressive enough, it looks too similar to a regular 4 series unless you look really hard. I much prefer the looks of the F80 M3, there's no mistaking that for a regular 3 series.
I think it felt very heavy and numb as opposed to nimble and direct. Both of mine felt the same way, but of course "feel" is subjective. I just couldn't connect with the car. Of course I also had a 991.1 GT3 at the same time, so I was jumping from that into the E92s. Maybe that made it more obvious how heavy it felt compared to a more light and nimble car. Not a fair comparison perhaps, but over time I just liked the E92 less and less. Whenever I pushed it I never felt confident, whereas the GT3 I could push as hard as I wanted and it made me feel invincible.
The E46 I think is much more special, and that was the car I originally tried to find. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a manual car in good condition at a reasonable price, so I went with the E92. I will say though, the E92 M3 is a beautiful car, especially with the right subtle visual mods.
I've still not tried the F80/F82, but I've heard a lot of complaints about them. I'm not too fond of the looks of the M4 since it doesn't look aggressive enough, it looks too similar to a regular 4 series unless you look really hard. I much prefer the looks of the F80 M3, there's no mistaking that for a regular 3 series.
That's like going from Rosanne to Yanet Garcia! No wonder "it felt heavy and numb"
A 997.2 Turbo or Turbo S can be had in the 80's or 90's some might even be cpo. Also avoid the B8.2 Audi S4's 2013+ they went to electric power steering in the .2 iteration and it was horrible.
My opinion. The GT3 (any gen) is a freak. It’s that simple. There is no replacing it. Bang for the buck, i don’t think there is any other marque that can deliver a car that can compete with the GT3 in across the board performance, looks, reliability, durability, and quality for the dollar. Others have one or two of these attributes nailed but I just don’t think there is another that does it all so well. Having said that, I **** myself with the thoughts of parking my 991.2 GT3 in a parking lot and using it as a daily driver. I have accepted this. I could change my mind and use it as such, and it would likely do that with amazing ability.
this is where the M cars have filled in, for me anyway. I echo what others have said on the M4. I was one of the first to in my town to get the M4 and I thought it was a great looking car. Amazing power and good quality inside. Handling was ****. Steering was awful. I even stepped up to the M4 GTS and that was better performance but once suspension was dialed in for the track it was that.... a track car and nauseating on the street. I think e92 M3s are a better option. Amazing sound. Good performance. They can be had now in sub $30k range in good shape. I actually think they are great daily drivers. Bottom end concerns with rod bearing failures. Otherwise I think it’s the car I’m looking for to get my sports car daily fix and maybe throttle at the track.
It seems American cars (vettes, stangs, and camaros) rate of decline after a couple years of use seems so much higher that.
A used Nissan GTR would be strong consideration for me as well if I wanted to spend more than the used E92 M3.
Well I just got back from testing the M2 and think I can cross that off the list. It as an automatic and not the competition model but I'm pretty sure a manual alone would not have changed my mind. It felt pretty basic inside for a $60k or more car and just didn't do it for me. I did notice the drivers seat was off center but could probably over look that.
It did look nice though. The salesman was nice too.
Well I just got back from testing the M2 and think I can cross that off the list. It as an automatic and not the competition model but I'm pretty sure a manual alone would not have changed my mind. It felt pretty basic inside for a $60k or more car and just didn't do it for me. I did notice the drivers seat was off center but could probably over look that.
It did look nice though. The salesman was nice too.
My sentiments exactly. M2 overpriced, and overrated. Will be even worse when they stuff the S55 in it. At least it sounds decent now with the N55.
My opinion. The GT3 (any gen) is a freak. It’s that simple. There is no replacing it. Bang for the buck, i don’t think there is any other marque that can deliver a car that can compete with the GT3 in across the board performance, looks, reliability, durability, and quality for the dollar. Others have one or two of these attributes nailed but I just don’t think there is another that does it all so well. Having said that, I **** myself with the thoughts of parking my 991.2 GT3 in a parking lot and using it as a daily driver. I have accepted this. I could change my mind and use it as such, and it would likely do that with amazing ability.
this is where the M cars have filled in, for me anyway. I echo what others have said on the M4. I was one of the first to in my town to get the M4 and I thought it was a great looking car. Amazing power and good quality inside. Handling was ****. Steering was awful. I even stepped up to the M4 GTS and that was better performance but once suspension was dialed in for the track it was that.... a track car and nauseating on the street. I think e92 M3s are a better option. Amazing sound. Good performance. They can be had now in sub $30k range in good shape. I actually think they are great daily drivers. Bottom end concerns with rod bearing failures. Otherwise I think it’s the car I’m looking for to get my sports car daily fix and maybe throttle at the track.
It seems American cars (vettes, stangs, and camaros) rate of decline after a couple years of use seems so much higher that.
A used Nissan GTR would be strong consideration for me as well if I wanted to spend more than the used E92 M3.
My E92 M3 remains my favorite driving car for the past 10 years,( though sadly must sell)--sound, feel, the comfort, the MT is great (never any rod bearing issue) and this is comparing it directly to the GT3 and GTR which are also daily drivers summer and winter--obviously the power of the GT3 and GTR exceeds that of the M3 but there is something about that particular V8 engine that makes it....really fine
M2 needs coilovers then it’s fun. So does an e92m3. They’re very similar besides the engine. I’ve owned 2 E92M3 and an M2. They’re fun cars. Both perform well on track with a good set of coilovers & equal tires aren’t far behind a GT3. My m2 ran 3 seconds behind some of the best GT3 times at our local socal tracks. Had good steering too much better the the F8X.
09-19-2018, 04:39 PM
