Can an e30 318 own a Porsche GT3

Of course it can.

I was writing this for some silly thread re. a 330i vs. a KIA, but I guess that thread got spirited away.

It's a mistake to get too wrapped up in the capabilities of one car vs. another and neglect the driver. All competition is really about people, not things. Who wants to be in a checkbook competition? Not me, with 3 kids, 5 cars and a mortgage I wouldn't have a chance.

A difference in driver skill can make up for a lot. In driver ed events an e30 in competant hands passes high end cars all the time. No big deal.

An e30 318 has some charms but torque isn't one of them. And here is one in competant hands fencing successfully with Porsche GT3's. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...&highlight=318

In a race you are only in competition with cars that are in your class. But in the same race are lots of classes so there's lots of cars on the track that have very different characteristics than yours. With only 150 or so hp, SpecE30 is a low powered class. But not having much power is the best teaching platform because every mph you lose in a turn you can't get back for money or love. Cars with some ponies can get the mph back easily. Good lap times are all about good turn exit speeds because you carry that speed all the way down the next straight. Folks in high hp cars learning to drive on the track often end up using that power as a crutch and never gain good skills in optimizing turn exit speed.

The result of the above is that when racing in mixed classes it is entirely common for some high hp car to roar by you on the straight only to over-slow setting up for the next turn and put you right on his rear bumper. It's aggravating as heck because your turn becomes hosed up because he's in your way. But he won't let you by because he has 3x as much hp as you so he "knows" he's faster. Except he's not faster. He's so miserable in the turns that you'd pull away from him if he'd just get out of your way.

The e30 driver in the link above is Scott Barton, who races out of NJ in NASA and BMWCCA events. The car is a Lemons car. Speaking of which, if you guys haven't tried Lemons racing you're missing a helova lot of fun. http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

There's another outfit called ChumpCar that puts on similar events but they are oriented at folks with a bit more experience.

Sure they can. Last track day I was at I was keeping pace with GT3's and passing a couple WRX Sti's with my 328i. All of the above were poorly driven, but it certainly makes you feel good when you know your pushing your car to the max and the guy in the faster car is in-capable of going any faster than your slower car.

Driver will always be the best mod you can do to your car.