Bassem

I dont necessarily believe that the average 3.2 puts out that much power. bmw is pretty good with thier published numbers, basically an average of a bunch of tested engines, so technically only a few of them put out that much. i owuld like to believe that my 3.2 puts out that much but i wont kid myself.

i own both cars and prefer to have the two rather than a new m3. the m3 is practical enough for everyday stuff and is still a good track car and other "performance driving" excursions. the s2000 is a wonderful toy that is going to make a better track car to learn with soon enough.

bassem

frayed

Another data point on this issue.

Karl and Fred at have Active Autowerke probably have more dyno time on E36 M3's than any other folks on the planet (dyno pulls). They use a true loading dyno, a Mustang dyno, rather than a dynojet which is an inertial dyno. As such, their graphs tend to show lower hp ratings than what you'll see from other tuners (as well as based on my personal experience).

They dyno'd at least one S2000, and it put down about 185. The 3.2L motors tend to put down right around 200 stock. The S2000 is rated at 240hp, as is the 3.2L.

Assuming similar/same drivetrain losses b/t the two vehicles, and assuming that the S2000 actually makes 240 hp, then one can only conclude that the 3.2L motors put out more on the order of 250 hp.

My car's dyno synchs up with this; as I said above mine put out 214 stock on a dynojet (234 now), which is ~10-15 more than the common S2000 dynos that have been posted here.

r6e36

I agree about the different output on different type of dynos. That is why it's very important to mention what type of dyno was used when posting dyno #s.

negcamber

Scroll up a few posts...back to page two even. You will see a list of 8 links to Active Autowerke e36m3 dyno charts. Six are 3.2l cars and 2 are 3.0l cars. All but one of the cars pulled in the 198-200 whp range including both the 3.0l cars. So I guess that means that we can conclude that the 3.0l cars must put out 250hp also...

r6e36

negcamber, you can compare all the charts you want. But if these dyno pulls were not done in the same day and same dyno they cannot be compared. Also have in mind that aftermarket vendor will always use the lowest HP chart they find so that they can show a bigger HP gain with their mods.

negcamber

Thanks r6e36...go read Frayed's post again...he specifically mentioned Active Autowerke's dyno charts as proof that the 3.2l produces 250hp. I simply point out that Active Autowerke using the same Mustang dyno machine tested two 3.0l cars and the results were pretty much in line with five of the six 3.2l cars tested (198-200whp). So by Frayed's logic, then the 3.0l cars must also put out 250hp.

frayed

Not my logic, data from one of the premier bimmer tuners. When I considered buying an M3, I contacted Active. When I told them what I drove, they said 'you want to know what the S2000s we've had in here dyno'd?'

It's pretty common knowledge that the difference b/t the 3.2 and the 3.0 is not peak hp, but mid range tq. Typically 10-15 ft lbs difference.

Anyway, bimmers are not the only car to hit the street with conservative hp numbers, nor are S2ks the only to have optimistic (or perhaps just accurate) hp numbers.