Ok
I currently have a '95 BMW m3 and am considering selling it and getting a Ford Lightning. What I dislike about the M# is how limited I am in where I can go because it sits so low to the ground. Now I am not looking to sacrafice much performance but wan to be a little higher up and not have so many worries. Now the questions I have are how reliable are the Lightnings? And any other comments from others who may have switched from a sports car like the M3 to a high performance truck such as the Lightning and there experiance.

Thanks
CC

 

Well you won't be sacrificing speed or power much going up to an L. Unless your M3 was heavily modded, you'll find that the L can hold its own with many sports cars including your M3.

As far as reliability, you'd have to ask those with a lot more miles than me....

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

From what I have read I see that performance should be no problem for the L but i have heard of some reliability issues and want to here what others have to say so I do not end up buying a money eating pit. I know my M3 has been great with very few problems even for its age so hoping to get a car almost as reliable.

 

The reliability of the trucks is fine, unless you get greedy with power gains, or just get a bad one... Even the stockers who beat the pi$$ out of the trucks tend to do pretty well.

From what I can imagine, the major area you'll notice a difference, other than how it handles at high speeds, is gas mileage.

 

In my opinion, stock trucks are pretty reliable and you should have nothing to worry about. With modded trucks, just be sure you are careful and level-headed with your mods. Check your plugs and make sure they are torqued correctly, make sure your AFs are safe, not *too* much timing, and I wouldn't recommend anything above a 6# pulley.

I have most of the bolt-ons and have not had any reliability issues at all (knock on wood).

 

47,300 miles no problems --except a cracked fog light lens(light still works), and some oil in the intake(common problem but fixed now by me).

It's driven to and from work, 1/4 miled, and dynoed 6 times. It's fairly modded(see sig.) but still dead-on reliable. Replaced original tires and pads at 42,200 miles.

I had a 1991 Camaro Z281LE(6-point rollcage, Corvette brakes, aluminum driveshaft, 305 ci modded motor, etc.) daily driven driver's school car. It would outhandle many a BMW, Porshce, Corvette at the schools(Road Atlanta & Roebling Road courses) I ran it in. So, yes, I've had a 'sports car' and it was reliable and fun to road course too but it had no A/C(factory delete for 1LEs) and was a 5 speed.

My Lightning, on the other hand, has A/C, auto trans., and is a truck but it's so much faster and handles/stops almost as good as the 1LE. My L has been the most reliable and satisfying vehicle I've owned in my 63 years of buying cars.

Dan

 

I wouldn't consider a '95 M3 a sports car- grand tourer perhaps. If memory serves me the M3 is 240 hp (unless it's a Euro spec model). Even with the weight penalty of the heavier L, the extra 140 hp and mountains more torque will more than make up for it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Good luck.

 

you guys forgot to mention a Lightning will get 3-4x the looks by pedestrians? "

 

A well-tuned suspension on an M3 will run circles around an L though.

 

And a GR-40 Griggs outfitted mustang with a measily 200 hp engine will run circles and spit a M3 out.

Ive seen the Lightnings hold their own on the open track. Just watch some of those speeding bob in truck videos!

I sure hope a m3 out handles a L... its a truck for christ sake. However, the Lightning will gobble the M3 up and spit it out stop ligjt to stoplight.

The L feels like a real sports car inho. The torque factor is insane.

 

73,000 miles on mines and still pulling..

 

We don't need to get into a L vs. M3 debate...

The man has made his decision, fatboy!

 

As you can see in my Sig I had a 95M3 among many other nice pieces, The Lightning is my favorite. I know it sounds strange, The M3 was the best handling, and mnay of them were fast, but the L is a blast and responds to mods better than any of them.

 

get both

 

And a well-tuned suspension on a Lightning will run circles around an bimmer.
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