Inline 6-cylinder engines, rear-wheel drive, a legacy dating back to 1986. Can you guess what car I’m talking about? BMW M, the M3 specifically. With the first rendition coming out in 1986 with the E30, the late F80 generation has a lot to live up to.
We met with Dillon, @dillonbp_ on Instagram to check out his stunning 2015 car, and it surprised me, here’s why. I never had a lot of respect for M cars, frankly, I was a diehard AMG fan before. But now, I’ve been turned to the dark side, this car made me fall in love with the M3 and all other M cars.
Before I go too deep into my experience with this car, let’s talk about the modifications that were made to make it like it is. Starting with the aesthetic changes, this M3 has new carbon fiber trim on the interior, carbon mirrors, carbon front lip and diffuser, with a few other carbon additions to the spoiler and side skirts.
As far as performance mods go, new JB4 cold-air intakes and a turbo-back straight pipe exhaust system have been added. Along with, one of the most important mods to make to these cars to get them past the 500hp mark, the VTT spline lock crank hub with parts to handle the power. Why is this so important you ask? Because these cars make only 425hp and 406 lb-ft of torque from the factory, and rev so high while doing it, that the stock crank hubs can’t keep up with the higher torque numbers and will spin under load, thus throwing off the timing. With too much torque and the stock hubs, you can either end up with bent valves or worse, a $30,000 blown engine replacement. For more on this problem and the recommended solution, check out this video to learn more: LINK
As nice as the new crank hubs are to allow the headroom for extra power, this car needed a tune to really push the limits. Those tunes came from F80 Paul (@f80paul on Instagram) and from Boostmod3 for 2 different driving experiences. One is a fully custom map using E85 fuel to make in the ballpark of 575-600 horsepower, and the second is a 93 octane stage 2 map for around 520hp with some new NGK 97506 spark plugs that were required for the E85 tune. The final item on the mod list is the tires, in front, there’s Michelin Super Sport’s and in the rear 2 massive NITTO NT555 G20 305 section tires keeping this car planted for when you nail it on the straights. And trust me, it needs the sticky rubber too.
Dillon built his M3 to race, to demolish local muscle and Euro cars alike down a straight road, it’s purpose-built for sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s no fun to hoon around corners and slide through empty parking lots either! Not only does it hand out gaps left and right, but it’s genuinely fun too, making this M3 a real good time to drive.
And the sound, oh the sound! It makes glorious noises in every part of the rev range, from accelerations it screams up to redline like few other cars in this category do, but when you let off the real fun begins.
The pops and bangs that come out of the quad exhaust tips are ear-piercing, you feel them all the way down in your chest and it’s a glorious sensation. Plenty of videos of this car will be posted on our Instagram page as well as Dillons.
Another massive highlight of this car is the 7-speed Dual-Clutch transmission, with whip-crack shifts that send unearthly sounds out the exhaust pipes. When we hopped on the highway to do a small acceleration from third gear, the feeling was incredible.
As Dillon rolled into the boost the car floated into the next lane over, but with a snap to fourth, everything was quickly brought back under control. These are just a few things that made me fall for this car
And of course, the looks of this car are stunning. The huge fenders and aggressive styling let you know that this is no base model 3 Series, but something much more serious. So, for once, I can actually wrap up a review with a “To buy or not to buy” statement, and yes! Of course, you should buy it! I may be slightly biased now, but this car really surprised me in its performance, so go follow Dillon on Instagram for more of this car!
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The photographs used in this article were not taken by the SFCN Team. All photo credit goes to @rj_sensei on Instagram.