blkonblkc55amg

im sure everyones also seen the youtube video with the c55 in europe racing the e36 m3 and the e39 m5 and i think theres a small shot with a e46 m3. My question is how is it that the c55 was one of the slower cars of the bunch it was neck and neck with the e36 m3??? i personally have a e36 m3 i track and it feels nothing like my c55 in raw power and tourque. the cornering will have to go hands down to the m3 but in terms of just power and high way speed the c55 takes it in my book, but ive also never played around with a m3 or m5 on the high way yet have any one you guys and what was your out come?

Quicktwinturbo

European model had higher hp. Also thing about vids from youtube is that it's not 100% accurate. The car may had mods. Not a very reliable source imo.

AMG3.2

+1 Euro E36 M3's have a lot more power, and the car is very light.

MercedesFTW

Wow...you're saying our cars don't handle as well as a car that's a decade senior to it?

Disclaimer: I've never driven around a track in the C55...
However, some lap times show that the C55 caught up with the E46 M3. I would assume BMW only made progress and the E46 M3 had better handling than the E36...maybe the cornering "feeling" in the E36 is better?

I'm not dissing your claim, just incredulous!!

w202mylove

the c55 is almost as fast as the e46 m3 in accel and cornering, it's better then the e36 in corners just a bit, the euro e36 has a 3.2 326hp engine it's faster then an e46m3 in a straight line stock vs stock, don't believe just

ddtham

C55 is considerably faster on a straight line than e46 m3, while the M3 is a bit better in cornering.

w202mylove

I Agree, under some conditions the c55 is faster. But I hav to say the e46 is a nice car to I considered buying one. But after test driving I come to the conclusion that the c55 is the better overall car the m3 is bit borring when driving slow in city etc, the c55 feels nice driving fast and slow. For the track a m3 is a bit nicer not a lot, driving home from the track it's an easy choice c55! Build quility also is better on the amg not really a lot, the smg gearbox is a nightmare. The m3 also misses torque my c36 even has mor after all some people might think the m is better, I'm not a fanboy I understand that different people look for different things in a car. Amg builds nice cars so does M, I respect these car builders a lot

blkonblkc55amg

no not saying that the m3 is tons better than the c55 i love my c55 i daily drive it my e36 m3 is just simply a cheaper car to purchase(was my old DD) and much cheaper and easier car to modify and repair for track day racing. I do however believe that due to the shorter wheel base and being a lighter vehicle in general it does have a slight advantage over the c55 in a cornering situation although very under powered and out dated compaired to the c55. I just dont understand how with the much larger displacement and power out put our cars do fall slightly short when it stacks up to cars like the m5 or newer generation m3 in straight line or high way situations aside from our cars being much heavier and automatic.

w202mylove

For the track the e36 sure is a beast especially the euro 3.2 I wish you guys could test drive it. But seriously there is no way a stock e36 us, will beat the c55 in cornor, maybe the e36 FEELS faster. The e39 m5 is a whole different car haven't drivin it alot but it sure has power it can keep up with the e90m3 just with a chip or cat delete. There is a difference between m and amg drivers, if you want to modify and drive your car flatout all the time safe yourself lots of cash and headaches. And enjoy the M. I think most of the m3's on videos driving against the c55 are modified, I saw a36 being faster then a c32 I don't see how that's possible. Stock vs stock

ddtham

I think under almost all conditions, stock C55 will be faster than stock e46 M3. Also, the only way a stock e36 m3 is faster than stock c32 is when the ic pump is out on the c32.

AMG3.2

Well yeah, anything is faster than a C32 with a bad intercooler pump. I couldn't even pass semi's when mine went out.

xxaarraa

Oh God, not another age old C55 Vs M3 thread.

maverik259

They're all different classes M3-C55-M5...one your talking cylinders and raw hp...another your talking coupes vs sedans...and all of that goes into weight gear boxes etc...m3 was built for track while AMGs really aren't similar to the m5, m6, etc...you dont build a car for a track and make it a sedan, thats counter-intuitive...so its really an unfare comparisson...but yes a lighter car will always win out in corners because of pure physics...but on a drag strip the big engine will win 8/10 times based on the driver, tires, etc...unless your comparing like Porsche then I think we're all pretty much screwed! (minus a boxter, yuck)

w202mylove

why what is the problem? can't we just discus this like gentleman? Some of us might would like to know the opnion of different people? If you hate the subject why posting in the topic(not hating on you) just telling.

ps no one got a 1/4 mile time from his c55? I would like to know what you guys experience with the car at the strip.

ddtham

I think stock C55 gets mid to low 13s, just like C32. These cars aren't that far from mid to high 12s with few bolt-ons and competent driver.

I always liked Bimmers, too bad some annoying drivers are giving them a bad name. Still remember this guy with a blacked out e46 325i cut me off as we exited an off ramp exit as he tried to stay on the freeway. He cut the shoulders in the process and some other people as well, what a douche.

blkonblkc55amg

yea i didnt mean for this thread to get off topic my simple question was why does it seem like the c55 with its much larger motor and high power out put seem so evenly matched by its bmw counter parts? I do own both and they both have their own unique specialties as far as handling and raw power light weight vs heavy weight. But you guys do have to admit that a 6cyl m versus a 5.5l c55 the m does either hold its own fairly well or at times beat the c55 (with a decent driver at least) even in highway situations not cornering. In just my own personal opinion because i track a e36 m3 it is a better track car than the c55 in terms of balance and handling from a racing perspective a coupe is a better choice as is always the shorter wheel base and just lighter vehicle in general. I love both cars equally

LawRens

A combination of parasitic loss from transmissions, gearing ratios, and (arguably) a little bit of the quality of engines, just to name a few among many reasons.

The BMWs 6 speed manuals (euro) put more power to the ground and allow for better launching than the 5 speed automatics in the Benz.

More aggressive gearing ratios also help the e36 m3 (among others) to put up great competition in drag races also. For example, the e36 m3 getrag ratios: 4.23 (1), 2.51 (2), 1.67 (3), 1.23 (4), 1.00 (5), .83 (6) with a 3.15 final drive. And for direct comparison's sake, we'll use c43 ratios: 3.59 (1), 2.19 (2), 1.41 (3), 1.00 (4), and 0.83 (5) and a 3.07 final drive.

Lastly, some would argue that BMW's M division works harder to make better engines. At the cost of torque, 100bhp/liter is simply fantastic.

sinister55

Well all you guys are forgetting that the c55 has 3 passengers