What Next?

[e46m3c]

Alright Chaps.

Ive had my e46 M3 for a year now and im really craving some more oomph. I have a 36 for the track which im very happy with, and as such im after a daily car with more straightline oomph than the 46.

Dont get me wrong the 46 is a great car, i just think its lacking 100 bhp for my purposes.

What do you rekon for £15-20k? Nothing in my budget seems to come close

[e46m3c]

Supercharge M to 450 +£5k? 290 bhp / ton
m6 300/ton but perhaps too ugly? and prices are plummeting. m6 v10 in an e46 m3 would be perfect!
tuscan around 300-360bhp/ton but engine rebuilds, reliability and build quality issues...
RS4?? Too Borning.
t350? 300 bhp / ton? Very small and as above..

Anything else? Handling doesnt have to be priority, however it needs to be capable if i find myself on a tasty b-road...

Edited by e46m3c on Monday 18th July 22:51

Edited by e46m3c on Monday 18th July 22:54

[nottyash]

Keep saving and get a Nissan GTR. Your about 20 grand short

[e46m3c]

yeah tell me about it. I could stretch to about 25 if it was something epic. I was thinking of e90 m3, but the numbers and youtube doesnt seem to rekon its much of a step up.

[e46m3c]

Numbers alone a CSL is coming out best. However thats really going to be pushing the budget to get a nice one.

The TVR numbers look sooo tempting!

[nottyash]

I drove my mates Audi RS4, and it wasnt massivly faster, you need around 500bhp.
What about a 996 turbo? very tunable and pretty cheap now

[e46m3c]

I have to admit i love that idea... However seems hard to find one with decent miles on it, if i had 25-30 ok, but id really rather keep nearer 20k!

Edited by e46m3c on Monday 18th July 23:15

[e46m3c]

So its official. There is no upgrade for me within price range. basically need to double my budget

I guess a monaro could have some good poke. but going bmw - > vauxhall seems like a backward step.

[Nedz]

What about an E60 M5? Much more straight line go than an E46 m3 and prices now start at £17k!

[e46m3c]

Yes thats an opp. but i dont think i could live with the looks of that either. And only 271 bhp/ton..

The noise of TVR is awesome also....

[playalistic]

Z4M? Admittedly not piles faster (at least straightline anyway) than an E46 M3 but feels so much more visceral...

[krisdelta]

I had this exact dilemma last year - for your budget there is nothing to touch a good E46 imho. Hire a fiesta for a week, you'll get the wow factor back

[Laird]

e46m3c said:

Supercharge M to 450 +£5k? 290 bhp / ton
m6 300/ton but perhaps too ugly? and prices are plummeting. m6 v10 in an e46 m3 would be perfect!
tuscan around 300-360bhp/ton but engine rebuilds, reliability and build quality issues...
RS4?? Too Borning.
t350? 300 bhp / ton? Very small and as above..

Anything else? Handling doesnt have to be priority, however it needs to be capable if i find myself on a tasty b-road...

Edited by e46m3c on Monday 18th July 22:51

Those bhp/ton figures for the TVR are no more accurate than sticking your finger in the air though.

In reality, most standard SP6 cars aren't that much (if any) quicker than the M3. You'll need a 4.5 Cerb to really move the performance game on if you stick with Blackpool. Or buy a modded one.

What about something Turbo'd from the land of the rising sun?

[jontysafe]

That fiesta comment may not be such a bad idea.
Maybe you need to reset your drive expectations a little. I have the M6 which is the best car I have owned and is silly fast especially in licence losing territory. I also have a turbo-weasel Megane and drive a new company Freelander pretty often. Its amazing how the M6 feels after a week of pottering about in either of those.
Yet if I've solely been driving the V10 I start to think about supercharging it for the big slug. I know that's going to cost me both a niggling wife and the thick end of 15K. I could get a fantastic weekend toy (7 type) for that I've been told.

What I'm trying, inelegantly, to say is that whatever strata of performance car you drive it is remarkable how quickly you get used to it.

[Gruber]

I completely agree with the "buy a fiesta" suggestion. The e46 M3 is a fantastic car, and by any sensible measure is very, very quick. But if it is pretty much all you ever drive, it's inevitable that the wow-factor will start to wear off.

I picked up an e92 M3 at the weekend. Wow does it fly! But I'll be making sure I pick up another £1k-worth of old Merc run-about in the next couple of months to keep my feet on the ground. And commuting on a 50cc Vespa helps as well...

[Rochester TVR]

What a nice situation to find yourself in... without streching the budget too much what about one of these...

Maserati Gransport
Jaguar XKR
Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X MR-FQ-AB-CD-400 (or 360)
Corvette
Vauxhall VXR8 (Supercharged to 600+bhp)
Mercedes CLK55 AMG
Porsche Cayman S
Porsche 996

[e46m3c]

Rochester TVR said:

What a nice situation to find yourself in... without streching the budget too much what about one of these...

Maserati Gransport
Jaguar XKR
Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X MR-FQ-AB-CD-400 (or 360)
Corvette
Vauxhall VXR8 (Supercharged to 600+bhp)
Mercedes CLK55 AMG
Porsche Cayman S
Porsche 996

Maserati Gransport - Considered but decided it looks too dated, and the running costs are mental.
Jaguar XKR - not my cuppa tea,
Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage - again i spent a while hankering for one of these, but again it just looks too dated.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X MR-FQ-AB-CD-400 (or 360). Done the Jap turbo awd route. want some prestige.
Corvette - Interesting. Which ones? The z06's are way over budget still.
Vauxhall VXR8 (Supercharged to 600+bhp) - This is possible. but would i be mad going bmw > vauchall?
Mercedes CLK55 AMG
Porsche Cayman S - Looked into this quite a bit, but i might as well keep the m. after more straightline grunt than cornering ability as i have the 36 for that.
Porsche 996 - test drove one of these and was so dissappointed i bought the M in the first place.

Keep saving for a GTR or charge the M by the looks of it.

[e46m3c]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2870297.htm
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2818870.htm

Edited by e46m3c on Tuesday 19th July 21:32

[mcelliott]

I've had my E46 for almost a year now, and I absolutely love it - ticks all the boxes. Like you, I'm already thinking about what to replace it with when the time comes. At the moment the favourite would be a 997 Carerra 4S with all the bells and whistles, or possibly a slightly left field choice being a GTR. Not sure if the Porsche would actually give me a big difference in performance on what I've already got, I think the Nissan definitely would though!

[Laird]

e46m3c said:

Maserati Gransport - Considered but decided it looks too dated, and the running costs are mental.
Jaguar XKR - not my cuppa tea,
Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage - again i spent a while hankering for one of these, but again it just looks too dated.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X MR-FQ-AB-CD-400 (or 360). Done the Jap turbo awd route. want some prestige.
Corvette - Interesting. Which ones? The z06's are way over budget still.
Vauxhall VXR8 (Supercharged to 600+bhp) - This is possible. but would i be mad going bmw > vauchall?
Mercedes CLK55 AMG
Porsche Cayman S - Looked into this quite a bit, but i might as well keep the m. after more straightline grunt than cornering ability as i have the 36 for that.
Porsche 996 - test drove one of these and was so dissappointed i bought the M in the first place.

Keep saving for a GTR or charge the M by the looks of it.

A Z4M coupe could be an option. They're that bit quicker than the M3 (think CSL pace) and once you get bored, you could supercharge that for the ultimate Porsche slayer.