944 or M3?
04-23-2004, 02:58 PM
#16
Nordschleife Master
Personally I like the Turbocharged 944's better than the M3's. My buddy let me try out his M3 for a few days, although it was a cool car it just seemed to be lacking something that my 944T had. I for one love the feeling of the boost when it hits as well as race inspired feel of the 944's as opposed to the M3. The M3 felt like a fast grocery get'er IMO. Good luck its a tough decision.
04-27-2004, 01:25 PM
#17
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I have both cars. An 87 S and a 98 M3 4 door.
The S outhandles the m3 in almost any given situation.
THe M3 out powers the S but something like 50Hp and alot more than that in TQ.
The S is a ***** to mantain, it just costs and costs. But I love it so i dont really care. It IS an S so it is more to mantain than an 8v car.
I have only driven heavily modified 951 cars which would not be good for daily drivers, more like race cars than street.
For practicality sake, go with and E36 M3/4, great car. I love mine to death, not as much as the Porsche mind you,.
The Porsche is my baby and the M3 is my bitch. I guess that about sums it up.
I agree with Dan 100% about the race inspired feeling of the Porsche. WIth a good setup of suspension tires and driver input you can make the 944 do wonderful things. The M3 on the other hand can get more squirrelly in the turns with the TC off, it does not have the balance of the Porsche.
That said, best of luck with your choice, let us know how it goes!
The S outhandles the m3 in almost any given situation.
THe M3 out powers the S but something like 50Hp and alot more than that in TQ.
The S is a ***** to mantain, it just costs and costs. But I love it so i dont really care. It IS an S so it is more to mantain than an 8v car.
I have only driven heavily modified 951 cars which would not be good for daily drivers, more like race cars than street.
For practicality sake, go with and E36 M3/4, great car. I love mine to death, not as much as the Porsche mind you,.
The Porsche is my baby and the M3 is my bitch. I guess that about sums it up.
I agree with Dan 100% about the race inspired feeling of the Porsche. WIth a good setup of suspension tires and driver input you can make the 944 do wonderful things. The M3 on the other hand can get more squirrelly in the turns with the TC off, it does not have the balance of the Porsche.
That said, best of luck with your choice, let us know how it goes!
05-17-2004, 12:06 PM
#19
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i have a 99 m3 built to scca street modified rules. meaning carbon galore, race seats, back seats out most of the time, no a/c, race suspension, pretty much every engine & drive line bolt on but forced-induction. it still has a stereo and i daily drove it like this for pretty much all of last summer. the back seats can go in/out in about 5 minutes as needed.
i also have owned a 944s2 and still half-have a 968 that is built to scca b-stock (it's on the other coast at my parent's house now) and have a mostly-stock 86 951 which shares the garage with the m3.
the m3 does everything better than both those cars, but it took some doing to get there. it's a better daily driver, even with all the race stuff. stock suspension about on-par with the stock suspension on the p-cars. the m3 bottom end torque is unmatchable by any of these cars, and it's
if you want a daily driver and can only have one, get the m3, call up ground control and dinan and 3g later you'll have a pretty good daily driver monster.
still, the emotional feeling of driving the porsche is still better. on my typical 5 mile commute to work, i'll likely see an e36 or e46 m3 or ten. it's not every day you see a 944 turbo, and not every month you see a 968.
i also have owned a 944s2 and still half-have a 968 that is built to scca b-stock (it's on the other coast at my parent's house now) and have a mostly-stock 86 951 which shares the garage with the m3.
the m3 does everything better than both those cars, but it took some doing to get there. it's a better daily driver, even with all the race stuff. stock suspension about on-par with the stock suspension on the p-cars. the m3 bottom end torque is unmatchable by any of these cars, and it's
if you want a daily driver and can only have one, get the m3, call up ground control and dinan and 3g later you'll have a pretty good daily driver monster.
still, the emotional feeling of driving the porsche is still better. on my typical 5 mile commute to work, i'll likely see an e36 or e46 m3 or ten. it's not every day you see a 944 turbo, and not every month you see a 968.
05-17-2004, 03:12 PM
#20
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I am constantly reffered to as "the guy with the Porsche". No BMW owners get the same treatment, even though their cars cost 10 times what mine did!
A Porsche is a Porsche...unique (especially the 944s2/968), compared to the very common E36 BMW. Depends on what you want. The M3 will be more refined feeling (it is 10 years newer), and more comfortable. The Porsche is a very COOL car with special needs.
Put it this way--with a $17k budget, you can find an excellent S2 for $10k, and have enough left over for a '97 Civic as a back-up!
A Porsche is a Porsche...unique (especially the 944s2/968), compared to the very common E36 BMW. Depends on what you want. The M3 will be more refined feeling (it is 10 years newer), and more comfortable. The Porsche is a very COOL car with special needs.
Put it this way--with a $17k budget, you can find an excellent S2 for $10k, and have enough left over for a '97 Civic as a back-up!
12-22-2008, 12:05 AM
#21
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I had my 944s2 cabrio for about 5 years as a daily driver. I bought it right before I started college. As soon as I got out of college I needed a more practical car and I bought a beater 97 ford explorer. My 944 only had your routine oil changes, wheel bearings, brakes and a cv joint before I graduated. As soon as I got a real job the thermostat went, the alternator went, power steering pump started leaking like crazy and needed a rebuild, needed ball joints, needed tie rods, starter, clutch, drivers door handle broke and I had the timing chain tensioner fail on me and it destroyed the head and both cams. These old 944s are ticking time bombs, when they go, they go. I will say this though, these p-cars are worth it. My friends was seriously considering an m3 until I let him take mine for a spin and he didnt think the m3 was fun to drive anymore. If 2 cars is an option get a nice 944s2 or turbo and an old beater suv. 17k will get you that.
12-22-2008, 12:06 AM
#22
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I had my 944s2 cabrio for about 5 years as a daily driver. I bought it right before I started college. As soon as I got out of college I needed a more practical car and I bought a beater 97 ford explorer. My 944 only had your routine oil changes, wheel bearings, brakes and a cv joint before I graduated. As soon as I got a real job the thermostat went, the alternator went, power steering pump started leaking like crazy and needed a rebuild, needed ball joints, needed tie rods, starter, clutch, drivers door handle broke and I had the timing chain tensioner fail on me and it destroyed the head and both cams. These old 944s are ticking time bombs, when they go, they go. I will say this though, these p-cars are worth it. My friends was seriously considering an m3 until I let him take mine for a spin and he didnt think the m3 was fun to drive anymore. If 2 cars is an option get a nice 944s2 or turbo and an old beater suv. 17k will get you that.
