Selling the 911SC - What next??

In all seriousness the STR is a great car. Somewhere between a BMW and a Merc. I really like them. Not a vet by any means but there is just somthing about them. It is going to be my next car. It ticks all the box's for me. Has class is a bit unusual. Tons of performance that is easily upgradeable. And surprisingly it handles very well. You will not mistake it for M handling but as I get older I have come to realize that I don't want to feel every control joint in the road and yet it is plenty capable in the corners and off ramps. It inspires confidence.

I know I have been a bit tongue and cheek with my suggesting this but try one you will be pleasantly surprised. They are half the price of a merc or BMW with similar performance, millage and condition.

I also really like the subtle styling upgrades the STR has versus the regular S Type. Style wise it it is more than the sum of its parts.

Lastly I like it that it does not screen attention. Those that know what it is will be impressed those that don't it is probibly just as well.

Opti wrote:

Harvey wrote: The C5 Vette interior is not good. Lots of black plastic and GM parts bin pieces. The C6 is a considerable step up, though still a little downmarket compared to competitors in the price range. The C7 does it right overall. The E36 M3 interior is way better than the C5 Vette. The difference usually is that most E36 M3s have been beat to hell and back by now whereas many Vettes just don't have a lot of mileage put on them.

I always enjoy this conversation, its the same thing with the Fbodies. Alrighty, here is a C5 Interior

Ignoring the fact that the red there is godawful it's mostly the fact that the C5 interior started in the late 90s and then remained the same into 2004 that tends to make it seem worse than it really is to me, because there was a pretty big shift overall in terms of interior quality across the board when the 2000s hit and the Corvette didn't really follow until the C6 came out and then it still lagged behind most comparably priced cars of the time.

markwemple wrote:

docwyte wrote: They have rod bearing issues. I'd choose an E46 M3 or an E36 M3 first...

I haven't heard anything good about them once they get miles. BMW and turbo don't work well together.

No M3 has a turbo until you get to the latest one, E92 is a V8.

mazdeuce wrote:

Petrolburner wrote: In reply to jsquared: My only point was that if you can't imagine a worse interior than a Corvette, you have no imagination.

Or you don't have very good perspective? Pick any Pontiac from 1988 and tell me it's better than a C5. For that matter, go sit in any C4 and you'll beg for the quality of a C5.

This is true. Like I said, the reason I tend to lack perspective on the C5 is that it started in the late 90s and then continued into the mid-2000s with what one would term a mid-range interior in an expensive car.

The V8 M3's have far more bearing issues than the E46's. The E46's have all been fixed by now, under recall/warranty. BMW is hanging the V8 guys out to dry, that service is on your dime.

Never heard of an oiling issues on the E36 and I've never experienced it in either of my two heavily tracked E36's. Nor have my track friends with a pleathora of heavily tracked E36's.

In reply to docwyte:

As long as the oil pan is baffled properly you won't get oiling issues even with full slicks. Without it - the lifters will sing like a sewing machine after sustained cornering in longer sweepers and you can see drops in pressure coinciding if you log that data. If you are only running street or "mild" DOT tires you can somewhat alleviate this by overfilling with half a quart without bathing the crank and causing froth.

The only other issue with the E36 and oil is the nut holding the pump gear on. There were many incidents of it falling off and yielding instant death. It needs to be welded or otherwise permanently affixed while you have the pan down for baffling. In 5 E36 M3s that I've heavily tracked or raced I've never found one loose but I have helped push a few onto trailers because of this so it's a real thing.

Oil pump nut = yes. Gotta tack weld that sucker.

Lifter tick I've experienced and never had it cause any issues.

My current E36 has all the baffles tho, no reason not to do them when the pan is off to tack the oil pump nut

docwyte wrote: The V8 M3's have far more bearing issues than the E46's. The E46's have all been fixed by now, under recall/warranty. BMW is hanging the V8 guys out to dry, that service is on your dime. Never heard of an oiling issues on the E36 and I've never experienced it in either of my two heavily tracked E36's. Nor have my track friends with a pleathora of heavily tracked E36's.

The 95s have the oiling issue worse than others IIRC, but most people put a baffled pan on to avoid the issue. There are a ton of solutions now, but people blew up the cars initially.

And given that you're changing out the pan for a baffled pan, it seems as if you already knew that.

I had a 95. No oiling issue. Lots of friends have '95's, no oiling issues.

docwyte wrote: I had a 95. No oiling issue. Lots of friends have '95's, no oiling issues.

And yet, you have already stated that you changed to a baffled pan.

That's on my current '98. My '95 didn't have any baffling, didn't have the oil pump nut tacked, none of that. Plus that car was supercharged, yet didn't have any issues.

My friends cars didn't have the baffling either...

docwyte wrote: That's on my current '98. My '95 didn't have any baffling, didn't have the oil pump nut tacked, none of that. Plus that car was supercharged, yet didn't have any issues. My friends cars didn't have the baffling either...

Basically what I was referring to is what Huckleberry said.

As long as the oil pan is baffled properly you won't get oiling issues even with full slicks. Without it - the lifters will sing like a sewing machine after sustained cornering in longer sweepers and you can see drops in pressure coinciding if you log that data. If you are only running street or "mild" DOT tires you can somewhat alleviate this by overfilling with half a quart without bathing the crank and causing froth.

Glad you didn't have issues. There are probably plenty of people that can say the same thing about the rod bearings on the E92 M3.

dean1484 wrote: You know you need one 400 hp out of the box. Suppercharged V8 goodness.

Love the STR!...but those wheels....

I actually like C5s even after doing some fairly involved work to them (rear main, oil pan, oil pressure sender, etc) and this is how i feel about the interior: C5 is more like a Pontiac Bonneville interior and C6 is more like a Chevy Impala interior. Neither one is good but i'll take the Pontiac!

I actually dislike the C6 interior more than the C5 because even though it seems better put together, it's even LESS differentiated from their cheaper models.

Harvey wrote:

Opti wrote:

Harvey wrote: The C5 Vette interior is not good. Lots of black plastic and GM parts bin pieces. The C6 is a considerable step up, though still a little downmarket compared to competitors in the price range. The C7 does it right overall. The E36 M3 interior is way better than the C5 Vette. The difference usually is that most E36 M3s have been beat to hell and back by now whereas many Vettes just don't have a lot of mileage put on them.

I always enjoy this conversation, its the same thing with the Fbodies. Alrighty, here is a C5 Interior

Ignoring the fact that the red there is godawful it's mostly the fact that the C5 interior started in the late 90s and then remained the same into 2004 that tends to make it seem worse than it really is to me, because there was a pretty big shift overall in terms of interior quality across the board when the 2000s hit and the Corvette didn't really follow until the C6 came out and then it still lagged behind most comparably priced cars of the time.

Id disagree, show me a similarly priced car with similar performance that had a notable better interior than the C6. You cant because there wasnt anything with similar performance for the same price. You could show me something that got better gas mileage for the same price because that was what it was built for, or something that had a nicer interior for the same price because it was probably a luxury car and thats what it was built for, but something that did what the vette did for the same price would probable have a similar interior because you cant have everything at that price point.

I have no idea what it's like living with a C5. But I will say this, they are fast on the track relative to the BMWs. Faster than an E36, E46, or E92 M3; I have seen one in the hands of a competent driver pass the lot of them at HPDEs with equally-talented drivers behind the wheel of all the BMWs. Passed a ton of P-cars too, but I don't know the drivers well enough to judge their talent.

Bearing issues on the V8 E92s? I've seen the pictures so some folks have them (but it's crank not rod, the rods were the E46 scene). Does not scare me one bit. I have friends who track the snot out of theirs, and have been doing it for years. They test their oil every change and the metal content is nice and normal. The S65 motor is not very grassroots, though. There are much cheaper ways to get 414 horsepower. But god, the power under the curve is amazing, as is the redline.

Devilsolsi wrote:

dean1484 wrote: You know you need one 400 hp out of the box. Suppercharged V8 goodness.

Love the STR!...but those wheels....

With the $$$$ you save getting one of these versus a comparable M BMW or Merc you can get a couple sets of wheels.

Update!

I made a descision!

I'll post more later. My wife and I are a bit tired. We put on 900 miles today to get this beautiful thing.

Here is the for sale link for more info. BMW M3

Congrats! I just took mine to the track yesterday, had a great time

Good times, I stand corrected on the M3 pricing.

Looks steep for a e36m3 but a nice example. Enjoy!

Last post in sellers "for sale" thread indicates you bought it out from under another buyer who thought s/he had a deal.

Poor form on the sellers part, but looks like a great buy. Congrats on the 911 sale and the purchase.

ptmeyer84 wrote: Update! I made a descision! I'll post more later. My wife and I are a bit tired. We put on 900 miles today to get this beautiful thing. Here is the for sale link for more info. BMW M3

Looks like a great ride! Hope you enjoy the E36 M3 out of it...

Congratulations. Looks really shiny in the for sale ad

OHSCrifle wrote: Last post in sellers "for sale" thread indicates you bought it out from under another buyer who thought s/he had a deal. Poor form on the sellers part, but looks like a great buy. Congrats on the 911 sale and the purchase.

$ talks, BS walks...first to show up with cash gets the prize. Been on both sides of this one and don't blame a seller for taking money...