[avi66]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

I cannot imagine how that would void warranty. I take my cars in for service FBO minus tune and never have any issues. So I cannot see how replacing a spring is going to void any warranty. As long as you have a good relationship with your SA it should be absolutely fine. I know many people will scare you and tell you that BMW will try to void warranty for anything, but they don't really do that. CNA primarily does their extended warranty and they are excellent as well, never had problems with them and they made many repairs on my cars with FBO and tune. So no matter if its BMW warranty direct from corporate or CNA, you will be fine by just swapping the springs. But I can't deny there is at least a 0.5% chance of it causing an issue.

It depends on the region in terms of what BMW will apply to void warranty.

Here, if you fit a non BMW approved modification, it’s highly likely your warranty relating to that system will be void. Heck, here fitting non BMW * tyres can lead to warranty issues relating to x drive. The law here means the consumer must prove the part didn’t cause the issue, rather than the manufacturer proving it did, which can be very expensive and time consuming.

For those that claim it’s not an issue just agree to cover the cost of those that have issues.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by satz

The M40 handles okay for what it is, and definetely better than less 'sporty' SUVs.

But it's still a tall, narrow (esp its track width) and fairly heavy car. Mine has the optional diff that does make a difference powering out of a corner.

But I'm sure an equivalent M sedan like the 340i would be way better.

a 340i is not an M sedan... an M3 Competition is lol...

BMW really confused everyone with the marketing lol... the M lite models really should have never come into fruition... just keep sport packs on regular BMWs but the really devalued everything that is M over time

[mcdanielvzw]

Originally Posted by ASAP

a 340i is not an M sedan... an M3 Competition is lol...

BMW really confused everyone with the marketing lol... the M lite models really should have never come into fruition... just keep sport packs on regular BMWs but the really devalued everything that is M over time

For sure, hence my pandering comment lol. "You get an M, and you get an M, and you get an M!"

[14Down]

ASAP,
I respect your opinion, but I am glad BMW produces the 'M Lite' models (and I would probably buy them regardless of what they called them). I currently have a '22 M340i and a '24 X3 M40i. They are amazing cars that won't rattle your teeth from too stiff suspensions, have less lag at lower rpms than the M3s and get much better gas mileage than the 'real Ms' do. If I still lived near winding roads, I might have gotten an M3 (6 speed), but I live in flat Florida with heavy traffic. The M lites are much more suitable and pleasant for that environment than the M3.

I have driven both the M 340 and a prior X3 M40i at Sebring during 'parade laps' on Porsche Club and Historics race days and they have performed extremely well (the X3 following a Porsche 911 GTS who couldn't believe he had an SUV on his tail around corners and on the straights; the M340 behind my son in my former M3 with the S65 V-8, 6 speed, and hitting up to 130 mph on the back straight. Not too shabby for baby Ms.

The M3s are excellent cars, but unless you track them, you won't appreciate their true potential.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by 14Down

ASAP,
I respect your opinion, but I am glad BMW produces the 'M Lite' models (and I would probably buy them regardless of what they called them). I currently have a '22 M340i and a '24 X3 M40i. They are amazing cars that won't rattle your teeth from too stiff suspensions, have less lag at lower rpms than the M3s and get much better gas mileage than the 'real Ms' do. If I still lived near winding roads, I might have gotten an M3 (6 speed), but I live in flat Florida with heavy traffic. The M lites are much more suitable and pleasant for that environment than the M3.

I have driven both the M 340 and a prior X3 M40i at Sebring during 'parade laps' on Porsche Club and Historics race days and they have performed extremely well (the X3 following a Porsche 911 GTS who couldn't believe he had an SUV on his tail around corners and on the straights; the M340 behind my son in my former M3 with the S65 V-8, 6 speed, and hitting up to 130 mph on the back straight. Not too shabby for baby Ms.

The M3s are excellent cars, but unless you track them, you won't appreciate their true potential.

My friend... i too live in Florida... and I have owned real M cars (F87 M2C / F80 M3) and have my current M lite X3 M40i... my good friend has an M340i as well... I've driven around both Homestead speedway in real M cars and around PBIR in M lite cars... they are both very capable in their own realm... the M lite cars are excellent at 8/10... once pushed past that they fall apart and their "performance" faults come out. As a daily driver, to some, they MAY be a better choice... to others as me that want to push their cars harder, they may not scratch the itch enough. I enjoyed everyone of my true M cars on the street more than my M lite cars... as do 99% of the people on the M3 forum (in fact only 10% of M cars are tracked and that is a high forum estimate). The new G80 M3 was purposely made more pedestrian so it's even better on the street with wider adaptive suspension settings...

The extra cooling the M car offers when being pushed is something I appreciate, the stiffer suspension is as well as is the much faster steering rack... if you have a lot of experience driving both cars back to back, I assure you it's often more about how the car FEELS and the enjoyment if offers than it is the actual performance of the car.

I am only in an X3 M40i (which I love) because during Covid X3M allocations were hard to come by and everyone yelled how unbearable the ride was in the actual X3M... then i got a chance to drive an X3M once covid passed and I realize the mistake I made... not only did the X3M have better, more comfortable seats but because it rode on standard michelin PSS non runflat tires, it actually felt more comfortable to me... but you know where the real difference came? In the amount of fun I was having behind the steering wheel. YMMV

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by 14Down

The M3s are excellent cars, but unless you track them, you won't appreciate their true potential.

i think many would disagree with you there. just because you can't or won't push the M3 on the street past triple digits on a curvy road doesn't mean others wont. not saying its right, but people do it.

[bocabimmer]

As far as I can tell, we have the following topics all being discussed simultaneously:

Sedan vs car
What defines “performance”
Is a M lite a true M car?
Requisite 30 vs 40 affirmations
Are M cars really necessary as a road cars?


Did I miss any?

[jwong77]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

As far as I can tell, we have the following topics all being discussed simultaneously:

Sedan vs car
What defines “performance”
Is a M lite a true M car?
Requisite 30 vs 40 affirmations
Are M cars really necessary as a road cars?


Did I miss any?

I think it mostly boils down to “I want feel good about the car I drive/own” or “I’m better than you because I drive XYZ”

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

As far as I can tell, we have the following topics all being discussed simultaneously:

Sedan vs car
What defines “performance”
Is a M lite a true M car?
Requisite 30 vs 40 affirmations
Are M cars really necessary as a road cars?


Did I miss any?

i think you forgot the "if my x3 isn't build in germany is it really a BMW?"

[TXGrey]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

As far as I can tell, we have the following topics all being discussed simultaneously:

Sedan vs car
What defines “performance”
Is a M lite a true M car?
Requisite 30 vs 40 affirmations
Are M cars really necessary as a road cars?


Did I miss any?

Nope!

[Sportstick]

If we go in sequence, is this the next step?

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/performance

Interesting that they have a N and a lesser performance N Line! Where did that idea originate?

A few more and we get to P-cars, and that opens an entirely new discussion.

[bocabimmer]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

If we go in sequence, is this the next step?

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/performance

Interesting that they have a N and a lesser performance N Line! Where did that idea originate?

A few more and we get to P-cars, and that opens an entirely new discussion.

Well didn’t they poach the head of the ///Marketing division from BMW?

[jwong77]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

Well didn’t they poach the head of the ///Marketing division from BMW?

Also, based on the latest Curmudgeon podcast, all of the big German car companies meet annually to tell each other what they are planning. So there is that too.