Welcome to my car page!
Inspired by my good friend Mackan's Porsche page, I've put together some info and pictures on my past and current cars. Let's begin with a list of the cars and their performance:
ModelPowerTorqueAccelerationTop speed
1985 Honda CRX 1.5i100 hp130 Nm 195? km/h
1988 Honda CRX 1.6i107 hp135 Nm0-100 km/h in 9.0 s203 km/h
1991 Honda CRX VTEC 1.6i150 hp144 Nm0-100 km/h in 7.5 s
(slightly downhill)		217 km/h
(slightly uphill)
1997 BMW 328i-4193 hp280 Nm0-100 km/h in 7.1 s247 km/h
(in reality around 240)
2004 BMW M3 Coupé343 hp365 Nm0-100 km/h in 5.2? s
(not tested yet)		260 km/h on the GPS
(then the limiter cut in)

Note: The speeds are speedometer readings and the accelerations were clocked by myself.


Some specs ...
 Honda CRX VTEC 1.6iBMW 328i E36BMW M3 E46
Engine Straight four
4 valves per cylinder,
variable valve timing
and lift (VTEC)		 Straight six
4 valves per cylinder
variable valve timing
(single VANOS)		 Straight six
4 valves per cylinder
variable valve timing
(double VANOS)
LocationFront, transversalFront, longitudinalFront, longitudinal
Displacement1595 cm³2793 cm³3246 cm³
Max power 150 hp @ 7600 rpm (138 Nm) 193 hp @ 5300 rpm (256 Nm) 343 hp @ 7900 rpm (305 Nm)
Max torque 144 Nm @ 7100 rpm
>120 Nm @ 2500 - 8000 rpm		 280 Nm @ 3950 rpm 365 Nm @ 4900 rpm
>300 Nm @ 2000 - 8000 rpm
Transmission 5-speed manual,
front wheel drive		 5-speed manual,
rear wheel drive		 6-speed manual,
rear wheel drive
Front suspension McPherson struts, double
wishbones, anti-roll bar		 McPherson struts,
lower wishbones,
anti-roll bar (AC Schnitzer)		 McPherson struts,
lower wishbones,
anti-roll bar (AC Schnitzer)
Rear suspension McPherson struts, double
wishbones, anti-roll bar		 Multi-link, coil springs,
anti-roll bar (AC Schnitzer)		 Multi-link, coil springs,
anti-roll bar (AC Schnitzer)
Brakes Ventilated discs front, discs rear Ventilated discs front
and rear, anti-lock		 Ventilated, cross-drilled
discs front and rear,
anti-lock
Tyres 195/60-15
Pirelli P4000		 225/45-17
Pirelli P7000		 225/40-19 (front)
255/35-19 (rear)
Bridgestone
Potenza RE050A
Weight1090 kg1395 kg1600 kg


Honda CRX VTEC
Honda CRX VTEC Honda CRX VTEC

This was my third and best CRX.



BMW 328i
BMW 328i E36 BMW 328i E36

In -99 I traded the CRX for a BMW 328 Sports Edition. This is how it looked before and after the "face-lift" (new wheels and a lower, stiffer suspension).

The "Sports Edition" had the nice M3 look and the so called "M sports suspension". That suspension was completely useless, as it combined the disadvantages of comfortable and sporty suspensions - a bumpy ride on poor roads and a lot of roll in corners. And on straights, for that matter, if it was a bit windy!

Instead, I got the AC Schnitzer sports suspension which really deserved the name. It's about 2 cm lower than the E36 M3 and it makes even the E46 M3 seem soft =)

BMW 328i E36

My uncle used to have a Ford Mondeo ST200. The ST200 has 20 more horsepower than the 328i but it had noticeably lower accerelation. The reason is torque: the Ford's max. torque is 240 Nm compared to the BMW's 280 Nm.



M3
BMW M3 E46 BMW M3 E46

In December 2004 I upgraded to my dream car, an M3! (Well, it's one of my dream cars...) The car is pictured above with winter tyres and as yet completely unmodified.

BMW M3 E46

Update (summer 2005): It turned out (once again) that BMW's so called "sports suspension" isn't actually sporty, it just seems sporty. The dampers are hard so that the car is uncomfortable on bumpy roads, but the springs are too soft when you really push the car. Because of the firm ride at low speeds, it's easy to believe that the suspension is sporty, but it is nothing but firm at high speed (200 km/h or more).

So I had the Schnitzer sports suspension installed, with anti-roll bars and all. This also lowered the car by about 20 mm. Not that much perhaps, but I'm not really a fan of "low riders". The Schnitzer suspension actually made the car more comfortable at low speeds. Now I've got a suspension that is a) more comfortable at low speed, b) more stable at high speed and c) 20 mm lower. Bloody good deal actually, but it makes me wonder what the suspension guys at BMW were thinking...

BMW M3 E46 BMW M3 E46

Update (summer 2008): I finally decided on a set of wheels: CSL replicas in "hyper black". I also installed dark front and side indicators to replace those ugly milky white ones:

BMW M3 E46



Future plans
  • The limiter has to go - I want to see the real top speed!
  • Black kidneys and "gills"
  • CSL-style boot lid


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