[MerkurXR4Ti]

If this is the wrong place to post this question I apologize in advance, but: has anyone raced an m3 yet? The 0-60 times in the magazines are close so it will probably come down to the drivers, and that is why I am asking you guys...

 

[viking067]

I can answer that after august 9th

 

[4MLA1FN]

well, i passed 'em easily on the track but that's a different story. i did my first mini street race against an m3 when i was in detroit a few weeks ago. he beat me but i guarantee it was the driver more than the car. i didn't want to get arrested 600miles from home; plus i don't know how to drive the car for that kinda racing.

 

[amdmaxx]

get vishnu exshaust and stage 2 when its out and M3 is behind u.. Stock gonna be close, M3 with SMG driver needs NO SKILL to go fast, remember that..

 

[4MLA1FN]

i hope he's gonna do a stage 2. given what he did with the wrx (in the recent sports compact car "spank the sti" story), i'm anxious to see what he does for the sti.

 

[MerkurXR4Ti]

Rockville, MD

I actually drove my friends m3 and I wasnt impressed. For all of the hype out there about that car I think it is overrated. Believe me, any owner of an m3 thinks it is the ultimate sports car, even my friend. The horsepower is rated at 333 which is very respectable from a 6cyl n/a engine, the kicker is that it is rated that at 7900RPM which is a mere 100RPM from its redline. The other figure (more important for pull offthe line) is torque which is rated somewhere around 275 lbs. around 4500RPM. Please correct me if I am wrong. After witnessing a loss to a tuned 2001 pontiac GTP gran prix and a stock maxima with a 6 spd I have really come to question the m3. Luxury and prestige.... yes. The ultimate sports car.... no. I think if an owner of an STi could squeeze an extra 20-30HP out of the engine somehow it would be an outright smoking for about half of the price. Again, let me know what you think.

 

[Avenger]

Well, like subject said I have an E46 M3 and just raced a blue WRX Sti. I raced him from a stoplight once and even though I had too much wheelspin and short shifted at 6000 as a result, I gave up less than a car length in 1st gear. By the time I was in 2nd I was already pulling even and soon ahead, when I got into third it was over. The Sti was 1-2 car lengths back by about 85-90 and quickly disappearing.

The second time we raced it was from a roll on at about 30. 30 is a horrible speed for the M3 to start from (should still be in first for 3 mph but I stayed in 2nd) and the Sti was in the middle of the powerband so he took off and got about a car length lead on me. By the time I was shifting into third though, he was already a car length back and once again quickly disappearing.

I'm not the best at stoplight starts and my car has negative camber with worn out tires trying to hook up with the pavement. Despite this, unless the Sti driver is willing to drop clutch from 5000 rpm and ruin his clutch in two or three launches, an M3 won't lose much ground off of the launch (even with my pos launches). If the M3 has launch control or sticky tires you might even lose off the line.

Bottom line: The Sti is an awesome car, but stock it's not going to keep up with an M3. Remember, car magazines drop clutch the Sti from 5000 rpm's, so although the numbers look close they're kind of misleading. When you get some stage 2 stuff like someone posted above, then the race will be about even.
Just my $.02

 

[crazytrain]

I would make sure he wasn't still breaking his engine in before bragging too much. I was able to beat many cars stoplight to stoplight without breaking 4000 rpm.

 

[EynonPower]

From http://www.Car-Videos.com

Impreza WRX STi vs 2001 BMW M3

Year 2004 2001
Make Subaru BMW
Transmission 6-speed Manual 6-speed Manual
Theoretical Top Speed 154 mph 165 mph

0-30 mph 1.42 s / 1.70 s
0-40 mph 2.49 s / 2.75 s
0-50 mph 3.39 s / 3.69 s
0-60 mph 4.88 s / 4.69 s
0-70 mph 6.19 s / 6.45 s
0-80 mph 8.19 s / 7.96 s
0-90 mph 10.09 s / 9.65 s
0-100 mph 12.49 s / 12.15 s
0-110 mph 15.88 s / 14.71 s
0-120 mph 19.53 s / 17.69 s
0-130 mph 24.62 s / 21.43 s
0-140 mph 33.44 s / 27.37 s
0-150 mph 50.05 s / 35.10 s

30-50, 2nd gear 1.67 s / 1.79 s

100 ft 2.59 s @ 40.99 mph / 2.81 s @ 40.56 mph
500 ft 7.13 s @ 73.92 mph / 7.32 s @ 75.89 mph
660 ft (1/8 mile) 8.53 s @ 81.93 mph / 8.68 s @ 84.46 mph
1320 ft (1/4 mile) 13.36 s @ 102.25 mph / 13.38 s @ 105.73 mph
2640 ft (1/2 mile) 21.27 s @ 123.88 mph / 21.01 s @ 129.01 mph
5280 ft (1 mile) 34.74 s @ 141.21 mph / 33.89 s @ 148.73 mph
7920 ft (1.5 mile) 47.10 s @ 148.92 mph / 45.59 s @ 157.81 mph

 

[RDiamond]

If you're not abusing the STi clutch, use the 5-60mph time from Car & Driver for comparison....

 

[Avenger]

To whoever posted that I'd better be sure the Sti was broken in, it was. How do I know this? The answer is simple, it's my friends Sti and it has over 1500 miles on it now. So the M3 does beat an Sti when it's broken in as an answer to your question and so you don't think I'm bragging like a fool.

Also with regards to the chart Eynon posted. That is the slowest 0-100 time I've ever seen posted for an M3. Road and Track got an 11.6 and when I went out to get a time for myself I managed an 11.8s to 100 time on my second attempt (I'm also not the best launcher). I have also taken my car above the theoretical top speed according to that site. I've taken my M3 to 170mph before hitting the governer (BMW is known to say their governer is at 155 and have it higher) and the car was still pulling. The actual theoretical top speed of an M3 is 201 mph, although I'll admit right now that there's no way it will get there. http://www.dinanbmw.com/default.htm

Maybe I have a fast M3 and my friend has a slow Sti, you never know, but from what I've heard on other boards my story about an M3 beating an Sti is pretty accurate and rather conservative (others have claimed as much as 5-6 car lengths by 100 in the M3's favor).

 

[bi11y]

well... BMW sucks so please sushhhh

lol

 

[MerkurXR4Ti]

thanks for the info Avenger, just wondering how modded is your M3 other than the suspension to give you the camber??

 

[Avenger]

My E46 M3 is bone stock engine/intake/exhaust wise. The only aftermarket parts is has are the suspension alignment, cross drilled rotors, and upgraded brake pads.

 

[amdmaxx]

I'll take M3 over STi any day...

well... BMW sucks so please sushhhh

lol

 

[Acer]

I'll take M3 over STi any day...

well... BMW sucks so please sushhhh

lol

me too
if they were the same price
:-?

 

[MKIVSupra]

I used them

M3s are nice but take an STi and put the money you save over an M3 into it, then see what happens. For the money and AWD I would take an STi over an M3 any day.

 

[xdeathlessonesxx]

my dad works at BMW and he gets a company car and hes had an m3...i wasnt impressed...i mean its ok but its not worth the price i would take an STi over the m3

 

[Avenger]

First off I'll say that both the M3 and Sti are great for what they're meant to do. But the argument about getting the most performance for your money and choosing an Sti over an M3 is somewhat flawed. If you wanted the most performance that you could get for 50,000 dollars you wouldn't buy an Sti, you'd get a lingenfelter corvette, a suped up 4wd mitsubishi eclipse, or a hella fast supra. Although our cars are somewhat close in performance numbers, their purposes are completely different so it's an odd comparison. The M3 is a german RWD car that's meant to combine sport [/b]and luxury, whereas an Sti is purely about sport. I don't think I'd take an Sti over an M3 or vice versa because the truth is, no one really cross shops the two cars.
Just my $.02

 

[MKIVSupra]

Questions About Euro Spec STI

Of course but the original topic of this thread is M3 vs STi, new for new. Otherwise yeah, you could take just about anything and make it faster for the money. I personally don't think it is fair to compare the 2 and an M3 never even crossed my mind when I decided to get an STi.