Top 3 performance coupes on a budget!

eldogo · 07-19-2015, 10:35 PM

2007 M3

fbm3cab · 07-19-2015, 11:39 PM

Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it.

Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.

STooK · 07-19-2015, 11:47 PM

Thanks for the video! The M3 was a bit riced out with black BMW roundels and pre-lci e90 grills.

But

for LCI tails! And yea, surprised to see the throttle actuators being on the list but not the bearings. Maybe it really is just internet hysteria

Move Over · 07-20-2015, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbm3cab

Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it.

Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.

I just pulled mine this weekend at 66k...almost flawless.

Ezio · 07-20-2015, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alxmlr789

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbm3cab

Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it.

Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.

I just pulled mine this weekend at 66k...almost flawless.

We got a guy at 66k miles with no problems. That must mean there is no problem!

Move Over · 07-20-2015, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ezio

We got a guy at 66k miles with no problems. That must mean there is no problem!

Exactly!! - jk....

I was more just adding to the few people who have DIY'ed and shown minimal wear.

I feel if more people that actually do the bearing job and post up the positive results, maybe the hysteria will go down.

DSilk · 07-20-2015, 12:53 PM

The M3 has a high revving engine with a relatively high compression ratio, whether you are talking about the e9X or the e46. Does this put strain on connecting rod bearings? Undoubtedly yes. Does this mean that they are "prone" to failure? No. The early 2001 e46 M3 suffered a couple hundred examples of failure before BMW changed the oil specifications from a 5w-40 to a 10w-60, which seems to have had the desired effect. Early-model e46 M3's were recalled to have new bearings installed and to have stickers attached below the bonnet advising that the only oil to be used was the Castrol TWS 10w-60. Bearing failures from that point on have been extremely rare.

My first M3 was an e46, and it was subject to the early recall. I put over 90,000 miles on the car without a hint of engine trouble. My current M3 runs like a champ. I am not an engineer, but it seems to me that the undersquare e46 inline 6 (bore of 87 mm and stroke of 91 mm) placed a lot more stress on the connecting rods (and, hence the bearings) than does the oversquare V8 (bore of 92 mm and stroke of 75.2 mm) in our cars, since each piston is traveling a much shorter distance, thereby requiring less forceful acceleration and deceleration from TDC and BDC of each stroke. To put it simply, our pistons only have to cover 75.2 mm of travel over the same period of time (at the same engine speed) as the e46 M3 pistons, which need to cover 91 mm of travel. Higher speed means more piston acceleration. More acceleration over the same period of time means more force applied (assuming no large difference in reciprocating mass, which is likely to favor the e9X as well).

New2Roundel · 07-20-2015, 01:55 PM

I have to say that I'm in complete agreement with Tiff's choices (mostly):

Here's my '11 e92 ZCP and '94 Corrado SLC (VR6) (gotta love the US-spec front spoiler on the white rado in the video!):

rjd598 · 07-20-2015, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbm3cab

Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it.

Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.

Flying Ace · 07-20-2015, 02:16 PM

Argh, I would not own a Pontiac GTO

sonnyb · 07-20-2015, 03:02 PM

Hey guys that was my M3 in the video by Tiff!
He even signed it for me!
This is how it looks now...new wheels etc..

2015-03-15 12.02.12 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.19.19 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.20.01 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.20.56 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.21.51 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.22.05 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 11.59.20 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2014-10-15 17.21.16 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

BimmerRookie · 07-20-2015, 03:13 PM

Neeeeeeeeaattoooo!

New2Roundel · 07-20-2015, 03:59 PM

Very cool--nice example!

Jsantos · 07-20-2015, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonnyb

Hey guys that was my M3 in the video by Tiff!
He even signed it for me!
This is how it looks now...new wheels etc..

2015-03-15 12.02.12 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.19.19 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.20.01 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.20.56 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.21.51 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 12.22.05 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2015-03-15 11.59.20 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

2014-10-15 17.21.16 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr

I would never get my car signed by anyone but i'll make an exception if its Tiff. Great story to tell all your passengers.

davesaddiction · 07-21-2015, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonnyb

Hey guys that was my M3 in the video by Tiff!
He even signed it for me!

AWESOME!

crypticc · 07-21-2015, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alxmlr789

I just pulled mine this weekend at 66k...almost flawless.

Excellent news.
Did you take photos and put into the bearing failure thread?

Move Over · 07-21-2015, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crypticc

Excellent news.
Did you take photos and put into the bearing failure thread?

I was looking for that. Wasn't sure which it was. Which one is it?

PandaM3 · 07-21-2015, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alxmlr789

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbm3cab

Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it.

Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.

I just pulled mine this weekend at 66k...almost flawless.

I just had mine pulled last week at 74,000 miles.

- no funny noises
- blackstone oil reports where excellent

I only had them pulled because of Internet paranoia and I was going on a 2,000 mile road trip.

I'm glad I had them pulled because... They had copper showing

DSilk · 07-22-2015, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by New2Roundel

I have to say that I'm in complete agreement with Tiff's choices (mostly):

Here's my '11 e92 ZCP and '94 Corrado SLC (VR6) (gotta love the US-spec front spoiler on the white rado in the video!):

It's like deja vu. I had a black Corrado SLC that I purchased new in the fall of 1993. I wish I had kept that car for my son.

davesaddiction · 07-22-2015, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PandaM3

Quote:

Originally Posted by alxmlr789

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbm3cab

Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it.

Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.

I just pulled mine this weekend at 66k...almost flawless.

I just had mine pulled last week at 74,000 miles.

- no funny noises
- blackstone oil reports where excellent

I only had them pulled because of Internet paranoia and I was going on a 2,000 mile road trip.

I'm glad I had them pulled because... They had copper showing

I would send pictures of your bearings back to Blackstone for their feedback, since your reports were all good. I'm sure many here would be interested in what they have to say.

07-19-2015, 10:35 PM	#1
eldogo Lieutenant 274 Rep 406 Posts Drives: BMW 328xi BMW X5 F15 BMW M2 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0) Garage List 2017 BMW M2 [0.00]	Top 3 performance coupes on a budget! 2007 M3 __________________
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07-19-2015, 11:39 PM	#2
fbm3cab Second Lieutenant 35 Rep 221 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: B.C. Canada iTrader: (0)	Why didn't he list the rod bearings as a possible problem? I know I was half expecting him to mention it. Is it that they only fail on cars in North America or have we blown the whole rod bearing thing out of proportion.
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07-19-2015, 11:47 PM	#3
STooK Lieutenant Colonel 726 Rep 1,974 Posts Drives: 2013 E92 M3 ZCP Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: NY iTrader: (6)	Thanks for the video! The M3 was a bit riced out with black BMW roundels and pre-lci e90 grills. But for LCI tails! And yea, surprised to see the throttle actuators being on the list but not the bearings. Maybe it really is just internet hysteria __________________ 2013 BMW E92 ///M3 AW/BLK ZCP CF Roof 6 Speed - Perfection 2011 BMW E90 328i xDrive Space Grey/Black - Daily 2011 BMW E93 ///M3 MW/FR/BLK 6 Speed - Gone but not forgotten
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07-20-2015, 12:53 PM	#7
DSilk Major 550 Rep 1,148 Posts Drives: 2008 BMW M3 Coupe Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: South Florida iTrader: (0) Garage List 2015 Jaguar XJ [0.00] 2015 Jaguar XF [0.00] 2014 VW GTI [0.00] 2008 BMW M3 Coupe [0.00] 2007 VW Passat 2.0T [0.00]	The M3 has a high revving engine with a relatively high compression ratio, whether you are talking about the e9X or the e46. Does this put strain on connecting rod bearings? Undoubtedly yes. Does this mean that they are "prone" to failure? No. The early 2001 e46 M3 suffered a couple hundred examples of failure before BMW changed the oil specifications from a 5w-40 to a 10w-60, which seems to have had the desired effect. Early-model e46 M3's were recalled to have new bearings installed and to have stickers attached below the bonnet advising that the only oil to be used was the Castrol TWS 10w-60. Bearing failures from that point on have been extremely rare. My first M3 was an e46, and it was subject to the early recall. I put over 90,000 miles on the car without a hint of engine trouble. My current M3 runs like a champ. I am not an engineer, but it seems to me that the undersquare e46 inline 6 (bore of 87 mm and stroke of 91 mm) placed a lot more stress on the connecting rods (and, hence the bearings) than does the oversquare V8 (bore of 92 mm and stroke of 75.2 mm) in our cars, since each piston is traveling a much shorter distance, thereby requiring less forceful acceleration and deceleration from TDC and BDC of each stroke. To put it simply, our pistons only have to cover 75.2 mm of travel over the same period of time (at the same engine speed) as the e46 M3 pistons, which need to cover 91 mm of travel. Higher speed means more piston acceleration. More acceleration over the same period of time means more force applied (assuming no large difference in reciprocating mass, which is likely to favor the e9X as well). Last edited by DSilk; 07-20-2015 at 12:58 PM..
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07-20-2015, 01:55 PM	#8
New2Roundel Captain 467 Rep 804 Posts Drives: Some fun stuff Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Philly, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 Jeep GC SRT [0.00] 1994 VW Corrado SLC [0.00] 2011 BMW M3 [0.00]	I have to say that I'm in complete agreement with Tiff's choices (mostly): Here's my '11 e92 ZCP and '94 Corrado SLC (VR6) (gotta love the US-spec front spoiler on the white rado in the video!):
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07-20-2015, 02:16 PM	#10
Flying Ace Lieutenant General 4985 Rep 11,891 Posts Drives: G05 45e, 997.1 & 991.1 GT3s Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: SF, CA iTrader: (5)	Argh, I would not own a Pontiac GTO __________________ 22 Phytonic/Coffee X5 45e (CoVID-free) 08 Speed Yellow 911 GT3 Sharkwerks 12 AW/Cinnamon X5d Sports Pkg (retired) 14 AW/Beige M6GC ZCP, MPE, V2 steering wheel, vorsteiner (retired) 08 SSII/Black E90 M3 (retired)
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07-20-2015, 03:02 PM	#11
sonnyb Private 120 Rep 53 Posts Drives: M4 Sakhir orange Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: UK/Leicstershire/Loughborough iTrader: (0)	Hey guys that was my M3 in the video by Tiff! He even signed it for me! This is how it looks now...new wheels etc.. 2015-03-15 12.02.12 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2015-03-15 12.19.19 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2015-03-15 12.20.01 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2015-03-15 12.20.56 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2015-03-15 12.21.51 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2015-03-15 12.22.05 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2015-03-15 11.59.20 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr 2014-10-15 17.21.16 by Sonny Bobal, on Flickr
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07-20-2015, 03:13 PM	#12
BimmerRookie Major 469 Rep 1,320 Posts Drives: E93 Cavalier Z24 M3 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0)	Neeeeeeeeaattoooo!
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07-20-2015, 03:59 PM	#13
New2Roundel Captain 467 Rep 804 Posts Drives: Some fun stuff Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Philly, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 Jeep GC SRT [0.00] 1994 VW Corrado SLC [0.00] 2011 BMW M3 [0.00]	Very cool--nice example!
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