hope 3rd time a charm
- Thread starter rwhelan
- Start date
Whether or notyou pick up a M3 or M5 depends entirely on you and your needs.
Are you on the highway alot and want a supercruiser? Then get the M5. Are you single, just a couple, need a non Japanese european rocket? Then go for the E36 or E46 M3. Much chiptuning is not necessary but there are a myriad of other parts to make your M3 or M5 marginally faster and handle better. Standard stuff for ANY car you buy: better shocks, springs, sway-bars, brakes, exhaust, Cold-Air Intakes, Camshafts, light-weight flywheels, etc, etc. If you want big power go force inducted from ActiveAutowerks, Dinan, VF Engineering and many others.....it is easier for boardmembers to answer your question if you get REALLY specific about what you want to know. Both models had/have a GREAT track record and on awesome in their own right. Chiptuning isnt that big of a gain without other aftermarket performance parts UNLESS you have a stock diesel motor......
Are you on the highway alot and want a supercruiser? Then get the M5. Are you single, just a couple, need a non Japanese european rocket? Then go for the E36 or E46 M3. Much chiptuning is not necessary but there are a myriad of other parts to make your M3 or M5 marginally faster and handle better. Standard stuff for ANY car you buy: better shocks, springs, sway-bars, brakes, exhaust, Cold-Air Intakes, Camshafts, light-weight flywheels, etc, etc. If you want big power go force inducted from ActiveAutowerks, Dinan, VF Engineering and many others.....it is easier for boardmembers to answer your question if you get REALLY specific about what you want to know. Both models had/have a GREAT track record and on awesome in their own right. Chiptuning isnt that big of a gain without other aftermarket performance parts UNLESS you have a stock diesel motor......
I bought a 2005 M3 over a year ago as my personal car. The performance was fantastic, but for an every day cruiser in town it was not the ticket. I traded for a 550i which works much better for me. However, having loved the performance of the M3, I have been entertaining scoping out an older model that I could run on the highway without the big dollar investment of a new one. Automobile mag had an article in March about the 1987-90 M3s, which they call the "purists choice." I wonder if that's true. And I wonder what these performance "chips" really add to performance and reliability
Like I said before the chips for the newer models are only really worth it IMHO if you have other mods added as well. After the mods the chiptuning takes those mods into consideration when remapping the ECU. The other without mods chiptuning pretty much just adjusts your powerband so you either have more topend power and torque or vice-versa.
The E30 M3 IS the purists M3 but they are very hard to come by with relatively low mileage AND in good condition. Most owners have a tendency to keep them since there are a relatively low number of them compared to other iterations of the M3. You will regularly see them still selling for 5figures....and they are about 20years old.....
