my friend is getting a 97 m3 soon, and i was just wondering if i will be able to hang with him or will he beat me by a lot?

 

They are close, but depending on how you drive. E36 M3 tends to trap a little lower than an S though. So be sure to be in the right gears when running.

 

just wondering, when you guys are doing 80 cruising down the freeway, you don't downshift into 3rd do you...that would put you at 8000...you put it in 4th right...thats what I do anyway.

 

i would drop to 3rd.. if we went from a 80mph roll, would i have the advantage or would he?

 

Depending on the car you're running against, @80, you could put it in either gear, but 3rd is a little more competitive.

As for the M3, if you're in the right gear with the top up, you could pull on it slowly. Do it from 20mph, in 1st gear.

 

Im wondering did the e36 M3 have two different engines depending on model year.

 

In the U.S., it only came in one engine, 240hp.

 

Yes, the E36 does have two different motors. The earlier ones were a 3.0 liter and the last couple model years got a 3.2 liter motor. Same HP but more torque and better powerband.

 

Oh, my bad then! I thought they all came with 3.0L, until the E46.

 

When did the 3.2liter come out for the e36 M3?