2006 BMW M3

[D_Eclipse9916]

5.) S54s have no torque. None. Overtaking on an Ohio highway by slotting down three gears felt a little bit like entering the nuclear launch codes and turning two keys at the same time. It's still getting into its groove as you cross 7000rpms.

Oh, yeah, this. The motor is really happier when you're beating on it.

A tune and pulleys/exhaust make a huge differrence in mid-range torque. (although they still are happy up top).

The one pull we did on my car while we were tuning it, we tried a "max power tune". It hit 343rwhp on first pull with max power at 7800rpm. I was hoping for 320 :lol: So we pulled down power from there and never got to see if it would make more.

[DavidL]

Congrats! Those really clean E46 M3s are starting to stick out more and more to me when I rarely see them in traffic - yours will be no exception!

So, removal of that (and subsequent cleanup) is tonight's project - then I'll find a sketchy gas station and get a sticker slapped on 'er.

I actually found out the M5 had a tinted windshield the second time it was inspected.... the first time the shop didnt even notice and slapped the sticker up there. It was only a year later when they went to take the sticker off and scraped through the tint that they asked me about it :lol: YMMV but that was my experience!

[.RJ]

2003.5+ rod bearing thing ain't a theory. Before that was a guaranteed asplosion - after, the jury is out. Ima Blackstone and chill until at least 150k. Trunk floor...you're spot on. Funny how few cars have actually fallen apart, though.

Replace your rod bearings. As someone who has done a shit ton of them on multiple early/late motors...replace them.

My mom's M3 had the recall done at 30k miles...and when I pulled them, they needed replacing again. It's $317 shipped through the group buy, but a lot of labor (most shops charge $1500-2k for the job). For a street car every 100k is fine.

Well, we can definitively scratch the E46M & Z4M off of my list then.

[Jake]

I called up the warranty company to start the transfer process. Nice people and I just had to mail them proof of ownership and a sale date.

Turns out the warranty is good for another 20k miles or until September 2018. I plan on taking the car to my mechanic and having him do everything he can claim it needs, and bringing it back as needed for more of that. He's been around the block with every warranty company on the planet so he'll know what will be covered or not.

[Senor_Taylor]

I called up the warranty company to start the transfer process. Nice people and I just had to mail them proof of ownership and a sale date.

Turns out the warranty is good for another 20k miles or until September 2018. I plan on taking the car to my mechanic and having him do everything he can claim it needs, and bringing it back as needed for more of that. He's been around the block with every warranty company on the planet so he'll know what will be covered or not.

That's so choice.

[Jake]

I have the "Main Street" coverage that is shown here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.fncu.org/assets/1/7/429201131525.pdf">https://www.fncu.org/assets/1/7/429201131525.pdf</a><!-- m -->

Looks pretty well covered to me.

[D_Eclipse9916]

2003.5+ rod bearing thing ain't a theory. Before that was a guaranteed asplosion - after, the jury is out. Ima Blackstone and chill until at least 150k. Trunk floor...you're spot on. Funny how few cars have actually fallen apart, though.

Replace your rod bearings. As someone who has done a shit ton of them on multiple early/late motors...replace them.

My mom's M3 had the recall done at 30k miles...and when I pulled them, they needed replacing again. It's $317 shipped through the group buy, but a lot of labor (most shops charge $1500-2k for the job). For a street car every 100k is fine.

Well, we can definitively scratch the E46M & Z4M off of my list then.

I charge $600 + cost of parts

[BLINGMW]

Congrats on the purchase!

5.) S54s have no torque. None.

Torque is nearly flat ~250 from 3-6k. Sounds like first world problems :dunno: You should borrow my Miata for a week and re-calibrate.

[Senor_Taylor]

Congrats on the purchase!

5.) S54s have no torque. None.

Torque is nearly flat ~250 from 3-6k. Sounds like first world problems :dunno: You should borrow my Miata for a week and re-calibrate.

Exactly what I said to stephen when he said that. Sure it's low on torque compared to its insane top end, but it's certainly no dog.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[RawrImAMonster]

Keep in mind I came from a 135i which has tons of torque in the low range. The n54 and s54 are just about exact opposites even though they're both 3ish liter inline 6's.

[SlimKlim]

It just comes down to how the motor is balanced. ~250ft-lbs feels like nothing when you're steaming up 340hp as the RPMs climb. My GTI makes 280ft-lbs at 2k but only 235hp so it has "tons of torque" and "no power" because it falls on its face after 5k. My buttdyno estimates my M3 is making 260hp and maybe 200ft-lbs because of my mods, and the sensation is similar to Jake's S54 on a lesser scale.

That being said, back when I had the Miata and the M3, I'd drive the Miata for a few days, then get in the BMW and feel like I was going to rear end the person in front of me just letting off the clutch because I had gotten used to getting around with double-digit figures.

We had a neighbor with a 6-speed M6 and he always complained the V10 made less torque than the E39 M5 V8. That may be true on paper, but the "meager" amount of torque it's producing lower in the RPM range is more than sufficient to get you up to 4k+ where it starts steaming towards that 500hp peak output and the overall driving sensation is definitely not what I would describe as "lacking torque."

[davej]

That being said, back when I had the Miata and the M3, I'd drive the Miata for a few days, then get in the BMW and feel like I was going to rear end the person in front of me just letting off the clutch because I had gotten used to getting around with double-digit figures.

I feel ya man, lived that as well going from the s4 which was ~320/380tq to maybe a 90/90 in the 02.

[Jake]

She passed inspection this morning, woohoo :thumbup:

The windshield was indeed tinted. Thankfully, the film peeled right off last night in about three big sheets. It took forever to get the adhesive off of the glass, then naturally (while bombing around DC with my friend Dan) I noticed I managed to fully clean the passenger side of the windshield and left some streaky glue smeared all in my line of sight. The guy at the inspection station had some stronger adhesive remover that he let me use this morning and it cleaned right up.

Currently waiting on a tow hook license plate mount from US Millworks and a Bluetooth phone/music adapter from GROM to show up in the mail. Will be picking up a pristine steering wheel and set of OEM kidneys from two different fellas at Dominion next weekend.

[V1GiLaNtE]

She passed inspection this morning, woohoo :thumbup:



Currently waiting on a tow hook license plate mount from US Millworks.

IMO, one of the best mods for any car to keep the lines clean. Loving the the subtle mods to make it yours!

[BLINGMW]

4k+ where it starts steaming towards that 500hp peak output

Having to rev to 4K to get that oxcart out of the way? Pathetic!

[Jake]

Mileage: 126,800

Got a few things done over the past week.

Started off by removing the dealer-installed Sirius radio box and replacing it with a Grom Bluetooth module, so I can make calls and stream music from my phone. Easy install - just plug right in to the CD changer port in the trunk - but immediately encountered a bug where the Grom unit would keep its' "source" screen up all the time and I couldn't see my navigation or use any of the menus. Thankfully a quick software update took care of that. I also took the time to update the head unit's firmware. Someone customized the firmware a few years ago (it's all kind of open source by now) and added an "M" startup screen, "night mode" maps, and speed camera alerts that, I'm sure by now, are hilariously out of date.



Went to Katie's for some Cars & Coffee action, managed to snag a spot next to my Laguna Seca brethren:



And then, it was time for Detail Day with Joey. I followed him home and we spent the day removing ten years of haze, swirl, and crud from this car's paint and interior.



We powerwashed the car, then washed by hand, followed by two rounds of polishing (aggressive and fine pads) and two rounds of Poorboys paint sealant.





Joey whipped up a mix of Purple Power and warm water to use for interior scrubbing (a very mild mix). The water in the bucket was nearly solid black by the time he was done. Most people, myself included, just spray some generic interior cleaner on a rag and swipe at the dusty spots. Pretty amazing to see what you can remove if you spend a bit more time on it and scrub. Also, you're sitting in and touching all of this. Ick.

You can kind of see the haze in the paint being removed here - look where the windshield header curves to the right, that's where the "line" is:



I am blown away at how good it looks. Joey deserves another round of kudos for the detailing assistance. I have no idea what I'm doing and he both helped do the work and also made sure the work I did didn't ruin anything. There is only so much clearcoat you have to work with

[WRXtranceformed]

Wow that looks incredible, and from the before pics it didn't look like it needed much work! It's amazing what some elbow grease and the right products will do to car paint

[Jake]

Wow that looks incredible, and from the before pics it didn't look like it needed much work! It's amazing what some elbow grease and the right products will do to car paint

Thanks Lee! Yeah, I did all of this under the guise of "well, it can't hurt" and then once we got started, realized how "bad" it was! Pretty wild.

Part of me wants to do the truck in the spring, but it's yuuuge and only will get beaten on more. We'll see.

[WRXtranceformed]

Wow that looks incredible, and from the before pics it didn't look like it needed much work! It's amazing what some elbow grease and the right products will do to car paint

Thanks Lee! Yeah, I did all of this under the guise of "well, it can't hurt" and then once we got started, realized how "bad" it was! Pretty wild.

Part of me wants to do the truck in the spring, but it's yuuuge and only will get beaten on more. We'll see.

I'm in the same boat, I want to get a full correctional and sealant done on my wife's car and debated on whether or not to do it for my truck soon too. It's so big and will probably be $$$ but after my experience with Dan's OptiCoat job on the XFR and how incredible it was for a really long period of time (I only ever took it through pay and sprays after that, it never needed a hand wash) it's an investment that is definitely worth it if you are anal about your dark car keeping that clean look :thumbup:

[Jake]

I'm in the same boat, I want to get a full correctional and sealant done on my wife's car and debated on whether or not to do it for my truck soon too. It's so big and will probably be $$$ but after my experience with Dan's OptiCoat job on the XFR and how incredible it was for a really long period of time (I only ever took it through pay and sprays after that, it never needed a hand wash) it's an investment that is definitely worth it if you are anal about your dark car keeping that clean look :thumbup:

I'd do your wife's Acura now since it's a few years old, then hold off and get your truck done on its birthday or something. Spread out the cost some and focus on the one that's taken more abuse thanks to age.