Trying to decide: e46 M3 vs F82 M4 vs 997.2

[Aeko]

you've been soliciting people's car opinions so, you're gonna get some?

it doesn't help that the M2 or any F87 has always been a particularly unattractive vehicle (imo)

great car objectively tho

At no point did I ask other people's opinions on the looks because that's subjective.

I asked people's opinions about comparing the cars objectively so I could decide what might be interesting before buying. And then I made a decision and bought one.

I guess it's not obvious enough, but "you bought an ugly car" is kind of a dick thing to say unsolicited.

You never looked at a lighter car, so you missed out- drive a '99 996 (doesn't matter if it's auto or manual) which comes in around 2900 lbs.- the fact that most of the weight is in the back and you're running relatively skinny tires up front make for a really nice driving experience. Sharpen up things with a better alignment, better tires and better dampers and you see how the GT3s are so great.

I said multiple times I drove a GR86 and I liked how it drove. Not many new cars under 2,900 pounds that fit my criteria. I am still considering picking up a 996 or 997 in the future, though, as I did really like the 997. The only thing is the auto is definitely kind of a bummer in the 996 which is why I wanted the 997 with the PDK.

All true – though at least some in the industry has figured out how to get some feedback out of EPS even with wide-ish tires, so I feel like BMW also earns some blame for not implementing any solutions.

I've noticed that modern BMWs respond so intuitively in so many situations that they don't feel as disconnected as I expect them to given the lack of steering feedback. I wonder if they feel like that's an excuse to drop (or deprecate) steering feedback.

This is a fair point, a lot of reviews I watched stated it as being "connected". Kind of like, you just think where you want to point the car and it goes. Relies a bit more on intuition rather than feeling what it's doing, almost like sim racing.

[Icecream]

At no point did I ask other people's opinions on the looks because that's subjective.

I asked people's opinions about comparing the cars objectively so I could decide what might be interesting before buying. And then I made a decision and bought one.

I guess it's not obvious enough, but "you bought an ugly car" is kind of a dick thing to say unsolicited.

I said multiple times I drove a GR86 and I liked how it drove. Not many new cars under 2,900 pounds that fit my criteria. I am still considering picking up a 996 or 997 in the future, though, as I did really like the 997. The only thing is the auto is definitely kind of a bummer in the 996 which is why I wanted the 997 with the PDK.

This is a fair point, a lot of reviews I watched stated it as being "connected". Kind of like, you just think where you want to point the car and it goes. Relies a bit more on intuition rather than feeling what it's doing, almost like sim racing.

Don't mind these guys, it's even getting hard for me to stomach some of the e46 M3 snobbery here lol. And an auto 996 is akin to playing the harp with a toilet brush so not surprised that was not on the table. Anyway, congrats on the car, they are really tempting...

[Aeko]

Don't mind these guys, it's even getting hard for me to stomach some of the e46 M3 snobbery here lol. And an auto 996 is akin to playing the harp with a toilet brush so not surprised that was not on the table. Anyway, congrats on the car, they are really tempting...

Yep, I feel that. And LOL that's quite the mental image, but you definitely get the point. Thank you!

Yeah, I did say that it was going to come down to whichever of those I found first.

[usdmej]

At no point did I ask other people's opinions on the looks because that's subjective.

I asked people's opinions about comparing the cars objectively so I could decide what might be interesting before buying. And then I made a decision and bought one.

I guess it's not obvious enough, but "you bought an ugly car" is kind of a dick thing to say unsolicited.

realistically probably too much of an ask to keep things objective especially when talking car preference. with a potentials list as broad as yours it'll always be hard to reign in what you feel is helpful.

congrats on the car purchase

[Phoenix///M3]

Nice ride. We have a similar m2 comp that shows up at local cars and coffee and I like it in person.


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[Icecream]

Just saw this, had no idea Harris had one
Chris Harris On His BMW M2 CS - YouTube

[t44tq]

I said multiple times I drove a GR86 and I liked how it drove. Not many new cars under 2,900 pounds that fit my criteria. I am still considering picking up a 996 or 997 in the future, though, as I did really like the 997. The only thing is the auto is definitely kind of a bummer in the 996 which is why I wanted the 997 with the PDK.

I know that the transmissions in the "regular" 996 and the turbo are different (ZF vs Mercedes, respectively), but in contemporary accounts, the 996 turbo tiptronic yielded faster lap times for the vast majority of drivers than the manual version. That was Hurley Haywood's recounting- if you don't know who he is, he is a veteran champion of Porsche racing for decades, a very talented driver.

I think a GR86 with a power adder would be a ton of fun. New car makes it a difficult thing to accomplish- you didn't say that originally.

[Tonggi]

Can the C2S be as fun on the street as the e46 M3?

Another point of comparison here, the steering in my e39 M5 feels more enjoyable to me the M3 did. I love being able to change the weight in sport mode, but I honestly prefer the lighter weight because I have shoulder issues. The on center feel is infinitely better and seems more connected. If I moved the wheel even a few mm I could feel the car start to change direction whereas the M3 I could hardly tell the wheel was doing anything.

sorry I just saw this now. The porsche I think is more fun around the street since its more of a street car and doesn't have to be winded up to get the power. I think how both cars are set it up they are similar in speed. The 997.2 stock for stock is def faster than the M3 and both are comfortable enough.

The Porsche is definitely more cockpit feeling, driver focused. I'm a bit biased but I love both cars. I use the porsche more for daily use since I dont have buckets and its quieter.