996 Turbo V's BMW M3

[marcus a]

A couple of months ago an old lady in a beat up Peugeot ran into my second car a BMW 330d (very nearly picked up the Porsche keys that day"¦.phew"¦) making a mess of the front bumper, wheel, suspension door etc. Anyway they tried to give me a Nissan micra as a replacement, err yeah right! anyway after a bit of haggling I ended up with a nearly new black BMW M3 manual. Expecting to have it for a couple of weeks I'm about to give it back on Monday and exchange it for my repaired 330d after a full 10 weeks of hard use, keeping the miles off the turbo.
I was initially impressed, chunky steering wheel serious seats and all round felt totally solid and bomb proof.
But for any one thinking that this car can drive like a Porsche then DON'T. All in all it's a noisy little upstart with a rattley exhaust, extremely fidgety steering darting in all sorts of directions, not in the same league as the turbo for power and torque, just cannot even compare the balance and feeling through corners and I've had a few bends in the M3 where it was a bit of a leap of faith and I was just pleased to get round. Nothing like the precise steering and feedback you get from the turbo and the confidence it gives you especially in the wet.
Had I bought an M3 I would be totally bored with it. The only thing it does better than the turbo in the driving department is handle bumps, there's no drama in the M3 whereas I feel the turbo sometimes crashes over them, and the M3 has a more solid cabin with no rattles to be heard.
All in all though there really is no comparison so next time you see one feel sorry for the owner who's shelled out best part of £45k on a supped up boy racer car, all noise and no action. Thank you BMW for making me love my Porsche.

 

[m bannon]

Well Marcus, where will i start.
Firstly you are apsolutlely spot on when you say that the M3 is nowhere near the same car as a 996 turbo. Your turbo is twice the price of an M3 so i would bloody well hope its in a different league., A more comparible motor would have been a 996C2 v the M3.
Trust me a well driven M3 will wipe a standard C2 off any track, I know, ive done it.
Dont get me wrong I am a Porsche nut through and through , hence the 993TT, Cayenne and 964 but I choose to drive an M3 as my every day transport.. why.......... well because its descrete, i dont care if it gets dirty, dont give a monkeys where i park it and and and it goes like the clappers .
With regard to the handling in the wet, need I point out the 996tt has four wheel drive and in truth the driving style required to get the best out of an M3 is about as 'ASS OUT SIDEWAYS' as you would wish for.
Take a tip..... next time your bored, bring the turbo out to the Nordschliffe, do a lap or two, then hop into the beemer.... you will not want to give the keys back. ( perhaps because its rear wheel drive.or perhaps because you wont mind so much if you smack it !!) LOL. but you will not find it boring.

 

[glenn mcmenamin]

ORIGINAL: m bannon

Trust me a well driven M3 will wipe a standard C2 off any track, I know, ive done it.

Hmmm,

I was with you until you said that[8|]

You may have taken a few guys in their C2's on track days etc....but i think 'wipe the floor' a bit too
much of a sweeping statement tbh......


For starters, the brakes on the C2 will last as long as you want, unlike the M3's that will go off after 2 laps..[]
The 1st thing CSL owners do is Change their brakes, as they know they're rubbish.....

The M3 has the worst gearbox of any car i have ever driven.

It has plenty of grunt and handles well, but i would rather be in a C2 on a trackday......


G.

 

[m bannon]

OOOOOOOOOOOOook wipe the floor is a bit strong.. and as for the gearbox YA i've had to get mine replaced ![]

 

[sawood12]

Their engines are a bit delicate too it seems. There is a bit of an M3 contingent at work and two have had blown enignes requireing replacement due to a dodgy oil pump that starves the engine of oil and by the time the oil pressure warning light comes on it's too late. Its happened to another guys 330 coupe as well. A small sample size I know, but it makes the RMS issue appear like a minor annoyance.

 

[m bannon]

Hi Sawood, I think that was a major issue with per 2003 cars, as far as I know.
The one thing I will say for bmw though was as soon as I allerted them of the problem with my own car, they had it collected immediatly , fixed and delivered back within three days.
All that being said I am giving serious thought to trading it in against a 996 come january. ( have myself convinced, just need to persuade the wife [] )

 

[glenn mcmenamin]

ORIGINAL: m bannon

All that being said I am giving serious thought to trading it in against a 996 come january. ( have myself convinced, just need to persuade the wife [] )

LOL !!!


After what you've just said !!!?????[]


Jeeeesh.

G.

 

[m bannon]

yea Glen, I know . ... ! only one of me has the split personality...
Did you keep the Gt3 over at Manthey or did they just carry out the work for you., they keep and maintain a GT3RS for a good friend of mine over at the ring, a slick outfit I must say. Impressive setup and the new storage unit for customers cars is 'visual heaven'., like looking at a sweet shop.

 

[glenn mcmenamin]

ORIGINAL: m bannon

yea Glen, I know . ... ! only one of me has the split personality...
Did you keep the Gt3 over at Manthey or did they just carry out the work for you., they keep and maintain a GT3RS for a good friend of mine over at the ring, a slick outfit I must say. Impressive setup and the new storage unit for customers cars is 'visual heaven'., like looking at a sweet shop.

Kept my GT3 here, the conversion was carried out by JZ Machtech.


I visted the Manthey workshops this year, and i was like a little boy wlking into a toyshop[]

so many awesome cars there, very overwhelmed....


G.

 

[kennyboy]

ORIGINAL: glenn mcmenamin

ORIGINAL: m bannon

Trust me a well driven M3 will wipe a standard C2 off any track, I know, ive done it.

Hmmm,

I was with you until you said that[8|]

You may have taken a few guys in their C2's on track days etc....but i think 'wipe the floor' a bit too
much of a sweeping statement tbh......


For starters, the brakes on the C2 will last as long as you want, unlike the M3's that will go off after 2 laps..[]
The 1st thing CSL owners do is Change their brakes, as they know they're rubbish.....

The M3 has the worst gearbox of any car i have ever driven.

It has plenty of grunt and handles well, but i would rather be in a C2 on a trackday......


G.

Surely you could further and say a good driver, experienced in 911's and M3's, could lap faster in the 996C2 than the M3 every time?

 

[glenn mcmenamin]

ORIGINAL: kennyboy

ORIGINAL: glenn mcmenamin

ORIGINAL: m bannon

Trust me a well driven M3 will wipe a standard C2 off any track, I know, ive done it.

Hmmm,

I was with you until you said that[8|]

You may have taken a few guys in their C2's on track days etc....but i think 'wipe the floor' a bit too
much of a sweeping statement tbh......


For starters, the brakes on the C2 will last as long as you want, unlike the M3's that will go off after 2 laps..[]
The 1st thing CSL owners do is Change their brakes, as they know they're rubbish.....

The M3 has the worst gearbox of any car i have ever driven.

It has plenty of grunt and handles well, but i would rather be in a C2 on a trackday......


G.

Surely you could further and say a good driver, experienced in 911's and M3's, could lap faster in the 996C2 than the M3 every time?

Yep,

That too, but i wanted to let him down gentley[]


G.

 

[m bannon]

Dont agree gentlemen, I still maintain that an M3 will lap faster than a 996C2. , now a 997........ Thats a different matter.

 

[FLAT-SIXY]

My last two cars wre Audi S4's. V6 bi turbo then 4.2 V8. M3's were arch enemies.
Red corner: S4
Blue corner:M3.
Im in the Red.
Everybody, who's corner are you in.

 

[Grant]

Sorry to say I didn't really enjoy the M3 as much as I expected. I've had an extended test drive in several different models as a friend works for a BM garage, I'm sorry to say I didn't get it, the steering, gearchange & suspension felt like they had a layer of rubber over them after the 911, it simply wasn't as sharp, involving or connected. I know it is pretty much as fast as a C2, but it didn't feel like it. To be fair I have always had 911's with 030 sports supension, so maybe this is part of the extra drivers appeal Pork offered me!
Having said this the M3 is much more practical though, 4 good seats & a boot & the rear was more adjustable, but as pure drivers car Pork is better, of course I am sure given more time I would still love the car, but the strange thing is I got into the old style M coupe & simply loved it straight away, very much more a drivers car & dare I say every bit as good as a C2!
each to their own , it is what makes the world go around!

 

[kennyboy]

each to their own , it is what makes the world go around!

Too right, it's a hard life not knowing which is better - an M car or a 911 eh? Both great cars - appeal to different requirements.

 

[DESMO16]

ORIGINAL: m bannon

Dont agree gentlemen, I still maintain that an M3 will lap faster than a 996C2. , now a 997........ Thats a different matter.

Just to give a benchmark, I was lapping Castle Combe in my 993RS at almost identical times to a very well driven M3CSL[&:][&:]

Careful those old beemers are good kit[8|]

(ps Glenn, I think it had some brake upgrades etc)

 

[glenn mcmenamin]

ORIGINAL: John Probert

ORIGINAL: m bannon

Dont agree gentlemen, I still maintain that an M3 will lap faster than a 996C2. , now a 997........ Thats a different matter.

Just to give a benchmark, I was lapping Castle Combe in my 993RS at almost identical times to a very well driven M3CSL[&:][&:]

Careful those old beemers are good kit[8|]

(ps Glenn, I think it had some brake upgrades etc)

Yeah,

But everything's slower when you get to your age John[]


G.

 

[DESMO16]

ORIGINAL: glenn mcmenamin

ORIGINAL: John Probert

ORIGINAL: m bannon

Dont agree gentlemen, I still maintain that an M3 will lap faster than a 996C2. , now a 997........ Thats a different matter.

Just to give a benchmark, I was lapping Castle Combe in my 993RS at almost identical times to a very well driven M3CSL[&:][&:]

Careful those old beemers are good kit[8|]

(ps Glenn, I think it had some brake upgrades etc)

Yeah,

But everything's slower when you get to your age John[]


G.

[][]