Build Thread: 2015 BMW M3 (Lots of Photos & Videos!)
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Beautiful car. Congratulations!
Thank you sir!
I personally like the stock wheels when the car is lowered and they are spaced out a little.
Auto rev matching feature is neat. Trans/shifter/pedal still have good feel despite from what I've read. Same goes for the steering.
Agreed, lowering springs are going on next weekend! The front gap is horrendous on these cars. I'll probably do 15mm spacers all the way around as well.
I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking the whole feel of the car is better than people make it out to be. I'm actually really impressed with the handling and power delivery of the car now that I've driven it for over a month. It does need some stickier rear tires though.
I never told you this, but when you drove the car the day I brought it over, you drove it harder than I ever did
that has since changed... -
Good for you. I really like the looks of the F80. I agree with above, spacers and springs will really set this car off for now. I'm jealous of your stock seats! I feel the f8x got the first M seats that actually compete with the Audi S/RS cars.
Do you plan on addressing the crank hub before you throw power at it?
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Congrats on the purchase and the subscriber count! 14 cars already ehh? It’s been fun watching you turn up the notch each time since your E36.
Thanks! I can't believe that $1,000 rusted out E36 sparked this crazy addiction. I loved that car.
Great color! I have a hard enough time keeping 1 BMW 1 Toyota and 1 Honda maintained and here you are with 3 turbo BMWs! Hope it treats you well!
P.S. we know you sold off your collection of 1:24 RC E92s to buy this
I'm torn on the color. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I think it's too "grandpa grey". But I hope it treats me well too

I still have all of the RC E92s if anyone wants one...
Good for you. I really like the looks of the F80. I agree with above, spacers and springs will really set this car off for now. I'm jealous of your stock seats! I feel the f8x got the first M seats that actually compete with the Audi S/RS cars.
Do you plan on addressing the crank hub before you throw power at it?
I really like the Competition package seats, so I'll always wish I had those instead, but the standard M3 seats are nice. I really like the top half of the seat, but butt cushion is fairly plain with no thigh adjustability.
I will probably address the crank hub at some point, but don't plan on making it a requirement before modding/tuning it. I think it's overblown as far as how often it happens.
Congrats on this milestone! Can't wait to see where you take this one!
Thanks! I can't wait to see what comes of it either.
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Thanks! I can't believe that $1,000 rusted out E36 sparked this crazy addiction.
heh
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Ohhhh does this have the carbon driveshaft!?!?
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Ohhhh does this have the carbon driveshaft!?!?
Yes, I believe they all do!
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Yes, I believe they all do!
I know at some point they removed the carbon driveshaft to fit it with steel or aluminum in order to fit new emissions filters on the exhaust. I wasn't sure if that was a U.S. thing or not.
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I know at some point they removed the carbon driveshaft to fit it with steel or aluminum in order to avoid covid-19. I wasn't sure if that was a U.S. thing or not.
Fixed that for you.
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The M3 got it's first modification! I couldn't stand the wheel gap these cars have from the factory, especially in the front. So I combed through forums and Facebook groups to find what my best option was for lowering the car.
My goal: eliminate wheel gap and retain comfortable ride quality without spending thousands of dollars.
I narrowed it down to Emmanuele Design lowering springs. I could go on and on about why I bought these lowering springs instead of others, or even coilovers. But I don't want to clutter up my build thread, so I wrote a dedicated blog post about them. The Best Lowering Springs for BMW F8X: EMD Auto Review.
Brief summary:
- Ride quality remains the same or better than stock.
- Compatible with both standard and adaptive suspension.
- Engineered specifically for stock shocks to avoid premature failure.
- Perfect stance, lowering the front 1.3″ and the rear 0.3 – 0.9″.
- Linear spring rate, similar to stock springs.
- Made in the USA.
- Affordable at $300-350!
I got around to installing them a few days ago. The process was way easier than I thought... so easy that most of you could do it at home! I took photos and video of the whole process and created a comprehensive installation guide. The guide is too long to post here, but I shared it on my F80 blog. If you want to lower your F8X and save money by doing this job yourself, check it out: How To Install Lowering Springs in Your BMW F80 M3 or F82 M4.
Wrapped it up with a proper 4-wheel alignment.
Let me know what you think

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Looks good! Did you do spacers to?
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Much better! So in the front I see that the struts are mounted like an e39 where you loosen the pinch bolt and then slide the strut up. On this is there enough clearance to flop it out of the wheel well without loosening other stuff? The e39 you have to disassemble more stuff to be able to tip it out of the wheel well and actually slide the strut out.
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the final ride height is perfect!
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Much better! So in the front I see that the struts are mounted like an e39 where you loosen the pinch bolt and then slide the strut up. On this is there enough clearance to flop it out of the wheel well without loosening other stuff? The e39 you have to disassemble more stuff to be able to tip it out of the wheel well and actually slide the strut out.
In my experience all that's needed to disconnect on the e39, e9x, f3x/f8x, etc. is the sway bar link and height sensor to get enough movement to swing it out.
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