911mz

I just came back to Houston for the weekend and had couple runs with my friend's M3 which has intake, full hamann exhaust and computer chips with SMG, we had couple of runs on 2nd gear 50miles mine was just Dansk exhaust, nothing else


1st run, I took out 2nd gear rolling 50 miles, I pull him by a car, and he slowing catching up on 3rd gear, and kept about a car length.

2nd run, same 2nd gear 50 miles, pull him again about a car, 3rd gears seems the M3 slowly catchnig up from my side mirror and then we kept the distance still about a car and half ( I can see his bumper from my side mirror with some space left on each side)

3rd run, 2nd gear 40 miles still pull him hard about 1 car and half and kept going, he seems to give up at that point.

Overall summary, M3 is extremely powerful, especially with his mod, they ain't cheap, pulls hard on 3rd gear, 2nd gear was fairly okay, we didn't run on 1st gear. I was pretty impressed with the overall run. Figure to share with my fellows on here.

Mitty

Thanks for the post. Always curious to see how we compare to our M3 brothers/sisters.

CosmosC4S

So, what were you driving against the M3?
C2/4...S...tip/6spd...Turbo...?

911mz

02 c2 6spd

rbjbbb

Related a little,
I tangled with a CTS-V the other day. Not as good an outcome as you had with the M. It was from an on ramp going around 30 up to about 90 or so before we met traffic. I could not pull away at all. He stuck on me like glue. After reading up on it, I see why -400hp- sub 5 sec in 0 to 60 on the ctsv. I have an '00 C2 with tiptronic so I could not get the optimal gear out of the gate. Not sure it mattered though. That car smokes. Too bad it's a GM.
RB

Chaos

RB ,
But for the mileage i would have a CTS V for my dailey !

CosmosC4S

With equal drivers, the E46 M3 should be able to take your C2 without much effort.
Even hp, 1/4mile and 0-60 times are better on the M3.

So I guess you must have been the better driver, or your friend just can't drive.

Nutbeem

My understanding is that lap times, 0-60, etc are almost a wash between a C2 and an M3.

Nobody argues that the M3 is a great car - the new one will be a monster.

washington dc porsche

Good run.

Aren't SMG's automatic tranny's and if so are they slower than manual tranny M3's?

AudiOn19s

No...and not from a roll

In my experience (who am I to say ) roll-on's between the cars the 996 will almost always get a slight jump because of the generous amounts of torque available throughout the rev range but the M3 will pull back around on the top end. (100+)

However I would have expected the 50 roll to be in favor of the M3 as that's right in the sweet spot for the car.

Andy

911mz

That was a fairly surprising statement, I didn't know M3 can pull 911 without too much effort, I've known him about couple of years now, he claims he is a better driver than most of us, obviously his idle is Michael Schu which makes people think he's better driver I can't judge his skills, but he claims that SMG was a little difficult for him to handle, which I thought it should be pretty easy just shift the + when it gets to 8 lol....

Tippy

No, they are electro-hydraulically actuated manual trannies, the same 6M as the others, just with a hydraulic unit that shifts and pushes in the clutch for you.

My friend has one, very unusual at first, but you get used to it.

An M3 is quicker in the quarter-mile than most 996's, I have seen as fast as 12.80's stock with right driver of course.

ianwallwork

Autocar - a highly respected Magazine in the UK - tested a 2002 Carrera 2, standard except for PSEs, with the following results that are considerably quicker than any M3.

0-60 - 4.6 sec
0-100 - 10.1 sec
V-Max - 177mph

30-70 thro' gears 3.7 sec (that is blisteringly quick)

In gear times 3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th

30-50 - 3.2 / 3.9 / 5.3 / 6.9
50-70 - 2.7 / 3.7 / 5.1 / 6.8
70-90 - 2.7 / 3.6 / 5.2 / 7.1

Standing quarter - 12.9 sec / 112mph
Standing KM - 22.7 sec / 147mph

Wouldn't take bets on even a well modded M3 getting close

Ian

PS - Auto Motor & Sport in Germany got a 9.9 sec 0-100 run from a similarly specced car. Can't find the article though.

450knotOffice

I agree. I've NEVER seen any mag show an M3 able to outperform a 996. Power to weight ratio alone should be the first clue. At best, they are similar. In reality, the M3 tends to a few hundred pounds heavier than the 996.

Take nothing away from the BMW however. I like them and happen to own a 525i. Awesome car.

neilgeary

Gents, M3's do not perform manual 996's of the same year, never have, no fiction, just fact! Modified cars may do so but factory versions, nope! And the Autocar report you talk about, spot on, those guys run multiple tests and not just one hot 1/4 mile or 0 - 62mph. Also check out Top Gear, another UK based TV programme who run PCOTY tests every year which always include a 911 and an M3.

Guys................. we're talkin' Toger Woods V's Lost in the Woods!