E36 M3....are they still fast?

[TEKNOPUG]

It's not just that they are attainable, it's that they are so accessible now. 20/30 years ago, you needed to be a powerfully built director to handle and indeed put up with the compromises of a Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini or any other "focused" performance car. Nowadays your Nan could take one to the shops.

[161BMW]

TEKNOPUG said:

It's not just that they are attainable, it's that they are so accessible now. 20/30 years ago, you needed to be a powerfully built director to handle and indeed put up with the compromises of a Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini or any other "focused" performance car. Nowadays your Nan could take one to the shops.

Hahahahahaha powerfully built Porscge GT3 driving company director lol

[161BMW]

I used to think E36 M3s look chavvy but see a nice clean original ones looks very nice as so rare these days
A lot of the chavs moved to e46 m3s etc nowadays from Evos, Imprezas, e36 m3s etc

[161BMW]

Frik said:

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.

This :-)

[E30Addict]

VinceFox said:

In the end i bought mine in spite of the colour, i really wanted dark metallic green or arctic silver.

Cheeky excuse to post some photos of my Fern Green E36 (colour only available for about two years on late model cars):





I've had it nearly a year now and love it!

[carinaman]

Very nice, love the colour and the ten spoke sunflower alloys are so much more discreet and less obvious.

[E30Addict]

Thanks for the positive comments!

As has been said before there are plenty of dogs out there, but I got lucky. Mine has full BMWSH, is still covered by BMW warranty (not cheap though...) and I plan to keep it that way.

[anonymous-user]

Welshbeef said:

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

Yep, plenty of clips on youtube. An Evo in good tune is just as quick as an E46.

[VinceFox]

carinaman said:

Very nice, love the colour and the ten spoke sunflower alloys are so much more discreet and less obvious.

Have to say the sunflowers are excellent. Pretty easy to keep clean, staggered and surprisingly deep dished at the back. I've wrestled with putting different wheels on mine but nothing else seems to suit it quite as well as the original wheels imho.

[Ferosferio]

VinceFox said:

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.

An excuse to post a picture of the car I regret selling more than any other. Please ignore the black grille (And the bags of compost in the foreground...).



I spent a fair bit in the first year of ownership on upgrading wear and tear items e.g. Suspension, brakes, air filter etc. And then my diff imploded so that was promptly rebuilt with E46 M3 diff gears (3.64 v 3.23 from the E36).

It was a hugely competent machine, so much mechanical grip even without TC. And, as far as the title of the thread is concerned, rather quick. It also looked fantastic, to my eyes anyway.

Sold it after 18 months to help fund my first step on to the property ladder. That turned out to be as stupid a decision as it was wise: I soon learned (after accepting the readies) that its fate wasn't as rosy as I'd hoped - Despite being in very good/great condition (with the exception of a minuscule bit of rust on one of the arches...), the buyer was shipping it to Norway where it was to be stripped for parts.

I miss it. A lot

[Captainawesome]

161BMW said:

E46 M3s are owned by chavs
Just visit London
Or look on M3 Cutters and see how many are stanced, lowered, tinted, depos, remapped, CSL replica wheels, CSL replica airbox etc

CSL replica wheels, boot lids, engine mods and a bit lower????

You mean exactly what BMW did with the actual CSL?????

Right chavvy car the CSL.

Or the factory fitted tints??? My tints come with a lifetime guarantee from BMW.

[aka_kerrly]

Captainawesome said:

161BMW said:

E46 M3s are owned by chavs
Just visit London
Or look on M3 Cutters and see how many are stanced, lowered, tinted, depos, remapped, CSL replica wheels, CSL replica airbox etc

CSL replica wheels, boot lids, engine mods and a bit lower????

You mean exactly what BMW did with the actual CSL?????

Right chavvy car the CSL.

Or the factory fitted tints??? My tints come with a lifetime guarantee from BMW.

You have to laugh. E46 is a chavs car. I do wonder if anyone who uses that term to devalue a car or anything for that matter has ever met or had to deal with a chav.

Anyone who chooses not to buy a M3 because of misconceptions about the owners is far more of a fool than any chav.

[Captainawesome]

aka_kerrly said:

Captainawesome said:

161BMW said:

E46 M3s are owned by chavs
Just visit London
Or look on M3 Cutters and see how many are stanced, lowered, tinted, depos, remapped, CSL replica wheels, CSL replica airbox etc

CSL replica wheels, boot lids, engine mods and a bit lower????

You mean exactly what BMW did with the actual CSL?????

Right chavvy car the CSL.

Or the factory fitted tints??? My tints come with a lifetime guarantee from BMW.

You have to laugh. E46 is a chavs car. I do wonder if anyone who uses that term to devalue a car or anything for that matter has ever met or had to deal with a chav.

Anyone who chooses not to buy a M3 because of misconceptions about the owners is far more of a fool than any chav.

M3 the ultimate chav machine!!

Anyhoo, enough thread derailing.

[Krikkit]

Much as I may be hung for this, can the M3 be retrofitted with the standard 3-series square mirrors? I've always hated the signature ones, and that's before they were seized by chavs too! Otherwise I really like the look of the E36, a magnificent machine to my mind, especially in saloon and sunflowered spec.

[Output Flange]

Krikkit said:

Much as I may be hung for this, can the M3 be retrofitted with the standard 3-series square mirrors?

Yes, easily.

[aka_kerrly]

Output Flange said:

Krikkit said:

Much as I may be hung for this, can the M3 be retrofitted with the standard 3-series square mirrors?

Yes, easily.

By PH logic that would surely make Krikkit a chav because he is modifying a car to make it something it is not (even if in this case it's downgrading a car which IMO is a worse sin)

A M3 is and always will be a glorious car in standard form , if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery anyone with a 318I with M3 badges should be praised for "trying" hehe.

[Output Flange]

I'm a chav too though, as mine had green wheels.

[VinceFox]

Output Flange said:

Krikkit said:

Much as I may be hung for this, can the M3 be retrofitted with the standard 3-series square mirrors?

Yes, easily.

Aye, piece of pish. Couple of people have done it. Not only do they fold, but theyre much easier to see things with. I like mine, but they have a very small field of visibilty.

[BullyB]

I'm a chav too....

[e21Mark]

That looks nice.

(I'm not a fan of window mounted extinguishers but that's just me)