jjt

Been fancying one of these as a track toy for a while now, congratulations. I will be watching this with interest. Think a guy did something similar a few years ago on PH as he lived near the 'ring?

I just wish they'd use a RWD car for these things, just once. Or at least the same car year on year.

Pretty sure they did one year? MX5 or something similar?

EDIT: Yup, 2010 Google tells me

Goodwood have events with 5 cars on track at any one time and restricted numbers so you get plenty of time

 

https://www.goodwood...ral-track-days/

Cheers Rich, thats the sort of thing I was after but on Anglesey ideally!

A set number of cars is no guarantee of how many car will be out on track at any one time on an open pit, afternoon sessions are generally quieter as cars have broken/crashed/driver bored, tired or whatever in my experience.

I agree, but I thought that maybe some organisers book less people onto the day than others, then charge more to do them?

As per title really; toying with the idea of getting the M3 on track, although I would rather pay a bit more and have a relatively quiet track. I've worked out that Anglesey is 'full' when 77 cars are booked on with Javelin; anyone else have any ideas or experiences? I did a Javelin day in the Zed years ago and it seemed to be very quiet!

Cheers

Easily an MR2 Roadster.

I realised just how cack it was after a long day at work, following a Zafira people carrier on a roundabout at a perfectly acceptable speed but in the rain... unexpected snap oversteer (no throttle at all) which I just caught. Zafira no problems at all. The MR2 had new tyres as well.

Looks fantastic, congratulations mate

I agree, I would just check on the actual terms of the warranty to be sure. I know that the Porsche one voids the entire warranty if ANY part of the car isn't OEM

Not quite true; I read this online but gave my local OPC a call because I didn't fancy paying £300+ for a crap Porsche branded battery when a decent Bosch one was only £85, and the service agent explained that only the electrical system would not be covered if I did the latter.

Very nice mate

For what it's worth, I had exactly the same feeling on the PS2s with 3mm that the car came with; the dealer paid for some MPSS to be fitted at my convenience and since having them on the back end feels so much more planted under acceleration, especially in the wet.

Ive decided now that when pressing on in M mode the gearbox is in its most effective state at 4 out of 5 (or 6 with the TC turned off); I found that the kick given in the most extreme modes on upshifts unsettled the car slightly, particularly mid corner in anything other than perfect conditions.

Glad you're enjoying it anyway

Another North Wales member here; welcome

Can't believe I have only just seen this thread; congratulations man you won't be disappointed.

I was in the exact situation a few months ago and went for an M3 in similar spec as yours; I can honestly say, hand on heart, that this is the first car I would be happy to keep forever. Only disappointing thing is how quiet the exhaust is at low revs, but I'm hoping a 2 pipe mod will sort this when the weather gets better (even standard it sounds great over 4k rpm).

I can appreciate why some people in this thread would hate on the car, as it does look a bit boring compared to some of the choices here, but the engine is a masterpiece and is really well matched to the DCT box; if you want a car to enjoy driving you have made a great choice.

The only car I would be tempted to change it for at the moment is the R8, which would be even more money on top so I can't see it happening imminently. MPSS on the back gave a great deal more traction than the PS2s.

Have a good look at the manual as this was the first car I have ever found it useful to do so; loads of little tricks to learn particularly regarding the DCT. Finally, don't worry about the fuel consumption; I get about 20mpg on average when I was expecting about 14!

Congratulations

I think they look good and I gave one serious consideration... but at that price would they be able to compete dynamically with european cars?? I decided no and went for the M3, and reading road tests now the likes of Evo are getting their hands on them to test I think I made the right choice. Could be an interesting used proposition in a couple of years time though....

I used the Eagle F1s for a year on the 350z, through winter and very wet weather and on track at Anglesey; couldn't fault them for the price

Imo, it's not a proper sports car if it comes [......] in various engine sizes (I can currently only think of the Cayman/boxster as exceptions to this rule)

Daft comment

Happy Birthday mate

Congratulations Matt, looks a cracker

Go for a drive in the shortlisted cars Sam and see what you make of them; like I've said to a couple of people I had my heart set on an Aston V8V, heard nothing but praise from owners who I spoke to, but although it looked and sounded special, the gearbox felt like it was from a much older car, the throttle felt very light and lacked any sort of feel, and ultimately I felt like it was only the price it was because of the badge and looks. It simply wasn't as good a car as I hoped.

I did see a white Maserati GT yesterday and looked fantastic. Had you thought about a used approved one to give you total piece of mind?

Looking good after less than a fortnights ownership! Good stuff

They'll be fine, should be better than the 888s and they're no problem at all. It's standing water that stops these tyres working really, so as long as there's no puddles you'll be immense on them

I have used 595's in the wet an found them surprisingly grippy and predicable, very good tyre for the money imho.

Glad you had a good day and that the tyres weren't a handful. I ran 595 RSRs throughout the winter on my old Zed as a daily drive and I found them to be predictable, albeit not a great fan of standing water on the bypass!

Videos??

Hey Jon! Nice choice mate! I'm glad you got the DCT! I regret to choosing this in hindsight but my vision was clouded by the disappointing SMG boxes.

I also think it's the right thing to leave the car std apart from 2 or 4 pipe mod. 2 pipe will be just right.

If I keep mine longer I would go with better pads than oem eg pagoda RS25 and ss brake lines and RBF. Lighter 18" wheels would be desirable with MPS cups tyres and winter tyres on the oem 19"s but the lure of the V10 RS6 is getting impossible to resist if I'm looking for that one car to do it all.

 

I can relate to your assessment of the car mirror your sentiments. Let's hook up before the weather goes foul and have a hoon😎.

Cheers Bennett

You mean to say that you haven't bought the RS6 yet?!

Servotronic, that's the one!

 

Can you turn it off using the M button? Or set it to full hard?

The latter I believe. Even when it's lightest it's still not as light as most cars I've driven!

What kind of post is that?

+1,000,000

Good write up matey, glad you're enjoying it

 

How's the steering? I can't remember if the dynamic steering thing was an option on the E92.

Yeah it has Servotronic on it, I was concerned about that but feels consistent so far!

Okay so today I covered a few miles of country road, and had the opportunity to explore the new car a bit more.

This is the first car I've had where I have felt the need to 'learn' all the settings to see exactly how it changes the set up of the car. For instance, I couldn't understand why in manual mode you had to be going quite slow i.e. approaching a junction to get 1st gear.. However in M Dynamic mode it will give you any gear asked for (although I presume if you tried to change into an unsuitable one it would stop this).

After quite a bit of tinkering it was a shock that with the 'Power' mode selected, there was definitely more of a shove in the back when you pinned the throttle at any speed. It is also easy for the engine/transmission to be overpowering and just use it as a point and pin the throttle car; however with the dampers in a firmer than normal setting you can lean on the car and it feels so nicely balanced and poised.

The transmission was a big choice for me, as I always enjoyed the satisfaction of shifting gears myself and heel n toeing when required; I had read a lot about how the DCT suited the engine well, and I am VERY pleased that I chose it. If you do pass someone with it in auto mode it won't scream to the redline, and makes quick cross country progress a pleasure. However with the shift speed ramped up to maximum in manual mode it really is seamless, with the auto throttle blip on downshifts sounding pretty great.

Compared to the Porsche and to some extent the 350Z, it is nice to drive on country roads without the car hunting for cambers and trying to pull the car off the road!

So is there anything that it I'm not particularly impressed with, or that it isn't as good as previous cars owned? Erm... its a bit thirsty. On mixed driving since I bought it I've got around 22mpg on the computer, and with a bit of maths I work this out to be accurate. But I probably do have a heavier than normal right foot seeing as I have just bought it! Also, the tank is pretty small, so that equates to about 200 miles worth of petrol.. But then again I don't use it to commute, it is purely for evening and weekends. As mentioned previously in the thread, I am tempted to make it a little bit louder by modifying the original backbox, but other than that is is staying original/reversible in the case of the exhaust.

Overall, it is considerably better to drive in every way than anything I have owned before, hiding its weight well and changing from relatively comfortable cruiser to something that is genuinely quick and capable with the press of a button. If anyone is tempted I highly recommend taking one for a test drive

2...2.5...or 4 pipe mod needed to bring the sound on the other level of OEM exhaust...google Paul the Welder!!!

Yup been looking at this since I first fancied an M3; It's an inevitability really 😂