Offical US M3 Ordering guide for coupe and sedan

It looks like the 18" for South Africa and the US are both designated 260M. Hopefully this means they will still be the dark gun-metal like finish.
Otherwise, I wonder if I could find someone to swap with me? I would prefer the darker rims.

Epacy wrote

And I guess it is true. Power rear windows in the coupe.

It does indeed say "power front/rear windows". Interesting. I guess the American consumer demands this.

lucid wrote

It does indeed say "power front/rear windows". Interesting.

No, it says power front/rear windows. *EDIT* You found it before I could reply....

ChitownM3 wrote

No, it says power front/rear windows. *EDIT* You found it before I could reply....

Yeah, I didn't see it at first, and then found it. I am really surprised that BMW redesigned the rear windows for the US market. I guess this gives the US military pricing document posted by Davo2003 credibility since it called for it.

lucid wrote

It does indeed say "power front/rear windows". Interesting. I guess the American consumer demands this.

You think we would know what we demand....

Epacy wrote

You think we would know what we demand....

I sure would like to think so...Lazy fat Americans wanting power assistance in everything that they do!

Epacy wrote

You think we would know what we demand....

I still don't see the individual audio though...

It seems to have been renamed.
Would be nice to get more specs of the system to further confirm.

Epacy wrote

It seems to have been renamed.
Would be nice to get more specs of the system to further confirm.

Weren't there 3 different levels of audio offered in Europe with individual being the best? I have a feeling we are only getting the lower two.

ChitownM3 wrote

Weren't there 3 different levels of audio offered in Europe with individual being the best? I have a feeling we are only getting the lower two.

3 levels? Two is all I knew of.

This appears to be Satin Chrome Finish.




Looks like the 18's will be alright after all. The design is actually nice and SOOOO much better in the non hyper-black finish. Should be a better ride as well.

Perhaps they will be more like this color from the BMWUSA site.





Plus, makes the purchase of aftermarket rims all the better, should be good winter rims, if needed. Save $1,400.

RandyB wrote

Good catch. I had ruled them out and probably will still get 19s but I need to see what they look like first. I assume this is the same or similar finish that was on the concept wheels, right?

The picture of the M3 on page 1 of this pdf has the 18" with the satin chome finish and it looks good! Better than the flat face 19" rims IMO.

I'm excited, I just saved $1,400

ChitownM3 wrote

I still don't see the individual audio though...

The 16 speakers mentioned in that guide are the cue... Logic 7 have 13 speakers.

ChitownM3 wrote

Weren't there 3 different levels of audio offered in Europe with individual being the best? I have a feeling we are only getting the lower two.

4 levels... 6, 10, 13 and 16 speakers, being the 6 speakers the only system without an amp.

NavNurs wrote

It looks like the 18" for South Africa and the US are both designated 260M. Hopefully this means they will still be the dark gun-metal like finish.
Otherwise, I wonder if I could find someone to swap with me? I would prefer the darker rims.

I'm in the same boat. I think the darker rims look really good with Melbourne Red and the CF roof.

BoB

So what if the M3 weighs 3,700 lbs. Do you guys realise thats only 50 pounds more than EU spec? So the EU M3 is 3,649 lbs. Ohhhh what a big difference!!! I guess it will go 0-60 in 4.85 seconds now. Its not like the M3 was light to begin with. If it was 3,600 lbs it would still be a heavy car.

That's like paying $3,700 for a killer audio system vs $3,649. The numbers play tricks with our perception.

Oh well the M3 is 3,700 lbs I guess I better buy a Audi RS4 instead. Opps thats right...the RS4 weighs just as much.

If the rear windows are really powered now, than those motors would probably explain the weight discrepancy between EU and US models. And also why the Coupe and Sedan weights are closer together since the sedan already had rear automatic windows.

K3N R3D wrote

So what if the M3 weighs 3,700 lbs. Do you guys realise thats only 50 pounds more than EU spec? So the EU M3 is 3,649 lbs. Ohhhh what a big difference!!! I guess it will go 0-60 in 4.85 seconds now. Its not like the M3 was light to begin with. If it was 3,600 lbs it would still be a heavy car.

That's like paying $3,700 for a killer audio system vs $3,649. The numbers play tricks with our perception.

Oh well the M3 is 3,700 lbs I guess I better buy a Audi RS4 instead. Opps thats right...the RS4 weighs just as much.

It still could be some differing specs that make up some of the difference as well. But even if not, I know you are basically right. I have made similar arguments about stressing over which options you get to save 10-80 lbs. It simply makes no difference. I guess my problem is two fold. One, I got used to the car being 1655 kg (3650 or so) and falsely assumed these days in the US the weight we would see would be much closer than 50 lb more. Two, I am not taking well the just exceeding 3700 lb, a sort of round number/psychological barrier. Oh well we'll all live and never notice the difference.

It is amazing all of the low weight and low moment of inertia efforts that BMW put into the car to still end up at 3700 lb. CF roof, no sunroof, CF bumpers, plastic fenders, hollow axles, hollow engine components, hollow this, hollow that, almost all aluminum suspension and much of the subframes aluminum, lighter engine overall, etc. I think I heard the number quoted somewhere as to how much the car woudl have weighed if BMW had designed it more like the E46 M3 or 335i. It must have been 3900 at least.

K3N R3D wrote

So what if the M3 weighs 3,700 lbs. Do you guys realise thats only 50 pounds more than EU spec? So the EU M3 is 3,649 lbs. Ohhhh what a big difference!!! I guess it will go 0-60 in 4.85 seconds now. Its not like the M3 was light to begin with. If it was 3,600 lbs it would still be a heavy car.

That's like paying $3,700 for a killer audio system vs $3,649. The numbers play tricks with our perception.

Oh well the M3 is 3,700 lbs I guess I better buy a Audi RS4 instead. Opps thats right...the RS4 weighs just as much.

My understanding is that the EU number is with driver and 5kg luggage. The US spec that was just released is unladen, so that should be without driver and luggage, which means the difference between the US and EU numbers are more like ~200lbs (someone correct me if I'm wrong here). If that is indeed the case, that is a noticable difference when it comes to handling.

UltimateBMW wrote

If the rear windows are really powered now, than those motors would probably explain the weight discrepancy between EU and US models. And also why the Coupe and Sedan weights are closer together since the sedan already had rear automatic windows.

The rear window is operated by a small motor and a simple mechanism in my E46 coupe since it's not a conventional window. It just kind of slowly pops out a few inches. I can't see how the motor and mechanism can weigh more than 5lbs per side.

We should consider that initial BMW brochures have been known to be printed with incorrect weight data (i.e., 135i) and even equipment, so these 3700lbs could change by the time of introduction...

Technic wrote

We should consider that initial BMW brochures have been known to be printed with incorrect weight data (i.e., 135i) and even equipment, so these 3700lbs could change by the time of introduction...

Really? Were they corrected or are you going by later on mag reviews?