[Renalicious]

That new M3 looks like it's gonna rocks the roads. I still don't much care for the looks of the car, but that 420HP 4L V8 is gonna scream at 8300RPM. I wonder if it's possible to do an M3 engine swap into our cars, instead of the corvette V8, or Nissan V6 <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



It really makes me wish that Porsche would release an "updated" 968 of sorts. Something that looks just as good or better, but has all performance of a modern car, without super car pricing.

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[Renalicious]

Hmmm, after looking at some youtube videos of the car and listening to it, I have to say that I'm pretty underwhelmed by what the car sounds like. I know youtube isn't the best indicator of quality, but I expected more presence from that V8. The factory exhaust sounds very subdued and tame, like you're expecting a sudden rush of sound and excitement, but nothing happens. Same with the intake, it's like half and half between it and the engine noise and ends up falling short of anything exciting. Muscle cars have a lot of growl and grunt, and Ferrari's scream by, but this M3 just kind of... breaths at you <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



But again, I will reserve final judgment till when I hear the car in person. One of the guys at work will be getting one, woo! And yes I know this new M3 will perform great, but I want my cars to sound as good as they perform <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



BTW: looking at the pictures of the exhaust header, does anyone else think they made it unnecessarily complicated? I mean, talk about a rat's nest of pipes!

M3 power train pictures

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[Cloud9...68]

I've always been a big fan of BMWs, so I'm sure the new M3 with be the new standard by which performance coupes are judged, but I have to say, I'm almost getting numb from how each new generation of high performance car dramatically outdoes its predecessor, and its competition, to the point where the performance levels attained by modern cars are almost silly. May lightning stike me for saying this, but who needs 300 hp, much less 400(!)+? One of the first lessons you learn in DEs is that horsepower is overrated, and it's the last thing you need to improve to make your car go faster. And that's on the track - how can the average driver possibly utilize the type of power cars like the new (or even the previous) M3 are putting out? And why shell out another $15K over a 335, which already hits 60 in under 5 sec, and has a near-perfect balance of handling, ride, braking, and just plain overall excellence? Maybe it's just me, but as much as I love fast cars, it almost seems like things are getting out of hand with these uber-performance machines...

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[Anchorman]

After having the driving experiences I had yesterday (see http://www.968forums.com/index.php?showtopic=4060), I have to agree with you. As staggering as the SL65 AMG was that I drove yesterday, I don't think I'd want that much excess performance available at all times. And, I also will say that getting back into my pretty stock 968, and then driving a stock Boxster today (not even an S), I found myself saying that each had sufficient "get up and go" capability. I've also noted the accidents - on and off the track - that are attributable to more power than the driver, and maybe even the car, could handle. I see that the new Road & Track has a report on the Mercedes C63 AMG. My wife has the C280 - far from a barn-burner, but more than enough for anything approaching normal day-to-day driving.



But, maybe it's just that I'm getting old.

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[StephenHallman]

Mmm... The way I see it is that they just put a huge engine into a car that can't properly handle it. A ferrari has a bit over 400 horsepower but it also has a perfect suspension(along with alot of other things), so I don't see a m3 with 400 horsepower as that great. Its about everything else the car has. I'm willing to bet that if I put in $40,000(price difference from my car to the m3), mine will end up posting quite a bit faster lap time. And... You won't see any of my cars(except a few). I'm not trying to compare the two, but I am rather unimpressed by the new m3.

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[Cloud9...68]

Plus, I think there's something to be said for having to work just a bit to get the power out of an engine, like staying in the proper rpm range, or making sure you're keeping the engine on boost, in the case of a turbo. Maybe I, too, am getting old, but I think it would get a tad boring to drive a car that had virtually unlimited power available at all times, at any rpm, which is what so many of today's high end cars actually deliver.



But we've gotten pretty far afield from the new M3. In its favor, I would say the 8400 rpm redline would be highly entertaining, and I love the lines of the new E90 3 Series, so much so that I bought my wife a new 328i (which I picked up in Germany) a few months ago. Don't get me wrong, the new M3 is undoubtedly a fantastic machine, one that could hardly have been dreamed of just a few short years ago. It's just that it's the latest in a numbing procession of fantastic cars, that's beginning to remind me of Michael Schumacher's dizzying domination of Formula 1 during his years with Ferrari. A sort of death by excellence, if you will...

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[Renalicious]

Heh, I guess I'm still too young <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Maybe I have performance envy because I know how fast the M3 will be compared to the 968? But you make a good point about too much power for driver or the car itself, since I've only ever been to one DE and I know how much further this car can be pushed by watching videos of Eric, Jim, and Charles. They have basically NA engines with a bit more power than stock, yet they still go up against heavy hitters, newer cars, and do very well. I would like to get my car up to around 300HP since that is the magic number for our cars apparently, that and my suspension is not stock either. No need to swap engines, but the sound of a V8 at 8300 would be fun <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='Renalicious' post='40070' date='Aug 17 2007, 01:51 PM']I would like to get my car up to around 300HP since that is the magic number for our cars apparently,[/quote]

I agree, 300 hp in our cars would be very nice, especially in conjunction with dropping a couple hunderd pounds of excess weight. That would make for a very nice, balanced car, that would do very well on any imaginable track in a DE.

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[PorscheDude]

That is one sweet engine. Did anyone see the dyno sheet? Look at that torque curve.

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[Renalicious]

Yeah, something to be said for having almost 400Nm almost all the time, then the 420HP kicks in at the top. Funny, that power curve looks linear enough you'd be inclined to think they're using a supercharger <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[PorscheDude]

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/b5c4cfe...9b800d9ab7e.htm

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