E46 or e92

_X wrote

Hope everything works out with the bearings. That's most definitely a bummer.

Quick acceleration of an e46 M3 and an e92 M3 below.

It's terrible man ... there's worst things in life though hahha I'm maintaining positivity

_X wrote

Hope everything works out with the bearings. That's most definitely a bummer.

Quick acceleration of an e46 M3 and an e92 M3 below.

Shit like this on public roads is what gives auto enthusiasts a bad name.

This should help you decide.

Extremely boring video. Virtually zero discussion about the driving dynamics = not interested.

EricSMG wrote

Extremely boring video. Virtually zero discussion about the driving dynamics = not interested.

All I heard was he would prefer to be in his M2.

Personal preference, but to me the e46 M3 felt underwhelming in any way I can think of, compared to the e92. It did feel a little lighter, but other than that there isn’t even a question which car I like most.

yeah_knee wrote

I currently own a f10 m5 for a daily driver. But I?m itching for a fun weekend coupe to mess around with and hit the canyons with

Can?t decide between e46 or e92. Obviously e92 is more updated and more power but e46 is more classic and I love the linear power on the e46. And being that my f10 is dual clutch, I?m leaning towards manual for these cars. I wouldn?t mind dual clutch again on the e92, but I know the SMG sucked on the e46. So the e46 would be manual for sure

Short answer? e92

Kamen wrote

Personal preference, but to me the e46 M3 felt underwhelming in any way I can think of, compared to the e92. It did feel a little lighter, but other than that there isn’t even a question which car I like most.

You cannot judge the performance of the e46 M3 by the standards of 2017. Buy today's standards it isn't particularly fast or powerful. But I remember vividly how it felt going from my e36 3 series to my e46 M3. It was like a rocket ship in 2001, and was faster than a base model Porsche 911 (which cost thousands more).

Ugh. Drove another E92 M3 today - an '09 DCT with 80k miles, bone stock. The car actually felt pretty nice overall but yet again, I'm underwhelmed by the motor. Bottom was weak, mid was sluggish and top end not explosive at all. The S54 seems much more eager to "go".

I must be driving bad examples but I'm getting frustrated. There are a couple low mileage 12s and 13s around here for sale by private owners that I'll try to drive - hoping to be wow'd because I like everything else about the car.

What am I doing wrong here? Am I driving cars in need of a tune/up? Perhaps running the older engine software? Do they really vary that much in power output? Or am I looking for something that isn't there?

_X wrote

Hope everything works out with the bearings. That's most definitely a bummer.

Quick acceleration of an e46 M3 and an e92 M3 below.

If your basing your purchase on acceleration, both cars are a bad choice— both are quite slow by modern performance car standards.

EricSMG wrote

Ugh. Drove another E92 M3 today - an '09 DCT with 80k miles, bone stock. The car actually felt pretty nice overall but yet again, I'm underwhelmed by the motor. Bottom was weak, mid was sluggish and top end not explosive at all. The S54 seems much more eager to "go".

I must be driving bad examples but I'm getting frustrated. There are a couple low mileage 12s and 13s around here for sale by private owners that I'll try to drive - hoping to be wow'd because I like everything else about the car.

What am I doing wrong here? Am I driving cars in need of a tune/up? Perhaps running the older engine software? Do they really vary that much in power output? Or am I looking for something that isn't there?

I think they feel slower than they are because the civility hides the speed.

But... your feeling is pretty much why I never got one.

Obioban wrote

I think they feel slower than they are because the civility hides the speed.

But... your feeling is pretty much why I never got one.

I took the time to get the seat just right as well as all three mirrors and so I was able to get comfortable in the car. Good visibility with a good sense of the car's physical space. Good ride quality overall, a bit better than the 46. A bit less cowl shake and chassis quiver. Planted rear end. Good steering feel and weight. Still pretty harsh over big/sharp hits so not a luxury car by any stretch. DCT was very good, no surprise there but boy those throttle blips are pretty aggressive, eh? Sounds like you're "racing" just casually pulling up to red light:)

Basically, the car felt like a slightly more refined 46M in every regard but still very much like the 46M = a good thing. Some others I've driven have felt old and rattly so it was nice to drive one that felt right - I'd forgotten.

But I want more from the motor. An '08 sedan 6MT I drove once felt pretty good. A '13 DCT coupe I drove once felt pretty good. Note that "pretty good" means about on par with the 46M. A '12 6MT coupe I drove once felt incredible with a HUGE top end - I've yet to find a single other like this. Most others have disappointed. I think there's hope, just gotta drive a few more.

Maybe the ‘12 had primary cat delete/tune? Does a ton for the s65’s top end.

Maybe but I don't recall it being louder than a stock car. That said, that mod seems to really wake up the midrange as well, at least on paper. Maybe that's a "must" for this car to be fun.

They need the bolt on mods to wake them up. Add 10-15% rwhp and they are entertaining. X-pipe, pulley, intake, tune. Stock they are close but not quite interesting enough for me.

I have traction problems all the way to 3rd with catless+stock rear, probably because my MPSS are sht for the weather. That being said, you need to be going twice the speed of e46 to even remotely feel that you are going fast with e92.

pbonsalb wrote

They need the bolt on mods to wake them up. Add 10-15% rwhp and they are entertaining. X-pipe, pulley, intake, tune. Stock they are close but not quite interesting enough for me.

Okay - spent some time reading older posts (circa 2012) about the Vishnu/Procede meth setup, and others. Some of your posts, etc.

I still have more reading to do.... however:

I think what I'm experiencing is the S65's sensitivity to octane and ambient temps. If it's anything like the S54, it's very inconsistent in its power output. Here in Cali with 91 octane, the 46M can really fall flat on it's face at times, particularly in warm weather. Sometimes the car will rip and other time feel like an Accord 4cyl as th ECU is pulling timing like crazy in certain conditions.

So, the S65 is probably even more sensitive and I'm probably feeling that as I drive more of them. In fact, yesterday while driving the '09, I actually heard a slight engine "ping" just after an aggressive upshift, which was both alarming AND confirmation that the motor wasn't happy = low on power. It was warm yesterday, about 85* F, and for all I know Carmax had 87 octane in the tank and/or crappy gas. And that particular car may be on "old" software, see point 3 below.

More research to to do, BUT, I'm intrigued by:

1. Primary cat delete/xpipe : dynos show big bottom/mid gains even on facotry BMW tune
2. Making sure that the car has the latest factory BMW tune (apparently some early tunes were "slow" and not all cars were updated)
3. Proper tune (ideally with meth, is this still relevant?) for maximum consistency and big top end gains.

I know this is really old stuff for you guys, but I'm literally a totally noob when it comes to this platform BUT I'm really interested in making the switch... but only if the S65/E9XM platform can actually be super fun/responsive/quick in NA form without having to always be above 6k rpm. Sounds like it can be.

Why are we still having the e92 or e46 discussion. Didn't the OP settle on an e92 which failed after 5 days of ownership.

This is why i took my e92 to MRF engineering after 2 days of ownership to have the rod bearings replaced. I drove the car up from San Diego and drive it very easy just in case. It just make sense. Why take the chance. During the 2 days I didn't even drive the car.

I know if my engine failed I would basically have 3000 pound paper weight. I wouldn't have $10-$20K to replace an engine.

I'm even to the point now if i were to buy another e90 I would probably have it towed to get the bearings replaced.

Dr. Dre wrote

Why are we still having the e92 or e46 discussion. Didn't the OP settle on an e92 which failed after 5 days of ownership.

This is why i took my e92 to MRF engineering after 2 days of ownership to have the rod bearings replaced. I drove the car up from San Diego and drive it very easy just in case. It just make sense. Why take the chance. During the 2 days I didn't even drive the car.

I know if my engine failed I would basically have 3000 pound paper weight. I wouldn't have $10-$20K to replace an engine.

I'm even to the point now if i were to buy another e90 I would probably have it towed to get the bearings replaced.

Damn. Towed to have RBs replaced on a car that runs. Sad it's come to this point and BMW still fails to acknowledge it.

SDPLV wrote

Damn. Towed to have RBs replaced on a car that runs. Sad it's come to this point and BMW still fails to acknowledge it.

That's just me. I'm not recommending anyone else take those steps. It's seem like the only real weakness in the S65 is the rod bearings all things being equal. I would take every precaution.

There has now been two members who bought e9x and the bearings failed within a few days. I think one member didn't even make it home.

Dr. Dre wrote

That's just me. I'm not recommending anyone else take those steps. It's seem like the only real weakness in the S65 is the rod bearings all things being equal. I would take every precaution.

There has now been two members who bought e9x and the bearings failed within a few days. I think one member didn't even make it home.

Also main bearings-- which is actually what nuked the 12,000 mile old car that didn't make it home.

Obioban wrote

Also main bearings-- which is actually what nuked the 12,000 mile old car that didn't make it home.

Wouldn't the main fail only if the rod bearings fail?