I'm not sure anyone's really "beating" that much on the 3.0 here, aside perhaps from the OP to some degree. The OP hasn't posted here since early Dec 2010, and actually has (or had) a 3.0. He was the one with the most to say and harshest comments about perceived deficiencies: electric steering rather than hydraulic; the "sport package" rather than smoother non-sport suspension; runflats, and so on.
I don't read that as beating though. It's pretty much the same thing IMO that M owners do when talking about brakes on the ///M, plastics, nav system, stereo, hanging balls exhaust, excess weight. We look all kind of look at "what could have been" compared to "what is" and some like to find where things come up short.
Your post is right on the money with what can be done to take the 3.0 up quite a few notches--in fact, several of those items (coils, HPDEs, wheels/tires, pads/lines) could easily apply to the ///M as well. HPDEs are a must for getting the most out of any machine!
In terms of 3.0/M, I think both are great cars, and if there's anything to beat on it's BMW's lack of focus on maximizing the potential of both. On the other hand, when I look at what's available now the 3.0 and ///M are head and shoulders above some of the current bloated mass-appeal based offerings. Don't even get me started on the triple turbo "M" SAV that was posted in another area of Bimmerpost today.
