emthreewannabee

Hi

Can anyone who's driven these tell me the difference. I know 3.0 is 286 bhp and the Evo is 321 bhp but ive heard that the 3.0 is actually faster to 60mph due to the 5 speed box vs the 6 speed box. I know their both limited to 155mph.

Ive also heard that the Evo sufferes from VANOS problems.

I guess what Im saying is basically, is it worth the extra for the EVO when you can get the same performance for the 3.0.

Cheers.

turboman786

Your question is answered in some depth...here

http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=115888&page=0&view=collap sed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Ralf

3.0 has a lazy top end. evo says it has lost the driver appeal against the E30. It wasn't sold in big numbers in Germany due to the very high insurance class.

RS Grant

So does the 3.0 actually get to 155mph??

Also, is the 3.0 more to insure than an EVO??

Cheers,
Grant

si325i

think the 3.0l does 162mph
and only has single vanos.

emthreewannabee

Been checking and looks like their both insurance group 20 ouch!!. Interesting about the top speed too and the differece in power delivery. I might consider the 3.0 now though



[Edited by emthreewannabee - 8/22/2003 5:13:23 PM]

Freak

im buying one soon

No point in going the half measure

for not much more outlay- an extra 0.2 of a litre, 40 BHP and an extra gear......daft not to. if for the 6th gear and nothing else

si325i

the extra gear (6th)is only for cruising and top speed is achieved in 5th gear.

turboman786

6th gear is lovely....lets you purr round town at just above idle..and when you are driving hard gives you lots of gears to mess with!

akshay67

i've had a passenger ride in both as my friend has had both and now has the evo version.

i'm not sure if there was something wrong with the 3.0 model, but it felt like a slug compared to the evo...certainly up to 60 they felt the same and very much like a scoob, but beyond that the headrests came in handy!

turboman786

Akshay, the evo will beat nearly any scooby in a straight line, including P1's, WRX's etc....0-60 are deceptive, once the m3 is moving very few cars will catch it.....handling is not as good as a scoob though and that IMHO is the Achilles Heal of the M3.....having said that the standard brakes are badass!

akshay67

turboman - i meant up to 60 they felt like a scooby - beyond that the evo was, well, as I said, the headrests certainly help!

scoobysnacks

But given the repeated VANOS problems the EVO suffers and the fact that the power increase isn't quite as much as quoted (so I've read...) could the pre-EVO M3 be the better second hand buy?

[Edited by scoobysnacks - 8/26/2003 8:02:27 PM]

M3 Evo

Best buy is the 3.0 GT1 M3.

British racing green only (boohoo) but has 295bhp with 100kgs less weight so a match for the Evo in a straight line and it also has the same suspension set up as the evo too.

ie all the speed and fun factor of the evo without the VANOS headaches....

droid42

My best advice on this would be to ignore the following myths:

1. Gearing differences ... utter crap. The overall gearing in the 1st five gears is close to identical.

2. More "flexible" power delivery ... again utter rubbish. At every single point in the rev. range the M3 Evo engine has more torque than the 3 litre car.

Remember that the Evo was BMW's response to very poor reviews of the 3 litre car (accusations of being too soft etc.) and they mostly fixed all of the criticism.

My best advice would be to buy an early pre-facelift Evo because that will come with aluminium doors and is the real lightweight car of the bunch. M3 GT being 100kg lighter than an Evo? Maybe but not that much lighter than early Evos.

As for VANOS problems ... mine was good to 95k miles before I sold it and I'm aware of plenty others that have had zero problems up to 100k. If you can find a minter with 30-40k miles you should be fine for a while.

Ian.

daddyz

scooby are much faster than any m3 evan a new shape one

si325i

daddyz, wot a silly thing to say. when do you go back to school?