What have you done with or to your M3 today?

kolosy wrote

Got CarPlay'ed!

How do you feel about the quality of the unit, what seller, what price, how responsive ? Also most importantly, how is the quality of the bluetooth audio DAC? There was talk for a while that they were not very good, and I spent too much time on my sound system to compromise at this point lol.

chocstraw wrote

ESS and maybe dinan are the only ones worth it. Again, really tired of amateur speculation on here.

it’s like 10-15 HP anyways just get better tires and camber plates and I guarantee you’ll be faster.

also reviving this with a bit of explanation. Steve Dinan was contracted by BMW M to build P65 engines and did motorsport development with them. If he is only willing to promise 9hp, I would trust that he did this for good, good reason. Perhaps contact him at carbahn if he sells one separately for catless cars, because Dinan as a brand was sold recently. It is also one of the cheaper tunes.

I also mention ESS, after learning about how much effort they put into development

There is much more that can happen to an engine from knocking (which all of the other tunes do lol) than simple cylinder scoring from the piston slapping around. You can get rod bend and twist, you can get premature wear on your piston rings (lowering HP), and if it gets lean enough, it can even crack pistons and you can melt cats. Melt one and it clogs a whole bank and throws an engine so out of balance it catastrophically fails. Not Worth It.

Put in fresh OE mats to replace the BMW Performance rubbers I put in 4yr ago, and added iND alcantara/M-stitch boots to match the M Performance wheel.

//steve\\ wrote

Back to debating selling it so I can find a similar spec DCT car.

chocstraw wrote

How do you feel about the quality of the unit, what seller, what price, how responsive ? Also most importantly, how is the quality of the bluetooth audio DAC? There was talk for a while that they were not very good, and I spent too much time on my sound system to compromise at this point lol.

i got the mr12volt unit. it's supposedly the best sounding of the bunch and the only (i think) that uses the fiber line for sound, as opposed to plugging into the 3.5mm aux port. pretty happy with it so far. there's a long thread here: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1852418

S65V8 wrote

M3RD, you come up with the best topics. Well played sir.

Today I took her "to the limit", it was one of those rare drives back home on a perfectly smooth highway, horizon to horizon (no 5-0) and zero cars back and front. Dropped her into 3rd, and listened to that sweet engine induction sound wail to 8,400! 4th, and again hitting 8,400, and 5th! Scrubbed off some speed and back down to earth at 75 Would never do that if there was even one other car around, but like I said, a very rare moment on a normal day. This car is a beast.

S65V8 wrote

M3RD, you come up with the best topics. Well played sir.

Today I took her "to the limit", it was one of those rare drives back home on a perfectly smooth highway, horizon to horizon (no 5-0) and zero cars back and front. Dropped her into 3rd, and listened to that sweet engine induction sound wail to 8,400! 4th, and again hitting 8,400, and 5th! Scrubbed off some speed and back down to earth at 75 Would never do that if there was even one other car around, but like I said, a very rare moment on a normal day. This car is a beast.

Yes!!!!

jvictormp wrote

Trackday

pictures of the trackday above

you can see more about that bumper damage here: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1950867

@jvictormp Awesome to see your SGM doing what it does best after all the work you've put in!!

CF interior bits from autotecknic

After about 8 months of collecting dust in my garage, I finally got around to installing my Varis rep undertray diffuser. Unpopular opinion, but I think it looks so much cleaner without the upper diffuser.

The picture angle makes it looks a little crooked, but I spent 2 hours getting the bumper gaps perfect.

No eye candy to report but I just got the Auto Solutions short shifter kit installed.


I'll be honest before this SSK was installed I had a more enjoyable experience in this platform with the DCT as I owned a DCT E90 ZCP before this car, but now it is about even. This setup is really good, its very tight, short and you actually have feel in the shifter now. With the stock shifter at least for me it just killed a lot of the experience as its the thing to interact with the most and the stock shifter is just so bad.

I was waiting to be disappointed but it exceeded my expectations.

The shifter is also way less notchy too and smoother overall. There is better synchronicity between the shifter and the clutch pedal now, where you can actually shift it very quick and rev-match much more seamlessly. The stock setup was always like playing two different instruments between the rubbery long clutch pedal, and no feel shifter it was just a complete mess. I always compare shifters to my old S2000 as that is just the gold standard as far as I am concerned, and while it is no S2000 in terms of shifting action and overall shifter precision, if the S2000 was 10/10 this thing is a solid 7.5/10 now where stock is 4/10.

I'll get the UCP in the spring but for now it gets a huge thumbs up from me.

Ajolives wrote

@jvictormp Awesome to see your SGM doing what it does best after all the work you've put in!!

Nice, mate, thanks for the words!

I must admit that I was very nervous about this first track day with the new engine. But all went well, except for the detail about the coolant hose.

Btw, what do you mean by SGM?

jvictormp wrote

Btw, what do you mean by SGM?

Sparkling Graphite Metallic, the color of your car. One of my favorites. We have it on my daughters E46 vert.

Flashed GTS tune this morning then gave it a wash this afternoon.

neilum wrote

No eye candy to report but I just got the Auto Solutions short shifter kit installed.

Never got the manual because of the second gear grind problem (this thing sees 8400 basically all the time) and finding the shifter so subpar. Spoiled by Porsche and Honda shifters. Half of the Tremec shifters are better even.

Tried out that SSK and wished I got the manual for a second.

chocstraw wrote

Never got the manual because of the second gear grind problem (this thing sees 8400 basically all the time) and finding the shifter so subpar. Spoiled by Porsche and Honda shifters. Half of the Tremec shifters are better even.

Tried out that SSK and wished I got the manual for a second.

Glad you like the DCT, it is really good.

No second gear grinding problem for me, its butter smooth. I wasn't aware this was a problem, my buddies E90 6mt also doesnt have any second gear issues.

Honda shifters especially the S2k are next level.

neilum wrote

No eye candy to report but I just got the Auto Solutions short shifter kit installed.

What percentage reduction did you end up going with?

chocstraw wrote

neilum wrote

No eye candy to report but I just got the Auto Solutions short shifter kit installed.

Never got the manual because of the second gear grind problem (this thing sees 8400 basically all the time) and finding the shifter so subpar. Spoiled by Porsche and Honda shifters. Half of the Tremec shifters are better even.

Tried out that SSK and wished I got the manual for a second.

Comparing a cable driven P shifter to Honda???

That is heresy!!

slcook54 wrote

Couple goodies going on next month.

Nice!! Will you replace camber arms too, or even its bushings?

jvictormp wrote

slcook54 wrote

Couple goodies going on next month.

Nice!! Will you replace camber arms too, or even its bushings?

Ya. Not pictured here is bimmerworld camber arm bearing kit, fall line camber shim kit. Front control arms were already replaced with GAS monoballs.

Waited way too long to change these bulbs for the halo, makes all the difference!
If you're thinking of doing it, just know it is a little frustrating trying to get the LED bulbs into the right position since they're much bigger.

panda-R wrote

What percentage reduction did you end up going with?

22%.

Wouldn't want it any shorter and its paired w/F10 knob. UCP is next in the spring.

BTW while I am here one of my Lux8 Angel eye bulbs died yesterday, is it recommended to replace one? Or get a complete new set of 2?

Leaning towards replacing both. The more I read about it the Lux bulbs only last 18 months or so on average. Not impressed for $219.

I may get cheaper ones for $50 if we're talking about new $220 units last a year and a half.

neilum wrote

No eye candy to report but I just got the Auto Solutions short shifter kit installed.


I'll be honest before this SSK was installed I had a more enjoyable experience in this platform with the DCT as I owned a DCT E90 ZCP before this car, but now it is about even. This setup is really good, its very tight, short and you actually have feel in the shifter now. With the stock shifter at least for me it just killed a lot of the experience as its the thing to interact with the most and the stock shifter is just so bad.

I was waiting to be disappointed but it exceeded my expectations.

The shifter is also way less notchy too and smoother overall. There is better synchronicity between the shifter and the clutch pedal now, where you can actually shift it very quick and rev-match much more seamlessly. The stock setup was always like playing two different instruments between the rubbery long clutch pedal, and no feel shifter it was just a complete mess. I always compare shifters to my old S2000 as that is just the gold standard as far as I am concerned, and while it is no S2000 in terms of shifting action and overall shifter precision, if the S2000 was 10/10 this thing is a solid 7.5/10 now where stock is 4/10.

I'll get the UCP in the spring but for now it gets a huge thumbs up from me.

If you haven't already, the BMS clutch bump stop makes a huge difference with this setup. Makes the clutch pedal feel almost perfect and a 15 dollar mod that takes 10 min to install.