i def wouldn't plan on doing any suspension work to the evo. bolt ons would probably be it. ecu maybe.

the most accessible 6 speed m3 is in richmond. hopefully i will get there this weekend with dubcaps. i'll be in raleigh again today so i'm going to haggle leith over their asking price for the ix and possibly take it for another drive.

i'll look into the 330 zhps. i actually considered a 996 for all of 30 minutes yesterday and then moved on. just not what i want right now.

Quote :

"I find the EVO's interior offensive, -the build quality is fine, it's just too unsophisticated..."

this is what i was thinking in my head but couldn't put into words. and i agree with those of you who say that the m3 interior is pretty sharp. just don't know if the interior is going to what sways me one way or the other.

6/17/2009 9:16:36 AM

People tend to forget that E46 was designed 10 years ago. I would say that interior is extremely luxurious if you take that age into consideration.

I also second 330i ZHP. Handling is superb and car is absolutely gorgeous. Alcantara makes the inside more luxurious than M3. You also get 30mpg on highway, no need for valve adjustment every 30k and sensible insurance rates.

6/17/2009 10:16:57 AM

Most of you have probably already seen this:

Top Gear: Evo vs Lambo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AMIoQUCEvY

6/18/2009 1:17:00 PM

^Thats misleading. Its not an Evo you can buy here. Its the FQ-400 which is only available in the UK. (400bhp evo with factory warranty)

6/18/2009 2:31:28 PM

Yeah, but isn't 400hp a screwdriver and a roll of duct tape away on those things?

6/18/2009 3:04:23 PM

not exactly no....lol.

6/18/2009 3:14:45 PM

You can try out my ace hardware racing boost controller . It compliments my home depot racing intake.

6/18/2009 5:22:58 PM

You better have LOWES stickers on it too.

6/18/2009 5:23:40 PM

^^fuck that...if its not lowes i'm not interested. Everything else is beneath Evo quality.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 5:25 PM. Reason : ^]

6/18/2009 5:24:57 PM

i built it all with harbor freight hand tools so if its getting a hardware store brand its the guys behind the power train


ace hardware > lowes btw mark . its as yuppie as chain hardware stores get. it has a damn popcorn machine. i think they service iphones in the back.

6/18/2009 5:31:28 PM

^yes but LOWES has a hot dog vendor out front!

hot dogs > popcorn.

and lowes is right by my house

6/18/2009 5:34:40 PM

My intake is actually a lowes racing intake. No parts were sourced from home depot .

6/18/2009 5:38:13 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, but isn't 400hp a screwdriver and a roll of duct tape away on those things? "

Quote :

"not exactly no....lol."

Umm, that's not too far off, really.

6/18/2009 9:18:47 PM

Ahhhhhh, there is nothing like cheap hp. one tweak here, one piece there and BAM you have 400hp

6/18/2009 10:21:53 PM

BAM

Quote :

" TRIPLE DIGIT HORSEPOWER "

6/18/2009 10:28:37 PM

if anyone is interested in it themselves

after 2 hours at the dealer on friday the lowest i could get them on the IX was $24,200. i wanted $23,700; i ended up walking.

so if anyone wants to go for it or spread the word, you've got some ammo now...

6/21/2009 11:58:06 AM

for reference, i bought a IX with 7000 miles and the sun/sound/leather package for $26,000...over 2 years ago.

6/21/2009 12:05:02 PM

was it an MR?

6/21/2009 12:13:15 PM

no, "regular" Evo, but with S/S/L

6/21/2009 10:24:47 PM

Update via iPhone:

Sitting in Alexandria, Va. Just bought an e46 M3 (6MT). Pumped as hell. Will post details pics later if anyone is interested...

Also, the obligatory sign off incoming!

- ///

6/25/2009 4:06:53 PM

///8====D

6/25/2009 4:11:32 PM

Congrats, you made the grown up choice. Details plz.

6/25/2009 4:24:44 PM

I won this thread!!!!!!!!!!!111111111

6/25/2009 5:10:42 PM

smart decision.

m3 will make you realize power is not everything. it truly is a special car.


but please pics or ban!

6/25/2009 11:56:59 PM

crashing in arlington, va tonight at a friend's place. heading back to fayetteville at 7am-ish.

i will post pics etc when i get to work around lunch time. friday, so nothing else to do really.

dubcaps has informed me that the plate O///MG is taken. this saddens me.

6/26/2009 12:41:17 AM

just don't do cliches ...like...

M-RATED
MPRESSIV
M-ZING
M3AN

and other gay crap...

6/26/2009 12:45:52 AM

Congrats!

for your license plate you should do M-P33N

6/26/2009 9:45:56 AM

///8===D imo

6/26/2009 10:22:29 AM

alright so i finally had time to sit down and upload some pictures in the gallery.

titanium silver metallic /w black interior

list of mods below.

cosmetic:

after market angel eyes
after market led tail lights
black side vents
black grills

functional:

supersprint headers
supersprint s-pipe
supersprint x-pipe /w resonator
supersprint race muffler
discovery automotive race software
h&r sport springs /w koni adjustable shocks
zhp shift knob and kit



the exhaust is simply obnoxious. this is a pretty decent clip of what it sounds like. probably deeper and amplified in person. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iosTgr8jJuY
already starting looking for a stock muffler. someone hook me up!!!

the black side vents and grills i thought about listing under functional as they do add 5hp a piece.

some people (cough) ahmet (cough) feel that the angel eyes look like trash. i thoroughly enjoy them so those were a plus for me.

the zhp shift kit is probably my favorite mod.


recently had the rear sub frame reworked which according the omgtheskyisfalling///forums is a common problem in early e46 models.

got it for 16.3k, which is think is a fair deal. couldn't be happier.

6/28/2009 12:31:46 PM

what year/mileage?

6/28/2009 12:36:13 PM

Quote :

"which according the omgtheskyisfalling///forums"

You say that now but try to keep the faith and dont join that ///itsgoingtobreaktomorrowborg.

car looks real sharp!

6/28/2009 1:37:29 PM

112k '02

6/28/2009 2:03:20 PM

also, thanks quinn

6/28/2009 2:03:54 PM

all crap

6/28/2009 9:02:40 PM

6/29/2009 8:09:49 AM

6/29/2009 8:55:26 AM

It is hard to see from the pictures, but those are probably not aftermarket LED tails. They came stock on '03.5+ E46 M3. Car looks identical to mine down to color combo.

Front bumper looks misaligned. Just take it off and re-align. Easy job.

congrats.

6/29/2009 10:54:27 AM

Quote :

"the exhaust is simply obnoxious."

My son, it is YOU that is obnoxious. That exhaust is perfectly fine.

6/29/2009 11:12:36 AM

did some googling and found the answer to my question

[Edited on June 29, 2009 at 11:37 PM. Reason : ]

6/29/2009 11:28:48 PM

what do you want? 4wd or rwd..

[Edited on July 2, 2009 at 11:06 AM. Reason : .]

7/2/2009 11:03:36 AM

the OP already bought an e46 m3. if that was directed towards me, my question was whether or not the evo ix was worth the extra money over the viii. either way i think i'm going to go in a different car direction.

7/2/2009 11:23:21 AM

like a smart car or what?

7/5/2009 6:11:47 PM

why are all evo prices currently retarded? I guess ix pricing makes sense, but I can't even find an viii for less than $17k. Even more annoying is the fact that just about every evo for sale is modded with ebay garbage. Is there another evo forum besides evolutionm.net?

/sigh

7/7/2009 12:43:20 AM

you're on an evo forum and you don't expect most of them to be modded?

try good old craigslist and autotrader for clean ones.

7/7/2009 11:41:31 AM

obviously the ones on the forum are going to be modded but most of the ones on craiglist/autotrader are as well. (most with ebay parts!) looks like this is going to take some patience...

7/7/2009 11:42:42 AM

so i found a lightly modded ix with 67,000 miles for $18k which seems pretty reasonable. i can't seem to find an viii for under $15,000.

7/13/2009 9:20:57 AM

way too much for way too little

7/13/2009 2:27:58 PM

got him down to 17,500. I will be most likely picking the car up this weekend if the logistics can be worked out. (car is in orlando)

7/13/2009 6:32:14 PM

OOOooo, how exciting.. y0! You workin' now, what you think I'm 'na let you roll in a Hyndai?

Hellz ya boi! +boost controller = fast rice!

Hit me up, spill thy beans.
-Management.

7/13/2009 6:50:15 PM

BTW, holy depreciation batman, those things were like $30k new weren't they?

7/13/2009 6:51:59 PM