321BHP.....Yeh right!!

[pilmar]

My new M3 Evo convertible struggles to keep up with My Ford Galaxy. It runs smooth, sounds well, starts first time. What can it be?? Any suggestions??

[Zod]

318 with an M3 badge?

[HarryW]

Zod said:

318 with an M3 badge?

I'd want a M3 with a 318 badge myself . Although it must be said most 318/6 drivers seem to think they have an M3 .

Back to the orignal question......... if it is really that slow I'd be back to the stealers,jumping up and down. Saying that my 528 barge feels just like that, a barge with a 2.8ml engine made of clouds . However once up to speed is surprisingly OK, it just doesn't seem to do the bottom end stuff very well IMHO.

Harry

[rassi]

VANOS?

[HarryW]

Could be, will probably run like a 320 without it.

H

[StuB]

Could also be the crank sensor, stretched throttle cable and loads of other things a good independent will look for first. Vanos makes a nasty rattle and cost £500 to sort at a dealers, so worth checking the cheap things first. When did it have new plugs last? etc..

I take it there's no oil/emulsion in water etc, and it sounds ok and doesn't use oil etc?

Can't help you with a local in Chester. Sorry. Try North West forum too.

[pilmar]

Thanks for the responses. It is with an independent in North Wales at the moment and he is testing the Vanos unit tommorrow. It makes a rattling sound as the revs die down so he frowned at that. Also the Accelerator pedal is very stiff and you really need to push hard to get full travel so he's looking into that. Now I know why the bloke before me was so keen to swop it for my TVR and give me £2500. Looks like I'll be spending that on sorting the car out. At least the SMG works............for now!

[agent006]

5 litre v8 galaxy?

[Broccers]

pilmar said:

Also the Accelerator pedal is very stiff and you really need to push hard to get full travel so he's looking into that.

Quite a few of the M Coupe owners (inc myself) have had the throttle cable replaced / greased which made a large difference.

Re lack of 321 bhp - find me one owner of a E36 / S50 M that has achieved the figure.

[Nick P]

pilmar said:

My new M3 Evo convertible struggles to keep up with My Ford Galaxy. It runs smooth, sounds well, starts first time. What can it be?? Any suggestions??

saying that, my Galaxy is the 2.8 V6, so gives my M3 Evp a run for its money

[siralp]

Petrol makes a huge difference. Are you using super unleaded?

[StuH]

pilmar said:

Thanks for the responses. It is with an independent in North Wales at the moment and he is testing the Vanos unit tommorrow. It makes a rattling sound as the revs die down so he frowned at that. Also the Accelerator pedal is very stiff and you really need to push hard to get full travel so he's looking into that. Now I know why the bloke before me was so keen to swop it for my TVR and give me £2500. Looks like I'll be spending that on sorting the car out. At least the SMG works............for now!

If it's rattling, it sounds like the dreaded VANOS ;( Never had a problem with my M3's but my M5 has just had the VANOS replaced. The ECU will put the car in limp mode if this is the problem which would explain the lack of grunt.

However, i never found my EVO cab that quick. The car is quite heavy with all the extra floor pan strengthening to reduce the scuttle shake.

[rj_vaughan]

MAF failed in my coupe and resulted in a nice smooth engine, but lack of power (not as much as you're describing though).

[shadowninja]

Vanos really only costs £500 to fix at dealers??

[stuh]

shadowninja said:

Vanos really only costs £500 to fix at dealers??

Not sure about M3, but it's £3.5K if both units go on an M5

[andygtt]

rj_vaughan said:

MAF failed in my coupe and resulted in a nice smooth engine, but lack of power (not as much as you're describing though).

MAF?

[stuh]

andygtt said:

rj_vaughan said: MAF failed in my coupe and resulted in a nice smooth engine, but lack of power (not as much as you're describing though). MAF?

Mass Air Filter. The ECU uses the MAF data to determine the appropriate fuelair mix.

[rj_vaughan]

Mass Air Flow (Sensor) as it happens and what he ^ said

[stuh]

rj_vaughan said:

Mass Air Flow (Sensor) as it happens and what he ^ said

I was close

[scoobz]

shadowninja said:

Vanos really only costs £500 to fix at dealers??

Around 1800 quid when I was there.