Hey BP fam, happy ///Monday! You may remember me from my delivery experience video, B58 to S58 comparison writeup or the Valvetronic exhaust vid. Thank you very much to BimmerPost for the features as well as everyone who's followed and supported me on Instagram/Youtube. Well, it's been six months since I picked up my Isle of Man Green M3 6MT(6/19) and also just hit 10,000 miles or should I say "smiles"! I hope you enjoy the video review but I wanted to include this write up as well for those who prefer to read
I talked a lot in the video but it's hard to mention everything I wanted to say in just one take. Yeah, I blabbered all that in one shot
First off, just a brief history on myself. I'm 32 and have been a die-hard BMW fanboy/enthusiast for the past 20+ years. I remember my first ever Roundel magazine as a kid which had the now legendary E46 M3 on the cover. That is still my favorite M3 to date. Ironically, the June issue(same month I picked up the car) this year had an IOMG/KO G80 M3 on the cover, just like mine. It was meant to be right? This is my first ///M car but I have driven many previous ///Ms. I am also around them a lot since I run Philly Bimmer Club and host many meets during the car seasons. I already wrote about my initial driving impressions here previously so I won't touch much on that. I will focus mainly on my mods and experience daily driving this beast the past 6 months.
Here is my original build:
2021 BMW M3 6MT
Isle of Man Green Exterior on Kyalami Orange interior (sport seats)
Executive Package
Parking Assistance Package
M Drive Professional
Carbon Fiber Interior Trim
M Shadowline
826M Wheels
Modifications:
Flash Mobile Ceramic Coating
Flash Mobile PPF and tint
H&R Sport Springs
Valvetronic midpipe
SSR Catless Downpipe
Burger Motorsports JB4
Burger Motorsports Intakes
R44 Performance Carbon splitter
R44 Performance Carbon air ducts
R44 Performance Carbon ducktail spoiler
R44 Performance Carbon side skirts
BlackVue Dashcam
More coming soon...
Power specs: 660whp & 652 lb/ft tq on E35 fuel - JB4 OTS Map 5
Dragy: Highest 60-130: 7.12 - Highest 0-60: 3.88 (spin city on stock tires)
MPG - 18.1 average(60-40 highway/city)
Mods Detailed breakdown:
Flash Mobile - Of course had to start with 10 year ceramic coating, PPF, & tint. I drive a good amount on the highway and with NJ bugs/rockchips on the highway, it's a must. If anyone is on the fence, definitely do it. All I do is maintenance washes and the car looks like new each time.
H&R Sport Springs - As everyone knows, these cars were screaming to be lowered with the amount of wheel gap it has stock. This was technically my first mod and I did it right after break-in service following month. Initially, I was not happy with the drop. The front still had way too much gap but after a couple thousand miles, thankfully it settled. I wanted a conservative drop because I knew I would be getting the R44 lip soon and did not want to break it like I did 3x on my last 340i. Philly/Jersey roads are horrendous. Ride/handling is very good and comfort is just like stock. I will probably be switching to something a little lower once I install new wheels though because fitment is everything haha.
Valvetronic mid-pipe - Another thing lacking in the car is the exhaust sound level. It actually has a decent tone stock but it was too quiet. After contemplating quite a bit between dual pipes(PSI) and the single(Valvetronic), I am quite glad I went with Valvetronic. The single mid-pipe gives a deeper pure Inline 6 tone. It absolutely transformed the sound of the car. All the aftermarket dual setups have too much rasp in my opinion. It made the exhaust about 30% louder with additional burbles. I also did a dyno and the mid-pipe added 10-15whp. Pretty normal. I may be going with their full setup soon though so stay tuned for that!
Burger Motorsports JB4 Tuner - Next, I went with more power. Now, that's not to say the car isn't that powerful stock. It is but a JB4 put me at a level playing field with the Competition since the only difference between the Comp and Manual is the boost level on the turbos. This was a gamechanger. The power and torque the S58 delivers on ethanol is pretty mindblowing. The car doesn't break a sweat and dares you to push it hard. I know a lot folks are now going to flash tuning but the process is too much of a hassle at the moment. The JB4 has been great and I will be sticking with it for a longer while. The log feature is awesome as well and tells you exactly what your car is doing. #piggybacklife
SSR Catless Downpipe - This was my first time going catless. I previously only used catted downpipes. Boy, did this make a difference in not just sound but performance. The car sounds and pulls like a freight train. It is intoxicating. Throttle response got better, the exhaust screams, and I gained 40+ whp/tq on the highest JB4 OTS map. The factory valve control does a tremendous job keeping things quiet when you want to. In efficient mode, the car is just like stock under 5K RPM. I use this when commuting to work. Sport+ is what I use the other half of the time and this is full on obnoxious loud with the loudest burbles. Sport is kind of in between both modes but I rarely use it. It's all or nothing for me.
This downpipe however is not a flex pipe and took some custom welding to fit the mid-pipe perfectly. There are some flex pipe options now that are easier to install. A question I always receive is about the check engine light. Pleased to tell you, the big Daddie's 02 spacer works and I've not gotten a CEL the past two months since install.
Burger Motorsports Intakes - Since I got the exhaust situated, I had to give the engine bay some love so in came the "whoosh" noises. I love these intakes. My butt dyno instantly felt more throttle response and torque increase. The dynos done on these intakes also prove they do increase power/tq. The spooling and "blow-off" sound is awesome and never gets old.
R44 Performance Carbon - I did not get the carbon exterior package because I knew I would be getting aftermarket ones. The carbon ducts, splitter, side skirts, and spoiler really enhance and complete the look of the vehicle. Especially the front end which was calling for a splitter. I added my personal touch with the paint matching strip on the splitter and side skirts. The quality of the pre-preg carbon is top notch and just like OEM. Folks who did not like the front end actually has come around to love it now! You can never have too much carbon and there will be more to come
BlackVue Dashcam - Now even though I have the Parking Assistance Package, the 360 cams don't record 24x7 like a dashcam. Only during an accident or if you click record manually. It was a huge bummer when I found that out. All this tech and they couldn't just keep recording and overwriting the old stuff? So problem solved with the Blackvue DR900X-2CH. It records 24x7 front and rear even while the car is off via the hardwire. I really love this dashcam and it's pretty cool and helpful to capture everything that's going on at all times.
Final thoughts - This car is nothing short of spectacular. I love driving it more and more everyday. I should probably take a little step back as I put on 10K in the first 6 months haha. It is just that good and fun. The modifications turned it from a great car to an absolute beastly machine. It's a 4 door quiet, comfortable family car, grocery getter, commuter that gets decent gas mileage but at the push of a button and gas pedal, it turns into a loud monstrous racecar. It truly is a jack of all trades. The clutch has not slipped once even when pushing so much power/tq the past 8000 miles or so I had the JB4. Some people thought the manual was put in as an afterthought but no it was beefed up to handle more than any //M car before it. It is a special feeling to be beating automatic cars on the street and track with a stick shift! Handling is superb and planted during corners and twisties. Brakes are fantastic although squeeky and a brake dust nightmare.
The car gives you all the confidence that it can handle what you throw at it(responsibly). Few other minor annoyances is the Harmon Kardon's are a downgrade over last gen but I listen to mainly exhaust noise anyway. Android Auto is buggy and I have that turned off. Lane Departure and the gesture controls also act up and I have those turned off. That's pretty much it for me. In the 80K-130K range, there isn't another car that can give you what the M3 offers especially after some upgrades. It looks fantastic and gets compliments left and right. It sounds amazing and breaks necks. Drives like a dream. Built like a tank. It is the Ultimate Driving Machine and BMW hit it out of the park.
Thanks for reading and watching. I want to give a shout out to Alex Caristan (@Alexcaristan_) for killing it on the camera work and edit as usual. Big thank you to my sponsors/partners in helping me with the build. I'm not done yet though!
Burger Motorsports - @Burger_Tuning
Valvetronic Designs - @Valvetronic
R44 Performance - @R44performance
Euroklasse - @Euroklasse_
Flash Mobile - @flashmobilenj
BlackVue - @blackvueofficial
If you're interested in any of their products, you can find them here as well as my discount codes -
https://linktr.ee/g80_soom
Follow the journey on IG and Youtube!
IG - @G80_Soom @Phillybimmerclub
Youtube: Philly Bimmer Club