2008 BMW M3: Now In ALMS for 2008 Season

  • Thread starter Thread starter YSSMAN
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Well thats a relief. It wasn't looking good there for a moment...
 
After doing some searching on this "1495kg" number, I found that every webpage quoting it was Japanese. I figured that they must use dry weights there (thus making it lighter than DIN), so, on that hunch, I searched for "e46 m3 dry weight," and found a page that claims the M3 is 1495kg dry.

So I guess Mark Wan (the author of AutoZine) mixed up dry weight and DIN numbers.
 
Stop the presses on my previous post about the M3 weighing 3,483 lbs. I'm getting some conflicting information from BMW which puts the 335 at 1600 kg. EU unladen.

I'll report back when I've figured this out. The M3 may be heavier than the 335 after all. In fact, it could very well tip the scales at 3652 or even higher.

Ugh.

Autozine's numbers are still wrong though. :grumpy:


M
 
You know what.

It looks damn good in red.
 
///M-Spec
The number of pistons in a caliper is not especially relevant to a car's outright stopping ability. Remember that tires are what's stopping the car. If the car can produce enough clamping force to exceed the total grip of the tires, the number of calipers doesn't matter.
The advantage of a single piston design is lower unsprung weight and simplicity, so for all you guys complaining about weight, remember that adding mass to wheel/hub assembly is the WORST place to start doing it.
However, a disadvantage is the amount of brake pad touching the disc (total swepted surface) will generally be less than that of a multi-caliper design. This is why lots of people experience brake fade at the track in their Ms. If you have less total swept area, the heat generated from repeated braking will soaking into less total volume.

M
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This is all true, but one of the more important factors of a multi-piston caliper is the even distribution of clamping force, resulting in more even pad wear.
I would say, though, that outright stopping power isn't very relevant to the M3. Repeated stopping power is, which is more influenced by multiple caliper pistons than absolute stopping power.
Of course, switching from a stock pad to a track pad and flushing out the brake system before a track day takes care of this problem for 90% of track users.
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Of course :).
 
iceburns288
This is all true, but one of the more important factors of a multi-piston caliper is the even distribution of clamping force, resulting in more even pad wear.
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Yep, that's true. But having owned several BMWs that see plenty of hard use (including 2 M3s), I'd say uneven pad wear of the stock system is not an issue.

iceburns288
I would say, though, that outright stopping power isn't very relevant to the M3. Repeated stopping power is, which is more influenced by multiple caliper pistons than absolute stopping power.
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Outright stopping power isn't very relevant to the M3? I disagree. This is a 'sporty' street car with some track capability. For a street application, you need the shortest distances the tires will support. You need the pad to offer the best braking ability at any temperature. Consistency and repeatability is important, yes. But again, in the street/light track use context.

While it would be nice if Ms offered Cup-style endurance brakes out of the box, it hasn't been a design requirement since the E30.

Honestly, for all the marketing BMW does trying to get people to think Ms are race cars, they aren't. They're nice street cars that need minimal changes to be a good track cars.

But that's not to say Ms have crappy brakes; a stock E46 M3 can do 6-7 hard laps of the Ring before noticeable brake fade occurs, according to the M brand manager. At 8:22 a lap, that's about an hour's worth of hard driving. Way more than most M3 owners will do on a regular basis. And for those who do... changing pads don't take very long once you know what to do.


M
 
Now featured in Racecar trim too. ALMS, watch out!

Should be awesome to see this thing drive. The old M3GTR was a sight to see!

Hot on the heels of the 2008 BMW M3 release, those rascally Germans have developed a racing variant to further develop the incredible tech already present in the stock automobile. In 2009 BMW will return to racing with team Rahal Letterman Racing in the American Lemans Series. We'll be bringing more details and pics (got em!) after we recover from the heart attack and can dig up a press release.
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http://jalopnik.com/353481/chicago-auto-show-bmw-to-return-to-racing-in-2009-bringing-m3

m32.jpg


m31.jpg
 
I think white makes it look best, especially the track version! 👍
 
Wow that's a good looking racecar! I saw that on Autoblog yesterday, should be interesting to see how is does in the races.
 
I wonder if PTG Yokohama will return to M3s again...and, maybe, just maybe, if BMW could possibly return to DTM on the other side of the pond. also neat to see who takes the M3 in FIA GT.
 
What class is this racing in? GT3 I assume?

I'm looking forward to it! Furthermore, I demand that one be entered into the SCCA World Challenge Series!
 
If anything, I think that racecar brings out the changes to the current M3. The car looks longer and lower, more sleek and closer to a GT car like the DB9 or something. I'm impressed and believe these changes will eventually serve as the most basic distinction between the previous M3s. This car just looks like it was born to run in 2 door form with a huge wing and tons of body molding.

I say two thumbs up. 👍 👍
Btw, I'd think GT2 is the class for this car. I believe the last one ran GT2 against Porsche and this time it would probably fit right into the mix with everything else in GT2 (Ferrari, Porsche, etc).
 
Well, Current GT2, which WAS GT3 way back when.
 
Ah, I wasn't sure how much performance had been baked into the car. There had been talk that Team Corvette was going to move down to GT2, which would have made things even more interesting, but I believe they're holding off on that.

Either way, I'm looking forward to an interesting season with a presumed factory-backed BMW team!
 
A correction for the title of the thread: The BMW M3 will be racing in 2009.

If the cars that are racing this year stay for next year, there's potential for a GT2 class consisting of BMW, Ford, Corvette (privateer), Aston Martin, Porsche, and Ferrari. I can't wait.

As for the car; the white with the carbon fiber roof looks fantastic. 👍
 
Oh my that M3 racer is sweet!

<---- yay!
 
I've been more accustomed to the old Williams BMW colors of blue and white. It's great news that this car will be heading to the ALMS, meaning much more competition in GT2 unless the ALMS decides to combine GT1 and GT2 into one GT class (unless more support for GT1 cars comes along). The newer BMW style isn't a serious deterrent to the previous model. It reminds me a lot of the late 1990s BMWs while combining some of today's BMW design by America's Chris Bangle. I even wanted this car when I rented "Need for Speed: Pro Street." This car looks to continue what made the previous M3 great, even if not a lot of people like the newer designs of BMWs. And if I'm thinking sportscar racing and a BMW, there HAS to be the classic Prototype Technology Group team racing one of these. Maybe even with the classic color scheme from the mid-late 1990s. That's probably my all-time favorite M3-GTR. A close second would be the blue and white BMW M3 GTR that can be found in GT4.
 
I honestly can't wait to see that car in person! Very nice looking car and im sure it will have performance to match! I love BMW and I just keep loving them more and more. The company has been going in a great direction, but still is keeping to its roots! :)

Peace,
EG6_DUDE
 
Oh my, I can't believe I'm gonna say this but...

GO BMW!
 
YSSMAN
What class is this racing in? GT3 I assume?

I'm looking forward to it! Furthermore, I demand that one be entered into the SCCA World Challenge Series!
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GT3? BMW can run with the Porsches & Ferraris, thank you very much. :)
 
Sorry, I'm used to the M3 being a bit behind generally... Sometimes I forget about the 400 BHP V8...
 
JohnBM01
I've been more accustomed to the old Williams BMW colors of blue and white. It's great news that this car will be heading to the ALMS, meaning much more competition in GT2 unless the ALMS decides to combine GT1 and GT2 into one GT class (unless more support for GT1 cars comes along). The newer BMW style isn't a serious deterrent to the previous model. It reminds me a lot of the late 1990s BMWs while combining some of today's BMW design by America's Chris Bangle. I even wanted this car when I rented "Need for Speed: Pro Street." This car looks to continue what made the previous M3 great, even if not a lot of people like the newer designs of BMWs. And if I'm thinking sportscar racing and a BMW, there HAS to be the classic Prototype Technology Group team racing one of these. Maybe even with the classic color scheme from the mid-late 1990s. That's probably my all-time favorite M3-GTR. A close second would be the blue and white BMW M3 GTR that can be found in GT4.
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GT1 as we know it will be scrapped all together as of 2010, and from 2009 there will be a mix of current GT1 and the GT1:s of 2010, wich will in effect be what we today know as GT2 (Not quite though, bigger engines will come into play, and the homologationrules will come from GT3 basicly. Allthough there will be more aerodynamics involved in GT1 than the other classes. There is also supposed to be a world championship for GT1 cars, and a European championship for GT2 and GT3 cars.).
I think that is why Aston, Vette and the likes are putting more effort towards GT2, instead of GT1, simply to be sort of prepared for the changes to come.
 
I'm guessing they're doing this to get cars like the MC12 out.

As for the M3...I'd like to see this retro scheme applied...

ptgm3gtr.jpg


Hey, dump the uncompetitive Panozs and get that BMW back!
 
I cant do 3d chops for toffee, this is actually my first try at modifying a proper image.

BMWm3copy.gif


Bit it gives a general idea.
 
Yeah, that's pretty good.

HEY, PTG! SEE THAT? COULDJA DO THAT?
 
My point exactly, Jim Prower. That's the classic M3 GTR I'm most accustomed to. Maybe PTG could go old school for a one-off return to the white/black/reddish-orange colors.
 
Here's a livery I worked up:

 
Awesome. I see the classic BMW V12 LMR in that...

What if they brought back the, 'Original Parts Car' scheme?
 
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