E36 M3....are they still fast?
Discussion
Only skimmed the first two pages but here's my 2p worth after a couple or three years of e36 evo coupe ownership...
It feels very special when you get in it and even more so when it's warmed up. Cold, it feels a little rough.
It doesnt look as fast or special as it actually is from outside. If you want people to pay you attention, dont buy one.
Theyre old enough now that the only way to own one is standard and deliberatley so. No exterior mods, they just look like you cant afford the newer ones.
With regards to performance, apologies if this sounds a little big headed but i could very comfortably afford to have the e46 m3 instead. As soon as one passes me, i'll consider it. The e36 evo is every bit as fast point to point for quite a lot less money, it just doesnt look as flashy doing it. As for the 330ci, lovely cars but in real world performance they arent comparable and it's unfair on the car to try and do so. Theyre very good, but the M3, specifically the e36 evo, is a significantly faster car.
It's also worth pointing out that the e36 m3 isn an easy car to drive as a crowd pleaser or performance shocker, like a lancer evo, impreza, etc. The power delivery although torquey at all points is very smooth and linear and if you dont learn the engine they can almost feel sluggish. The best way to drive one is as though it has a large turbo that lags until roughly 3-3 1/2, boosts just above 4 and holds until a good 7k. Just dont do it until you have a good 70-80 degrees OIL temp if you want it to last.
Ive owned mine a while now and unless god forbid something happens to it i cant see me parting with it. It,s fast, inconspicuous and paid for.
It feels very special when you get in it and even more so when it's warmed up. Cold, it feels a little rough.
It doesnt look as fast or special as it actually is from outside. If you want people to pay you attention, dont buy one.
Theyre old enough now that the only way to own one is standard and deliberatley so. No exterior mods, they just look like you cant afford the newer ones.
With regards to performance, apologies if this sounds a little big headed but i could very comfortably afford to have the e46 m3 instead. As soon as one passes me, i'll consider it. The e36 evo is every bit as fast point to point for quite a lot less money, it just doesnt look as flashy doing it. As for the 330ci, lovely cars but in real world performance they arent comparable and it's unfair on the car to try and do so. Theyre very good, but the M3, specifically the e36 evo, is a significantly faster car.
It's also worth pointing out that the e36 m3 isn an easy car to drive as a crowd pleaser or performance shocker, like a lancer evo, impreza, etc. The power delivery although torquey at all points is very smooth and linear and if you dont learn the engine they can almost feel sluggish. The best way to drive one is as though it has a large turbo that lags until roughly 3-3 1/2, boosts just above 4 and holds until a good 7k. Just dont do it until you have a good 70-80 degrees OIL temp if you want it to last.
Ive owned mine a while now and unless god forbid something happens to it i cant see me parting with it. It,s fast, inconspicuous and paid for.
Welshbeef said:
Like the last bit "and paid for" this is all about living within ones means.
No doubt you could have leveraged up and get one of those E92's v8 m3 but this way it's all yours paid for and your now saving up for the next car best way to do it in these times.
As a perspective and apologies if this sound like boasting, ive got over 25k in savings and i still bought an e36 evo.No doubt you could have leveraged up and get one of those E92's v8 m3 but this way it's all yours paid for and your now saving up for the next car best way to do it in these times.
Yes, i'm that tight, but consider the different cars i thought of and tested before buying the evo. As a rwd, 2 door, manual, reliable performance coupe it has no rival in its price range.
stropley said:
Not strictly on topic but saw this & just had to throw it in front of this M3 fancier audience for discussion - a '46 for under 5K :
http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Ontop of the shocking bodywork, I'd be mostly worried about the horrendous geometry that seems to be going on there....and the incorrect front tyre size. It looks like an accident damaged car thats ultra low budget repair hasn't been quite finished.http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
stropley said:
Not strictly on topic but saw this & just had to throw it in front of this M3 fancier audience for discussion - a '46 for under 5K :
http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
It's so broken it's even mentioned in the advert. Plus where is the drivers wing mirror? Is that rear wing dented too?http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Anyone who buys that is bonkers. Looks like its been treated like crap.
Fox- said:
It's so broken it's even mentioned in the advert. Plus where is the drivers wing mirror? Is that rear wing dented too?
Anyone who buys that is bonkers. Looks like its been treated like crap.
And the missing towing eye cover, and notice the paint missmatch on the headlight washer cover? Anyone who buys that is bonkers. Looks like its been treated like crap.
PAS pump is probably dead because someone drove it post accident with the power steering system leaking, and ran the system dry.
Maybe i'm a cynic. Sorry
stropley said:
Not strictly on topic but saw this & just had to throw it in front of this M3 fancier audience for discussion - a '46 for under 5K :
http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
This is a car wheeler dealers should take on to get it back to its former glory. Oh wait you can buy a good one with an asking price of £6k ... Hmm can of worms vs clean example plus of course you can negotiate on that price. Mike Brewer though would go for it as he could make a few pennies out of ithttp://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
nonuts said:
335d is very rapid, however for *fun* I would expect the M3 to be in a different league.
Quite, if anything is going to take the 'fun' out of 'fast' it's a diesel! As impressive as a super-repmobile like a mapped 335d might be, it's never going to be talked of with the reverence reserved for a proper 'fun' car like an M3. 
paulmon said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Buy an old M3 for £5,000 and the first service could easily cost you more than the car...
On what planet does a service for a 15 year old m3 cost £5k. http://www.munichlegends.co.uk/component/option,co...
Are there any factory options to those bloody awful Vadar seats though? They look ghastly imo.
redgriff500 said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Why not buy a newer and less exotic 2-door BMW which will have at least as much performance and almost certainly lower running costs?
Like what exactly ?What newer BMW Coupe costs £5000 and has over 300bhp other than an M3 ?
Ozzie Osmond said:
Buy an old M3 for £5,000 and the first service could easily cost you more than the car...
You really are utterly clueless aren't you.
Think really that there is a lot to said for buying one and not spending your entire budget, probably best to see a five grand car as a seven grand one, two grand tucked away just in case, even doing stuff yourself you can need some pricey bits, I have two grand stuck away for my 944 cab, hope I don't need it but running an older car can get fraught.
Sick of hearing about the diesel variants, great cars but I personally don't give a toss if it is as fast, or faster, it costs a lot more for a start and though interesting in a way it is just another three series.
Might go for an e36 next, I think stuff like this and the front engined Porsches are not going to get any cheaper, seems to be a lot of interest at the moment as people wake up to the fact they are currently cheap, fun, rewarding, cheaper tax,classic insurance, distinctive and probably won't depreciate much, or you could go for that diesel Astra....
Sick of hearing about the diesel variants, great cars but I personally don't give a toss if it is as fast, or faster, it costs a lot more for a start and though interesting in a way it is just another three series.
Might go for an e36 next, I think stuff like this and the front engined Porsches are not going to get any cheaper, seems to be a lot of interest at the moment as people wake up to the fact they are currently cheap, fun, rewarding, cheaper tax,classic insurance, distinctive and probably won't depreciate much, or you could go for that diesel Astra....
aka_kerrly said:
I often wonder if most people actually have any idea what a 14second 1/4 of a mile actually means and how 0-60 is largely irrelevant.
In the REAL WORLD where 95% of drivers only wish to get from A-B an E36 M3 of any variety is still going to be in the top 10% of the fastest cars you will see on a daily basis.
Anyone who thinks they are slow must have to have driven some pretty special machinery which would need literally hundred or more hp to make such a significant difference.
I often wonder the same kerrly. I bet even on here the percentage of people that have a car that can get to 100 signicantly faster than 12 seconds is fairly low. On my journeys it's probably about 1 car per dayIn the REAL WORLD where 95% of drivers only wish to get from A-B an E36 M3 of any variety is still going to be in the top 10% of the fastest cars you will see on a daily basis.
Anyone who thinks they are slow must have to have driven some pretty special machinery which would need literally hundred or more hp to make such a significant difference.
2thumbs said:
flatline84 said:
Have people owned both the e36 and the E30? How do they compare
Now this I would be very interested in. All the talk about the E36 'not being a real M' & 'not a patch on the E30'. It would be nice to have some actual comparison.Any takers?
). E46 CSLs usually get a good review though.EVO mag and Top Gear mag ( not to mention the dedicated Marque mags ) seem to run a comparison like this every couple of years
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