My New Fire Orange/Competition Pack M3

[LewisMocker]

Hey guys!

I am completely new to both the forum and to the world of M3's so first and foremost, excuse my naivety regarding forum etiquette, mechanical knowledge etc.

I picked up my new ride last week and thought i'd better join the community here to keep up to date/get some tips/advice etc.


Just after she was unveiled in the showroom


First drive up the mountains. Notice BMW put the front plate on a bit shit?!




Got my mate to move the front plate up, now it's looking much better



I am absolutely loving it to pieces! It's also a massive head turner here in Brisbane, I guess cause of the colour mainly. People quite often get their phones out at the lights to take photos etc.

So far I have a few aesthetic mods arriving shortly:

• Carbon fiber front lip
• Carbon fiber side gills
• Carbon fiber style badges (Bonnet, Boot, Wheels, Steering Wheel)

I have a few questions below if you guys are able to help me out:

1. Do you think I should go for the carbon fiber style re-badging that i've ordered? Or is that tacky?
2. The model is an MY12, BMW sold is as a 2012, but my registration sticker says it's a 2011… how do I really know what year it is?
3. Any other "Must have" mods that you guys suggest?
4. Haven't turned off DSC yet... will I kill myself if I do? Currently on MDM when in M mode. It's DCT paddle shift.
5. Any other suggestions or advice about what I should do with it?

Thanks in advance!!

- Lewis

[C|3R1C]

Sup Lewis! Gratz on the new ride! Nice loud color I'm sure gets ALLL the attention! (And I mean that in a good way I love that orange. so clean and smooth)

To quickly answer your questions:
1. If you want a new badge, I'd say gloss black. It will match everything else perfectly. Go light on the CF too. The stuff you got is perfect imo But remember! #1 rule: do what makes you happy

2. Registration... good question. I personally have no clue but if I had to guess maybe you need an updated one? Hopefully someone else can chime in lol

3. YES! I personally like my V8 loud so full catless or HFC exhaust, along with a tune! Makes the car feel 1000x better, no doubt! Those three things are IMO must have. I personally like akra or AA.

4. Since you have doubts, get a better feel for the car before you turn of DSC completely and do it in an open environment under the safest possible condition. Too many posts on this forum regarding bad accidents, like the e46 kid in the desert. You do not want to be that and you only have one chance. Play safe

5. Depending how long you plan to keep the car, read up on the preventative maintenance, like oil change every 7.5k miles

Welcome to the M family and my the odds be ever in your favor!

[BLACK OPS]

Very nice purchase! Looks amazing.
1) I agree with Gloss Black grille, side gills and then the ///M3 badge if you want.
2) I recommend spacers for the wheels and OEM CF front splitters.
3) Exhaust of your choice with black tips.

Looks great already so after these mods then spill $ into the performance upgrades.

Cheers Mate!

[M3SQRD]

Congrats and welcome!

1. I like the OEM Edition black chrome grilles and gills, however, I do agree that the gloss black does match the rest of the exterior black trim
2. Don't know?
3. Akra exhaust with CF tips looks and sounds awesome! Other mods are difficult to suggest because everyone likes different things (especially exhausts!) and have different modding budgets , however, check the Engine, Wheels, and Suspension/Brake sub-forums - they'll all give you great ideas for mods!
4. Before turning DSC off or MDM on, spend some time getting used to the car.
5. Be safe and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy....

Again, congrats!

[highyo]

LOVE that color wow it's the first time i have seen such good pics of a fire orange with black comp wheels. congrats!

as for the badges, remember that the blue and white means something, it's not that silly motor blades against the blue sky nonsense either. it's the bavarian colors. i would never change it. but thats just my opinion and you can't go wrong. congratulations

[hpc3]

Man that is a great looking car... mod as you wish, can always convert back.

[MSPORTWORLD]

Hmm looks similar...Congrats

[nbennettksu]

siiiick! do gloss to match the rims and shadowline trim

You can tell what year it is by the VIN number; look at the 8th LETTER from the right, if it is A: 2010, B: 2011, C: 2012, and now D: 2013

[Templar]

Looks sick.

My rule for Carbon Fiber is a little goes a long way, so don't overdo it. Just my opinion though, so do what you like!

[Grail05]

nice ....

but just a suggestion though...

do only the rear spoiler, front splitter carbon fiber and side mirror cap carbon

leave the badge alone and the side gills just get performance gloss side gills and drop the car...


1. Do you think I should go for the carbon fiber style re-badging that i've ordered? Or is that tacky?
yes too much will be too tacky... depending on how you do it ... i like to have a just enough CF not too much... like mentioned above...

2. The model is an MY12, BMW sold is as a 2012, but my registration sticker says it's a 2011… how do I really know what year it is?
The car was probably purchase and released in 2011 doesnt mean its not an MY12 model.. example i bought my Honda Fit in 2010 but its an 11 model...

3. Any other "Must have" mods that you guys suggest?
YES... get an exhaust Akrapovic

4. Haven't turned off DSC yet... will I kill myself if I do? Currently on MDM when in M mode. It's DCT paddle shift.
YES well if not you the car... I suggest to take some school time before going crazy on your car... its a lot of power and people always assume they can drive then realized its too much power on what they can handle. basically most of us here dont know how to drive.... LOL I tracked my S2000 see below sig yes thats exactly how it looks like and moving to M3 was a big changed. just saying be careful

5. Any other suggestions or advice about what I should do with it?
NO just do the exterior cosmetic work and have fun with it... dont over do it the 1st time otherwise you will get bored.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by nbennettksu

siiiick! do gloss to match the rims and shadowline trim

You can tell what year it is by the VIN number; look at the 8th LETTER from the right, if it is A: 2010, B: 2011, C: 2012, and now D: 2013

^ Correct except you need to be looking at the TENTH character of the VIN, not eighth. Counting eight LETTERS as suggested above (i.e. skipping numbers) won't always work because the ninth character is a check value which can either be a number or letter. In any case, chances are you have a MY2012 car that was just registered in calendar year 2011, though.

Mods are really a personal choice. I'm not a big fan of carbon style most of the time, but I admit that your exterior color palette would probably make them work better than most.

And as for DSC off, not sure what kind of cars you've used to or how much experience you have, and there have been many threads on this, but I personally see no reason for DSC off or even MDM on public roads. Those should be taken to the track where they belong. The nannies can be a great safety net on public roads (even the best drivers make mistakes and there's always the unforeseeable freak incident on the road) and if you're driving hard enough to constantly trip the nannies on public roads, ESPECIALLY if you're in MDM, you're probably pushing way harder than you should be.

I'd recommend going to the track to get a good feel for your car (if you've never been to the track, GO -- it's one of the best fun per dollar experiences IMHO) and then ironically after going to the track a while you'll find that you're a more mellow street driver and thus probably won't feel the need to turn DSC off out there.

As for other stuff you should do with it, I know it's not the most interesting, but definitely read the manual! Some of my favorite little convenience features of this car I never would have found had I not done that. Beyond that, stop looking at how much you spend per month on gas (trust me, you don't want to know) and have a great time in your M -- just make sure you respect the power you've got.

[davesaddiction]

Sweet... Congrats and welcome.

[GOLFFRR]

dope! congrats

[THE TECH]

Congrats.

[M3 Esq]

Sick, congrats. I would go with the CF front lip and leave it at that as far as CF. The other items I would do in gloss black.

[dagolfpro]

Welcome to the M family.

First Mod would OEM Exhaust mod (do a search here) or
Akropovic Exhaust. You want to be able to hear the roar of the V8. It will make you appreciate your car even more.

[RBB]

Congrats, love the Fire Orange. I agree with the consensus here, gloss black for your gills and badges, you don't want to go overboard with the carbon fiber. Must have mods at this point would be a full exhaust (catless or HFC) and a tune. Akra is always a good choice, Eisenmann, AA, etc.

[mshab356]

Congrats and welcome!

To answer the question about any other mods, I got an Active Autowerke exhaust and it was the best mod I've done! The OEM exhaust is not loud enough, so get some high flow cats and an exhaust and get crazy! Do your research before buying exhausts though!!! There is PLENTY of stuff on here if you search : but the exhausts that have the least amount f drone are Akrapovic (which has carbon fiber tips as an option), Evolve's e-tonic exhaust, MRF, and Active Autowekre (Evolve and MRF are from what I've heard, but Akra and AA from my experience).

Best of luck!

Ps. Don't drive around the streets with DSC off. That's just stupid and dangerous. Reserve it for the track

[m3buckeye]

Nice job son.

[48Laws]

Perfect color for fall. Congrats!

[highyo]

Originally Posted by 48Laws

Perfect color for fall. Congrats!

cept i think its spring there

[Carl L]

Congrats on the car, looks great. Very reminiscent of Tomic's.

Enjoy but for public roads keep DSC on. Get on to the track and explore MDM mode and on your next session maybe give it a go with it all off. It's certainly fun at the track with no aids, though 3700lbs does take some catching at times.