General Auto Chat

Someone should create a racing / motosport thread.

Love this stuff:

 

Didn't realize this thread existed!

For my 26th birthday, I bought myself a car I wanted since I was 6 years old - a BMW M3. Since college, I've been drooling at owning an E92 M3. I realized that I could afford one now that prices have seen to hit the bottom in the used market (high 20's - high 30's). I started looking and decided I want a sedan instead as I'm older now and will be having kids in the next few years. Did a ton of research and decided I got enough to pay for any repairs, I found a low mileage in great condition and bought it.



Puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, especially pushing it to redline at 8300rpm and letting the V8 scream!

 

Just got my 2006 sti out of the shop with all new engine and tranny mounts and completely redid every bushing in the drivetrain. feels better than it did when it was new and gave the entire car a rumble on start up. Sometimes it's easy to overlook and forget these basic mods, but it's been a huge improvement. Only 45k miles on her and she's retired to garage queen now, BRZ is the daily driver. Next up, e85!

 

Had some fun with this on the snow. It has a super bike engine as a power plant. Nice adrenaline rush, doing over 120kmh on a snowy road.

 

Very sad to say I just got rid of my 2012 STi. The New Orleans roads and traffic were not kind to it, and I had gotten a bigger car to haul work shit around and hadn't been using it as much. I had a lot of fun with it, especially driving down PCH. I will miss it.

 

Yeah, it is fun. We thought that this 130bhp engine might not be enough. It actually scares me shitless quite often. I turned to the asphalt and was burning rubber until i hit like 90kmh. Power to weight ratio is decent.

I am a noob in sports car world, so i can't compare it to anything. It sure is fun. It is like and enduro/motocross motorcycle, in some conditions it is even more capable. Pulls away on the straights.

Next project is with a bigger 150bhp engine. Maybe turbocharge it someday, lol ? (hopefull)

 

Rear/engine ground clearance (minimum) is around 125-130mm. This is with the engine protective cover ( for lack of a better term). Can't tell the exact travel atm. That's why we have rear suspension near vertical because we need less travel. This means we have a lower center of gravity also. Front end has more travel.

This suspension performs quite good. Has more to do with the frame, it feels comfortable in bumpy conditions. This can be upgraded further with a proper adjustable suspension kit.

 

If anyone is interested in the buggy subject, you can PM me. Don't want to go OT.

In the UK i would try Rage Motosport buggies. They are expensive if you want to own one, though.

 

@shipsupt

 

yah, thanks! Takes a lot of work to build these.

 

I'm car shopping, so excited!!! I'm a huge bimmer fan. Had quite a few, my last being an 07 M6 convertible. Bought it new, did some nice upgrades exhaust, chip, headers, intake, and pulleys. Car was an absolute beast... Then hard times hit and I had to get rid off it, one of the worst days of my life. Everyday, no matter what was wrong, I would get in that car, push start, and smile. So, it's been about 8 years now without a car I truly love... So, back to BMW. Hunting for another m6, possibly and M5, or even an M3.

I've never owned a 3 series, but did own an 02 540i 6 speed, which I loved. E39 was a great body style. From there I went to the 645 vert, on to the M6.

I'm buying used this time, because I refuse to waste money on new. Going to pickup a 2013-2014. Just really not sure which I truly want. I'm leaning towards M5 and M3. Mostly to save some money, and for a new, different experience. I saw someone else went with a M3... How are you liking it @ohhgourami?

Oh, one important detail, all 6 speeds. Don't give me no smg/dct paddle pushing nonsense. Looking for some smaller sneakers so I can get my heel to toe riding back up to speed.

 

@Warrior hope you find a good deal on the model you choose.

Speaking for their non-M cars, however, they really have lost their way. I had an E46 330i at one point, switched to Infiniti, and am currently back in an F30 335i. More power for sure, but it lacks the soul and awesome road feel of the E46. I still enjoy driving it, but am looking to jump into something different by year's end. BMW has the best lease deals in their segment, but I think I'll try to go American this time.

I've had my eye on the current Mustang. And with the recently introduced EcoBoost performance pack, should be a great performance/value choice.

Have you looked at the V series cars from Cadillac? Supposed to be very competitive with their German competition.

 

I actually had a cts-v for a year in between my BMW and now. Great car, for sure. I thought about it, but I'm truly a bimmer fanatic. I even toyed with getting a newer model vette, but BMW has its grip on me. Lol. I'm still very tempted by the vette to be honest.

 

Just thinking about driving my M3 puts a smile on my face. Yes, I absolutely love it. There's no BMW that makes the noise this V8 makes at 8400rpm and with such great throttle response, and probably no BMW that ever will in the future.

Really all the M cars look timeless but the E9X still looks very modern and the previous owner took great care of it.

If you're after a newer car but want direct engaging feel, an NA car is a must. avoid the turbo cars like the plague if you want to be able to rev the engine high and have good steering feel. The new cars went to a pure electric steering instead of hydraulic assist.

There are plenty of 6 speed E9X M3s, but very very few 6 speed E60 M5s. The only difference the 2013 MY and 2011 My is the updated iDrive which I didn't bother getting. 2008-2010 cars have different taillights and couldn't option the competition package. Also a few things you'll have to spend money on like the throttle body actuators which wear out and monitoring rod bearings wear. The other option would be the older E46 M6 which could be had for pretty cheap but those have their own issues.

@rott, I've driven my friends F82 435i and it feels super soft compared to my M3. Just disconnected in the road with sloppy steering and lots of body roll. The M cars are really a league above in quality. The E9X was the first M3 to not have most parts shared (over 80% new parts) over the regular cars.

 

I'd definitely prefer a na engine, that's for sure. I do miss the high revving V10 of my M6, terribly. There aren't many days that go by that I don't think of it and it still gets me very sad.

 

Then buy one just like the one you had. E63 M6 can be had in the 20k range! Wow!