Is there a way of saying "your opinion is wrong" without sounding arrogant? JK

 

Ummm...I think so...

I think it goes something like

"I don't mean to sound arrogant, but you're f'n wrong ***..."

did that work?

Anyway, here's my reasoning for the 924S feeling better on the track...
-It's MUCH lighter than the M3, and the turn in and cornering feel much more predictable. you can apex easily, and just all out have a ball.

M3 is incredibly powerful, does handle well, (I"m not saying it doesn't, just IMHO the Porsches are favored) but it's just not as "tossable" as the 924S.

the Turbo, it is noticably heavier on the track. However, once again, it's the predictability of the car. also, it's very powerful as well, and the power delivery is smooth, and it's just all around great. very well balanced.

The M3, the engine and trans are both in the front and doesn't feel as balanced as the 924S and 951S.

 

Poor handling, huh? Care to quote anybody? I'd say the opposite.

Unless that was sarcasm.. sorry, I wasn't sure.
I'll give you the power bit. 167 ain't exactly pulling stumps. But thru the twisties we've got Boxster S numbers.

 

Agree. Dan's wife ran the mini in green at mid-ohio and it did just fine. Save for all the blarg holes that attempted to be mad at her. Dan knows what I am talking about.

 

Umm.. she was the slowest in the group, but I don't think it had much to do with the car. Thanks for remembering, gator! Do you think she really pissed some D groupers off? I would have thought the only way to do it was to pass them! It is power deprived yet I matched well driven Boxster S numbers at a local PCA autocross.

 

Remember she was talking to me about how she thought people were mad. I was like whatever, f them. People were being so gay. I think the guy in the z-06 was mad because I passed him without a point by when I got sick of his garbage and came out of the last turn at his door handle....Bah! I might flying up for the fest. I have to talk to travis and matt. I have 4 day weekends all summer..... Or I might go crazy and put new control arms on my pile and store it up there to do a track day at the mid.

 

I'll put money on me being able to own most of the guys with 944s at mid ohio with S. It is not horribly slow at all...

 

Thanks for the support, G. Yes, I remember what you mean. She was a little concerned. I've had the Mini out on Mid-oh and it is a 2 minute/plus car, and that is sliding the street rubber all over the place. My turbo runs 13 seconds faster than that, on Hoosiers. The power is just a huge dissadvantage. the N/A 944s might find a worthy match there, it all depends. I know I don't want to go out in A group in the Mini anymore. Just like the sig says, it is an Autocrossser!

It would be great to see ya at the fest. This is going to be quite an affair, I don't think I can keep up this pace. 2005 will be remembered as THE Grand Fest, me thinks..

 

Burma Shave: as far as driving school goes, everyone can use it, but I'm pretty confident of my ability (and I know I'm no Ayrton) and this section of road was not technical by any means. I had my foot in it the whole time except for the last corner where I lifted to about 2/3 throttle. Anyway I didn't feel like putting my *** in a ditch because my chutzpah got the better of me.

Anyway, I think 16 year old rubber bushings should be replaced as they gave a unsettling feeling.

 

Remember, not all minis are stock either.

 

It was sarcasm...I drove one last year, absolute blast. Very nimble, gocart like. Just trying to add some humor.

 

I was just kidding. Its no surprise the mini hung in through the twisties.

 

What I failed to mention earlier, the m3 is incredibly compliant. You can throw the roughest roads at it and it won't squint. All while handling incredibly well. For a 944 to achieve this level of handling, the spring rates have to be increased (the downside of macpherson struts). Also, the single controls have nothing on a upper and lower setup. As the car leans, the shorter control arm "pulls" on the wheel, therefore generating more camber. Do a search on suspensions, there are other sources who can explain it much better.

It's nothing to be ashamed of - the 944 handles incredibly well. It's just inferior by design.

 

Well, I owned an old mini for a few years, and IMHO, this POS with a mini badge on from BMW doesn't deserve it. It may be good, it may not be. I don't care. IT'S NOT A REAL MINI!!!!!

 

I still prefer the handling of the 944 better and I can say that having lots of drive time in both cars in both stock and moddified form. The E36M3 just doesn't communicate to the driver what the rear end is doing. Then when the back end does go out it does so extremely fast in comparison to a 944.. (less polar weight) The E36M3 endlinks on the swaybars are also compleate CRAP! They deflect like half moons under hard cornering. You can fix the problem with moddified endlinks but in the rear if you plan on moddifying the swaybar/endlinks you better be welding in reinforcement tabs.