Worms...tin...of!!! but I'll give it a go!....Ironed out problems?, to a point. It depends what you call problems and yes there are a few. But if you can find a late 3R with the exhaust, fuel pump and fuel pump wiring done, you can’t go too far wrong. Some have had remaps and larger intercoolers etc etc , it depends what you want to do with the car. If you want to track it, the sky’s the limit, if you want a fast road car, that’s not going to threaten to throw you off the first bend (or round about , sorry) then a 3R out the box with a few mild mods is good enough for most people. What you may find, like the majority of owners, is once you start to improve the car, it’s a job to know where to stop!!!! Best of luck in your search

The brackets on the standard exhaust are made of chocolate and frequently break (and then frequently get poorly welded back together). The manifolds are also a poor design but this is common on all variants of the car.
A lot of people have replaced their exhausts to a true 'dual' exhaust which will offer more power but will require a re-map.
The fuel pump and wiring was not up to the job and could burn out. A replacement fuel pump and larger wiring direct to the pump is a simple job and a priority.
It was only the early 3R's that had 'open' diffs but if you've got that sorted.. great.
As said before, this is just the start and what you look for very much depends on what you want the car for. If you are going to track it, you need a TDS. If you are going to turn the power up, the gearbox, whether five or six speed becomes a weak point etc etc.

Good to know, thanks for the help!

Hey!!
It didn't throw me off. I just drove straight through it.

One thing always is restricted by another until you get all the mods done.
Get a 3R, do exhaust, fuel pump, intercooler, cam timing and remap, this will take you to 420bhp with lovely power curve, this is without touching the turbo's and you wont be disapointed. With turbo upgrade you can get 480-500bhp, this is the starting point though, i do not think we have found the finishing point for mods yet.
3R is a good base model for starting with due to all the factory upgrades from the GTO3, many GTO3 still have the MM ECU etc..you know the rest, although i think i prefered the "style" of the GTO3 wheels.

Think of it this way, it would cost you 10k to upgrade a GTO3 to 3R spec, due to ECU, clam, Transmission etc..
But you can upgrade a 3R to 420bhp for under 4k, i am not going to say M400 power because they tend to run at 380-400bhp from factory and not 425 as advertised.
So with a 3R and 4k spent you can get better performance than factory M400 spec still keeping the T25 turbos.

Cam timing £450
Fuel Pump + wiring fitted £250
Exhaust UK fitted £1800 apx
Intercooler Fitted £700 apx
Remap £300

But with regards to issues being sorted, there are still issues on the 3R same as all M12 models, coolant hoses need changing, floor pan "may" leak in heavy rain, see my posts on "considering buying an M400" threda, i rambled on for ages.

I could give you a list of a hundred jobs which can be done to improve the 3R, i.e. i consider unwanted noises an issue that needs sorting, tunnel cooling is an issue, airflow through engine bay is an issue, but that is just me So it all depends on what you consider is an issue that needs sorting.

IMHO a new exhaust is not a "neccesary" mod...an improvement, yes, but NOT neccesary, and therefore the wiring upgade and a new map, are the same. My car hasn't had the the tunnel cooling mod, but my gearstick doesn't get hot so why would that be "neccesary"? The car does not "need" the cam timing adjusting, or the turbos upgrading...it's bloody fast as it is, much faster than anything I've ever met on the road. So how come all these mods are "must have"?

The OP came here (and many others like him) looking to buy a car, and all he got was you "must" do this, the car "needs" to have this, those and that done...it's all bullfeathers, the standard car only "needs" an intercooler upgrade, and it's "advisable" to have a dump valve.

How many potential owners are we putting off buying because of this modification obsession some people have? Some of us just enjoy driving the things instead of ripping them apart every weekend

Discuss...

Martin.

Well said, Turk!

My car has no "mods" - unless you count removing the spoiler (a definite benefit for all here not regularly going around corners at over 90mph!) - but then that's for another posting

what does Mr Urbalizer mean by " adjusting the cam timing "? why does this help with power ?

i,m sure i read somewere that all the 3L engine cars had MBE and only the 2.5 had MM . can,t find details at the moment ...must be at home .

I fitted a turbo back dual system exhaust with free flow cats and havnt remapped the car (its a GT03)... admittedly i havnt been on track but i have done 5k miles with no issues and it doesnt miss a beat under full throttle.

I think the recomended remap is to release all the extra power that the new exhaust genuinelly can give you (I have open diff so Im scared to get it remapped lol).

If the 3R you buy has an lsd and a track day sump then other than the fuel pump mod (cheap) I dont think there is anything you "must do".. just some mods that'll give you much more power.