bmwbox.com

This past week I felt my rear end shift a bit when accelerating and also when braking hard. After reviewing similar stories of people with M3s, I took the plunge and ordered some aftermarket RTABs. The options based on reviews were the Rogue Engineering RTABs (RE RTAB) or the PowerFlex RTABS. Supposedly, these get shot around 50K miles; and I have 52K so this is quite expected indeed.

Dealer charged $425 for the labor to replaced the RTABS then $200 for an alignment. Pretty high but not a huge rip off.

WOW what a difference. After installing these, my rear feels a lot tighter. Definitely a must-have mod for any M3, as the OEM ones are prone to failure. With an aftermarket suspension (I’m running on Tein S-tech + Koni adjustables), you can expect the bushings to wear out quicker.

Engine is still running strong. 50K, middle age, looking forward to that 100K milestone. The car is a 2005 model year, so I think that 50K miles in 2 years is pretty good. At least, running your car every day must be good to keep all the nuts and bolts lubricated Great daily driver, so glad I bought this car!

Edit: Maybe I’ll give a birthday present to my M and fill up with some 100 octane this weekend!

“BMW raises the performance benchmark once again with the introduction of the 2008 M3 Sedan. Sharing the M3 Coupe’s high-revving 414-horsepower V8 and balanced chassis that is designed to be “faster than its engine”, the motorsports arm of the German auto maker, BMW M GmbH, is pleased to offer the most powerful, highest-performing M3 ever with four doors…”

“This is from a new review on 2008 BMW M3 Sedan, from Top Speed. It includes info on the design, safety and performance of the model, as well as other features. Also available is a video and wallpaper / photo gallery.” –m3forum (torres).

ARTICLE: here

Right after my Inspection II it looks like one of my o2 sensors gave out and died. Got another Service Engine Soon light that came on (similar to the one that came on when my fuel injector died before my inspection 2). The O2 sensor was replaced, error wiped, and the car runs smooth now. Hell, I even notice a smooth ride in the morning with terrible summer gas blend. Much better

I roll up the service driveway and wait roughly 30 seconds with the engine idling and my window down. A young man approaches my window and asks how he can help me. I point to the “Check Engine Soon” (CES) light on my dashboard. Without asking other questions, he asks “anything else?” I say that as long as this item is fixed that should be enough.

We both leave the ///M3 in the driveway and go to take a seat in the general service area with many desks situated near the windows with 2 seats available for customers per desk. The young man sits and places my key in a key-reader attached to the computer. All of my car history pops up and he says I need an inspection II but it cannot be done until the meter on the car reaches < 400 miles to inspection. Fair enough, I'll bring it in another 200 miles.

After all my info is typed up, with an estimated cost of $0.00, he writes me a slip for a loaner car and sends me on my way.

The first day I get a call back saying that the service techs can't figure out what's wrong with either my DME or fuel system, so they need to keep it another day. I agreed, and asked that I hope I get my car by Labor day weekend. The next day they say that they suspect a fault in the DME but will need to escalate to BMW NA. Ok, just get my car by the weekend. 4 days pass and it is labor day friday. They say they need to reflash the car but can't do it until Tuesday.

I waited until Tuesday the following week and they reflashed my DME to the latest update (I had stock software anyway). They then noticed I had a bad fuel injector. That was replaced.

I was very happy that I finally got my car Tuesday afternoon and returned the loaner car. My only problem with the service was that now, roughly 2 weeks after the service, I have a giant bill from Hertz rental saying I owe them $300+ for the rental. WTF, Irvine BMW said they would pay for all the days my car was in service.

Looks like I gotta call them again!

Based on the 1986 E30 3-Series, the first M3 was introduced with a 2.3 L S14 engine, derived from the BMW M88 inline-6 block and the valve train and head architecture from BMWs M1 and later M6 inline-6 cylinder. One of the main reasons for production of the road car was to homologate the M3 for Group A Touring Car racing, as an answer to the “2.3-16V”-model of the Mercedes-Benz W201 which was introduced in 1983. A notable characteristic of the E30 M3 is its racing pedigree, campaigned by BMW as well as other racing teams including Prodrive and Schnitzer Motorsport.

The first version produced 195 hp (143 kW) (catalyzed model). Having won more road races than any other model in history, the E30 M3 is considered by many to be the world’s most successful road race car. Its wins include the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, European Touring Car Championship and even the one-off World Touring Car Championship title in 1987. The E30 M3 is also a multiple winner of Guia Race, 24 Hours Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hours.

In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1980s.
[edit]Performance
(2.3L-16v Ln4) – 143 kW/195 bhp 0-60 mph – 6.9 s. Top Speed: 143 mph (240 km/h)
(2.5L-16v Ln4) – 175 kW/238 bhp 0-60 mph – 6.4 s. Top Speed: 154 mph (248 km/h)
(courtesy, Wikipedia).

I’m happy to say my ///M3 has made it to 42,000 miles! I am debating about getting the extended warranty from BMW for it. In the end, I think that I would rather take the ///M to my local german import mechanic that did some other things for me in the past like brake lines/brakes, exhaust, software… He’s a pretty nice guy and offers service at a good price.

The only issue I can remember having that was major was the coil packs needed replacement within the first 10K miles of owning the car. There was a service bulletin on them calling for replacement anyway, so BMW knew about the problem and other people had the same issue. They replaced them for me and they have been running good.

When I get close to Inspection II (another 3K miles), I want to put in Denso Iridium spark plugs, replace the RTABs (rear trailing arm bushings), get a set of diamond black BBS RGR’s, and try replacing the seats with recaros.

I am saving headers/exhaust and more intense upgrades for until after I finish paying off the loan!

Aww man, summer gas blows. My ///M seems to be finicky about what I put in the gas tank. Summertime ethanol makes the situation worse. Kinda sucks to have to turn the key twice to get going in the morning. The ///M seems to be okay on Shell V-Power and Chevron, but that’s about it! Here in So-Cal I am limited to only using 91 octane unfortunately. Maybe I’ll take a trip to a well-equipped 76 station and fill up with some 100-octane unleaded.

I had the opportunity to test drive a car that had the Borla exhaust (I’m talking just the muffler, not any of the other Sec I, Sec II, Headers…), another car that had the Masterschaft SuS, and finally a supersprint. Personally I liked the Masterschaft rumbly, droney, throaty sound that I heard. It’s just so raw and naughty but not too loud like the supersprint. The performance was probably pretty free-flowing, but I don’t know the exact numbers. If you want a more professional sound, go with the Borla and their anti-rasp mid-section. I don’t mind the rasp around 3500RPM… it reminds me of this killer I6.

I put the Masterschaft SuS on my E46 and I’m hoping to hook it up to: evosport headers, Supersprint cat section, supersprint sec II. That should give a pretty mean sound and good flow!

When I get it all set up, I’ll post some vids, and exhaust notes here. I’ll try to run off and get some exhaust notes before the Sec I/II and before headers also!