Every time I look at a BMW, especially an M3, I have the urge to go out and buy some tan Dockers, boat shoes, and a pretty pink sweater I can tie around my shoulders. I also have an overpowering urge to move back to Adams Ave in the Hillcrest area of San Diego, and start crusin nightly at the Brass Rail.
"Diego is a lover, not a fighter, but he's also a figher, so don't even try it" - artistic liberty taken from a quote of 'The World's Most Interesting Man' commerical. Oh please, that's just your inner self trying to get out again! Buwahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I understand, to a degree, the hardcore, blue-collar attitude of the American male and its relation to traditional 'muscle cars'... and the subsequent aversion to an M3... but it is misplaced. Take a good, long look at this vehicle and its abilities, luxuries and heritage. Its nothing to dimiss so easily.
Then take the difference in cost between the two,use it to build the SRT the right way and run circles around the Beemer in every aspect.
Now you two are starting to sniff the glue way too much... having previosly owned a 01 M3 I can tell the handling characteristics of a M3 is simply miles ahead of a SRT. That being said with comparable drivers... Even my modified suspension SRT is a push with a non M car but against a M series in the turn I do not believe the SRT will keep pace.. unless you using long swooping esses or a freeway cloverleafs or simply straight roads as your test area. With the BMW especially the M series the transition from side to side and front during cornering leaves very little to be desired. You almost have to try and make a M series not work well in a series of corners. With the new E90 series you have 3704 lbs & 3726 lbs w/414 hp for the M coupe & M sedan while the Chally SRT weighs in a 4140 lbs w/425 hp .. the Charger is 4160 w/ the same hp doing just the math reveals the SRT are pushing more weight per hp.. now get into the suspension and even Mercedes guys drool over the M handling.. hence AMG... base price of M series is $57K and $77K over the top loaded (SMG 6 speed, Nav, seat warmers, headlight washers, manhood ego booster, etc) while the SRT are $42K base and $46K loaded.. oh yes and for the first 4 years with the M you do not pay for any maintenance.. except maybe tires.. Even with $9K of improvements you will not out handle a M vehicle unless you want all of your teeth to rattle when you drive to the corner market.. and the balance of the car goes out window when you hit dip or bump in a turn at more than 30 mph.. now with $30K of improvement you may get a little closer. Yes I have run my SRT on road courses against a variety of cars and have fun.. I have run my 330 on road course and have had some fun.. the SRT will keep up on track like Willow Springs and Cal Speedway with non M cars.. and you will make the M cars work some.. but I could say with all honesty at one event my SRT Mag beat up a GT2..only because the guy behind the wheel did not have a clue as to what he was doing.. this is not the cars fault.. but get to a tighter technical tracks BRP, Laguna, Infineon and the M will pack our lunch and put us to bed.. driver being of similar qualifications.. Now as far elbow and passenger room and comfort on longer drives SRT all the way .. but I have not had the opportunity to drive M5 or 6.. now if your just doing straight line stuff.. is handling that important??? again this can come down to drivers...
lol, im wondering how you compare our cars to an m having only owned an 01. ive driven my brother in laws m5 e39 03 i believe and it is indeed very nice to drive. cuts corners on a dime, good braking, no squeeks or other problems our cars have. that being said, his car is still worth more than mine. m3s are for homos that much is simple, but there is no doubt that m cars are better in the corners than ours. i would love to have an m5 or m6 but i just dont want to pay for the upkeep.
Yes I have owned 01 M and own a E46.. (the E46 because I found some guy gave me the 330 plus cash for the M)... cause he had to have the M.. and have driven E39, E60 and the new E90s on regular basis.. sorry Steve I am not gay.. but you are closer to SF than me j/k... so maybe from your perspective M3 owners are homo.. go with a 6 year plan that BMW offers and you don't pay anything for that time frame.. cept for maybe the $50 co pay.. I think up keep on cars is relative to where you take it .. I have a local factory trained BMW independent business that does high quality work that is superior to the local BMW dealer for about the same price as my SRT guy.. we all know you you can't have high performance cars and expect to have low cost maintenance.. the cost to maintain my BMW and SRT are about the same yes I do pay less for my other 3 cars .. don't get me wrong SRTs are impressive for what we pay and do things very well compared to many if not better.. now what do prefer to have if you are on a road course for 2- 3 hours as compared to what you take on a weekend trip with the family..
hahah, yes, i do know a homo or two. man on man gay? prob not. but cruise around with his bros in popped collars listening to nsync homo? yes, most undoubtedly. the cars are built better than ours thats basically what im getting at. hell, we drive dodge, what else is worse than our cars mechanically? lol ken, just an fyi, the new capital for AIDS and its research is fresno....i guess we can share the pillow biters.
AKA: Rick's passive-aggressive way of saying "I've said this before, now let's see how people respond to someone else saying it".
Ken, great write up. You see, Ken eloquently stated the facts. No bashing, just facts. For a mechanical retard like myself, I find the long-term maintenance program/warranty attractive. Sure, I've done an oil change and brake pads... but other than that... well... *blown engine anyone? LMAO! *not proven to be totally my fault (LMAO) Anyway, just so you all are aware, I got into the Charger yesterday and WOT... you have no idea what a totally stock SRT8 feels like anymore... I felt partially neutered. Good grief... all that effort, $$$, arguments, waiting, researching, driving to Oxnard, etc. etc... all for naught. FUCK!!!
The shame of it all is you had a negative experience with the SRT due to someone else not covering the bases.If the bases were covered properly you would still be on the other side of the fence right now.
I'm not on either side of the fence, so to speak, my friend. Still love our cars... just that MY particular car/experience has me depressed and un-enthusiastic about our cars and modding in general. Like I said, everything that I went through/did with my car all amounted to nothing in the end, other than heartache and a lighter wallet. So, yes, its depressing. It's like getting demoted and facialized by Drew all in the same day. Then to top it off, I get her back last weekend, get it home, shut her down, and that evening, it wouldn't start (battery died). WTF?!?! It's like God is telling me something with all the more-or-less recent string of bad luck.
Thats pretty much what I meant.If the car was done right with no issues you would still be very enthusiastic about it.
I guess you're correct then my friend. You are correct. EDIT: My experience with American performance vehicles has been shitty, in the end, with the Mustang GT and now my SRT8. Something in both cases went wrong (my own doing in part), and ended the love affair, so to speak. I'm just in a rut.
