BMW M3 (e92), MB C63 AMG or Lexus ISF?

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Wider

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dana_brown
I've been testing those car recently on Ascari racetrack (TC off). Fastest was the ISF, 2nd M3 and the last one was the AMG. I was really surprised by the Lexus, which was accurate, powerful and didn't want to kill me everytime I pulled the throtle like the merc. I would say the M3 is drivers car and was really pleased by it. In the end my verdict was: BMW is for people who enjoy driving and being conected to the car, Lexus is more for everyday drive and long distances and Merc for suicides :D Give me know what are your thoughts, which car was the fastest, your lap times (I'll post the later), etc. Whould be glad to have comparisons like that more often so write your next 2 or 3 cars to be compared.
PS: The merc was really scary ;) so be carefull or it will eat your brain! :D
PPS: You can also check the first 2 cars reviewed by TopGear: ;)
 
I personally love the AMG. That big 6.2 litre AMG NA V8 engine just delivers so much torque. It drives like a AMG. Stock the AMG is really controllable with a hint of oversteer. You can turbocharge the hell out of it. In-game it produces around 1060 hp fully tuned. With some suspension-tuning it also corners really well but you certainly have to be awake when it's tuned.
 
I'll be sure to post some times soon! I think the C63 will be slowest but not by too much but I'll see how it goes. I'll edit this post incase nobody else has said anything
 
I've done my lap times, all were done on SH with no aids but ABS 1 and each car gets 10 mins
1. 2:21.485 - Lexus ISF
2. 2:21.525 - BMW M3
3. 2:23.918 - Mercades C63

The M3 felt very fast and easy to drive, the ISF was fast but not all exciting while the C63 was a handful just to keep it smooth in the corners but still a lot of fun!
 
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Thomas2012
I've done my lap times, all were done on SH with no aids but ABS 1 and each car gets 10 mins
1. 2:21.525 - BMW M3
2. 2:22.099 - Lexus ISF
3. 2:23.918 - Mercades C63

The M3 felt very fast and easy to drive, the ISF was fast but not all exciting while the C63 was a handful just to keep it smooth in the corners but still a lot of fun!
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I never knew that Top Gear Car review is true.
 
SuzukaStar
Thomas, what track did you test at? Ascari? I bet you could push that IS F into the 2:21

I'll do my Laguna Seca test today.
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Yeah it was Ascari, I'll give it a crack tomorrow 👍 I'll be interested to see how the 3 go at Laguna Seca!
 
Haven't tried the IS-F, but I was 2 seconds faster in the M3 than the C63, and that included about 2 seconds lost to going off track. For me it's not so much of a traction issue, more that the M3 inspires more confidence on entry.
 
Thomas2012
I've done my lap times, all were done on SH with no aids but ABS 1 and each car gets 10 mins
1. 2:21.525 - BMW M3
2. 2:22.099 - Lexus ISF
3. 2:23.918 - Mercades C63

The M3 felt very fast and easy to drive, the ISF was fast but not all exciting while the C63 was a handful just to keep it smooth in the corners but still a lot of fun!
Click to expand...
You were so much faster than The Stig! Unbelivable how terrible driver he is :DD If you don't mind, you'll be our The Stig so we can compare your times on our virtual Lap Board ;) Will try the Laguna Seca. :)
 
NixxxoN
M3 E46... more specifically the M3 CSL or the M3 GTR. The M3 E92 is a bit too heavy.
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Yeah, the only minus, tho it's due to that V8. If you look at wheight balance it's I think 56:46 in favour of the front ... I whould rather see N/A R6 ;) But nothing against V8.
 
The "car info" screen for the IS F says it should have 416 hp, and the dealership screen says 417 hp, but when you purchase the car and then check the specs, it shows 445 hp! That's 30 hp more than it should have!
 
Laguna Seca. Comfort Hard tires. ABS-1, all other aids OFF.

1:46.513 - 509 - Lexus IS F '07
1:46.951 - 488 - BMW M3 Coupe '07
1:48.209 - 499 - Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG '08

I think a wheel user could get these times:

1:45 - Lexus
1:46 - BMW
1:47 - Mercedes

The C63 is very annoying to drive. I hate to say it but the Lexus is the best car of this trio. I like the handling and tall gearing of the M3 but it feels heavier than the Lexus.

Also if the Lexus had the correct power (416 hp) then the M3 would probably be faster.
 
SuzukaStar
Thomas, what track did you test at? Ascari? I bet you could push that IS F into the 2:21

I'll do my Laguna Seca test today.
Click to expand...

I tried just then with the ISF and got a 2:21.485

Wider
You were so much faster than The Stig! Unbelivable how terrible driver he is :DD If you don't mind, you'll be our The Stig so we can compare your times on our virtual Lap Board ;) Will try the Laguna Seca. :)
Click to expand...

Aha if only I were actually more skilled than he is, updated the ISF time.
 
I'll give it a go on Trial Mountain this week as well - probably tomorrow.

The Mercedes is already tested, and it slides quite a bit. At least, it doesn't understeers like an iceberg as others Mercedes like to.
 
I will give these cars a go on some of the tracks, However when i going to do this, you might find that i'm slow and the reason is because i don't really push myself so hard unless it was a very hard Time trial event.

Also which Tires should i use? Comfort hard, medium, soft? or Sports hard?
 
So, I tested today the Lexus and the BMW (and added also the Chrome Line version for fun, as it seems quite close to the M3 GTS), of course following the procedure of my Trial Mountain tests (I'll update the topic later tonight). Here are the results :

M3 C.L. -- 01:38,461
IS F ------ 01:39,046
M3 E92 -- 01:39,179
C63 AMG - 01:40,474

So no surprise here. But I feel the regular M3 will outperform the Lexus on long runs, just based on regularity (and I also think it will eat less front tires, so it might be faster on worn tires).

They would definitely make for a nice versus event (tip : replace the Mercedes with the Mustang Boss 302, much closer to those two and it would make for a US vs EU vs JP match, just as in Gran Turismo 1).
 
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M4, I mean the C63 AMG is pushing close to 500hp, M3 has 420, go for the M4. It has 425hp , but even more attractive is the lb-ft which is 405 I think. answering your question.. BMW M3 CSL
 
ISF is great, but I'd still go for the M3. I love Bimmers. Just look at my avatar! :D
 
Been following this thread.... now I'm hooked :D

I take it all the car's are stock (right out of the box)... Running SH tyers..standerd breaks ect..ect. For me the list would be...

1, M3
2, ISF
3, C63

Nice choice of track BTW, as well as the choice of car's... not to slow n not to fast. Gives one time to enjoy the handling more then just how fast one can go. Keep up the good work guy's, I've been enjoying keeping up with this thread. (",)

As a PS, When you say M3... is that the 04 or the 07?
 
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