Someone on another 350 board with a E46 M3 called out a 350 to run about a week ago so after a few emails and pms we finally met last night. We ran a few 1/4 mile runs and played with some twists in the local hills. I knew he had an edge over me hp wise ( it is an M3 afterall) but I thought it would be some good fun. Anyways met the guy last night and went to a local industrial area. OK first off let me say I have never picked up a stop light race or gone to the track for 1/4 mile, but I was feeling cocky and felt I could give him a good run.

OK so much for being cocky.... we staged up and friend of mine flagged a go.... he takes off major wheel spin. I spin in 1st for about a second and completely miss my shift and he takes off... oh well.

Good thing I brought my friend who has some experience in drag racing. Although he has never driven a 350. 2nd run they stage up.... and I flag a go. M3 got a good launch... too bad he jumped the gun a bit and left my friend behind. Of course the M3 won but he did jump the gun.

3rd run... both stage up and both seem to get a good launch. M3 had a good launch with some wheel spin in 1st, slight spin in 2nd, and sounded like a chirp in 3rd. 350 also had a good launch with some wheel spin in 1st, also some in 2nd. at this point the 350 is about 1/2 car to 1 car length ahead of the M3. 3rd comes around and clean shift, but the M's 3rd gear pulls like a b!tch and pulls ahead. My friend shut down when he hit the 1/4 mile mark where the other guys friends were taping. This is where we get conflicting stories. My friend says he was beat by 1/2 a car at the 1/4 mile mark, but his friends say it was 2 car lengths. My friend did shut down at the 1/4 mile mark so they may be mistaken... I'm sure they will be posting video so we'll have to see.

On to the twists.... nothing too crazy here. We went to a spot he recommended and he led the first run. I followed and both of us were going almost full bore. At some points he had me by maybe 3-4 car lengths but I did manage to catch up in the turns. I never did pass him. The 2nd run coming back I led. I think the 350 did pretty well in the turns pulling on the M at certain points but the straights were his. This run we were pretty close to each other most of the time. From my vantage point it did look like he almost hit the curb at the end of the 2nd run. I don't recall the speed but most of the run was in 3rd and 4th gear reving 4500 to 6000. I believe the street was marked from 35 to 45 mph.

All in all it was good fun. I was disappointed that I screwed up while shifting, but it was good to see that the 350 had the jump on the M in 1st in 2nd. As far as driving in the hills. I'm not sure how much he has run that route ( it is his neighborhood), but I never have and there were a fair amount of blind turns so I didn't know the road.

All in all the M is a monster. Looks great, motor sounds unbelievable, 3rd gear is insane. While we were in the hill the M did sway less than the 350. Oh well I guess the S-tune suspension and various other goodies for my Z will have to come a bit sooner. All good fun though. and come to think of it just a few mods and the M will be in trouble.

 

the M is a sweet car and fast.

btw, are you SURE the M "swayed" less, In my experience I disagree, unless he has after market suspension.

 

I would disagree as well. I test drove an E46 M3 w/SMG last week. I thought the sport suspension was excellent, but not as flat as my Z. (the exhaust note is amazing!)

 

as far as the swaying it could be because I was going in to the turns a little too hot. I didn't know where the best lines would be since I never drove those hills

 

46 HP difference is huge ( 333 v.s. 287). Smile when you think about the $$$ savings ( E46 w/ SMG @ $56K v.s. Track @ 37K).

 

I have to admit that I love the sound of a high-strung I-6 that's found in the M3, especially the E46 M3... it sings, or shall I say it screams when it gets above 5K rpm all the way to it's 8K redline.

 

In my opinion, the Z needs a better driver. But the point is having fun....rigth!
Give you a tip, the Z have more chace against the M rolling in 3rd about 60 mph, that is my expirience!

 

Those engines are crap. If you dont use the special $9 quart engine oil. The engines blow up! WTF! Poor engineering.

 

Here's the Vid
350z Vs. M3

And here's the thread he posted it on
thread

 

I really gotta say, that M3 is NOT worth the 60k. My dad had one for a few months--hated it so much he traded it in. They don't drag race well (not for their price, anyway) and my dad and I both swear up and down that BMW overrated their HP. We don't know if it was just that particular car or not, but I'd pick the Z anyday over that heavy inline 6.

Just think of it this way--if you spend roughly 20K on performance mods for the Z, you'll blow that M3 away and still have spent a little less cash than he did.

 

the m3 is only 60k if you get a convertible with every single option available. the coupe starts at 46k and with the same options as the z has available the price jumps to about 50k. thats still 16k more than a track z, but its not as big a difference as you make it sound. and they didn't overrate their hp at all, i've seen stock m3's at the drag strip running 13.3's all day and stock z's lately have been running no better than 13.9 and usually in the low 14 second range. im not dissing the Z, but its significantly slower than an m3 in a straight line.

 

LOL! Sounds like ***** envy.

 

I actually agree with both points, to have to say $9/quart does suck, BUT those are some awesome cars, I do know someone who is a E36 owner who said he won't buy the E46 until the new engine comes out (actually it is sounding like it will be called a "M4" in the next version). His friend is the one who blue up a E46 engine and started a HUGE website against BMW and the crap they were giving him. He finally ended up with a new E46 but remains worried and won't drive it hard. Too bad.

has any of the Mcoupe owners had the failure (I noticed that they are 315HP VS 333HP)??

 

Yes, there is one documented case of a 315hp M Coupe blowing its motor. It happend last month I believe.