alenbalen

link: http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224984

wanna get a crossthread going, see if we cant get up some personal reviews or vids or something...

"So i guess my Q's are...

Off launch? which will pull?

which car has better handling? i'm not talking about subjective, fanboy based answers... but actual taking wide sweeping S turns and the like.

and finally, does it matter what brand of car you drive? hypothetically speaking, if the s2000 and M were without badge and prestige, which would you take?

looking for those who have either driven both, or one or the other k thx."

I want the S2k drivers opinions now !!

FISH22

i love the e36 m3. have a good friend with a 99, plenty of Dinan(sp?) parts, ecu, exhaust, intake. we have had a couple runs from a dig, in my old ap1 and in my 06. it has plenty of torque off of the line, once i get into vtec though, i catch right up, and start inching past, but its definitley a close call. not sure how the S does against a stock 36 M.

if you think about it, they both make about the same hp from the factory, the M making plenty more torque than the S. i'm sure there is a huge wieght difference, but not sure how much.

BobDigi7080

I wonder why "vs. E46 discussion" isn't ever brought up

kenstyle

Driver's race.

negcamber

I've owned both. Straight line it is a drivers race. Ran a friend's e36m3 the night I traded my e36m3 in on the s2k...it was dead even.

Handling is no competition. The stook outperforms the e36m3. Emperically, you can see this in the SCCA classing. The stook started in the same class as the e36m3...the stook quickly dominated the class, became the class benchmark and then was bumped to a faster class.

As far as which would I own...I loved the m3...it was very versitile...it did everything well. The stook is more fun...you can drive it around out of vtec and have a complete blast while not raising the ayre of the local LEOs. The ///M didn't get fun until I was going take-me-to-jail speeds.

Also, the Honda has been much more reliable and less costly to own. Considering the newest e36m3 you can get is 8 years old and you can still buy a new stook, that makes a difference too.

However, if I was living in a place with lots of traffic, I would consider the ///M or an ///M...but probably an e46m3 with smg.

sexycheto88

with being a big fan of both i'll give u what i think is what ur looking for.

the s2k is the better car when it comes to upgradability. a turbo kit for the s2k runs roughly around 5k, with around 400ish to the wheels after everythings said and done. the e36 however runs around 10k for a turbokit. i'm talking about reputable companies and installation. i'm sure it can be done for less but i haven't seen a e36 tuner who has a good rep and builds there own stuff for less then 10k.

the s2k is the worse of the two if your not gonna do any mods and just have it as your DD. it sucks in traffic, and is horrible merging onto the highway, its not the car that makes it worse its the driver. it'll do better then the m3 merging but u gotta downshift really low, and you'lll naturally be hesitant to watch the revs climb just to merge so you wont downshift as much in return speed up slower. plus the lack of torque is the major killer for DD driving.

beginers car the e36 would trump the s2k ten fold. new drivers would tear the s2k apart, the s2k loves to tail slide, and the fact the earlier models bump steer like a bitch is no help. the only good point is the tranny, the tranny in the s2k is way better then the tranny in the e36. a short shifter would help out alot in the e36 but the distance u have to travel is like tripple that of the s2k. plus having 6 gears opposed to 5 helps a little. but the e36 has the torque a new driver needs, and lower rev band. plus the clutch delay valve standard in all e36's helps stoping a new driver from destroying his car. i know the new s2k's have em. but who would buy a new driver a new s2k.

sex appeal the s2k trumps the e36... i think everyone knows why, girls love it, guys love it. the convertable part is amazing. i know the e36 comes in vert form but u sacrafice 300 pounds for it. plus the older e36's by now will start to show paint damage. the lack of a back seat and being a vert might hinder ur chances of road head but its a small sacrafice i think everyones willing to make.

pricing. the s2k wins i think barely. the e36 maintance is 1.5 to 2 time the cost to maintain the s2k. its a BMW the same part for each will cost 2 times more just because of that fact. plus the bmw has a lot of prone issues of the older models. bad water pumps and so on. the e36 owners know them better then I.

performance i believe the s2k will beat the e36 almost everyday. with a good launch the s2k shines. not saying its a whooping but, its definitly faster. expecially around a track where it can pull .98 g's i believe. thats alot.

but one spot the bmw does shine, is luxury. its a bmw. nice leather if maintained. better interior. dual climate control. better sound system. its just a more luxurious car. BMW will always trump Honda when it comes to luxury.

so i think if ur looking for a DD with lux appeal the e36 is your choice. but if ur looking for a car that'll be a bitch to DD but is more rewarding on the track the S2k is ur bet.

just my .02

s2ktarga

getting road head is a challenge in the S2...unless you got a big girl...

Etohprn247

Road head is baaaad luck. Every car I've gotten road head in is total...hehehehe. lol.

trump26901

First comment about having driven both is that it takes a driver familiar with the S to drive it hard. To a new driver, the ///M seems much faster and for DD the lower end torque helps a lot too. My father has a Dynaned 330ci that feels quicker off a stoplight. A couple months ago the two of us took our cars to an HPDE day and his car was a joke compaired to the S. He's chipped + exhaust + intake + some other stuff (can't remember now) and I was 100% stock. Granted his 330 isn't as powerful as the ///M, but there were other M's on the track and I had no trouble passing any 36s... 46's were another story all together, they were real quick on the straits (compared to my S) but I could catch them in the turns. Side comment: My dad is a pretty good driver, his 330 has participated in two HPDE events with the same track group and each time his car made the cover of the webpage and the newsletter. He drives the piss out of that car, it just doesn't keep up on the track.

The weight and center of gravity of the M hold it back on the track compaired to the S. I've driven both cars and the BMW is much more comfortable as a DD, but its all a personal preference. I like the feel of my S and would rather drive it as a DD, but I'm 24 while my father is 50+.

For his comment on a 328 potentially walking an S... that I would like to see.

For his final comment about people getting an S and regretting it... I can this happening. The S is a very unique car. It has great potential, but it takes the proper driving to really make it shine. If all you care about is drag racing or how a car accelerates off the line (typical magazine statistics) then I would say the S is probably not the car for you since it might be able to keep up with an older ///M from a light, but the car was made for the twisties and it sounds like you might be happier with the greater torque of the ///M.



Summary: Best thing you can do is take a test drive of an S. It would also be great if you could get a ride in someone's S and experiance it driven hard from the passenger seat.


For me the choice was clear... I went with the S.

Good luck with your decision.

leo520

i had raced with one of the M3 around 2004-2005 , wo both top down, i kill him like ease at busy traffic, and twisties, but when we got into the straight line , he kills me