95 M3 Lifter tick, common in the M??

[m3f_finespline_3156949433]

My '95 with 109K miles ticks in the winter at start up and stops after a few warm up minutes. Making sure the oil level was at full reduced it somewhat. I don't have the tick in warm weather.

[m3f_Avus Blur_f64e36e460]

The M3 engine uses what are called Hydraulic Lash Adjuster lifters (HLA's) which is pretty rare in the industry. My MX-6's V6 engine is one of the few others that does, and yes, the initial tick during start up can be pretty irritating. Best thing you can do is be religious about oil changes with Mobil 1 synthetic and as Sirius said, make sure the oil is full.









Funny that you mention the Mazda V6. My 626 also ticks and is quite annoying. Makes the car sound like an old pos. Still runs fine though.