Quick thoughts: E30, E90, F80

[CBS]

E30 M3: Recently took my Wife out for her first ride. I asked her to compare to our E90 M3, she said: "Lower to the ground, very light weight, nimble, connected to the road like no other vehicle, not fast but certainly a thrilling ride. Lot's of fun in the higher RPM's. Reminds me of what cars used to be like (Connected to the Driver) before all of the electronics." My sentiments exactly, I Love this Lady!

E90 M3: I've had lot's of work done to my E90 so it's kinda unfair but you can still feel the car's weight. Steering is good but not as connected as our E30. Stock brakes and low torque are this car's weakest points. Modified, this car is awesome and a blast on the track!

F82/F80 M3: I don't own one but I have spent three days at BMW's Performance Driving Center getting to know them with a Private Instructor. Car is a torque monster. Careful throttle input is needed after apex. Steering is vague and can be a challenge. Modified and in skilled hands this car will be a strong presence on the track.

There are 25 years separating my E30 M3 from the F80 M3 I drove earlier last week. Power is up substantially and Brakes have gotten better but being connected to the road has diminished greatly. Just my quick thoughts.

[Eau Rouge]

on your comparo write up.

Note: R&T will somewhat find itself in disagreement with you assessment of the F8x http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...he-f80-bmw-m3/ as it states the track is where the F8x really shines. I'm not sure what that means for everyone else.

[Konig]

I'd like to drive (or own) an E30 M3 one day. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Maybe I should do something similar between my E90 and my 2002... the chasm may simply be too big between the two haha.

[CBS]

^ would love to read your comparo between the '02 and the E90.

[modkrazy]

Originally Posted by Eau Rouge

on your comparo write up.

Note: R&T will somewhat find itself in disagreement with you assessment of the F8x http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...he-f80-bmw-m3/ as it states the track is where the F8x really shines. I'm not sure what that means for everyone else.

That makes sense. All that low-end torque is as much a blessing as it is a curse, with you reaching illegal speeds before you're half way up the rev band. At these lower RPMs is where people report the most lag and the car sounds terrible, so it just feels like you are driving just a faster, worse-sounding 335i. At the high RPMs, the lag is practically gone, and the car sounds a lot better. A local buddy has taken his F80 to the track, and he says it feels almost naturally aspirated on the top end. I believe him.

[IB M]

Nice write up. Post some pics of E30 and E90.

Also to complete your review need to drive the E46 and comment on how it fits in the mix. To me way more power than E30 but still very raw and connected.

[SunnyD]

All that low end torque in the F8x is what makes it a much better daily driver compared to the E9x.

[CBS]

Originally Posted by IB M

Nice write up. Post some pics of E30 and E90.

Also to complete your review need to drive the E46 and comment on how it fits in the mix. To me way more power than E30 but still very raw and connected.

Thanks, enclosed pic of E30.

I have an E46 M3 in Interlagos Blue on my Someday Wish List. If it's as raw and connected as you say, I may need to start floating the idea with the Boss!

Cheers,
Chris

[IB M]

Beautiful E30. Don't ever sell that car.
I'll trade u a drive in your red car for one in my blue car.

[CBS]

^ Nice Ride! Would welcome a ride trade. PM me.

[Konig]

Originally Posted by CBS

^ would love to read your comparo between the '02 and the E90.

I've started jotting down my initial thoughts, let's see if I can stay motivated to put together a cohesive post and/or video.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by CBS

F82/F80 M3: I don't own one but I have spent three days at BMW's Performance Driving Center getting to know them with a Private Instructor. Car is a torque monster. Careful throttle input is needed after apex. Steering is vague and can be a challenge. Modified and in skilled hands this car will be a strong presence on the track.

I recently discussed the F80 with two very experienced guys with more track time on them than most anyone, so I posed my question to them about F80 steering like so: Of course DSC is fully off since I'm only concerned with truly driving the actual car. As you're trailbraking heavily into a 50-60mph turn and right in the middle of the turn-in and bleeding off the brakes, you realize corrective measures are needed as you've overcooked the entry a bit. A bit more steering lock is useless, so you have to open up the steering to gain grip, run a wider line to hopefully keep it on track, then feed back in a bit of lock, open it up, feed in some, open it up, all the while focused on track out point while using up precious real estate. During that exercise, how is the steering feedback? Do you clearly feel that peak of the tractive force/slip angle curve of the tires? The lightness to the steering in "that zone"? Compare it to the E90 M3 at that same point for example.

As I expressed that situation, I was watching their body language and facial expressions, and I got my answer prior to their actual reply. The takeaway however was that "it's different for sure", not as communicative, somewhat numb, but with practice you can adapt to it somewhat.

When you think about it though, this is the first attempt at BMW for EPS in an M-car product line. They rejected it for the F10 M5 as not ready (which is really the car that should have EPS with the F80 keeping the HPS imo). I can only imagine that continued software and hardware updates will improve things into the future.

[CBS]

^ Excellent question, superbly presented. Yes, I was starting to get the steering on the F80/82 but it does take some relearning.

At their current point of electric steering development, I will stick with my modified E90. I am sure the technology will advance to an acceptable level for me.

Thanks for your post!

Cheers,
Chris

[CBS]

Originally Posted by Konig

I've started jotting down my initial thoughts, let's see if I can stay motivated to put together a cohesive post and/or video.

Excellent! In for the review...