M3 or C6 Corvette?

[Redliner]

I got the chance to drive a Corvette C5 at 10/10ths for 3 days straight when I went to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. Admittedly that car has a shitty interior, the C6 is a huge improvement. but the only part of the interior I looked at was the HUD.

You tend to forget about crappy plastic and rattly switchgear when you have a 5.7L V8 screaming at you and you're coming up at 100mph into a 30mph chicane. And the feeling of zero-Gs as you come up over a rise with the rear end starting to break loose ever-so-slightly.

Agreed...

IMO, the M3 needs the snazzy interior. I've never driven one, but I know that high strung 6-cylinder can't move that heavy ass car as fast and those skinny tires can't make it corner as well as a Corvette.

Aha! See? You are acting like the people who like to bash the Corvette. You never driven one, but you assume it's not fast because it has a 6 cylinder (bullshit, it produces 57 hp less then the V8 of the corvette, that by the way has almost twice the displacement) and is heavy (100kg more, not that bad for a car with double the seats and much more room) that can't corner because it has skinny(? I wouldn't call 225 front and 255 rear tires skinny, besides, the corvette has 245 front 285 rear tires ). You have every right to defend the Corvette, but please check your facts.

 

[Peter3hg]

IMO, the M3 needs the snazzy interior. I've never driven one, but I know that high strung 6-cylinder can't move that heavy ass car as fast and those skinny tires can't make it corner as well as a Corvette.

Tyre width isn't everything. A Lotus Exige has 195 on the front and 225 on the rear but I don't think anyone would claim that a Vette can outcorner it.

 

[Matt2000]

i dont think i would have either. the BMW is nice, but it's not really that nice looking, and the interior's a bmw. so all black. it might handle well but isn't as fast as the 'vette and is more expensive

the 'vette is faster and nicer looking, but i don't think i could use one day to day, and i hate the interior. very cheap looking (might be an improvement, but an improvement on what?). the 'vette is cheaper though.

 

[outtanames]

M3 is much more sophisticated.

 

[niteriyder]

sophisticated? yes the heavier more expensive, less efficient M3 is more sophisticated. complexity does not always = sophistication.

 

[un-dee]

Well I'd say the inline-six in the M3 is a lot more sophisticated than the Corvette's V8 engine. Also the electronics are a lot more advanced, the suspension is based on more modern components and the gearbox seems to be better. Not that that would make too big a difference for me, but I can see why people want and like that.

 

[Blind_Io]

Well I'd say the inline-six in the M3 is a lot more sophisticated than the Corvette's V8 engine. Also the electronics are a lot more advanced, the suspension is based on more modern components and the gearbox seems to be better. Not that that would make too big a difference for me, but I can see why people want and like that.

Very diplomatic :lol:

I guess sometimes it's what you don't say.

 

[No Boss]

less efficient M3 is more sophisticated. complexity does not always = sophistication.

Please explain.

 

[Hatmouse]

^

BMW M3 : (mpg) City: 16 Highway: 22 ? 24
lolsprings mobile Z06 : (mpg) 16 mpg city/26 mpg highway

according to the internet.

Well, I guess 2mpg more is technically more efficient...

 

[bartboy9891]

^

BMW M3 : (mpg) City: 16 Highway: 22 ? 24
lolsprings mobile Z06 : (mpg) 16 mpg city/26 mpg highway

according to the internet.

Well, I guess 2mpg more is technically more efficient...

any high hp car's mpg is dependent solely on how you drive them. People have claimed to get as high as 28mpg and as low as 15mpg in their Vette.

 

[un-dee]

From what I heard EPA numbers are quite far from reality, I don't think one should base any judgement on them, especially when comparing an American car to a foreign one.

 

[Mr.K]

^

BMW M3 : (mpg) City: 16 Highway: 22 ? 24
lolsprings mobile Z06 : (mpg) 16 mpg city/26 mpg highway

according to the internet.

Well, I guess 2mpg more is technically more efficient...

I think we're comparing the standard C6, not the Z06 variant. In that case:

18mpg city/28mpg highway

From what I heard EPA numbers are quite far from reality, I don't think one should base any judgement on them, especially when comparing an American car to a foreign one.

Yes, these aren't going to be overly attainable in a real world setting, but its really one of the only ways to compare fuel efficiency. I was working at a Nissan dealer a while ago and we took a customer out for a test drive in his 07? Maxima because he wasn't getting rated gas milage, and unless we drove for like 20 minutes on a flat road, with the cruise control on, we couldn't match the rated fuel milage, and even then, we still landed 1-2 mpg below (at best). During normal driving, you can expect about half.

I don't understand the comment about foreign vs domestics. As far as I know they all go through the same test.

 

[No Boss]

lolsprings mobile Z06 : (mpg) 16 mpg city/26 mpg highway

according to the internet.

hahah, you're awesome. A+

 

[Blix]

Im choosing the 'vette cos I think the BMW handles like a huge chunk of steel being dropped off a cliff.

 

[British_Rover]

I think for performance cars a better way to measure performance is HP per liter.

In that case...

Standard C6: 400 hp out of 6.0 liters = 66.67 hp/liter
Z06 C6: 505 hp out of 7.0 liters = 72.14 hp/liter

M3: 333 hp out of 3.2 liters = 104.06 hp/liter

Ouch.

But if you look at lbs per hp...

Standard C6: 7.95 lbs per hp
Z06 spec C6: 6.20 lbs per hp

M3: 11.35 lbs per hp

The Vette does trounce the M3 in that respect but you can't just boil these vehicles down to pure numbers like that.

 

[Mr.K]

I think for performance cars a better way to measure performance is HP per liter.

In that case...

Standard C6: 400 hp out of 6.0 liters = 66.67 hp/liter
Z06 C6: 505 hp out of 7.0 liters = 72.14 hp/liter

M3: 333 hp out of 3.2 liters = 104.06 hp/liter

Ouch.

But if you look at lbs per hp...

Standard C6: 7.95 lbs per hp
Z06 spec C6: 6.20 lbs per hp

M3: 11.35 lbs per hp

The Vette does trounce the M3 in that respect but you can't just boil these vehicles down to pure numbers like that.

I don't see how comparing hp/L really accomplishes anything. It doesn't take into account the physical size of the engine, the weight of it, the size of the car it is going into, the handling characteristics of the car it will be powering, or the amount of power it produces at any given RPM.

For instance, using another yank tank:

Cadillac STS-V
4.4L Northstar V8 producing 469hp @ 6400rpm
-Thats 106.59hp/L.

Buts its a huge car, not in the same performance bracket, and the suspension is too soft. But it produces more hp/L then the corvette so its better.....right?

Its cool to brag about and all, but it is one of the most useless ways of comparing peformance of two cars.

 

[TC]

From what I heard EPA numbers are quite far from reality, I don't think one should base any judgement on them, especially when comparing an American car to a foreign one.

It's all dependant on how you drive the car. In the hands of the Stig, all cars will get terrible fuel economy, but in the hands of my grandmother, they're practically hybrids.

EPA numbers are just as valid as any other fuel economy numbers you'll come across. The EPA actually drives the cars on specific routes for city ratings and then for highway ratings. But not just that, the numbers they get are then lowered to an even worse fuel economy figure: by 10% for city and 22% for highway. The EPA test routes are the same, no matter where the car is built.

 

[Blind_Io]

Im choosing the 'vette cos I think the BMW handles like a huge chunk of steel being dropped off a cliff.

You also think Porsche is out dated and boring, so you'll have to excuse a bit of skepticism regarding your authority as an expert.

 

[Vitamin J]

Aha! See? You are acting like the people who like to bash the Corvette. You never driven one, but you assume it's not fast because it has a 6 cylinder (bullshit, it produces 57 hp less then the V8 of the corvette, that by the way has almost twice the displacement) and is heavy (100kg more, not that bad for a car with double the seats and much more room) that can't corner because it has skinny(? I wouldn't call 225 front and 255 rear tires skinny, besides, the corvette has 245 front 285 rear tires ). You have every right to defend the Corvette, but please check your facts.

it may make only 57hp less, but its missing the torque, which ultimately is what moves the car.

the M3 weighs more than the C6 so it should have wider tires to compensate, but it doesn't.


an M3 is a gloryfied 3-series, which wasn't much to start with. sure they're fun to drive to work and track every once in awhile, but to try to compare the performance to a Corvette is stupid.

 

[Vitamin J]

I think for performance cars a better way to measure performance is HP per liter.

In that case...

Standard C6: 400 hp out of 6.0 liters = 66.67 hp/liter
Z06 C6: 505 hp out of 7.0 liters = 72.14 hp/liter

M3: 333 hp out of 3.2 liters = 104.06 hp/liter

Ouch.

But if you look at lbs per hp...

Standard C6: 7.95 lbs per hp
Z06 spec C6: 6.20 lbs per hp

M3: 11.35 lbs per hp

The Vette does trounce the M3 in that respect but you can't just boil these vehicles down to pure numbers like that.

hp/l was made up by ricers. its meaningless.

how about hp/lbs? the LS2 weighs 460lbs, the LS7 450lbs, and the LS1 440lbs, roughly.

the M3's engine weighs something like 650lbs due to its IRON BLOCK (stone age technology?)

the m3's engine is at the absolute limit of its power, talk to any M3 owner and they'll tell you that money spent on upgrading the engine is money wasted.

the LSx series can make 700hp reliably and without altering the driving characteristics much. hell, i've seen guys take the LS2 to 550hp with just a cam and a few bolt ons costing less than $10k total.

You also think Porsche is out dated and boring, so you'll have to excuse a bit of skepticism regarding your authority as an expert.

i think they're dated and boring, the Cayman is the only modern Porsche that really gets me excited since the 993 RSR.