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      07-18-2015, 06:18 PM   #1
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If you are going to turn your 335i,

Into an M3. Why don't you just buy one? I have seen the most fantastic build threads ever. Carried out by brilliant people who love their cars. Why not start out with an M3 and make it better?! No disrespect meant to anyone,
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      07-19-2015, 10:11 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegnomeat View Post
Into an M3. Why don't you just buy one? I have seen the most fantastic build threads ever. Carried out by brilliant people who love their cars. Why not start out with an M3 and make it better?! No disrespect meant to anyone,
I personally have a 330d but I think the whole point is with a remap or jb4 and a set of coil overs you can match if not beat an M3 whereas to geta significant amount of more power of an m3 costs a lot more ££££ plus the initial car value or a lot more.
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      07-19-2015, 10:21 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegnomeat View Post
Into an M3. Why don't you just buy one? I have seen the most fantastic build threads ever. Carried out by brilliant people who love their cars. Why not start out with an M3 and make it better?! No disrespect meant to anyone,
There is one very good reason....
N.A Engine vs Forced induction!

Purist will love NA Engine....whereas future is leading toward forced induction and EV.
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      07-19-2015, 12:49 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegnomeat View Post
Into an M3. Why don't you just buy one? I have seen the most fantastic build threads ever. Carried out by brilliant people who love their cars. Why not start out with an M3 and make it better?! No disrespect meant to anyone,
Its a good question. Depends on how you define turn your 335 to an M3. If you mean visually then I kind of see where you are coming from, however modding is a very individual thing.

Some can't afford to buy an M3 and insure it for instance, this being perhaps the biggest obstacle for many, therefore the excellent 335i's offer a real world alternative, they can be purchased a hell of a lot cheaper, they are cheaper to insure and they can easily be modded power wise to actually point to point best an M3 for really reasonable money, modding an M3 to release even small power costs a bomb by comparison.

Add some decent suspension to a 335 and you've got a real potential M3 beater on your hands for not too much outlay really. Then if you crave the looks you can buy a full body kit and do the quad tailpipe thing to visually almost complete the picture. Oddly enough it's the body conversion that costs if you chose this route.

I'd of loved an M3 but at the time of my 335i purchase they were a good 10k more expensive, over time many want to including myself stamp our own mark on our cars, I've chosen my route others urn for an M3 and will re create one out of their existing car over time all the parts can be purchased and the realisation of someone's dream can be realised.

What I will say is now M3 prices are coming into for me at least in to the 'affordable zone' if I had my time again given a 335 or an M3 I think the M3 would get the nod.

As a side notes as makkan's said the lure of a NA high revving V8 is one for the purist the ones that perhaps feel BMW msy hsve sold out M division to turbo technology. But you can achieve so much with a turbo six.
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      07-19-2015, 04:49 PM   #5
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335i potential for performance > M3

Those who buy an M3 now do so for the M badge which nowadays means very little especially as BMWs M range is so bad this round.

Just look at the M4's and M5's that are watered down versions of their predecessors. The only car worth getting that has a BMW badge is the M6.
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      07-20-2015, 04:48 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SiKkBaSs View Post
335i potential for performance > M3

Those who buy an M3 now do so for the M badge which nowadays means very little especially as BMWs M range is so bad this round.

Just look at the M4's and M5's that are watered down versions of their predecessors. The only car worth getting that has a BMW badge is the M6.
Quite an interating point. At this years Festival of Speed, with the exception of the M6, M cars didnt get super car parking, but audi RS cars did. Pretty sad that an RS1 is seen as more exclusive than an M3.
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      07-20-2015, 05:00 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegnomeat View Post
Into an M3. Why don't you just buy one? I have seen the most fantastic build threads ever. Carried out by brilliant people who love their cars. Why not start out with an M3 and make it better?! No disrespect meant to anyone,
I don't think that many people have done a full 335 > M3 conversion. Most add some parts from M3, a tune + bolt ons and suspension upgrades, but visually, most people don't care that their car isn't an M3.

As has already been said, M3's are pricey and tuning an M3 is probably £15k minimum after install and resolving all the issues. Tbh they are 10 a penny these days. Overpriced imo for how many on the road.

And then, if you are going to do that, why not start out with something better anyway?

For a decent M3 + supercharger money, you can buy a Ferrari, which is always going to feel more special than an M3 and will probably go up in value, rather than down.
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      07-20-2015, 06:43 AM   #8
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I take on board your points, I had a 335i which was mapped to 365 bhp and had stonking torque and now have an M3 which handles amazing. Apart from the mapping of the 335i I haven't made any changes to either car. However, I can see the attraction of the M4, stonking torque and 400+ bhp as standard with the option to map also.

I'm not sure that the E92 is 10 a penny, it may not be everyones cup of tea but it is a triumph of engineering. Of all the cars I have owned it would be my favourite without a doubt. Now if it had the torque of a mapped 335i, I wouldn't purchase anything else.

Regards
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      07-20-2015, 09:30 AM   #9
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Did you just get your ass beaten by a 335i when you were driving your beloved M3?
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      07-20-2015, 09:39 AM   #10
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Did you really type that all on your own?
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      07-20-2015, 10:36 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegnomeat View Post
Did you really type that all on your own?
What is wrong?

Going to say my grammer or spelling is poor because you can't take a joke?
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      07-20-2015, 10:50 AM   #12
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When I was recently debating a car change from my 335, probably top of the list was an e92 M3.

A few things put me off though:

1.) The need to use it for work, and the fact the fuel economy is pretty dire (not that you buy an M3 for this feature, but if I have to use it for work, I did at least have to consider it)

2.) My 335 was a 2009, and so inside the car, not a lot was going to feel or look a whole lot different from what I was already used to. Also, I was going to want a low mileage (due to the work thing above) which also would fulfil the CIC itch I badly needed to scratch, but couldn't justify cost-wise - and these 2 things meant 2010 or newer, more likely 2012 models which then become pricey.

3.) A few friends who have had both reckoned the M3 was without doubt a trackday weapon, but for normal driving they honestly didn't think it was ideal, and that the 335 was in their opinion the better daily even though it's not as quick.

4.) Purchase cost alone wasn't particularly a problem, but by the time you add an extended warranty (circa £100 a month), not to mention M-Tax on any consumable, non warranty parts, plus fuel consumption and perhaps insurance for some (I was quite lucky, as it seems now I'm an old fucker, pretty much any car I like costs me £300 a year business use!) it all starts becoming quite a costly motor to run and MAINTAIN PROPERLY.

Personally, I think you have to be very careful buying an M3 (or any other M car for that matter) - moreso for example, than a 335 - because they are not out of the question to purchase for many people, and in my opinion, you find a lot of cars...particularly the slightly older and cheaper ones, are bought by people who don't have the finance (or enthusiasm!) to run and maintain them properly. So they are ragged about for a year or so then something breaks, the current owner shits a brick at the repair costs, does it on the cheap and punts the car on. Seen it happen through all the generations (e30, e36, e46) so far over on our forum, and the e9x is now coming down in price to start falling foul of the same.

Not saying all e9x M3's are going to be like that, but you will have to put a bit more care into researching about a potential purchase to avoid buying a money-pit IMO.

Anyway, getting back to the question, why people would create and M3 replica from a 335i, I have no idea - like the OP suggests, it'd make more sense to buy a proper one.

However, as Steve has pointed out already, the 335i can be had for very little money these days, and the tuning potenial is massive- a lot more bang per buck than you'll get trying to tune an e9x M3.

If I was going to mod a 335i, I'd keep it looking like a 335i, but also rather than going balls out on just engine remaps, etc, I'd put some money into the suspension/geometry setup and having an LSD fitted - as IMO, what makes an M3 as much as anything else is the handling.

Something like that would, I reckon, be a worthy alternative to an M3, as you get the best of both worlds - without it costing the earth to maintain.
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      07-21-2015, 08:40 AM   #13
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335i - much cheaper, starting price £6k
M3 much better much rarer but much more expensive, starting price £20k
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      07-21-2015, 08:53 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by surrey 335i View Post
335i - much cheaper, starting price £6k
M3 much better much rarer but much more expensive, starting price £20k
pretty true but I think OP's real meaning is why spend close to 10-12k on a decent 335i and spend a few grand modding it up with upgrades when you can just buy a standard m3 for the money.

I kind of agree to an extent as I reckon some of the guys on here with there 335i's have spent a fortune on engine upgrades etc so probably what there car owe's them now they could of bought an M3
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      07-21-2015, 09:02 AM   #15
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I was thinking myself. What is easier or more economical. A 335i with bolts ons and suspension changes, sway bars and LSD or an M3 with an Engine transplant. Probably the former.

You get very different opinions of this topic on M3 sites where it always seems to be 'Only an M is an M car.'

I've not driven an M3 yet but I think I will. I'll be open minded but hope I don't then get the urge to want to swap. Still I think I'd hold out for the TT M4 as NA is old tech. I couldn't go back to that. They take too long to wind up and the fuel economy is dire.

I don't doubt a stock M3 handles far better than a standard 335i but then unless you've paid for the adjustable suspension you probably suffer on the daily commute alot which makes up most of my driving time.
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      07-21-2015, 09:24 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cupraraj View Post
pretty true but I think OP's real meaning is why spend close to 10-12k on a decent 335i and spend a few grand modding it up with upgrades when you can just buy a standard m3 for the money.

I kind of agree to an extent as I reckon some of the guys on here with there 335i's have spent a fortune on engine upgrades etc so probably what there car owe's them now they could of bought an M3
Those that have spent money on engine upgrades have lots of power though.

phil200tdi and a few others were pushing around 500hp, which is way faster than an E9x M3, and probably even ahead of a new F80.
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      07-21-2015, 01:21 PM   #17
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Ah the old 335(i/d) vs M3 debate....again

Dont see any M3 owners wanting a tuned "500bhp" 335i.....or moaning about what they've done to make their M3's better

Each to their own I say....
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      07-21-2015, 01:23 PM   #18
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Will be plenty that would like a 500bhp M3 though.
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      07-21-2015, 02:24 PM   #19
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I'd take a 500 bhp M3, that's why the New M4 is such an attractive proposition. Re-mapped it would be amazing. I've had 335i and M3, both brilliant cars, but I prefer near standard cars so it's the M3 for me.
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      07-21-2015, 02:26 PM   #20
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I'd take one too, keep checking used prices and supercharger pricing
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      07-21-2015, 02:37 PM   #21
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Im thinking about modding mine, but first i'd like a nice big brake setup all round, some Recaro seats, performance steering wheel and a few other things (im going to keep quiet about ) thinking of an interior colour change too....but yea a supercharger would be nice!
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      07-21-2015, 03:24 PM   #22
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The supercharged and even turbocharged E9x and E46 M3s seem quite popular in the US. Must be a dream to have a car that actually handles corners.

If it were as easy to mod an E9x M3 as it was a 335i, then it would be happening here more often. With the latest M3/M4, it will be pretty much so.
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