OzE55

And that, my friend, is exactly why we all own supercharged V8s!

CynCarvin32

The only cars with cooling issues are the automatic cars. The early production autos use one cooler for engine oil and for the transmission. This system did not work with track use so they go into limp home mode when the temps get to high. I have not see any figures on IAT reading but smgc32 has his C32 going back to stock and is replacing it with a 335i. Lord knows he will have buckets of data on the 335i being put to work at the track.

BMW now puts the additional oil cooler on the automatic cars and they seem to be running just fine. Edmunds had an early production auto for the record .

335 is a great car and the M3 is likely going to be outstanding. 4 Door m3 sounds very tempting especially if MB de-tunes the C63 to have 410 hp.

TopGun32

cool links.. I had been to lazy to search..

btw: I'm refering to a new M3, not the E46.. just to clarify

TopGun32

right on!

let's wait until the summer months JULY and AUG to really find out if the 335 can take additional boost without heat loss.

every FI car will require some sort of cooling mod... maybe not on Stage 1, but going beyond Stage 1.. there is no choice.

Auto or Manual...

Yacht Master

The new M3 is in trouble and will have a tough road ahead. Hundreds of thousands will get in on the new deal that will be hotter than steamed rice.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ht=Lexus+IS500

yota 1
bmw 0

Thats the competition.

medici78

The M3 will not undercut the M5. The M3 is a 2-door with a 2+2 configuration. The M5 is a 4-door sedan with seating for 5. The same situation occured with the previous generation.

BenzoBoi

If I HAD to pick one, Id go with either white, sparkling graphite, or space gray...

BUT this car has yet to grow on me still...

Kev04C320

I think M5 is also 2+2 but with 4 doors. Am I wrong?

Ted Baldwin

............I don't think MB quite knows what to do with the with the CLK. It is built on a C-class platform, but is much more expensive than a C-class. Yet, the AMG version doesn't quite deliver like the M6 and the regular CLK has been overtaken by the new BMW 335. To make matters worse, the fixed roof version of the CLK63 is not even available in the US. What a screw up. They don't know what to do with it. I have always thought that the CLK has been MB's chance to have a serious sporst car. I think MB should forget about the M3 and pump the CLK63 coupe full of steroids and sell it as a competitor to the M6 in the same price range. Fill it up with luxury features and finally get serious with the CLK. I know this will affect sales of the CL, but no one buying a CL is looking for sports car. The CLK63 black series is an interesting gimick that doesn't really solve the problem. Is the CLK63 a serious luxury sportsa car ala M6, or just an over priced after thought by Mercedes that will be embarrassed on the street and on the track by a much less expensive M3?

Ted

zoink

CLK63 black will have much worse competitors than M3 or M6. Take into consideration 997GT3. If I were to spend $130K, I'd rather buy 997GT3 than CLK63 black.

5 years from now... only few people and only enthusiasts still remember that CLK63 black is not the same as CLK63.

So yes, CLK63 IMO is just like Audi and VW... got pinched by japanese at the bottom and couldn't get any buyers when competing in terms of price w/ MB and BMW. And I agree w/ you, I somehow still see CLK to be a "C-class" coupe (no offense to CLK owners - it's just how I feel) instead of "E-class" coupe (300CE) replacement. And I think it's because of the price (regular CLK), which is lower than E but higher than C, while 300CE used to be more expensive than 300E.

alex_alex_alex

I drive an e46 m3 vert and as you can see I am now on a Mercedes benz message board now. 1st post. The e46 m3 (mine looks so mean and clean) now the new e92 looks blah. I bet it is a blast to drive etc.

Some say a car needs to grow on you. No. A car's looks should never have to grow on anyone.

banzai321

I just came from an E46 convertible with SMG. It was fast and nimble but nowhere near the torque and straight-line excitement of the E55. I didn't like the SMG which was jerky and unpleasant. I also like the E46 styling over the E92. BMW has dropped the ball with their new model design. The 6 series is nice, the 3 series acceptable , and 5 and 7 series are as ugly as a mud fence. For years I was a true blue BMW fan, until I got behind the wheel of an E55. Game over!

Carl Lassiter

The E46 M3 was clearly the best looking car in its class until the B7 RS4 came along. The new one looks pretty good (though not as much of a wow factor of the last gen) but the wing mirrors are pure rice. Why they would change from the simple almond design which is the tell-tale sign of Ms in beyond me. It's like they're trying to evoke the double armed design exhibited by some E36 M3s but they've flat out failed.

Overall though, the new M3 in white is stunning. It won't dmage M5 sales though as it's short on space and unsuitable if you have kids or business people in the back seats on a regular basis.

As regards new BMW styling, my take is this;

New 3 saloon looks weak but the coupe looks good.
Ungainly 5-series is transformed by the sport pack and the M5 looks great.
6-series I like.
745i was hideous but 750i facelift has made it desirable again.
The new X5 looks too much like the X3. Opportunity missed.

Finally, the pricing of the CLK has always been a mystery to me and MSRP was undeniably a major reason why the E46 M3 was a sales success and the CLK55 a sales failure. It was priced up against the much faster and larger E55k while it Europe it cost more than the M3 CSL.