E36 'sport' - how to spot one

[RobM77]

Does anyone know how to tell if a car I'm looking at is a true 'sport' model or not - i.e. with the sports suspension and LSD. Obviously I could jack the car up and rotate the rear wheels, or find some slippery mud, but does anyone know an easier (and more owner/dealer friendly!) way of spotting one?

thanks.

[rallycross]

a sport is a proper designated model and it will say Sport on the log book.

the other easy way to be sure is check the headlining, and it will be black not white.

or take a look at the shocks, the sports have Bilsteins which are yellow.

the lsd is more difficult as the pre-face list sports has the lsd, then after 97 they have ASC fitted, which usually means no lsd, although it might have one fitted as an option or retro fitted.

[RobM77]

rallycross said:

a sport is a proper designated model and it will say Sport on the log book.

the other easy way to be sure is check the headlining, and it will be black not white.

or take a look at the shocks, the sports have Bilsteins which are yellow.

the lsd is more difficult as the pre-face list sports has the lsd, then after 97 they have ASC fitted, which usually means no lsd, although it might have one fitted as an option or retro fitted.

Thanks - that's interesting. I didn't realise about the deletion of the LSD after '97. It's not a show stopper for me, but it's a shame. I can't stand electronic aids in cars! When you say 'pre face lift' are you referring to an E36 face lift that I didn't know about, or the switch to the E46?

What do you mean by "headlining"?

[Vee]

RobM77 said:

What do you mean by "headlining"?

Roof lining inside the car.

[RobM77]

Vee said:

RobM77 said:

What do you mean by "headlining"?

Roof lining inside the car.

thanks - I thought so

[Shropshiremike]

RobM77 said:

rallycross said:

the lsd is more difficult as the pre-face list sports has the lsd, then after 97 they have ASC fitted, which usually means no lsd, although it might have one fitted as an option or retro fitted.

Thanks - that's interesting. I didn't realise about the deletion of the LSD after '97. It's not a show stopper for me, but it's a shame. I can't stand electronic aids in cars!

If it bothers you you can switch the ASC off ( just thinking if you find a non-LSD car that you otherwise like )

[RobM77]

Shropshiremike said:

RobM77 said:

rallycross said:

the lsd is more difficult as the pre-face list sports has the lsd, then after 97 they have ASC fitted, which usually means no lsd, although it might have one fitted as an option or retro fitted.

Thanks - that's interesting. I didn't realise about the deletion of the LSD after '97. It's not a show stopper for me, but it's a shame. I can't stand electronic aids in cars!

If it bothers you you can switch the ASC off ( just thinking if you find a non-LSD car that you otherwise like )

My old E36 325i didn't have an LSD and to be honest it didn't bother me that much at all. The DSC on my E46 could never be completely switched off, and if one of the wheels tried to spin up it would chuck the brakes on, which resulted in an awful 'dragging' feeling. Dreadful - I'd rather just have a normal 'free' diff.

I'd like as new a car as possible, so I'd probably rather have a '98 E36 without an LSD than a '96 one with it.

The sports suspension appeals to me, but in my experience of E36s they need new suspension after about ten years anyway!

I'm reading into the Nikasil issue at the moment, which I think is more important to me. BMW customer services will apparently be able to tell me if a car is affected if I give them the car's details.

[evenflow]

Just as an aside, I think that cars that "grew up" in Scotland and Northern England were more affected by the Nikasil issue as there was more sulphur in the fuel mix up there.

Also, most fuels offered nowadays are low-sulphur, so if the car hasn't had a nikasil issue so far, it probably won't in the future.

There's always my '99 available - just offer me large amounts of money for it I need a breadvan!!

[RobM77]

evenflow said:

Just as an aside, I think that cars that "grew up" in Scotland and Northern England were more affected by the Nikasil issue as there was more sulphur in the fuel mix up there.

Also, most fuels offered nowadays are low-sulphur, so if the car hasn't had a nikasil issue so far, it probably won't in the future.

There's always my '99 available - just offer me large amounts of money for it I need a breadvan!!

Thanks for your thoughts. Regarding your car, I've already said that I'd buy it if you were selling and to let me know!

[blaineuk]

RobM77 said:

Shropshiremike said:

RobM77 said:

rallycross said:

the lsd is more difficult as the pre-face list sports has the lsd, then after 97 they have ASC fitted, which usually means no lsd, although it might have one fitted as an option or retro fitted.

Thanks - that's interesting. I didn't realise about the deletion of the LSD after '97. It's not a show stopper for me, but it's a shame. I can't stand electronic aids in cars!

If it bothers you you can switch the ASC off ( just thinking if you find a non-LSD car that you otherwise like )

My old E36 325i didn't have an LSD and to be honest it didn't bother me that much at all. The DSC on my E46 could never be completely switched off, and if one of the wheels tried to spin up it would chuck the brakes on, which resulted in an awful 'dragging' feeling. Dreadful - I'd rather just have a normal 'free' diff.

I'd like as new a car as possible, so I'd probably rather have a '98 E36 without an LSD than a '96 one with it.

The sports suspension appeals to me, but in my experience of E36s they need new suspension after about ten years anyway!

I'm reading into the Nikasil issue at the moment, which I think is more important to me. BMW customer services will apparently be able to tell me if a car is affected if I give them the car's details.

if you hold the dsc button down for around 5 seconds the hand brake light comes on orange, and the dsc system is off.

[evenflow]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Far enough, sorry to have misled. Sure I'd read somewhere that issues weren't happening anymore.

[RobM77]

blaineuk said:

RobM77 said:

Shropshiremike said:

RobM77 said:

rallycross said:

the lsd is more difficult as the pre-face list sports has the lsd, then after 97 they have ASC fitted, which usually means no lsd, although it might have one fitted as an option or retro fitted.

Thanks - that's interesting. I didn't realise about the deletion of the LSD after '97. It's not a show stopper for me, but it's a shame. I can't stand electronic aids in cars!

If it bothers you you can switch the ASC off ( just thinking if you find a non-LSD car that you otherwise like )

My old E36 325i didn't have an LSD and to be honest it didn't bother me that much at all. The DSC on my E46 could never be completely switched off, and if one of the wheels tried to spin up it would chuck the brakes on, which resulted in an awful 'dragging' feeling. Dreadful - I'd rather just have a normal 'free' diff.

I'd like as new a car as possible, so I'd probably rather have a '98 E36 without an LSD than a '96 one with it.

The sports suspension appeals to me, but in my experience of E36s they need new suspension after about ten years anyway!

I'm reading into the Nikasil issue at the moment, which I think is more important to me. BMW customer services will apparently be able to tell me if a car is affected if I give them the car's details.

if you hold the dsc button down for around 5 seconds the hand brake light comes on orange, and the dsc system is off.

Not on the E46. True, there are two stages of "off", but even in the second stage that awful diff braking system still functions. There's no way to open the diff up and give the driver complete control over the car.

[Shropshiremike]

RobM77 said:

Not on the E46. True, there are two stages of "off", but even in the second stage that awful diff braking system still functions. There's no way to open the diff up and give the driver complete control over the car.

You'll be OK on the E36 - it's just an actuator flap for the inlet air

[RobM77]

Shropshiremike said:

RobM77 said:

Not on the E46. True, there are two stages of "off", but even in the second stage that awful diff braking system still functions. There's no way to open the diff up and give the driver complete control over the car.

You'll be OK on the E36 - it's just an actuator flap for the inlet air

So it's TC then, not ASC? I would have thought that the E36 would just have straight TC, I thought ASC/DSC (i.e. individual braking to straighten the car up and prevent a slide) came in with the E46. I don't mind TC so much.

[Gad-Westy]

They called it ASC on the E36 but I beleive its no more advanced than a normal TC system.

[RobM77]

Gad-Westy said:

They called it ASC on the E36 but I beleive its no more advanced than a normal TC system.

phew! thanks Calling it ASC is rather misleading!

[clonmult]

Gad-Westy said:

They called it ASC on the E36 but I beleive its no more advanced than a normal TC system.

Its way less advanced than your right foot and arms.

I've got a 99 E36, and the ASC is pretty useless. I'll find myself correcting a slide before the ASC starts to kick in.

[RobM77]

clonmult said:

Gad-Westy said:

They called it ASC on the E36 but I beleive its no more advanced than a normal TC system.

Its way less advanced than your right foot and arms.

I've got a 99 E36, and the ASC is pretty useless. I'll find myself correcting a slide before the ASC starts to kick in.

That's just it - if this ASC is just traction control it won't correct a slide. All TC does is reduce the throttle if you give it too much beans. In a car like the 328 with only 193bhp and around 1300-1400kg in weight you're far more likely to get into trouble with simple weight transfer oversteer, which TC won't help you with at all, thus the later DSC, which is remarkably effective, if annoying!

[RobM77]

Update:

I've just called BMW Customer Services and they were very helpful indeed. I can confirm what rallycross says - 'sport' means a black headlining (known as "anthracite&quot, M sport steering wheel, bodykit, different wheels, clear indicator lenses and a few other pointless styling changes. More importantly, sport models also have sports suspension. LSDs were an option in 1998 and not part of the sports pack.

With the registration number and last seven digits of the VIN, BMW CS can also tell me whether the engine was replaced under the Nikasil recall.

A big thumbs up for BMW customer services for being able to tell me this information in a phone call lasting only two or three minutes! Superb service!

[rallycross]

that is amazing service from BMW CS when you consider how long a car of that age may have been out of the dealer network.