Which 3 Series is hairiest to drive in the wet ?

[161BMW]

Which BMW is hairiest to drive in the wet ?
E21 323i LE
E30 325i Sport
E36 328i
E46 330Ci
E92 335i

How do they all compare ?

What did you learn to drive sideways in ?

[s m]

161BMW said:

Which BMW is hairiest to drive in the wet ?
E21 323i LE
E30 325i Sport
E36 328i
E46 330Ci
E92 335i

How do they all compare ?

What did you learn to drive sideways in ?

When you say 'hairy' do you mean 'fun'?

I've not driven a 335i in the wet ( in fact only a test drive in the dry for about 5 miles so I can't say much re them ) but have plenty of miles in the other 4 and I found the E21 quite entertaining ( I wished the steering had been faster though )

[Dannbodge]

The E21 will be.
Skinny tyres and no TC plus some have LSD

E36 328i isn't too bad, but as all cars if you drive like a wally it will go sideways

[Matt UK]

Driven some but not all. I'd guess:
The earlier the car the quicker it will lose grip, but will be easier to control beyond the limit.
The later cars will hang on longer but when they break away you'd better be ready as I think they'll be more snappy.

[Hilts]

I bought an E30 4 door 323i from an auction, very first roundabout I was sideways thinking Jesus what have I just bought?

Great car.

[bp1000]

E30 325i was a bit bonkers in the wet

[161BMW]

s m said:

161BMW said:

Which BMW is hairiest to drive in the wet ?
E21 323i LE
E30 325i Sport
E36 328i
E46 330Ci
E92 335i

How do they all compare ?

What did you learn to drive sideways in ?

When you say 'hairy' do you mean 'fun'?

I've not driven a 335i in the wet ( in fact only a test drive in the dry for about 5 miles so I can't say much re them ) but have plenty of miles in the other 4 and I found the E21 quite entertaining ( I wished the steering had been faster though )

Yes hairy = fun
How did you find the E30 :-) ?

[Fattyfat]

Haven't driven all of those but a E30 is a tail happy old thing. My old E36 could be fun but needed serious provocation (it was a 4 cylinder so doesn't really count)

[MondeoMan1981]

My old E46 was brilliantly balanced, even when wearing P6000's....

[jc84]

My old E36 M3 was terrible on wet roundabouts. No warning whatsoever, just suddenly sideways. Of course this also made it extremely exciting. Lack of traction control and a heavy right foot didn't help I'm sure.

[T0MMY]

My E30 318i let go very very easily but was very controllable. E36 325 and 328 were both more understeery and needed a load of throttle to slide at which point they wanted to go a long way before gripping again. Not the best cars to slide around in really.

I learned to drive sideways in a Sierra 2.0 DOHC and then a couple of S13 200SXs.

[Leins]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I'd almost agree, due to the RFTs

Of that list it would be the E30 for me, but I've not tried an E21 though



Note to self: try an E21

[Miner49er]

I had a few E30 325i's back in the day and it was the non-LSD versions that used to scare the cr4p out of me.

[blearyeyedboy]

The one with a broken rear shock on one side, mismatched tyres and malaligned aftermarket cheap alloys off eBay.

[Erdy]

My e46 330i isn't remotely hairy in the wet.

My 306 d-turbo on the other hand

[RobM77]

The one with the most nackered suspension :-) I had one E36 that would snap sideways with a lift of the throttle mid corner (and an appropriate amount of steering! It's normally too much steering that causes LOO), but with new tyres, springs, bushes and dampers all round you could lift off or even brake mid corner and it would remain totally composed.