Looking At A R35

[Hank Scorpio]

The Camaro has the same basic suspension setup as a Holden VE Commonwhore.

Still want to compare it to an R35?

[scarf]

Allow me to make an E92 M3 vs GT-R comparison.

I bought one of the first E92 M3s and had it for 3 years before switching to an MY11 GT-R when they arrived early this year.

I enjoy modifying my cars and love driving, these cars were/are my "extra" cars so did not have to be daily drivers if I didn't want them to be.

I enjoy some track work and would describe myself as a relatively fast amateur track driver.

I am not interested in impressing other drivers with the look of my car, so street cred doesn't matter to me.

The M3:

- the engine is an absolutely screamer, keenly revving to 8300rpm and the noise is probably one of the most racey you will find, behind the obvious V12s and flat-plane Ferrari V8s

- the M3 will not accelerate unless you have planned in advance, you must be above 4000rpm to be in the nice flat 400Nm-odd torque area and you will be driving a 335 up to 6000rpm, with 150hp still to come in the last 2200-odd rpm

- the chassis is beautifully balanced and it is very easy to feel and transfer weight front to rear

- expect to need brake modifications if you are doing track days

- the M3 seemed to be hard on the front tyres on track and you will require aftermarket parts to achieve proper front camber

- for driving out in your local hills, in my opinion of course, the M3 is almost the perfect car, combining the sound and racecar-style power delivery and with 414hp it is just the right amount of power to put a smile on your dial for a few seconds before reaching naughty speeds, and the M-diff is great fun

- spent a day at Winton once we had fitted a 580hp G-Power supercharger and 1:40 was the best achieved on Cup+ tyres with the car clearly needing suspension and tyre work to go further

The GT-R:

- much stiffer suspension, certainly feels heavier

- sounds bland and always will

- definitely not as much fun on the road, if you want to keep your license

- honesly the only real enjoyment I can find in the GT-R on the street is the odd powerslide in an off-camber hairpin, I am just not game enough to do the license-losing speeds the GT-R needs to deliver enjoyment, oh and the odd LC on the rare occasion one is at the front of the que at lights before a 100 zone...

- on track however the GT-R makes complete sense, compared to the M3 the limits this car has are frankly unbelievable, for an amateur to lap a GT-R with midpipe around Barbagallo in 1:04 says a hell of a lot about the car

- the most annoying thing on track is the transmission oil temperature management which is necessary if you want to avoid expensive additional oil changes, it is the biggest limitation but I believe there are modifications to help this, brakes will suffer as well, I am still working on avoiding a soft pedal at the end of the day

- expect reasonably high running costs if you intend to keep your warranty while doing track work, I have spent around $7000 on it in parts and services since March with 5000km on the clock

Hope that helps.

It looks like bmw have figured out the benefits of turbo charging as almost everything in their line-up is turbo charged now.

The new TT V8 M5 is a screamer with a dsg as good as the R35. The 2014 M3 will appear to resolve many of the issues with the current M3.

Great times ahead for motoring enthusiasts.

[LSX-438]

Allow me to make an E92 M3 vs GT-R comparison.

I bought one of the first E92 M3s and had it for 3 years before switching to an MY11 GT-R when they arrived early this year.

I enjoy modifying my cars and love driving, these cars were/are my "extra" cars so did not have to be daily drivers if I didn't want them to be.

I enjoy some track work and would describe myself as a relatively fast amateur track driver.

I am not interested in impressing other drivers with the look of my car, so street cred doesn't matter to me.

The M3:

- the engine is an absolutely screamer, keenly revving to 8300rpm and the noise is probably one of the most racey you will find, behind the obvious V12s and flat-plane Ferrari V8s

- the M3 will not accelerate unless you have planned in advance, you must be above 4000rpm to be in the nice flat 400Nm-odd torque area and you will be driving a 335 up to 6000rpm, with 150hp still to come in the last 2200-odd rpm

- the chassis is beautifully balanced and it is very easy to feel and transfer weight front to rear

- expect to need brake modifications if you are doing track days

- the M3 seemed to be hard on the front tyres on track and you will require aftermarket parts to achieve proper front camber

- for driving out in your local hills, in my opinion of course, the M3 is almost the perfect car, combining the sound and racecar-style power delivery and with 414hp it is just the right amount of power to put a smile on your dial for a few seconds before reaching naughty speeds, and the M-diff is great fun

- spent a day at Winton once we had fitted a 580hp G-Power supercharger and 1:40 was the best achieved on Cup+ tyres with the car clearly needing suspension and tyre work to go further

The GT-R:

- much stiffer suspension, certainly feels heavier

- sounds bland and always will

- definitely not as much fun on the road, if you want to keep your license

- honesly the only real enjoyment I can find in the GT-R on the street is the odd powerslide in an off-camber hairpin, I am just not game enough to do the license-losing speeds the GT-R needs to deliver enjoyment, oh and the odd LC on the rare occasion one is at the front of the que at lights before a 100 zone...

- on track however the GT-R makes complete sense, compared to the M3 the limits this car has are frankly unbelievable, for an amateur to lap a GT-R with midpipe around Barbagallo in 1:04 says a hell of a lot about the car

- the most annoying thing on track is the transmission oil temperature management which is necessary if you want to avoid expensive additional oil changes, it is the biggest limitation but I believe there are modifications to help this, brakes will suffer as well, I am still working on avoiding a soft pedal at the end of the day

- expect reasonably high running costs if you intend to keep your warranty while doing track work, I have spent around $7000 on it in parts and services since March with 5000km on the clock

Hope that helps.

That's a pretty good summary.

The reason i purchased the r35 was merely due to lap time capability (in a truely road rego'd car). There are so many other cars what are much more fun on the street, some for seriously less money.

[ricknismo]

Lots of interesting comments floating around. My big confusion is that in the past I have had street cars that were ideal track cars but I never honestly got to experience their true potential so now I questioning what purpose fits my next vehicle:

Camaro - sort of a big boaty cruise

M3 - a prestige with a bit of sport

GTR - -a track car that I'd drive on the street with the thought of one day tracking even though it may never happen

Porsche - probably an ideal 'poser' car

M5 V10 - a V10...maybe the only time I'd get to own such an engine

You can see my weird thoughts, but after owning a 32,33 and 2 34 GTR's, everyone expects a 35 to be my natural progression

[GT-R OZ]

So $7,000 on parts and $30,000 in depreciation for 5,000klms on a MY11. I think I'll pick up a MY09 out of warranty for 90K and then have some fun.

Edited December 30, 2011 by GT-R OZ

[EuroDB]

Very nice photos I like it.

Thanks for sharing this nice post.