94 TT vs 97 2dr M3
 

I used to own a modified 89 MX-6 GT and this guy at my work with a 97 2door M3 kept doggin on my ride. Well the tables have turned, I recently bought a 94 FD3S and I saw the specs of his car and the 7 and they are pretty close (mine is bone stock with no issues). Assuming that he and I have straight launches, will his stock M3 pull on the 7? I found out that his speed governor kicks in at 137mph, while the 94 RX-7 is 156mph. What do you think? It'd be great to have an M3 as the first car on my kill list.

Thanks

My dad could beat up your dad!

its all about the driver. :)

make sure you got your shifting down or you'll miss third and dump into 5th and probably bust the 5th gear synchro in doing so. - do a search on 5th gear synchro to see what i mean.

also be careful with wheel hop as that will bust your rear diff and/or ppf. you can do a search on that one too if you like.

either way have fun with the attempted murder :) i'd like to see you beat him.

im always confused by these posts.....
go and race him and find out....
what happens if you lose, is your ego shattered??? did you put 500 bucks down on this race????

who cares if you lose

Neither car is built for drags, and it's a travesty to test them in a straightline. Nonetheless, you might be surprised to see the M car get the jump on you off the line. I have a '97 M3 4-door (with Dinan airbox and exhaust) and a '93 R1 (heavily modded). For low-end torque and high speed driveability, E36 M3 wins hands down. The bimmer is just so easy to drive fast through twisty roads. It's amazing how the Germans built the suspension to stick, and have the car feel so stable and linear. The suspension along with the smooth throttle response makes the Bimmer such a joy to drive. The FD, OTOH, is a nervous handling car at the limit (requiring much greater skill), especially with the boost turned up to 15 psi. Without a doubt my modded FD is faster than my M3, but the M gets more of the driving time, while the FD stays in the garage until open track, autocross, or goofing off on the public roads ;)

yeah? well my dad could kick your dad's a$$ and then my uncle would sue you for starting the fight :D

Owning a stock 7 for quite some time and driving m3's nearly every day I feel I have to comment. BMW's are great cars, don't get me wrong. But if you think a stock M3 can even come close to beating a seven than you are mistaken, given equal driver skill. An E46 is a different story but as far as E36-M3's go, there isn't even a question, a stock 3rd gen is much faster, top end and off the line. Go blow his doors off, and don't miss a shift. Don't fuck up the launch either, stock sevens will hop pretty bad if you drop the clutch. Go practice somewhere before you race him.

Im with you on the handling though, bimmers are confidence inspiring, thats the only way to describe it. They never feel like they're on the edge.

The'95 M3s came with 3.0 liter motors, while the '96 to '99 M3s came with 3.2 liter motors. The 3.2s are not weak, and make more torque at a lower rpm than a stock FD. The race will come down to which driver lays down the power effectively at the launch, and shifts flawlessly.

Does the M3 have a big difference in suspension and weight ratios than the 3, 5, or 7 series models? I have driven old/new 3,5, and 7s and don't think that BMW's are impressive at all.

Perhaps the huge amount of weight is just too big of a turnoff. Blah.

I didn't mean to say they are weak, but a stock M3 is no 3rd gen, off line or from a roll. Im sure I love e36's as much as you do, but everytime I get behind the wheel of a 7, I can feel the difference.

The M versions of the 3 and 5 are much sharper/crisper handling cars than the non Ms. Ms also get stronger motors. "M" stands for "Motorsport" if you ever wondered. The M3s and M5s are built at a different plant than the rest of the 3 and 5 series cars. There is no M7, but BMW did make a 740i "Sport" model in 1999. Engine is the same, but you get better wheels/tires/suspension on the Sport 740i.

What was the last year for the Nikasil blocks? Did that stop when they went to the 3.2?

Put a cold air filter, downpipe and exhaust on your car with boost controller and appropriate fuel mods and you should definately have the upper hand. Traction wouldn't hurt either.

2dr vs. 4dr 3 series BMW's weigh essentially the same. I read this a few times and it always astonished me.

-Mark

He should have no problem even if his 7 is stock.

For the daily grind, the M3 is the better car. For open track FD gets the nod for quick laptimes over four to five laps. If racing in an enduro (60 minutes or longer), better go with the M3, b/c the FD Rx7 will surely break before the halfway point. I'm speaking from experience here LOL ;)

3.2-L E36 M3 2 or 4 door weigh ~3120 to 3150 lbs curb.

Don't know. Wasn't aware BMWs had Nickasil cylinder walls. I'm aware of Porsche doing this with their 911s?

lol, aint that the truth.

DE event? "Sure i'll take the seven, wait, it's not gonna be over 85 degrees that day is it?"

LMFAO :biggrin: Yeah, make sure it's an early spring or late fall event LOL.

Im pretty sure nearly all the 3.0's were replaced under warranty with the alisil cylinders, had something to do with american gas eating away and the nikasil I believe.

It was off topic anyways but someone was just telling me that bmw's never had any major problems. Guess he has never owned an 850.

I should have made him go start our 01 M3. Hell, if you don't give them babies gas when their cold they will stall.

I'd say the 7 wins hands down. My bros got a 99 M3 5spd and I've ran him a lot while we're driving around and my 7 takes him from start and from rolls. M3s does have good torque and the launch on em are great, but once the turbos start spoolin, u can take em, not by much but you'd pull

on a roll, the M3 hangs with once we start but I'll start pullin away:D

3.2 liter E36 M3s are very strong in second gear, while FD is strong in 3rd gear. If it's a short distance race, M3 might have the upper hand due to better torque down low, and better rear suspension dynamics. If you're racing up to 4th gear, might be a different outcome. My E36 with Dinan airbox and exhaust makes 257 hp vs the stock 240 hp. The modest mods are definitely noticeable from my "butt dyno" LOL :)

Its a shame the US never got the real "M" engine with the 6 throttle bodys and dual vanos. SIgh, why is everything that we get improted here a tad watterd down. Nice E36 there sleep.

just get yourself a downpipe, catback, intake, and ecu.

you'll completely and utterly destroy him.

but seriously, its just a street race,
ur cars are close but you should really be able to beat him.
I used to have an fd, never raced a e36m3, but i did race a whole buttload of really fast cars, so I got a good feel for how fast that fd was.

and i'm pretty sure it could take the m3,
would be a close race but the fd should/could pull ahead.

I have a rx7 as daily driver, and my roommate has a 99 M3 which I get to drive sometimes. I wouldn't say my roommate's m3 give me more confidence than my rx7 when I push it to the limit. I tried both cars at high way off-ramp. My 7 can easliy handled 55 mph+ turn, but the M3 started to lose stability after around 45 mph. And I can really feel the weight difference when I dial a sharp turn. Rx7 just feels so much better! But the M3 does have some pretty crazy low end that I dream to have~ I can understand why some of you are scared to push the rx7 to the limit. The secondary turbo might kick in unexpectedly in rx7, that gives a nasty oversteer. This was the reason I used to afraid of my own car, probably contribute to some of your fear too. But after you master smooth control of the throttle, this is easily overcome.