E36 M3....are they still fast?

[TEKNOPUG]

NicholasLawrence said:

Personally I would choose the 3.0 M3 if you can find a decent one!


The problem with E36 is that most are old and abused, but I would definitely want the 3.0 Litre with Bosch ECU and Medium LSD over the gay Siemens (sorry if I can't say 'gay') ECU which does my thingybob in.


BMW E36 were very good cars, all 6-cylinders. Then they got cheap and fitted stupid ECUs which sometimes forget to give me the power I'm requesting. E36 323/328 very good example of this. I have no idea why, other than the ECU being stupid.


Bosch has never let me down.


3.2 is okay, but boring until 5000-5500RPM where it pulls. Other than that its no different to a 325/328 of the same era. Not impressed with the M3 EVO... gotta be the 3.0 litre



Also I'd take straight to BMW and have the valve/lifters or whatever serviced by them. They'll know what to do as soon as you get there

What on Earth are you talking about

[Origin Unknown]

VinceFox said:

Whorage warning.........



Light smoke indis and chrome grilles.

Do you still have your's Vince? I recognise it for some reason (are you Reading area?). I regret selling mine to this day.



And yes, they are still fast. The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how they put the power down, even without traction control (mine didn't).

ETA: The one thing that was hateful about it was the 1st to 2nd gear change on the 6 speed EVO box. It wasn't fast when you missed that change! I understand the non-EVO 5 speed box didn't have this problem.

Edited by Origin Unknown on Tuesday 7th January 10:52

[VinceFox]

Origin Unknown said:

VinceFox said:

Whorage warning.........



Light smoke indis and chrome grilles.

Do you still have your's Vince? I recognise it for some reason (are you Reading area?). I regret selling mine to this day.



And yes, they are still fast. The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how they put the power down, even without traction control (mine didn't).

ETA: The one thing that was hateful about it was the 1st to 2nd gear change on the 6 speed EVO box. It wasn't fast when you missed that change! I understand the non-EVO 5 speed box didn't have this problem.

Edited by Origin Unknown on Tuesday 7th January 10:52

I certainly do, just refreshed all the front end bits (discs, calipers, lines, lower arms, droplinks, p bushes, tyres, etc).

I toyed with an e46 recently but i'm getting to the stage where i think i prefer a clean e36. Theyre suddenly starting to thin out.

[Origin Unknown]

VinceFox said:

Theyre suddenly starting to thin out.

Nice.

I spend most Friday nights trawling eBay, PH Classifieds, M3 forums and AT looking for another Estoril/Silver leather e36 but coupe's seem to be non-existant. Lots of convertibles

[VinceFox]

Origin Unknown said:

VinceFox said:

Theyre suddenly starting to thin out.

Nice.

I spend most Friday nights trawling eBay, PH Classifieds, M3 forums and AT looking for another Estoril/Silver leather e36 but coupe's seem to be non-existant. Lots of convertibles

Yeah, you can find them but there's a lot of crap out there. I got lucky eventually as mine's a coupe, black leather (which i prefer with estoril) and no sunroof. I looked at some proper dogs though. In the end i bought mine in spite of the colour, i really wanted dark metallic green or arctic silver.

[e21Mark]

I quite fancy one but I couldn't live with those Vadar seats. They look bloody awful.

[SuperVM]

e21Mark said:

I quite fancy one but I couldn't live with those Vadar seats. They look bloody awful.

They crippled me too. Probably the least comfortable seats in any car I've owned, with the Recaros in my Evo IV being the best.

[Output Flange]

e21Mark said:

I quite fancy one but I couldn't live with those Vadar seats. They look bloody awful.

Four bolts.

[roboxm3]

e21Mark said:

I quite fancy one but I couldn't live with those Vadar seats. They look bloody awful.

I loved the seats when I had mine...and the mirrors! They were all part of the 90s styling that made me lust after a Dakar Yellow coupe when I was 12.

[VinceFox]

The vadars dont actually bother me. Theyre not very grippy but they suit the age of car.

I could do with having mine treated tho, theyre a little shiny.

[Output Flange]

VinceFox said:

I could do with having mine treated tho, theyre a little shiny.

John at Bespoke Leathering is your man.

[VinceFox]

Output Flange said:

John at Bespoke Leathering is your man.

Cheers, i really should have them refreshed.

Tbh if i keep it more than another year or so i should have it resprayed too. It's not tatty but the front finish is a little flat and tired. I reckon repainted it'd look a bit special.

[Output Flange]

VinceFox said:

I reckon repainted it'd look a bit special.

Yes, they do rather.

[jmflare]

I have two E36s, sadly both are 4 cylinder. Friend had a 328i with an M50 manifold and even that felt pretty quick so an M3 definitely should.



^^^^^ I would eat my own dog for one of those, M3 GT, only sold on the continent iirc.

[Output Flange]

jmflare said:

^^^^^ I would eat my own dog for one of those, M3 GT, only sold on the continent iirc.

There was a UK version too, although it wasn't quite as special as the LHD ones.

[vinnie83]

Output Flange said:

jmflare said:

^^^^^ I would eat my own dog for one of those, M3 GT, only sold on the continent iirc.

There was a UK version too, although it wasn't quite as special as the LHD ones.

Not quite the same, but I almost took an Evo GT (GT2?) - the imola red special, as part ex toward my old E55. I was quite keen on the idea as it (in the pictures) looked immaculate and was low mileage, but the owner backed out.

I still look fondly when I see the occasional real E36 M3 on the road - I think they are a bit more special than the E46 despite the fact (as I posted earlier) that it had no real body modifications.

IMO the E36 was purchased more by those with a real interest in cars whereas the E46 I have noticed that it appeared to be a more fashionable buy for execs and the like who didn't really appreciate the car itself.

Always nice to see a well looked after E36 M3 whereas I don't look twice at an E46.

[Frik]

vinnie83 said:

IMO the E36 was purchased more by those with a real interest in cars whereas the E46 I have noticed that it appeared to be a more fashionable buy for execs and the like who didn't really appreciate the car itself.

Fairly sure they used to say the same about the E30 and E36 not so long ago. Don't worry, the E46 will look a lot better when the new one arrives.

[RemyMartin]

NicholasLawrence said:

Personally I would choose the 3.0 M3 if you can find a decent one!


The problem with E36 is that most are old and abused, but I would definitely want the 3.0 Litre with Bosch ECU and Medium LSD over the gay Siemens (sorry if I can't say 'gay') ECU which does my thingybob in.


BMW E36 were very good cars, all 6-cylinders. Then they got cheap and fitted stupid ECUs which sometimes forget to give me the power I'm requesting. E36 323/328 very good example of this. I have no idea why, other than the ECU being stupid.

I think you'll find its the manifold that strangles the power on the 323/328i

[Welshbeef]

Wasn't the power to weight of the E36 M3 Evo near identical to the E46 M3 ? But a step slower to 100mph is that down to the gearbox and suspension

[vinnie83]

Frik said:

vinnie83 said:

IMO the E36 was purchased more by those with a real interest in cars whereas the E46 I have noticed that it appeared to be a more fashionable buy for execs and the like who didn't really appreciate the car itself.

Fairly sure they used to say the same about the E30 and E36 not so long ago. Don't worry, the E46 will look a lot better when the new one arrives.

Hmm maybe...

But the commercial success of the likes of BMW's M division and AMG have made people want to buy the special versions, despite not wishing to drive them any differently to a 318d.

Not to mention the fact that wealth today (or rather availability of credit) means people can buy the top model quite easily, whereas 15-20 years ago you had to really want that car to warrant spending all of that extra cash.

I remember 25 years ago when my dad got his almost new 944, people used to stop and look. Now my 911 turbo barely commands that kind of attention because so many people buy expensive cars simply as they are more easily attainable.

IMO of course.