Just like the title says anyone here own(ed) one? How does it compare to your subaru and what made you get rid of it? An e46 would be nice but that pushes me to the top of the price range I am comfortable with if I want a well taken care of, or not one of the thousand salvage title ones I see out there.

 

I have a e46 supercharged, it was a fun car but sorry i have no idea about e36s

 

what made you get rid of it? obviously an e46 is going to be much nicer than a subaru. A friend had an e36 328 in highschool but that was 10 years ago.

 

E46's have just too many issues. E90's are the ****!

 

I had a 1994 Non-Vanos M3 Sedan in Hellrot red. It was fun but doesn't match the capabilities that the Scoobie has. I had a K&N CAI with Eisenmann exhaust as well as a Turner Chip and did well in in the performance category but lacked in handling and breaking until I went with H&R springs with upgraded swaybar and DBA drilled and slotted rotors with Hawk break pads . Keep in mind I had 195k on her when I sold the bimmer so I'm sure bushings were worn pretty well. There is days that I miss the E36, but I wouldn't give up my WRX to be back in one.

 

haha would ****ing love an e90 but it is wayyyyyyy out of my price range at the moment.

Why's that. If I did buy an e36 it would be getting some sort of FI for sure so I am not really worried on the straight line speed aspect, I just want something uh.... nicer than the subaru on the inside that handles well while being fun to drive. I don't know what the newer wrxs are like but my 04 and even my forester aren't exactly setting records for ride comfort/cabin quietness/ and amazing build quality. Not that there is anything wrong with either of the subarus I have owned just saying.


Edit: when I say comfortable I don't mean ride like a caddy, firm is fine. Harsh/bouncy I am over at this point in time. This also isn't a daily its a weekend car/run to the store sometimes car but I do need to be able to be in it for a while without wanting to kill my self if I decide to road trip it.

 

I had a 91 m5 and I hated that car cus it kept breaking everything and it only had like 125k miles

 

I actually just picked up one of these from an auction. Fun, fast car.

 

I'm not quite sure I came across correctly. I'm not knocking the M3 at all, just finding a M3 in great condition will be a hard find and mine was definitely not quite or comfortable to say the least. I had lots of cab noise but keep in mind I had a loud exhaust system and was lowered so it was a bit bumpier than stock.

The E36 M3 interior is ok, but I personally feel my '08 interior is nicer but my car is also 14 years newer than my M3 was. My stock suspension on the M3 sucked but it was also pretty worn when it came to the shocks and springs due to higher mileage.

My honest opinion is that with the right mods, a Subie will have no problem keeping up with a E36 M3 since we have a AWD advantage and my M3 had a tendency of getting the butt loose on the track.

I'm also confused on the FI abbreviations, can you help me out on that?

 

fi is probably forced induction

 

Ok, that makes sense! Lmao it would be ideal to find a Dinan E36 M3 but good luck! Lmao

 

ya that's really what I was worried about. Am I trading an awd subaru badged version of a vehicle for basically a rwd bmw badged version of a vehicle considering it sounds like performance wise both can be made similar. Minus the fact that powerslides and big burnouts are awesome haha.


yes sorry FI meaning I would either turbo or supercharge it. Most likely supercharge it so I can get a carb sticker and not have to worry come smog time. Part of the debate I am having is buying a clean e36 and having the budget set aside to do some mods or try to find a clean e46m but those seem to have tons of problems or be salvage title. This is all hypothetical anyways and it appears I would be best off keeping my fozzy instead of giving it to the wife.

 

Totally different animals, in terms of fun they are as fun as can be in their own terms.

As still an owner of an e36 (thought about FI, it still an awesome car) just seemed a bit more expensive than my subaru (Although i did end up spending more on my subaru with a swapped rs geared toward the track).

The subaru is great in terms of bushings etc, 100x easier to replace them. The bmw can be a pain when it comes time to do bushings as most e36 are at least 14 years old.

A well maintained pre 1995 bmw will last you a lifetime =D (202,786 miles still on original clutch)

Just get both =D

 

Key word: well-maintained.

King of the Streets' M3 is running as strong as ever.

 

Friend has a active autoworks turbo e36 M3, car is always running hot and the packaging of the turbo makes it hard to fix boost leaks and such. Couple that with an aging chassis that needs constant suspension and reinforcements has made it a money pit.

IT definately pulls trains on the freeway and is a blast to slide around on boost, but the running costs of a turbo S52 motor have pushed him towards a 2jz swap which is roughly $7k or the same as an s52 drivetrain+turbo.

Reliability is the key factor! Turbo applications on a high compression N/A motor will always result in failure or financial distress lol