Originally Posted by cossie1600 (Post 1038589)

I would treat the Lightning lap articles as a reference, I can't say I trust it completely because my car did 4mph down the straightaway than they did. The times just looked a little odd to me at times. I use the same timing equipment as they do and I was nearly faster at every area. It might be the RE-11, but I still can't see how it can get me 4mph down the straights.

Plus with all the talks about track times, 99% of the owners don't go anywhere close to one.....

Originally Posted by shadoquad (Post 1038557)

Ok, I'll bite.

I love the M3, but it's not bang for the buck imo.

It depends on your measures of success. If you just go by mag time, 0-60, lap times, it's pretty competitive. With around 70-80 extra peak hp on tap, it ought to be faster than a Z, and for twice the price, it ought to be faster than a Mustang.

But if you want to talk about "pure sports car" as in, the pleasure of driving, road feel, then almost nothing beats the Miata for the money (all trolling and jokes aside). For 20k, you can buy a tight-suspension FR roadster that'll hang curves and put a huge grin on your face.

Now, back to the M3. Stock-for-stock, probably crushes a lot of cars. Dip into the aftermarket, throw a supercharger on the Z or the stang (still coming in under the initial purchase price of the M car), and you may have quite a race.

Just my double penny. Thank you for playing.

Oh, but if I had the money, I'd rather have the M3 over all of the cars I've listed.

Originally Posted by Shamu (Post 1038566)

The new Mustang Boss Laguna Seca edition will waste the M3 and costs under $40K. But I'd still take my Nismo over either of those bloated pigs.

Originally Posted by LostMarine (Post 1038608)

see, thats where personal preference clouds things. something like the DCT transmission is well worth its price, dds to that fun and exhilerating experience. the interior itself, im sure you wont argue is leaps and bounds above what a miata would offer. so when you factor in the BEST of every concievable want and need, the M3 does stand above the rest

Originally Posted by LostMarine (Post 1038608)

see, this is when i would get aggressive and say thats only because you
A. havent driven a better engineered performing machine,
B. you cant afford the above mentioned better performing machines

but I wont go that route as i like to remain civil

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1038604)

Which car are you comparing? If it's the z, they only ran the nismo and never got in a true hot lap.

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1038644)

wow.

Originally Posted by cossie1600 (Post 1038589)

I would treat the Lightning lap articles as a reference, I can't say I trust it completely because my car did 4mph down the straightaway than they did. The times just looked a little odd to me at times. I use the same timing equipment as they do and I was nearly faster at every area. It might be the RE-11, but I still can't see how it can get me 4mph down the straights.

Plus with all the talks about track times, 99% of the owners don't go anywhere close to one.....

Originally Posted by b1adesofcha0s (Post 1038655)

Well the better overall car really depends on your needs and what you want to do with it. For the price of an M3 you can get a used 911 which I'm sure will own it around a track. It has some luxury/DD aspects to it as well.

Originally Posted by haggomyeggo (Post 1038671)

either this or everypost i see from you makes you the best racing driver ever. Is this really Sebastian Vettel come to grace our lowly Z board??
:icon18:

J/k kidding man

you could be coming off faster on the last corner to the straight so that would give you a higher top speed at the end of the straight. You would be coming off the last corner faster because of the tires having more grip.

And the C&D guys are just writers who like cars. I dont think they were using racing drivers to run the cars at VIR so you can have an idea of what an average enthusiast driver would be able to do. This is probably why they couldnt get a decent time out of the Mosler that one year.

Originally Posted by LostMarine (Post 1038676)

do you WANT a DCT/DSG trans?
Do you want BBK
Do you want LSD
Do you Want a powerful car?
Do you want a refined sporty and comfortable interior?


what other cars offer the TOTAL package for the same price?

Originally Posted by cossie1600 (Post 1038717)

Nope, just a bored engineer looking to get through work. I don't compare times, I just like to make fun of people who always talk about how great their cars are and never run it at the track. Heck, my Prius did a few laps on two different tracks.

I thought they use professionals, didn't know the writers were driving. 4-5mph is a big difference, better street tires alone shouldn't make that much of a difference. Also they have the mighty Nismo, I can never ever compare my car to that. Mine is just a lowly base model.

Btw, I do consider myself an average driver. I don't know if I am much of an enthusiast anymore, more like some dumba$$ who doesn't have a new hobby yet.

Originally Posted by LostMarine (Post 1038676)

right, but realistically, we are comparing factory fresh unmodded cars. once you start modding, anything becomes the "BEST"

so right off the showroom floor..

and yes, wants and needs are subjective. so again. the absolute best of the WANTS and NEEDs.

do you WANT a DCT/DSG trans?
Do you want BBK
Do you want LSD
Do you Want a powerful car?
Do you want a refined sporty and comfortable interior?


what other cars offer the TOTAL package for the same price?

(and yes, i am remaining civil here, I dont want a banstick raping ;). if you want to see me aggro, look into me and Nismo370z and Mrsqueeze arguments on another site :) )