I agree, they need to make cars lighter, not more powerful...**** 333bhp in a <3000 lb car would have been even better...

Maybe with stock pads and fluid....replace those and you are good to go. Just because they aren't big-reds up front and 380mm stock doesn't mean they aren't good brakes. 135 has better brakes? Oh yeah? I haven't seen any proof of that...

Maybe because someone doesn't want a 3 year old car thats expensive as **** to fix? And what does the 996TT weigh? 3400-3500 lbs? Its not exactly a light-weight either...

BMW is only producing products that the general public want...the track-day enthusiasts are not the majority of people that buy their cars...in reality its a very small percentage of the population...very small. People want bigger, faster and more luxury in their cars.

 

eek 70k or so w/ options ehh may have to pass. still not a big fan of the looks anyways.

 

I went from the E46 M3 to a 996 Turbo. They weigh the same.

Warranty? That's the most laughable thing I have ever heard.

I had my M3 for less than two years with about 20 track days. The engine was replaced under warranty, so was the diff, so was the drive shaft, the guibo, and a host of other little things.

My Turbo had the same amount of mileage and track days, and it spent less than three days at the shop the whole 28K miles I had it. And one was for the scheduled oil change.

This M3 is nur optik. Who gives a scheiße about CF roof when the damn thing weighs 3600 pounds? How about spending that R&D on actually making the car lighter instead of this ricer bling?

 

That must be why E46 M3 guys in fast groups are always messing around with their brakes, because they are so good, right?

It is so funny that BMW guys are always futzing with brake fluids, pads, ducts. It was especially funny when I went from the E46 M3 to the 996 Turbo. I showed up at the track, I drove the car, and I drove it home. The engine did not grenade, the diff did not go, the drive shaft did not blow up. Oh, and the brakes actually work.

Er, no. Try again. Both cars were weighted, and they are about the same, at 3380/90 something.

Are yo usaying this because you have had a 996 Turbo for 28k miles after your 28K mile M3? The Turbo was 50 million times more reliable, and spent less than three days, including the scheduled oil change, in the dealer.

BMW is giving car enthusiast the finger by cobbling together this stück Scheiße that is grossly over weight, grossly under braked, and grossly over priced.

You can put lipsticks (M3 badge) on a pig, it don't mean that it would turn into a super model. Not even super pig model.

 

lots of hot air

 

i've had 3 three m3's as well, 2 E36 and a E46, still have the e46. This new one is just too damn heavy. It will perform great in a straight line, and do well on moderate to higher speed turns, but will not be a good car for transitioning in turns. The brakes are going to get beat up no matter what with that weight. The engine is an absolute engineering masterpiece and i agree with others that BMW needs to redefine what the M3 stands for, a sports coupe, not a GT car like the M5 and M6.

 

Lets look at race teams...since HPDE is not a good indicator. There are plenty of race teams running race pads on the stock brakes. Have you ever look at a how big that piston is in the M3 caliper?

No comment.

Ok...3400 lbs...its no Elise...

The turbo was also twice the cost of the M3 when new...and I'm sure there are a few to disagree with you on the reliability of the Turbo. No doubt that if anything DOES go wrong on the Turbo once out of warranty, you are going to get royally ****ed on the repair bill. Its not a cheap car to own and lets not delude ourselves that its going to stay relatively maintenance free after 60K miles.

As I was saying, the car enthusiast might be who they say they market to but who are the majority of the people you see driving around in M3s? Do they look like they go to the track every weekend? People need to let the idea go that BMW will build a homogenized racecar like the E30 and somewhat like the E36. Its not going to happen. There is way too much money at stake in the high-end sports coupe market to waste their money trying to save weight for the <1% of the people who might appreciate it.

 

The reality of automobile production nowadays is bigger and faster, which is not always better. Cars today are now bloated and much bigger and heavier than their model predecessors 10 years ago.

This is evident in the new M3, but also at every other auto manufacturer worldwide, including Porsche. Just look at the 964 next to a 996 or 997.

It is what it is.

 

Please enlighten us, how many M3's have you had? And have you tracked your M3 in the middle of July at places like Vegas Speedway or Button Willow?

The single piston brakes worked well in the E36 M3 because that thing weigh barely 3200.

The same single piston system in the E46 M3 with the ducts come blocked off standard in the U.S., no less, struggled to keep up in DE's in anything but the rookies group.

And now, they put the same winning formula on a car that is 3600 pounds and expect it to be able to last two days of DE?

 

Want to see how well single piston works from a BMW race car?

 

buy new brakes.

 

Thanks for sharing your opinion...time to go back to the 996TT forum and talk about how great your car is.

 

What's the matter? Oh, someone insulted your teh awesome M3?

So, how many M3's have you had before the mighty E46 M3? Some of us here are car guys first, xxxx brand fans second. I like fast cars of any brand. And as someone who has had three M3's plus my current E30, I think I qualify as a BMW fanboi, no?

3600 pounds is 3600 pounds. There is no way around it. Single piston calipers is the same, no way around it. Perhaps the lazy M engineers can go knock on the 1 series peeps door and borrow some calipers from the 135 parts bin?

Oh and BTW, Turbo and GT2 are two different cars.

 

if you're doing that much track time, buy a lotus.

 

Dude...I was agreeing with you on most of your points, except for the brakes. The car is too heavy but what you don't seem to understand is BMW is not making these cars for track day junkies and HPDEers. They just don't give two ****s about this very very small population of their market. It's also not where the money is and BMW knows this. There is no profit in it for them to create a ultra-high performance track monster. Maybe when the CSL comes out (in very limited numbers, and not in the US), you'll see a drop of 200-300 lbs (and thats a big maybe).

I'm glad you have a GT2. Enjoy it...