After 6 years with a 14a I'm getting an itch for something different.
I've always wanted a M3, have looked looked at common problems and things like that and have decided it will definitely have to be a manual.
Has anyone driven one and what are your thoughts.
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Best bet is to speak to sxrory on here
1998 Nissan 200sx s14a , 2000 std 5 speed with nismo supercoppermix clutch bn6 Sapphire Blue
It won't grab your balls like a 200 will but its more comfortable, fast enough for any legal situation.
They feel heavy and don't really start working well until higher up the rev range (peak torque @ 4900rpm, peak power @ 7900rpm) but that just encourage you to push on. They have so much grip but are relatively easy to get the back end to step out if that's what you want.
The boot is deceptively spacious although can be awkward as its not very deep.
I get 2 kids in mine with large buggy and associated shit and don't need to sacrifice front legroom.
My local BMW dealership offers fixed price servicing dependant on age - my next service is the oil change which is about £80 iirc.
You won't be disappointed but you will be disappointed all at the same time (I am a little anyway) but I can live with sacrificing some of the aforementioned ball grabbing for quality/comfort/reliability
I have a manual, manual is OK, but not the smoothest manual in the world and totally agree with MEL about the lack of ball grabbingness of it. In all honesty it's a nice place to be, it's comfortable but it's not raw and it's actually a bit dull (all personal opinion obviously and it being my daily driver probably accounts for a bit of this)
I'd be interested to see owners opinion's on this also... Ever since I got my 14a I looked at the M3 as what I want mine to end up with (Power wise) As long as I could keep up with the M3 I'd be happy.
An e46 m3 will be on my list for my next car change and i have to agree with the above.
I have a 330cd at the moment and its ok, nice place to be and drive but no balls grabbing other than hilarious torque - the m3 doesnt have the torque but makes a nice noise and is of course a fair bit swifter but there is still no sense of fear and impending doom you get from an sx running silly pressure.
Then again maybe thats a good thing
Mines my daily also, about 56 mile total commute. The journey is so speed/fun restricted my mpg has gone from about 23 to nearly 26. Thats not to say the car is no good, just that it's not being used properly.Originally Posted by Shotaro
I wouldn't change cars now and will probably never go back to having a 200 but I wouldn't get another one - my itch has now been scratched and it will be a different itch to sort next time
Think most has been said really.
Pros
When you get up it they are good fun. Really got to put some Rpm through it. the limits are higher than a 200 so you can find you 're going particularly quickly on the road before realising it. Been on track with it a couple of times and enjoyed it. very capable but does feel its weight.
They are very comfortable you can drive for miles and it does not feel it at all.
I can carry 4 adults with ease (I'm not that tall though). Boot is also big.
It's pretty good on the go go juice . I drove to the lake district on Friday and traffic was a obismal 65-70 all the way and I had 34 mpg on the trip computer. That's amazing fir .3.2 6cyl but boring , I get 24.normally.
I think they look smart.
The noise they make is pretty special.
Gadgets are pretty good.
It's good out the box so you don't have to mod it ........but you will.....
Cons
40k car is a 40k car no matter what you pay for it. cost of running and consumables is applicable. I spent quite a bit.on mine after I bought it to get it niggle free.
They have some potential BIG bills in vanos, head gasket and subframe.
Lot of neglected cars about
Image is not the best lol.
Brakes are shit ( I bought k sports).
For me it ticks a lot of boxes for what I want so don't see me selling anytime soon.
Hope this helps
Last edited by SXRORY; 25-05-2014 at 08:33.
If you keep up with one in a Nissan - the BM owner is still going to be more comfortable than you
Thanks for all the advice, I think I'm going to have to make the man maths add up and I might have to indulge myself. One more question is milage really an issue on the engine providing it has a service history.
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I wouldn't be too concerned about mileage tbh. As long as you have a comprehensive service history and none of the known issues are present (subframe/rtab's/vanos etc.
I was lucky as all the ones local to me for sale had lower mileage and fsh
I did see a couple of complete dogs though so you will need to take your time when it comes to choosing the right one
I was on for getting an E46 M3, but ended up getting an E36 instead.
I went for the older one as it hasn't got any interference from traction control (even though lesser E36's did), it's just got a LSD and your foot control to stick the power down.
I got a 3.0 early one instead of the 3.2 evo as it's meant to be more reliable. Mileage is up to 122000 now, but everything still works on it as it should. Just need to get the rear arches sorted at some point to tidy it up. My hope is that they are going to start to rise in value as they become more of a classic car. I went for the rarer 4 door model in a rare colour, daytona violet.
I'm still at the age where I'd take speed over comfort
You can fully disable traction and DSC in the 46
I had an E36 M3 Evo. Great all rounder. As MEL said, take your time buying one. Plenty of shit out there
I'd agree with pretty much all of what other owners have said, they're not for everyone so I'd recommend getting a shot of one first - I've had an E36 and still got an E46 and I love them, I would definitely have another of either in the future.
While they might not have the ball-grabbing factor of a quick turbo car, it makes it up for me in stupid throttle response and revvy idiocy. I really enjoy the brrraappp factor
I've had some incredible drives recently and I can't imagine having as big a smile on my face in a similar power/weight 200, but I've got decent brakes and HSDs so can push it really hard and it feels very planted. I love the level of feedback you get from them mid-corner too, in other cars I've felt like I'm commited and just hanging on but in the E46 it feels a lot more adjustable mid-corner.
As said above, the DSC can be totally switched off and they're very predictable when you are sideways, even on 265s at the rear you can still provoke them but in general they feel massively more planted than the E36 did. I've got the same wheels and tyres from my E36 on mine just now so it's quite a good comparison.
As mentioned though, prepare for bigger bills. I had to spend £1200 on mine almost straight away getting the boot floor repaired and strengthened, but sub 10 year old cars with BMW histories can qualify for a goodwill repair from BMW. If I'm honest I would just budget for knowing that might happen, plus now I now mine has been done I'm not wincing so much everytime the SMG smashes another gearchange in S5 or S6.
I'm guessing the power delivery will be more like my old s2000 not a lot of torque but just brilliant to rev the nuts off it,
Im going to have to drive one I think
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I've not driven an S2000 further than 50 yards but I imagine it's a similar feeling, fair bit more torque in the M3 and a mega rasp off it. They sound really quite different to The S50 in the E36.
If you're at the Weekender you're welcome to take mine for a wee spin
Not if you're on 19s and standard suspension. The standard damping is horrific.
I had one for 6 months. Bored me to tears in the end after the new car excitement had worn off. It's exceptionally capable at going reasonably quickly (the atrocious brakes stop you from going "fast") but there is very little in the way of raw excitement.
The engine is an utter masterpiece and in a car with less refinement I actually think it would transform something ordinary into an utterly wonderful car, but there it ends. The gearbox is dire, as is the shunt in the driveline from cold, although it does improve once it's warmed up, the gearshift is still pretty imprecise and not that great. There is acres of grip from the chassis, but the steering is a little vague off-centre so it's not that easy to enjoy pushing the chassis at sensible speeds in my view.
If you're after something to replace an S body for every day use that is comfy and quick and don't really want your testicles felt every morning then they are very good. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother tbh.
I understand the hype around them as they are good cars and the shortcomings can be improved to some extent but the general feel of them out of the box is not one of raw excitement which I expected from the media and owner reports.
I understand I am also entirely in the minority here.
I would prob agree with you that they dont live up to the hype, i suppose if you come from a hot hatch or something mundane then its likely a massive change but from something already pretty hardcore then an e46 m3 aint going to feel like epic.
Got to agree on the suspension and damping, the m3's setup is a bit better than a typical e46 Msport but christ its still pretty awful on our typically garbage back roads. I honestly dont think the Germans (up until recently) know how to setup a fast car for our country as sporty models from BMW, Merc and especially audio have all had a history of apocalypticaly poor ride. I know a slammed s14 is going to be crap but when i changed from my comfy coilover sx to the Msport i thought the BM had lead for shockers.
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