[GreenPlease]

^
He means that his 335i is a faster car in a straight line.

[Muffnbluff]

I'd much rather have an M3 than my 135. However, for $34,500 my 135i was a much better bang for the buck for me. And yes I'd rather have an M3 than a 335 as well. I've driven all three cars and the M3 is a true sports car, mind blowing throttle response and incredible handling.

I don't think anyone can argue that for a daily driver the 335 is a better deal than an M3...but don't kid yourself by saying you'd rather have a tuned 335 than an M3.

[zsapphire7]

Originally Posted by orionredwing

Almost. You also need suspension upgrades. A good set of coilovers at the very least. I just got mine installed and will start dialing it in. Now w/ my mod listed in my sig, I feel I can beat an M3 at the track. If that doesn't do it, I will need to add the M3 front control arms on top. Don't think I need to add sway bars but I may be wrong. I will know the next time I autocross and compare the responsiveness of the car.

My car was definitely quicker before suspension mods
and I can leave an M3 in the dust on any uphill climb, but they always catch back on the turns.

Nice... how are those swift springs ? What are ur spring rates with those kw v3s? Did you get the m3 subframe bushings?

[Kelvin1000]

Originally Posted by Sniz

you would also be throwing your money away buying every Dinan mod available....thats my opinion.



one of the best track cars???? what are you smoking, its wayyyyy too heavy to be a true track car. I see it as a good sporty gt touring car.

For a 4 seater daily driver, its not easy to beat...

[808AWD325xi]

Both are excellent cars, XI's are yet a different animal as well. Any deltas between the 335i and the M3 (real or perceived) can be eliminated via mods. It's only a matter of preference and expense at any given time.

BMW earns a premium when delivering a fully-sorted, factory-backed, performance-oriented M3.

[Nikolas]

M3 anyday over a 335i no matter how many mods it has. It is in a different league on a track.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by Kelvin1000

For a 4 seater daily driver, its not easy to beat...

agreed, but we weren't talking about having 4 seats

[stealth-twntrbo]

i think the best sounding exhaust is a F430 with Kreissieg race exhaust. lol that my friends is a sound from a whole different world! pure sex

[R1000K3]

M3 vs. 335i is a difficult question. Even though the M3 handles better on track, the driver is also a BIG key factor to achieve good lap times. And the 335 is quite easy to upgrade to beyond M3 handling if this is needed. I think I would miss the enormous low-end power on the 335 if changing to a M3 and it would probably cost far more than it taste. If one is within a limited budget but still wish to have a Supercar, the Nissan GT-R is a strong candidate. I have no desire for the GT-R at the moment though since the 335 is payed for and have such a great potential on Stage 3 level. And there is always Meth to put in the trunk if some GT-R is lurking in the neighbourhood :-)

[Kbueno]

I've gotten so accustomed to the brutal torque available after a quick spool-up with the 3, that an M3 would be let down. The M3 is a superior car, but not for the money. And I can attest to the M3's track prowess as I could not hang for more than 2 turns. Straight line...no problem.

There are many here salivating in secret over the next gen turbo charged M3. Some just like the power delivery of a turbo car...alot.

[Craig@SupremePower]

ohhh boy...

[Terrance28]

Originally Posted by I335

Why would you destroy it? You dislike M3s that much? Or do you mean your 335 is a faster car?

No I love the M3s use to have an smg e46M, I just don't see them as a better DD. Or when I use the car the most, on the street. Yeah if I had an M3 I can brag and say its an M or its great on the track but why when it would never see a track, so I would be just a damn poser.

[Terrance28]

Originally Posted by Muffnbluff

I'd much rather have an M3 than my 135. However, for $34,500 my 135i was a much better bang for the buck for me. And yes I'd rather have an M3 than a 335 as well. I've driven all three cars and the M3 is a true sports car, mind blowing throttle response and incredible handling.

I don't think anyone can argue that for a daily driver the 335 is a better deal than an M3...but don't kid yourself by saying you'd rather have a tuned 335 than an M3.

I would rather have a tuned 335i than an M3.

[Zeph]

I would want an M3 with the N54 engine. I love the looks and sound of an M3, but I also love the sound of the 335i with DCI and more boost (on an otherwise stock 6MT atleast, not sure on others). I know for a track there could be cooling and/or longevity issues etc. etc. but just "in theory" I would prefer the N54 engine but the rest of the car to be the E92 M3.

For the money the best way to do that really is to just buy an E92 335i and do as many M-tech, M-sport, M suspension linkages, etc. on the car to get that result. I think with KW coilovers (actually I am fine with just V1), a good LSD, and some M linkages and body parts you could basically have an M3'ish track car. Then a good tune and a few performance mods and you will blow it away coming out of corners and on straights. Best of both worlds IMO.

I guess to me the M3 just isn't worth the extra $20k or so because you would still need to add a supercharger or turbo to it to complete the package.

[inthemiddle]

Originally Posted by Zeph

I would want an M3 with the N54 engine. I love the looks and sound of an M3, but I also love the sound of the 335i with DCI and more boost (on an otherwise stock 6MT atleast, not sure on others). I know for a track there could be cooling and/or longevity issues etc. etc. but just "in theory" I would prefer the N54 engine but the rest of the car to be the E92 M3.

For the money the best way to do that really is to just buy an E92 335i and do as many M-tech, M-sport, M suspension linkages, etc. on the car to get that result. I think with KW coilovers (actually I am fine with just V1), a good LSD, and some M linkages and body parts you could basically have an M3'ish track car. Then a good tune and a few performance mods and you will blow it away coming out of corners and on straights. Best of both worlds IMO.

I guess to me the M3 just isn't worth the extra $20k or so because you would still need to add a supercharger or turbo to it to complete the package.

+100 seems like people with m3s whine about how the 335 still isn't an M car no matter how much you tune it... well...they forget... you can easily fix the suspension.. on a 335.. and then they are damn good (as I can keep up with an Exige on twisty roads in mexico with my LSD and V3s), and I have more torque for daily driving... ... +100 ... no way will i ever say 'it's not as good as an M because you just don't get the same 'experience' driving it' .... it's different.. does it make it better or worse ? depends on who you talk to... i'm just tired of people whining either direction... i'd say the above describes a pretty good combo/compromise... and i'm sure others will disagree and need to defend their choice in either direction... but i don't care...

no point in arguing about what car "is better" as it's subjective.. all cost vs. performance... etc.. an M3 with a supercharger.. sure .. i'd take it.. and it would be better.. but i don't want to pay for it !! (or the gas)

[mahutchi]

Originally Posted by orionredwing

I one upped the experience. I attended the 1 day m-school. The m3 is an awesome track car and I deceived myself that the 335i's boundless torque in a straight line was good enough. It led to my wavetrac LSD and kwv3 with swift springs upgrade on my 335i.

Nice mods! once you installed the LSD and springs, how would you compare your 335i with the M3?

[M&M]

An M3 isn't about better handling or whatever. It's about a peach of an engine that dominates the car, & the handling/braking matched to that, and the precision & pleasure it brings to the driver.

[twinturbopg]

my 2 cents...i would rather save my money on a stick with a 335i instead of a m3. only thing really missing besides LSD is just the body...keeps those cops away anyways

[Zeph]

It is obvious that to answer this question you have to justify it. M3, to most people on this forum, is only worth the extra money and loss of DD torque for a pure track enthusiest who can actually drive well enough to utilize the car. Ironically, I have only seen a few new E9x M3's around and they were all 4 door sedans with some old guy driving it in the right lane on the interstate. VERY similar to the Corvette owners you see, atleast where I live. Old men, gold chains, probably can't even tell you what size the engine is in their own car. Do they go to a track? um.. no. It is just a nice looking car with an "M" on the back which gives them some status I guess.

If they actually drove a 335i or 535i around town they would probably enjoy it more since it does have the torque between 1500-3500 RPM's where they probably spend 99% of their time driving. But then again, it wouldn't be an M so they would feel inferior I guess. My gf and I had this same argument the other day... where I hate people who buy base model cars just to say they have it (like getting a V6 mustang and acting like you drive a Cobra). She said "not everybody buys a car to race it maybe they just like the way it looks" and so on and so forth.

Anyway, just hard for us car enthusiests to realize most "other" people buy the car that looks the best yet fits their budget. They don't even know or care what engine it has, how well it handles, or how many tires are being powered by the transmission. They just want a status symbol and/or a photo shoot platform. I gaurantee there are TONS more mods done for show than for GO on pretty much any car in existence, and especially on BMW's. Just like I bet there are more 325i's sold than all other BMW's put together. You can get an E9x 325i base model for under $30k and that is what most people do.

To each his own, the 335i E92 I bought is the perfect car for my driving habits and style.

[uberschnell]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

M3 anyday over a 335i no matter how many mods it has. It is in a different league on a track.

I think this has been shown to not necessarily be true.

[uberschnell]

An interesting question is this:

If the e9X M3 buyers had an engine choice of either the V8 or the N54, and all else is the same, and both at the same price, which would sell the most?

[Zeph]

Originally Posted by MteK

An interesting question is this:

If the e9X M3 buyers had an engine choice of either the V8 or the N54, and all else is the same, and both at the same price, which would sell the most?

the V8: it's bigger, sounds bigger, goes along with the image better from what I have seen. Vette = gold chains, M3 = bigger gold chains (costs more, bigger status symbol)