With the prices of E92 M3s finally dropping to affordable levels, they are quickly becoming one of the best performance bargains on the market. The S65 V8 produces an astonishing amount of power even in stock form and the chassis is well balanced for impressive handling characteristics. A luxurious interior paired with an optional manual transmission makes the E92 M3 an appealing choice for anyone with discerning taste and a penchant for driving at the limit. However, as with anything in life, it can always be improved. These are our suggestions to take your E92 M3 from stock to striking.
Suspension
The E92 M3 already has capable suspension, but the ride height and lack of adjustability leaves something to be desired. With a few upgrades to key suspension components, you can create an absolute weapon on the street or track that looks the part.
Suspension provides both critical improvements to handling characteristics and offers a visual change for the better with options that bring the body closer to the ground. For this, we suggest a few options:
Option 1: Track Setup
KW V3 coilovers. You can’t really adjust much with them, but that’s by design. KW developed their coilovers for this car to be the optimal solution for handling and decreasing lap times. Paired with Turner Monoball Front Control Arm Bushings and Thrust Arm Bushings, you can significantly decrease body roll and increase the responsiveness of your M3 on the track. Add in the Turner Motorsport front and rear sway bars for an even bigger reduction in body roll and more adjustability to where the grip in your M3 goes.
Option 2: Street Performance
BC Racing coilovers offer 32-way adjustable damping, independent preload adjustment, camber adjustment, and height adjustment for a competent set of street coilovers that will let you completely eliminate that wheel gap while also providing noticeable improvements to handling. These are more traditional coilovers that include upper strut mounts with pillow ball mounts rather than rubber bushings. That means less deflection and better performance on the street. However, I wouldn’t call them comfortable. And I know: I daily a car on BC coilovers. They aren’t bad, though.
Option 3: Full Stance
Air Lift Performance 3P. That’s pretty much it.
Wheels
Once your M3 is lowered, you should find a set of more aggressive wheels to match the new height and improve your stance. There are basically infinite options, it will just depend on what you like. Don’t take our word for it, though. Let’s see what APEX Wheels has to say about their experience outfitting M3’s with different setups.
Aggressive Street Fitment
Front: 18×9.5″ ET22 with 265/35-18 tires
Rear: 18×10.5″ ET22 or ET27 with 285/35-18 tires
Front: 18×10″ ET25 with 275/35-18 tires
Rear: 18×11″ ET25 with 295/35-18 tires
Front: 19×9.5″ ET22 with 265/30-19 tires
Rear: 19×10.5″ ET22 with 285/30-19 tires
Front: 19×10″ ET25 with 275/30-19 tires
Rear: 19×10.5″ ET22 with 295/30-19 tires
Square Setups
Front & Rear: 17×10″ ET25 with 275/40-17 tires
Front & Rear: 18×10″ ET25 with 275/35-18 tires
Front & Rear: 18×10.5″ ET22 or ET27 with 295/30-18 tires
Front & Rear: 19×10″ ET25 with 275/30-19 tires
Staggered Setups
Front: 18×9.5″ ET22 with 265/35-18 tires
Rear: 18×10.5″ ET22 or ET27 with 285/35-18 tires
Front: 18×10″ ET25 with 275/35-18 tires
Rear: 18×11″ ET25 with 295/35-18 tires
Track Setups
Front: 18×10″ ET25 – 275/35-18
Rear 18×11″ ET44 – 305/35-18
Front: 19×9.5″ ET22 with 265/30-19 tires
Rear: 19×10.5″ ET22 with 285/30-19 tires
I know that’s a lot to digest, but that’s pretty much everything you’d need to know about fitting wheels to your E92 M3. For more information on all these fitments, check out APEX’s wheel fitment guide.
Visual Improvements
With the wheels, tires, and suspension tackled, you can focus on giving your M3 some motorsport-inspired visual changes. It won’t take more than just a few upgrades.
We suggest:
ECS Carbon Fiber GT4 Front Lip
ECS Tuning Carbon Fiber Side Skirts
Turner Motorsport Carbon Fiber High Kick Rear Spoiler
With these upgrades, your M3 will have a striking appearance and an incredibly aggressive attitude without compromising its usability. Visual upgrades like the front lip set and rear spoiler give it a sleeker overall look while the side skirts help it fill out the space between the wheels for an impressive stance. Finally, the skid plate will help you keep your oil cooler, steering rack, radiator, and other exposed bits from sustaining damage at the lowered ride height.
Naturally, there is plenty to do to an M3. For improving its looks, though, we think this formula is perfect. You can enjoy the relatively stock M3 with just a few upgrades to make it perfect. With a better stance, improved handling, perfect fitment, and some carbon fiber goodies to tie everything together, your M3 can look and feel the way you want while retaining everything that BMW designed to make it the Ultimate Driving Machine. For everything else, our catalog of E92 parts has you covered.
