Regardless of whether your passion is “the real M3″ or its two successors, there are predictable pathways to individual tuning – Roundel
It’s been almost sixteen years since the first M3 hit US shores. When the ‘88 M3’s boy-racer flanks first charged down American roads, Michael Jackson was a respected celebrity, the Soviets were the world’s bad guys, and car guys liked to tinker with their steeds.
At least some things haven’t changed.
The M3 has always represented the pinnacle of Bavarian engineering, but just as there’s no such thing as being too rich or too beautiful, M3 owners have always worked to make their cars handle better, go faster, and stand out among their peers. Having now enjoyed huge sales success around the world, there are tens of thousands of unique and exciting examples of owner-customized M3s. These cars are out lapping race tracks, gracing car shows, or parked in front of your local Starbucks; here in California, it’s usually all three.
Recently we drove three fine examples of modified Munich muscle to compare their individual – and individualized – nuances, unravelling the threads that run through all three and the experience that makes each car unique.
1: Real M3s Have Four Cylinders
Owners of the first-generation M3 are as fervent a group of enthusiasts as you will ever find. Some of their sacred chants include “real M3s have four cylinders” and “the most successful Touring Car racer in the world.” The cult of the E30 M3 is a complex and mysterious one; as the owner of a ‘95 E36 (“Too soft! No racing heritage!”) I felt the need for a proper initiation with just the right car.
Enter the Lach Silber E30 of Sacremento’s Jim Tappan. On the kind of sunny Sunday afternoon that reminds me why I live in Northern California, I slid behind the wheel of Jim’s well-tuned car for a hard run through the Marin County hills. The deep-bolstered Sparco seats and small-diameter racing wheel are the first hint of what this car has in store.
The back roads of the Marin County Headlands would be familiar to anyone who watches sports-cars commercials with the rapt attention of a typical four-wheel fanatic. These are the kinds of roads that polarize drivers, terrifying those who push their automotive appliances from Point A to Point B, and energizing those of us who believe the journey is the destination. The ribbons of pavement overlooking the San Francisco Bay are second only to the Alpine roads your BMW dreams of.
Starting the buzzy S14 motor for the first time, I was struck with the sensation that this powerplant wants to be driven, and will only be happy above 5,000rpm. This sensation is only enhanced by the knowledge that this particular motor is a little different; Instead of sucking air through a standard-fare cone-filter intake, Jim Tappan’s car has air force-fed through a one-of-a-kind supercharger system. I dip into the throttle and slip the clutch and the roads starts to roll.
This car wants to be wound up tight and driven hard. Below 4000rpm, the M3 feels sluggish and unresponsive. However, running it through the revs and managing your gear selection to keep it there rewards the driver with the feeling that you are strapped into a tin-topped luge – not the sense of thrust that you’d get from a big-bore engine, but instead a sense of momentum. Skillful drivers of the early M3 know all about carrying speed, losing as little as possible to brakes and side forces.
The small-displacement blower on Tappan’s car certainly enhances overall power, but ultimately detracts from the overall M3 experience. The throttle response tends to be slower than that in a naturally-aspirated car, making the powertrain feel sluggish. Despite the excellent fit and finish of the blower, my money would instead be spent on bumping up the car from the stock 2.3 litres to the E30 M3 Evo’s 2.5. Proving that car guys think alike, Tappan is looking to make that same conversion at some point in the future.
When driven confidently, the first-generation M3 is like a pure extension of your hands and feet. Enhanced by a coil-over set-up from Ground Control Suspension Systems, which consists of custom-valved and shortened Koni shocks matched to 2.5″ Eibach springs, this car has no hesitation when driving for the apex of a corner. In mere seconds I find myself pushing the little car hard around the redwood-lined curves, rolling the wheel lightly from left to right to dance through numerous S-bends. Just look through a corner and the M3 flows through with ease. Amazing.
Amazing, that is, as long as you understand and appreciate the nature of the care. Otherwise, as great as the running gear beneath this car is, you’ll think the brakes are at the other end of the spectrum. Driven as a momentum car, the E30 M3 carries balanced speed through the corners, but it may seem underwhelming for drivers not used to that technique; There’s not much brake torque, and very little fade resistance with stock street pads. Racing pads tend to improve things, but the car is never going to satisfy people who don’t understand the nature of its balance. Drivers who want to throw out the anchors on the way to a turn and then blast down the next straightaway by stomping the accelerator and spinning the rear tires do not understand the nature of the beast; a conservative driver’s less-than-optimal cornering speeds are the wrong way to drive an E30 M3 quickly around a track. Tappan plans to increase his braking power with a seat of AP Racing big brakes as soon as the parts make it to his front door. Other E30 M3 owners have adapted the much-improved brakes from the ‘95 – ‘99 E36 M3 to work with their lighter car, a less expensive option that uses OEM parts.
But this car isn’t about braking; it’s about getting up to a brisk pace and carrying that speed through corners. At this, the E30 M3 excels. Much to Jim’s chagrin, I find myself unconsciously “using the whole track” and sliding the wide 16X8 BBS RK wheels and quasi-DOT Toyo RA-1 track tires all the way to the pavement’s edge. It’s easy to forget that this car is not a racer and that this is a mountain road, not the formerly-tree-covered hills of Infineon Raceway.
I have found automotive nirvana. It’s just plain hard to hand back the keys to this beautiful and composed automobile.
2: Torque Is Good
For the proud owner of not one but two E36 3 Series sedans – a Dinan-tuned ‘96 328i and an early-build ‘95 M3 – sliding behind the wheel of this second-generation M3 is like pulling on a comfortable pair of track shoes. Alan Taur’s first-year E36 M3 has few visual cues that warn unsuspecting P-car owners that they are about to be trounced. Its Estoril Blue paint contrasts with a set of polished 18″ M Parallel wheels – wheels that simply don’t look like they should fit.
On any other M3, they wouldn’t. If there is one weakness with the E36 body style, it is tire clearance. Probably due to the criticism of the “boy racer” flares on the E30, the crew at M left the next-gen car with the same boulevard-cruising wheel wells as its lesser non-M brethren. Perfectly fine to fit the 15X6 bottle caps on a 318 convertible, the slab-sided fenders are not the right solution for a high-torque canyon carver. Even with heavy-handed use of a mallet, baseball bat, or other fender rolling techniques, fitting a 255-series tire is almost guaranteed to rub away paint.
Alan fixed that problem (at considerable cost) with the help of Conversion Techniques in Oakland, California. They cut away the factory fenders and replaced them with a set of subtle flares, barely distinguishable from the stock look. The flares in the rear sweep into a fibreglass replica M3 bumper that helps keep the modifications hidden from the untrained eye. The result of all of this hard work is the gift of shoes befitting an M3: 255/40-18 fronts on 18X8″ wheels, matched to a set of steamrollers 265/35-18 rears on massive 18X9.5 wheels. But it’s just the width of these parts that is impressive, but their offset. The track of the M Parallel wheels is increased over stock by almost three inches, giving this unique E36 superior cornering grip.
These days some choose wide rubber just for fashion, but Taur’s ride needs all the grip it can get. Starting the car for the first time brings a throaty roar that begs to be let loose. It’s then that you look down for the first time and see an extra gear on the shift lever as a lighted six-speed knob falls to your right hand, ready to be rowed.
Not content with the factory 240ponies under the hood, Taur embarked on a journey to create a one-of-a-kind-car. Using the kind of meticulous attention to detail a model builder would respect, he pulled the power-train from his car and installed the 286hp S50 engine, transmission, and differential from the Euro-spec M3. A glance under the hood reveals the organization, fit, and finish that assembly line could barely achieve in the factory European M3. Not one US specific part remains, making this a very rare, true Euro conversion.
Dipping into the throttle reveals the first evolution of the car from the E30: gobs and gobs of torque. Only a straight six has a feeling like this, and I find myself with my foot to the spotless gray carpeted floor and revving the motor to its elevated redline. Speeds sure to get me arrested on these state-park roads come up in seconds, in part thanks to the shorter gearing Alan installed in the limited-slip differential.
With a tight corner flying toward me, I lift out of the six throttle bodies and dive for the binders. As is to be expected, the simple single-piston, ventilated brakes work like magic, hauling all 3,300 plus pounds of car down just in time to make my desired turn-in. The brakes on the second-generation M3 offer massive grip; time and again I find myself holding my acceleration until the last possible moment and diving for the brakes in time to slow the car for the various hairpins and switchbacks running through the redwoods. So-called “floating” rotors (two-piece OEM rotors with aluminum hats and iron discs) and upgraded pads are all this streak of blue lightning needs to keep even the most overzealous driver from overcooking a corner and launching off one of the many sheer drops to the Pacific.
Attacking the corners after a hard run in the E30 sets the bar high for any car. The E36 delivers….sort of. This lowered ‘95 sports Germany’s finest: a set of H&R coilover springs, stock ‘95 sway bars, adjustable front and rear camber. Alan’s set-up is a fine balance between high performance and comfort. The ride is firm without being harsh, something that the newer geometry makes easy to accomplish compared to the previous-generation M. But even with these upgraded parts, the E36 does not have the kind of cornering thrill that its older brother offered. Even with the upgraded rubber, initial turn-in is met with a fair amount of understeer, immediately cured by a little added throttle to make the rear wheels break a bit of traction and help the rotations. In testing, the E36 always proves to be faster through the turns than the previous model, but it will never match the raw connection that the car enjoyed; the E36 can be driven fast through the corners, but the E30 was the essence of flowing through the corners as part of the car. That said, there is satisfaction in pitching a car into a corner and using torque to get it around – but don’t try that with a four-banger.
The biggest changes to the second-generation M3 lie in the ergonomics and comfort features. That’s one of the main differences between the first M3, developed as a race car with a few grudging amenities to make it streetable, and the succeeding generation, which were high-performance road cars with luxuries disdained by some purists. Taur equipped his blue-on-gray beauty with every imaginable gadget, doodad, and toy: headlight washers, heated seats, electric rear vent windows, a sunroof switch in the center console, and more bits from the OE parts bin. He even went so far as to replace the normally black headliner with the gray liner from the non M-car, the better to match his interior. The jewel in this cockpit, however, is the steering wheel lifted from the M coupe/’99 M3. This conversion is popular with track-driven, air-bagged M3s, as the coupe’s wheel offers a better feel than the school-bus spinner normally found in all but the ‘99.
As this car is similar to my own heavily modified ‘95, I quickly start tossing the car through the tight-and-twisties, enjoying all the torque and tire underneath me. The time flies, and I soon have to pass the keys to this magnificent machine back to its owner and move into the newest member of the M3 clan, the E46.
3: The Grand Tourer
The first time I laid eyes on the newest body style I fell in love immediately. The E46 has the kind of muscular athleticism and presence that was simply lacking in the previous car. In a return to the aesthetic set by the original M3, the ‘01-to-today M3 sits low, wide, and mean. Seeing the new car’s wide, chrome-trimmed kidneys charging up in your rear-view mirror at the track is the automotive equivalent of running with the bulls and looking over your shoulder to find the wide snout of a longhorn bearing down: Move over or you’re sure to be trampled.
For my last drive of the day, I had the honor of sliding not just behind the wheel of any modded E46, but the tuned Titanium Silver ‘01 of Jay Morris, owner of Northern California’s Ground Control Suspension Systems. Few know more about high performance BMW suspensions on this side of the Atlantic than Morris; his parts grace most of the front-running cars in Speed World Challenge, SCCA Solo II, and BMW CCA Club Racing, not to mention countless well-set-up street cars. I knew that the handling in this car would be a real treat.
To those who called the new E46 “overweight” and “bloated,” I recommend checking the figures. Similarly-equipped E36s and E46s are not that far apart, and this car offers the kind of suspension, power delivery, and driver comfort that quickly makes you forget any extra pounds you may be carrying around. From the moment I first rolled on the gas in this car I was impressed with its capabilities. I remain so.
Unlike the leap from E30 to E36, the new car is an evolution of the breed. This is in greatest evidence in the driveline; the 3.2 litre block in the 1996 Euro M3 was developed to become the 3.25litre mill in the new model. With improved engine management, a mild displacement bump, and some new wiz-bang gadgetry, the S54 makes the jump to 333hp (343 in Europe) from the previous model’s European rating of 321. Stabbing the throttle at idle elicits a sound familiar to anyone with a modern inline-six Bimmer – only a bit deeper and more metallic. Sporting the stock exhaust and a mildly modified factory air box, Jay’s car has a more subdued sound than either of the earlier cars still manages to burble out a song that simply begs to be brought to full wait.
Like its E36 sibling, the silver car simply roars through the gears. Unlike ‘95, your sense of speed is even more detached, partially by the acres of leather and piles of sound deadening in the latest model. Illegal speeds still come up on you faster, than the local constabulary would like, but the added thrust of the latest motor would make any ticket worth the price.
But even this M3 isn’t about maximum power, it’s about canyon carving. I enter the first corner as I would in the E36 – at a moderate pace, swinging wide and taking a classic late apex. That’s when I discover just how superior the new car is to the previous generation. Instead of the drama of massive understeer and screaming tires, the new M3 simply tracks through the corner. No muss, no fuss. I charge into the next corner, thinking that I may have simply pussy-footed my way around a fear of a $50,000 mistake. Once again, the car simply glides through the corner at a speed that would have made the E36 scramble for grip and the E30’s tail step out in full drift. Impressive. This car is a grand tourer in the truest sense….all I’m missing is a latte to sip and the Brandenburg Concerto playing through the multitude of Harman/Kardon speakers.
As impressive as the handling of the car, the braking inspires as much confidence. Eschewing the factory cheese-grater rotors and single-pot callipers, Jay installed the finest six-puck AP Racing callipers with two-piece rotors. The brake torque generated by this racing-bred kit would haul down a Mack truck from triple digits. No chance of fade with these pizza plates.
It would be too easy to go to jail in this car. The comfortable high-speed cornering, aided by massive BBS RC’s and Bridgestone S-03 tires, compels you to get on the gas and rocket your way onto the short straights that slice through the trees. Speed steadily builds until all you see are blurs of green and brown, and the occasional blur of primary colours as you dive around packs of bicyclists. This is the Bavarian beast at its finest – motor roaring, tires dancing, feet and hands moving in perfect time to the tempo of the road. If I had 55 Large to spend on whatever I chose, no drug or drink could be as intoxicating as slipping behind the wheel of my new E46 M3.
4: Which Is The Real M3?
Get M3 owners together in groups of three or more, and at some point the question will always come up: Which M3 is the best car? Apples and oranges, horses for courses, pick you own cliché: This has to be the gasoline-veined equivalent of picking a favourite child. Each car offers the same level of excitement and involvement that all devotees of the blau mit weiss seek – and all three generation have the deep aftermarket support to help you make them your own. That’s the real key, you see: Drive what you love and love what you drive. Which is the M3? The one in your garage!
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August 25, 2008
2000 - 2008, Articles