Pertplus

Don't worry, I didn't leave my Mercedes fam....but hopped on a deal to get one of the last M3s with the current engine...and got it custom built. Someone apparently went through the process and then flaked, so the dealer had a "112" --- the post where I heard about the deal is on Bimmerfest --- and I called Pacific BMW and custom built my own M3! Will share details after I put my place back together after having to move **** around for the carpet cleaners.

vdubpower

whats a 112 mean...

do u already have a few HRE variations picked out for it...and a supercharger kit from EAS .

anyway, hope to see your car saturday, ill actually roll down with my bud who recently got an F10 M5 in blue

Rotemsmith

Well i guess BMW's are great as well..although both Merc's and BMW's are arch rivals but they are primes in their respective areas and both have quite a reputation of being the best car manufacturers in the world..having both of them is just great.

Pertplus

Yeah my car will be at the Targa Trophy booth. Apparently a "112" is an allocation for a custom ordered BMW, but the car has not gone into production:

http://www.bimmerfile.com/2008/05/21/bmw-production-status-codes/

A buyer flaked, and the dealer had to get someone in ASAP to place the order. Someone's loss, is my gain. I wanted to get a stock DD for a good price that I could beat up and then just baby the CLS and drive it when I felt like it. The deal was too good to pass up and just decided to jump on it.

So let me say this now -- although no one will believe me --- this car will not be modded!!!!

Pertplus

Yeah I has an 2006 E46 M3 and liked it, but with the competition package, that thing was horrible to drive on the downtown LA roads back in 2006. Well, now I live in San Diego and the roads today in 2013 are worse and that's what convinced me (along with Jeremy Clarkson's take on the package) to skip that as part of my order.

Vic55

112 to BMW is pre production unit that can be changed; thus options can be added and/or removed. Its akin to allocation that can be modified vs cars that are just assigned to a given dealer.

Good luck with it Pert- I loved my 2009 E92 M3 but it does lack tq which you are no doubt spoiled with Where it shines is with the amazing DCT tranny (I have had 5 now) and you can beat cars with 100 more hp in rolling races due to the efficiencies of the car. From a roll my E92 would slow pull my buddies W211 E63 everytime- you can just cant beat the transmission and the ability of the DCT. Oh the M3 also looks brilliant- what color are going with? Red!!!!!!! that would be awesome and if you are into a nice low payment, this car leases like no other for its price range. The exhaust will need work immediately though and you have a plethora of options there. One thing that I did right away was drop it with a set of RD sport springs- its a must for this car or go with KW's for the ultimate suspension set up. If you are into high reving, truly involving cars this one will fit the bill each time.

PM me and Ill hook you up with my buddy who has all the DCT definitions and tunes so he change your DCT shift speed to make it even more efficient along with hp gains.

One of my 5 sets of P40 series wheels and my old car- arguably one of the best lookers Ive owned- besides my beaaaaaatches

emericr

Congrats and post pics when you get it.
Driving that torqueless M will make you enjoy the CLS beast even more.
Enjoy the lighter set up and the screaming higher RPM engine though.
LMFAO with the "no mod" comment. Maybe you do not consider changing wheels a mod?

Pertplus

Vic, between you and Caroline, it's like Nino Brown and G-Money from New Jack City. Always pushing the product. Here is the order of the car (scheduled to arrive in 6-8 weeks)....money factor was .00127 and the deal was pretty damn sweet for me to pass up (the exact price will remain between me, the dealership and my rabbi):

Melbourne Red
Black Leather
Carbon leather interior trim
Keyless entry
Navi
DDC
Carbon fiber roof
Carbon fiber mirrors
Carbon fiber splitter
Carbon fiber spoiler
Performance exhaust
DCT
Heated front seats
Black kidney grills
Sport steering wheel

Vic55

Clap clap, well done on the color and options---- I recently saw an optioned M3 with all the carbon fiber pieces and it looked great.

FYI- there is a 1500 cash back on the car and if you are currently leasing a BMW you get another 750 added on. I also have a 1k certificate for driving at a BMW event so essentially one could pour on at least 3250 in discounts if if not more. I would do a 24 month 10k mile lease, your residual would be 68%. What is your msrp if you dont mind me asking?

Pertplus

Yeah the dealer -- Pacific BMW (Greg Poland) who was amazing -- said it straight up "This will definitely not be a neck snapper like your CLS." And as I told him, I am well aware...I mean, I don't travel to Italy for the best Chinese Food. I really don't want to get wheels or make this car more aggressive especially since I remember the awful feeling of driving my former 06 M3 on awful city streets. If I did anything "aesthetically" (besides window tint) it would be 18"s wheels that won't affect the comfort (I did not get the competition package). We'll see though how this thing turns out. I want to have a fun car that I don't car about what happens to it, whereas the CLS63 is like beautiful swan. Well, technically she is the White Cocaine Unicorn II, but you get my drift.

Vic55

You are an addict, light a match and say "my name is pert and Im a modaholic"--- get some wheels or Ill stop talking to you.

Pertplus

I got the $1500 rebate..not currently leasing a BMW so didnt get the $750 additional.

Around $77k is the MSRP and my driveoff is $2500. The "mods" add about $4k, so "$64k question is", do I put down a higher down payment and basically pay for the mods up front...or do I say **** it, pay the higher monthly payment, but benefit on the spread from having a low money factor/APR and making a very nice return on current investments. Probably a difference of $200 a month if I go with the lowest drive off.

Curious on your thoughts for the Performance Exhaust...getting it for $3k installed which is a great price but what your observations about it (if any). As always Vic, your input is welcomed and invaluable.

Pertplus

Here is my one problem....I have NO relationship with any BMW dealerships, so unlike Mercedes San Diego who has taken care of me and any issues with my car (regardless of how tangentially related they could be to my mods). I mean, they have literally one of the best techs in the Country who has worked on my car and fixed problems that other dealerships probably would have red-flagged me for...I am not bragging, just saying that that sort of situation doesnt happen often. And after reading on the Audi forums about the nightmares of dealing with Stasis and Audi, and hearing some horror stories down here of certain BMW dealerships and people who have modded...I am hesitant to go down a road that puts me in such a vulnerable position with this car.

But yes, once an addict, always an addict.

Vic55

Its not all too loud--- the factory upgrade on exhausts never do it for me noise wise... but sound is so subjective. Im just used to loud ruder cars. My M6 with full Meisterschaft from header back is tame to me but is considered by many to be very loud on the M5 boards. I think for 3k installed you have a ton of options outside of the BMW internal avenue. Id probably opt for that option.

To get the 750 rebate you have to currently be leasing a BMW thru FS. I know this is mandatory.

So at 77k msrp, lets say you go 24 months at 10k, your residual will be 52360 and lets say you bought the car for 70k net cap here is what I come up with for payment but remember this is outside of any reductions and adds for license and bank fees:

961.63 with 8% tax added in... of course you have a bank fee close to 950 and license too but your drive offs should suck that up.

Id let your money pile up elsewhere than paying down the lease up front.

Vic55

You only dont have hookups cause you havent frequented the boards... bimmerwise that is. You know a ton of SD tuners and they have done many many BMW mods so Im sure they have service managers at their disposal. The M3 is a bulletproof engine and I dont see you getting that deep into the mods sans wheels, exhaust and maybe a tune. The tunes are all out for years now and are safe- I ran my car hard with full header back exhaust and tune and the car dynod 408 whp (stock is 414 at the crank) with no issues.

Stassis/Audi is an odd situation where Stassis claims they will put their feet into the shoes of the Audi warranty if anything happens. ONce you mod your car with stassis (done at dealer) they actually notify Audi USA that your car is modded and then take over. This concerns me since Stassis is not a metal mover, shaker, builder, or stable company like Audi. That is why I didnt mod my car with Stassis (R8). Id rather keep the audi warranty and take a chance on it getting rejected at the dealer level than have it disclosed up front that its modded.

Pertplus

I am glad I dont have to make a decision on the exhaust until it comes into port since it doesn't get installed from the factory. The thing is, if I am going to do any mods (at least at this point), I want them to be through BMW and fully warrantied. Now, that being said, if the Performance Exhaust is not worth the money regardless, then that's something I will consider deleting from my order. I could always go Akrapovic, Meisterschaft or whatever, but I have to imagine those are more expensive (with install) than the BMW option. And so in sum, the question is whether the Performance Exhaust is worth it in the end?

Vic55

If I was to worry the least about any warranty on mods it would be with Bimmers. The BMW tuning market reaches much farther than benz with more options and many more proven products. And because the market is so widespread you can get the products cheaper (Econ 101). A retail exhaust from Meisterschaft is 2700 dollars for a E92 M3- and no one pays retail. So at 20% off your exhaust is 2160.00 plus install and its a simple install too. The E9X M market is so long in the tooth its not funny. You should go to M3Post.com and do some research. I had my M3 4 years ago and there was tons of options then. At least you can hear some sound bites on the exhaust and get some perspective on the perf exhaust.

Pertplus

The oracle of delphi speaks!!! Dude, you are a wealth of knowledge.

Vic55

LOL and if you like Eisenmann its similar in pricing....

Wheels hummmmmmmm what brand will you choose hummmmmmmmmmmm

Pertplus

Considering I just bought 3 made to measure suits from Armani while I was up in SF -- one of which I am wearing to my sister's wedding -- along with a slew of shirts...I may need to chill with laying out more cash upfront on things I dont need. I mean, I dont need an M3, but the price is right. To drop $$$$ up front again on wheels, exhausts, suspension and hookers with thin mustaches...I dont know.

And this post seems to go into depth about the benefits of the PE over Eisenmann (although it's the OP's subjective view):

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=493092

Vic55

Im on a server currently where that website is blocked

Can you do a cut and paste? I guess you should go to YouTube and listen to the vids, there are tons. Thats kind of how I decided on GMG for my R8.

Vic55

And Im a gucci ready to wear guy---- just in case you want to donate to the program

James@ACG

As your local crack dealer, I'm sure we can make arrangements are the nearest corner or alley.

wiz357

LOL. This is so true. James you should move somewhere where we can't reach you. I hear Hawaii is really nice.

Having said that, I'll see this week.

Pertplus

From the post:

Here are some general thoughts on the exhaust after putting about 30 miles on it, half on the freeway, and half on surface streets.

Fitment:
Needless to say, there are absolutely no fitment issues given that this is an OEM unit. The ceramic coating is spectacular in person, and I couldn't have imagined it coming out any better. The black coat definitely give the entire unit a more slender appearance than without. The tips are the same diameter as stock, but they look ever so slightly bigger because they're single-walled and thus have a larger inside diameter. That said, I think they can stand to be another quarter- to half-inch wider.

Weight:
The M Performance exhaust weighs about half as much as the Eisenmann Sport unit, which itself weighs just about the same as the stock exhaust. Can you feel the weight difference? Probably not, but it's nice knowing that the car is now that much lighter on its toes.

Performance Gains:
Zero beyond the weight savings. We didn't even bother with the dyno, as BMW doesn't advertise any HP gains, and anyone looking to gain any power from an axle-back exhaust is going to be disappointed anyway.

Sound:
This is the real reason that I bought the exhaust, and really, the only reason anyone should consider this thing. In short, this is exactly the sound I was looking for. I was generally happy with my ES, but it was simply too bassy for me (and my girlfriend) down low, it tended to have a light drone at cruising speeds, and ironically, it quieted down to stock levels above 3,800RPMs or so. In this regard, the M Performance is almost the exact opposite of the Eisenmann Sport. It's very civilized at startup, has no drone at all at any RPM, yet remains noticeably louder than both stock or the ES at WOT from 3,500RPMs until about 6,000RPMs, when the sound of the engine starts overpowering the exhaust (and everything else).

Speaking of which, another aspect of the M Performance exhaust that I'm starting to appreciate is that it doesn't drown out the engine, but instead subtly amplifies the different characteristics of the S65 as it winds up through the power band. Between the 900RPM and 3,500RPM range, the Eisenmann Sport really overpowered the engine, giving the car a very flat note under normal driving conditions. The M Performance exhaust's note, while not as deep as the ES, is much more interesting and dynamic and amplifies the engine's interesting intonations.

Lastly, this exhaust has a very throaty rasp. I can best describe it as a cross between the note of a C63 (with its hollow and guttural snarl) and an E46 M3 (with its signature metallic whine).

All in all, I love it. I'm a low-key guy who prefers the subtle approach to most things in life, and this exhaust suits me perfectly. If you like to go big and want something that will set off car alarms and wake the neighbors, then this is not the exhaust for you. However, if you want something that will give the car some much-needed character while staying tasteful, it's just what the doctor ordered. Our cars should have come from the factory equipped with this exhaust.

At any rate, videos will be up after the weekend. If anyone's interested in hearing the car in person, I'll be at C&C tomorrow in Irvine, and at the Individual photoshoot on Sunday. In the meantime, I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Thanks for reading.