Hello

i_love_cars

my bad I thought it was a 335 for some reason. Then yes, 135i is perfectly acceptable upgrade, just not as good as an M3 =P

Send me a PM with your phone number and I'll see if we can meet up regardless next week when I'm in town.

Iceddragon

I'm in La Crosse by the way, not Neenah. But I'll pm it to you and if you do ever find yourself way over here then it's on

This is all a great help

YoungCR

I'll teach you to drive manual next time you come through Madison on a weekend, it's easy just takes practice to perfect and every car is different even if it's the same car.

Earl

It just takes time to get used to it. Nothing about it is really all that hard or complicated

Iceddragon

Yeah I get the principle of it, but I never had anyone that would lend me a car to practice on. And I was never in a position to buy a beater to practice with lol

patsbimmer1

Iceddragon said:

Yeah I get the principle of it, but I never had anyone that would lend me a car to practice on. And I was never in a position to buy a beater to practice with lol

Then buy a daily to practice with. The best way to learn is neccesity!

suspenceful

i_love_cars said:

I will be in Neenah next week on Thursday afternoon/evening and if the weather is good I can bring my M3 and let you test drive it.

With all the condescending comments about the 135i in comparison, I'd love to have a chance to drive an E9X M3. Never been behind the wheel of one.

Iceddragon

patsbimmer1 said:

Then buy a daily to practice with. The best way to learn is neccesity!

Im not in a position to test drive one before buying it and I already have a daily.

i_love_cars

suspenceful said:

With all the condescending comments about the 135i in comparison, I'd love to have a chance to drive an E9X M3. Never been behind the wheel of one.

I'll still be in Neenah this coming week on Thursday =P

and really, there's a 35-40k difference in the cost of the E9x M3 and the 135i brand new, and you know as well as I do the shortcomings of the 135. It isn't really condescending because the 135i is an awesome car and for its price point I think it's a great car for go-fast-things. But the M3 is just a better car on the whole....but again, you gotta pay more for it so what do you expect? The 370z makes a great sports coupe, but if I say a GT-R is far superior, that isn't really condescending the 370z - it's just a statement of fact. None of it takes away from the fact that for the price point, 370 is a great performance. Same vein as the 135i, really.

suspenceful

i_love_cars said:

I'll still be in Neenah this coming week on Thursday =P

and really, there's a 35-40k difference in the cost of the E9x M3 and the 135i brand new, and you know as well as I do the shortcomings of the 135. It isn't really condescending because the 135i is an awesome car and for its price point I think it's a great car for go-fast-things. But the M3 is just a better car on the whole....but again, you gotta pay more for it so what do you expect? The 370z makes a great sports coupe, but if I say a GT-R is far superior, that isn't really condescending the 370z - it's just a statement of fact. None of it takes away from the fact that for the price point, 370 is a great performance. Same vein as the 135i, really.

I just like ruffling feathers, but I do think the 135i is a great car for the price. While it might not handle as well as the M3, it still seems to perform great. I can attest to the understeering and lack of LSD but if non-M cars had an LSD, we all know they would sell less M cars.

Do you have my number? If not, PM me. I'd love to check out your M3 and maybe grab dinner/drinks if you're up for it this week.

Earl

How's the car been treating you with the new wheels?

Iceddragon

It had an awkward vibration around 70 the day I brought it home, which then moved to around 80 and eventually to 90. Not a wobble, just an odd shake sort of thing which had me a little worried because this is only my second car and the first with aftermarket wheels and tires, so I have no idea if that's normal or not. But that has since disappeared entirely so I completely love them.

I got to take them out to a couple cruises recently and they are SO MUCH stickier and firmer than the old run-flats. One bad thing happened though, I got a couple of chips on the inside of 2 spokes, like a rock or something got into the wheels and got bounced around while driving. I was pretty bummed about that because the wheels were practically brand new before that and I've been extremely paranoid about curbing them, but I guess shit happens and I'll just live with it.

I also finally threw on some new chrome trim on the nose. I had been considering blacking everything out, but the chrome looks nice with this color so I'm going to own it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=17NTTeunG1mKALTWahw_DBIsYmMdwG7LHSw

On another note, a local cruising buddy that is into BMW's just traded in his E46 325xi for an E46 M3... Suddenly I feel a stronger urge to get one.

jc43089

I just leave my cars dirty so you can't see the rock chips.

Iceddragon

So I've got an update; After this discussion I did some more research and decided you guys are probably right about E90 pricing. I was pretty bummed for a few days because I think that's just too much of a commitment with some things going on at work, but then something interesting happened.

The guy I mentioned above with the new E46 M3. Something kind of hit a spot in me and I did a complete switch into wanting to get one of those, and that's where I am now. The math just sort of works out, its a crazy fun car and way faster than what I have now, but for a lot less than the E90. This means I can probably get one by the end of this year if things go right (maybe even sooner), instead of end of next year.

Long story short, I am actively looking for a new place to move into (wife's only limitation on me getting the M3 is that she gets a dog, which requires a move) and am doing damn near constant research on what I need to know about E46's.

One important aspect would be the gearbox...I know how you guys feel about manuals, but what is the SMG actually like? For someone in my position it sounds pretty good if I'm honest, and they go for considerably less than manuals.

B C

@DrLeadFoot on here went through some SMG hydraulic unit debacles after an engine replacement but he eventually got it worked out on his own. He has put a lot of miles on his SMG and hopefully chimes in here

YoungCR

The only beauty of the SMG is that it can be converted to a manual less than the price difference of buying a manual. I'm biased against automatics, the DCT in the e9x M3's is very fun but the e46 SMG is aweful. It's slow shifting and clunky.

suspenceful

The E46 M3 is a great car. A nice 135i can be bought for the same price, if not cheaper. I'd say test drive both.

Also, all I hear are horror stories about the SMG. I'd stay away, but don't have personal experience.

Iceddragon

So this weekend I went to do the River Valley Road Rally, representing proper bavarian vehicles in a good sporting event on awesome roads. I've been looking forward to this for 6 months now, and everything was going great, lots of cars came out and there was even another BMW (white 135i with an M front end). Spent the night hanging out with Viga (from Viga Designs) and his awesome wrapped M4.

But unfortunately something broke and the engine started to overheat. Spent 6 hours on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck and get home, and now the shop may not even get to it for two weeks. Pics below.