How do you M owners show restraint?

[dekaliber]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

This raises an interesting question.

Around town - which car is more fun - the M or the 3.0si?

My 3.0si literally has GOBS of torque right off idle and pulls like an absolute sonofabitch as long as my foot is on the gas. In Sport mode, the car is a complete demon. And it pulls smartly right up to 105 mph, which is as fast as I've dared to go in view of the potential of meeting the local law enforcement.

But I have heard that the M needs to be higher in the rpm range to hit its powerband. I think Jeremy Clarkson hinted at that when he called the car "boring" in the Top Gear review, whereupon Hammond replied that you had to "drive it on the track and its a completely different car".

So, for non-track around town driving (45 mph and below), what do you say?

I went from a 3.0si to the M so I have a direct comparison. What you say pretty much agrees with my experience. 3.0si feels zippier around town and passes with ease at interstate speeds in any gear. The M is definitely the more entertaining one when you put your foot down on an onramp. It's pretty easy to get to 100 without really realizing it.

It's really easy to get used to the power though. When I first test drove an M it felt a lot faster than after having owned one for a while. I had the same feeling when I moved from my RX-8 to the 3.0si. I've spent the last 3.5 months on a slower car so my sense of fast is probably thoroughly recalibrated. I expect the M to be especially entertaining when I take it out soon.

[STIHLBOLTS]

Believe me, once you turn to the M side you never go back young SI owner.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by STIHLBOLTS

Believe me, once you turn to the M side you never go back young SI owner.

LOL!!! You have no idea how apt that analogy is!!!

Dekaliber - thanks for the comments! I think that sums up nicely what I think to be the case. So - I guess we'll have to see whether I take the plunge!

Cheers!!

[tarheel91]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

Interesting. It doesn't quite make sense to me as I'm not a real gear head but I appreciate you trying to explain it to me. I swear I've seen a dyno for one of the tunes in the sponsors classifieds section where they were able to pretty much eliminate that dip.

This guy explains it much more succinctly than I ever could:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Oversquare...tio&id=1835181

Unrelated to performance, an oversquare engine (one with a larger bore than stroke) will typically last longer in normal driving situations thanks to lower piston speeds compared to an equal undersquare engine.

[l4zy]

Originally Posted by Jbs

RPi = no speeding with any cops within 2 square miles

haha thats probably my biggest reason too!