JustinDetail
New member
simracer said:Strange. You guys are right...the 6 speed ratios are virtually the same as the 5 speed ratios for 1-5. 6th is a 0.85, so basically just an economy gear.
The strange part is that I could have sworn that US M3s had posted better 0-60mph times than the earlier euro spec model with more hp and torque. I had always chalked that up to the fact that the 6 speed might not have been geared for 60mph until 3rd, thus requiring an additional shift. But if the ratios are basically the same, that probably wouldn't be it.
So it would seem I've either remembered it incorrectly, been misinformed or there's some other culprit (500 lbs of ballast in the trunk?).
The 0-60 times are about the same between the US 3.2 240 underrated hp hehe/236 tq, and the 321hp Euro 3.2 IIRC, 5.2 to 60 for the Euro and 5.4 or so for the US. The thing is, the Euro ones, start absolutely cooking after the 2-3 shift. I mean 3rd is a decent gear in a stock US 3.2, taking the car from about 65 to 95 in short time, but 3rd with the Euro S52B32 is a whole nother world.
A good analogy is how a light bolt on E36 M3 3.2 can *slightly* keep up with a stock E46 M3 up to about 70...then it's lights out for the E36. A E46 M3 has a *much* stronger pull in 3rd-5th then a E36. No contest there. And a Euro 3.2 321hp example *should* keep up with a stock E46 M3 up top.
