Coming back from Silverstone on the A5 on Friday I had a brand new BMW M3 following behind, obvously up for a bit of scooby bashing - so when the traffic cleared I floored it (MY02 full scoobysport decat) and to my suprise the M3 didn't seem to be catching me that quickly.

Anyway at 120 I pulled over and waited for him to go past (I'm not a boy racer) and followed on behind him - but unlike Scoobyspanner I didn't get toasted - so either he wasn't trying or they aren't that quick!

 

maybe he was too busy enjoying his comfy leather seats, nice stereo, sat nav, blah blah blah.

Saw a cabrio today in harlow, sounded very nice as he touched the throttle, similar to a skyline with very tinny exhaust.

paul

 

I can't have been trying too hard ! I toasted one round a roundabout near Farnborough but as soon as the road straightened he pulled away pretty sharpish. I did have my fishing gear in the back though !


AllanB

 

They are quick, any car with nigh on 350hp is gunna shift...

And i seem to remember passing a P1 in an M3 on a recent Hullavington trackday, anyone here?

 

Not me , but were you in the E46M3s I passed at Brands GP or at Silverstone GP in my P1?

Edited to say I'd still have one if I could spare the £50 large ones - well if you're going to have one you'd be honest and have all the creature comforts wouldn't you?

[Edited by Fat Boy - 8/19/2002 7:20:25 PM]

 

If I were to spend 40K+ for a beemer I would be mighty pi$$ed if I were not able to toast the odd scoob.


Ill get me coat !

 

Well done, you passed a parked M3... was it atleast on your side of the road?

I have been (passenger) in a silver cab at Milbrook back in June at the car in action day. It was driven by a pro-driver. Bounced off the SPEED limiter at 168 (as someone else has said on another thread), roof down with FOUR people in the car! Awsome!

Within ten minutes I went on the 300 bhp Scoob prodrive. Awsome too, but not as quick/fun as an M3

 

A new M3 will smoke most subarus. While some of you may think your car is faster, it is possible that they were only playing with you, or perhaps not even racing at all. Just because you were close to one when you were driving fast, doesnt mean they were racing, they may not even have noticed you were there.
Old M3's on the other hand, do seem very temperamental. Most of them do seem pretty slow, and certainly I find it hard to believe they have 280bhp. The M3 Evo, again some do go quick, but a lot dont. In a similar fashion, most wrx's are also slow, and usually no faster than a UK car, despite claiming 280bhp.
Its also ver hard to tell whether it was actually a M3, or a 318...so was it really an M3 you were chasing after, or a look-a like, after all, it really only takes a set of wheels, and they all look alike.

 

Ok - my experience with the E36 Evo M3 (321bhp) is that no subaru i have come across has been able to out drag me - an STi will match me until 80 then i am fractionally faster from there onwards.

However throw a few bends in and things change. I have both scalped and admittedly been beaten by both Sti's and normal turbos. I will not race in the wet however as rwd, no traction control 321bhp and water do not mix well.

 

The only new shape M3 ive come across was driven by a complete and utter to55er [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
Mr "hi im going to cut across 2 lanes of traffic then squeeze between the focus infront of you and your scoob" just as i happened to be nearly at the concrete post seperating the motorway and the slip road [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
And would i have whooped his ***?
Yup cos he couldnt drive the thing properly (he needed to brake on the corner while i normally go quicker round it but the lights changed to red so he ran them [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] )

Tony

 

OK, there are exceptions (Im sure there are some car enthusiast M3 Owners out there somewhere) but on the whole I find that M3 (in fact all BMW 3 series drivers) are, generally, the worst drivers out there!

I do 30,000 miles a year - most on the motorway network - and from the experience of doing this day in, day out for the last 15 years, the cars that usually cause trouble are either:

BMW's - which generally fall into two catagories - arrogant sh1*s in 5 or 7 series who 'own' the road or people (often young women I might add) driving 3 series coupes or M3's who think their car's badge entitles them to be respected by all other drivers...

People carriers doing MACH 9 frightening the guy in front to move over with 2 tons of high speed 7 seater with sat nav and 4 kids on the playstation or...

Old folk who mistake the fast lane for the supermarket car park thinking other cars are just shopping trolleys.

I have rarely seen a Scoob or Evo being driven poorly on the motorway.

Mak.

 

"Anyway at 120 I pulled over and waited for him to go past "

i'd imagine that if he can afford a £40+ car then he probably cant afford to lose his job by getting nicked at 120+....

you are no different to the kid in a nova who flys through a 30 at 60 and loses the scoob behind him in the process.... no doubt he tells his mates down the pub he blew you away!

T

 

Was at Hullavington too when Phil was there and yes I too had no problems creaming the P1, but then again I had no problems lapping other M3's till my tyres went completely bald, with mesh showing through.

However this proves absolutely nothing in the same way that 'I was in my Subaru and opened a can of whoopass on an M3; they are not all that' does.

IT IS THE DRIVER NOT THE CAR THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE !!!!

And just to prove the point a Noble was there as well and I could hold station with him around a whole lap. I unlike some of the morons on here did not suddenly think 'oh Nobles can't be all that because I could keep up with him'. No I thought what a poor piece of driving considering it should lap an M3/Impreza/Evo etc every few laps.

 

Guys - reread my email - I was in a new (ish) lightly modded scoob - I was being followed by a brand new M3 - and and although he was catching me when the traffic cleared it wasn't as quickly as I thought it would be - when we got to 120 I decided this was a stupid speed so pulled in and let the M3 past.

So to summarise accelerating from 70 - 120 the M3 didn't catch me as quiclkly as I thought - and we were both giving it some.

 

These threads make me laugh!

E36 M3 (3.0 290bhp) - UK Scooby beater, STi would have it though.

E36 M3 EVO (3.2 321bhp) - No scooby would out drag this, its geared to pull 170/180mph nuff said

E46 M3 (3.2 350bhp) - With a driver that has enough ***** to throw a £50k motor about against a £12k scooby, this car would leave you so far behind you would be ashamed to tell the story!

Yes I have driven each of these cars, the latter is such an amazing car I am close to wetting myself even thinking about it. Would chop off an arm (finger) (finger nail) to own one.

Yes they have a sh1te image, yes they may be driven by tossers, but anything with 300+bhp is gonna be a quick car. The E46 M3 is regarded as one of the best cars ever produced. Personaly, I think it is THE best car ever produced. The engine alone has so much engineering behind it, it makes the flat4 look like a qualcast!

Also, the E36 EVO and E46 M3 with a half decent driver would leave you in the bends, so none of this "but wait till they get to a corner" rubbish! At the end of the day, it is a peice of pi55 to drive a subaru fast, the scooby flatters the driver and makes him/her feel like superman (as has been demonstrated)!

Cheers

Paul

 

Ok, lets get one thing straight here. I love M3's, but I love jap super cars more.
You are trying to compare the brand new M3 with scoobies. The new M3 is the most expensive and best M3 ever, therefore its only reasonable to compare it to the most expensive and fastest scooby right?? The 22b.
Put them on a drag strip, circuit, rally stage, the 22b will always come out on top in the performance stakes.

 

Paul - it's a piece of p*ss to drive any car fast in a straight line - you just press the loud pedal.

But I never said that outdragged and M3 - only that he didn't catch me as quickly as I thought - and then I pulled over to let him past!

I know M3's are a lot quicker - that's why I was suprised

PS my scoobs 250ish bhp so not standard

 

*psssst* the M3 driver wasnt trying

If he had he boot right down the only thing you would have seen would be his four exhausts disappearing into the distance!

 

Don't like to get involved in these, but just thought I'd point out that What Car magazine don't seem convinced that the M3 is that much quicker. I'm sure there is probably some difference above 60, but there can't be THAT much.
As previously stated, it is all down to driver when you start looking at any car with a half decent power to weight.

What Car figures:



Subaru BMW
Impreza Saloon M3
2.0 WRX STi AWD (Prodrive) Coupé
Target Price £27,495 Target Pr £39,730
List Price £27,495 List Price £39,730


Max power (bhp/rpm) 265/6000 343/7900
Max torque (lbft/rpm) 253/4000 269/4900
Max speed (mph) 148 155
0-60mph (sec) 5.2 5.2
30-70mph (sec) no data no data
Braking dist. (m) 8.9/44.1 no data/no data
Engine position Front Front
Driven wheels Four Rear
Length (mm) 4394 4492
Width (mm) 1626 1930
Height (mm) 1448 1383

Just thought I'd add to this one as I'm always hearing how M3s p!ss all over Scoobs / Vice versa.

 

Here is a question for all you 0-60 merchants?

Do you think if two cars have the same 0-60 time that given both cars start at the same time it would be a dead heat at 60mph?

Give you a clue the answer is not 'YES'

 

@ Makalu,

M3 Drivers are the worst out there?
You have never seen a Scooby being driven badly or carelessly??

Mmmm, OK, I agree, the image of the average M3 driver is poor, alot of this is down to a few ***** driving like idiots, but alot of the poor image from other road users comes down to jealousy in my mind, you wouldnt believe the stick you get just for driving a nice car!. Its hilarious when your trying to get out of a bust junction, in my Audi Turbo I had no problem, in an M3 - get comforatble!, you could be there a while!

And as for the Scooby never being driven carelessly - come on, we all know that isnt true!. A car that has been mass produced like the Impreza will always have its w*nker brigade, like the M3.

I recently saw a black Impreza, not sure which model driving like a complete ***** up the M3 towards London, weaving in and out of all 3 lanes etc etc, not the first time Ive seen it, saw an white Evo 6 doing similar tricks on the way back!!

At the end of the day its unfair to say that a person or group of people are w*nkers, or drive like it because of the car they own, its the person and every car has its following of ********* who give the car a bad image.

In general I find Scooby drivers to be pretty good and sensible whilst having fun (Mr Black Cataluna thing knows what I mean!). There is a guy near me who drives through my town at 60mph everywhere, he is a **** and used to have a Saphire Cosworth (no surprise there then). Unfortuantly, as the price of these cars falls lower and lower the more idiots will end up behind the wheel.

I like the Impreza, for the money its unbeatable and they are great fun to race, as I very often do. The best bit is that you just dont know who is going to win as there are so many standard and so many modded ones out there!. And I have to say that all the Impreza's I have raced or had little blasts with always give you a flash of lights or hazards or the thumbs up which I always duely return, dont see many other people doing that to an M3 driver - belive me!!, the w*nker sign is the norm when your about half a mile in front, and thier pride and joy has been made to look silly!

And yes, I have an M3

 

POC,
ive outpaced 2 M3 E36's (the 271bhp ones) with ease in an MY00 PPP'd car trust me they were not difficult to beat (and one of those was when my car was poorly and lost boost towards the top end )
The first was in a straight line, not a problem, just wasted him in 5th
The second one was coming up to a roundabout, left him on that and trust me he was trying but couldnt keep up

Tony

 

271bhp???

286bhp was the 3.0ltr

As has been said, all depends on the driver, Ive wasted a fair few Scooby's in a 3.0ltr M3, and have been beat aswel.

(the guys driving Impreza's wearing a shirt and tie are normally easiest prey as generally they have no bollox - not all of them but most)

 

the E36 3.0 with a normal driver would be fair game to any scooby c.260+bhp, put the M3 in the hands of someone that can drive and you wont see it for dust.

Its the two bigger brothers that you should look out for, they will rip off ya head and sh1te down your neck

 

have owned an m3 for 2 years & have just bought a wrx import. the m3 will beat the wrx in a straight line no problem,but add in a few bends and it becomes a totally new storey, the wrx will p**s a standard m3 on the bends no trouble. any one can drive in a straight line, the bends are where the funs to be had.

 

Paul go read part 1 to this thread... it is not as clear cut as you seem to think....

A well modded Scoob can out do an new M3 with a fair amount of ease....

Pavlo's calculations may help you see that a say 330bhp Scoob will be faster that a new M3 at all Speeds!

Anyway had a 14 page thread on this already so not going there....

Paul... no wonder your posting in the second thread... with your Bimmer your to slow to see the 1st

 

nah I ignored the first thread as it (as usual) just turned into scooby owners thinking they have the fastest cars in the world and not wanting to hear anything different.

(on PE's rollers anyway - pint anyone?)



P

 

lol @ pint!! If your buying fella!

Mind you... I'll get to the bar 1st so best I get me wallet out!

 

I don't understand where everyone get's this notion that the new M3 is so much faster than the older ones. It is essentially the same engine just tweaked to have 20bhp more than an E36 Evo and a bit more torque and the new M3 is a heavier car than the old one so in straight line speed there isn't much in it. Only fractions of a second to 60 and 100.

The handling has been improved but in my opinion it no way matches the ease with which a Subaru can carry speed through turns. I reealise that a very good M3 driver may well be able to keep up with a Subaru but how many very good drivers do you meet. The Subaru can do everything handling wise an M3 can do only easier for the average driver. Some people may see this as a bad thing but I see this as the Subaru being techincially superior in the handling department.

Don't get me wrong I like the new M3. I have been in my friends one on many occasions. The interior, finish and build quality is miles above the Subaru's but you have to remember the target audiences of these two cars are different. The flexibilty in gear on the M3 is excellent as it has a much wider power band but this is only to be expected when comparing a large capacity NA car to a 2.0 litre turbocharged one. However driven relatively hard a decently powered Subaru will eat an M3. I have absolutely thrashed several M3 E36 Evo's on standing starts, rolling starts and in the twisties (one of them being my friends and yes he was trying)and considering the new M3 is only slightly faster than an E36 Evo (this is proven by on paper figures as well as the fact that I have driven a E46 M3 several times) I know I wouldn't have too many problems with an E46 in my 300bhp Type R. I will soon get the chance to prove my theory right as my friend with the new M3 and I are going at it, on a track of course, so I wil then have conclusive proof that a decently powered Subaru i.e. Sti, Type R or any Suabru modded to have over 280bhp will easily leave an M3. A subaru is designed to accelerate and go round corners really fast. An M3 is designed to cruise on autobahns. Two totally different concepts. However the new M3 CSL may change all that but at £60000 or thereabouts you still have to look at the price difference.

Phew I am off to lie down now.

 

The never ending argument