BMW 328i Sport
Discussion
ChrisDT said:
Good to see another 328i on here, this is my Sport (Did you get yours from another Pher?)
Leaving mine totally standard, the ride height bothers me a lot but it's got almost new Bilstein shocks on the front supplied by BMW as per the original sport so they are staying. Also had a load of paintwork done getting rid of rust, justa couple of little bits and a wheel refurb to do.
I didn't ask if he was a PH'er but he may have been, owned a Monaro HSV too and we had a good little chat about cars before I left. Leaving mine totally standard, the ride height bothers me a lot but it's got almost new Bilstein shocks on the front supplied by BMW as per the original sport so they are staying. Also had a load of paintwork done getting rid of rust, justa couple of little bits and a wheel refurb to do.
Yours looks really nice
good colour too! I think I'm gonna play the "mods" by ear, priority is sorting the car mechanically and cosmetically.
FELIX_5 said:
Great cars!! Here's my Santorini Blue 328i Sport.....
Lovely colour that!
I'm after some advice from 328 owners. Calculated my mpg, it's a bit ballpark but seems to be around 20 on a mostly motorway commute of 12 miles, seems a bit too low for me. Am I doing something wrong?
Driving like a granny shifting around 1500rpm and I've done 35 miles to a quarter of a tank.
Driving like a granny shifting around 1500rpm and I've done 35 miles to a quarter of a tank.
Yadizzle1 said:
I'm after some advice from 328 owners. Calculated my mpg, it's a bit ballpark but seems to be around 20 on a mostly motorway commute of 12 miles, seems a bit too low for me. Am I doing something wrong?
Driving like a granny shifting around 1500rpm and I've done 35 miles to a quarter of a tank.
Mine (manual) did 20 (I think!), but mainly urban. 31 on a very long run I did regularly, from Devon to Surrey. The 350ish mile round trip used about one and a quarter tanks IIRC.Driving like a granny shifting around 1500rpm and I've done 35 miles to a quarter of a tank.
Yadizzle1 said:
The color combo on yours looks mint! Mine sits very similar to yours, a bit higher in the front than the rear, would like to even it out but don't want to go down the route of coilovers. The more I think about it, the more I'm liking the idea of a completely original, excellent condition 328i Sport. Only thing is this one's done 161,000 miles now, so not sure it can ever be worth the amount of investment to get it to that point.
Alignment is next on the list, I need to sort the knocking noise on the front right corner, get a set of winter wheels fitted and then get it aligned.
The only other shock to the system is the fuel economy. I've spent a lot of money doing not a lot of miles since I picked it up on Saturday morning! It did the 180 miles back to Oxford on £25/30 worth of Petrol (which I was very impressed by), but the 20 mile round trip of my commute seems to cost me almost a tenner a day, just cruising. Do these cars have a limp home mode?
Mines done 172k miles if that helps put things into perspective?
Colour is rather nice, especially in changing light - Boston Green Metallic
The photo shows the suspension slightly higher on that side due to a pot hole on the rutted road. You are right however they seem to ride very slightly higher on the front, or certainly look like it. Mine is on original "Avus" spec suspension (Bilsteins)and looks great to me on a flat bit of road haha.
I think the trick is to not worry to much about investment potential. If you keep it looked after you should cover some of the cost, as condition and known history becomes just as important as millage at this age of car.
Average about 28mpg unless I use the right foot a lot!
Alignment is next on the list, I need to sort the knocking noise on the front right corner, get a set of winter wheels fitted and then get it aligned.
The only other shock to the system is the fuel economy. I've spent a lot of money doing not a lot of miles since I picked it up on Saturday morning! It did the 180 miles back to Oxford on £25/30 worth of Petrol (which I was very impressed by), but the 20 mile round trip of my commute seems to cost me almost a tenner a day, just cruising. Do these cars have a limp home mode?
Mines done 172k miles if that helps put things into perspective?
Colour is rather nice, especially in changing light - Boston Green Metallic
The photo shows the suspension slightly higher on that side due to a pot hole on the rutted road. You are right however they seem to ride very slightly higher on the front, or certainly look like it. Mine is on original "Avus" spec suspension (Bilsteins)and looks great to me on a flat bit of road haha.
I think the trick is to not worry to much about investment potential. If you keep it looked after you should cover some of the cost, as condition and known history becomes just as important as millage at this age of car.
Average about 28mpg unless I use the right foot a lot!
Lovely cars these, well done. I miss mine. 
I shall echo what others have said about the ride height, always looked too high at the front.
On the subject of BMW not being entirely honest about the performance, mine showed exactly 200 bhp on the rollers with well over a hundred thousand miles on the clock and they admitted that their readings were generally on the pessimistic side.
It was replaced by an e46 330 Clubsport which is no quicker, possibly actually slightly slower and which uses more fuel.
Keep it standard and enjoy it, I did and never regretted a moment.
I shall echo what others have said about the ride height, always looked too high at the front.
On the subject of BMW not being entirely honest about the performance, mine showed exactly 200 bhp on the rollers with well over a hundred thousand miles on the clock and they admitted that their readings were generally on the pessimistic side.
It was replaced by an e46 330 Clubsport which is no quicker, possibly actually slightly slower and which uses more fuel.
Keep it standard and enjoy it, I did and never regretted a moment.
Yadizzle1 said:
I'm not 100% sure but I think it says on the logbook 328i Sport. As far as I'm aware though it's just a trim version, with bilstein/avus suspension being the only difference.
Here you go. Build Spec.Vehicle information
VIN WBABG12080ES97***
Type Code BG12
E Series E36 (2)
Series 3
Type COUPE
Steering RL
Doors 2
Engine M52
Displacement 2.80
Power 142
Drive HECK
Transmission MECH
Colour TITANSILBER METALLIC (354)
Upholstery STOFF/LEDER/ANTHRAZIT (C1AT)
Prod. Date 1999-03-01
Vehicle options
L812A National version Great Britain
P337A M Sports package
S214A Automatic stability control (ASC+T)
S243A Airbag for front passenger
S246A Manually adjust. steering column
S285A BMW LA wheel BMW Styling
S314A Door mirror / driver's lock, heated
S410A Window lifts, electric, front
S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit
S431A Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S441A Smoker package
S465A Through-loading system
S473A Armrest front
S481A Sports seat
S498A Headrests, rear, mechanically adjustable
S510A Headlight aim control
S520A Fog lights
S534A Automatic air conditioning
S542A Check Control
S556A Outdoor temperature indicator
S669A Radio BMW Business RDS
S686A Antenna-Diversity
S694A Provisions for BMW 6 CD changer
S704A M Sports suspension
S710A M sports steering wheel, multifunction
S767A Individual Sport
S785A White direction indicator lights
S786A Action pack for 17" wheels
S850A Dummy-SALAPA
S853A Language version English
S863A Retailer Directory Europe
S880A On-board vehicle literature English
I don't really make any effort to drive economically and the majority of my driving is either in traffic in town or out for a proper drive down lanes; ie it rarely ever cruises on the motorway. My OBC showes an average of 19mpg over 2k miles, mine's a 328 sport with M50 manifold, mapped ECU, light flywheel and a 3.15 diff ratio among other chassis mods. 20mpg does seem a bit low for economically minded motorway driving, i'd expect 23-25mpg or around that, with up to 30mpg on a long run at 60-70; maybe worth checking your 02 sensors are working well as they have a tendency to fail allowing the M52 to run rich with no other real running consequences. If it's running rich it's worth getting sorted if nothing but for the fact that rich running over time will cause bore wash. My 540 does 17mpg average with similar use and my old M50 325s used to sit at around 17mpg with pretty hard use so I'd definitely expect a little better than 20mpg from a standard M52 running down motorways, especially with the standard 2.93 diff
Edited by Gooly on Wednesday 25th October 22:56
Yadizzle1 said:
Would love a techno!! Was your M3 exhaust manifold to backbox?
Yep, looked into a little lip spoiler and a massive fan of the amber indicators too! LSD's are a bit expensive these days but I think I'd rather that than a welded diff!
Also slightly guilty because the car seems almost too nice to mess with, it's gone 18 years without anyone modifying it in anyway and almost feels like it would be a shame to do so. Not too sure on how to proceed yet!
Techno is an incredible colour. Had to be kept clean to look any good though.Yep, looked into a little lip spoiler and a massive fan of the amber indicators too! LSD's are a bit expensive these days but I think I'd rather that than a welded diff!
Also slightly guilty because the car seems almost too nice to mess with, it's gone 18 years without anyone modifying it in anyway and almost feels like it would be a shame to do so. Not too sure on how to proceed yet!
I had just a M3 backbox. It made it a bit more raspy and certainly louder. It looked a hell of a lot better than the oval tips on the 328 one too.
I did a little video of it once: https://youtu.be/alSIrIfpdHQ
I think OEM mods make these even better. Certainly decent suspension, bushes, LSD and tyres make them very capable.
Mine had a lot of improvements: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Ambers look great on any colour E36. I think clear ones are a bit "council" and the ambers make it look a bit more retro.
One bit of advice though. Don't sell it, I sold mine around 2 years ago and regret it so much, it was a great car with loads of character.
MPG doesn't sound bad, I used to average about 26mpg combined.
Yadizzle1 said:
I'm after some advice from 328 owners. Calculated my mpg, it's a bit ballpark but seems to be around 20 on a mostly motorway commute of 12 miles, seems a bit too low for me. Am I doing something wrong?
Driving like a granny shifting around 1500rpm and I've done 35 miles to a quarter of a tank.
I have owned mine for 12 years, over those years every nut and bolt has had my fingers on it at some point,every sensor has been replaced including the Knock sensors. Aside from this all bushes have been replaced, parts changed e.g the diff for an LSD , New cooling system, alternator , water pump, power steering lines, brake lines.Driving like a granny shifting around 1500rpm and I've done 35 miles to a quarter of a tank.
Over the years i have only noticed the MPG getting better as at the age these cars are now there are so many factors that can cause low MPG, mine gets around 32mpg cruising on the motorway and Low 20`s around town and she does get driven.
I admit i have been working in depth of mapping the car myself and have at the moment got a happy medium between MPG and power although to be honest i dont care much for MPG as its now a weekend and summer car.
So my advice in terms of getting more MPG if thats what your after is to start replacing sensors like IAT,Cam and Crank sensors, get a new MAF.
If this hasnt been done already you will most certainly feel a change in how the car behaves.
Mine is now days running alot of mods but she still drives and cruises along lovely with no stress atall.
Any oppotunity to post some more pics, I Do love a nice sport
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/dS7FDsbE[/url]
Edited by rossi1 on Thursday 26th October 09:49
A week into ownership and despite the 328 pissing all it's coolant out for fun, I'm really really fond of the car already. It's a very comfortable drive with a lot of power (relatively) and an amazing noise, plus it looks very very nice! Getting desensitised to petrol stations too which is nice.
Installed new front speakers and it's not changed the quality of sound at all, will most likely put an aftermarket headunit in it to see if it makes any difference. Got a shifter bushing kit for it to tighten up the feel, installed some amber indicators and put in some fresh plugs and oil.
Installed new front speakers and it's not changed the quality of sound at all, will most likely put an aftermarket headunit in it to see if it makes any difference. Got a shifter bushing kit for it to tighten up the feel, installed some amber indicators and put in some fresh plugs and oil.
Some lovely looking E36s on this thread. It's easy to forget how right/lovely they can look when all you generally see is the chavd up barrymobiles farting along the road. I have owned five E36 6cylinder cars over the years. All were sensational and a pleasure to own/drive. I had a 1997 Atlantis Indivdual 328 with Tan/Biscuit leather, which was my favourite colour combo, also owned two of the final Edition 328 Convertibles (one of each, Romantic Red & Velvet Blue). The Romantic Red was very pink in some lights, but looked red when I went to view/buy! The Individual Champagne leather was lovely. Best wheels on these the optional 17" X-spokes. They sound lovely too, the straight sixes..always just need an Airbox de-snorkel. Just talked myself into a delve into the classifieds
Edited by billzeebub on Monday 30th October 20:31
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