hey guys, ive been in my M3 for 2 years now, its paid off shortly after it was given to me, but i was wondering, do you guys think i should make the swap? i really like evos and they are the only car i would get if i couldnt have my car now. a main reason i would switch is MPG, becuase my mileage sucks im geting like 18 city. and with gas as expensive as it is it gets very annoying seeing the gas light come on every 2 weeks. all of that aside, i am a drifter, and not to be cocky but im quite good at it, but i need to stop so thats not an issue with the move. i also do road course events rather regularly and i know evo's handle very well, and accept modification quite readily. i also am unwilling to give up the room that having a proper 4 seat car affords me when it comes to moving ppl and what not. please help me with my decision, thanks!

 

Gas mileage is pretty bad in the Evo, so that won't help any. You really should go drive an Evo to get an idea of the diffrence. I went from an E36 328 with M3 brakes & M3 suspension with Bilstein PSS9's & UUC swaybars to the Evo (I've also driven plenty of stock M3's). The BMW handles great, but I like the Evo better. I haven't been to the track with it yet, but I will next weekend. There are also lots of modding possibilities for the Evo where as with BMW there aren't many & they are usually very expensive. I'm glad I went with the Evo, but I do love the E36 & prefer it to the E46 myself. It's a hard decision, but just drive an Evo or 2 & see what you think. By the way I have an Evo IX that its putting down 357hp to the wheels on the stock turbo with bolt ons & cams. Those numbers are hard to get with the E36 without supercharging or turbocharging.

 

i agree with the e36 > e46 part but i will do my best to drive some evos, ive driven one and i noted the steering radius was significantly less but not ridiculous like a truck. but i think this evo was mistreated and it was also way over priced. 25k for a n 8 with 40k mi and beat up painted wheels with overspray on the brembos and a missing front valence. it was stock and i got a feel for the boost and i loved it but it wasnt as fast as my M3. and as far as horsepower goes it is impossible to make those numbers without going FI.
how much does a set of cams run? for an M3 they are like 2000...way overpriced. and parts in general are so expensive its not cool.

Also, are there any fatal issues that come with the 4G power plant? the M3 engine has this issue with the oil pump nut coming off and loss of pressure and immediate failure, also, the VANOS (variable valve timing) begins to rattle excessivly and then seizes, mine is going shortly.

Also how do the higher mileage cars fare? becuase its easy for a properly maintained bmw to go 250k with oil changes and reg maintenance. im at 140k now and it runs harder than it did when i had 90k. is this the same for 4G powered cars? thanks for the info once again

 

Seeing how the factory rating of your 1999 M3 was 20 city/28 highway (based on the pre-2008 EPA estimates), it seems like it would consume less gas than a 4G63-powered Evo, which, depending on model and year, is rated 18-19 city/24-26 highway. While I realize that shunderwunder described gas mileage as "pretty bad," it has a lot to do with how well you know how to drive a car for efficiency purposes, plus you have to take mods into account. Also, a lot of the guys who talk about poor gas mileage tend to be the type who still wring their cars out on their morning commute when such driving is completely unnecessary though it is fun... but obviously boost drastically drops mpg. My IX SE is rated at 19 city/25 highway (again using the pre-2008 estimates), and I've seen as high as 26.7 mpg, which is decent for the performance the car has, considering the fact that a huge turbo is strapped to the engine. My car is completely stock and has been since I bought it in February 2007 (my second Evo, by the way), and on my daily commute to work and home (which is all through city streets) I get a little above 20 mpg with zero highway driving, though I'm usually pretty careful with the throttle. I drive conservatively but not necessarily slow, as sometimes I'll even have a little bit of fun here and there.

I haven't heard of anything like that for our cars.

It's hard to say since the Evo has only been available in the U.S. since 2003, so even the highest mileage Evos probably haven't accumulated nearly as many miles as your M3, though I know there are a handful of Evos that have broken into the 100k range within the past few months, and they seem to be running strong since they've been properly maintained.

 

I agree with the gas mileage info posed above. It is possible to get good gas mileage from an Evo however if the Evo & M3 are driven the same way I would think the Evo is worse. As far as cams go you should be able to get a set installed for less than $1000. I got the Brian Crower cams for under $400 & installed them myself. Most cam sets are arround $600 though. It would be a good idea to find a local evo shop & talk to them about mods & pricing.That Evo you mentioned seems way out of line for pricing. I got my 06 IX last Sept for $26,100 with 14k on the clock bone stock in excelent condition and that was from a dealership. By the way the front axels limit the steering, so the turning radius is a little limited but not that bad.

 

Oh yeah & if your gonna drive it hard I'd recomend keeping some money set asside for a clutch. I just put one in at 18K. I think it would have lasted longer if I had removed the restrictor pill when I got the car.

 

yea, i drive hard but i never slip clutches, my dad is an HPDE instructor and the most **** person about shifting. ive learned properly. ive read some of the newbie threads and learned alot. i really want one of these cars but i need to justify it. in terms of parts cost for repairs, are parts expensive? becuase BMW parts are ridiculous when it comes to pricing. i mean RIDIC!!!!

 

The restrictor pill I mentioned above does slip the clutch a little, so if you shift fast especially at high RPM it will cause premature wear, or in mt case glazed clutch. Evo prts aren't cheap, but they are less than BMW parts.

 

hmm can u tell me more about this restrictor pill?

 

try this

http://evomoto.com/tech_info.php?tPa...c584af23420213

 

Your M3 is paid off. Enjoy your car, save some $$.

 

The E39 M is my unicorn. First car I absolutely fell in love with but I will never purchase one even though I could afford to get two. The performance in all respects goes to the evo. Stock for stock the evo wins. The only thing the evo will never have is that E36 balance and poise. Not to say its better than the evo. Its just different.