M3 vs. _____???

[TVRsagaris]

Has anyone found a car of similar specifications that can compete with a fully tuned M3??

My Tuscar 6 with NA2 is what comes the closest for me

 

[Div is back]

M3 CSL, M3 GTR road car...

 

[SkylineObsession]

I think he means aside from M3's.
I'd suggest a car, but don't even know what compares to them when stock. 👍

 

[mbavaria30s]

standard opponents for an m3 would be the audi s4, MB clk55 AMG, jag xkr, etc.

 

[pimp racer]

The M3 CSL STOCK alone is a hella car! Not really sure what can compete againt it...maybe a Skyline?

 

[ving]

fiat coupe turbo

try a skyline...

 

[extreme car]

NSX-R, EVO VIII MR, RX-7, Skyline GTR V-SpecII (R34), S2000 (if you're better than him at corner ), and Subaru Imprezza WRX STI Spec C.

 

[the hodge man]

to compete with a fully tuned m3 has it has a guess would be the amuse s2000 gt1 against a fully tuned one , standard i would say honda nsx and the audi s4:tup:

 

[Skant]

There's pleanty of similar cars that can compete with it or beat it. I don't understand your confusion.

The M3 is awefully fast for a luxury sedan. But it doesn't walk on water.

- Skant

 

[325adam]

There's pleanty of similar cars that can compete with it or beat it. I don't understand your confusion.

The M3 is awefully fast for a luxury sedan. But it doesn't walk on water.

- Skant

its not a luxury sedan. Its a coupe

 

[Shentar]

A fully tuned comparo seems like a bag of nuts. With enough tuning just about any car will hang provided a similar power-to-weight ratio. I think a stock comparo is more revealing.

 

[speed_freak]

the corvette c5 is pretty good to race against a stock m3. I prefer the m3 csl over the m3 its just more fun to drive.

 

[BMW_M3_GTR]

M3 is one of the best cars on the games. The M3 GTR touring car is the best out of the lot cause its downforce is already set up.

 

[jmke]

tell that to the EVO VIII which smokes it

 

[Sloth]

Why does it have to be 'fully tuned', and not, 'realistically tuned'.


Sure, I used to crank out as much power and as little weight as I could back in GT1 and GT2, but with the advent of GT3, I soon realized that one can actually enjoy racing against evenly powered cars.

The fourth installment only enforces this fact.


In fact, you'd probably be faster/more consistent with less power.


My believe is that they made it so abundantly easy to aquire money as to discourage this kind of behaviour early on.

But if that's what turns your cranks.. by all means; burn rubber.

 

[TwinTurboJay]

tell that to the EVO VIII which smokes it

Evo VIII smokes a M3 ? in what ...wear and tear per mile ?

 

[jammyozzy]

Hmm...what about a Holden Monaro?

 

[BMW_M3_GTR]

tell that to the EVO VIII which smokes it

Smokes it at what. Being a a car for street racers? Reckon you should time trail ur Evo VIII around a track of your choice. Then post your time and I will almost garentee the M3 (being stock) would kill it.
If your going to do that then post the track and do it in a stock Evo VIII. Also Evo's dont last long on services where as BMW's last a year on a service like most cars.

 

[Shentar]

tell that to the EVO VIII which smokes it

You mean like with a blown head gasket so it spews out white smoke from the burning coolant?

 

[Skant]

its not a luxury sedan. Its a coupe

Oops. Typo. Anyway, it's still a luxury car.

the corvette c5 is pretty good to race against a stock m3. I prefer the m3 csl over the m3 its just more fun to drive.

This is true for some folks. But not if you know how to drive the vette. The M3 is easier to drive well, so it's not uncommon to see folks posting similar or better times with it. But it's not the faster machine.


The M3 has a lot of proponents who think it walks on water. The car does handle well. It's handling is exceptionally well tempered and free of bad habits, which is definately confidence inspiring. It makes it easier to get the most out of the car. But that doesn't mean it actually outperforms. Many of the fastest cars out there have... shall we say... character to their handling. In the right hands, they'll go faster than an even tempered car. But they have to be held on a short leash.

Anyway... not to knock the M3. It's a fine speedy car. Just... between it's confident handling feel and the BMW name... I think there are a few too many people that think it's faster than it is. Even untouchable.

But the truth is... SCCA doesn't even categorize it in the same class with the faster cars. And that's based on actual lap times, not 'feel' or 'name'.

- Skant

 

[CSS]

Nissan GT-R Concept 👍

 

[Skant]

Smokes it at what. Being a a car for street racers? Reckon you should time trail ur Evo VIII around a track of your choice. Then post your time and I will almost garentee the M3 (being stock) would kill it.
If your going to do that then post the track and do it in a stock Evo VIII. Also Evo's dont last long on services where as BMW's last a year on a service like most cars.

Well, the folks that run SCCA seem to think that the Evo VIII and M3 are more or less evenly matched. They both run in the same class. So neither is going to 'smoke' the other.

Frankly, I'll believe SCCA's classing lists over any zealot's claims. After all, their classing is based on real lap times in real life competitive events. Not just the claims of some armchair wannabe race driver who's read a Car & Driver article.

Here's some other cars that SCCA puts in the same class as the M3:

Cadillac CTS-V
Acura NSX
Camaro SS
Mustang Cobra SVT
Jaguar XKR
Mercedes E55 AMG, SLK32 AMG, SLK55, CLK55, and SLK350
Mitsubishi Evo RS and Evo VIII
Pontiac Firebird
Porsche Boxster
Subaru WRX STI
Toyota Supra Turbo


Not that I'm saying which of these cars is actually the 'fastest'. That's a subject for intense debate (as has been witnessed on this thread already). They all run in the same class. They're all close enough in performance that it's basically going to be driver skill that determines who is fastest. Any of these cars are capable of being the winner.

- Skant

 

[Shentar]

Well, the folks that run SCCA seem to think that the Evo VIII and M3 are more or less evenly matched. They both run in the same class. So neither is going to 'smoke' the other.

Frankly, I'll believe SCCA's classing lists over any zealot's claims. After all, their classing is based on real lap times in real life competitive events. Not just the claims of some armchair wannabe race driver who's read a Car & Driver article.

Here's some other cars that SCCA puts in the same class as the M3:

Cadillac CTS-V
Acura NSX
Camaro SS
Mustang Cobra SVT
Jaguar XKR
Mercedes E55 AMG, SLK32 AMG, SLK55, CLK55, and SLK350
Mitsubishi Evo RS and Evo VIII
Pontiac Firebird
Porsche Boxster
Subaru WRX STI
Toyota Supra Turbo


Not that I'm saying which of these cars is actually the 'fastest'. That's a subject for intense debate (as has been witnessed on this thread already). They all run in the same class. They're all close enough in performance that it's basically going to be driver skill that determines who is fastest. Any of these cars are capable of being the winner.

- Skant

For what competition is that list for? Solo I, Solo II, etc..

 

[Chris Criswell]

Are you kidding me?

Please use the Search Function.

There was a topic made not too long ago that we talked in for a while...And it kinda died, just like this topic soon should, if you want to add on to the conversation, go back a couple of pages and find the topic with, (Best competition for the M3)..


Jesus Christ................

 

[Chris Criswell]

Skant, what services are you talking about? And which model car?

Plenty of people come to Autobahn more than once a year for the same thing..

A guy that used to own an M5 came into the shop 5 times in 2 months for similar problems...He was tired of having to bring it into the shop and keep paying for it, so he got himself a C6 Vette

I like BMW, but not every car has good long lasting service on it.

 

[Skant]

Smokes it at what. Being a a car for street racers? Reckon you should time trail ur Evo VIII around a track of your choice. Then post your time and I will almost garentee the M3 (being stock) would kill it.
If your going to do that then post the track and do it in a stock Evo VIII. Also Evo's dont last long on services where as BMW's last a year on a service like most cars.

Being a little impartial about M3 versus Evo 8, I thought I'd take these two cars (stock and on SM tires) for a quick spin around Laguna Seca to get an idea of how the lap times would compare.

BMW M3 1:37.360
Mitsubitishi Evo VIII 1:38.056

Hmmm... within a second of eachother. Neither of these were the fastest lap times I could have gotten from these cars. And I'm much more versed in RWD than AWD, so that's an advantage to the M3's time. After driving them back to back, I'm actually inclined to think that the Evo 8 is the faster car by a slight margin, but it's hard to tell. They're very close.

Incidentally, the C5 Z06 was around 4 seconds faster. Though I didn't manage a clean lap with it before I got tired of my little experiment. But it's pretty clearly not in the same class.

Btw, I hadn't actually driven the Evo VIII before. Thanks for getting me to try it out. I found it's handling character to be very unique... even among AWD cars... I had lost interest in the Evo's a while back in favor of the Subaru's. But now I'm not so sure. It's clear why the Evo has a lot of fans.


Chris Criswell: I'm not the one who made the comment about service intervals. That was BMW_M3_GTR. (And with a name like that, you can be certain he's unbiased...)


Shentar: SCCA Solo II.

- Skant

 

[ving]

interesting debate of peanuts vs beer nuts.... It comes down to taste really doesnt it.

thanks skant for actual factual relevant and non-biased replies

 

[smellysocks12]

Try a FPV.

 

[TVRsagaris]

The reason for the tuning is because of the cars if faces in the supercar festival. With similar tuning, you car win with a number of other cars but the M3 just handles so much better. The stratos is another one of these very good handling cars. Do you know of any others?

 

[Chris Criswell]

Sorry Skant, I wasn't paying attention to who posted what, I just summed up the whole thread, and drew a name from the hat to be picked on and you were the winner