SXY-TME

Anyone upgraded from an E46 M3 to a C6 Corvette? Any regrets or all smile? Any differences, comparisons. The power is hands on corvette that's for sure. How about in terms of handling, do you feel connected to the road as you do with the BMW Active Steering. Anyone know the G Skid pad Test for the Corvette?

Found this for the M3.

BMW E46 M3 - 2001 - 2006
0-100: 12.00 sec.
0-60: 4.80 sec.
1/4 Mile: 13.40 sec.
60-0 Braking: 114.00 ft.
80-0 Braking; 196.00 ft.
Skidpad: 0.88 g.
Slalom: 67.30 mph
Top Speed: 155.00 mph

04 Torch Red Vert

thetopdog

I've heard bad things about BMW's active steering, I'm not even sure if the M3 has active steering, I know its on the new 5 and 3 series though. The M3 has been said to have better steering than the Vette, but the Vette will beat it in every other performance aspect.

dragi69

Ive had a 2002 M3 it was a cool little car but compared with my vette it's night and day . The vette is on another level completely it out performs the M3 dramatically on every level !

shawn h.

The M3 is a Boy....the Corvette is a MAN....no comparisons!!

LTC Z06

Try the search function; surprisingly it's been discussed before.

tscales

This goes on to my 'Top Ten stupid quotes of all time list'.

The M3 is an amazing car. To get that performance and still comfortably carry four passengers is impressive. Your quote makes it pretty clear that you haven't track driven an M3.

I owned an M3 (since sold) and my C6 at the same time. I'd say they were about the same 'smiles per mile', but the C6 is better in almost every way. It's quicker (Yeah for torque), it handles better and the fit and finish was superior. The M3 shined when I had passengers 3 and 4

If you don't need a backseat, the C6 is a clear upgrade.

Tom

SXY-TME

To make matters worse, their price is almost the same give or take. I don't know what to do. Buy M3, make it a sexy machine. V-CSL parts. Buy a corvette, and own the roads.

SXY-TME

I did, I found lots of 350Z vs Corvette topics. No m3 comparison.

LTC Z06

You're right, I'm a former mod, and I think something might be wrong, I checked archived threads and didn't find anything. I know we've had this discussion many times.

codename Bil Doe

I gave a long M3 vs. C6 comparison somewhere. In essence, there is none. But, search under my name if you want to learn more.

BrooklynC6

My next door neighbor has owned an M3 and M5 , I spent enough time in both cars to feel like i owned them - Heres my take on just the M3 , the M5 is a totaly different animal -
The handling of both the Vette and the M3 are superb - However , in day to day driving the M3 feels more balanced and better planted over bad roads - the Vette likes to move around quite a bit - brakes - the Bimmer feels better at the pedal , but the vette stops faster ( Z51 brakes ) - Acelleration - There is no contest - my 04 c5 ate the M3 for breakfast ( proven at the track ) , the C6 just plain blows its doors off .

Bottom line - if you need 4 seats the M3 is great ( except for that disgusting raspy exhaust IMHO ) but as a sportscar , it doesnt come close to appoaching the C6's capabilites .

Desmoden

Loved it. But nothing like my 06 Z51.

The M3 is a normal BMW will some amazing modifications to make it a very nice car

The vette is a purpose built sports car plane and simple. Night and day. I don't miss my M3 a bit.

elh0102

During the past five years, I have owned two E46 M3's, a C6 Z51, a C5 ZO6, and now, a Porsche 997S. The M3 and Z51 are great cars. The Vette has more power, better (more neutral) handling balance. The M3 has better steering and braking feedback. With some suspension work, the BMW can be much improved. But, after $4K in suspension work, my M3 didn't handle as well as my stock 997S. I much prefer the Vette suspension design over the struts of the BMW and Porsche. Any car requires practice to be good with it. At first, the Vette feels a bit remote, and there is quite a bit of movement as the suspension settles into a turn. But, its limits are very high, though not confidence inspiring at first. If you enjoy track days, the best value of all is a good used C5 ZO6.

A final word of advice, and perhaps you can learn from my experience and expense. Before test driving anything, determine your priorities. Will this car be your daily driver, or weekend fun car? Are you interested in track events? How do things like comfort, paint quality, fit and finish, etc. fit into your decision? If you are considering both an M3 and a Corvette, that suggests a back seat is not a factor. And if that is the case, why put a sedan in the mix, even a good one? If performance takes priority over a few enhanced design features, and at the expense of repeating myself, put a C5 ZO6 on your list.

C6~Missle

My son owns an M3. I owned a 04 Z06 and we spent much time comparing both cars.
The M3 is a great everyday driver and very capable at the track. Whenever we line up for a quick run to 60 or beyond, the M gets great grip off the line, but the vette dominates and pulls away easy with its instant linear torque.

At the track, VIR or Atlanta raceway. The M3 always feels planted and confident.. but it lets go at the limit without warning and can scare the crap out of you... The vette fools you with a feeling that it's not very capable.. but you can push it harder than you feel you can.. and when the vette breaks away at its limit.. its very predictable and graceful.
Once you learn to trust the vette it becomes very easy to stay ahead of the pack.

GarrettDN

The M3 likes to hold its line on the road a little more. With the vette you will have to give it just a touch more attention to keep it going straight on the Hwy. The ride is a little smoother in the M3, too (although my vette is a Z51). The M3 feels like a really, really, really sporty GT car to me. And it is VERY capable in turns/braking/etc.

That stupid vette, though. It is just an animal at taking turns and accels like a bat out of hell from just about all speeds. A good example is a turn the M3 does a four-wheel drift through entering at a little under 55, exiting at about 60-65. The vette will enter at 60+ and exit mid 70s without sliding. The first time I did it I thought it was bending the laws of physics. Very impressive.

If you are a performance nut the vette is the clear choice.

I recently got my first vette, and the 335i was one of its competitors. I'm very glad I got the Vette. Go drive them back to back and I think you will see the (huge) difference in how the two cars feel very quickly.

Oh, and if you are into this sort of thing, the BMW doesn't turn heads like the Vette does...

robl45

I drove the 06 M3 with SMG, it is a really cool car save for the fact that they haven't done a damn thing to it pretty much for 5 years or whatever long its been out and still want to rape you on the price. It definately is slower than the vette though. I also drove the new 335I convertible. I think that is the BMW to have instead of the new M3 as it is twin turboed and a lot can be done to it. How much can you do to a rung out BMW v8 that doesn't have that much torque anyway?

Bottom line the vette will be much faster, but a nice 335I hardtop convertible is hard to beat if you need to carry more than 2 people.

GarrettDN

I was really suprised at how much the 335i felt like a V8 down low. The power comes on really fast. It just (obviously) can't hang witht he vette on performance. But it is still a great car! If I had an extra 48K around I would definately pick one up.

(Funny note: somehow I accidently typed "VD" instead of "V8" in that first sentence. Made me laugh when I proof read it.)

PaBlueCoupe

The BMW vs Corvette debate is just a little silly. They are two very different cars.

Our crimson 335i is my favorite four-seater ever, and I've owned a bunch of cars over the years. Acceleration and handling are exceptional. Simply love it as a sports coupe!

The 335i is definitely not a two-seater sports car or anything like the BlueCoupe, and could never replace it. But they are the perfect complement for each other and both will remain in my garage.