E46 M3 Vs E92 335i

Faithless · 1 Mar 2007 at 18:33

So I had the pleasure of watching these two cars at full chat today. Coming out of roadworks on the M4 with a 50 mph limit I was in the middle lane behind the M3, the 335i in the outside lane. These cars had been toying with each other all through the roadworks, overtaking, undertaking, swapping lanes, yada yada ya.

The NSL sign appeared and I could physically hear the M3 shift down. Watching the 335i confirmed that something has about to happen and I was right.

My partner and I watched in amazement as the 335i left the M3 a fair phew car lengths behind......initially.

The M3 closed the gap and although a long distance away now you could see the 335i clearer than the M3. I can only assume that both cars were standard, but its possible one or other were modded. I enjoyed the display very much.

Rotty · 1 Mar 2007 at 18:52

One of my colleagues has a 335i and, while there isn't much in it he couldn't keep up with me let alone pull away

panthro · 1 Mar 2007 at 19:21

Rotty said:
One of my colleagues has a 335i and, while there isn't much in it he couldn't keep up with me let alone pull away

Agreed. My friend picked up his 335i yesterday from Sytner and we put it against my friends M3 on the DC. The M3 trounced it.

OllyM · 1 Mar 2007 at 19:37

Are you sure it wasn't a manual 535d?

Wicksta · 1 Mar 2007 at 19:37

I think the worry for e46 M3 owners will start once cheap remaps become available for 335i's.

Stanford · 1 Mar 2007 at 19:40

panthro said:
Agreed. My friend picked up his 335i yesterday from Sytner and we put it against my friends M3 on the DC. The M3 trounced it.

There's nothing like running a car in sympathetically.

Faithless · 1 Mar 2007 at 20:05

OllyM said:
Are you sure it wasn't a manual 535d?

I can read you know, oh wait, you're trying to be humerous. :rolleyes:

I would have though the M3 would trounce it too. Perhaps he wasn't trying as much as we would have liked. Or the 335i was re-mapped, etc.

Was a stunning looking car either way you cut it

OllyM · 1 Mar 2007 at 20:07

Faithless said:
I can read you know, oh wait, you're trying to be humerous.

How do you even know what that means if you're not Oracle?!

Faithless · 1 Mar 2007 at 20:11

You're memory is short - really short. We've been here, I searched, I saw, I decided to ignore the prats on this forum. I must have forgotten some people!

EDIT: see http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/search.php?searchid=2376970&pp=25&page=2

3 clicks tops! Not hard to comprehend - or so I thought.

Morba · 1 Mar 2007 at 21:09

Wicksta said:
I think the worry for e46 M3 owners will start once cheap remaps become available for 335i's.

first of all... mmmmmmm kelly brook!! stunning

secondly, when you buy a 335i, is the cost of a remap really that much?

Rotty · 1 Mar 2007 at 22:33

Wicksta said:
I think the worry for e46 M3 owners will start once cheap remaps become available for 335i's.

it's not going to worry me, if a remap makes a 335i a faster car then great for 335i owners

Dangerous Dave · 1 Mar 2007 at 22:42

TBH a M3 shouldn't be too worried about a remapped 335i, they should be more worried about a remapped 335d !! I've seen a remapped 535d put in quicker lap times than a M3. A 335d remapped must be a flying machine, I saw a 335d touring today looked like a nice stealth machine.

panthro · 1 Mar 2007 at 23:26

Stanford said:
There's nothing like running a car in sympathetically.

2nd hand.

I would be interested to know what sort of figures both the 335i and the 335d put out.

PMKeates · 2 Mar 2007 at 00:50

Rotty said:
One of my colleagues has a 335i and, while there isn't much in it he couldn't keep up with me let alone pull away

You do have the advantage of SMG, I believe? I imagine the scenario depicted above was (335i vs M3) a well-placed glob of torque vs. not shifting as low as one could.

I also wouldn't be too fussed by a remapped 335d if I had a remapped 335i. The 335i is faster standard than a remapped 535d, so I think I'd be quite content I'd keep up with anything short of an M5. Then, of course, one could just get an M5 and be done with it

Rotty · 2 Mar 2007 at 01:49

PMKeates said:
You do have the advantage of SMG, I believe? I imagine the scenario depicted above was (335i vs M3) a well-placed glob of torque vs. not shifting as low as one could.

sounds like it to me , one hit the right revs/gear and the other didn't

Fett · 2 Mar 2007 at 03:26

I like the E46 M3, I like the E90 335i as well. I'm not out to compare one against another for various unfair reasons on both cars (older generation vs latest, turbo vs NA, //M vs Non //M etc)

But it would seem safe to say the 335i and the E46 M3 are *relatively* close in most stakes.

Which really, really makes me wonder what the hell the new M3 is going to be like. It is going to have to be an awesome piece of kit.

Tax Evader · 2 Mar 2007 at 07:01

Pfff - leave 'em both behind in the CSL

Not sure about the effectiveness of "cheap remaps" on the 335i - isn't the hardware running at it's near maximum from the factory? (eg, in terms of turbo boost etc). Meaning some hardware upgrades would also be required to get anything proper.
(?)

PMKeates · 2 Mar 2007 at 09:04

Tax Evader said:
Pfff - leave 'em both behind in the CSL

Not sure about the effectiveness of "cheap remaps" on the 335i - isn't the hardware running at it's near maximum from the factory? (eg, in terms of turbo boost etc). Meaning some hardware upgrades would also be required to get anything proper.
(?)

I imagine the hardware is running absolutely nowhere near maximum. It's only running 8.5 psi. Mould that to a reliable, well built and generally strong engine and the potential for easy-tuning is crazy

Most typical turbocharged petrol engines can recieve around a 20% power increase from simple remapping, which would take the 335i to a CSL beating 367 PS! :eek:

Gibbo · 2 Mar 2007 at 09:11

PMKeates said:
I imagine the hardware is running absolutely nowhere near maximum. It's only running 8.5 psi. Mould that to a reliable, well built and generally strong engine and the potential for easy-tuning is crazy

Most typical turbocharged petrol engines can recieve around a 20% power increase from simple remapping, which would take the 335i to a CSL beating 367 PS!

Hi there

Even if the 335i can be tuned to have more BHP than the CSL, sorry but the CSL will still destroy it. For a start does the CSL not weigh a lot less? Plus the CSL is designed to to be damn quick in the first place.

PMKeates · 2 Mar 2007 at 09:12

Gibbo said:
Hi there

Even if the 335i can be tuned to have more BHP than the CSL, sorry but the CSL will still destroy it. For a start does the CSL not weigh a lot less? Plus the CSL is designed to to be damn quick in the first place.

I only meant CSL beating in terms of actual power output

When it comes to top end, the 335i probably has better aerodynamics, and if it's been geared well enough it may well have a higher top speed, buy yeah - not gonna beat a CSL at anything else