Link to article...

Number one is M3...
Number two is Porsche Turbo

So I dont feel too bad.

VQ35 did beat out the engine in Ferrari 360 tho ....

 

Neat, the VQ beat some pretty high end engines.

 

Nice!

I wish I had an M3...

 

It seems that BMW has always won that class according to thier site. Not that it doesn't deserve it, just makes we wonder.

 

didn't new M3 engine blow up during the first year??? maybe reliability and defects were not considered.

 

Still, Im curious how a 3.2 litre engine can bang out a reliable 333hp at the crank... Isn't there something they have that we can copy and make better??

 

I would bet that if we had reworked heads, intake manifold and cams and the ability to spin the motor to 8,000rpm we could post alot higher numbers with the VQ.

 

The M3's that were manufactured in certain months of 2000 had cases of spun crank bearings. These issue were not due to engine relaibilty but due to imporper care during assembly. So it can't really be called an unreliable engine, nor it is one! But BMW certainly had problems manufacturing it initially.

 

Its high horsepower numbers are due to its high compression ratio and I'm certain it can be accomplised in the Z engine as well, but if you consider that its a straight six (which due to its longer crank should produce more toque) and has only 262 ftlbs of troque and the z's V6 has has 274 lbs of torque it dosen't seem so powerfull anymore does it? but I'm certian NISSAN could take some que's from the S54 to bump up the HP numbers in the Z.

 

The M3 engines have 6 individual throttle openings meaning alot more air then a single butterfly. Its high tech which costs alot. They shouldve put a 3.5 to make it more reliable. 333hp from a 3.2 is pushing it.

 

makes me proud to be a Z driver

we own the ferrari............... well not really, but kinda

 

so idealy if we had the same HP/displacement ratio as the M3, we would be getting 364HP!!!!! That would be nice to have .....

Then again if we had that, our Zs probably would cost $70k....

 

But, the difference is the Z would be worth the money!

 

We beat out Ferrari? wow!

also, 0-62mph=5.2sec? that doesn't seem any faster than our Z??

 

People wouldnt spend that much $ for a Nissan sports car. Remember the 300ZX TT had to discontinue because of slow sales- it cost too much. But it would be nice if Nissan came out with a limited twin turbo Z.

 

M3 was never THAT much faster than the Z.....

 

Actually those are just advertized numbers its not common for SMG M3's to post sub five - high four second 0 - 60 numbers.

 

I do not believe this is the case. In the mid 90's, the SUV trend became increasingly popular. It was also a decline of sport cars. There were less middle end sports car out (such as the Z, G35, S2000) and companies had trouble selling such performance sports cars like the 300ZX. The big trio of legends, the Mazda RX7 TT, the Toyota Supra TT, and the Nissan 300ZX TT all discontinued from 95-97.

I believe that the sports car trend is back now. From real performance, affordable sports cars from the factory such as the Z, to performance sport sedans like the TL and G35 sedan, you can see the trend back to sports cars. More cars are offered in manual transmissions now. Mercedes is changing from its traditional 3-valve per cylinder SOHC to a 4-valve per cylinder DOHC for their new 3.5L engine, which will be starting in the new 2005 SLK 350. I think that a sports car trend is on the rise again. I think that Nissan WILL offer TT G35's and 350Z's along with the GTR. The Toyota Supra is also supposedly coming back. It's a good time for sports cars.

 

Yeah, I agree with DragonGcoupe also. Now is different than before. I will believed if they sale brand new Supra TT, RX-7 or the 300ZX TT today instead of early 90s, the sales number will be alot higher. Today aftermarket trends are booming and alot more people today appreciate these Japanese sports. All these really helps the sales. Not to mentioned that at early 90s Japanese autos suffered from high Yen to dollar ratio.

 

Suprise me that no one bring up S2000's 2.0L 240 hp engine while talking about M3's high Hp/disp engine.