The driving rain we've experienced over the past week in Southern California ain't the best companion for the ulitmate driving machine. As such I had to behave myself in the long-term BMW M3, but I wasn't the only one. On my way up PCH I saw another M driver excercising (or not) his M5 in the rain.
Our long-term car behaved itself as long as I did...
The traction control kept the back end in line even when I didn't, the wipers and heater (and seat heaters) kept the forward view clear and the cabin toasty. I wouldn't normally pick the M3 for inclement weather, but now I know it's a reasonable choice even if you can't go corner carving.
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com
joefrompa says:
10:16 AM, 01/28/08
Karl,
I know this sounds a little presumptuous, but did you expect it to be a handful?
It's an M-Car, sure...but it has a sport button that turns on/off the full responsiveness of those individual throttle bodies. It has stability control. It's no lightweight, and it has decent tires. It doesn't produce gobs of torque down low.
Doesn't sound like a recipe for a handful to me. Were you expecting differently?
Joe
samxp says:
02:58 PM, 01/28/08
I went from driving a 225hp/300ft*lb 3200lb RWD Mustang to driving the 333hp/262ft*lb 3700lb RWD M3 Convertible, and there is no question - the M3 is much more civil in the rain. The only thing that might indicate that it would be a handful is the higher hp number, but with traction control, and less bottom end torque, coupled with some nice All Season tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S, in my case), the M3 makes for an awesome daily driver, even in wet weather.
joefrompa says:
03:19 PM, 01/28/08
Just curious, you ever drive that M3 in the snow? I'm looking at potentially doing a 135/335i which has a similar weight distribution vs. rear tire width. I'm thinking about swapping some all-seasons on the stock wheels. Wondering how it would do in light snow.
Joe
editor_karl says:
04:30 PM, 01/28/08
I haven't driven our M3 (or any M3) in snow yet, but the same things that make it capable in rain should translate to snow. Obviously you'd need to use even more caution (slower speeds, smoother inputs, etc.) but my guess is that the car would be quite capable overall. Tires are the key here -- for rain all-season work well but for snow I'd be tempted to get dedicated snow tires and two sets of wheels for easy swapping in fall and spring.
estreka says:
02:28 AM, 01/29/08
As far as snow is concerned, I can tell you wide tires are not a good idea. I have 255's on the rear axle and I cannot drive on icy roads. Snow is fine as long as one takes it slow. I once spun out (a full 720) on an icy road while traveling a measley 17mph. I immediately let off the gas and never touched the brakes. Granted, I'm driving a 320hp car weighing 2700lbs. I'd imagine an M3 would perform similarly.
samxp says:
08:12 AM, 01/29/08
This is about the most snow/ice that I've had the M3 in. As long as you take it easy, it's definitely manageable. I know several people who swap wheels with winter tires and drive in much deeper snow. My goal is for it to be my daily driver! No heated garages for my ///M
aps2 says:
03:46 PM, 01/29/08
For the winter, I have Pirelli 210 Snowsports on my e-36 version - 17/45/225 all around. The car is very impressive on snow and ice - better than my AWD Toyota RAV4.
hondacura4 says:
06:59 PM, 01/29/08
My tuner has a 03 M3 and he recommends a dedicated snow tire for the winter months.
drmillerM3 says:
06:45 AM, 02/12/09
Joe,
If you want to drive your M3 in the winter, be prepared: It's out of its element there. I moved to Louisville, KY where we only have a few weeks of bad weather, but enough snow and ice to test my e46 m3 out. Under light snow it's completely fine; just leave dsc on. Under thick snow, and especially ice, it is borderline worthless. However, I still had my Michelin PS2's on, which perform poor even in cold weather. My recommendation is to either get all season or winter tires, but it's probably best to have another car for winter weather