S3 (Wife's) and M3 (Mine) out for a drive, took the camera...

[-Keith-]

Feeling very happy with both cars after some recent paintwork on the S3, seeing as the sun was shining the Wife and I decided to go for a convoy blast around the local area - Taplow, Marlow, Beaconsfield, Henley and all manner of backroads inbetween.

Rare that both cars are spotlessly clean at the same time as they rely on me cleaning them... usually a few days apart... So took the camera in case some photo opportunities cropped up!

We felt like the German sportscar mafia rolling around together LOL and had a great blast. Wife loves thrashing about as much as I do so we had good fun, swapping cars a couple times to change it up. Very different machines, both quick, but very different.

A few of the best:

The M3 is a much more precision driving tool, but the effortless power of the S3 and much smoother ride (not surprising as the S3 is stock and mine is on Bilstein coilovers) make it a pleasure to hoon about the Berkshire/Bucks backroad in!

Great cars

 

[OVRA3]

Awesome! Wish my mrs shared the love for fast cars :-(

 

[NHN]

How dare you put that S3 next to an M3, you should be banned from the site, disgusting pics

Its nice to see some mixing of brands instead of bashing eachother via there respective forums

Looks nice, hope you enjoyed yourselves

 

[DJ-S3]

Very nice.

Awesome! Wish my mrs shared the love for fast cars :-(

Same here. She just screams and usually ends up close to years if I have fun (as I call it lol)

 

[OVRA3]

Mine doesn't like the hard acceleration when the turbo comes in says in makes her feel sick 😏

 

[Andy Crooks]

again i wish my wife enjoyed the powerrrrrrrrrrrr, she enjoys driving mine but she doesnt put her foot down unless i tell her too

 

[Oranoco]

Love a nice E46 M3, manual or SMG? Any tweeks?

 

[-Keith-]

Cheers guys

How dare you put that S3 next to an M3, you should be banned from the site, disgusting pics

Its nice to see some mixing of brands instead of bashing eachother via there respective forums

None of that is neccessary is it! Different brands and models suit the demands of different people: no point in getting overly precious about it: each and every model/brand has it's pro's and con's. As long as it's quick and hails from German I'll be happy.


My M3 is going more track focused and is without doubt a more engaging, exciting drive - but it can be a chore on anything other than billiard-flat roads. 19" rears with 265/30 tyres on and hard suspension make it jarring and every road imperfection make you cringe. Plus it's not very easy to drive slowly - no good for relaxing! Whereas the S3 is the perfect fast cruiser, so comfortable, well built and effortlessly spools up pace in any gear: it's a perfect car for any journey. Also been loving the Bose system on the couple of cross-coutry road trips we've been on in it so far: makes the Harmon Kardon in the M3 sound cheap!

Two very different tools for different jobs, but both top of the class in their respective specialities!

 

[-Keith-]

Love a nice E46 M3, manual or SMG? Any tweeks?

Ahh, the Manual vs SMG debate - thats one guranteed to get sparks flying on an M3 forum!

Mine is manual. I like a clutch pedal, the involvement of heel/toeing, manually shifting.

Tweaks - braided brake/clutch lines everywhere, supersprint non-res centre section, Bilstein PSS10 coilovers, BMW Performance (Brembo 6-pot) calipers (from the recent 1/3series models) with custom made brackets, CSL floating discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads, genuine CSL lightweight alloys (have a set of the OEM 18's to use on track). Those are the main bits.

 

[danb986]

Did you climb a tree to take picture number 4?

Nice looking cars though!

 

[-Keith-]

^^^Haha!

No tree climbing, although I did walk up a hill, stand on a fence and have one of those tilt-screen Canon's where I can hold it above my head and still see what I'm taking

 

[JamesS4cab]

Call me next time and you can show me some decent roads round us as all i can find is pot holes and speed camera vans in Wooburn!!

 

[crmatthews]

Both very nice cars!!

 

[Oranoco]

Ahh, the Manual vs SMG debate - thats one guranteed to get sparks flying on an M3 forum!

Mine is manual. I like a clutch pedal, the involvement of heel/toeing, manually shifting.

Tweaks - braided brake/clutch lines everywhere, supersprint non-res centre section, Bilstein PSS10 coilovers, BMW Performance (Brembo 6-pot) calipers (from the recent 1/3series models) with custom made brackets, CSL floating discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads, genuine CSL lightweight alloys (have a set of the OEM 18's to use on track). Those are the main bits.

My brothers is the SMG and it's good fun but have to say I agree I want a clutch pedal too (and the SMG pump going tits up is a frankly scary proposition). Are you on M3 Cutters? Don't know what username he's under buy he has Fat Edd from Furr TV as his avatar.

 

[Graham89]

2 very smart cars there. Shame my misses is cruising around in a Hyundai lol.

 

[Andy Crooks]

like my misses and her peugeot

 

[PaulAr]

Cool garage

 

[nil538]

Both look spot on

 

[turbonutz]

Hope i can get my gf into this hmmmm, she dont even have a licence! plus expensive enough with just an s3 for me without footing her bill to get her into it

 

[box500]

Get the S3 up to stage 2 with the likes of Revo - has made my S3 mega. You will need stronger clutch though..

 

[MBK]

Cool pictures and story Keith, I'm not much of a BMW fan but your M3 looks great on those wheels.

That's exactly the sort of road trip we used to do pre kids!

Here is one such day, and we didn't mind a mixed fighter force either!


As for the others comments about getting the mrs into driving events, my advice is spend a few £££ on driving experiences and instruction. My mrs went from nervous road driver to competent track pilot in just a few months!



Oh and this is the most fun I've ever had with an M3...but I wasn't driving it...(sorry couldn't resist!)

 

[leeds2592]

As much as I do love my A3, i'd definitely be tempted to get an M3. Especially if it looks as good as yours!

 

[Revo Steve-W]

Get the S3 up to stage 2 with the likes of Revo - has made my S3 mega. You will need stronger clutch though..

Be quick, 20% Summer Sale on till 18th!! :sign_plug:

Got to add that your M3 is totally stunning too.