Trading in FL5 for G80 M3?

[minimedic]

I feel like we can address some of the gripes with minors mods. Meaning ITS module maybe Spoon springs which also appearing help with ride quality. It'll likely still be stiff compared to luxury car though. And theres a 300 dollar mod to add rear A/C that I plan to do this summer also as a dad of Two. Yeah kinda sucks to have to mod car for things like this but at the same time allows me to continue to enjoy all the other aspects of FL5 that you cant get anywhere else for price.

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[Pekingduck]

I currently own both g80 manual and fl5. They are different cars mainly due to drivetrain. I like the g80 more driving at the track when I am at 100% of my skill set due to always balancing grip and sliding. The fl5 so much easier to drive 100% and to me that the biggest problem because it not as rewarding. But running cost is cheaper with fl5. Curb appeal is different and you attract different attention I think fundamentally it the cost from 50k for fl5 and 90k for g80

 

[zumbooruk]

It all depends what you want from your car and what you can fit in your garage...

Before getting my FL5, I considered the 4BW and the M3 (both with the manual transmission as I would not be caught dead in an automatic unless it is my hearse)

Yet my garage made the final decision for me...

Our garage has a workbench in the rear, and the door to the house is to the side in front of the workbench. of the three above, the FL5 was the only one that would fit with just enough room to pass between the workbench and the front of the FL5.

I do not race or track and I value fun-to-drive, handling, and driver engagement more than raw power and straight line acceleration. I also value practicality, reliability, cost to own, etc.

For me, the FL5 is the best car overall: Fits in my garage, lots of fun-to-drive, excellent handling and tossability, the best manual transmission (even better with the Hybrid Racing short throw shifter and bushings), plenty of power for daily driving and canyon carving, lots of cargo space, practical, reliable, economical.

A week after I purchased, I swapped the suspension controller with the ITS DE5 suspension module, and installed the above mentioned shifter.

I recently got the DSC active suspension controller. Love it, second best mod I've made, I just leave it in Comfort mode, and it will automagically adjust all the way to firmer than the stock OEM in +R as needed.

But the best mod so far was the COBB Redline Carbon Fiber Intake and the COBB AccessPort with custom tuning by @JST Performance. I am still working with JST to fine tune, but as is, the preliminary tune is amazing, I can break traction in second gear, and the third gear pull is amazing.

 

[cryptolime]

keep the CTR. nothing beats the build quality of Honda manuals, imo.

 

[22Si]

If ride quality is an issue, take the M on an extended test drive. People complain about the stiffness, jarring and road noise.

Remember its still an actual performance car vs let's cram a B58 in every car/suv.

Get the wife a lexus or Toyota.

The M3 is a fucking sledgehammer but feels so different now having driven e36 to the current g80. its so i don't know. Its crazy how far they have come and what the car is capabale of.

The G80 is a nice car but reminds me of that fun and wild friend that was always a fun time, down for crazy weekends and nights. Not a care in the world. Working, partying, traveling, and just exploring. Except now he gets married, he works out now, has a good family, a great home life, a successful career, hes even vegan and that's ok bc its cool to be vegan.

He wasn't political and accepted all, now he goes to TPUSA events, he takes fancy vacations to bora bora with his family, when he goes out with "the boys" they get VIP bottle service and laugh at the guys approaching women on the dance floor. Every guy wants to be him and woman want him.

However behind all the greatness that everyone envies and aspires to be, he knows that deep down inside he's lost his edge. Thats the G80.

He yearns for the time he wasn't judged, he'd drive down to south beach with the guys, enjoy his mediocre hotel crammed in with 3 of his best friends, eat whatever, rock his chiseled body, sleep on the beach, dance on the tables, drink till his liver hurt, go back with a random girl every night. Then on the drive back home reminisce about the amazing time they had and how they have to go to work now.

Because he was winning, and he still is. But deep down inside, hes just different now.

As he sips his THC infused kombucha, because the wife wont let him drink alcohol anymore, partly due to his friend Todd's DUI and slightly growing waistline. He closes his TRT and Tren search incognito browers tabs. He checks to see if anyone responded to his M3 facebook group post about how comfortable a Porsche 911 would be coming from a M3 with carbon buckets that he can't drive more then 1 hour, bc it hurts his back and hips and can barely fit bc of his "workout" routine but also bc he sneaks in 2 bigmacs on the way home because he cant stand to eat anothet lentil burger. So he makes excuses to use his wife's G wagon, honey sorry my car wont have space for the groceries. Need to borrow your truck.

 

[spectre186]

Omg dude, that was amazing! I’m dying over here laughing. Are you a professional writer? Or was that ChatGPT?

 

[22Si]

Omg dude, that was amazing! I’m dying over here laughing. Are you a professional writer? Or was that ChatGPT?

Lol thank you, just speaking from experience no Ai needed

 

[optronix]

Lol thank you, just speaking from experience no Ai needed

Probably the most epic I've seen on this forum. You are officially in "must buy a beer" territory now.

In fact I'm wondering if this is just casual clever forum analogy vs a masterclass in socio-economic metaphor. The TPUSA vs vegan/lentil-burger stuff... is this drawn from personal experience (are YOU the G80 guy in a politically-mismatched marriage?), or is this a suburbanized version of RFK Jr?

In any case, in the running for POTY. Well done, sir.

 

[BuntaTypeR]

I’ve gone back and forth on picking up an M3 as a daily, but I already have a Model 3 Performance and it just makes too much sense. I’ve got solar and a 240 charger at home, so I don’t even think about gas prices anymore. My Type R runs 91/E85, but that’s more of a track thing.

The issue for me isn’t even the car, it’s time. i wish i have more time to drive it around. I work every day, and by the time I get home, I’m beat. The Tesla handles my daily (like 50 miles/day), and the R only comes out for track days (it has less than 7,000 miles/owned it for 2 years and 3 months now). I did consider grabbing an M3 xDrive or even an M2 CS as a daily, but i think im good. any disposable $ will go to my investments. The Tesla works great as a beater.

At the end of the day, buy what you want. it’s your money. One thing I do know is that ill never selling my Type R. That R is staying forever. If the engine ever goes, Ill just build it. These cars hold value, and you don’t see older R ones around much.

If you wanted something more refined for the fam, check out an M5 or even an RS6 Avant Performance.

 

[optronix]

Link to M3 forum post pls.

 

[spectre186]

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2238035

Link to M3 forum post pls.

 

[AspecR]

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2238035

Surprised by the amount of level headed responses in the thread to be honest. The only issues I have is that everyone seems to forget a G8X costs double what a FL5 costs. An additional $45k spent on a FL5 can get rid of most of the deficiencies except the ones inherent to it being a FWD car.

I understand that most don't have the time, wherewithal or resources to endure such an endeavour though.

 

[ABPDE5]

Surprised by the amount of level headed responses in the thread to be honest. The only issues I have is that everyone seems to forget a G8X costs double what a FL5 costs. An additional $45k spent on a FL5 can get rid of most of the deficiencies except the ones inherent to it be a FWD car.

I understand that most don't have the time, wherewithal or resources to endure such an endeavour though.

Alternatively, the additional $45k can be put to something completely different, including a second car (and if lightly used is an option, that opens a lot of doors to solutions that address OP's wants).

 

[jcb]

As a GT car owner and 993 owner....the Rennlist thread is your friend...the GT3 crowd moved it as it was probably seen as too threatening....and disruptive to their discussions on paint color and thread color matching with leather steering columns (those are big time issues nowadays as the GT3 has become a status symbol as much as a driver's car....sad times). It is here. Owned an e36 too...great car but the maintenance even then on a BMW could be stupidly costly.

Had a GT2. On the street, the FL5 is better. The G80 (have had seat time) is a big boat of a car and the excess complexity and BMW recent history suggests a costly to keep nightmare post warranty. The ZF8 can be tuned to be pretty good but it will never be a DCT or manual in terms of feel. Not sure on plastic parts in the engine of the BMW now....it had been really bad.

Honda's are engineers' cars for a reason. The FL5 is a masterpiece given the constraints.
I prioritize balance and feel. I don't do drag racing. I don't like a heavy feeling car. I put in a rear engine mount and an acuity shifter and run in "sport" suspension mode and love it. The FL5 CTR is what a Porsche GT car would feel like if fwd but Porsche would have a hard time charging less than 120k for it....sad fact too. And they would likely be impossible to get without 30k markups....and a 6m wait.

For me the stock FL5 has plenty of power and no overheating or reliability issues to speak of (I put in a wunderladen coolant tank just to make the one weak link go away) - I have done over 170mph over and over and over... at VIR...in Porsches...after that, adding power to a street car with 325hp already and a weight of 3200 lbs seems silly. The rare torque steer if I am stupid is endearing. Honda nailed it. I think you'll really miss the FL5.

 

[Cueyo]

Another lost soul to the BMW machine, Godspeed friend. I'm sure the m3 will be a great car

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