RS4 vs M3

MrCake

MrCake

MrCake

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704
Location
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Sadly I couldnt afford either but theres a heated debate in the office as to which is quicker. My money is on the RS4 but as just 0-60 doesnt mean much I would like to think of peoples suggestions for the following situations to take in the rwd/awd debate side of things.

Race 1 - Straight line drag in the dry.
Race 2 - Straight line drag in the wet.
Race 3 - Race track in dry conditions.

Answers(guesses) please!

I have emailed top gear about this so maybe if enough other people did it they might consider this power battle on a future episode!

There is a video of an M3 and RS4 on Google vids but its not very decisive.
 
They did this on Top Gear didn't they?

I think the beemer was quicker in a straight line, but the Audi won around the track when it was wet.
 
Enfield said:
They did this on Top Gear didn't they?

I think the beemer was quicker in a straight line, but the Audi won around the track when it was wet.
Click to expand...
I think they did that with the old RS4 didn't they? They seemed to like the new one a lot more than the M3 :)
 
wasnt it the S4 that the put against the M3 rather than the new RS4.

OP - you dont specify the distance for the drag, if assuming 1/4 mile then my answers (guesses)

1 - RS4
2 - RS4 by a lot
3 - RS4

:)
 
Here's some 1/4 mile times:
New RS4 - 13.2@105 est.
(source http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/rs4new.html)
2006 Audi RS 4 Quattro 13.3 (C&D Sept '05)
2002 BMW M3 13.4
(source http://www.albeedigital.com/supercoupe/articles/0-60times.html)

So in a straightline, looks like the Audi has a slighty edge, and those will be dry times. On the road, probably nothing in it.

Track times will be dependant upon the track in question.
Here's some Nurburgring data:
8:22 - BMW M Coupe 321 HP
8:25 - Audi RS4 375 HP

(source http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e81/6273030-1.html)

That implies that the weight advantage and balance of the M series makes up for the lack of 4wd on a track.
 
Firestar_3x said:
1.M3
2.RS4
3.RS4

Need some proper performance figures for each car other than 0-60.
Click to expand...

BMW M3 Coupe E46 343bhp 1577kg 220.99 bhp/tonne
5s 0-60
12s 0-100

Audi RS4 MK2 (4.2 V8) 414bhp 1651kg 254.78 bhp/tonne
4.4s 0-60
10.8s 0-100
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Here's some 1/4 mile times:
New RS4 - 13.2@105 est.
(source http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/rs4new.html)
2006 Audi RS 4 Quattro 13.3 (C&D Sept '05)
2002 BMW M3 13.4
(source http://www.albeedigital.com/supercoupe/articles/0-60times.html)

So in a straightline, looks like the Audi has a slighty edge, and those will be dry times. On the road, probably nothing in it.

Track times will be dependant upon the track in question.
Here's some Nurburgring data:
8:22 - BMW M Coupe 321 HP
8:25 - Audi RS4 375 HP

(source http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e81/6273030-1.html)

That implies that the weight advantage and balance of the M series makes up for the lack of 4wd on a track.
Click to expand...


but thats the old RS4 and the M coupe (breadvan)

the e36 evo does it in 8.35
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Here's some 1/4 mile times:
New RS4 - 13.2@105 est.
(source http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/rs4new.html)
2006 Audi RS 4 Quattro 13.3 (C&D Sept '05)
2002 BMW M3 13.4
(source http://www.albeedigital.com/supercoupe/articles/0-60times.html)

So in a straightline, looks like the Audi has a slighty edge, and those will be dry times. On the road, probably nothing in it.

Track times will be dependant upon the track in question.
Here's some Nurburgring data:
8:22 - BMW M Coupe 321 HP
8:25 - Audi RS4 375 HP

(source http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e81/6273030-1.html)

That implies that the weight advantage and balance of the M series makes up for the lack of 4wd on a track.
Click to expand...

Yeah didnt really think of a distance but 1/4 mile is good as any as lots of factors come into play over greater distances and I dont think we need to dig that deep.
 
The new RS4 beats the e46 M3 in every department apparently.

Will be better to see how the new upcoming M3 compares, since they are pretty similar in specs, V8 ~400bhp etc
 
I would guess the RS4 unless someone is so skilled with the BMW they can negate any advantage the Audi has with a turbo and 4x4, unlikely
 
Clarkey said:
rs4 we are on about has no turbo's, just an NA 4.2 V8 which does 8000rpm
Click to expand...

Yeah i know, thats why I said old one. Someone had posted up a laptime of the ring of the old one it seems
 
Well you'd be mad to buy a new M3 now (depreciation) and 2nd hand RS4's are very thin on the ground so you can't really make a direct comparison for purchasing.

I bought my 18 month old M3 a couple of months ago with a view to holding onto it for a couple of years and then buying a simliar age New model M3, RS4 or Nissan GTR - whatever was around in my price bracket.
 
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