BMW e36 316 Compact Modified
Discussion
I thought my first post should really be about my own car. I have been a hanger arounder in the shadows for a while but thought I should sign up.
My car is a 1998 316 compact with a few mods
328 m52 engine conversion (Edited to now say it has an M3 Evo engine fitted)
M50 manifold
Dual remapped ECU
It has not been on a rolling road yet but I would guess at maybe 220 – 230bhp
Z3 gearbox
Up rated clutch
Custom exhaust
328 front brakes
And lots more I can’t remember now
Apologies for being horrible at taking pictures
My car is a 1998 316 compact with a few mods
328 m52 engine conversion (Edited to now say it has an M3 Evo engine fitted)
M50 manifold
Dual remapped ECU
It has not been on a rolling road yet but I would guess at maybe 220 – 230bhp
Z3 gearbox
Up rated clutch
Custom exhaust
328 front brakes
And lots more I can’t remember now
Apologies for being horrible at taking pictures
Edited by Fab32 on Sunday 14th July 17:49
It’s defiantly the most disliked all of the e36s. I’m not sure if it because they only did them in small engines or because it looks more ‘box like’ than the others but it is certainly more disliked. The term ‘polish a turd’ I have had said to me a few times!
Wouldn’t be good if we all like the same thing though
Wouldn’t be good if we all like the same thing though
I had searched a few times to try and find out what the five spokes were without success, thanks for identifying them for me, I have them on my daily (e36 328 Auto) now.
The gold wheels seem to be marmite, personally I think they look good. You can’t tell from the pictures but the bolts are sprayed to match the bodywork.
The gold wheels seem to be marmite, personally I think they look good. You can’t tell from the pictures but the bolts are sprayed to match the bodywork.
OK updated spec
BMW 316 compact
M52 engine conversion with modded loom to keep the battery in the engine bay
M50 manifold with custom fit kit
Duel remapped ecu by End Tuning to run a high octane map specifically for the M50 manifold
Up rated clutch
Z3 2.3 gearbox
A full custom exhauste - semi bodged half 328i saloon and half 316i compact
328i complete front brake setup
Coilovers
Staggered BBS RC04 alloys
Half hearted weight strip
Plans for future modifications
Limited slip dif
Roll Cage
Bucket Seat
Revisit the exhaust
A few more pictures of the car including one when I ran out of talent (notice the lack of tarmac)
BMW 316 compact
M52 engine conversion with modded loom to keep the battery in the engine bay
M50 manifold with custom fit kit
Duel remapped ecu by End Tuning to run a high octane map specifically for the M50 manifold
Up rated clutch
Z3 2.3 gearbox
A full custom exhauste - semi bodged half 328i saloon and half 316i compact
328i complete front brake setup
Coilovers
Staggered BBS RC04 alloys
Half hearted weight strip
Plans for future modifications
Limited slip dif
Roll Cage
Bucket Seat
Revisit the exhaust
A few more pictures of the car including one when I ran out of talent (notice the lack of tarmac)
A quick update:
Taxed the car at the beginning of May and the first outing was a trip to the Pod with a new friend (the caddy)
I was bitterly disappointed that I was not able to beat last years best time. Since then I have had the car remapped, an m50 manifold fitted and a full set of R888's fitted.
At the end of last summer I blew the engine up so this is a new 328 engine and there is a sizable hole in the exhaust near the back box.
A new back box is on the way and a rolling road session is required I think.
The first run I nearly stalled on the line! Runs two and three I missed changes and the final run on this card was against a modified Nissan GTR.
Anybody running a 328 with better times?
Taxed the car at the beginning of May and the first outing was a trip to the Pod with a new friend (the caddy)
I was bitterly disappointed that I was not able to beat last years best time. Since then I have had the car remapped, an m50 manifold fitted and a full set of R888's fitted.
At the end of last summer I blew the engine up so this is a new 328 engine and there is a sizable hole in the exhaust near the back box.
A new back box is on the way and a rolling road session is required I think.
The first run I nearly stalled on the line! Runs two and three I missed changes and the final run on this card was against a modified Nissan GTR.
Anybody running a 328 with better times?
We spent this Friday just gone at Blyton Park on a LVS Racing track day, Excellent weather and a very nice track.
Here are a few pictures;
And here is the latest edition to my car, an apex cone inspired racing stripe!
Finally the token arty 'low shot' picture with sunshine glare....... Notice the stickerbombed headlight? I expect it to be as marmite as the wheels.
For the track day I purchased some R888s and I was very, very pleased with them. If anybody is unsure, the level of grip they offer over standard road tyres is surprising and in my opinion well worth the outlay.
Fab
Here are a few pictures;
And here is the latest edition to my car, an apex cone inspired racing stripe!
Finally the token arty 'low shot' picture with sunshine glare....... Notice the stickerbombed headlight? I expect it to be as marmite as the wheels.
For the track day I purchased some R888s and I was very, very pleased with them. If anybody is unsure, the level of grip they offer over standard road tyres is surprising and in my opinion well worth the outlay.
Fab
The M50 conversion takes a couple of hours to do and makes a noticeable difference, much better when teamed with a remap though.
However I have now chosen to take a different a route.
Behold a M3 evo engine
and currently this is how we stand
Much, much more difficult than fitting the 2.8!
However I have now chosen to take a different a route.
Behold a M3 evo engine
and currently this is how we stand
Much, much more difficult than fitting the 2.8!
To be honest, there are lot of people who purport to know a lot about e36s, engines and chassis but actually when you scratch the surface they know very little.
I personally haven’t seen a noticeable difference in the handling, but being honest I don’t think my ability behind the wheel is good enough to, firstly notice and secondly have any notice taken of my opinion. I can say for sure though in a straight line it’s a lot faster!
Moving forward slowly and its almost back in ne piece now
I personally haven’t seen a noticeable difference in the handling, but being honest I don’t think my ability behind the wheel is good enough to, firstly notice and secondly have any notice taken of my opinion. I can say for sure though in a straight line it’s a lot faster!
Moving forward slowly and its almost back in ne piece now
aka_kerrly said:
I wish more people could admit to this! I feel the same way, does my car handle significantly different when it has a full tank of near empty tank, not really, yet that is 70Kg of weight change.
So long as the suspension and brakes are suitable for the weight/power of the engine then I really don't see the issue.
Crack on!!
I agree, it always amuses me on a track day when an estate agent in golf GTI talks about adding a couple of PSI into his tyres to cure the crippling under steer or some other similar bSo long as the suspension and brakes are suitable for the weight/power of the engine then I really don't see the issue.
Crack on!!
ks. Karters however are the worse by a long way. Most people, and I certainly include myself in this, can talk a far better lap than they can drive.
So a trip to the RR was a disappointment the figures were not good, and I now have more issues,
Currently the car won't start at all, it will just crank over and not fire!
I think I have solved the blowing fuses issue now and the fuel gauge works again.
The car is 15-20% down on power but still feels very, very quick.
In answer to a couple of questions;
The badge is genuine; it was thrown in free when I went to an M3 breaker for a few bits to complete the conversion.
The fuse blowing turned out to be the fuel sender magnetic pickup on the pump side. If that fuse is blowing be aware all the brake lights are on that fuse so when it goes you have no brake lights!
I would check for shorts where the cables run from the body into the boot, it’s a known weak spot.
The badge is genuine; it was thrown in free when I went to an M3 breaker for a few bits to complete the conversion.
The fuse blowing turned out to be the fuel sender magnetic pickup on the pump side. If that fuse is blowing be aware all the brake lights are on that fuse so when it goes you have no brake lights!
I would check for shorts where the cables run from the body into the boot, it’s a known weak spot.
Enda
It ran OK with the standard fuel pump in and after fixing the fuel indicator I took the opportunity to splice in an M3 fuel pump and now it won't run!
As bizarre as it sounds I really don't think it's the fuel pump that's the issue as I can hear it priming, I'm thinking best case a relay worst case the ECU might have to come to you again as it may be a DME issue.
It ran OK with the standard fuel pump in and after fixing the fuel indicator I took the opportunity to splice in an M3 fuel pump and now it won't run!
As bizarre as it sounds I really don't think it's the fuel pump that's the issue as I can hear it priming, I'm thinking best case a relay worst case the ECU might have to come to you again as it may be a DME issue.
Right so time for a quick update
first of all I went looking for the missing horses, this was the old exhaust, it was badly chopped originally from allsorts of different bits of e36 including a compact and 2.8 and it pretty obvious what the problem was.
After some geeking up on the internet I was pretty sure some z3m exhausts would fit with some modification to the middle section, however that posed another problem.
The wheel well was in the way, no problem
Anyway you get the idea
and in the end I think I did a reasonable job of getting them lined up quite well
Next to the front bumper
further updates to come including some weight loss, (the car!) silly livery and some action shots
first of all I went looking for the missing horses, this was the old exhaust, it was badly chopped originally from allsorts of different bits of e36 including a compact and 2.8 and it pretty obvious what the problem was.
After some geeking up on the internet I was pretty sure some z3m exhausts would fit with some modification to the middle section, however that posed another problem.
The wheel well was in the way, no problem
Anyway you get the idea
and in the end I think I did a reasonable job of getting them lined up quite well
Next to the front bumper
further updates to come including some weight loss, (the car!) silly livery and some action shots
carpetsoiler said:
So much love for this. I've been toying with grabbing a tidy E36 Compact and shoving a proper engine in one for some time- I really like the design, and think they're massively underrated.
Well done for making a proper little monster. Would love to see it in the flesh at some point- where are you based? We need a mental Compact for our E36 gang...
I'm East Mids which is quite a way from Southampton but when you are in this neck of the woods look me up. Nice touring by the way, were on earth did you find heated vaders?Well done for making a proper little monster. Would love to see it in the flesh at some point- where are you based? We need a mental Compact for our E36 gang...
The car is pretty mental and to be honest in the wet terrifying.
With the car now sitting in the garage and only really being used for track days the next sensible mod really was a cage.
I looked at loads of options including bolt in cages and premade home weld ins but really felt the only choice was a full weld pro job so I found a custom cage builder in Norwich, stripped the car and after some phone negotiation dropped it off. the results are below.
I then set about painting it to match the wheels which I am sure will be popular
Talking with the guys that did the cage I'm pleased I didn't take it on myself, it's a lot of work to do it right. If I was having it done again I would strip the dash out and have it put through the front struts but I am very please with it as it is. b
I'm obviously hoping I never need the cage.
More updates to follow
I looked at loads of options including bolt in cages and premade home weld ins but really felt the only choice was a full weld pro job so I found a custom cage builder in Norwich, stripped the car and after some phone negotiation dropped it off. the results are below.
I then set about painting it to match the wheels which I am sure will be popular
Talking with the guys that did the cage I'm pleased I didn't take it on myself, it's a lot of work to do it right. If I was having it done again I would strip the dash out and have it put through the front struts but I am very please with it as it is. b
I'm obviously hoping I never need the cage.
More updates to follow
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