2005 V8 GT vs BMW M3?

My 06 GT ragtop beat an M3 handily at a "non-sponsored event", held at a "non-sanctioned venue"... (Read: Light to Light, a little over a 1/4 mile)

The driver of the M3 was someone driving like a 'dick' and challenged me at the light... When the light went green, I simply pressed the pedal to the floor (Automatic Trans) and never looked back... Of course, the driver of the M3 could have simply sucked at it too.. I think the driver will have a lot to do with it in that case... A Mazda Rx-8 met a similar fate a few weeks ago, but they are a full second slower in the 0-60 department..

My car is completely stock at the moment, but I am ordering a Shaker Scoop and an STC Excal 2 for it this week..

Tony

What year is his M3? That makes a big difference in the outcome of the race.

Patrick

It's a 2003 M3, 348bhp standard, no mods. I've been a drive and its pretty fast. Still would always take the stang over it anyday. Mustang sounds and looks 100 times more impressive!

Won't be hands down at all. Launching off the line is all about torque & weight. Weight is negligibly close with Mustang at 3450 lbs & M3 at

3415 lbs. Mustang has a big advantage in torque with 320 ft-lbs @ 4500 RPM stock vs. the Bimmer's 269 ft-lbs @ 4900 RPM. However torque is also a function of the gearing and tires. The M3's 6-speed allows for much shorter gear ratios, which provides greater torque multiplication (hence acceleration) at the expense of top speed in that gear.

The M3 has a 3.62 final drive with a SHORT 4.23 1st gear. Multiply these times the peak torque (then subtract about 15% for driveline losses) means you have about 3500 ft-lbs of twist at its rear axle. The Mustang has a 3.55 final drive & taller 3.34 1st gear, twisting the driveshaft with 3225 ft-lbs.

The final theoretical factor is the rolling radius of the tires. The M3's 255/40R18's have a rolling radius of about 12.8" versus the stock Mustang's 235/55R17's 13.3" radius. Wheel thrust equals driveshaft torque / rolling radius. Therefore the M3 can be launched (if the driver dares to do so at 4900 RPM & the clutch is up to the task) with

3281 lbs of force, while the Mustang achieves 2910 lbs at 4500 RPM. Close, but not quite enough ASSUMING the drivers are equal.

Of course the distance of the "non-sanctioned" race is always a variable. The M3 must shift out of 1st at 36 mph, while the Mustang push on to 40 mph in 1st, allowing a chance to nose ahead while the M3 driver shifts (crucial to the result of this race). Likewise 2nd gear is done at 61 mph in the M3 & 68 mph in the Mustang...beyond that, please take it to the track!

At $60,000 the M3 damn well better perform better. However I would gladly take a tiny fraction of the $30,000 in change to install a CAI with SCT2 tune and a 4.10 gear. The former gave me another 30HP (and raised my fuel cutoff to 6800 RPM). Swapping the gear too would result in 3,570 lbs of thrust, more than enough to dispense with the M3 (and just about anything on the road short of a new Z06)...all for the price of a loaded minivan.

Big thumbs up to the SCT2! I also added the JLT CAI. On top of gaining approx. 30HP, the tune eliminated the notorious electronic throttle lag.The car feels like a completely different animal. It also raises the very conservative stock 6050 RPM fuel cutoff. My tune was done at Evolution Performance in Aston, PA, where my '06 GT 5 speed laid down

292 rwhp (93 octane tune) on their dyno (stock Mustang's typically put 260-270 hp to the rear wheels).

The shaker hood is a sweet mod that I would do in a heartbeat if money wasn't tight. Being all about bang for the buck, my next mods will be a

4.10 gear and off-road X pipe. My experience is that "high-flow" cats really don't add much power, and the cats rob about 15-20hp. The 4.10 gear still allows for a reasonable 2677 RPM at 70 mph, and can launch the Mustang harder than just about any car on the road.

t>

I am looking forward to getting the SCT2 setup.. I think that will do it for me for a bit in the performance department... I have some appearance changes I want to make first...

I think the shaker is going to look awesome.. Flat Black Shaker contrasted by the Silver paint and Black Convertible top... I am picking up the Black Honeycomb rear end panel and the chrome pieces to outline the tail lights.. The car has the wheels that look like the older Cragar 5 spokes.. (very retro)

Also considering repainting the spoiler to matte black.. I think the total effect remind me of my 70 Mach I ... What do you think?

i dont know which is faster, but have any of you ever driven a M3 with the AMG transmission? it is totally incredible. i have driven many cool cars in my time, but i have never seen anything that is so technologically advanced as the AMG tranny. i love mustangs, but i have to say that my buddy's 2003 M3 (which i wanted to hate) is the shiznit. it looks a bit funny, and hte exhaust makes the motor sounds weird and tinny, but it is one of the coolest cars on the planet - only with that tranny though.

re some earlier posts, i belive that the 2003 M3s have 333hp.

if any of you get the chance to try it out, you'll be amazed.

harry in montreal

I have a friend who just picked one up.. not sure about the tranny though.. I have been trying to find the time to go see it..

i have no idea how they engineer it - but it basically engages a manual clutch for you when you hit the gas, dropping harder shifts based on driving style and acceleration. in sum, it makes perfect shifts for you every time.it rolls around like a stick when you are stopped (at a light for instance). it is the ideal tip-tronic compromise for those lucky SOBs stuck in SOcal traffic. my friend sold his for a 2005 porsche 911, and then sold the porsche because he loved the amg. call your friend and take it for a ride.

H

I think that would all look sweet! I'm 37 and my dad had a '72 Mach 1 during my formative years growing up, so I am very partial to the black scoop, spoiler, and especially the honeycomb panel. If my Mustang wasn't black, that would have been my first mod. Ford did a great job with the design of the '05, but the rear end (like most modern cars) is really fat. I think this is most noticeable with bright colored Mustangs (see

. A black spoiler and black honeycomb panel should do a great jobleaning out the look. The '05 tail is modeled after a '70 (see so it stands to reason those mods would look very classic. Manyretro styling treatments look great with the classic styling of the '05Mustang. The Parnelli Jones Mustang looks awesome with its black scoop,spoiler, & panel (see ). Asgreat as that complete package looks, just a handful of retro mods canstill look great, for example$1099.JPG Again, I am definately biased toward 60's styling...however based on the sales of the S197, I am certainly not the only one who loves its classic looks. I say go for it and good luck.