Az's BMW M3 - Found out only 113 in my Paint/Interior, aww yeah

[Azuremen]

That is an awesome picture. What car did the wheels come from?

The rear wheels are OEM DS1 wheels, stock for the M3. The fronts, which are now what I have all around the car, are 17 inch CSL look-a-likes I purchased from ///M-Spec. They are half an inch wider and much, much easier to clean

 

[Hollow]

Wow! Gorgeous picture.

Wish I had a jet-pack to hover around on all that green land.

 

[SpartanG]

Am I the only one who thinks midnight purple is one of the sexiest car colors? It looks absolutely beautiful on the bmw, and pretty much any car.

 

[Joel]

Haha, though sucks you can't tell. Yeah, it is Daytona Violet, which is very much purple in daylight. I initially got a lot of crap about the color from people, but most have admitted it is a pretty awesome color on a car. Downside is it has to be clean to look good, and it gets dirty stupid fast.

Yeah, I can see certain shades of purple, I have board shorts that are a lighter purple and I can tell right away they're purple, but your car just looks dark blue to me. It's because my eyes can't pick up red as easily, and blue + red = purple, so purple - red = blue.

 

[Philly]

Good to see you've gotten the M3 back out on the road, Az. I'm guessing I missed that bit of news a while ago though.

 

[Azuremen]

Good to see you've gotten the M3 back out on the road, Az. I'm guessing I missed that bit of news a while ago though.

Yeah, quite a bit has happened. Expect some update in this thread on that first post when I finally get it all sorted.

In the meantime, here is a huge image of my car. Cause I can. Cause it is my thread.

 

[Small_Fryz]

Nice picture Cody 👍

 

[Philly]

It looks good with those wheels on it 👍

 

[Azuremen]

So, I had the main serpentine belt fail on me. Runs the Alternator, Water Pump, main fan, and power steering. Got lucky, happened only a couple miles from where I am staying so I was able to limp the car home after letting it sit and cool down twice (30 minutes each time). And friend had the belt, so simple fix.

Or so I thought...

So I need to get a tensioner as well now. Not too much money or anything, but I won't see the parts till next week. Just a hassle.

 

[Eric.]

I want a purple (Merlot) car. When I get it, i'll wear pink panties just to piss people off.

You're lucky I wasn't drinking anything when I read that.

 

[eSZee]

I want a purple (Merlot) car. When I get it, i'll wear pink panties just to piss people off.

Merlot is usually burgundy, when it comes to car colors.

 

[Azuremen]

Updates are going to on the first post from now on I think, and then those posts will be moved to the "update/bump" post for future reference.

Look at the first post to read what is new.

EDIT: Post moved from first post.

So, the fate of the MR2 Spyder was less than ideal I'd say.

Yes, that is it upside down leaning against a tree. No, I was not the one driving, and no one was really hurt. I was compensated for the car, so I bought a camera with the money and some parts for the M3.

The Celica is gone as well, just way more rust than I ever wanted to deal with. Ever. And then the fuel system just didn't work anymore. Even after a new pump, so that was that.

So I've just got the M3 now, and it is a more than sufficient car to live with day to day. It needs some work, as the Vanos is going and brakes, shocks and other random things. Coolant also just seems to vanish out of the car without a trace and I've not tracked that down yet.

I've put around 4000 miles on the M in the past month, largely due to driving down to the LA area and then back up, with a lot of random tangents in there. An amazing car (I know, I say that a lot) to make road trips in, as I was able to put carry a ton of junk with me, in comfort, and get okay fuel economy (24mpg) despite cruising at around 80mph with the AC on.

A recent photo of the car from the trip. This was taken near the Oregon coast, maybe a couple of miles inland.

 

[motortrend]

Updates are going to on the first post from now on I think, and then those posts will be moved to the "update/bump" post for future reference.

Look at the first post to read what is new.

Well that really sucks . At least you still have the M3 and are enjoying it

 

[Legendary]

This is the car that you sold, and then bought back again right? God damn...may I ask how it happened?

 

[astrosdude91]

So will there be any new cars coming up, or will it just be the M3 for now. Any new plans with the M?

 

[homeforsummer]

Interesting to read about your 80mph economy. Pretty much matches my experience of my brother's 328, which at those sort of speeds and above is almost as efficient as my Fiat with its engine half the size. Benefits of long gearing and good torque.

 

[Azuremen]

This is the car that you sold, and then bought back again right? God damn...may I ask how it happened?

The guy driving it lacked experience. Came over a crest with a slight turn, saw something, stepped on the brakes and tried to swerve at the same time. Car stepped out (as MR cars do when you do that) and spun out off the road, catching some soft dirt and rolling.

In short, classic loss of control of an MR car.

So will there be any new cars coming up, or will it just be the M3 for now. Any new plans with the M?

Mostly keeping it stock. It is fun enough right now and I like being able to drive on less than perfect roads with it. It is unlikely that I'll pick up another car at the moment, as I have a lot of other things I am sorting out and I am constantly moving around right now, so having two cars just makes that frustrating.

Interesting to read about your 80mph economy. Pretty much matches my experience of my brother's 328, which at those sort of speeds and above is almost as efficient as my Fiat with its engine half the size. Benefits of long gearing and good torque.

At highway speeds (65mph), I sit at around 2700-2800rpms. And get close to 29 mpg without the AC on. These E36 AC systems drop it a couple of MPG I've noticed. Still, for the power and what not, it is quite nice. Better than most Subaru's period.

 

[eSZee]

Well that really sucks . At least you still have the M3 and are enjoying it

The MR2 crash isn't what he was talking about, I assume, as that happened some time ago.

You said the coolant is disappearing but can't track it down, so no leaks at all?
There could be a small tear/puncture in one of the rubber hoses which would make the coolant come out as mist, basically, and it would evaporate before hitting the ground. I've seen it happen.

 

[Azuremen]

The MR2 crash isn't what he was talking about, I assume, as that happened some time ago.

You said the coolant is disappearing but can't track it down, so no leaks at all?
There could be a small tear/puncture in one of the rubber hoses which would make the coolant come out as mist, basically, and it would evaporate before hitting the ground. I've seen it happen.

I've only posted about the MR2's accident in the Premium section till just the other day. Thus why it seems more recent; I should probably specify that this happened at the start of June.

Had not thought about that with the coolant. I'll have to carefully look over what I can, as that would be better than possible headgasket leaks.

 

[eSZee]

Sorry, for some reason I thought that was in this thread.
I didn't wanna mention the headgasket just yet but is there white smoke/steam coming from the exhaust?
Does the coolant disappear quickly?

 

[Azuremen]

Sorry, for some reason I thought that was in this thread.
I didn't wanna mention the headgasket just yet but is there white smoke/steam coming from the exhaust?
Does the coolant disappear quickly?

Not that I've noticed, which is why it is a bit odd. And I did an oil change recently and didn't seem to be anything going on with the oil that came out of the car. The coolant disappearing also seems somewhat erratic and arbitrary.

 

[Azuremen]

So, figured out the coolant leak. Is an issue with a reservoir separating from the radiator a bit. Common problem, just a hassle. While I get that sorted out, will just be keeping track of the coolant levels very closely.

Got the snow tires on today. I apparently missed the memo on RWD sport cars being bad in the snow, because I am having zero issues getting around, while I watch people spin their tires hopelessly trying to get up small hills.

Oh, and cause it has been a while.

 

[homeforsummer]

Looks great 👍 There's a pleasing tallness to those tyres too. Junior rally car in the making.

And yes, I agree with RWD and snow. They may be ultimately less capable than FWD or AWD but as long as you drive them properly then there are no problems. Especially on snow tyres, as yours is.

And of course, throttle adjustability > understeer.

 

[nobuffalo]

That's why I should be moving to Washington NOW. Car looks awesome, I miss having snow caked on behind the wheels.

 

[Azuremen]

Been a while since I've updated this thread.

The M3 got a new cooling system after the cooling fan decided to explode in typical fashion, and I'm running the car without the clutch driven fan at the moment. Honestly don't notice it is gone unless I just park the car running for ages. Also discovered there was a 95 degree thermostat, which explains why the heater didn't work half the time in the winter for short trips - put a 75 degree in to replace it since I don't have that fan.

Piece of trim fell out of the bumper, so need to get to that as well, and a few more small scratches from people being careless opening their doors in parking lots

Up next on the agenda are front rotors and pads, along with shocks. Also would like to get the tint redone and still debating on insane colored DS1 wheels like Lime Green or Cone Orange.

I still love the car, despite the random German quirks. It handles fantastic for day to day use, has enough power and refinement to get me around quite happily. My only real complainant is with the Star Specs I can't hoon around without going a bit too quick for streets. A slightly less grippy tire may be in the future if I also do the DS1's up.

Recent pics for the curious. since the last picture is from November.


Daytona Violet M3 by Cody Schroeder, on Flickr


Daytona Violet M3 by Cody Schroeder, on Flickr


Daytona Violet M3 by Cody Schroeder, on Flickr

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Looks gorgeous from here! I'm not sure bright orange or lime green wheels would look good on your car. The current colour combination is very pretty, and the car looks subtly quick. On the other hand, I think the car would look excellent with medium grey coloured rims, so if you decide to buy less grippy tyres (why not?), then I recommend trying a darker coloured wheel. I think that a light shade of gunmetal or medium grey would look good, something that is lighter than the paint of the car but dark enough to look a bit sinister.

 

[seaqueen]

It's a dashing car enjoy it.

 

[Azuremen]

So I found out my car, with its color and interior, is one of 113 made for the US market; only 469 Daytona Violet M3's for the US all together.

Kind of glad I didn't hold out for an M3 with the M cloth interior, only 5 exist in Daytona Violet in the US.

 

[Crash]

Nice, congrats. Where did you find that info? I've been trying to find some build statistics for E30s myself.

 

[Azuremen]

I got the info from this thread on reddit. Apparently, based on the last 5 of a VIN, the guy can get the configuration of the car.