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      04-11-2007, 07:08 PM   #24
e36jakeo
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Drives: 2008 M3 6 Speed MT!
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Northern CA

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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmund1948 View Post
Last time I checked no-one said the convertable is better handling than a
Coupe, it weighs more and costs more why ?

Top down motoring is expensive, they do improve the rigidity of
convertables to make them handle like a coupe.

Having a coup/e is fun to drive at speed is incredible

Having top down car, driving through the Night in the Alps, or in the Black Forrest, or the canyons or mountains of just about any continent, with 98%
of the performance of a coupe and if you live in Germany, legally
Priceless

Have you seen a Formula one car with roof
Nascar Maybe,


TELL me what REAL Drivers training you have after
besides your State Drivers License ?

Think about it ?
I instruct for four different track clubs. I race in time trials. I won my class last year in an E36 M3 -- with a roof.

Formula 1 cars are designed without a roof, as are Boxsters, S2000s, etc. Thus they are designed from the ground up to be stiff and relatively light (3000 lbs or so). It allows them to handle well.

An M3 is designed as a 4-seat coupe. With the E92 M3, it even has a CF roof to keep it light and with a lower center of gravity. Huge strides are taken to make it have a stiff chassis that does not flex when presented with huge loads in high G corners. This allows the suspension to do its job properly and allows the car to grip the pavement and remain balanced.

By hacking off the roof to create the M3 Convertible additional chassis strengthening is necessary just to make it half as stiff as the coupe. This, plus the electric mechanism that raises and lowers the top, plus the metal top itself, weigh at least 400-500 lbs. For reference the 335i Vert weighs 400 lbs more than the 335i coupe (which has a metal roof and sunroof). I'll bet the M3 Vert will weigh over 4000 lbs.

I am NOT against convertibles (I have an S2000). I too love putting the top down and running through the No Cal twisties. But to take a car that costs a lot of money because of how much engineering went into making it stiff, strong, relatively light, and fast, and then chopping off the roof, thus eliminating so much of what was good about it makes no sense.

But I have the mindset of a racer, not someone who just wants to drive a cool looking, V8 powered, heavy 4-seat convertible. I'd rather get a used S2K for $15K for when you want to do the top-down thing and then get the real M3 -- the coupe (or sedan).

OK, enough mudslinging. Just opinions, guys!

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