I got another taste of what a 2nd generation M3 can do.

This morning on Route 1 (Edison, NJ) I was at a stop light and I saw this E36 M3 behind me. So the light turns green and I take off while eyeballing my rear view. The M3 just kind of hung back a bit but kept pace. Then I get to the next light and the M3 pulls up in the lane next to me and I look at the guy thinking: It's on!!

Light turns green and we both screech our tires and take off. I was even with him through his 1st & 2nd gears but come 3rd gear he pulled an instant 1-1 1/2 car lengths on me. By 4th gear, I really had nothing for him. This was the first real time that I regretted not getting a 6sp 2K2. (Though I doubt the 6sp could beat it, it would have been much closer than the spanking I got.)

Props to the 'M'.

 

 

yea dont mess with our M3's.

 

be gone with. Yea, m3s are nice but we dont need your superiority complex statements. Drive through please

 

I normally don’t post my kills but this one was special. I’m not big on BMW’s nomenclature but I believe it was around a 97-98 M3. Whatever the generation is before the current one. But it was around 1 am and the wife and I were headed to the Cheese Steak Factory in Georgetown (DC) when this M3 started playing with us on Constitution Ave. We were at the light when I noticed him inching up and revving his engine. So I decided to do the same. We both took off and I immediately jumped a half car lead and when he chirped 2nd I still had almost a half a grand to go. Then I chirped second and kept my advantage on him around the Lincoln Memorial and then slowed down. I figured he slept on me and didn’t realize how fast the 2K2 is. Either way seeing the disgusted look on his face was worth the five minute quiet treatment from my wife. She was fine again after she ate.

 

E36 M3's certainly are fast but I think 2k2 6-spds are a good match (in terms of acceleration).

Slightly more power (255 vs 240), more torque, and roughly the same weight. I can't imagine an E36 would have a gearing advantage either, given they only had 5 gears back then.

The latest M3 is in a completely different league, although I read an article in one of the car mags which really confused me. They had assembled something like 10 cars and got some professional race car driver to drive them around a race course and rate them according to their handling.

I forget all the cars, but there was a 360 Modena, 911TT, Z06, M3, and a Mazda Protege MP3 to name a few.

Anyhow, Mr. Racecar Driver ranked the M3 pretty low on his list (in terms of handling), even below the Protege. I guess maybe the BMW's aren't quite as adept as they would like to think? Modena was ranked first, 911 second I think.

 

Well, even if the maxima has more horsepower and torque than the M3, I have both of them, and let me tell u that the m3 is much better than the maxima in many, and most of aspects. The handling is much better in the M3...it is stiffer, and has less body lean...and no matter what torque the maxima has, the M3 does 0-60 in 5.4, while the 2k2 maxima, the fastest I have seen is 5.9. Don't start to flame now, this is my opinion based on the fact that we are owners of both the M3 and 2k2 maxima.

 

I mean crap, it is sounding more and more like a Max vs. CL-S thread...meaningless since the cars are NOT competitors.

For a smaller TWO DOOR car, to say nothing of the $$$ difference, an M3 darn well better move!!

 

Mmmm.... Cheesesteak factory. I miss that place!

 

 

hmmmmm It seems as though Mags rate the M3 as being faster from 0-60, but from what i've been seeing, the 1/4 mile times of the E36 M3's are around the same as the 2k2 6sp... Maybe it's the RWD vs. FWD advantage that gets them to 60, but then the extra TQ and HP which allows the Max to pull in at higher speeds...

 

hmmmm......maybe......and they CAN be competitors, considering the M3's CAN come with four doors

 

where is a 4 door M3?

you talking about an M5??

show me a 4 door M3 and I may reconsider my position...

 

M3 was available as a sedan for quite a few years:


at least 97-2000, and maybe the generation before that, too. Try www.BMWworld.com to see more pics.

 

If you read that site, sedans were ended in 1997. Meaning the statement made that "and they CAN be competitors, considering the M3's CAN come with four doors" is not accurate.

 

No, 97 and 98 had the sedan. The new M3 is only currently available as a coupe, but the sedan will surely follow. I read somewhere that BMW rolls out one new body style for the M each year...coupe (now)...sedan...convertible. And he did say in the original post that it was an E36 which is the second gen M3.

 

...nice try though...

 

Yeah, I remember that place back when I lived in D.C. The little joint on M about two block up after crossing the Key Bridge, right? That place was a classic.

 

This is classic. Some Maxima owner comes onto the board and states that he was beaten by an M3 and somehow this turns into a flame war. Give me a break.

Hey, the GMC Sierra Club Cab comes with four-doors....how does that stack up against the Max? What about the Hummer?

 

have come, can come... who cares?

ive seen sedan M3's. so has he. that is the point.

 

ROFL!

It's all good.

 

what really got me was that the Mazda mp3 had the SAME saloom(sp?) speed as the 911 !!! talk about zooming!

 

who cares about 0-60 or 1/4. like people stop in the highway and launch. the best races are in traffic where you cant go past 100, where the skills of the driver matter not how much bigger your engine is. anyway, racing cars that are similar powerwise to your car is frikkin boring. go race a carrera or vette or nsx or other highend cars. who cares if you lose. who gives a f*ck if u beat a TL or civic or another maxima or some other piece of crap. i tried my luck with a f*kin viper and got my *** handed to me. so it was fun. i raced a civic and i burned him in 3rd gear, wheres the excitement. and dont tell me u cant find phat cars in new york cuz theyre everywhere. peace

 

I know. That little MP3 is a real giant killer. Mazda is supposed to come out with a turbo-charged version of the MP3 this year, with 170 HP on tap. That should be a fun little car.

I remember that the section about the MP3 started with the racecar driver being quotes as saying "Wow!".

Correct spelling is "slalom".

 

 

Not one Maxima driver has a superiority complex.

If we can't beat them fairly, we'll knock them for the higher price of the car, etc.

F2, I'm surprised he beat you that badly.

 

A VQ35 Auto Max can't with a 5-speed E36. On the otherhand, a 6speed Max would've given me a fighting chance.