Tough decision “need opinions”

[BinBuilt]

As a bmw fan myself owning a g20 m340 and a e46 m3, and has owned previous bmws.I always dreamt of having a manual German v8 that also sounds amazing, and I feel the car that ticks that box is the e92 m3 but again I have yet to have driven one, I really am stuck on the e92 m3 but just I need a owners review on one because I don’t know many other German v8s with a third pedal. I did get a peep of the w204 with the m156 which ticks most of the category’s besides the fact it lacks a third pedal, the e92 imo has the better body and has those ferocious downshifts and a very melodic sound, but again it lacks some torque from what I have seen.I am really stuck here so I wanted someone with the experience to give me some of there thoughts.

[oceansize]

I owned a mint W204 C63 AMG with the M156. The sound is awesome. Its shockingly good on a back road. The torque is addictive. The automatic transmission is terrible. Now its possible to do a manual swap and I sort of wished I had kept it. A manual in that car would be riidiculous. Also, greatest factory seats in any sedan, all time.

I don't know what your budget is but I'd buy a 2021+ Mach 1 over a e9x m3. More theatre, Tremec, all the coolers from the GT350, and way more torque. The coyote 5.0 is pretty reliable. Cons, lower redline.

Gratuitous pics just cause cool cars.

[TexaZ3]

Without any strings attached, E92M is a great, great car.

[Slideways]

For a fun car, I wouldn't want to get anything larger or heavier than an E46.

[LSB4Me]

In my experience, the e9x m3 is really fantastic when modded properly. I think about the one I used to own often. But for clarity, I sold the mods that I removed for more than I sold the car in 2017, so I was all the way in.

The w204 engine and interior are really good. The car isn’t what I would want to hustle through curvy roads though. It lacks that nimble feeling when pushed. And that auto is a deal killer.

[Sharocks]

I have an E92 M3 that's a track car and I did have an E90 M3 that was just a street car (RIP).

It's a jack of all trades master of none.

A solid 7/10 in everything it does.

Maintenance is key. Gas mileage is abysmal. Gas tank is TINY.

Both mine are/were manuals. The manual is terrible. It's genuinely awful.

Lack of torque is a huge factor. The S65 does nothing under 4k.

Steering feel is great, if anything it's overboosted for a PW setup.

Lastly, the S65 isn't a conventional V8. It's more like a V10 (duh) because its such a smooth and balanced engine.

If you want a normaler V8 experience, I would suggest AMGs or Vettes.

[maw1124]

The automatic transmission is terrible. Now it's possible to do a manual swap and I sort of wished I had kept it. A manual in that car would be riidiculous. Also, greatest factory seats in any sedan, all time.

Paddle shifting didn't help the C63 or did you not use them?

The E9X I've driven the most is Vortech boosted so any and all torque concerns melted with the tire rubber. I'm not a two footed driver so I'm always ready to get out of that car after 15 minutes or so thinking "I wish it had DCT instead."

Having driven manuals, autos and paddle shifters all my life, paddle shifters made me forget about owning manuals for all purposes. Thrash one around for a bit, sure. Own one, of course not.

maw

[TexaZ3]

DCT is a great gearbox in E9x. Never wished for manual, its that good.

[maw1124]

💯

I remember the first time I drove the "new" M3 back then... it was a buddy's convertible DCT... top down rolling in the park around Turtleback Zoo in NJ, the sounds and V8 almost made me forget about the "lack" of torque. I mean, the car did much better than the D3 S8 which is similarly "slightly" underpowered compared to my AMG torque monster. Now, the M6 drop top he got after that car was a completely different animal on those same roads... geeez!!

Both that E9X sedan and D3 S8 remain cars I'd happily own. Not everything needs to be a V8 Kompressor car.

maw

[oceansize]

Paddle shifting didn't help the C63 or did you not use them?

One of the worst lag times I've ever seen in automatic with paddles on a sports car. Click paddle, wait, then it finally lazily shifts. Truly a slush box, especially considering what BMW did with e9x and DCT. There were tunes that claimed to decrease shift lag time, didn't. Not an issue particular to my car either, every honest reviewer commented on the lag. Known issue.

[maw1124]

A bit off topic but what year? Did that car eventually get something faster? I have a TCU tune on my S55 so yeah I'm aware of that "Speedshift" thing AMG rolled out in the earlier years. About a half second slower than it ever should have been. The tunes increase line pressure but they don't do much for shift times.

maw

EDIT ... NVM, 7GTronic to Multi Clutch in 2012

[oceansize]

A bit off topic but what year? Did that car eventually get something faster? I have a TCU tune on my S55 so yeah I'm aware of that "Speedshift" thing AMG rolled out in the earlier years. About a half second slower than it ever should have been. The tunes increase line pressure but they don't do much for shift times.

maw

EDIT ... NVM, 7GTronic to Multi Clutch in 2012

2009 and it never improved as I drove a 2014 around that same time it was identical, a ton of lag. I really don't know how AMG thought that was a good idea given DCTs existed. As noted though, there are several places now doing manual swaps using all Mercedes parts. I'm super tempted to buy another and simply ship it directly to one of the known shops. IMO the M156 was one of the greatest muscle car V8 engines to ever come out of Germany. And to that end? I have the new improved lifters, camshaft adjusters (and other goodies from 63 motorosports), cams, etc. on hand when the time comes

[maw1124]

Mercedes thinks "leaving a ton of performance on the table for the sake of safety and reliability" is the magic formula. Part of their DNA. Which is why my two were heavily engineered by AMG and then Porsche. I drive my 55 in Manual transmission and Sport Mode with DSP off sometimes because it opens up different throttle and shift modes they don't tell anyone about. Easy to wrap yourself around a pole and endanger people if you're Fn around.

I want an M156 car but we'll see. Back on point, the V8 M3 might scratch that itch instead.

maw

EDIT ... BTW, be careful with the highly advertised manual swaps in these AMG cars. I'm far from convinced they're putting strong enough boxes behind these engines, and neither are any of the MB AMG heads I know. If you investigate, please keep me posted on what you learn.

[LSB4Me]

A solid 7/10 in everything it does.

Maintenance is key. Gas mileage is abysmal. Gas tank is TINY.

The manual is terrible. It's genuinely awful.

All facts. I didn’t want to go there, but the manual is wrong on the E9x. Pretty sure it has less horsepower or a lower redline or both. But that’s just insult to injury. My e92 was DCT and if I ever owned another (I won’t) it would only be DCT (again).

*flame suit engaged* … and I would only buy a 991+ GT car with PDK for similar reasons. We should stay on topic though.

[maw1124]

The E9X I've driven the most is Vortech boosted so any and all torque concerns melted with the tire rubber. I'm not a two footed driver so I'm always ready to get out of that car after 15 minutes or so thinking "I wish it had DCT instead.

maw

Speak of the devil...

maw