E46 M3 Vs R32 GTR & Passat Talk to me
Discussion
Hi guys
I have a 400+ R32 GTR. Its superb car. Been very very reliable. Great fun and awesomly fast. I also have a 51 plate passat that has been chipped. 1.8t, my daily grind. Smooth, quiet nippy. I have been considering getting rid of both and opting for a more modern all round car. Something quick but comfy and i feel the M3 fits the bill. What should i be looking out for on these cars. Will i be dissapointed with the performance coming from a car that will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds? What are your thoughts??
I have a 400+ R32 GTR. Its superb car. Been very very reliable. Great fun and awesomly fast. I also have a 51 plate passat that has been chipped. 1.8t, my daily grind. Smooth, quiet nippy. I have been considering getting rid of both and opting for a more modern all round car. Something quick but comfy and i feel the M3 fits the bill. What should i be looking out for on these cars. Will i be dissapointed with the performance coming from a car that will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds? What are your thoughts??
swordfish_gtr said:
Hi guys
I have a 400+ R32 GTR. Its superb car. Been very very reliable. Great fun and awesomly fast. I also have a 51 plate passat that has been chipped. 1.8t, my daily grind. Smooth, quiet nippy. I have been considering getting rid of both and opting for a more modern all round car. Something quick but comfy and i feel the M3 fits the bill. What should i be looking out for on these cars. Will i be dissapointed with the performance coming from a car that will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds? What are your thoughts??
Regarding pure 0-60 time, only you can answer that! But you should consider the M3 as an all-round package. How often do you do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds if you see what I mean..... I I have a 400+ R32 GTR. Its superb car. Been very very reliable. Great fun and awesomly fast. I also have a 51 plate passat that has been chipped. 1.8t, my daily grind. Smooth, quiet nippy. I have been considering getting rid of both and opting for a more modern all round car. Something quick but comfy and i feel the M3 fits the bill. What should i be looking out for on these cars. Will i be dissapointed with the performance coming from a car that will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds? What are your thoughts??
I have had about 8 or 9 3-series BMWs including a 328 sport, 2 E30 M3s and currently an E30 Sport Evolution and an E92 330d, the ''3-Series'' has always been all I've ever wanted and needed a car to be. The Sport Evo does 0-60 in about 6.2 seconds - not exactly devastatingly rapid by todays standards but if you've driven one, you'll know what the fuss is about...
For me it's about a balance, If I had all the money in the world I'd buy sh!t loads of different cars, to suit all moods and requirements... Currently I'm in a similar boat to you w.r.t getting rid of both for an all-rounder; see my thread M3 Quandary in this section....
My advise would be to try one, they're incredible value and I have never been disappointed with a 3series, including my first, a black A-reg 316 !!
HTH - Nick
IIRC the 0-60 for an E46 M3 is between 4.9-5.1 seconds. If you can tell the difference that those extra couple of tenths makes then I'll eat my laptop. Bear in mind it doesn't have the 4wd of your GTR to achieve that, either.
The only way you'll be able to tell if it is the right thing for you to do is to test drive an M3. It probably won't feel as quick as I'd imagine it is more refined, but you'll still be able to lose your license in no time if you so desire.
The only way you'll be able to tell if it is the right thing for you to do is to test drive an M3. It probably won't feel as quick as I'd imagine it is more refined, but you'll still be able to lose your license in no time if you so desire.
Quoting times is great fun but it has to be said my 360bhp Evo 5 had similar times to your GTR and it was OH SO BLAND!!!
It's not the destination... it's the journey i.e, it's how you get there that's important.
M3's sound lovely, they are RWD and beautifully balanced... you'll know it's YOU doing it and not a load of computers.
The car is well built and interior design, plastics, etc., are all in a league of their own in comparison to the Nissan.
Will you notice the difference in speed? If you've been driving to the computers then you absoltuely will yes as a fast car without the assistance is a WHOLE new ball game. A lot more fun, more rewarding but also more likely to through you in a hedge
Of course I'm making assumptions you've not driven a powerful RWD car before so apologies if I'm off the mark there
It's not the destination... it's the journey i.e, it's how you get there that's important.
M3's sound lovely, they are RWD and beautifully balanced... you'll know it's YOU doing it and not a load of computers.
The car is well built and interior design, plastics, etc., are all in a league of their own in comparison to the Nissan.
Will you notice the difference in speed? If you've been driving to the computers then you absoltuely will yes as a fast car without the assistance is a WHOLE new ball game. A lot more fun, more rewarding but also more likely to through you in a hedge
Of course I'm making assumptions you've not driven a powerful RWD car before so apologies if I'm off the mark there
Well thanks for the comments guys. I'm not after a balls out race car. I know the M3 is not going to be as fast, but i just dont want it to feel too slow compared. I have had many years experiance in powerful rwd vehicles. My car previous to the skyline was an RB25 powered 200sx. And you'll be suprised to learn the R32 GTR isn't as computer controlled as you think! Anyone here around the 28 years old mark? Just interested to see how insurance compares. Thanks again guys for your help!
Al
Al
swordfish_gtr said:
Hi guys
I have a 400+ R32 GTR. Its superb car. Been very very reliable. Great fun and awesomly fast. I also have a 51 plate passat that has been chipped. 1.8t, my daily grind. Smooth, quiet nippy. I have been considering getting rid of both and opting for a more modern all round car. Something quick but comfy and i feel the M3 fits the bill. What should i be looking out for on these cars. Will i be dissapointed with the performance coming from a car that will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds? What are your thoughts??
FWIW I think that you'll find the raw performance of an M3 dissapointing if you are coming from a 400+ GTR. You won't get the standing start performance, the mid range torque or the rush that you get from a turbo coming on boost.I have a 400+ R32 GTR. Its superb car. Been very very reliable. Great fun and awesomly fast. I also have a 51 plate passat that has been chipped. 1.8t, my daily grind. Smooth, quiet nippy. I have been considering getting rid of both and opting for a more modern all round car. Something quick but comfy and i feel the M3 fits the bill. What should i be looking out for on these cars. Will i be dissapointed with the performance coming from a car that will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds? What are your thoughts??
An e46 M3 brings a lot more to the party than performance however (overall package, refinement, economy vs, performance, reliability, prestige etc etc) and it sounds like that is what you are looking for.
Unsurprisingly I'd say that you need a test drive if you haven't already.
Most important thing to look for is that the con rod bearing recall has been carried out on earlier cars. Warranty is nice to have (although costly to extend). Other common areas include rust around the latches for the doors (check under the rubber cover) and corroded/broken rear springs. Generally these cars are quite safe and fairly robust - as much a question of shopping for spec as anything else.
If you do decide that the M3 is for you, take your time finding exactly what you want. The market is absolutely saturated and you will probably find it...
Hi,
The GTR32 is an awesome car, but they are getting on a bit and reliability becomes an issue with modified ones.
My old man has one and there always seems to be some little problem like a boost leak due to one of the many pipes that are old & brittle starting to leak.
I doubt an E46 M3 is more tactile than the R32 and you're right contrary to what people think, they are still a handfull as unless the front wheels are practically straight, they are rear wheel drive only, but the M3 will be more economical and I doubt it will feel much slower with the instant response of a normally aspirated engine.
Cheers,
The GTR32 is an awesome car, but they are getting on a bit and reliability becomes an issue with modified ones.
My old man has one and there always seems to be some little problem like a boost leak due to one of the many pipes that are old & brittle starting to leak.
I doubt an E46 M3 is more tactile than the R32 and you're right contrary to what people think, they are still a handfull as unless the front wheels are practically straight, they are rear wheel drive only, but the M3 will be more economical and I doubt it will feel much slower with the instant response of a normally aspirated engine.
Cheers,
One thing I did consider as a bit of fun instead of buying the M6 was to buy a late E46 M3 and Supercharge it....
maybe that would give you the rush?
I like turbo cars so understand the requirement for a wave of torque :-) I find the M6 actually behaves a little like this with the second wave of torque that comes in just as you feel it would be linear...
maybe that would give you the rush?
I like turbo cars so understand the requirement for a wave of torque :-) I find the M6 actually behaves a little like this with the second wave of torque that comes in just as you feel it would be linear...
swordfish_gtr said:
Well thanks for the comments guys. I'm not after a balls out race car. I know the M3 is not going to be as fast, but i just dont want it to feel too slow compared. I have had many years experiance in powerful rwd vehicles. My car previous to the skyline was an RB25 powered 200sx. And you'll be suprised to learn the R32 GTR isn't as computer controlled as you think! Anyone here around the 28 years old mark? Just interested to see how insurance compares. Thanks again guys for your help!
Al
I'm just 30 and got a quote on an E36 evo of about £650 from confused, this included a non fault settle accident (my first M3 being driven into by a truck on a wet morning whilst I was stationary at a roundabout and written off) and a pending SP30, for 36 in a 30. Relevant in terms of insurance group but not value perhaps....Al
As for 'feeling slow' the 330d feels much quicker than the Sport Evo until I wring its neck! but like I said in my first post, it's about how it feels with M3s even slow ones like the E30....
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