rouxeny

Uh, I love the Z, but I'm pretty sure in this matchup, the M3 wins with no difficulty.

The E36 is a better matchup.

Zmeflyby

this is almost like comparing a stock ls1 to a 350z..
man..wheres that turbo kit when u need it?

JonsilvZ

Whats with these German engineering engines. Some owners experience blown engines?! Maybe compression too high? 3.2 V6 putting 333hp is impressive. Shouldve put a V8.

CrazyBosnian

M3 all the way!

Importlife.com

m3 hands down. Although anyone here driven a e36 M3? The handling and road feel are very similar to the Z.

Importlife.com

I'll trade with you for a day. I see you are from NYC too. I may have seen you around.

D'oh

I think the Z can hang with the E46 M3 Convertible with SMG2. The M might be a bit ahead in a straight line, but the extra weight of the vert and SMG make the two cars very close in the curves (I'm guessing).

I'll have some numbers in a couple weeks since I'll be going to Laguna Seca with my friend who has the car mentioned above. He's got quite a bit more driving experience, but I've got the Z. Haha!

-D'oh!

jigga

umm... unless the convertable's weight and transmission cause it to lose more than 8 mph in the 1/4 mile traps, I still don't see how the 350Z will take one out, and from what I have heard, the SMG transmission is not like your everyday power-sapping run-of-the-mill auto transmission with a torque converter........ in fact, I don't think the transmission even has a torque converter...

But as you said, perhaps in the curves the 350Z will have a chance. I would be very interested to see how you do against your friend on the track!

Take Care!

koba8

Ummm, it's a straight 6, not a V. Makes a big difference.

D'oh

Jigga,

The SMG doesn't sap HP, but it is significantly heavier than the standard manual. I haven't seen a first hand number for the M3 convertible with SMG2, but a friend of mine who was looking at both the Z and M3 had told me that the M3 in that configuration was around 5.4 0-60. If that is true, then it should be similar in acceleration to the Z, but I haven't seen anything first hand. I'll definitely post my time and my friend's (the one with the M3) if he opted to get timed.

-D'oh!

spf4000

Are we talking about straightline or circuit performance? Cause if you are wondering about circuit performance (which is what both of these cars were meant for, not lame-*** drag racing), the cars are very similar. The weight advantage of the Z gives it an edge around corners, while the E46 M3 has a slight edge on the straightaways with its extra horses. The Best Motoring video has a good race between the two cars.

That being said, off the line, the M3 wins hands down.

rodH

iTrader: (2)

this sounds LITTLE like a race and MORE like an IQ test, how stupid do you think we are???

btw, I would LOVE to run you in a CLK55 I drive on occasion , to 60, you have me (IF,IF you are a PERFECT driver), after that, SEE YA!!!!

BRS0903

Good call SPF4000. In the Best Motoring Video, the 350z raced against other cars in it's class which included the BMW M3, Porsche Boxster, and the Honda S2000, etc... Keichi Tsuchiya(a world renowned LeMans racer who won the GT2 class in 1995) thought he would be able to catch the Z with an M3, but ended up losing. The M3 and the 350z had very similar lap times, but the 350z was always out in front. Handling characteristics in the 350z had a little bit of understeer, but the car still did well. The Porsche Boxster was dusted by all the other cars!! No Bull!!

spf4000

Too bad they didn't bring in a Boxter S in that race. I bet it would have been a very interesting race if they had that.

kevin034

I don't think that a E46 M3 SMGII Coupe will lose this match w/ the CLK55 AMG. Atleast from 0-120. Beyond that, I don't know.

azaz

The E46 will win, I raced one at the 1/8th mile dragstrip two times and both times I lost. The first run I got the jump and had him by a car length only because he slept at the light but he came back and past me and won. He was trapping 81 mph in the 1/8th and I was trapping 77 mph. His time was 8.79 and mine a 9.27 with my 60' time 2.12 I would guess the elevation of this track at around 1500 to 2000 ' above sea level.

We are friends and it was just to see what they would do against each other but those things are very fast. The only way you could beat him is if he really sucks as a driver. Or stalls it on the launch.

Mrsideways

Dont' say that. Had the chance to drive a 97 4 door M3 around a track in competetion. It was bone stock and I thought it was one of the worst handling car's I'd ever driven. I can't say a single thing I liked about it. We have some In car video and I just curse the thing the entire way around. All it did was PUSH PUSH PUSH PUSH. I've driven stock civic's that had less understeer then that thing.

zxsaint

My cousin drives a E46 M3 convertable and i've seen quite a few places where they're rated at 5.4 (0-60) and 13.7 (1/4) so it'd be quite a close game.

The E46 M3 coupe is ~13.4 and 4.8 and is better left to be handled by the LS1 guys for now.

deeba

The m3 and Z are two different animals. I just bought my Z 2 days ago, but i have drive e46 m3's many times and sure it is a great car but to me the resposivesness and track capabilities of the Z are far more superior. In a straight line the M3 will definetly edge the Z but through the twisties i think the m3 would be looking at my tail...especially with a few mods. The Z feels like it was designed 100 percent for the track. just my opnion.