mad4slalom
Senior member
a beauty ! interlagos is the equivilent to estoril blue on the breadvan z3m coupe, its the colour that most suits the m coupe 's i think. even though they are great in any colour. wher did you get that splitter, love it 
GuidoK said:Nice pantera on the carlift 8)
Adam83 said:I can't stop looking at these pics! Best looking Coupe I've seen!!
***very photo heavy***
Hello everyone,
I have now had the pleasure owning this car for about 6 months, and can say that i truly cannot get enough. A car that I waited for over 18 months to say I rightfully own! I initially put a deposit on it in October of 2013, after searching for something like it for 8 months. I always wanted an ///M, but in the spring of 2013 I couldn't decide between an e46 m3 and a 135i, yes I know, the 135i is not an ///M. Two very different cars and I liked the fact that the n54 in the 135 could easily be upgraded to run 400 whp. Well out of left field, I met a man with a red lotus exige with a daily driven z4m coupe and I fell in love with the car. I did an extensive amount of research and knew that the z4mc would be my next car, but with only 1815 ///M coupes ever made I had my work set out. I knew I wanted a blue car, and my sights were set on an interlagos blue specimen. I searched for months and by august of 2013 I lost hope. Occasionally one would pop up and be way to expensive, and let's face it, I might have just been dreaming the entire time. Well in September a beautiful 2 owner example popped up. Literally my dream example. 60,000 miles, interlagos blue over black, carbon fiber trim, some other goodies. I was in love.
I later picked up "Helios" in may of 2014, maintained by an phenomenal man who was a pleasure to work with, I could not have found a better car. I researched the car more then need be, examined the car and the owner was along side every step of the way, helpful and knowledgeable, a really stand up guy. A lot of his, as well as my time had gone into this car and I can say that when I went to pick it up, I felt ready. My e46 had taught me well, and I was ready for the next tier.
The previous owner,kept the car in a heated garage where he planed to build the m coupe to a high hp racecar, even having catless headers, a m-stache 2, wheels, seats, cf wrapped trim, tires, suspension, and a vf-570 supercharger in the garage. I chose from the lot and got the wheels, apex arc-8s, wrapped in fresh toyo proxes r888s. A phenomenally meaty stance with the 10.5 in wide rears wrapped in 275s. I also chose the coilovers as well. which were installed prior to my first visit back in October. Then he kept the car all winter while I worked my *ss off. I could not have asked for a better deal, nor a better car nor previous owner.
The car was also fitted with cf trim and black panels, originally all wood and tan. Inside were replica porsche gt2 cf seats, Reducing the cars weight by 52 lbs.The previous owner installed a few other lightweight components and corner balanced the car perfectly. I hope to soon weigh the vehicle. But an approximate guess would be around 3134 lbs without me. But that's a very rough guess just based on the amount of lightweight mods i have.
The car handles phenomenal. An Unlimited amount of grip, and boy does the s54 sound intoxicating. Not a normal engine sound either, you can hear the engine breathing and working, all the way up to 8000rpm. It rides low and fast, attracts attention from it's unique exotic look, and pulls harder then I would have ever expected.
The journey home from northern nj was a little worrysome. I had driven the car 5 miles prior to the pick up date. It was a difficult car to get used to, small, with an elongated nose. You are basically sitting in the trunk. It's aggressive, menacing and absolutely fun. I had a few interesting cars tag along on my voyage home, a lotus, couple audis and even a v8 vantage try to catch a glimpse. They didnt know what hit them
I got home and put the car on the lift to inspect it more. It was literally perfect. I was trying to find something wrong, and couldn't. It felt weird, coming from my e46 that would constantly throw a fit after being driven that far.
I put 600 miles on the car in the next 2 days. The previous owner put 2000 on it in 2 years. I put it in my garage and stared at it for awhile the 2nd night, knowing that I couldn't drive it for a few days. That turned out to be much harder then I thought.
And I present you with #1197 of 1815
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Ironically i sent this message to a friend when I picked up the car "So some future plans for the m coupe include learning the car, taking things slow and getting accustomed to it. Most importantly, Enjoying it. I don't want to modify it to much, I think I got the mod bug out of me with the e46, the m coupe is basically perfect from the factory. "
That statement remained true, well except for the modding part
Since I have had the car, I have
added a front tow hook mount, stupid US state laws
color matched the reflectors,
installed a stubby antenna
installed a set of rpi mufflers
mounted my m stache 2
adjusted suspension setting and ride height
personalized license plate
and some things on my list for the winter
vibra Technic street engine mounts
uuc black poly trans mounts
cdv delete
dkf hangers
installing my catless headers
iat sensor relocation
custom dyno tune from frank smith tuning techs
flush all fluids and do some routine maintenance
and get a car cover
The first 6 months have been absolute bliss. Although I must say the hardest part is not being able to drive the car. I've put a limit on myself to only driving the car on the weekends I find myself sitting in my garage late at night waxing and detailing it, or just sitting down and admiring it. The hardwork and dedication that I put in to receive such an amazing piece of mechanical art, as well as the work done by the designers and engineers when building it, is what makes it special to me.
sadly the car will be going into storage in my garage in the next 2 weeks. I have put roughly 3k miles on it this summer, and i have some big plans for next year! F/I
I have been researching f/i and i think for my purposes, location, and access to parts and service, a vf-570 bought used and tuned by frank smith would be the best bet( who can tune our ecu). Combined with meth, maybe running a smaller pulley to run 10psi max and upgrading the radiator and oil cooler, with a catch can as well.
But to celebrate a great season, im taking the car up to a local track for the first time this friday, summit point. It will be a phenomenal time, learning to drive the car like its meant to be driven.
Now get ready for tons of pics!!
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And another photoshoot.
Check out all of them here
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/justinjphotography/sets/72157645789193031/
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And my personal favorite.
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You can't walk away without looking back in admiration.
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and for some beautiful rollers