M3 Stablemates: What else do you have in the garage?

[Actuary]

I have an '04 M3 and '12 X5 (daily/family car).


About a year ago I regrettably sold my other two favorite cars, a '74 Alfa Romeo GTV and a '95 Nissan 300zx TT. They were fun to drive, but as I started having less time on car stuff. When I can go for a drive, I almost always go with the M3. In my experience driving other cars, it's the best all around car for the street and track. It's not too fast for the street to need to do anything crazy and fast enough on the track to put down reasonable lap times.

[LSB4Me]

I’ve owned 5 E9x M3s, on my 4th E46 M3 … and can confidently agree.

On stock suspension E9x’s feel numb and not very confidence inspiring, a good suspension setup completely changes that. JRZ RS Pros, solid subframe bushings plus a StopTech bbk and the car could confidently keep up with just about anything at Buttonwillow & Willowsprings.

That said, E46 is barnone more rewarding to push hard.

Completely agree with this and Tbonem3.

I had an e92 zcp with all the bolt-ons: Ohlins, Akra Evo, BMW Performance Seats, ST60/ST40, etc etc. Photos attached.

If the cars are stock, e46.

If modded, e9x without question.

While the e46 has more personality, soul and character, the e9x is just in a different league when it’s setup properly.

Fun story: I took all the mods off my e92 to list it for sale and laughed driving home from the shop. It was hard to believe that it was the same car.

[LSB4Me]

987 Cayman R

Ah nice! You got that one. I lobbied a few friends to pick it up as it looked like a fantastic build. The Cayman R is a diamond in the rough. Often overlooked in favor of the “other” GT cars, but it shouldn’t be.

[cornerbalanced]

E90 wipes the floor with E46.

I’ve owned 5 E9x M3s, on my 4th E46 M3 … and can confidently agree.

On stock suspension E9x’s feel numb and not very confidence inspiring, a good suspension setup completely changes that. JRZ RS Pros, solid subframe bushings plus a StopTech bbk and the car could confidently keep up with just about anything at Buttonwillow & Willowsprings.

That said, E46 is barnone more rewarding to push hard.

[Casa de Mesa]

I came here to look at your Cayman R, but gotta say I love the Ridgebacks. We were strongly considering them but couldn’t commit given we couldn’t carve the time to give them the exercise they need on the daily.

I think you may have meant to post this in my build thread... but thanks man!

We live on a farm and take them for long walks/hikes daily (1 to 3 miles, hills, woods, etc.). They are off leash and pretty much tire themselves out playing. Then the sleep like hound dogs the rest of the day. For our lifestyle, these dogs are the perfect breed.

[nyc951]

I came here to look at your Cayman R, but gotta say I love the Ridgebacks. We were strongly considering them but couldn’t commit given we couldn’t carve the time to give them the exercise they need on the daily.

[Casa de Mesa]

Tell me more about your driving impressions of the Cayman R versus the e46 M3 please. It’s an attainable car for me, and to be honest, a more attractive package than a gt3 which also only has two seats but is a bigger car.

So as not to muddy-up this thread too much, I posted some impressions here and here in my build thread.

TLDR: I absolutely love the Cayman R and it's a different enough experience from the M3. Mine came with $33k+ in bolt-on parts plus engine tuning (parts that I valued - like adjustable suspension arms, AP Racing BBK, intake, exhaust, etc.) so it might not be a perfectly fair comparison to a stock Cayman R. But in some regard I think a stock Cayman R for the street would be even better than mine. They are wonderfully minimal cars and very driver focused. I wanted to stay under $100k. The Cayman R market is about 1.5x to 2x an equivalent 987.2 Cayman S. But the Rs are among rarest P-car with less than 500 in the US (likely less now due to several that are wrecked). IMO, I think now is the time to buy one of these with the overall dip in the market and the age of these cars (11 years). I think these will start to rise as new people discover them.

[nyc951]

987 Cayman R

Tell me more about your driving impressions of the Cayman R versus the e46 M3 please. It’s an attainable car for me, and to be honest, a more attractive package than a gt3 which also only has two seats but is a bigger car.

[maw1124]

Certainly not in aesthetics

Agreed. I saw a silver coupe in the wild today and was reminded of how much presence the car has. I barely notice E9XM cars, unless it’s that Silverstone color.

maw

[Casa de Mesa]

987 Cayman R

[9kracing]

E90 wipes the floor with E46.

Certainly not in aesthetics

[Chas3n]

Ah yes, the guy who owns both is wrong & the nerds who look at some arbitrary lap time know better. Case closed.

Welcome to the internet, or modern day M3forum's.

[Tbonem3]

Ah yes, the guy who owns both is wrong & the nerds who look at some arbitrary lap time know better. Case closed.

[oceansize]

According to fastestlaps.com,

M3 CSL nurburgiring lap time is 7:50

M3 GTS is 7:48

E92 doesn't exactly wipe the floor with the E46, in fact, that is not much of an improvement given the 7 year difference between the cars. And the E92 has a stripped interior with cage, BBK and more modern track day tires.

F82 M4 GTS is a 7:27. It's a significantly faster pig than the E9X lol

I think this is the issue. Since the stock e90 is a little numb feeling compared to the e46 I’d rather own the current gen M3 (ugly or not) and destroy the e90 in every possible way. It’s an NA V8 so I do understand dissenting opinion.

[Slideways]

According to fastestlaps.com,

M3 CSL nurburgiring lap time is 7:50

M3 GTS is 7:48

E92 doesn't exactly wipe the floor with the E46, in fact, that is not much of an improvement given the 7 year difference between the cars. And the E92 has a stripped interior with cage, BBK and more modern track day tires.

F82 M4 GTS is a 7:27. It's a significantly faster pig than the E9X lol