Gavsadler's 2011 E90 M3 Sedan M-DCT

Benji

Well-known member
A marathon post indeed! Thank you for taking that time, car looks epic and the bigger rubber does look better than the stretched look from before.

On a side note, I am actually shocked that this car has a single piston brake caliper on the front, that seems a bit absurd to me, would have thought this should have at least a 4 piston setup...
 

AudiDriver

Active member
Great posting. 'n Enjoyed reading this. It is always refreshing to read about other enthusiasts getting passionate about the little detail and perfection and I like the detailed write ups with pics. That is really helpful to the community.

I'd love to see this car - the E92 M3 sedan is a favourite of mine. You don't see many on the roads and I liked this shape more than the coupe (subjectivity) - it looked more muscular to me.

The dimensions of that car were also spot on I think - much closer to the previous M2, while benefiting from 4 doors, than the newer M3 models and in my opinion perfectly proportioned as a sports sedan. It deserves to be loved like this.

The wheels on my M2C are a PITA to clean and keep clean - I would like to get my hands on those products and try them out. Will send PM.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

gavsadler

///Member
Update Apr-23 to Aug-23:

Let's start off with a short review of the ride and handling after having done the Comp springs, as well as the new PS 4S tyres. Now bearing in mind, I don't do a lot of mileage, and that which I do manage to rack up, is mostly short trips. So yes, for the school trip, no issues, for the shopping trip, no issues. Overall, I haven't been caught out anywhere, and I haven't seen the DTC light of late. SO I would tentatively state that mechanical grip has improved with the new rubber.

Where things have changed quite noticeably, is in the ride comfort. With the Comp springs, ride height is lowered by 10mm officially. My crude measurements before and after show this to be more, although the new tyres (with slightly different profile) will also contribute to this somewhat. The car is noticeably firmer, so much so, that even the driver's door will creak from time to time when hitting a bump. Speed bumps are also now more of an obstacle than before, and require some negotiation at times. If I were to be critical, I would say that this has moved the car down 1 notch as a comfortable daily, in a similar vein to how the Akra exhaust is noisier compared to stock, the same can be said with the Comp springs compared to the stock springs in before that.

But, in the context of the car, this is the Athlete of the E90 range. Offering superior performance and driving engagement compared to the other models, so looking at it in that context, means it is now a more focussed athlete. Don't get me wrong, the car is still usable, and is still used in the same manner as previously.

On to some maintenance items which all got done in July. The headlight switch was on its way out over a year ago already, where the switch would only work from the Off position, to the Auto position, it would not work turning it the other way to switch on the lights manually. I ordered a switch with BMW Midrand last year, but there was no stock, and needed to be manufactured by BMW’s supplier. So the switch only arrived locally this year.

Fast-forward to July, and after some researching on how to do this, I set about the job. All-in-all, it took about 10mins of working carefully with my trim removal kit. Some pics below:

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Over the past few months, there has also been a noticeable degradation in the cold start procedure. As time has moved on, the car got more finicky moving from the cold start cycle into normal operating mode. Initially, a fault would pop up every couple of weeks, which then lead to more and more faults. The car would begin to misfire for about 2mins, before settling into a stable idle again. It got to a point where starting from cold and driving off, would see us limping down the road, with no power at all. Scanning the car after the fact showed that it was misfiring on 4/8 cylinders. Who would’ve thought that you could literally walk faster down the road than a 4l V8 could manage driving in this state.

Interestingly, even though the faults were showing that a misfires were present, there were no supporting faults related to coil packs, spark or ignition. The supporting fault codes (18 in total at one point) all referenced the O2 sensors on both cylinder banks.

Some more shopping and research, and I ended up importing 4x Bosch O2 sensors, with the OEM part numbers specified. This was a R12k exercise. Cough cough.

Once they arrived, I had a gap and decided to get the car onto the ramps and change out the sensors.

Before starting the job:
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The new sensors, grey at the front, black at the back:
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Interestingly (or rather annoyingly), the one sensor had a much longer wire than the one that came off the car. So I had to get creative in trying to tie up and package this extended wiring under the car. With hot exhausts on one side, and a hot gearbox on the other side, space for securing the wiring was limited. Nevertheless, managed to get it done, and hopefully it all holds up.

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While the car was on the ramps, I went ahead with an oil + filter change, and also washed the air filter.
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The last step in the process was to use ISTA to reset the service indicators, clear all fault codes and I also reset all the adaptations.

The end result, the car started and idled perfectly, and there have been no issues moving into the normal operating cycle. No more fault codes, no funny sounds. The car even idles at a steady RPM, whereas previously it did used to hunt up and down, with the occasional misfire / blip in smoothness. It was an expensive maintenance item, but glad it’s done as the car is all the better for it.

Then as usual, I attended the 3rd BMW CCG Skid Pan event for 2023. This was literally the day after replacing the sensors and doing the service, so it was a good excuse to run in the new parts. On this particular day, I was making friends with a few of the cones on the course. Nevertheless, great fun as always.

 

M3boi

Well-known member
So nice to see these cars being used but also being maintained properly like this, so refreshing. Love your work, sir!
 

gavsadler

///Member
Update Sep-23 to Mar-24:

Not too much to report here, after the heavy expenses incurred earlier in 2023, things have been a lot calmer. The car has seen fairly regular use, although that being said it has been short trips around town for the most part. As such, fuel consumption ranges anywhere between 17-22l/100kms. A moment of silence please….

Moving on, I’ve continued with trying out various products, below are some quick pics of P&S Dynamic Dressing RTU on part of the airbox lid, it’s a water-based product and gives a nice matt finish. This was just 1 quick coat, but I’m sure the streaks can be blended out with subsequent coats. I was in a rush, so just did a quick coat on the airbox lid only.

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In Dec-23, it was time for a detail again, so used some of my favourite products to enhance and protect the exterior.

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Other than that, mechanically all has been well, with the exception of the lower control arm on the LHS. There’s a noticeable click when turning full lock in reverse, coming out of a driveway, or when trying to park. I still chatted to Danny about this last year (compared on both cars). So I suspect I’m in for some more M Tax on parts in a few months time when I get round to doing this.

A nerdy stat, for this tax year, the car completed 2246kms.

Plans for the months ahead: replace lower control arms, more detailing, cleaning and trying out new products, and maybe some other bits and pieces in the pipeline related to the motor. I'd also like to do magnets for the front plate, and investigate the left front headlamp which appears to have a leak, it mists up when washing the car.
 
Update Sep-23 to Mar-24:

Not too much to report here, after the heavy expenses incurred earlier in 2023, things have been a lot calmer. The car has seen fairly regular use, although that being said it has been short trips around town for the most part. As such, fuel consumption ranges anywhere between 17-22l/100kms. A moment of silence please….

Moving on, I’ve continued with trying out various products, below are some quick pics of P&S Dynamic Dressing RTU on part of the airbox lid, it’s a water-based product and gives a nice matt finish. This was just 1 quick coat, but I’m sure the streaks can be blended out with subsequent coats. I was in a rush, so just did a quick coat on the airbox lid only.

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In Dec-23, it was time for a detail again, so used some of my favourite products to enhance and protect the exterior.

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Other than that, mechanically all has been well, with the exception of the lower control arm on the LHS. There’s a noticeable click when turning full lock in reverse, coming out of a driveway, or when trying to park. I still chatted to Danny about this last year (compared on both cars). So I suspect I’m in for some more M Tax on parts in a few months time when I get round to doing this.

A nerdy stat, for this tax year, the car completed 2246kms.

Plans for the months ahead: replace lower control arms, more detailing, cleaning and trying out new products, and maybe some other bits and pieces in the pipeline related to the motor. I'd also like to do magnets for the front plate, and investigate the left front headlamp which appears to have a leak, it mists up when washing the car.
Coming along very nicely Gav, i feel it on the Short distance fuel consumption :D
 

sash

///Member
Nice Gav, I'm sure I can help with adding some Km's onto the yearly mileage....

Love the reflections after the detail
 

gavsadler

///Member
Update May-24:

I did want to attend the Rennzport breakfast run earlier in the month, but had an exam to study for, so was in hibernation for some time. There always seems to be something happening, hopefully next time round…

With some new stock in the shed, and replenishment of some favourites, it was time to test out the new products. Menzerna Cut Force Pro is the newest addition to their polishing range. It’s essentially a speed compound, but they rate it at 9/10 cut AND 9/10 gloss, all from a single product.

I was curious to test this out, and rather conveniently (or irritatingly), the M3 became the front running candidate / Guinea Pig. It seems that at some point, some or other hard bits made their way into my old wash mitt (not picked up by my assistant) and long story short, the paint got a bit trashed. The car looks like it’s been visiting a commercial car wash the past few weeks.

Anyway, I did a test spot on the bonnet, which became 1/3 of the entire bonnet, both on the paint only as well as the PPF section up front. The results were positive and I planned to do the entire car this week, or early June (after some planned hooning activities were out of the way). I couldn’t wait. Ended up spending the whole of last Saturday on the car. I found that a medium cut pad, on medium speed for the first few passes, followed by a higher speed got the best results.

Below are some before and after pics of the boot. This was probably 4 or 5 passes up and down, and left to right.

Before:
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After:
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After using Cut Force Pro, I was curious about whether it could improve with a final polish before sealant, so I then went over it again using Menzerna 3-in-1, followed by my favourite: Powerlock Ultimate Protection.

This really completed the day’s efforts and the paint is clear, with a proper shine and slick like nobody’s business. Loving it.

One of my customers invited me on their annual breakfast run last Sunday. The stars aligned and there was nothing else planned, so was able to join. We ended up making it a family outing, so the 4 of us piled into the car and headed off just after 6am.

On arrival at my customer's shop, some guys were already there, and we waited a short while for the others to arrive, before departing just before 7am. It was a small group of some of his own clients, but boy oh boy, the machinery that came out to play was epic:
  • 2x Porsche 991 GT3
  • 1x Porsche 996 GT3 RS
  • 1x Porsche 996 Carrera
  • 1x Porsche Cayman GT4
  • 1x Ferrari 430
  • 1x Nissan 350Z
  • 1x BMW M2 CS
  • 1x Merc AMG A45 S
We departed from Bedfordview just before 7am, and our destination was Harrie’s Pancakes in Cullinan. We stopped off at a mall near Serengeti to pick up some others, and then headed to Cullinan via some backroads through the Agricultural lands.

I was initially skeptical about the route, it just sounded like we would be on the lookout for potholes, tractors, vagrant people and animals and who knows what else. Thankfully, it actually turned out to be great. The roads were in remarkable condition given the surroundings, and it was still fairly quiet, so we were able to press on a bit. I suppose it is all relative though, and there were a few individuals properly stretching the legs of their chariots. I didn't have too much appetite to level up from exciting to ridiculous, haha.

With that being said, the car performed faultlessly, and was rock solid and stable on the roads. I've said it elsewhere before, but it really does settle down and feel solid at higher speeds. Even the family members noted that they felt safe in the car, despite some eyebrow raising speeds on certain areas where we joined "private test tracks".

We arrived in Cullinen safely and munched on some breakfast and coffee before leaving again late morning. By this time, all the farmers were up and about, and the ooms and tannies were filling the roads with bakkies and Fortuners. We were at the back end of the convoy on the trip home, but they pushed on even faster than they did in the morning, so we let them go and just enjoyed the scenery and drive back home.

It was a great morning out, and definitely looking forward to doing some again in the near future, although the cold mornings aren't going to help matters in this regard.

That's all updates for now. Plans for the months ahead are some other mechanical and cosmetic maintenance items.

Thanks for reading.
 

gavsadler

///Member
Some pics from the breakfast run a few weeks back:

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gavsadler

///Member
Update July-24 to Sep-24:
In July I attended the 2nd round of BMW CCG's skidpan autocross. This time round I took this car to go have some fun. As usual, it was a good day out. I met up with Benji there and we got chatting about all sorts, and specifically how he was noticing a misfire on the e46 Wagon. Before long, it was my turn to go and complete my first runs.

Get on the skidpan, and the car just doesn't want to go. The runs were nice and clean, with no sideways antics, but the car just didn't want to go. Even my daughter mentioned that something feels wrong with the car. Anyway, we complete the runs and go park, and then I mentioned to Benji that maybe his gremlins / bad engine mojo had found a new home in my car. After some wrinkled foreheads and raised eyebrows, he asked: "Did you switch off traction control?".

Lightbulb moment: "Ummm, No!", was my answer, followed by a good laugh. No wonder the car didn't want to go! haha! Fast forward to the next runs, and I made sure that everything was switched off. Damn did the car feel awake now, back to normal, back to sideways antics. Win! I'm pleased to report there is no bad engine mojo, but rather a dof driver. We continued the rest of the day having lots of fun.

Some pics below, courtesy of the club Photographers:

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Fast-forward to September, and the signs that the battery was less happy than in the past, even after charging, with my newly acquired CTEK Battery Tester, it was still showing that the battery needed a recharge, and the Ah rating was well below the spec of the battery. Checking back in the history, the battery in the car lasted 1 week short of 8 years. Not too bad I think. I also wanted to replace it, as we were planning a bit of a road trip / short holiday to Sun City, so didn't want to risk nonsense when far away from home.

Out with the old, note that it was an AGM battery fitted:
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I then cleaned up the battery compartment, and fitted the new Varta. I went with the H3 (658) non-AGM battery, mostly because that is spec for the car, plus it is half the price of an equivalent AGM unit. I've had no issues with Varta (the one in my Ute is already 5 years old and going strong).

Nerd alert: the new battery is 1.1kg lighter than the old one (and 4kgs lighter than the equivalent Varta AGM unit).

In with the new:
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I also hit a mileage milestone in September (and yes, that is 304kms on a tank, lol):

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Otherwise, all is well with the car. There is still a click from the front left when turning full-lock reversing out the driveway (I suspect control arms), and I've been wanting to replace the cover under the oil cooler / radiator. Eventually I pulled the trigger and ordered a bunch of parts. Thanks to Peter for your advice and kindness).

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As I mentioned earlier, we did a quick breakaway to Sun City for a few days at the end of September (on the 2nd cold weekend). The car was faultless, and managed to negotiate the horrendous speed bumps the last 100kms without a fuss. Consumption dropped to around 11.4l per 100kms.

All the spare parts are currently sitting in the boot of the car. Fitment to be completed in the coming weeks / months as time allows. I'm also half pondering whether to do the shocks at the same time, but I need to ease the financial bleeding over the next few months.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.
 

Benji

Well-known member
Haha its always nice when the solution to a concerning problem is a simple button press :ROFLMAO:

The skid pan does hurt average fuel consumption - I recorded an average of 22L/100 doing a 80km highway round trip to the skid pan and back
 
Very nice update Gav,

The new parts are going to make the car feel very solid.
control arms always slowly deteriorate, like shocks as we all know, so going from a deteriorated item to a brand new items, the difference will be fully noticeable.

Look forward to the update.
Where did you get that CTEK device that checks the aH rating? very handy.
Would love to use it on my AGM battery,
 

gavsadler

///Member
Awesome update. What was the pricing on the arms from BMW if you don't mind me asking?
Tension Strut = R3800ea
Wishbone = R3400ea
Stabilizer link = R1400ea

Give or take a few bucks...

Where did you get that CTEK device that checks the aH rating? very handy.
Would love to use it on my AGM battery,

I'm a dealer for CTEK, so if you need something, you're welcome to contact me.
 
Tension Strut = R3800ea
Wishbone = R3400ea
Stabilizer link = R1400ea

Give or take a few bucks...



I'm a dealer for CTEK, so if you need something, you're welcome to contact me.
Thanks man.
I just liked that unit you used, as it looks like it shows the state of the batteries health?

I have both a Ctek MXS5.0 and a 0.8A model too for Bikes already.
 
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