M3 or 335i

[BMWM3]

So I've just purchased a 2008 M3, which I love. However i was reviewing performance figures in what car in my local Chinese the other night, and I noted that the 335i's performance are all but the same as an M3! So I then decided to check pricing for a 335! and I could have got a 2010-11 plate with less Mileage for the same money. I get that the M3 looks different, and parts are upgraded but you would have thought BMW would have put a bigger margin in performance between the two, am I missing a trick here?

[Beemdog]

Yes.

[jphughan]

OP, if you're not a troll, then go test drive a 335i. If you like it better or drive the M3 in such a way that the differences between the two cars aren't obvious to you, then sell your M3 and buy one of those instead. You'll be happier with it, its running costs will be much lower, and hopefully your current M3 will find its way to someone who will drive it in a way that allows it to be properly appreciated.

But to answer your question, it comes down to turbo vs NA motors. Each has its virtues and vices, and yes having a turbo in the series car but sticking to NA for the M car for the E9x generation did create an awkward situation if you look strictly at the numbers, particularly torque -- but if you get a 335i and an M3 onto the track, I think you'll find there's an appropriately wide performance margin between the two. And since you live reasonably close to Silverstone and Brands Hatch, I strongly recommend that you look into that.

[Z K]

If you look at acceleration numbers on a piece of paper, it might look similar. Driving a car is more than numbers.

The two cars drive completely differently and unless you want to spend a lot of money modifying a 335i, it will not have the same performance.

[ZEEM3R]

Lol.

[BMWM3]

I do appreciate my car, I had a question about performance, what better place to ask than an M3 forum. The brands hatch was a good tip.





OP, if you're not a troll, then go test drive a 335i. If you like it better or drive the M3 in such a way that the differences between the two cars aren't obvious to you, then sell your M3 and buy one of those instead. You'll be happier with it, its running costs will be much lower, and hopefully your current M3 will find its way to someone who will drive it in a way that allows it to be properly appreciated.

But to answer your question, it comes down to turbo vs NA motors. Each has its virtues and vices, and yes having a turbo in the series car but sticking to NA for the M car for the E9x generation did create an awkward situation if you look strictly at the numbers, particularly torque -- but if you get a 335i and an M3 onto the track, I think you'll find there's an appropriately wide performance margin between the two. And since you live reasonably close to Silverstone and Brands Hatch, I strongly recommend that you look into that.[/QUOTE]

[maloo]

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112640

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by BMWM3

I do appreciate my car, I had a question about performance, what better place to ask than an M3 forum. The brands hatch was a good tip.

As ZK said above, performance encompasses a lot more than acceleration, horsepower, and torque -- and driving pleasure encompasses a whole lot more than performance. There are plenty of fast cars that aren't especially fun to drive and plenty of slow cars that are a blast. And while I understand your inclination to ask a question about M3 performance on an M3 forum, it's reasonably safe to assume that for a car released almost exactly 7 years ago, somebody else would've already asked that question by now. And indeed if you enter "M3 vs 335i site:m3post.com" into Google, you'll find no shortage of discussion about this very topic.

[BMWM3]

Originally Posted by Z K

If you look at acceleration numbers on a piece of paper, it might look similar. Driving a car is more than numbers.

The two cars drive completely differently and unless you want to spend a lot of money modifying a 335i, it will not have the same performance.

Driving a car is more than numbers I know , but I am talking about the 'numbers ,and not the driving experience, so my point still stands, performance or 0-60 is under second different between to two.

[crypticc]

The way the car build that speed is different.

335 is hmmm..whoaa..wh...ahhh....oh. Better get the next gear now before we stop


M3 is oh...whoa...whayy...omg.. Quick next gear before the engine jumps out the front. (Though rev limiter stops that)


That means with most levels of attack the m3 stands more ready provide you are going anywhere above 4k to 8.5k and rewards pushing harder. The 335 has a similar range but you need to short shift a lifetime to get the best out of it so rewards differently

[Z K]

Originally Posted by BMWM3

Driving a car is more than numbers I know , but I am talking about the 'numbers ,and not the driving experience, so my point still stands, performance or 0-60 is under second different between to two.

1 second is a large amount of time!

Road and Track

335i sedan 6MT (couldn't find data for the coupe)
0-to-60-mph time: 5.0 sec
Standing 1/4 mile: 13.5 sec @ 104.5 mph

M3 coupe 6MT
0-to-60-mph time: 4.1 sec
Standing 1/4 mile: 12.5 sec @ 114.8 mph

Look at a much faster car, the Nissan GT-R:
0-to-60-mph time: 3.3 sec
Standing 1/4 mile: 11.6 sec @ 120.4 mph

All of them have less than a second difference. In real life, 1 second difference is a lot - 2-3 car length difference in a side by side straight line. The M3 is a lot faster than the 335i, just as the GT-R is a lot faster than the M3. But you say "only 1 second".

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by BMWM3

Driving a car is more than numbers I know , but I am talking about the 'numbers ,and not the driving experience, so my point still stands, performance or 0-60 is under second different between to two.

The 335i was simply ahead of its time. The N54 motor blew people away when it was released, and as I said above, moving the series car to turbo and keeping the M car NA definitely allowed the 335i to narrow the gap in the acceleration department compared to the M3, which stayed NA for a whole bunch of reasons (and which I personally believe would have remained NA for the F8x generation had it not been for increasingly tight emissions and fuel economy regulations). That issue didn't exist in the E46 generation since everything was NA, and for better or for worse, it doesn't exist in the new Fxx generation now that everything is FI.

The bottom line is that yes, the two cars look similar and yes, it's tempting to call the M3 "better" simply because it's the M car and therefore expect that it should be head and shoulders above the 335i in every conceivable way -- but the fact is that the 335i and M3 are completely different cars optimized for completely different use cases, so for M3 owners who actually drive their cars as BMW intended, it doesn't matter that the numbers are close. The driving experience isn't anywhere near close.

[FVM3]

I came from 335i and not to start another vs thread , modded 335i can be faster then m3 in straight but so what? I chose the m3 not just because straight line speed or else i go for corvette. The v8 exhaust sound gives me a grin every day. It is well balanced, a good DD, never regret

[Vanmarsenille]

Please close this thread.

[Sinful]

Originally Posted by BMWM3

So I've just purchased a 2008 M3, which I love. However i was reviewing performance figures in what car in my local Chinese the other night, and I noted that the 335i's performance are all but the same as an M3! So I then decided to check pricing for a 335! and I could have got a 2010-11 plate with less Mileage for the same money. I get that the M3 looks different, and parts are upgraded but you would have thought BMW would have put a bigger margin in performance between the two, am I missing a trick here?

What numbers? I see the quarter mile 335i at low to mid 13s. A civic modified can do that with a couple of mods.
A M3 out of the box with a with a manual 12.8 quarter. A competition package DCT 12.3 to 12.5.

These are quarter mile numbers where you can see what the car does, not B.S. 0-60, the track is even better with the M3 as it will kill a 335i.

Plus the 335i looks like a friggin family car and the M3 looks like a real performance car. That's my .02 cents!

[Flying Ace]

is this real life?

[Sinful]

Originally Posted by FVM3

I came from 335i and not to start another vs thread , modded 335i can be faster then m3 in straight but so what? I chose the m3 not just because straight line speed or else i go for corvette. The v8 exhaust sound gives me a grin every day. It is well balanced, a good DD, never regret

Agreed, but a Civic could be made to go faster than a 335i. Hell faster than a Z06 vette. However, I am not trading in my M3 for a Civic. So we are talking about an Iconic performance car with a historical lineage of performance greatness and amazing quaility: M3, versus run of the mill family car made fast: 335i. Big Big difference ..

Lets face it OP, if all we cared about was speed then we would all drive one of these ....

[m3ray]

[808@702]

Originally Posted by m3ray

Pretty damn funny. I know its old but haven't seen it in a while.

[fitchesbass]

It is a trick. You should have really bought a 328i and then supercharged it.

My '84 911 has similar 0-60 times to most current family sedans. I'll probably sell it.

[Rupes]

Whatever you do, don't buy an M3!

[E Pluribus Unum]

...OP, let this marinate for a bit....