Whoaaaa. Slow down there. When I said superior in every category, I didn't say it blew the G35 away. It's quieter, smells better inside, feels much more confident and pulls harder. By the numbers, it's probably quicker, but the lap times wouldn't be crazy like a purpose built M3-GTR.

I don't live in the rarefied air upper-middle or upper-class people, so I don't know what a refined car should feel like. When you get in an M3 from a Mazda MPV, the M3 feels like a cocoon of luxury. A lot of people call the M3's ride 'supple.' I think it rides like a humungous rubber grommet except it tosses your head back and forth, not side to side.

And I share the same opinion as you do when it comes down to picking the Z/G or the M. If you don't like it just because Jeremy Clarkson and an editor of Automobile Magazine dosen't like it (Not everyone has to like the M3) then you're not required to like it either. In fact, if you put a Corvette Z06 and an M3 in front of me, you'd have me thinking for a long long time.

 

M3 ride supple????? What exactly did they ride in before?

If anything its too stiff (note I said stiff not firm - I like firm). You literally feel every pothole quite unlike the M5s suspension which absorbs most of them.

Clarkson was just trying to make a point. It is not as good a car as people give it credit for.

 

The worst I've ever seen any magazine say about the m3's ride is that it's "choppy" but the same people called the CLK AMG's ride bumpy or something. I stand by my statement that the M3 feels like a massive rubber grommet.

 

Take a look at the Tiff Needel E46 M3 review from Top Gear.

Hes a former F1 driver and he complained about the stiff suspension. I've been in the car myself and he is right you literally feel every road bump or rather 'shockwaves up my spine'.

 

I am not sure how familiar you are with the CLK55, but from A LOT of experience with the car (my dad had a couple) the 1st year it came out, my dad (who has had MANY sports cars-including E36, NSX, 911, 300ZX tt, etc...) thought that the car was way to stiff, he couldn't believe how stiff it was (very uncharacteristic for MB to do that). Ironically enough, the next year he got another one, that one had PERFECT suspension, obviously someone at AMG or MB agreed, it was slightly too stiff.

 

I agree with MUCH of what you have said, only difference is, if you put a Z06 or an M3 in front of me, I don't even bat an eye and walk straight over to the M3. No questions asked. 4.6 to 60 is plenty quick for the quality you get out of an M3 Vs a chevy.

 

There's a comparison test between the M3 and the Z06 laying around my room somewhere. My room is 60 miles away. Anyway, both cars are nice cars, and the Z06's performance value is very undeniable as well, since there are people comparing it to Italian exotics. It also sounds exotic with a Corsa titanium exhaust that weighs about the same as the OE system.
I watched the video again. I don't hear Tiff Needell saying anything about the ride being stiff, just about how the cross-country ability is very high. When I rode in the car, it only had about 2000 miles on the tires (And the odo) and it was over some rough freeway.

Who else likes the ride on the 350Z Track?

 

Take a look at time index 2:39 of 5:30.

 

Just thought I would pop in and say that they all have the same suspension.

 

Which leads to another topic in which I think the TRACK model should have come with the nismo s-tune suspension kit.

 

What year was the CLK55...I have driven 2 of my friends and they are not stiff at all. Its a real mover on the highway!

 

I made that discovery today too, that all 350Zs have the same suspension. For some reason, I thought the Track was stiffer. Anyway, I agree that the Track should come with Nismo S-tune to make it an even better value.

 

01 was the stiffer one, the 02 was much better.

 

My friend had a silver 01' 55 and traded it in for a red 02' 55. Neither felt real stiff to me, in fact I have never driven a Benz that felt stiff. AMG's do have a little stiffer ride, but still comfortable enough for longer road trips. IMO the Z has a much harsher ride.

 

I encoded a lap of me chasing an E46 M3, but I'm still working out the bugs with the compressor. Now, I just need some who can host it...any takers?

 

the 01 was the first batch (one of the 1st ones in US) maybe it was a bad one, I don't know, definately not worth argueing about, since I road in the car all the time, and I had the EXACT same thoughts as my father (and I prefer a still car).

speaking of AMG cars, hows this??

 

Yo daddy's rich.

 

I wouldn't say he is "rich", that is reserved for a very elite group, that he is NOT even close to. But he is comfortable, to bad I don't see any of it (just got rid of my 10 year old civic 2 months ago at age 33, 1st car was a 74 VW bug, to give you an idea, unlike some 16 year olds driving Zs on this site, my family is sooooooooooo anti that type of situation, and they are in the dealer business, go figure.

 

My bad. Sorry for rushing to a conclusion.

The guy who has a rich daddy lives in my dorm building. He got an M3 instead of what he origionally wanted, a 330Ci. That's how I get rides in the M3. Bum around until he decides he's bored as hell and goes somewhere. If I were him, I'd find an excuse to go somewhere all the time. There's also a silver SMGII M3 at my school, but he lives in the apartments.
See now, they's got rich daddies because not only are the cars expensive to begin with, the insurance must be insane. Insure someone who is 18 or 19 on a $55,000-$60,000 car? And they attend a university so I doubt they're working at the same time.
What's kinda creepy is that one of the M3 guys learned how to drive stick with an M3 and has no prior experience. He has a bad habit of rowing the shifter in and out of first at speeds around 20mph and lets the RPMs fall to idle while changing gears on the freeway. I could probably drive smoother than he does and I don't drive manual regularly (I drive my friends' cars. G35 ni-i-ice ) The other guy has an SMG so he just yanks the paddles and goes.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about, I grew up around many of those kids, I don't understand it, I really don't. I guess some parents think it is better, or makes them look/feel better, perhaps live a little through your kids ?? , I won't go to far into it, since I obviously have my opinions. What ever happen to just getting a used car for your 16th birthday, that wasn't good enough, OK, how about a Honda Civic or something, ohhh, no, now we are up to M3s and Zs for kids, it is pretty crazy.