I just got my 86 951 about a week ago and I've had my M3 for about 3 months. I was curious on which was faster. The M3 has the torque but the 951 has good top end. The M3 has the AA tuning track pipe, exhaust, Cold air intake and chip. The 951 is stock for now. (Guru chip kit is on the way and I've since taken off the cat.) So my best friend got in the M3 and I got in the 951 and we headed for the freeway. I decided to do a 3rd and 4th gear pull. Side by side in third we hit it. Surprisingly the 951 stayed right beside the M3 from the kick. He soon went into 4th, I still had quite a bit of gear left in third. After his gear change he dropped back about a half car. I went into fourth as quickly as I could but due to a half second of lag the M3 pulled about a car up and thats where it stayed until about 120. I think that if I didn't have that little bit of lag between 3rd and 4th I would've stayed ahead of him. I was pretty impressed considering the hp difference in the cars. 951: 86,000 miles totally stock 220hp
M3: 110,000 miles I estimate 280 crank hp
I think the 951 will blow away the M3 once I put on the chip kit and with my new exhaust.
Sorry for the long post.

 

You think you are getting 40 horsepower with the BMW chip?
<img border="0" alt="[burnout]" title="" src="graemlins/burnout.gif" />
Oh, forget it, I see the other stuff

 

Chris, how long ago did you order your Guru chips?

 

Once rolling, a 951 is pretty hard to beat by a similar powered car, but once modified very few, fast cars can keep up with it. I raced a 2002 M3 in my 951 on my way home about 11pm last January I was driving about 70mph he past me doing at least 100mph, it was a beautiful car, but a young naïve driver, he slowed down, like for me to catch up, well I did and got next to him, he looked me straight in the eyes, gave me a bad look (Like if he was saying, race me if you can). I think some of these beemer drivers are stuck up . Well I did race him, we started about 80mph, from the Azuza off ramp all the way to Nogales exit which is about 4 miles. All that way he couldn’t keep up (as much as I’d expected him to). I pulled a distance of about 5 car lengths, then he exited at Brea Cyn Rd. I feel bad for such a demonstration of lack of self control, but it was hard to resist the challenge. I don’t encourage this kind of behavior, it’s totally unacceptable for the mature P driver to pull a stunt like that. I stopped doing this kind of stuff , since…….. last night!!!!!

 

Once you get the chips it will all be over for your m3

I love the 951's top end. A friend of mine has a nicely modified stealth tt (no cat, borla exhuast, bigger injectors, more boost etc.) and he is always suprised when I stay with him in third and fourth. Off the line is a different story but these cars aren't drag cars.

How do you find the m3 compares to the 951 in normal around town driving?

 

Stephen, I ordered them April 2nd I believe, still don't have them.

Boostaholic, Honestly they don't campare right now. Maybe that will change once I get my mods on the 951 to get more low end boost. There's no comparison in handling and braking either The M3 right now is hands down a better street car than the 951. We'll see if that changes when I up the boost.

 

you shouldn't be getting any lagg on 3 4 shifts.. there's a REALLY good chance you need a new CBV ( $60 for the 993 part )

Then go out again and watch teh 951 fly past the M3

seroiusly though. CBV

 

I drove a '98 M3 with AA software, an ECIS cold air intake, and an AA exhaust for over four years until getting my '86 951 in December. My M3 made only 252HP at the flywheel (stock is 240 HP). My mildly modified '86 951 (APE chips, cat bypass exhaust), would absolutely kick my Bimmer's butt at the top-end. E36 M3's are quick, but if you want them to be really fast, you're looking at shelling out $$$ for forced induction. Extra HP for the 951 is a comparative bargain which very much adds to its appeal.

First, some perspective: a chipped '95 OBD-I M3 will run faster than the OBDII '96-'99 M3's (OBDII's are much more difficult to modify)and the track pipe will yield more top-end power for the Bimmer. Thus, a '95 M3 with a chip (I assume Chris has one) and a track pipe will be a tougher opponent for a stock 951 than most later-production M3's.

Stock M3 to stock 951, I think the 951 will always rule the top-end and the quarter. But the M3's on-demand torque (237lbs/ft @ 3750 RPM) will always pull the M3 out of the hole like a scalded dog.

Straight line speed isn't the E36 M3's forte in any case. The M3 is all about balance. It's handling is incredibly forgiving, and it's a blast to drive, fast or slow, and makes for a great daily driver. The 951 is a kick to drive too. If I owned both, I'd drive the M3 Mon-Fri, and I'd play in the P-car every weekend.

 

A modded '97 M3 just took unlimeted 2 class honors and 5th overall at the Open Track Challenge this last week. That Bimmer handed the Vision prepared 951 it's a$$ every track it was run on. I imagine it's budget was up there too.

 

The suspension on the M3 is light-years ahead of the 951's.

 

Ahhhh man...
you guys just made me go look at my totaled 98 m3 in the garage....
I'm looking forward to a 951 and all.
But that m3 was simply the best handling machine I've ever driven.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Luke:
<strong>you shouldn't be getting any lagg on 3 4 shifts.. there's a REALLY good chance you need a new CBV ( $60 for the 993 part )

Then go out again and watch teh 951 fly past the M3

seroiusly though. CBV</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">What is a CBV? I have lag between every shift no matter how fast I shift it. Its definately not me, I just thought that was normal for a 951.

 

Just had a chance to open mine up on the FL turnpike heading tothe Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach. Got to do a few 3rd and 4th gear pulls. Turnpike is 75 mph, dry and sunny and only a little traffic. Eat up some ricer cars. Most could not even keep up, and the few that did, pulled out or ran out of steam at about 110-120. I still need to have a high speed balance done so I didn't get to high eaither. Pulled with a new or fairly new Pontiac Firebird, F1. It was the one with the BIG dual scoops or inlets and did not sound stock. Had an older driver so I felt confident he knew how to drive and/or would hit high speeds as safely as possible. We did a 4th/5th gear pull from about 85-90 and pulled dead even to about 130 then hit some traffic. He seemed very surprised that I stayed with him and actually was pulling a hair on him before we slowed.

Yes, mid and top end on thses cars are great!!!!

 

CBV.... cyclic bypass valve.

 

Hmmm, I always thought CBV = Compressor Bypass Valve, . . . but I guess that works too.

Also, Chris, the 993 valve is less than $40 through Paragon Products - the least expensive I've seen.