Do any of you stock C5ers have any experience racing E46 M3s? We were discussing this on a local board and one guy thought that a M3 would beat a C5 'all day long', but I think it would be more of a driver's race.

 

What type of racing? There is high speed autocross, low speed autocross, drag racing (1/8 & 1/4 mile) as well as road course and true track.

If you are talking stock 04 C5 coupe against stock 04 M3, save for the straight line stuff, the M3 is going to have a field day and chew up the Vette. If you are comparing 04 C5 Z06 against M3 then it does become a drivers race on large road course and race track, Vette in the drag but the M3 should win in both low and high speed autocross.

 

Aren't M3s low 13 sec cars in the 1/4. That should be a driver's race against a C5.

 

Although the M3 is a great car, I'm hearing the Z06's will easily handle the M's in both a straight line and the twisties for sure.

-Mr.Z-06

 

What are you guys talking about.......

Vette will win stock for stock, those beemers weigh more and have less power. 3700 lbs and 330 HP 04 M3

 

Thats what I was thinking. It should be AT LEAST a driver's race.

 

Iv killed a MANY of M3's when i was pretty much stock. A lightly modded c5 would decimate a M5 in a straightaway.

 

I have auto Xed with the BMW club several times, ( they have lots of events) and those cars are nice, but they have alot of body roll and thye eirhter under or over steer.... although i did not beat many of there times in the low speed, ( they were much more ecperienced drivers) you could tell that the car struggled through the twisties and when it came to accelration. All of the BMW guys were envious of my low end torque

 

I would think that it would be close between the two. Both are very good performance cars

 

Through the twisties may be a different story but in a straight line I pulled from the start and kept on pulling. It wasn't much of a race

 

I've killed M3's....heh....

 

I believe I stated the stock Vette would win all the straight line stuff. But the twisties is always going to be an issue. Stock 04 Coupe just doesn't have the sway bar and shocks to hang with a stock M3. The Z06 on the other hand is a driver vs driver race on track and large road courses. Autocross is generally going to be in the M3 favors even with their body roll and tendency to push thru a turn. The car instills a greater trust when it goes thru hard hair pins turns hence they maintain better speed. I autocross (1.2 miles avg course, top speed usually between 75 and 85) with M3s once a month. I have yet to see a stock Vette take a top 10 time. It took a modded Vette (headers, exhaust, T1 Sway bar, shocks, brakes and tires) to break into the top 10 so far.

If you would like to prove me and the BMW people wrong, I would be more than happy to provide you with details for the next autocross June 25th in Mineral Wells Tx where the M3s will be playing. And I am sure we can find a M3 that is either stock or is modded to your level to make sure the playing field is even.

Don't get me wrong and assume I consider the M3 to be a better car, I don't. But simply put, I have gone up against them enough times to know better when it comes to the tight twisties of autocross.

 

"tight twisties" favor short wheelbases. I've been to slaloms where slightly-modded Honda CRXs chew up M3s and spit em out quite handily. Essentially, a short wheelbase and low weight (such as with the new Lotus) rules the really tight races. Racetrack races though, are another story.......

 

Exactly, thank you for putting it that way. The only car I have seen eat the M3s at our events are the WRX/Evos, a few modified Z3s and a tricked out Mini Cooper S that simply is a wonder to watch.

 

M3's race in A Stock along with the C4's, which is a slower class than Super Stock which the C5 is in. For some reason I don't see too many M3's at SCCA auto-x's. Autocross really comes down to the driver. Back when I used to race an 88 Fiero GT, I turned in better times than many of the Vette's. It seems like so a lot of them weren't very good drivers. The course design always makes a big difference too, a tighter course seems to favor the smaller cars, were a course with larger sweepers works better for higher horsepower cars like Vettes.

 

I saw a video of a stock C5 destroying an M# on the race track. Both were professional drivers. The bottom line is the C5 is faster in every category. It will beat the M3 in a straight line or around any track.

 

Who cares how much you lean in a turn if you're taking it twice as fast as the car behind you??

 

If tight autoX/road courses favor small based vehicles, then how would something like a Ford GT or Ferrari F50 do on that kind of track?

 

I have a stock C5 FRC with 330 RWHP and have no problems with M3's on a road course (Pahrump). They have too much body roll, less HP at higher RPM, and more weight to keep up.

 

M3s are running 13.5@105 in the 1/4
C5 Vert........... 13.2@107.9