America's Best-Handling Car Part II (Motor Trend) - M3 Forum 2010 2009 BMW M3 2008 BMW M3 BMW E90 M3 E92

M3Rad · 08-25-2008, 03:17 PM

These are the results from America's Best-Handling Car from Motor Trend last year (Part I). The driver Max Angelelli, the track Laguna seca.

Porsche 911 GT3
Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:39.517
81.0 mph avg
1.69g peak lateral acceleration

Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:40.919
79.8 mph avg
1.57g peak lateral acceleration

Lotus Exige S
Best lap (min:sec): 1:45.818
76.1 mph avg
1.54g peak lateral acceleration

Porsche Cayman S
Best lap (min:sec): 1:47.577
74.9 mph avg
1.43g peak lateral acceleration

Mitsubishi Evolution IX MR
Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:47.926
74.7 mph avg
1.36g peak lateral acceleration

BMW 335i
Best lap (min:sec): 1:49.038
73.9 mph avg
1.32g peak lateral acceleration

Mazdaspeed3 GT
Best lap (min:sec): 1:50.375
73.0 mph avg
1.31g peak lateral acceleration

Honda S2000
Best lap (MIN:SEC) : 1:50.738
72.8 mph avg
1.40g peak lateral acceleration

Mini Cooper S JC Works GP
Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:51.733
72.1 mph avg
1.28g peak lateral acceleration

Honda Civic Si
Best lap (min:sec): 1:54.990
70.1 mph avg
1.55g peak lateral acceleration

Personally, I ran a 1:42.0 with the 996 GT3 on 2 years old RA-1, on my first and only track day at Laguna Seca. The traqmate data shows a 1:41.0 lap joining the best segments from the same track session. A friend was lapping at 1:41.0 that same day with a 996 GT3, the new owner of my GT3 just lapped at 1:41.x as well this past weekend. Another friend is lapping at 1:39s on Hoosier R6 and a 996 GT3.

Here is a video link to Part II of "America's Best-Handling Car". The Laguna Seca track results should be online this week. This time they hired Randy Pobst. I am a big fan of Randy Pobst, because he started as an autocrosser and moved up to Pro level, he always talks about how important is to run autocrosses to learn car control at the limits. Randy won 6 SCCA Solo/ProSolo National Championships.

Randy's opinion on the M3 is very impressive. He looks quite satisfied with the M3 handling. He drove the DCT M3 for this new test.

Video Link ==> http://www.motortrend.com/av/roadtes...deo/index.html

The Part II contenders:

Audi R8 DSG
BMW M3 DCT
Chevy Cobalt SS
Viper ACR
Shelby GT500KR
Mazda RX-8
Mini Cooper-S
Evo X MR
Nissan GT-R
Porsche 911 Turbo

I'm very glad that the M3 shows up as the most comfortable car in the test, still the car performs quite well compared to sport cars.

sfbimmer13 · 08-25-2008, 03:28 PM

nice, thanks for posting

Gearhead999s · 08-25-2008, 04:55 PM

Interesting comment from Randy about the harshness of the M-DCT and manu-autos.

swamp2 · 08-25-2008, 05:08 PM

Cool, great information. The M3 is not the all out grip leader but it did dominate or place near the top in some categories.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Interesting comment from Randy about the harshness of the M-DCT and manu-autos.

I'd bet he was using S5 or S6 for sure. If he doesn't like the harshness those modes provide S4 or S3 would be a much better choice. He admitted he is old and old school (albeit a great driver). I bet he did not experiment with the Drivelogic modes. A bit of a shame.

Gearhead999s · 08-25-2008, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swamp2

Cool, great information. The M3 is not the all out grip leader but it did dominate or place near the top in some categories.

I'd bet he was using S5 or S6 for sure. If he doesn't like the harshness those modes provide S4 or S3 would be a much better choice. He admitted he is old and old school (albeit a great driver). I bet he did not experiment with the Drivelogic modes. A bit of a shame.

I should have also noted about the fact that he used the harshness to kick the tail out.I am also an "old guy" and I will be getting an M-DCT if the issues get ironed out but both my wife are tech hounds!

footie · 08-25-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Interesting comment from Randy about the harshness of the M-DCT and manu-autos.

It's that surge thing again, you are either a fan or you are not. Surge = Marmite.

http://www.marmite.com/

enigma · 08-25-2008, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

By the way, did you notice Max Angelelli only got 1:45 out of an Exige S at Laguna?

Yes. point ?

Gearhead999s · 08-25-2008, 10:07 PM

I just rewatched the video and noticed that the test car was equipped with the sunroof.I guess that shows you that BMW was not too concerned about what the extra 44 lbs does to the handling performance as I have always thought!

Radiation Joe · 08-25-2008, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enigma

Yes. point ?

Didn't you pull a 1:42 in the Elise?

enigma · 08-25-2008, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

Didn't you pull a 1:42 in the Elise?

Yes, but I had RA-1s and springs on my car. I didn't have the supercharger though that the car in the test had.

Its not an easy car to master and some need time to adjust to get the most out of it. I am sure he would have gone as fast as I did given more time in the car.

sayemthree · 08-25-2008, 11:48 PM

Am I missing something? where are all the lap times around Laguna Seca?

enigma · 08-25-2008, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sayemthree

Am I missing something? where are all the lap times around Laguna Seca?

First post in this thread....

sayemthree · 08-25-2008, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enigma

First post in this thread....

first post show Part i of the test and the 335i. where are the part ii laps times?

on another note Randy noted he would prefer the MT over the DCT.

Radiation Joe · 08-26-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sayemthree

... on another note Randy noted he would prefer the MT over the DCT.

Who cares what Randy has to say? Didn't he race an RS6 for awhile? He found nice things to say about that, too.

Dascamel · 08-26-2008, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sayemthree

on another note Randy noted he would prefer the MT over the DCT.

But he did say he wanted more time to "learn" how it works. The door was at least left slightly open.

"Fat" steering wheel comment was spot on. The wheel feels great, I used to think why would you bother upgrading the wheel, but now I understand.

footie · 08-26-2008, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dascamel

"Fat" steering wheel comment was spot on. The wheel feels great, I used to think why would you bother upgrading the wheel, but now I understand.

It's funny but I too like the FAT wheel and that surprised me coming from Audis and Porsches, two cars which have great steering wheels but decisionly on the thin side. I also prefer the feel of the leather on the M3's rim.

Gearhead999s · 08-26-2008, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by footie

It's funny but I too like the FAT wheel and that surprised me coming from Audis and Porsches, two cars which have great steering wheels but decisionly on the thin side. I also prefer the feel of the leather on the M3's rim.

Thats because most Porsche & Audi guys are not used to handling "large": things

footie · 08-26-2008, 11:31 AM

y

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Thats because most Porsche & Audi guys are not used to handling "large": things

Oh, that was a bit personal. True thought, you must know my wife.

Gearhead999s · 08-26-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by footie

y

Oh, that was a bit personal. True thought, you must know my wife.

At least it was a general comment not a specific one

icemang17 · 08-26-2008, 01:57 PM

Great video....I wonder what lap times Randy was able to get in the M3....my guess is low 1:40's...maybe 1:42.... The GTR should be high 1:30's...like 1:39 and the Viper should be mid 1:30's...maybe 1:35......

sayemthree · 08-27-2008, 04:13 PM

so where are the lap times!?

you know - had the car been a 6MT, CFR, dingle hump, with 18's he would have been faster by 4 seconds per lap!

footie · 08-27-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sayemthree

you know - had the car been a 6MT, CFR, dingle hump, with 18's he would have been faster by 4 seconds per lap!

At least that much.

08-25-2008, 03:17 PM	#1
M3Rad New Member Drives: 2008 BMW M3 DCT Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 29 iTrader: (0)	America's Best-Handling Car Part II (Motor Trend) These are the results from America's Best-Handling Car from Motor Trend last year (Part I). The driver Max Angelelli, the track Laguna seca. Porsche 911 GT3 Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:39.517 81.0 mph avg 1.69g peak lateral acceleration Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:40.919 79.8 mph avg 1.57g peak lateral acceleration Lotus Exige S Best lap (min:sec): 1:45.818 76.1 mph avg 1.54g peak lateral acceleration Porsche Cayman S Best lap (min:sec): 1:47.577 74.9 mph avg 1.43g peak lateral acceleration Mitsubishi Evolution IX MR Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:47.926 74.7 mph avg 1.36g peak lateral acceleration BMW 335i Best lap (min:sec): 1:49.038 73.9 mph avg 1.32g peak lateral acceleration Mazdaspeed3 GT Best lap (min:sec): 1:50.375 73.0 mph avg 1.31g peak lateral acceleration Honda S2000 Best lap (MIN:SEC) : 1:50.738 72.8 mph avg 1.40g peak lateral acceleration Mini Cooper S JC Works GP Best lap (MIN:SEC): 1:51.733 72.1 mph avg 1.28g peak lateral acceleration Honda Civic Si Best lap (min:sec): 1:54.990 70.1 mph avg 1.55g peak lateral acceleration Personally, I ran a 1:42.0 with the 996 GT3 on 2 years old RA-1, on my first and only track day at Laguna Seca. The traqmate data shows a 1:41.0 lap joining the best segments from the same track session. A friend was lapping at 1:41.0 that same day with a 996 GT3, the new owner of my GT3 just lapped at 1:41.x as well this past weekend. Another friend is lapping at 1:39s on Hoosier R6 and a 996 GT3. Here is a video link to Part II of "America's Best-Handling Car". The Laguna Seca track results should be online this week. This time they hired Randy Pobst. I am a big fan of Randy Pobst, because he started as an autocrosser and moved up to Pro level, he always talks about how important is to run autocrosses to learn car control at the limits. Randy won 6 SCCA Solo/ProSolo National Championships. Randy's opinion on the M3 is very impressive. He looks quite satisfied with the M3 handling. He drove the DCT M3 for this new test. Video Link ==> http://www.motortrend.com/av/roadtes...deo/index.html The Part II contenders: Audi R8 DSG BMW M3 DCT Chevy Cobalt SS Viper ACR Shelby GT500KR Mazda RX-8 Mini Cooper-S Evo X MR Nissan GT-R Porsche 911 Turbo I'm very glad that the M3 shows up as the most comfortable car in the test, still the car performs quite well compared to sport cars. __________________ 03 Celica GTS 04 Hummer H2 07 Cayman S 08 BMW M3 09 Scuderia

08-25-2008, 03:28 PM	#2
sfbimmer13 Original Bavarian Heritage Drives: 2008 E92 M3 DCT Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 311 iTrader: (0)	nice, thanks for posting __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 E92 M3 M-DCT - Sparkling Graphite - Fox Red - Tech Package - Premium Package - Moonroof - Enhanced Premium Sound - HD Radio - iPod USB interface - PDC - Remus Race Exhaust

08-26-2008, 01:57 PM	#20
icemang17 Captain Drives: 2008 E92 M3 DCT Join Date: May 2008 Location: Stockton CA Posts: 628 iTrader: (0)	Great video....I wonder what lap times Randy was able to get in the M3....my guess is low 1:40's...maybe 1:42.... The GTR should be high 1:30's...like 1:39 and the Viper should be mid 1:30's...maybe 1:35...... __________________ Brian 2008 E92 M3, MR, DCT, extended BB leather, loaded! 1988 Porsche 928S4, Guards red/Champagne leather 1989 Porsche 928S4 track beast!!!

08-25-2008, 04:55 PM	#3
Gearhead999s Colonel Drives: E93 335(wifes)E92 M3 Duc 999s Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,525 iTrader: (0)	Interesting comment from Randy about the harshness of the M-DCT and manu-autos.

08-25-2008, 10:07 PM	#8
Gearhead999s Colonel Drives: E93 335(wifes)E92 M3 Duc 999s Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,525 iTrader: (0)	I just rewatched the video and noticed that the test car was equipped with the sunroof.I guess that shows you that BMW was not too concerned about what the extra 44 lbs does to the handling performance as I have always thought!

08-25-2008, 11:48 PM	#11
sayemthree Brigadier General Drives: ObamieTheKommie Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: ObamaKommieLand Posts: 4,852 iTrader: (0)	Am I missing something? where are all the lap times around Laguna Seca?

08-27-2008, 04:13 PM	#21
sayemthree Brigadier General Drives: ObamieTheKommie Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: ObamaKommieLand Posts: 4,852 iTrader: (0)	so where are the lap times!? you know - had the car been a 6MT, CFR, dingle hump, with 18's he would have been faster by 4 seconds per lap!