S4 v M3 v C32 v STi v Evo8

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Rotch
  • 76 comments
  • 3,871 views

Best performance sedan

  • S4

    Votes: 7 14.3%
  • M3

    Votes: 14 28.6%
  • C32

    Votes: 4 8.2%
  • STi

    Votes: 11 22.4%
  • Evo8

    Votes: 13 26.5%

  • Total voters
    49
  • Poll closed .
Originally posted by Initial A
funny somone would run an S4 with all those other cars when obviously on a track the s4 would place last.

And how much time, on average, do you spend on the track with your car, as a percentage of the total time you spend in the car? I bet it's less than ten percent.

Choice of cars is always personal, dependent upon lots of criteria, because each person has their own priorities.

As I said earlier, I would want something quick, surefooted and stylish, with a fair splash of luxury. Therefore, in this comparison, the S4 best fits the bill.

For me.
 
i think the amount of time you spend at a track is really irrelevant. especially as a percentage of all your driving.
if you buy a peformance car, you expect a modicum of performance. and while i can understand an argument the these are luxury cars i would say that they are performance cars first and luxury cars second. the more plebian models are luxurious enough, and dont pretend to have sporting ambitions.

but in this case, since we are talking about sporty cars, the handling of a car at a track is pretty important. we can easily establish that these cars a fit to be driven on regular roads without jarring your head on every bump. they do have somewhat compliant suspensions and err on the side of understeer. so they are street machines.

but when you can marry a docile street machine and a fierce track warrior then surely you have the best of both worlds. and thats what this is about. if the bias of suspension tuning they perform for the track doesn't detract from its street performance, we have a winner. if the engine tuning doesnt mean the car stalls at low speed and full lock, bamm. (as emeril would say!)

you could say its kinda like all the 4X4 suvs and trucks out there. they dont have four wheel drive because they go four wheeling every weekend. nay, they might go once or twice in three years. but anytime they feel like it, they can.

i know there have been days when i got off work after only a coupla hours and just killed a tank of gas hooning through the mountain roads and canyon passes while some poor souls were drudgingly doing their work. i didnt have to go to a track, but had great fun nonetheless. thats where the track biased tuning comes into play.
i specifically remember going the long curvy way to our end of season party for our rugby club. i got held up by some slow traffic and doodled along behind em until icould pass, then i had my fun. that drive would have been eniterly forgetable if id been driving a minivan or suv.
 
im talking about all out performance,sure for daily driving any of the cars would be nice but the thing is the S4 would never be compared to an STI or Evo in that sense. bottom line you want luxury sport take the M3 or the S4 but if your a true driving enthusiast then im sure the S4 wouldnt be on the top of your list.
 
Originally posted by ///M-Spec
I often agree with his Consumer Reports type car comparision and value the approach he brings to any car comparo.

Never mention 'Doug' and 'Consumer Reports' in he same post again! Unless you're referring to a different Doug, that is. I hate their biased, sappy car reviews. A car magazine for the uneducated consumer, in my opinion. And the Japanese companies just love it, because they get all the benefits...
 
Originally posted by advanR
i read that too. i think i also read somewhere that it wasnt a tight comparison. i doubt the drivers had enough time with the cares to exploit the differences. ive battled with a 350z (g35 also). it wasnt being pushed too hard, but it would be hanging with an evo. i dont like car magazines. a stock e46 would be lapping quite a bit quicker than that. power differences can be a huge deal.

yea, but they kept getting the same times, they did it by timing the car one by one, and thats what they got. r and t said something about how the m3 isnt stable comming out of the corners, cause when you tried to accelerate out, the rear end tends to wanna slide out, and over steer too much. it wasnt only car mags, it best motoring video who also tested each car one by one, and timed it, the 350z kept getting slightly better times over the e46 m3. but still even if they didnt get used to it, i would of expected the m3 to beat it no matter what, im still suprised by how close they are on the track. i would hope that the m3 with a few corrections to its suspension, that it would be able to beat a 350z, of course on that same track they tested on, but still it gets a lot better skidpad numbers though.
 
BTW. I think the Track model Z weighs about 3380.

well of course that all depend on what you get on the car, i havent seen the car being that heavy, but the number i put up is what i averaged out from the lightest to heaviest, since there isnt always gonna be that one specific number.
 
Originally posted by M5Power
Never mention 'Doug' and 'Consumer Reports' in he same post again! Unless you're referring to a different Doug, that is. I hate their biased, sappy car reviews. A car magazine for the uneducated consumer, in my opinion. And the Japanese companies just love it, because they get all the benefits...

Okay, but you have to admit that you care about interior volume and luggage space almost as much as they do.


///M-Spec
 
Originally posted by OoNismoO
well of course that all depend on what you get on the car, i havent seen the car being that heavy, but the number i put up is what i averaged out from the lightest to heaviest, since there isnt always gonna be that one specific number.

Well I had to look it up. According to my 3/03 R&T, their 350Z Track weighed 3310, no driver. C&D weighed their Touring at 3363 in 12/02.

So a base M3 with no sunroof and leather seats still weighs about 20 lbs more than a Touring Z with all the goodies. On average, a typical M3 will be about 150 lbs heavier than a Z Track. Case closed.


///M-Spec
 
Originally posted by ///M-Spec
Okay, but you have to admit that you care about interior volume and luggage space almost as much as they do.

Ick! I believe I've quoted each statistic just once, and only in the hope of an admission of incorrectness (which was, of course, never achieved - oh well).

By the way, my figure for weight on the M3 is 3197 (3560 for the convertible) and for the 350Z is 3188 (3428 for the convertible). My reference doesn't list by model, though, so I assume the "M3" is actually just any old 3-series coupe.
 
Originally posted by M5Power
By the way, my figure for weight on the M3 is 3197 (3560 for the convertible) and for the 350Z is 3188 (3428 for the convertible). My reference doesn't list by model, though, so I assume the "M3" is actually just any old 3-series coupe.

That's the weight for the E36 M3 ('93-99) Its more common to see 3150 for coupe and sedan. But up to 3190 when bought with heated, power front seats.



///M-Spec
 
i got 3394 from car and driver, the m3 with no sunroof and stuff.
the lightest number ive seen so far, but i guess i have to look at some other mags too. by the way i averaged from lightest version to heaviest, not including the convertable, and not including driver.
 
thats surprising. i still dont know how well the test was run though. was it on stock tires? i have ****ty tires on my car, it is very scary driving the car hard. when i had victoracers or gforce kds on before i was comfortible with the car doing anything.

gforce kd to victoracer at the track was about a 4 second difference in time. im pretty sure the KDs could be 5 seconds quicker than some ****ty bridgestones or somehting as well. and those ****ty bridgestones would behave badly, other than just being slower.

if the tires i have on my car, determine 10 seconds of a lap time, i think tires on the cars matters a lot.
 
Me i choose Evo.. seems like the main match is between Evo and M3.. the STI is closely following! M3 is very nice indeed but i love the Evolution... put both on track and on most track Evo will win... with equal driver that is

ROll
 
Originally Posted By M5power:Unfortunatley, theres no wagon version.


Alas there is. If by wagon, you mean estate, here it is.
mercedes_18102001_5.jpg
That ought to get the seniors furrowing their brows.
 
Originally posted by rollazn
put both on track and on most track Evo will win... with equal driver that is

ROll

that is incorrect. i love how someone can claim such a comment with no base.

GTP!!!
 
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