From what I read M3's are slightly faster than a Evo out of the box. What mods would you need to beat a E46 M3 from 0-60?

 

none as long as you can drive....

we took my cousins 03 m3 to the track last night...after 8 runs and 3 drivers the best time we could get out of it was a 14.6 at 95....the car was impossible to launch.

unless the guy in the M3 is a pro driver...chances are you can just slingshot by him out of the hole namely because you have AWD

 

you can beat an m3 0-60 stock. you'll just have harder time on the top end, and from a rolling start.

 

Yeah, people don't do their homework well enough. The road and track articles, on the very bottom of the page, ALWAYS tell you the best launching technique, or at least, the technique used by the drviers to reach those times.

 

always consider four things...

1.m3 is a very car...
2.m3 will never be as raw as the evo, sacrifices of power and handling is made for lower cabin noise and softer ride...
3.m3 costs 10-15k more!
4.$1G of mod on an evo will net you 200% of what you get if you spend it on the m3.

 

we tried pretty much everything. traction control on and off. dropping the clutch...slipping the clutch...

launch at 5k, 6k, 7k.


anyone can read how to launch a car...physically doing it is a little more difficult...especially when it's not even your car

 

I traded in my E46 M3 for the Evo. Here are my thoughts...

1) The Evo will most definitely hang with an M3. To be sure, turboback exhaust and some good tuning should make it clearly faster.

2) Thev Evo's handling is razor sharp compared to the M3. I have taken the same cloverleaf turns and I can definitely get on the gas earlier in the turn as compared to the M3 - mostly due to the AWD. Somehow, the M3 lost it's handling edge that previous generations had better.

3) I was at a stoplight once on a two-lane street that was merging into a one-lane street so there was very limited distance, probably not enough to get to 60mph. There was a g35 coupe that was in the merging lane and he wanted to cut in front of me. Both of us started from a stop, I was actually at his door half a car length behind at the stoplight. In my mind, I was cocky thinking "I'll spot you half a car length lead at the stop light and I will still beat you". Same thing happened as Rez90, the M3 cut power because I had the DSC on. The g35 got in front of me and I was humbled. I have slipped the tires even with DSC on so I again imagine the tire slippage with it off. By the way, DSC (traction) cuts power BIG time.

Rez90 is right, magazine driver's don't really know anything unless you actually go and drive the car to experience what you experienced. You don't need a magazine to tell you how to launch a car. A good driver would figure it after a while. Rez90 confirmed what I have experienced - these buggers are hard to launch compared to AWD.

4) Don't get me wrong the M3 is a NICE car. Greatest blend of sport and luxury but not as good with the luxury compared to the 5 series with lots of problems. For example, after only two years, my battery died - can you believe THAT? The steering is somewhat vague. Engine is strong but you have reached the mod limit with the finely tuned hi-po engine. But IMHO, not worth the expensive dollars UNLESS you factor in the prestige factor and that girls and kids drool over the car. Neither of these rang my bell so I am VERY happy with my trade. I have increased the performance edge greatly with the Evo.

Just my opinions though...

Brent

 

Lots of very good advice and thoughts about this topic M3 isn't really the same class as an EVO... I heard someone say once "An Evo is a track car that is street legal an M3 is a street car that you can drive on the track" I think this sums it up very well... The M3 is way more luxurious but isn't as fast off the line or in the corners. The only advantage the M3 has over the Evo for performance is top end after the quarter mile is over if you keep going in a straight line the M3 will pull ahead. Other than that the Evo wins performance hands down. But for comfort and Luxury the Evo can't touch the M3

 

Make Sure It Is Not He M3 Smg.....with The Paddle Shift...sorry Guys These Can Shift Faster Than You Can Ever Imagine .....

 

A little tough to find numbers on the M3 performance, but from checking a few car mags it looks like the M3 (3400 lbs, 333 hp) will do 0 - 60 in 4.8 - 5.0 sec and run the 1/4 in 13.4 - 13.6 sec @ 103 - 105 mph. A very close match to a stock Evo......

 

I personally don't care for the SMG. I would like to row my gears if it's considered a sports car...

Brent

 

This is VERY true.... I netted a 13.5, twice with this.. It shifts so damn fast it's scary.. It was my friend's car.. Well, his Dad's at least!! Never drove it before.. But! Like we all mostly have, invest about $1,500 in the EVO and it'll spank the M3 anytime, anywhere, on any day..

 

Yeah... stock to stock they're quite close. The Evo is a hard car to launch without a lot of practice.

 

Good post

 

well my friend with a smg shifter m3 said he ran the 1/4 stock 13.8

i ran the 1/4 stock wit my evo 13.8. so it should be pretty close.. although i think i coulda had a better time.
he has since sold his m3, but now his younger bro just got a 6spd m3 and we are planning to test it out once he breaks it in