Is a 323i a good idea?

[SD1992]

After much consideration and research, I think I have decided on a 323i as my next car. It seems to be a very well balanced car for insurance costs, cost of the actual car, and performance.

I still have a few questions though, if you wouldn't mind answering them

Will the performance be significantly more than my 2002 1.8 Mondeo?
Would I be better with an E36 or an E46?
Saloon or coupé?
And are they easy to modify - would a chip and remap make a big difference?

Thanks for any help!

[croyde]

Yes.
E36.
Saloon.
I believe so.

Biased, as I have had my E36 323i SE since it was 6 months old back in 1998.

Back then I came from a 90bhp Renault Megane 1.6 Coupe and the Beemer with 170bhp blew me away. I know there are cars with same size engines with more power these days but they are also fat and bloated when compared to the E36.

If you are looking for something reasonably quick with loads of options for tuning then personally I think you can't go far wrong with a 323 either in E36 or E46 guise.

I'm sure someone will be along and suggest a 325 or 328 and I would love one but I have no idea how much more the insurance would cost.

Glad to be corrected.

[SD1992]

croyde said:

Yes.
E36.
Saloon.
I believe so.

Biased, as I have had my E36 323i SE since it was 6 months old back in 1998.

Back then I came from a 90bhp Renault Megane 1.6 Coupe and the Beemer with 170bhp blew me away. I know there are cars with same size engines with more power these days but they are also fat and bloated when compared to the E36.

If you are looking for something reasonably quick with loads of options for tuning then personally I think you can't go far wrong with a 323 either in E36 or E46 guise.

I'm sure someone will be along and suggest a 325 or 328 and I would love one but I have no idea how much more the insurance would cost.

Glad to be corrected.

Thanks for your reply!

For some reason the 325 is insane on insurance, and the 328 is very expensive too. I think if I went ahead with my plan I would keep the 323 for a couple of years, then look at something like a 328 or a 330.

What are the main differences between the E36 and the E46 as far as driving is concerned?

[Fox-]

A 323i is a 328i without the performance. The rest - ie costs and economy - are the same.

[SD1992]

Fox- said:

A 323i is a 328i without the performance. The rest - ie costs and economy - are the same.

I would buy a 328 if I could, but the insurance is just insane. Would you say the performance on the 323 would be significantly better than on my mondeo? And would a chip and remap make much of a difference?

[croyde]

Thing is my 323 is a 2.5L so can it be that much slower than a 328?

[kwk]

I would say buy mine but then I saw where you are from.

[TheEnd]

323- it has 2.5 170bhp, it should have been more like 190+ but it was strangled a bit.

The usual remap and M50 manifold (intake manifold from the earlier 325) would get you to around 200bhp, so they are tunable in a way if you want more.

[SD1992]

TheEnd said:

323- it has 2.5 170bhp, it should have been more like 190+ but it was strangled a bit.

The usual remap and M50 manifold (intake manifold from the earlier 325) would get you to around 200bhp, so they are tunable in a way if you want more.

Does that work on both the E36 and the E46?

And I assume that would take it to around the same performance as a standard 328i?

[TheEnd]

It works on the E36 which is the M52 engine, the E46 is the M52TU.
The TU bit is double vanos. You can't fit the M50 manifold, but you can get an adaptor plate to fit the M54 330I manifold.

power gains haven't been as big on that swap though

[billzeebub]

I have owned both 323 and 328 E36 Convertibles and haven't noticed a significant performance diference between them. In every day driving both engines are smooth and powerful, as well as sounding the part. I would say it comes down to condition, spec and price more than 323 or 328

[griffter]

wouldnt a standard 328 be cheaper to insure than a modified 323?

[SC7]

TheEnd said:

323- it has 2.5 170bhp, it should have been more like 190+ but it was strangled a bit.

The usual remap and M50 manifold (intake manifold from the earlier 325) would get you to around 200bhp, so they are tunable in a way if you want more.