e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

[google]

hi,

cant decide but my budget is around 200k.buying a 325 would be very practical on sg roads.but i am wooooooried l will hunger for power later on.

330 and m3 lots ofpower something i love to have but where to unleash except on trACK.

so how good is the 325 330 m3....i heard the e90 330 is not far off from m3.i cant afford a new m3 only used m3 but then worry about the car being abused..few in ad one totalled one pi.

any way where do you guys with big displacement cars get to unleash the power except track and nsh.

please give advice and comment on the cars thanks

 

[rex7_vtec]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

hi,

cant decide but my budget is around 200k.buying a 325 would be very practical on sg roads.but i am wooooooried l will hunger for power later on.

330 and m3 lots ofpower something i love to have but where to unleash except on trACK.

so how good is the 325 330 m3....i heard the e90 330 is not far off from m3.i cant afford a new m3 only used m3 but then worry about the car being abused..few in ad one totalled one pi.

any way where do you guys with big displacement cars get to unleash the power except track and nsh.

please give advice and comment on the cars thanks

How about a pretty nifty used E46 330? Kekekeke

 

[martmode8850]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

go for the E90 330i first... cos with 258bhp, your hunger can be fulfilled... though not much depending on how hungry for power you get.

the E46 ///M3 is 343bhp... so it is really a monster. Once you drive it, anything less is a compromise.

maybe by the time you get bored with your new 330, someone here might sell his/her moded E46 M3...

 

[T6]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

If your budget is $200k and u want power, you can discount the 325i. Bros who have test-driven the 325i vs the 330i all said they are worlds apart.

 

[mistraele]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

i would get the new 330i. i don tthink it would lose that much to a M3 in terms of day to day driving and you get 4 door practicality and stealth status. and dont necessarily be misled by the 343 hp figure for M3s. from what i know, they dont make stock HP.

 

[eggz]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Having just come back from IDT with the E90 330i, I feel it's a wonderful car. Great chassis balance and handling. That 3.0l is very good, more rev happy, eager and smoother than the M54 3.0l in my E60.

The 330i feels nimble and chuckable and is very predictable on the limit. We had a chance to test this quite a bit as it was pouring with rain during the tracking sessions. Understeer is progressive and even with active steering, there is lots of feel through the steering, more so than with the E60, since it's better weighted (E60's steering is a bit lighter)

Catching oversteer in the 330i is super fun and since the chassis communicates this to the driver so well, it's quite easy and induces confidence. I went over the limit on a few occasions when the back wheels slipped on the Pasir Gudang kerbing in the wet and went on the grass, even with full throttle, still able to catch it. On later laps, it became so comfortable that I found myself inducing oversteer on some turns with more steering input and throttle for more fun...it gets addictive!

As for a used M3, lots have been said about what an awesome car it is, I've had a taxi ride in one at Sepang and it's just a phenomenal car. A bonus is that it's likely to be the last inline 6 M3 and going forward will get more and more rare on our roads, plus I feel it looks better than the new E90 in 4door trim. It's destined to be a classic.

Other factors, E90 is a sedan, insurance will be less, M3 insurance will be high since it's a coupe.

Tough decision eh? I'll help make it easier, forget about the E90 325i

 

[gp]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Google,

There is a similar thread in E90 fanatics regarding your dilemma..(how I wish I were in the same dilemma)

http://forum.e90fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=697

 

[piggyboyz]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

I think EGGZ gave a very good insight but the most importantly factor is actually what u want for yourself.

M3 is a 2 door coupe while the E90 is a sedan. M3 is manual/SMG but E90 is automatic(till now)

If u r really hungry for power, regardless what they say about the 330i being close to M3, fact being that they r almost 90hp apart and that is like dragging a 320 against a 330. There will be difference.

For a budget of 200k, u will find some good example of nicely done up M3 with BBK/ exhaust etc wheras u will be getting a stock E90 330i for the money.

M3 is like a statuesque for the E46 range and it's raspy exhaust cannot be reproduced wheras it will take a trained eye to spot a 330i from the rest of the stable when all are debatched.

Did i just make life more difficult ?? haha !

 

[m3magic]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

I recently driven the 330 manual on the 'ring, its a wonderful car, very well balance; BUT, the e46m3 is still totally different league and at a class by itself; like others here had suggested, depends what you want (2/4 dr ... etc?)

My suggestion, test drive all 3 and than decide for yourself.

 

[google]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

thanks for the advise....325 i will forget now it boils down to 330 new or 2nd hand m3.

my concern is 2nd hand m3 may be abused ie on track and i bet milage will be dam high.

new 330 i feel safer but hefty depreciation.330 very close to m3 less than 1 sec to me its negiligeble to me

no one tell me where to use on our sg road all that power to unleash but where.

whats so bad about pi m3 advertised...no warranty from pml or wat.i dont understand why must shy from pi cars.


any bros here selling their m3 pm me..i very keen by the day.

keep the replies coming i love and need more advice.

 

[T6]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

330 very close to m3 less than 1 sec to me its negiligeble to me

Wah bro, 1 sec is A LOT in the performance world.

 

[T6]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Digress abit. How will bros here dcide between a E90 330i ($200k) and a Golf GTi ($120k). Guys who have driven both pls feedback. Pls dun say no brainer question hor. Affordability aside, the $80k savings can be put to good retirement use. And do also factor in the moddability of the Golf GTi. Views pls to confuse google further keke.

 

[TripleM]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

.... and dont necessarily be misled by the 343 hp figure for M3s. from what i know, they dont make stock HP.

BMW AG won't like ur statement above

Whatever u heard is probably incomplete...
First, those people who dynoed their cars stock won't be able to get that figures ( I mean no where near there ) it is because of the the Rev cut at 6k rpm. With all the electronics involved namely DSC and other forms of sensors....A stock M3 cannot be dynoed properly.

A step by step approach needs to be carried out before a proper dyno can be done.
Dunno how complicated but I just simply can't be bothered.

FYI, I tried once and my power cut off at 6k rpm ( chart showed 260bhp) so plenty of room to go to redline or the claimed figure of 340bhp at 7.9k redline
And my torque no max'ed at 260NM vs the factory 360NM....again the cut off intervention

On the contrary,
Those who had done proper dyno...their WHP figure ranges from 270-285..and we r talking bout the M3 US Specs which has 333bhp 'only' vs the European's 343bhp

 

[TripleM]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Digress abit. How will bros here dcide between a E90 330i ($200k) and a Golf GTi ($120k). Guys who have driven both pls feedback. Pls dun say no brainer question hor. Affordability aside, the $80k savings can be put to good retirement use. And do also factor in the moddability of the Golf GTi. Views pls to confuse google further keke.

Get the GTi for a change....drive it for half a year then mod it to a monster and chiet everyone at Sepang.
Swee2x..

 

[TripleM]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

hi,

cant decide but my budget is around 200k.buying a 325 would be very practical on sg roads.but i am wooooooried l will hunger for power later on.

330 and m3 lots ofpower something i love to have but where to unleash except on trACK.

so how good is the 325 330 m3....i heard the e90 330 is not far off from m3.i cant afford a new m3 only used m3 but then worry about the car being abused..few in ad one totalled one pi.

any way where do you guys with big displacement cars get to unleash the power except track and nsh.

please give advice and comment on the cars thanks

First,
Don't you worry bout not being able to unleash the M-Power. If everyone thinks like you then we won't see so many Porsches, Ferraris to name a few.

People buy cars based on various reasons: status, power specs, design, convenience, cost of maintenance and the whole nine yards...so many to list.

2nd,
Don't you worry bout cars being tracked before too. Before purchasing the car, you can do some precautionary checks...and this need not only apply to powerful cars but also normal cars. We live in a small world here where words travel very quickly so either you or your friends or your friend's friend would know the history of this car or that car.
It's all about networking when it comes to this concern.

While I understand your worry, u hv to look at the bright side...Ask yourself this question:
Why are they still many cars changing hand, I mean high end cars? Did all new owners end up buying a lemon? Answer is most likely No.

Last, if u are also wondering bout practicality issue..., I can honestly tell you that M3, amongst many other 2dr fast cars in the world, is the most practical car for day to day driving. I can't think of any that can match it.

So 325 is off the list...
Now only E90 330 vs E46M3........Hv a test drive and find out. I'd think 258bhp is quite a decent amount of power for medium size luxury sedan.

Cheers dude and happy hunting
Sorry I cudnt really decide for you but I m just helping you to clear some doubt....

 

[totoseow]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Digress abit. How will bros here dcide between a E90 330i ($200k) and a Golf GTi ($120k). Guys who have driven both pls feedback. Pls dun say no brainer question hor. Affordability aside, the $80k savings can be put to good retirement use. And do also factor in the moddability of the Golf GTi. Views pls to confuse google further keke.

in terms of stock performance...the 330i gives me great confidence...we did a lot of stuff to the 330s in IDT...a lot....including hving one spun 10m in front of me an eggz. the E90 330i is truly an amazing car. i drove the GTI too...and i must say aside from that phenomenal gearshifting, it will need a lot to replicate the full balance of the 330. ur get what u pay. if $ is not in the equation...go for the 330. it will leave ur tongue hanging...best in its class..the nearest competition is 1 generation away.

 

[piggyboyz]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

M3 is at home at track. The word abuse is not appropiate for car that track. Nowsaday, car all comes with engine rev cut, how can u abused it ? It won't go over the revv limits

A car that has been properly maintained but tracked often is more at ease and will survive much longer than another that have been deprived of it's routine servicing.

As for used M3, i really don see what's wrong with a PI car ? In any case, be it PI or not, once the warranty expires, there is not difference between PI or PML car. And also, for BMW, PML will still carry out warranty claim or servicing for PI car. My car is a PI car and my car is serviced in PML when it was still under warranty. I also did my gearbox claim without much hassle.

And by the way, M3 and 330i is not about 1 sec diff. U only look at century sprint when u doing 0-100.

As for where to do your sprint, u did the right thing by joining this forum, just join us when we do our events like Track day and u will have a lot of opportunity to stretch your legs.

As for doing it locally, i would advice that u refrain from that. It does not pay to lose your licence and it will be a waste of the car sitting in the garage without a licence to drive it.

 

[piggyboyz]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Digress abit. How will bros here dcide between a E90 330i ($200k) and a Golf GTi ($120k). Guys who have driven both pls feedback. Pls dun say no brainer question hor. Affordability aside, the $80k savings can be put to good retirement use. And do also factor in the moddability of the Golf GTi. Views pls to confuse google further keke.

Bro, money aside since they r 80k apart like u mentioned, the GTi is not in the same league as the E90 330i la... From 3rd gear on, the Gti has got too long ratio and it takes a while to bring the fella to redline wheras BMW, by vurtue of the bigger cc, just sweep across the tacho effortlessly...

But of course if u talk about modding, then it's a totally new dimension.

 

[eggz]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

Bro, money aside since they r 80k apart like u mentioned, the GTi is not in the same league as the E90 330i la... From 3rd gear on, the Gti has got too long ratio and it takes a while to bring the fella to redline wheras BMW, by vurtue of the bigger cc, just sweep across the tacho effortlessly...

But of course if u talk about modding, then it's a totally new dimension.

Yeah Bro I agree with Alan, different class, for the additional $80k you need to consider that with the 330i you're getting:

- a state-of-the-art inline 6, lightest in the world
- active steering
- idrive with pro navigation
- BMW badge/snob appeal...kekeke

 

[mistraele]

Re: e90 325 or e90 330 or used m3

FYI, I tried once and my power cut off at 6k rpm ( chart showed 260bhp) so plenty of room to go to redline or the claimed figure of 340bhp at 7.9k redline
And my torque no max'ed at 260NM vs the factory 360NM....again the cut off intervention

i think this raises an important point.

for me, why i like my turbo charged car, is cos i get to experience most of the power in normal day to day driving conditions, without having to scream the engine to its redline.

so you need to consider your driving style. if you are a fairly "sedate" driver that rarely takes the tacho past 5 or 6k rpm. then really, aside from issues of handling looks etc, are you getting the full benefit of what the M3 has to offer, because if triple Ms figures are correct, then really, there isnt much difference between the 2 up to around 5-6k rpm. i.e. 260 bhp and 260nm (in fact i think the 330 has quite a nice flat torque curve and if i recall rightly makes peak torque by around 4k rpm. so where the M3s advantage is, is that at the stage where the 330 is running out of breath, its just getting into its stride.

if of course you were born witha happy foot, and have no fear of getting caught speeding (because a heavy foot with a M3 in 2nd gear, let alone 3rd gear, can get you in all kinds of trouble), then id say go for the M3.