mrad01

Those sleeping over the looks of the 4 door e36 M3 were soon awoken by this: Lotus Carlton Loved it - what a machine!

Same on the e60, now I think it looks great, especially the M5 or a tastefully done 545 or 550

^^^^ No friggen way!!!!! IDIOTS!!!!! Incredible read...must be a joke - has to be.

I'd never heard of WIT before - cool, another thing learnt today!

WTF?

I've had the 330d and 335d as loaners from my dealer every now and then (hehe, today they gave me a 2009 M3 DCT!) - the 330d and 335d are just awesome fun - the 80-120 accel is nuuuutttsssss!!!!! Maybe get a towball for the 5% of times you need SUV capacity - and enjoy the 95% of life!!!! (Maybe you need the SUV for something else other than capacity???) Fun times.

Yes, it makes more sense, but in McCartney's mind (and new BMW owners minds) - it doesn't matter. He still has piles of money and he doesn't care. You have to realise that when you buy a new BMW - you are thinking it takes ALL the money you have in the world. In reality, for most buyers, this is just a fraction of their wealth - and losing money on it - so what. They build losing the money on it into their next tax return. Seriously. BTW, I push one button on my steering wheel and all the electric gizmos piss off and I can drive the nuts off it - but on a soggy wet day, turn them back on so I don't wrap it into a roundabout. Simple.

Yes, back to the point... My car has adaptive headlights. To most people they are f**king useless. They turn around corners when you steer around corners and they auto-dip. Around Auckland city? So what... But, I had to drive 3 hours from up north in the dark/rain. Brilliant. I just drove the car and it dipped for me. I could see where I was going properly for the first time. Useless tech for some. But I like it.

Sorry, just did it online: 335hp

Yep, although the 335i was boosted by one of these (see below) - so I was getting around 340hp and the 1 M coupe is rated at 332hp. I just unplugged it out of the engine bay before taking it in for servicing. The 1 M will kick the crap out of the 335i handling wise and braking.... http://www.splitsec.com/products/turbotuner2.htm

Sorry, incorrect. 135/335i engine: 225kw 400NM 1 Series M coupe: 250kw 450NM (Figures directly from BMW.com) Same as the 335is...they both also have a torque overboost feature which will take torque to 500NM if required.

Yep, true that. The 1 series M coupe has a slightly uprated engine over the 135i and 335i...more like the 335is engine.

Don't care for resale too much. If you buy cars for investment and resale - you are crazy! My first BMW was brand new - before that I had Celicas and RX8s etc, so there may be some truth there. I found the BMW time for the M3 GTS. If we look at the time for the M3 GTS - which is the e92 M3 "CSL" - then it is 7:48 So here is the updated list with the GTS included. So now the fastest car was built in 2010. 0. 2010 E92 M3 GTS - 7:48 1. 2003 E46 M3 CSL – 7:50 2. 2007 E90/E92 M3 – 8:05 3. 2007 E63 M6 – 8:09 4. 2011 1 series M coupe – 8:12 5. 2006 E60 M5 – 8:13 6. 2002 E46 M3 – 8:22 7. 2008 335i E92 Coupe – 8:26 8. 2000 E39 M5 - 8:28 9. 1997 E36 M3 - 8:34 10. 1989 E30 M3 - 9:35

Well, I had a (chipped) 335i for 3 years and went directly into the e90 M3 and I can tell you the M3 is quicker - especially on the top end. My 335i was putting out more HP than the 1 series M coupe too.

Disagree. Bad for the second hand market because of reliability probably - but in terms of laps around Nurburgring (good corners/straights mix), the tech models are faster. The CSL version of the e46 is the king - so it does follow your logic for weight loss. Lose weight out of the e9x M3 = super rocket, but generally older=slower looking at these figures. (you would hope so). Good example is looking at the M5 models. The E39 is considered one of the great M5 models and the E60 is considered a tech whale - but the tech whale is 15 seconds faster per lap. (I hated the E60 shape when it came out - now I love it more than the E39!!). Even more interesting is the non-M 335i coupe nipping the E39 M5 - who would have thought! 1. 2003 E46 M3 CSL – 7:50 2. 2007 E90/E92 M3 – 8:05 3. 2007 E63 M6 – 8:09 4. 2011 1 series M coupe – 8:12 5. 2006 E60 M5 – 8:13 6. 2002 E46 M3 – 8:22 7. 2008 335i E92 Coupe – 8:26 8. 2000 E39 M5 - 8:28 9. 1997 E36 M3 - 8:34 10. 1989 E30 M3 - 9:35

I guess the trouble is that new car buyers just don't really care about the car 5-10 years down the track. Car manufacturers don't sell to those car buyers. The last couple of new BMWs I have bought have been amazing (few little hiccups with the M3) and I didn't really even think about the poor buggers who are going to buy it in 10 years time. Right now, the tech in my M3 is perfect. Everything works perfectly and I use the lot. iPod, Nav, Adaptive Headlights, Comfort access <--awesome BTW, M steering, adaptive suspension..... Is it going to be working in 10 years? Should do. In the 1980s when the Mazda 323s and e30s came out with efi and electric windows, my dad said "Woah, lets see if they are still going in 20 years eh son?" Well, they are... Even in my next car, they can load it up with as much tech as they like and I'll buy it.

haha, I just checked mine.....15.9 for around auckland driving.....get about 30 on the track...

I love threads about people saving gas - keep doing it. The more people save gas, the more I can use. Life is good.

That's good to know! I've got a mate with one and he would love a bit of a gruntier tone...

Pretty bloody interesting. I'm currently kicking around in a V8 S65 powered machine and its one hell of an engine. At 8400rpm - there is no other noise like it - it sounds awesome. I found the 6cyl had the legs - but it didn't have that sound...The previous M3 engine was a raspy sounding bugger, but crikey it was quick. Also, the previous engine felt highly strung - all the time. The V8 burbles around in traffic no problem and doesn't feel like the madman it becomes after 6000! So, I like the S65 from the point of view that you can sit in traffic all day, drive to the shops and back without whiplash - and then get onto a track and have a very very quick race engine when you hold it above 6000. Great engine.

Students. They'll drink anything!

Its true, I have K band off and probably will get stung by some $$ tickets. But, I don't care, its the demerit points I care about!!

They are turning them off these days and only turning them on when they suspect you are speeding. Tricky, but they are missing a bit now, which is good.

I've got the Beltronics STi-R hardwired into my M3 with Blinder jammers and its been amazing. V1 is a great bit of kit too, but for me it needed to be unseen. You can look and look around my car and it'll take you quite a while to notice the kit - it's been well installed. I've had a couple of tickets in the last 4 years, but they have been quite minor compared to what they *would* have been had I not had the kit in. It might cost a couple of grand to get kitted out properly, but it has easily saved me that already - and my license. Big tick for the STi-R for detection and hidden hardwire. Go V1 if you want one you can move between cars - but they are thief magnets.

bloody good episode. loved the ending!