Almost traded my E90 M3 for a GT-R...ALMOST...

[dcgolfdr]

I am one that has had both, the M3 and the GTR. The GTR is practical when compared to the e92. The trunk is huge, I can fit a couple sets of golf clubs in there. The back seats stink in both cars so that is a wash. I can transport 4 track wheels and tires in the car, the same as I could do with the M3. Driving around town the M3 is much more well rounded. The GTR is bigger, has less visibilty, seats are not nearly as comfortable, and is much stiffer than the M3. But get the GTR on the track, look out, it is an absolute animal. If you already have a track car then stick with the M3. If you want a dual purpose car, then stick with M3. If you want to have an insane car around the track or a fun weekend car, then get the GTR. I realized I couldn't just have a GTR as a daily so I picked up a C63 as my daily. Now I have a crazy car and a fun car that has a crazy engine.

[HotIce]

Will own a GT-R before the life cycle ends. I love that car.

[konaforever]

Originally Posted by Rated ///M

Will own a GT-R before the life cycle ends. I love that car.

[snowmants]

Originally Posted by Rated ///M

Will own a GT-R before the life cycle ends. I love that car.

yeah it will probabaly be a few years for me. I just want to be in a position where I can own both the GTR and the M3.

[snowmants]

Originally Posted by dcgolfdr

I realized I couldn't just have a GTR as a daily so I picked up a C63 as my daily. Now I have a crazy car and a fun car that has a crazy engine.

This is sort of my line of thinking as well. We drove the C63 Amg when we were looking at the M3 and my wife tried to talk me into getting that over the M3. The handling and the DCT in the M3 are really what sold it to me over the C63. The C63 wins hands down in exhaust note/motor/seats. My wife really loves the c63 though--it is her favorite car--so maybe when I pick up a GTR in the future I will swap the M3 for a c63. I would already have a hardcore performance machine and she would love that we owned the c63!

[thegeneral101]

Originally Posted by Alexnyc

I'm shocked. I've been lusting about the GTR for years and actually decided on making that my next car. I would have to get behind the wheel of one. This is just too hard to believe. I figured once you get behind the wheel of one you would forget you ever drove an M.

meh I've driven them...its a beast no doubt but I like the look, sound, and visibility of the M3 better...more fun for road use.

[Majdnoon]

hey I'll take the GTR if you don't want it... lol

[scheherazade]

OP,
I feel the same way.

On the street, I miss having a stick.
It's just boring to not have much to do... just sitting there. Gas, brake, gas, brake, yawn.

If you want comfort and low work-load, the GTR makes a great DD.
I call it the "M3 I never expected" : good blend of speed and comfort.

But TBH, A manual roadster would be more fun to DD.
I'd love to drive a cobra every day... or a 7... or an elise.
Something that can make a slow boring drive more involved and exciting.

I appreciate the GTR if I'm trying to do a lap.
There's a lot going on, and I appreciate the easy shifting.
I can dig deep into 1st coming out of a turn without any risk of a bad shift.
And the low-workload makes it easy to just focus on the course.
But as a DD, the GTR is a bit yawn inspiring.

-scheherazade

[m3an]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

While I've never driven a GT-R, the M3 has been a let down to me in the power department from the day it arrived at the dealer. The GT-R appears to be a larger car but whether that's more in your head or not would really be the question. All-in-all it seems like you are happy with your decision and that's all that matters.

10000%. The car does not AT ALL feel like a 414hp. But it really does pull upstairs, its' just you're going over legal speeds to do it.

[Kaylin032]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

While I've never driven a GT-R, the M3 has been a let down to me in the power department from the day it arrived at the dealer. The GT-R appears to be a larger car but whether that's more in your head or not would really be the question. All-in-all it seems like you are happy with your decision and that's all that matters.

The GTR is substantially larger. 2 different surgeons have them where I work and I park next to them as much as I can because I assume they have the same inexplicable GTR worship that some people on here have, and therefore won't ding my doors.

The hood is much higher up and I can't see one of those things without being amused and amazed by how big they are. I'd think the length/width is comparable to a Ford Excursion.

I can't imagine how they could feel more nimble than a 3.

K

[snowmants]

Originally Posted by Kaylin032

The GTR is substantially larger. 2 different surgeons have them where I work and I park next to them as much as I can because I assume they have the same inexplicable GTR worship that some people on here have, and therefore won't ding my doors.

The hood is much higher up and I can't see one of those things without being amused and amazed by how big they are. I'd think the length/width is comparable to a Ford Excursion.

I can't imagine how they could feel more nimble than a 3.

K

Width might be comparable to the excursion but definitely not the length (can't tell if you are being sarcastic ) They definitely are big cars and that was the thing that I noticed the most. The m3 just felt much more toss-able and nimble. part of that is probably the seating position, size of the windows, and the shorter length of the hood on the m3, but part is also the weight i believe. Don't let this feeling i was getting of the m3 being more nimble be mistaken for me saying the m3 had better handling. The GTR was amazing on the back roads in terms of grip and speed through turns and would destroy the m3 on a track. at the end of the day the m3 was more carefree, and fun around town. Part of this was probably the better visibility you get out of the m3 too, which put me more at ease.

[snowmants]

Originally Posted by minigearhead

Supercharge and forget about gtr!

Ha yeah, I have thought about it, and it is much cheaper to do an ESS VT2-600 package than it is to upgrade to a GTR. My concern is the reliability. I am a little worried about increasing horsepower by 50% and what that will do to the longevity of the transmission and motor.... there is also something about the V8 sound and the fact that this is the last NA M3 (in all likelihood) that makes me not want to mess with that.

[snowmants]

Originally Posted by Majdnoon

hey I'll take the GTR if you don't want it... lol

Oh I want it. I just don't want to give up my M3 sO i think the logical thing would be to wait until I am in a position to keep both.

[w00tw00t]

I made the switch from an M3 to a GTR about a year ago and have to say that they're both great cars - in different ways. I think it takes a while to truly settle into a GTR... yes it does feel bigger ...however:
- Try the steering on both, GTR is much more direct and connected. The M3 has some play in it - interestingly when I switched that was the first thing that I noticed..
- On the track, the GTR is a monster - a crazy machine that eats up almost everything out on the track.. and no it does not feel "video-gamish" - it is raw, it requires skill to push it hard on the track and I'm still learning and getting faster..
- OMG the power! the torque!! .. I have my car custom tuned and I have three maps - a low boost granny map, a specific map for road racing/ track (medium boost and smooth - not too much power), and a 19psi silly power map (for overtaking anything on the freeway... in 6th gear )
- It may feel less tossable on the street at first .. but trust me.. in reality it is far more tossable on the street.. it just feels bigger at first..
- Once you get the right exhaust, it sounds great - not a V8 but fantastic in its own way!
- You need the right mods to extract the best out of the GTR - You need good intakes, mid-pipe,down pipes, and ECU/TCM tuning... and the GTR is transformed!
- Overall while I sometimes miss my M3... I still go into my garage on a daily basis and have to pinch myself when I see a GTR there..

anyway just my random thoughts on this topic..

[snowmants]

Originally Posted by w00tw00t

I made the switch from an M3 to a GTR about a year ago and have to say that they're both great cars - in different ways. I think it takes a while to truly settle into a GTR... yes it does feel bigger ...however:
- Try the steering on both, GTR is much more direct and connected. The M3 has some play in it - interestingly when I switched that was the first thing that I noticed..
- On the track, the GTR is a monster - a crazy machine that eats up almost everything out on the track.. and no it does not feel "video-gamish" - it is raw, it requires skill to push it hard on the track and I'm still learning and getting faster..
- OMG the power! the torque!! .. I have my car custom tuned and I have three maps - a low boost granny map, a specific map for road racing/ track (medium boost and smooth - not too much power), and a 19psi silly power map (for overtaking anything on the freeway... in 6th gear )
- It may feel less tossable on the street at first .. but trust me.. in reality it is far more tossable on the street.. it just feels bigger at first..
- Once you get the right exhaust, it sounds great - not a V8 but fantastic in its own way!
- You need the right mods to extract the best out of the GTR - You need good intakes, mid-pipe,down pipes, and ECU/TCM tuning... and the GTR is transformed!
- Overall while I sometimes miss my M3... I still go into my garage on a daily basis and have to pinch myself when I see a GTR there..

anyway just my random thoughts on this topic..

Thanks for your perspective! I guess a lot of people that made the switch feel that it takes a little while to really get used to the GTR, but once they do they seem to like it better than the m3.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by snowmants

Ha yeah, I have thought about it, and it is much cheaper to do an ESS VT2-600 package than it is to upgrade to a GTR. My concern is the reliability. I am a little worried about increasing horsepower by 50% and what that will do to the longevity of the transmission and motor.... there is also something about the V8 sound and the fact that this is the last NA M3 (in all likelihood) that makes me not want to mess with that.

Just cross your fingers! I agree with Tech that the M3 feels WAY underpowered in stock form. I was looking into a GT3 or the GT-R but it's soooo much cheaper to do the M3 with the blower (insofar that the motor holds together). The all-in cost of ownership during a 3-year period with the GT-R or GT3 considering factory maintenance and the cost of track events and mods that I would end up doing to the GT3 or GT-R would be much more than an M3 + blower.

[Alex07M3]

Originally Posted by snowmants

Thanks for your perspective! I guess a lot of people that made the switch feel that it takes a little while to really get used to the GTR, but once they do they seem to like it better than the m3.

Does it take a while to get used to the GT-R or maybe it just take a while to forget about the M3!

[w00tw00t]

Originally Posted by Alex07M3

Does it take a while to get used to the GT-R or maybe it just take a while to forget about the M3!

a bit of both IMO .. .. M3 is a grear car too.. I'll never forget mine.. but I love my GTR!!

[konaforever]

Originally Posted by w00tw00t

a bit of both IMO .. .. M3 is a grear car too.. I'll never forget mine.. but I love my GTR!!

Same here! Sometimes the GTR amazes me when I don't get on it for a while!

[UnaBomber]

Originally Posted by konaforever

Same here! Sometimes the GTR amazes me when I don't get on it for a while!

my car has been at topspeed for almost a month. I CANT FUCKING WAIT to get it back

[konaforever]

Originally Posted by UnaBomber

my car has been at topspeed for almost a month. I CANT FUCKING WAIT to get it back

I'm sure it'll be a rocket when you get it back!

[UnaBomber]

Originally Posted by konaforever

I'm sure it'll be a rocket when you get it back!

should be good for about 750whp on pump gas and be absolutely bulletproof