chris951

I was curious which car is faster on a track and drag race, a 964 C2 or a E36 M3?

Grip

Both cars are very comparable. I happen to have a 95' 3.0L E36 M3 that is heavily modified and my dad has a bone stock (for now) 93' C2. While my car pulls a bit harder up top the Porsche has the advantage stop light to stop light due to the massive advantage of torque. I couldn't tell you which car stock for stock is quicker around a track or in straight line but I would put my money on the C2 in both categories.

sml

fastestlaps.com ... find the link to 'compare'

sml

from similarly lightly modified E36 M3 vs 964, I recall the M3 being about 2-3 secs lap quicker on a short 1.25 track.

Vandit

Straight line, i'd bet on the the flat 6.

On a road course, I'm less sure.

GG Allin

My RS America ran a 14.0 1/4 mile FWIW. I've never run either of my M3's. I will add that my 98 has noticeably more torque than the 95 and the RSA. I think I could run a faster lap in either M3 on a road course, they're just easier to drive.

Vandit

'95 = 3.0l
'96-99 = 3.2l

It sucks the USDM never got the 321hp version.

911Jetta

True, we didn't get the good engine.

I don't feel so sad anymore though, not after riding in (and listen to) this M3 with a LS1 V8. Did I mention it sounded good!

GG Allin

My 95 will look like that in the spring. 500hp LS6 is weeks away from going in. BTW that looks like an OBDII car. I specifically went with an OBD I car to simplify the swap.

GG Allin

LSx swaps are not just for BMW's either.

Tuner1

A well-sorted E36 chassis + an LSX engine = tons of fun and a very fast car.

Mine is long gone but I still miss it.

964russ

My mates gat a 3.0l m3 300bhp and its as fast as my c-2 280hp.
At santa pod my car was .01 of a second faster on the 1/4 mile.
The same.

boxsey911

The guys I've met at the track running stock E36 M3s always have problems with the brakes over heating. So while, in my experience, there's not much between the two over a lap, the M3 has to come in to cool the brakes after 2 or 3 hot laps, while the 964 keeps going round.

GG Allin

I know a guy who raced a 95 M3 with NASA, SCCA & BMWCCA. He ran stock brakes, dominated his class and never had an issue with them.

boxsey911

I don't doubt what you say but I was referring to the whole of the car being stock (therefore heavy) and being driven on track by non-racers who use and abuse the brakes a lot more than a racer. The guys that I know that regularly track their M3s uprate pads, fluid and hoses as a minimum and strip out some of the weight. Those that want to transform the braking often go for an AP racing upgrade. My local racing school has a fleet of E46 M3s which all have the AP racing set up.

Here's an example of some M3 owners' thoughts about the suitability of the brakes for track work:

Owners discussion about E36 M3 brakes