Street Class a no brainer

[Terry Johns]

Found it very interesting yesterday regarding Pax. On the long fast course the Caterham is right up there, just goes to show it should not run in D Mod. The M3 appears to have a real advantage, one wonders how long is will stay in F Street.

Thinking about changing cars, although the NC Miata is a great car, its now out classed my the new ND, one wonders if the NC will go down into D Street as did the FRS.

For me the M3 is looking pretty tempting

[Tuna]

Which M3?

[Terry Johns]

v8

[Tuna]

So, E90/92/93 from 2007 - 2013. Decent sized window.

[rairdan93]

I'm hoping a 15-17 mustang gt can compete with that damn m3 next year!  The street classes have such a variety of performance between the cars in their classes and I personally feel that the newer M3, the new camaro and new mustang don't really fit in with the other FS cars. But thats just because my 05 mustang is out dated in every way to compete with the 2011+.  Unless you are like Cam it seems like you have to have the latest and greatest models to have a chance. I fully understand the driver has a lot to do with it but it definitely seems to help having a car that is at the top of its class.  That 2011 M3 seems to have such a good balance of power and handling. Such a beautiful car appearance wise as well. If I would allow myself to get a European car it would be the one. I see the 2017 camaro ss 1le with mag suspension(like the new covettes i believe) is up in AS. I imagine the 2018 mustang gt with the shelby gt350 suspension will be in AS as well.  I feel I did pretty good in my 05 last year but I feel like a newer one will give me the edge I need to maybe(big maybe) scare Cam and be at the top like Richard has done this year in his M3.  Only time will tell.  Terry you should definitely give the v8 M3 a try if your thinking of switching cars!  Might like the faster courses better!

[nnywg]

1000% agree mods are not your friend if you care about PAX.  Those v8 M3s are sure nice, exquisite engine for the money but somewhat known to go boom. 

[Terry Johns]

I think those of us with a few grey hairs, (even my grey hairs have gone) have all been down the mod road, only to realise that most modded cars are horrid daily drivers, dont get me wrong I love quick cars, before moving hear to Canada had a 390 HP Integrale, incredible piece of kit on the track, on the road it was a f....ing nightmare.

Coming from a Racing background, FF, F3 and Touring Cars I love high speed tracks, and Sundays Course thanks to Reijo was BRILLIANT. We marshalled at the very far end of the course, and without doubt I was giving up 2 seconds in acceleration in my 100 plus HP Miata. The problem with the very fast track is the supper powerful cars make up more time in the quick bits than they loose in the slow bits, saying that I love the fast courses, I just new when I looked at the course map that this event was going to be dominated by high HP cars or Caterhams, but it was still a GREAT weekend.

F Street with with 400 HP, yes I like the sound of that, there's a very good reason that Richard is at the top of the time sheets, he's clearly a competent driver with a very competent car with a great PAX

I'm off to Edmonton tomorrow to test drive a 2016 M3, watch this space.

[PedalFaster]

So, E90/92/93 from 2007 - 2013. Decent sized window.

The window's narrower than that. The M3 to have is the ZCP Competition Package, which had wider wheels and a lower suspension. It was only available from 2011 onwards. Also, while the sedan's weight is within a rounding error of the coupe's, the convertible is 400 lbs. heavier.

So basically, if you want to have a cutting-edge M3, you needs a 2011+ hardtop with the ZCP option.

[Apex Carver]

FYI - the ZCP sedan only came with the package in 1 year (2011).

In 2011, there were  only 2170 sedans produced for the NA market and with those only 1220 have ZCP. Of these only 10% are manual.

As far as the coupe there were roughly 8299 produced after 2009 (they didnt go into details on year by year production unlike the sedans). If you were assume that the ZCP option take rate was just over 50% (similar to the sedan), you'd be looking at roughly 4500 coupes from 2011-2013. If you want manual, only 30% of the coupes were made in manual so you're looking at ~1350 manual coupes with the correct option package in all of North America.

Personally, the  coupe is the way to go. The sedan although it weighs similarly for the most part comes with a sunroof standard and a steel roof. The couple 9/10 times comes with the Carbon Fiber Roof so you're saving some weight up high. (as an ex-M3 owner... I sorely miss my old car haha)

[MurrayPeterson]

Sounds like a unicorn and one that will get buried in a tougher class if it does too well.

[Terry Johns]

Sounds like a unicorn and one that will get buried in a tougher class if it does too well.

I think your quite right, that's one of my concerns.

[Terry Johns]

FYI - the ZCP sedan only came with the package in 1 year (2011).

In 2011, there were  only 2170 sedans produced for the NA market and with those only 1220 have ZCP. Of these only 10% are manual.

As far as the coupe there were roughly 8299 produced after 2009 (they didnt go into details on year by year production unlike the sedans). If you were assume that the ZCP option take rate was just over 50% (similar to the sedan), you'd be looking at roughly 4500 coupes from 2011-2013. If you want manual, only 30% of the coupes were made in manual so you're looking at ~1350 manual coupes with the correct option package in all of North America.

Personally, the  coupe is the way to go. The sedan although it weighs similarly for the most part comes with a sunroof standard and a steel roof. The couple 9/10 times comes with the Carbon Fiber Roof so you're saving some weight up high. (as an ex-M3 owner... I sorely miss my old car haha)

Thanks Chris. Its only the Coupe Im interested in. The sun roof is the big problem in the sedan, I cant sit in it with a helmet on.

[Reijo]

F-Street:  M3 (E46 & E90/E92/E93 chassis) (2000-13)
M5 (1988-93, 2000-10)

A-Street:   BMW
M3 & M4 (F80/F82) (2015-17)

Is there no 2014 M3?

Anyway, FS seems to be a toss-up between the Camaro SS, Mustang GT and the BMW M3 mentioned above with a slight advantage to the Camaro these days from what I can tell watching results on SCCA Tours and such.  They are all similar weight, independent suspension and power ... and I read somewhere a bit course-dependent for the BMW.

How the newer M3's are doing in AS I don't know ... haven't heard much. 

Most in AS seem to be driving Corvettes - Z06's and C6's (Mark Daddio is a key one) with the occasional CRS2000, Boxster/Cayman and whatnot thrown in.

Reijo

R

[Reijo]

Looked up some specs on the 2014 M3 (it exists):

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2014-bmw-m3-and-2014-m4-coupe-specs-revealed.html

Interesting that once they dropped the V-8 of 2013, they went to the in-line 6 with an extra 10 hp.....but the biggest thing is the weight drop!  From around 3,700 lbs to 3,307 lbs (lightest one) is major and likely why the new car is in AS.  Notably, 0-60 mph in 4.0 sec. ... pretty quick!

So, I think the newest Camaros and Mustangs are slightly lighter than the V-8 BMW ... interesting.  But some of them have also moved up into AS and BS depending on the trim level ...

Amazing how complex the rules can be even in Street classes.   



R

R

[Apex Carver]

One thing to mention... the DCT may be the way to go... you'll get a better launch for sure and you dont have to worry about shifting.

Sure it takes the fun out of the whole experience (imho) but if you're looking for "the car to have" i would argue that the DCT would be a better choice over the manual. Plus, you have more selection too!