I was on the 57 Fwy the other night & a E46 M3 started racing me. It had great response, and was fast!
And it prob costs $20K less..


but it was modded, dunno what it had, but it was pretty quick, at least as fast as my C2. maybe faster...


Im sure this is not a suprise to any of you, but just thought id share, i was suprised, i knew they are fast, but this one was darty.. on the freeway!

 

Sad thing is how much money they probably put in it to keep up with you though.

 

E46 M3's and 996 non-turbos are pretty evenly matched from the factory, acceleration wise....

 

^ yup yup ^ money saved (lets say the $20,000 someone mentioned) put into modding an m3 would be pretty dang un-touchable by stock carrera standards...buy hey theres no substitute right fellas

 

Or you could have raced a modded Subaru STi and at like 40k cheaper than a 911 been smoked....or a Vette....there is always something faster....by the way depending on the speed you were at and he was at depended on who won...if he was stock, he would have started to fall off at 120...the M3 is geared lower so it has better low end and off the line speed, the 911 is geared for high end speed...

 

not it doesn't (newport i swear i'm not following u around to disagree )

the M3 is not better in the low end and off the line. you really have to rev the S54 out to get to the torque - it does have a lofty 8K redline.

my 3.6 is torquier on the low end... not sure how that race plays out but i will say it again.. it's a driver's race in the straights.

braking, turning, steering, sound... 911 takes it easy.

 

in a straight line, your 996 C4S will take a stock or slightly modded M3. they are known to run high 12s at 108-109 mph.

 

Porsch 996 Gear ratios....
Final Drive 3.44:1
1st Gear Ratio 3.82:1
2nd Gear Ratio 2.20:1
3rd Gear Ratio 1.52:1
4th Gear Ratio 1.22:1
5th Gear Ratio 1.02:1
6th Gear Ratio 0.84:1

BMW E46 M3 Gear Ratios:
Final Drive 3.62:1
1st Gear Ratio 4.23:1
2nd Gear Ratio 2.53:1
3rd Gear Ratio 1.67:1
4th Gear Ratio 1.23:1
5th Gear Ratio 1.00:1
6th Gear Ratio 0.83:1

What you see is the gearing from a stand still, the M3 is geared to accelerate faster...this is for 0-60 times. Marketing. Once you get up to where the gears get spread out more the 996 will have the advantage....Thats all I am saying. Thats why the M3 has a faster 0-60 time, yet a slower 1/4 mile time....once the 996 gets going its faster. The M3 is faster off the line up to about 70....

 

yes, you are correct. my m3 is geared VERY low, with 4.10s, but still tops out in the 180's due to an 8500 rpm redline thanks to my chip.

 

if you raced an E46 M3 on the tracks where curves exist stock vs stock its another story

 

was that aimed at me? i cant tell whether youre saying the 996 is faster or not, but if you are diregard this post because yes i agree that the 996 is faster. because on the track a 996 is going to eat an e46 m3 stock for stock. 996 C2 is 5 seconds faster on the 'ring' than the e46 m3. 996 C4 and m3 are neck and neck. 911 is lighter, has better turn in, better steering feel, wider tires, better grip, better lateral grip, better brakes, etc. i dont see where the m3 is going to pull ahead, and i HAVE an m3.

 

thx for sharing, but again, i will say that the M3 is not nearly as easy to drive around town as the 3.6, hair splitting aside. i put on 12K miles on an E46 M3 in the span of a year. you really have to wind that thing out from a stop.

i don't buy at all into armchair QBing... i'd love to see a vid of two level headed people racing the e46 m3 and 996 carrera 3.4 and a 3.6 from a roll from say 25mph to whatever.

i'd be curious to see how the 3.6 on my porky c4s does as my c4s has the "stage 2" evoms/giac setup (yea yea i know all about the little gains on n/a engines believe me). my not so accurate **** dyno tells me the c4s is faster than my M3 all throughout the rev range. more torque, more power period.but if i wanted outright power, i would've gotten a turbo, but alas, i love n/a power so i have no idea why i'm even posting here. haha

 

yes, they are fast... since i know i can't beat them by much, i save myself the trouble when m3s pull up and want to race.. i just ignore them and keep on driving =P

but i have to say, that additional 20k is worth it since when the guy pulls up next to my 4S and his girl looks at my car, i know she thinking about riding in my car instead

 

i (2004 4S) raced a supercharged E55 a few days ago from 20mph roll to 70mph, we were neck to neck, does that sound right?

 

No...........