H15 FSC

i had a play today with a E46 M3 and beat it down this duel carrage way to about 100 then had to brake hard,
my car is probly 310 BHP put a post up on the RSOC and they all seem to think im lying bout this, ive had a races with m3's in my stage 3 cossies and beat them ,
i know a lot of people have got or had m3's what do u think
they say he wasnt trying but he hit the limiter of the island and could see he was gunning it

H15 FSC

anyone

AndyBrew

not sure what an M3 is torque wise but i would hazzard a guess at less than 300lbsdare say you out dragged him simple as that.

fuzzy

if your car is 310 then i dont see why not. my touring with 282bhp kept up with an m3 upto 120 before we ran out of track.

Adam.

i was a bit disapointed with the e36 m3 was more gradual power i found, not f*~k me thats fast!

C4llyT

You've a much better power to weight, so should do better to a ton.
Try encountering a bend next time.

fuzzy

thats less power but also less weight compared to the e46

AndyBrew

there's fuck all wrong with an FRS round a bend what planet are you on ???

fuzzy

but is it a match for an e46 m3 with its all singing all dancing electronic gadgetry and rwd?

Chris69

I bet you'd be suprised

C4llyT

The planet where F1 cars are rwd, you?

M3 or Focus for handling, is a tough one....

danneth

speaking from exp i would say the 310 FRS would nail it

fuzzy

having been in my mates frs i dont think i would
and id bet my old rwd estate would shock a few of you

DangerousBryan

think torque is only about 250ft/lb's ? so you should of nailed it . if it's remotely like my e36 they work best over 100mph. 1/4 mile in my e36 m3 is 13.9@100mph with 300ish bhp. 1/4 mile time in my fwd cav turbo was 13.9@110mph with about 320ish hp.
the cav would have murdered the m3 on the road.

bryan

fuzzy

some figures for the e46 m3. how does the frs compare?
343 PS / 256 kW @ 7900 rpm
Torque: 365 Nm / 269 ftˇlbf @ 4900 rpm
0-60 mph - 4.5 seconds (6 Speed SMG) / 0-60 mph - 4.8 seconds (6 Speed Manual)
1/4 Mile - 12.4@113.2 mph
Top Speed: 185 mph (298 km/h)

fuzzy

i didnt find any weight comparisons but id expect the bmw to be much heavier.

C4llyT

Don't believe that 0-60, 1/4 mile, or top speed at all!
340 brake won't give 185mph.

Chris69

i'm sure it would but that doesn't change the fact the focus RS handles very well- would be close to an m3 with his 310bhp imo

DangerousBryan

snap! a full second quicker to 60 than an e36 with 40 extra horses?

bryan

fuzzy

they do seem a tad optimistic. i know my car wont do 60 in under 5 seconds or a 12 second 1/4 and i kept up with an m3 all the way upto 120.

S3an

the top speed on a e46 is 191mph(derestricted) i beleive. i have a rr graph of my m3. i use to own a 360bhp escos and sold it because i was sick of getting pushed up the road by the likes of M3's

vinnyvangough

Dunno if this helps or not but if all of these are nailing it M3 is in front

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2x1BMAHUTY

S3an

the e46 is quite a bit lighter though with all the allluminium panels.

fuzzy

an e36 is either 286 or 321 bhp . an e46 is 343 iirc.

but as i said way back at the start in a straight line drag i dont see any reason why the frs wouldnt beat or be a match for the e46.

Alps Pacino

I'm sure they quoted the e46 m3 on top gear tonight as having 411bhp ?

fuzzy

wasnt that the new e92 model?

escos-jim

iTrader: (1)

That was the new E92 M3

scotty_focus_rs

a 310bhp FRS would have a E46 M3 an the FRS handles better

my mates a trader an has had so many E46's an hes drove my car an ses mine is faster an mines running round the same bhp as H15 FSC one

Alps Pacino

which ones a e36 then the old boxy shape ones ie 3.2 evo? and the e46 the csl shape 1 ?

escos-jim

iTrader: (1)

i have had 3 races with FRS' in my E46 and i know that 2 of them were 300hp+.... i have pulled away on all 3 occasions and seem to pull away further on the bends (they were only roundabouts).

As i said on the rsoc... the M3 revs to 8k and will do over 110 in third.
Its not as straightforward as you think and is not simply a matter of pwr / weight ratio. It comes down to gearing and power delivery also.

When the FRS is changing into 4th the beemer is still in third for maybe another 4 seconds before it has to change up.... this makes a lot of difference.

Only my opinion mind

escos-jim

iTrader: (1)

might feel faster because of the different power delivery.
The focus with its turbo gives that kick (which i love from turbo cars hence my T4) wheras the beemer is a smoother more linear acceleration and can seem slower but infact it is not.

Jim Galbally

FRSs are quicker than people think, and M3s are slower than people think.

so yeah i think it's possible for a FRS to outdrag an m3 in a road race

as for the "FRS handles better" i wouldn't get too cocky. granted the FRS is AWESOME for a FWD car, but the M3 is hardly a sheddy old barge.

they both handle very different thats for sure, but wouldnt say the FRS is "better" in a single statement

fuzzy

e36 is the 3.0 and 3.2 made from roughly mid to late 90's
old boxy shape i think is the original e30 such as my touring in my sig but woefully underpowered at aboyt 200bhp

Alps Pacino

ye i knew the e30 was the PROPER shape m3 lol. I'd love 1 but know i would be bored within a day with it only having a pony power engine.

Just to throw a spanner in the works didnt the stig get the focus rs round the track quicker than an e46?

edit to say the frs was 4 tenths slower than an e46 m3 lol

scotty_focus_rs

we are talking about a 310bhp not a standard 212bhp

Alps Pacino

Whats the crack with the rolly eyes? people on here are saying the m3 out handles a frs and in the bends there is no contest between the 2 but round the same track the frs is only 4 tenths slower. Dont jump on your high horse when the point i was making was that standard v standard round a track there is actually not a massive amount of difference.

pani_k

iTrader: (1)

Another interesting fact about the top gear lap time is that the BMW 535D M sport went round quicker than the FRS did. Shows how much diesel is coming on nowadays and the 5 series is a huge lardy thing and did the same lap time as an M3!

BMW M3 1.31.8
Nissan 350Z 1.31.8
Mazda RX-8 1.31.8
BMW 535d 1.31.8
BMW 130 1.31.9
Ford Focus RS 1.32.2

EIL132

A genuine 310bhp front wheel drive car is going to mince a standard M3 in a straight line, there's no shock factor in that.

bassboy

had a few races with M3's in my FRS both in standard and modified form...

when mine had de-cat, DS map (race+), BF exhaust, induction kit, ITV22's...i raced my managers M3 which managed to creep infront in 1st and 2nd, but by third we were level and there was nothing in it...

raced another last night with some more mods done to mine....he had no chance, even with the longer gearing...

FRS' shouldnt be underestimated...not saying M3's are slow...FAR FAR from it! for a standard car im AMAZED with the acceleration!!

bassboy

Steven_RW

I read most of this so far:

The m3 is "reasonable" up to 100 mph. |I am sure that a lighter weight 310 bhp and 300 ish lbft frs is atleast as fast if not faster. When you engage 4th in the M3 and hold it to *k u are at 140 mph and it really gets its legs then. Most cars struggle to beat that (normal is motors of course), whereas beating one up to 100 is not a bad effort, beating one once it gets its legs is a bit trickier.

Handling on mine is quite good.

I had a run with a big kawa bike the other day, started at 90 mph, I got a wee jump on him and he pulled away strong but the fact I was doing 160 and still accel after him means that for him to get proper away, he would have had to be willing to do quite a bit more than 170mph sustained round bends on the motorway etc and needless to say ( not that I blame him! ) he decided that was enough and backed off.

Get the M3 on tesco 99 ron and ask the guy for a proper run up to some reasonable speeds, would be interested to hear how u got on.

Cheers for now

RW