85Gold

I still have both. A gutted E46M3 with full race suspension 18/10's all round + AC & Cruise and a 996GT3 with Motons, Cup Car Clutch, Light Weight Flywheel and rear Toe Links. I love both on the track. It is a hard decision which one to bring

Peter

iLLM3

Peter I agree.. Hell I can even hop in a bone stock M3 and have so much fun (ran 1:06 around limerock stock), it's so controllable then start adding some nice parts (suspension, lwfw and clutch, pullies, short shift kit, brakes ) and it just transforms into such a thrilling car.

Again people think I am crazy for my love of M3's, but they just don't understand!

I plan on doing exactly what you do.. Have my GT2 with moton's, and fully setup, now time to get my M3 back

340Elise

You are not crazy; M3's are awesome cars, I agree. Just like you might be talking about M3's and sticking up for them, I do the same with my Lotus Elise and Exige that I want to get back into soon.

However, although Porsche is going up in weight also, they are not nearly as bad as BMW. The 997 did not go up much in weight over the 996, and I bet the facelift 997 will not be much either unless you order all the new gizmos and maybe go with the PDK which will be heavier by about 90 lbs I believe.

My favorite M3 is still the E36, especailly the factory lightweight version. That to me was the best one even with only 240 horses. I believe the E36 had a bas weight of just under 3200 lbs if I remember correctly (maybe 2175), and the lightweight version took off about 150 to 200 lbs??? Then they come out with the 3,415 lb E46 pig (which is a great M3 still; I too love it). And the latest iteration is over 3,600 lbs! That is way too much of an increase in my book. We are looking at about 200 lbs between each of these iterations.

How much did the base 997 C2 increase over the 996 C2? Wasn't it less than 50 lbs, if not closer to 20? I seem to remember them talking about the 997 weighing more, but that they made up for most of that weight through the use of aluminum on parts of the car.

Anything over 3,000 lbs is unacceptable to me unless I know that I can fairly easily strip the weight off and get the car to below that weight without having to gut the interior. In about 2 weeks my GT3 will weigh 2,950 lbs with a 1/4 tank of gas, and the only gutting that I have is the lack of a passenger seat. But, I can put my 26 lb passenger seat in the car in less than 20 minutes and I am still under 3,000 lbs.

roberga

having that V8 adds a lot of weight. I looked at one today. Nice car but hard for me to go from a GT3. The one thing I hated was the clutch pedal. You can push it to the floor with a finger. I would need to find a fix for that.

iLLM3

Guess what, that v8 weighs less then the old 6 in the e46 m

New m did nothing for me, interior was BLAND, car felt way too high seating position wise and narrow, I hated the assist in steering with edc, wasn't direct like the e46 m and Porsche gt cars, overall it just didnt feel special or fun! Not to mention the motor felt exactly like the 6 but less peppy and responsive!

roberga

No kidding on the weight??? As far as the rest, the M3 feels like it is going away from track and is made for going fast down the freeway.

iLLM3

AGREED, absolutely terrible

Can't wait to pick up another E46 M though, F my M5 LOL!

///Mous3

The day BMW Motorsport decides that cast iron calipers are to be replaced with the monoblocs, I might think about it as a "track worthy" car. Till then... M3E30 and M3E46 CSL (not available in the US) are the only two M3's I would own.

mkozink

Sort of like the 6-piston front and 2-piston rear calipers on the BMW 135i?

C.J. Ichiban

another track day solution for the non-clutch crowd...

Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale!

of course, it's about 180k for a used one...

MAB Badgerbimmer

Gees you guys are trying to talk me into just staying with my M3.

By the way I have both an E36 M3 and a E46 M3. Both with a lot of mods. From my perspective the E46 is a much better track car. Admittedly more mods, but the engine is awesome in the E46. In track set up my E46 weighs in at 3180 with a dry tank.

Carrera GT

That $180K was $210K six months ago and more like $170K when checks clear today it seems. Surprising to me, but there it is. Certainly a 360 CS is no power house, but it's a lot of car for the money. Still, the 430 is so much more car again and it sold in such large (relatively) numbers, resale prices are back down around MSRP for coupes.

Carrera GT

I don't think anyone but the most one-eyed Porschephile here would seriously try to talk an M3 driver out of a "set up" track E36 or 46. I think for racing and track driving, the emphasis for the BMW drivers is the racing and the overall experience. For the 911 driver, the experience is the car as the main character in the experience. I just can't get interested in BMW or Mercedes etc. The only thing distracting my attention from the 911 is the 430. And what a distraction!