Just drove an M4 in SoCal: Impressions!

[jc05e46m3]

These are becoming many in number, but definitely thought I should post this-at least because I think I have a level head- and not swayed by what I decided to purchase. Definitive just posted his thoughts, so I will begin there.

From Definitive:

I just drove the M3 at my local dealer and wow am I impressed. I'm impressed by everything.

Agreed. It was actually impressive. The two I checked out were an MG/Black M4 and a BSM/Black M3. The M4 had the 19s in silver and the M3 had the 19s in black. Everyone has a different view on wheels, but the Blak wheels look AMAZING in person. Glad I ordered those. However, I wish they were more like the Matte Black available on the M6/M6 GC


The sound is a loud deep rumble, kinda like an AMG sound. Its louder than a stock e9x M, louder than my dads M5 was with meisterschaft exhaust with valves open, and louder than my dads new 991 Turbo S.

I wouldn't say it's like AMG, but its noticeable. Definitely louder than a stock e9x M3, but not louder than my E92 with the AA mid and rear. The caveat to all of this is it must be in sport plus to be loud. Otherwise, it sounded tame and not enthusiastic whatsoever

The power is very strong. It spun the wheels on shift into second gear at 4k RPM not even flooring it. But the pull on the freeway at 70 is def a downer compared to my E90, but that is expected from a turbo.

Can't speak here. I can tell you that the power is very strong, but I agreed to keep it under 5500 and not give full throttle. I was thankful to be able to drive, so it wasn't too unrealistic a request. I drove the DCT and it was solid (I am a 6MT guy) . I didn't like it at all in S1 or S2, but S3 was awesome-and not too jerky at all. (I'm 27 and like things more raw so YMMV) I did drive it with TC off and you could feel the rear want to come out, but the car was planted. I will definitely upsize the rear tires. I recently drove a GTR and this car is an incredible package in comparison. GTR would put the smackdown on it, but the refinement and complete package was more attractive to me.

The steering was nice and heavy and just felt really solid. Cant tell at all its not mechanical.

I preferred the steering in Sport. In regular, it seemed a little "light" if you will, whereas Sport + felt too "heavy". Sport was better-although i think i will end up learning the car in Sport + tbh

The interior is beautiful, leaving out some of the more luxurious features of the M5, like a sliding cover for the cupholders.

Also true. The door compartments were pretty awkward in comparison with the E92. It will be subjective. If you like to put gloves, a wallet, a CC pistol or something of similar size in your e92, then you might not like this setup. The width is greater though, so I'm not sure how I feel yet. Looked much cheaper though for sure. The seats are WAY better than the E92 in the FRONT only, whereas the seats in the rear of an E92 felt softer. I did like the change in position of the FWD/BACK swithches on the back of the seats and also verified that if ignition is on, the switches are disabled. I also like that they moved the bolster switch back and up from the E92 location... just seemed like better and more central placement. The 12V outlet on the back of the center console will prove to be clutch.

Few little things I happen to notice that were unexpected. You cannot leave the car in accessory mode, get out and lock it. It will not lock like the E9X. You have to press the start/stop twice to fully shut the car off, then get out and lock it. Otherwise it just honks at you. There is nowhere to put your key when in the car. And the hood opening is interesting. You have to pll the hood lever once to pop it, then a second time to unlatch it. There is no latch that you depress with your fingers from the front of the car.

All true. The hood especially was weird, but labeled nonetheless

My additional thoughts:

1. Both cars lacked the adaptive suspension. I have it in my build, but would not say it's necessary at all. I will tell you that I was able to take it on some twisties and bumps and I would say it was a little more comfortable than the Sport setting in the E92 EDC. It was comfortable, but yet performed when you asked it to. I liked it.

2. I expected more from the HK. (Also in my build) The sound was especially clear in Logic 7, but I just expected it to deliver more of a punch. I can just advise that if you're on the fence about it- skip it and put that money towards a tune or rear tires.

3. I didn't drive it too hard, or too far for that matter, but i felt the intercooler all over after immediately after the drive and it was still plenty cool. Seems like the water-cooled system is performing its job quite well. This may turn out to be much better than I expected.

4. The trunk seemed a little smaller, but did have an extra little cubby underneath the mat, so you could stash a couple tools or extra bottle of oil inside if you like.

5. The HUD was awesome. As previously stated, shades with polarized lenses to make it much harder to see, but i didn't fool with the brightness or angle which could have possibly made it negligible.

6. Random thought: Breaking in the F8x in accordance with the manual will not be nearly as lame as the E9x. I remember taking delivery of mine and i swear at one point the car was begging me to drive it hard. The F8x allows you to drive it a little without you feeling starved.

7. It "feels" way faster than an M5. I bet they are quite similar though and imagine the M3/4 would be slightly ahead and eventually overtaken and pulled on by an M5. It's hard to say, but I can say the F8x is MUCH more fun to drive. It feels light and nimble in comparison with the M5. Also good to know considering I almost bought a friends lightly used '13 for a great price. The M5 felt much nicer on the inside though. Significantly better materials and the headliner alone makes the F8x feel less refined (even though it truly is a great product as is).

8. Overall, it feels much more dynamic of a car than the E92. If you want the "race and rawness" feel, then the E92 is certainly the way to go. If you want an even faster, but seemingly more refined GT car, then F8x is it. That torque feels menacing though. I like it. Feels like a different animal altogether.

9. Both of the cars I looked at today were unclaimed and will be selling for MSRP. I am in SoCal, so feel free to msg with any questions or concerns. I may have left a ton out, but this was all I could think of immediately.

I didn't take any pictures or sound because there are tons out there by now. I will be using a gopro and external mic though as soon as my own comes in (or a forum member wants to take me out to capture some real sound).

[Phiberoptik]

Gotta have pictures with review mang!

[dreamsongs]

Thanks for the write up. I take it you like the car 80% at least. Let's chalk the other 20% to the stereo and the headliner...

[jc05e46m3]

Originally Posted by Phiberoptik

Gotta have pictures with review mang!

Nah, MG with black is too generic and I was crunched for time.

[Sir Loin]

good write up. thanks for posting.

[jc05e46m3]

Originally Posted by dreamsongs

Thanks for the write up. I take it you like the car 80% at least. Let's chalk the other 20% to the stereo and the headliner...

I hope I didn't come off as that negative, lol. I really liked it. Just trying to give an unbiased and honest assessment.

[ASAP]

Can somebody coming from a car with equal amounts of torque please comment?

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Can somebody coming from a car with equal amounts of torque please comment?

Why the emphasis on an equal amount of torque?

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Why the emphasis on an equal amount of torque?

Blasts of TQ typicaly make a car very impressive to someone who is not used to it... To someone who's coming from a similar pw/tq curve; it may just be another car. The TQ and DCT combo I am sure are what are impressing most here but I need to know what they are coming from to fairly judge. If from the older M3s, then I am not surprised... If from a C6 Z06, an E85 N54 or the like... then we have a different view point.

[jc05e46m3]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Can somebody coming from a car with equal amounts of torque please comment?

It will be tough to compare because of when it makes the power and for how long. I think it feels similar to an RB Turbo N54.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Blasts of TQ typicaly make a car very impressive to someone who is not used to it... To someone who's coming from a similar pw/tq curve; it may just be another car. The TQ and DCT combo I am sure are what are impressing most here but I need to know what they are coming from to fairly judge. If from the older M3s, then I am not surprised... If from a C6 Z06, an E85 N54 or the like... then we have a different view point.

You're missing one very important key group of enthusiasts: the supercharged E9X M3 group who have moved into the F8X. If you don't find reviews from those guys relevant, then I don't know what to tell you. Most of those cars put down better numbers than a stock F8X.

[jc05e46m3]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Blasts of TQ typicaly make a car very impressive to someone who is not used to it... To someone who's coming from a similar pw/tq curve; it may just be another car. The TQ and DCT combo I am sure are what are impressing most here but I need to know what they are coming from to fairly judge. If from the older M3s, then I am not surprised... If from a C6 Z06, an E85 N54 or the like... then we have a different view point.

I drove both a 13 GTR and a 13 M5 last weekend and this cars torque off the line feels similar to the GTRs (not as good, but similar) and "feels" better than an M5 simply because you can tell how much weight you're moving in the M5. Hope that helps clarify a little.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

You're missing one very important group of enthusiasts: the supercharged E9X M3 group who have moved into the F8X. If you don't find reviews from those guys relevant, then I don't know what to tell you. Most of those cars put down better numbers than a stock F8X.

And yet still... none of those cars make remotely the tq this car does.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ASAP

And yet still... none of those cars make remotely the tq this car does.

Are you looking for any reason to be a pessimist?

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by jc05e46m3

It will be tough to compare because of when it makes the power and for how long. I think it feels similar to an RB Turbo N54.

Originally Posted by jc05e46m3

I drove both a 13 GTR and a 13 M5 last weekend and this cars torque off the line feels similar to the GTRs (not as good, but similar) and "feels" better than an M5 simply because you can tell how much weight you're moving in the M5. Hope that helps clarify a little.

Fair enough... can't wait to hear more!

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Are you looking for any reason to be a realist?

sure!

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ASAP

sure!

Why not just go drive one yourself?

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Why not just go drive one yourself?

That's the plan ASAP

[gthal]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Can somebody coming from a car with equal amounts of torque please comment?

Originally Posted by ASAP

Blasts of TQ typicaly make a car very impressive to someone who is not used to it... To someone who's coming from a similar pw/tq curve; it may just be another car. The TQ and DCT combo I am sure are what are impressing most here but I need to know what they are coming from to fairly judge. If from the older M3s, then I am not surprised... If from a C6 Z06, an E85 N54 or the like... then we have a different view point.

Originally Posted by ASAP

And yet still... none of those cars make remotely the tq this car does.

I'm coming from two cars with similar torque... a C63 PP and a C7 Stingray. I drove the Stingray to the dealership to test the M3. The power delivery and the way the M3 gains speed is impressive... it felt similar to the C7 but was more impactful and more immediate. That might have been from the DCT and it might have been from a NA vs. turbo comparison.

If you put on a blind fold (figuratively of course) and drove the C63, C7 and M3 back to back, you would have a hard time differentiating which was faster, which pulled harder and which threw you back in your seat harder. It is an impressive car.

Put it in perspective. The M3 is about 100lbs more than a Z51 C7. However, EAS and others have dynoed the car with the same or more RWHP and torque than folks have been getting on stock C7s. The C7 is a FAST car. The M3 has similar or more power to the wheels, based on the dynos, and marginally more weight. IMPRESSIVE. Impressive enough that I got back from the test drive and ordered an M4... and then drove home in the Stingray

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by gthal

I'm coming from two cars with similar torque... a C63 PP and a C7 Stingray. I drove the Stingray to the dealership to test the M3. The power delivery and the way the M3 gains speed is impressive... it felt similar to the C7 but was more impactful and more immediate. That might have been from the DCT and it might have been from a NA vs. turbo comparison.

If you put on a blind fold (figuratively of course) and drove the C63, C7 and M3 back to back, you would have a hard time differentiating which was faster, which pulled harder and which threw you back in your seat harder. It is an impressive car.

Put it in perspective. The M3 is about 100lbs more than a Z51 C7. However, EAS and others have dynoed the car with the same or more RWHP and torque than folks have been getting on stock C7s. The C7 is a FAST car. The M3 has similar or more power to the wheels, based on the dynos, and marginally more weight. IMPRESSIVE. Impressive enough that I got back from the test drive and ordered an M4... and then drove home in the Stingray

Thats waaay better!

Perhaps I should have specified turbo high tq car lol... power delivery will always be a bit different but your insight is way more useful than 99% here.

Thanks

[jc05e46m3]

Originally Posted by gthal

I'm coming from two cars with similar torque... a C63 PP and a C7 Stingray. I drove the Stingray to the dealership to test the M3. The power delivery and the way the M3 gains speed is impressive... it felt similar to the C7 but was more impactful and more immediate. That might have been from the DCT and it might have been from a NA vs. turbo comparison.

If you put on a blind fold (figuratively of course) and drove the C63, C7 and M3 back to back, you would have a hard time differentiating which was faster, which pulled harder and which threw you back in your seat harder. It is an impressive car.

Put it in perspective. The M3 is about 100lbs more than a Z51 C7. However, EAS and others have dynoed the car with the same or more RWHP and torque than folks have been getting on stock C7s. The C7 is a FAST car. The M3 has similar or more power to the wheels, based on the dynos, and marginally more weight. IMPRESSIVE. Impressive enough that I got back from the test drive and ordered an M4... and then drove home in the Stingray

I like that. Haven't had the chance to drive a Stingray yet, but love the way they look.

[jc05e46m3]

Also forgot to mention that all of these thoughts were with 3 people in the car.