Tonight we decided to line up two of my friends. The 00 M Coupe only has intake, throttle body and custom ECU tuning; where as the 02 M3 is bone stock.

1st race:

M3 got a better launch and ended up holding the lead and won by about 3/4 of a car.

2nd race:

M Coupe got a better launch and ended up holding the lead and won by about 3/4 of a car.

We saw the video taken by the passenger of the M Coupe and it clearly shows that the M3 was NOT pulling past 1st gear.

I am VERY surprised to see how well a 240 hp held up against a 333 hp M3!!

Both races they raced to about 3 gear ~ 85-90 mph and no one was pulling. Oh, both car had 1 passenger to make it fair.

It would seem even the 240hp M Coupe/Roadsters are not to be taken lightly. I always thought I was much faster, I guess not :chix

interesting results

240 HP? I could have sworn the M coupes were 315 HP.. at least the ones at the dealership i go to are..

Originally posted by Iniquity
240 HP? I could have sworn the M coupes were 315 HP.. at least the ones at the dealership i go to are..

I believe the 1999 and 2000 M coupes had the US S52 engine which is 240 hp and weighs 3131 pounds.


The 2001 M coupes have the US S54 engine same one the E46 M3 has but due to lower rev limiter and shorter exhaust pipes is rated at 315 hp and weighs also 3131 pounds.

Racing a modified 99 M coupe against an stock E46 M3 doesn't make any sense to me but the new M coupes should easily edge out the E46 M3s up to 90 (both in stock form).

Brian

I had the same outcome on the highway.
My 99 coupe had only a dinan chip at the time.
The E46 was behind be. We went from 60 to 140, and he never pulled an inch!

1) Power to weight ratio 2)Smaller mass 3)Shorter drive shaft, so less drivetrain loss.
M coupes ROCK!:buttrock

Results from SMGs depend alot on what program they are running too. For A1...high 15 second quarters have been reported. Even in S6, they do not launch as well as a manual.

Without know what the M3 was doing with the gearbox, it's hard to make anything of this story. :dunno

Um actaully I have heard the SMG can get better times more consistently then the 6spd. I know it sucks to hear that a car with 333 Hp was able to run with a 240 car but it is true. The s52 is very linear up to triple digits where it will fade to the m3. I know dave has gotten a stock 3.0 with stock tires into the mid 13's. So I KNOW he could get a stock m roadster into the low 13's

I want an M coupe!!! I test drove one last weekend (a 99) and it was so nice. The exhaust note is unbelieveable.

You should take it for a test drive and go find a car to pass. IT SOUNDS 100% better then. So smooth So MEAN. AHHH im gonna bust a nut :D

Just a clarification....


A 240 hp M coupe is a quick car. However, you saw a race between a M coupe with a CAI and throttle body mod that dramaticly increase performance and hp. So to say that a 240 hp Mcoupe is as quick as an E46 M3 is not accurate. A modded M coupe is a very close challenger to the M3..... .but not as much if it is just stock.

That is somewhat surprising, and the smgII can only launch up to 1800 in race mode, you can always powerbrake though, :-P

Originally posted by Longhorn
Just a clarification....


A 240 hp M coupe is a quick car. However, you saw a race between a M coupe with a CAI and throttle body mod that dramaticly increase performance and hp. So to say that a 240 hp Mcoupe is as quick as an E46 M3 is not accurate. A modded M coupe is a very close challenger to the M3..... .but not as much if it is just stock.

Good point, but the mods on the S52 weren't very extensive. With an intake, chip, and throttle body you're looking at 25hp increase at the flywheel, AT MOST.... its probably more like 20. So, say you're now racing a 265hp M coupe vs. a 333 hp m3... the results are still surprising.

He's got a K&N airfilter for chriss-sake... The race was fair, the M3's slower... The M Coupe's the ultimate drivers car... The M Coupe is the M3 the engineers built, the M3 is the M3 CEO's bought and the 315 will be the 333-it-should-be with a JimC chip... But we all knew that anyway, right?

Originally posted by Longhorn
Just a clarification....


A 240 hp M coupe is a quick car. However, you saw a race between a M coupe with a CAI and throttle body mod that dramaticly increase performance and hp. So to say that a 240 hp Mcoupe is as quick as an E46 M3 is not accurate. A modded M coupe is a very close challenger to the M3..... .but not as much if it is just stock.

Totally untrue. My friend Mike has an M Coupe with Intake, exhaust, Throttle body, and super stage 1000 Dinan software and he only laid down 225 HP at the wheels. That stuff does absolutely nothing but add a few horsepower.

That is somewhat surprising, and the smgII can only launch up to 1800 in race mode

you can only launch an m coupe around 2000 with dsc off unless you want to stand still roasting rubber....

any m coupe...regardless of engine is respectable---

the only reason the s54 coupes dont embarass the m3 crowd is the 3.15 diffy the marketing people demanded so as not to hurt the m3 and z8 egos IMO:biglaughb

Don't forget the Detuned Rev limiter and Weaker VANOS... all of which JimC has remedied.... mouhahaha:devillook

Gotta love that even with all this against it, the M Coupe remains KING!:evil2

Further clarification, my car bone stock on OEM tires only got a 13.89, Jon. ;) And when I took a 98 M Roadster to the track I managed some 13.6's and 13.7's... also on OEM rubber.

Next, the SMG M3 will not be as quick as the 6 spd stick M3, if the stick is launched properly.

Further, from all I have seen, SMG M3's are about 5.0-5.2 0-60, which is about the same as the 99-00 M Coupe in stock form, so this sounds about right.

And I doubt those mods to the M Coupe added THAT much hp... Keep in mind the gearing advantange the M3 has as well as the hp advantage, but it's saddled with all that weight...

Power to weight ratios are everything in a good race...

Next, the SMG M3 will not be as quick as the 6 spd stick M3, if the stick is launched properly.

even if the smg driver uses launch control?? seems like its programmed for optimal power delivery w/ minimal wheelspeen. couple that with perfect shifts and it seems the smg should be better in a drag than all but the most experienced racers---

im assuming neither of these guys are experts so the smg might have a slight advantage in terms of shifting efficiency, launch, etc:dunno

Actually Tommy, even with launch control it won't let you launch high enough, where it needs to be launched for optimal ET's at the drag strip. I think it only lets you launch at 1800 rpms. That car needs to be launched at more like 4000-5500 rpms...

With the stick, and some experience, you can modulate the wheelspin with the 3rd pedal and get the best launch...

Actually Tommy

we may have the same car...and live in the same area...but were not the same person!! i think tommy would take offense to being called a dork :)

id love to see someone launch the m3 or mcoupe who really knew what they were doing...4000rpms seems insane in stock form---if i go above 2300 its tough to keep rubber down...although to be honest i havent bothered trying much

My bad, read his sig too quick! :D First day back and all.... ;)

you can only launch an m coupe around 2000 with dsc off unless you want to stand still roasting rubber....

any m coupe...regardless of engine is respectable---

the only reason the s54 coupes dont embarass the m3 crowd is the 3.15 diffy the marketing people demanded so as not to hurt the m3 and z8 egos IMO:biglaughb

thank you :evil2

This thread is MAD old!

Actually Tommy, even with launch control it won't let you launch high enough, where it needs to be launched for optimal ET's at the drag strip. I think it only lets you launch at 1800 rpms. That car needs to be launched at more like 4000-5500 rpms...

With the stick, and some experience, you can modulate the wheelspin with the 3rd pedal and get the best launch...
I thought they didn't bring the launch control to the U.S. on the SMG's? Fear of lawsuit reasons. ??

BTW: BradD has some crazy videos on his sig.

we may have the same car...and live in the same area...but were not the same person!! i think tommy would take offense to being called a dork :)

id love to see someone launch the m3 or mcoupe who really knew what they were doing...4000rpms seems insane in stock form---if i go above 2300 its tough to keep rubber down...although to be honest i havent bothered trying much
It takes some practice and clutch to launch at higher RPMs, but it is certainly possible and required to pull 1.8s 60' times on street rubber. Or the occasional 1.7.

i cant believe you dont even know what kinda engine u got man..
u have the same damn engine in a much smaller car! wit MODS!!!!
this one is obvious, z's are no joke.

An M3 Smg is can easily launch at decent rpms, you just have to put it in 6th mode, sport and dsc off and slam the gas and it will rev up to around 4000 rpms and then engage the clutch, with little wheel speed, i was running 4.7-4.8, 0-60 on my Gtimer atleast 10 times. the fastest i have gone 0-60 in my m coupe is 4.9 but i had to much wheel spin, i think i could reach 4.8.

This threads 3 years old let it die.

Totally untrue. My friend Mike has an M Coupe with Intake, exhaust, Throttle body, and super stage 1000 Dinan software and he only laid down 225 HP at the wheels. That stuff does absolutely nothing but add a few horsepower.

The s52 dynoes around 200whp, so seeing 225 at the wheels is a credible increase (i don't ever remember seeing dinan obdII software make noteworthy gains (as in 5+, if that)). that would be about 270+ at the crank, and in the end, more horsepower is gained that the assumed 25 flywheel hp.

i cant believe you dont even know what kinda engine u got man..
u have the same damn engine in a much smaller car! wit MODS!!!!
this one is obvious, z's are no joke.

um...the s52 is quite different from the s54...like 75bhp, 30+ft.lb and -1200 rpm different. only the 01-03 coupes/roadsters got the s54.

someone on the thread said SMGs launch slower than a manual launched properly....Thats actually not true... Even an automatic launches quicker than a manual...its a computer, and a human would have to be right on point. I encountered this SL55 AMG, and we just took a short sprint (half 1/4 mile) and despite that car having more HP and being supercharged, the automatic got him a better launch because funny enough, i got out before him (jumped the start abit) and he still got right back with me.

SMG is a good system for just drag racing around... but manual is much better to control the rpms

someone on the thread said SMGs launch slower than a manual launched properly....Thats actually not true... Even an automatic launches quicker than a manual...its a computer, and a human would have to be right on point. I encountered this SL55 AMG, and we just took a short sprint (half 1/4 mile) and despite that car having more HP and being supercharged, the automatic got him a better launch because funny enough, i got out before him (jumped the start abit) and he still got right back with me.

SMG is a good system for just drag racing around... but manual is much better to control the rpms

your wrong. do some research.

your wrong. do some research.
:lol ditto that

The s52 dynoes around 200whp, so seeing 225 at the wheels is a credible increase (i don't ever remember seeing dinan obdII software make noteworthy gains (as in 5+, if that)). that would be about 270+ at the crank, and in the end, more horsepower is gained that the assumed 25 flywheel hp.

S52 M3's maybe. The Coupe's and Roadsters dyno 210-220 RWHP stock....less driveline losses than the M3.

someone on the thread said SMGs launch slower than a manual launched properly....Thats actually not true... Even an automatic launches quicker than a manual...its a computer, and a human would have to be right on point. I encountered this SL55 AMG, and we just took a short sprint (half 1/4 mile) and despite that car having more HP and being supercharged, the automatic got him a better launch because funny enough, i got out before him (jumped the start abit) and he still got right back with me.

SMG is a good system for just drag racing around... but manual is much better to control the rpms

That is one of the more ignorant statements I've heard lately. After that, I am led to believe that you do not know how to properly launch a manual transmission car.

That is one of the more ignorant statements I've heard lately. After that, I am led to believe that you do not know how to properly launch a manual transmission car.

^ Ditto

^ Ditto
exactly what I was think'n.. being a new guy, I kept my thoughts to myself

I think if they would've went to say 125-130mph, the M3 would've increased the lead and pulled more than 3/4 car lengths.

Not taking anything away from the M Coupe, but 90mph isn't that much to show what the E46 can do, especially since launching can make or break a race, as seen in this one.

You guys should've done a few from a roll, just to see the results.

Nice runs, though, props to the M Coupe guy for holding its own :buttrock

your wrong. do some research.


ah well.. when you're wrong you're wrong.
- sorry for supplying false information

what can i say? :)

That is one of the more ignorant statements I've heard lately. After that, I am led to believe that you do not know how to properly launch a manual transmission car.


well im sure i was way wrong. I actually wasn't certain (at all) but posted it anyway...dumb idea apparently. :nono

anyway, yea, i do usually launch pretty well - that AMG may have just overpowered me. (but this was before I even had the intake or exhaust, just the chip.)

S52 M3's maybe. The Coupe's and Roadsters dyno 210-220 RWHP stock....less driveline losses than the M3.

good point, thanks for correcting me. I really had no idea, but that's good news. In that case, it makes my case less valid, but w/e.

My 99 M coupe was also dead even with a 01 6 speed E46 M3. My roadster was not as quick on the top end, but was quicker out of turns that an E46 I played with.

The Z platform ROCKS!! :buttrock

so how about a s52 mcoupe vs s54 mcoupe? Any one try that?

This threads 3 years old let it die.

I agree...