thinking about getting an e36...

[bss325i]

If i ever chop a E46 it would look like this but with wider rims

BBS RS's are an old skool rim and dont suit the E46 imo.

[DanThe]

the m54 is a great engine looking at power figures, the 2.2 m54 produces around 170bhp doesnt it

then there is the 3.0

The only good thing ANY M54 engine has going for it, is the vanos on the inlet cam.
Everything else is designed around emissions and is shite if your in search of power

[Neil_uk7]

imo the e30 rocks. My sister had an e36 when new - nice car and very refined. But I bought an e30 drop top recently - got classic insurance for £168 and follow a new six series on accelaration to 80mph recently on the A11. Depends what your criteria is.

TBH e30 - classic - will hold it's money better in future years but probably cost a bit to keep going
e36 - refined cruiser whichever engine you choose - doesn't have the raw feel to it. If I ran over a mouse with my e30 I'd be able to tell you the sex. Not sure the same can be said for the e36.

But then like everyone else here, I'm biased because I have an e30!

[BlueEyes_1]

I have offen pondered this question, E30 or E36,????
After much diliberation i have come to the conclusion of,
E36 = simply ticks every box.......except its not an E30!

Again i am biased because i have an E30, But although i havent had mine very long i can already honestly tell you that i wouldnt sell it (through choice that is) because i just couldnt be driving down the road in my newly bought E36 and see an E30 coming towards me and say pointing "i used to have one of them.........but i sold it......to buy this"

E30 ownership isnt my choice its my life!


(is that last comment a bit much? sorry for getting all jeremy kyle on you guys)

[fingerman]

I had a 91 325 auto for a month, dull as hell, zero street cred, numb feeling whilst driving - glad to get rid !

Good engine tho

[Neil_uk7]

ditto BlueEyes_1

[barrymate]

stick to e30 get so many comments on my car from all sorts of people some school kids today shouted nice car mate and a bloke i hardly no down the pub a minute ago said i see you in your car its awesome this bloke drives a new m3 puts a smile on your face to no this

[barrymate]

<a href="http://s812.photobucket.com/albums/zz49 ... 009462.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz49 ... 009462.jpg" border="0" alt="bmw"></a>



tempting to swap the engine out of this for my e30 it shifts

[barrymate]

thats the right picture

[steele]

Best way is to have both My E36 is fantastic. Had it 7 years now. Its a 1998 318iS saloon. They only made 1056 of them, it has the M Tech bits but the engine is the 1.9 twin OHC 140 bhp 16 valver. I've put a pipercross filter on it, A custom made S/Steel performance exhaust system and had it remapped, the mods added 31bhp. (Dyno'd before and after). I use it for track days where it doesn't have the straight line speed of the big sixes but handles the corners better due to the lighter weight up front. Its also my everyday car which it does brilliantly. I love it. I also love my E30 but more for its looks than the way it drives. The E36 is much better in that area. Heres a couple of pics.

[barrymate]

[George]

even e46's are falling into the wrong hands now ! well they have been for couple of years.

Yep.


If you are going down the E36 route, 328 rather than 328. Faster plus more modding potential (if that's your thing). Mated to a manual box, the economy is pretty damn good too (much better than my E30 anyway!). I wouldn't be put off by the whole Nikasil saga, I'm of the opinion that if it hasn't failed by now, it probably won't at all.

[bushy101]

so how different is the 323 to the 325?

[Cook318IS]

From what i saw, your e30 is very tidy. I'm pretty sure you already know what i would do - save up some dosh, then give the old girl some 24 valves in her engine bay. It would take a while to find another one like yours.

Eko has a 323i which has a fair mileage on it. He seems not to have any problems and it runs like a dream. My mate had a complete m spec 323i (complete m package from the factory) and that was pretty rapid from what i remember and looked nice too.

[bushy101]

yer i am thinking about puting a big lump in =] it is a good solid body, hows yours going anyway mate?

[Cook318IS]

yer i am thinking about puting a big lump in =] it is a good solid body, hows yours going anyway mate?

A 24v e30 is a complete different animal. I'll give you a passanger trip in mine if you really want? best thing to say at the moment about my car is that this weekend was a BAD weekend for me. Details are in my conversion thread - don't want to clutter your thread up.

[bushy101]

is it easy to get a 323i as quick as a 325i??

[capri_rob]

The manifold swap upgrade on the 323i is well documented ( TBMW did a feature on a 523i a few issues ago which covered the whole thing ). this mod apparently takes power up to around 190 bhp which is standard E36 325i territory.

For what it costs in time to do, parts and additional insurance you may as well spend the extra money on a 328i which has that amount of poke as standard. there isn't a huge difference in purchase price between the 323i and 328i anyway - finding a good one of either model is the challenge

[rob0r]

I'm thinking about combining both: building an E30 touring as my daily drive, but with the M50B25 instead. Since it's a more economical engine and it's lighter than the E36 I think this is a pretty good idea. What sort of MPG figures do M50B25 E30s get?