E30 Zone

Hi guys, can anyone tell me the key differences between a normal 325i and a 325i sport please?

About £2000....

The gearbox, the suspension, body kit, black head lining and some other goodies.

Same engine.

Close ratio gearbox, lsd diff, Mtech uprated shocks with 15mm lower springs, Mtech 1 or 2 bodykit depending on age and the famous black headlining and sports seats, cloth was standard. I could be wrong but on all the facelift sports I've seen they have the map reading rear view mirror.

Things like OBC where an optional extra.. well thinking about it all the above were optional across the range when new from BMW

sihooker wrote:About £2000....

LOL (I'm only laughing because I've got one !)

Don't forget the limited slip differential which was standard on all Sport models.

The main difference is the air of superiority that sport owners have.

The sport was a UK only model created by BMW UK by adding juicy options from the standard list. So the basic car is the same, but from what I can tell the black headlining and the close ratio box were the two items that you couldn't get (or were very rarely available) on other cars. Buying a sport does mean that you get the nice bits, but the bodykit also hides rust very effectively.

However, there are no hard and fast rules because if you asked BMW for something and handed over your chequebook you could get anything they made, or so it seems.

Sports are nice when they are nice, and a rotten nightmare when they are not.

Friday afternoon - here we go again

Morat wrote:but from what I can tell the black headlining and the close ratio box were the two items that you couldn't get (or were very rarely available) on other cars.

The close ratio "sport" gearbox was deffo an option on other 325i's.

A highly specced 325i cab i once had, had one from new.

twice as much rust on the sport model

Zero rust on mine!

The body kits hide the rust, not cause it!

None on mine either !!

Nor mine - kit off all treated thankyou

There was a furious debate on something similar on an e28 forum the other day. Basically, some guy had an 'M528i', which he was convinced was a 'proper' M car. In the end, consensus came down to the M528i was a marketing exercise by BMW Australia, and basically consisted of a selection of already available options fitted to an otherwise standard 528.

The Sport 325 is more or less the same. An option pack that got recorded on the logbook too...

talk about red rag to a bull all the sport guys will be miffed lol

is my 1989 LHD 325i 4 door sport???as it has everything mentioned above inc black headlining

vokietis wrote:is my 1989 LHD 325i 4 door sport???as it has everything mentioned above inc black headlining

No casue its LHD and the Sport was a UK only 2dr model.

jonny323i wrote:talk about red rag to a bull all the sport guys will be miffed lol

I didn't mean it in a bad way though, I think they're awesome cars....

vokietis wrote:is my 1989 LHD 325i 4 door sport???as it has everything mentioned above inc black headlining

Did you buy it from Birmingham ?

capri_rob wrote:

vokietis wrote:is my 1989 LHD 325i 4 door sport???as it has everything mentioned above inc black headlining

Did you buy it from Birmingham ?

if birmingham is in germany,then yes,anyway germans must be nation of stupids exporting best cars (sports) to u.k and keeping themselves non sport 325i's

vokietis wrote:

capri_rob wrote:

vokietis wrote:is my 1989 LHD 325i 4 door sport???as it has everything mentioned above inc black headlining

Did you buy it from Birmingham ?

if birmingham is in germany,then yes

Touché, sir!!

Morat wrote:The sport was a UK only model created by BMW UK by adding juicy options from the standard list. So the basic car is the same, but from what I can tell the black headlining and the close ratio box were the two items that you couldn't get (or were very rarely available) on other cars. Buying a sport does mean that you get the nice bits, but the bodykit also hides rust very effectively.

However, there are no hard and fast rules because if you asked BMW for something and handed over your chequebook you could get anything they made, or so it seems.

Sports are nice when they are nice, and a rotten nightmare when they are not.

This is pretty much the full answer,back in the day,BMW were struggling to sell 2 door cars...the punters were all after 4 door E30's.So BMW UK came up with the 2 door 'sport',nothing more than a tarted up 2 door car that they could not sell.
Fast forward 20 years and a different sort of buyer has emerged,'It say's 'sport' on the V5c so it must be better'.....

I bought my sport in 1994 and funnily enough it had the same stigma then as it has now.

It's just a 325 with a plastic kit on but looks sportier, end of !!

daimlerman wrote:

Morat wrote:The sport was a UK only model created by BMW UK by adding juicy options from the standard list. So the basic car is the same, but from what I can tell the black headlining and the close ratio box were the two items that you couldn't get (or were very rarely available) on other cars. Buying a sport does mean that you get the nice bits, but the bodykit also hides rust very effectively.

However, there are no hard and fast rules because if you asked BMW for something and handed over your chequebook you could get anything they made, or so it seems.

Sports are nice when they are nice, and a rotten nightmare when they are not.

This is pretty much the full answer,back in the day,BMW were struggling to sell 2 door cars...the punters were all after 4 door E30's.So BMW UK came up with the 2 door 'sport',nothing more than a tarted up 2 door car that they could not sell.
Fast forward 20 years and a different sort of buyer has emerged,'It say's 'sport' on the V5c so it must be better'.....

Actually the real reason BMW UK came up with the 325i sport was because not many people could or wanted to get on with the LHD only M3 so they came up with the sport as a flagship model.

Nothing to do with low sales of 2dr E30's as BMW could not sell 3 series quick enough back in the '80's!

JasonR wrote:Hi guys, can anyone tell me the key differences between a normal 325i and a 325i sport please?

About 3 grand

kieran325 wrote:I bought my sport in 1994 and funnily enough it had the same stigma then as it has now.

It's just a 325 with a plastic kit on but looks sportier, end of !!

thats basically it ,
they have a few extra's bits too,
such as leather (not always) / maplight mirror/blackheadling /rear popout's.
a close ratio box/LSD was fitted to all sports to make spirited driving a bit more fun,

I personally prefer a morsel crammed 325iSE, the plastic tech 2 kit is something i don't like

All the answers had been written already. A sport in my eyes is a status symbol in very many different ways. Examples like gazmans tech1 and Barry's tech2 will show you how amazing they can be.

fair bit of hate for sports from some people on here

i bought mine because i prefered gthe look to a standard e30

oh yeah, ofcourse, to feel smug about owning a sport ofcourse

325i sports seem to be very common on this forum, even though there the most sought after.

The people that hate on sports usually are the type who own scrap like 4drs, tourings or lame 4 potters!

Haterz!

The only thing you couldn't buy wih a cheque book for an i is the black headlining everything else was an option from the stealership

@ the haterz.. I am sure there is someone you can talk to about your issues

dont forget theres only one true sport

tech1 rightness
tech 2 is just another wannabe like the se crew init bruvs

snakebrain wrote:There was a furious debate on something similar on an e28 forum the other day. Basically, some guy had an 'M528i', which he was convinced was a 'proper' M car. In the end, consensus came down to the M528i was a marketing exercise by BMW Australia, and basically consisted of a selection of already available options fitted to an otherwise standard 528.

The Sport 325 is more or less the same. An option pack that got recorded on the logbook too...

You are quite correct regarding the "M528i". They were option laden E28s prepared by Frank Gardiner for BMW. Nice pieces of kit but definitely NOT an M car. A fair few ended up as JPS cars, too (again, an Australian variant, I think).

Although tech 1's are clearly the nicest looking sport, plastic is wrong!

Metal is

Chrome is the only way I am afraid boys. All you plastic loving bum boys need to wake up. Especially you jhonno