Has anyone thought of E9X M3 before getting the F? Or any previous owners of the M?
#31
M3 is more exciting, its a fact. But how exciting will it be if or when it breaks? I guess it depends on how long you want to keep it and how much you drive. I dont know much about e92 M3s besides what goes around, I wouldnt touch one with curtain parts thats are known to fail already replaced, or would deduct from purchasing price. But same goes for higher miles ISFs, valley leak is also not cheap to fix
V.
#32
Driver
Thread Starter
Valley plate is just a leak of coolant if im not wrong? Tried to search up on the net about what it is but never got a summarized answer. The M3 all i know has 2 things that need attention besides the regular stuff. Throttle actuators and rod bearings. Actuators is a 3-4 hour fix that I probably would be ok with doing since they are on top and saw the DIY for it. Rod bearings I don’t have that much experience with.
#33
Valley plate is just a leak of coolant if im not wrong? Tried to search up on the net about what it is but never got a summarized answer. The M3 all i know has 2 things that need attention besides the regular stuff. Throttle actuators and rod bearings. Actuators is a 3-4 hour fix that I probably would be ok with doing since they are on top and saw the DIY for it. Rod bearings I don’t have that much experience with.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ley-plate.html
Rod bearings, if effected, could be catastrophic and cost lots of money. Many just pay $2000-2500 to install better aftermarket ones after that its not an issue anymore as far as I know.
#34
Valley plate leak thread is here. Not cheap to fix, $1000-1500
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ley-plate.html
Rod bearings, if effected, could be catastrophic and cost lots of money. Many just pay $2000-2500 to install better aftermarket ones after that its not an issue anymore as far as I know.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ley-plate.html
Rod bearings, if effected, could be catastrophic and cost lots of money. Many just pay $2000-2500 to install better aftermarket ones after that its not an issue anymore as far as I know.
#35
Not sure what % numbers are on M3, but not all have this issue. Its just very expensive to fix if they fail thats why some just pay $2k or whatever and get aftermarket parts installed
#36
#37
Driver
Thread Starter
So nothing much to worry about here when it comes to the ISF’s valley plate issue since not many models have been affected by it. The M3 rod bearing situation seems more serious in this case since they are one of the main key parts of the entire motor to prevent it from blowing up. I mean spend the $500 something on the rod bearings and have a shop install them and save my self $1,000’s from replacing the S65B40. Throttle actuators from what I have read up on are bound to go on the E9X M3’s just a matter of who knows when. Hmm interesting. Anything else the ISF can have go wrong besides the valley plate leak? I know the dashboard and door panels are possible to get cracked or melted as well as the crappy digitizer on the navigation unit. Based on my Is250 having the digitzer being replaced 2 times on my own and dashboard was under recall by Lexus. Sadly they don’t do door panel replacements anymore from what my service advisor had mentioned to me.
#38
So far most of the F’s issues revolve around the cooling system. Really not that many, which is why I got mine to commute with over the M3.
My commute is no more, thus back to looking at M3’s again.
ISF I have no real fears of racking up mileage on. M3, I didn’t want to do that. Due to higher cost of ownership. But like you said. If you fear the rod bearing issue, then get it done as a preventative maintenance item and never worry again. No different than doing the VANOS on the E46. Took me a Saturday, $500, and did a valve adjustment while I was in there.
My commute is no more, thus back to looking at M3’s again.
ISF I have no real fears of racking up mileage on. M3, I didn’t want to do that. Due to higher cost of ownership. But like you said. If you fear the rod bearing issue, then get it done as a preventative maintenance item and never worry again. No different than doing the VANOS on the E46. Took me a Saturday, $500, and did a valve adjustment while I was in there.
#39
Driver
Thread Starter
So far most of the F’s issues revolve around the cooling system. Really not that many, which is why I got mine to commute with over the M3.
My commute is no more, thus back to looking at M3’s again.
ISF I have no real fears of racking up mileage on. M3, I didn’t want to do that. Due to higher cost of ownership. But like you said. If you fear the rod bearing issue, then get it done as a preventative maintenance item and never worry again. No different than doing the VANOS on the E46. Took me a Saturday, $500, and did a valve adjustment while I was in there.
My commute is no more, thus back to looking at M3’s again.
ISF I have no real fears of racking up mileage on. M3, I didn’t want to do that. Due to higher cost of ownership. But like you said. If you fear the rod bearing issue, then get it done as a preventative maintenance item and never worry again. No different than doing the VANOS on the E46. Took me a Saturday, $500, and did a valve adjustment while I was in there.
#40
I don’t think it’s a matter of them doing it on purpose. They push the platforms much further. Look at all the bottle necks on ISF, I think it’s just a different approach.
I believe the rod bearing issue is 90% user error. BMW tightly toleranced that motor due to its high rev limit. Thus proper warm up is paramount prior to smashing on it. I guarantee you, all the M bro douche original owners at least a handful of times dry revved those engines cold, or ripped on it cold, showing off for a friend during its lifetime. Starving the bearings of proper lubrication is irreversible damage.
The fix, is people putting a thou or two looser bearing. Making it dummy proof.
I believe the rod bearing issue is 90% user error. BMW tightly toleranced that motor due to its high rev limit. Thus proper warm up is paramount prior to smashing on it. I guarantee you, all the M bro douche original owners at least a handful of times dry revved those engines cold, or ripped on it cold, showing off for a friend during its lifetime. Starving the bearings of proper lubrication is irreversible damage.
The fix, is people putting a thou or two looser bearing. Making it dummy proof.
#42
I have a good friend who owns e90 m3 from 2012. He bought it with almost no mileage, I bought my 2012 ISF with 37k km. Both of us are coming from e90 330i.
M3 e90 vs ISF
- M3 is way sportier (engine characteristic, suspention) and much better on track in OEM form except brakes
- M3 has more space in rear - he's using it as family car
- M3 steering is less artificial
- M3 gearbox is faster in manual mode
- ISF has way better brakes (for me it's a big thing, as I wanted to limit modications)
- ISF is more comfy on the road, gearbox in auto mode is fluent
Reliability:
- I did 40k km in 2,5 years, he put around 60k km in 3 years
- we both track our cars (2-3 trackdays a year) on semislicks
- I did nothing but service and new brakes (oem discs, project mu pads)
- he had some sensor changed (gave cel light), small thing, under warranty
- he had vanos changed, under warranty
- he's struggling with aftermarket brakes
- he will soon do change rod bearings as preventive (around 800eur at independent specialist)
Now when I bought a diesel daily drive I like M3 more than ISF, mainly due to its sportier engine. But as a DD and occassional sport ISF is easier to live with. Hope it helped
M3 e90 vs ISF
- M3 is way sportier (engine characteristic, suspention) and much better on track in OEM form except brakes
- M3 has more space in rear - he's using it as family car
- M3 steering is less artificial
- M3 gearbox is faster in manual mode
- ISF has way better brakes (for me it's a big thing, as I wanted to limit modications)
- ISF is more comfy on the road, gearbox in auto mode is fluent
Reliability:
- I did 40k km in 2,5 years, he put around 60k km in 3 years
- we both track our cars (2-3 trackdays a year) on semislicks
- I did nothing but service and new brakes (oem discs, project mu pads)
- he had some sensor changed (gave cel light), small thing, under warranty
- he had vanos changed, under warranty
- he's struggling with aftermarket brakes
- he will soon do change rod bearings as preventive (around 800eur at independent specialist)
Now when I bought a diesel daily drive I like M3 more than ISF, mainly due to its sportier engine. But as a DD and occassional sport ISF is easier to live with. Hope it helped
#43
Driver
Thread Starter
I have a good friend who owns e90 m3 from 2012. He bought it with almost no mileage, I bought my 2012 ISF with 37k km. Both of us are coming from e90 330i.
M3 e90 vs ISF
- M3 is way sportier (engine characteristic, suspention) and much better on track in OEM form except brakes
- M3 has more space in rear - he's using it as family car
- M3 steering is less artificial
- M3 gearbox is faster in manual mode
- ISF has way better brakes (for me it's a big thing, as I wanted to limit modications)
- ISF is more comfy on the road, gearbox in auto mode is fluent
Reliability:
- I did 40k km in 2,5 years, he put around 60k km in 3 years
- we both track our cars (2-3 trackdays a year) on semislicks
- I did nothing but service and new brakes (oem discs, project mu pads)
- he had some sensor changed (gave cel light), small thing, under warranty
- he had vanos changed, under warranty
- he's struggling with aftermarket brakes
- he will soon do change rod bearings as preventive (around 800eur at independent specialist)
Now when I bought a diesel daily drive I like M3 more than ISF, mainly due to its sportier engine. But as a DD and occassional sport ISF is easier to live with. Hope it helped
M3 e90 vs ISF
- M3 is way sportier (engine characteristic, suspention) and much better on track in OEM form except brakes
- M3 has more space in rear - he's using it as family car
- M3 steering is less artificial
- M3 gearbox is faster in manual mode
- ISF has way better brakes (for me it's a big thing, as I wanted to limit modications)
- ISF is more comfy on the road, gearbox in auto mode is fluent
Reliability:
- I did 40k km in 2,5 years, he put around 60k km in 3 years
- we both track our cars (2-3 trackdays a year) on semislicks
- I did nothing but service and new brakes (oem discs, project mu pads)
- he had some sensor changed (gave cel light), small thing, under warranty
- he had vanos changed, under warranty
- he's struggling with aftermarket brakes
- he will soon do change rod bearings as preventive (around 800eur at independent specialist)
Now when I bought a diesel daily drive I like M3 more than ISF, mainly due to its sportier engine. But as a DD and occassional sport ISF is easier to live with. Hope it helped
#44
#45