RE: Shed of the Week: BMW 325ti Compact

[buggalugs]

greyarea said:

mooseracer said:

Blackpuddin said:

I took that to mean that it was taken along with the platform change, not that it was left behind as an E36.

They had the e36 rear suspension did they not? Or did that change when the "real" 3 did?

I thought this too. When the e46 came out didn't they just reskin the Compact and update the powertrain or did it go deeper than that?

E36 compact had E30 rear suspension, trailing arms, pretty compromised / fun geo. E46 compact had proper E46 rear suspension I think.

[aaron_2000]

I like it, brilliant shed. We should acknowledge that someone specced the wood trim with the alcantara though.

[cerb4.5lee]

When you consider how well received the E46 3 series is regarding looks...BMW really did balls this up design wise. Other than the looks though this is a belting shed for sure.

[CooperD]

Top Shedding this week. Well done sir!

[Richair]

Top shed!! Great cars with a wonderful chassis; with a few minor tweaks on fresh suspension the e46 is a bit of a B-road weapon.

I keep on lusting after these and I'm reminded of how much I like them almost daily; S M if you're reading this I live just around the corner from you and walk past yours on the way to the park with the mutt. Can you please stop keeping it so clean as it's just adding to my want for one

[greyarea]

buggalugs said:

greyarea said:

mooseracer said:

Blackpuddin said:

I took that to mean that it was taken along with the platform change, not that it was left behind as an E36.

They had the e36 rear suspension did they not? Or did that change when the "real" 3 did?

I thought this too. When the e46 came out didn't they just reskin the Compact and update the powertrain or did it go deeper than that?

E36 compact had E30 rear suspension, trailing arms, pretty compromised / fun geo. E46 compact had proper E46 rear suspension I think.

Ahh, that will be why I was confused. The thought that it was an e36 underneath always put me off even though it would suit my needs quite well. Maybe I'll look out for one when my current e46 dies.

[apm142001]

I love 90s/00s BMWs, and I love the M54 engine...but alas these things really do look like a dog's arse

[Limpet]

Top shed. 'Challenging' styling aside, there can't be many better drives for the money.

[the fury]

Great shed! That would make a great daily. Being pedantic, I think the E21 320-6 came before the 323i but WHATEVS

[ballans]

Brilliant shed! I’m in the market for a weekend play thing at the moment and was looking at Mk5 golf gti, Civic R, etc but completely forgot about these. Seem like amazing value and I even like the looks.
Hopefully there’ll be some owners/experts on shortly to give us the pros and cons.

[buggalugs]

greyarea said:

buggalugs said:

greyarea said:

mooseracer said:

Blackpuddin said:

I took that to mean that it was taken along with the platform change, not that it was left behind as an E36.

They had the e36 rear suspension did they not? Or did that change when the "real" 3 did?

I thought this too. When the e46 came out didn't they just reskin the Compact and update the powertrain or did it go deeper than that?

E36 compact had E30 rear suspension, trailing arms, pretty compromised / fun geo. E46 compact had proper E46 rear suspension I think.

Ahh, that will be why I was confused. The thought that it was an e36 underneath always put me off even though it would suit my needs quite well. Maybe I'll look out for one when my current e46 dies.

They do look tempting I fancy one with buckets and a cage, and a V8 manual

They're not actually much lighter or shorter than a saloon, bit less rear overhang I think?

[Greg the Fish]

Ugly little thing with a good engine. BMW are quite good at that.

[danp]

ballans said:

Brilliant shed! I’m in the market for a weekend play thing at the moment and was looking at Mk5 golf gti, Civic R, etc but completely forgot about these. Seem like amazing value and I even like the looks.
Hopefully there’ll be some owners/experts on shortly to give us the pros and cons.

Just read the 125 pages here!:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[WJNB]

Polished up & on smart alloys a good shed. Being the poor mans 3 Series too many of them ended up in the hands of the yob.

[TrickyTrevM5]

There is an excellent one make racing series for these cars - buy it, run it until the car cannot pass the MOT, then strip it for parts and get it track ready for the Compact Cup.....

I have been sorely tempted on a number of occasions

[ballans]

[quote=danp]

Just read the 125 pages here!:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...


Perfect, thanks!

[Kawasicki]

Sold mine a few months ago, drove it daily for a couple of years.

Likes
engine

Dislikes
for someone who really liked the e30 and e36 318is the handling balance of the standard 325ti was very disappointing. Way too understeery, not agile enough.

Steering has high friction, makes the car imprecise at speed

Super annoying clutch modulation

Build quality compared to e30

Looks! Never could get used to them.

[cerb4.5lee]

Greg the Fish said:

Ugly little thing with a good engine. BMW are quite good at that.

Agree with that and I've had 7 Bmw's but I only liked the looks of 1 of them. They specialise in ugly looking cars, but I've always liked the way they drive though.

[mooseracer]

buggalugs said:

E36 compact had E30 rear suspension, trailing arms, pretty compromised / fun geo. E46 compact had proper E46 rear suspension I think.

That makes sense and is why I wasn't overly interested in them at launch. Should have kept more of an eye on them as the later ones should be pretty decent.

[BFleming]

Top shedding this week. I recall they were launched at the same time as the BMW Mini, so traditional 'Compact' buyers went the Mini way quite often. The Sport bumpers look great on these, as do the latter type rear lights. The earlier ones were a bit Lexus-like (which isn't a good thing).
I drove one once, and thought it could have done with a little more power - it felt like the E46 328i if I'm honest. Plenty have been converted to run the M54B30 engine from the 330i (easy enough conversion, allegedly). The one I drove was Topaz Blue, which was such a popular colour back in the day. However, it had a blue dashboard and blue half-leather seats - not a nice look. The Compacts could always be specified with 'out there' interior colours.

JakeT said:

They went deeper. The running gear is all E46. The 325ti... introduced the E46 quick rack.

Indeed. I put the Compact rack in my 330i Touring, and it transformed the steering feel. I used to track day that car so it had a few mods.

Kawasicki said:

Dislikes
Super annoying clutch modulation

Removing the clutch delay valve did wonders for that.

Edited by BFleming on Friday 1st February 15:59