e36 m3 top speed?

[98jeep5nine]

I was told tonight its electronically limited to 140? i know i've passed that though which made me think im chipped... so is it limited at 140?

[99MPower]

electronically limited to 138 IIRC..

anything over that, and more than likely your chipped

[ptldM3]

3.0l-24v I6 155 mph / 250 km/h 137 mph / 220 km/h[7] (electronically limited)3.2l-24v I6 155 mph / 250 km/h (electronically limited) 139 mph / 225 km/h (electronically limited)

[phantom3]

Oh dear god not this again. Some jackasses are going to come on here saying they ran 170, but reality is these cars run 140ish, chipped and modded a little higher, but really parts start flying off at those speeds, and unless you are on the track no need for that kind of run (good boy disclaimer)

[99MPower]

ive done a touch over a 140 in my modded e36 m3

[Eddie916]

I've hit the limited at just a tad under 140.
I'm going to vote 137

[VNG704]

a '97, hmm maybe not chipped but sharked? The shark injector raises the from 6500 rpm to ~7200 and speedo up 5-10 mph (forgot). So there's one way to find out if you're sharked... hit the limiter lol.

[LeMansGTS]

Oh dear god not this again. Some jackasses are going to come on here saying they ran 170, but reality is these cars run 140ish, chipped and modded a little higher, but really parts start flying off at those speeds, and unless you are on the track no need for that kind of run (good boy disclaimer)

I've done 160.

[RRSperry]

The stock speed limit for USA M3's was set to 137 mph. I was a guest of Tom Milner of PTG at a 6 hour enduro race and talked with the M Brand manager about this. He said that # was picked for no specific reason, "It just sounded good to us." What your speedo reads it pretty irrelevant. The actual speed will be 137 mph. +/- 1.

Whether chipped or Sharked, the top speed will be determined by the RPM limit of the tuning. In the case of the USA M3, you will be gear limited, not aero limited.

At 7000 RPM, my car used to run 159 and change. That was with the stock 3.15:1 diff. With the 3.38 it's less. It should run to about 170 with a taller diff, (numerically lower, 2.91:1), before it is aero limited with the stock engine. With enough power and gearing you could hit 200... I wouldn't want to try it, but it is theoretically possible.

[MIMI1]

145mph before i came upon an 18 wheeler and didnt want to fly by it

no limiter so revs limit me in 5th here

[easymoney]

3.0l-24v I6 155 mph / 250 km/h 137 mph / 220 km/h[7] (electronically limited)3.2l-24v I6 155 mph / 250 km/h (electronically limited) 139 mph / 225 km/h (electronically limited)

Sounds about right cause I did 155 mph 2 weeks ago hitting almost redline when it start to like "miss". I had ECU reflash and M50 manifold though.

[MIMI1]

155mph is for the euro cars

[DrifterX27]

mine hit 143 mph, then limited

[XOC]

Yea the speedometer can be wildly inaccurate in the upper range. You can get a better approximation using a good GPS.

[98jeep5nine]

hmm thats the weird thing though, i have the stock redline rev limiter, which is like 6750.. but ive hit 150 before..

[hellrot98m3]

ive hit about 138 in my first e36 fully stock and it seemed like it took forever to get there.

[bmw3er]

The stock speed limit for USA M3's was set to 137 mph. I was a guest of Tom Milner of PTG at a 6 hour enduro race and talked with the M Brand manager about this. He said that # was picked for no specific reason, "It just sounded good to us." What your speedo reads it pretty irrelevant. The actual speed will be 137 mph. +/- 1.

Whether chipped or Sharked, the top speed will be determined by the RPM limit of the tuning. In the case of the USA M3, you will be gear limited, not aero limited.

At 7000 RPM, my car used to run 159 and change. That was with the stock 3.15:1 diff. With the 3.38 it's less. It should run to about 170 with a taller diff, (numerically lower, 2.91:1), before it is aero limited with the stock engine. With enough power and gearing you could hit 200... I wouldn't want to try it, but it is theoretically possible.

You are absolutely correct. Although Ive heard that 160 is possible with the 3.15, and 159 with the later 3.23 that most M3s have. But yeah, /thread

[Tim95M3]

Speedo showed 145 when not chipped, so I know its off. With chip and 3.15 it showed a touch over 160on the limiter, Like maybe 163 or so. And with 3.46 it hits the limiter right above 150.

[holmzy17]

Owner before me had this picture...haha not that I'm too happy about seeing it but I'm guessing it means it's limited to 140.

[TheM3nsah]

my gps said 141 before and my speedo was saying 145 because i run a 235/40/17 instead of the 245 (smaller sidewall reads as higher speed) so theoretically with proper sidewall i could do 145 im not chipped...weird...

[WytLytnyn]

I've seen my speedo sweep past 155mph. However, I know that many tuners and BMW racers have noted that the speedometers are off by almost 10% above 110mph.

[Brent 930]

Limits suck, my modified 930 turbo did 188 MPH on the dyno. I personally did 155 MPH and it was still pulling, but very smooth. Only been 120 in my M3...so far. It was smooth too.

[jiggynites]

with a 328 diff and chipped Im sure the car can do well over 160mph.
I have personally taken an almost stock chipped 1994 integra GSR to 148mph
without parts flying off so I would strongly doubt an M3 is gonna have
parts falling off pass 150 as long as you have the proper tires and excellent
brakes you should be fine.
someone should test it with a good gps and a nice lonely highway

[bennyfizzle]

Oh dear god not this again. Some jackasses are going to come on here saying they ran 170, but reality is these cars run 140ish, chipped and modded a little higher, but really parts start flying off at those speeds, and unless you are on the track no need for that kind of run (good boy disclaimer)

Jackass?

3.15 rear end 7200rpm rev limit on 235/40/17s in 5th gear=171.9mph

I've hit the rev limiter in 5th gear.

[GacAttack]

It took my a while before I found a stretch of highway that I felt comfortable running mt M to it's limit. I have an Escort 9500 with the GPS speedo in it-- that maxes out at 127 but matched my car's speedo up to that. I THINK my speedo was saying just a tick under 140mph, which is inline with the more intelligble posts above. I wasn't exactly keeping an eye on the speedo... more on the road. Road kinda disappears in a hurry at those speeds: 25 second miles are a heart throb.