Anyone want to talk about E36’s with me?

[MPLFoster]

I have always had e36s and always liked them very much. To be fair, I've done plenty of work on both my e30 and e36 in terms of gluing interior parts back together. Yea e36 door cards pull apart. Idk what the big deal is just popping them off, smearing some epoxy all over the separated parts and done. It's an afternoon job.

Regarding the mechanicals, as long as its taken care of, it'll take care of you. As a daily I really love it. They drive well and look good when you have a clean well maintained tastefully modded example. I really don't understand why so many people hate them so much. Just like any e30, or any car, if you buy one that's been neglected and driven to the moon, its gonna fall apart and need ALLLL the maintenance. If you find one well maintained and lower miles, you're fine.

I'm actually in the middle of a resto mod of a 328 convertible. The first car I ever bought. I've had it 10 years now and am going through the whole car basically making it new again so it'll be my daily in a few months. Motor rebuild included.

Feel free to bug me if you have any questions/issues. I've probably seen it all when it comes to these cars at this point.

And yea, BFC is/was the best place for info. Seems kinda dead lately :(

Subbed

Nice. I was hoping you’d stop by. I have a pristine E36 and i’ll be keeping it that way but i want to mod the suspension soon. Looking at KW V1 coilovers. What are your thoughts on those? Good or should i consider something else? I’m looking for a good compromise between daily comfort and sporty handling during the occasional rip up and down the mountains around me.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Nice. I was hoping you’d stop by. I have a pristine E36 and i’ll be keeping it that way but i want to mod the suspension soon. Looking at KW V1 coilovers. What are your thoughts on those? Good or should i consider something else? I’m looking for a good compromise between daily comfort and sporty handling during the occasional rip up and down the mountains around me.

Good decision. Honestly I regret going as far with my e36 as I did. I was young and naive. Kinda ruined what the car was and didn't even realize it. Now I'm trying to put it back to how it should've been. Mild suspension (coilovers + bushings/joints etc.) and stop. Perfect right there... oh and the wheels :D

I've never driven on the k1s but I hear they're very good. I had a set of feal coilovers made for mine (their shop is local) with slightly stiffer springs (~550 front 650 rear) than "usual" for these standard coilover kits so we'll see what happens. I'm also sticking a e46 330 steering rack in it. And the fxr projector depos are DEFINITELY worth it. Both for asthetics and performance. It's amazing how much more you can see at night.

[bostonvert]

My first car was a very clean one owner e36 325 vert, hence my username and I loved that thing so much. I still mis it! Such a good platform and it drove so well with a few suspension upgrades. Bilsteins all around and Eibach springs

One day I'm getting another one and to this day my dream car is a euro spec e36 m3 with the 5 speed

[MPLFoster]

Good decision. Honestly I regret going as far with my e36 as I did. I was young and naive. Kinda ruined what the car was and didn't even realize it. Now I'm trying to put it back to how it should've been. Mild suspension (coilovers + bushings/joints etc.) and stop. Perfect right there... oh and the wheels :D

I've never driven on the k1s but I hear they're very good. I had a set of feal coilovers made for mine (their shop is local) with slightly stiffer springs (~550 front 650 rear) than "usual" for these standard coilover kits so we'll see what happens. I'm also sticking a e46 330 steering rack in it. And the fxr projector depos are DEFINITELY worth it. Both for asthetics and performance. It's amazing how much more you can see at night.

Yeah im seriously considering doing a full suspension refresh with new control arms, tie-rods, condor/oem bushings in all the right places, KW V1’s and a proper set of wheels and tires. Just need to pay for a wedding first...

The FX-R kit from TRS is a must. Ive done a retrofit on all my cars and its one of my favorite mods. I kinda nerd out on that stuff...foreground lighting, throw, cutoff, hotspot...i love getting everything just right. Makes night driving much more pleasant.

This is all just talk right now. Im first trying to port over my e30 before i even touch this E36, besides regular maintenance. :nice:

[Shangsta]

I currently daily a 96 318ti msport that has dbilias dynamics itb setup and a few other mods and it has been great as a daily. My biggest issue has been the door cards. I am actually in the process of modifying mine so that I will never have to deal with clip separation again.

[jr02518]

As the owner of a 1994 325is I can say the car is at it's best on long drives. I live in the mountains 90 east of Los Angeles and yes it's fun on the drives into the valley, but the car is at it's best when you have it on those drives that are eating distance. But, the challenge of keeping this car Smog legal in California, it's an every two year thrash.

They are a vacuum leak waiting to happen. That and they will eat the California only catalytic converters if you ignore the obvious signs that are telling you that you have a vacuum issue.

That and I would keep the car on Bilsteins and some sort of stock'ish springs. BMW's work on compliant suspensions, otherwise the rears will bind.

[Wanganstyle]

Yeah im seriously considering doing a full suspension refresh with new control arms, tie-rods, condor/oem bushings in all the right places, KW V1’s and a proper set of wheels and tires. Just need to pay for a wedding first...

The FX-R kit from TRS is a must. Ive done a retrofit on all my cars and its one of my favorite mods. I kinda nerd out on that stuff...foreground lighting, throw, cutoff, hotspot...i love getting everything just right. Makes night driving much more pleasant.

This is all just talk right now. Im first trying to port over my e30 before i even touch this E36, besides regular maintenance. :nice:

kwv1 is good, same for ST. durable and good out of the box

both of them will be slower on a average mtn road surface than the e36M3 OEM sachs dampers.

if you go to the track 1x ever quarter perhaps the coilovers would be better; the factory sachs/spring rates do roll a lot on track. On a mtn pass they are perfect though esp when it gets rough; and for street it is the best.

[MPLFoster]

As the owner of a 1994 325is I can say the car is at it's best on long drives. I live in the mountains 90 east of Los Angeles and yes it's fun on the drives into the valley, but the car is at it's best when you have it on those drives that are eating distance. But, the challenge of keeping this car Smog legal in California, it's an every two year thrash.
...
That and I would keep the car on Bilsteins and some sort of stock'ish springs. BMW's work on compliant suspensions, otherwise the rears will bind.

This E36 has been a decent cruiser for sure. We drive from Freiburg to Frankfurt along the autobahn about 300km most every weekend and its been very comfortable. I do plan on getting sportier suspension but also something that provides relatively decent comfort as well. So i wont be going for something too stiff. Hoping the KW V1’s are a decent compromise.

kwv1 is good, same for ST. durable and good out of the box

both of them will be slower on a average mtn road surface than the e36M3 OEM sachs dampers.

if you go to the track 1x ever quarter perhaps the coilovers would be better; the factory sachs/spring rates do roll a lot on track. On a mtn pass they are perfect though esp when it gets rough; and for street it is the best.

Those Sachs dampers are an interesting idea...but i do want some adjustability in terms of ride height. I know i wasn’t praising the stanceboys in my original post but i do like to minimize fender gap with a nice set of wheels and a drop.

Ive emailed the KW supplier here in DE and they can provide a range of different valving and spring rates but the cost goes up significantly with custom orders. Im hoping the V1’s out of the box will do the trick. Im used to running hard suspension on the streets so i know i can live with it, especially since ive heard the V1’s are not that stiff. And i dont intend to take it beyond the limit through the rough streets in town. The mountain passes around here are surprisingly well paved and flat/smooth with proper banking in the really curvy bits.

[2mAn]

and once you have it, you can drive it to the ring!

[MPLFoster]

and once you have it, you can drive it to the ring!

Are we still talking about the E30? ;D

I’ve been planning a Ring trip for a while now...if i could take my first lap in the E30 i would be quite pleased. Quite pleased indeed.

[NZM3]

After owning a E36 for 4 years I would not recommend one and advise against spending any money maintaining one just drive it until dies and walk away with a smile.

You can spend big $ just trying to maintain or slightly improve the general condition of one of these beasts, things just crap out for no apparent reason and it does not matter if is trim, electrics or mechanical parts.

And yes I know from experience.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Dunno much about e36's, but here's a 90's R&B video with a couple of them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwEZRPkAAu8

[TobyB]

After owning a E36 for 4 years I would not recommend one and advise against spending any money maintaining one just drive it until dies and walk away with a smile.

You can spend big $ just trying to maintain or slightly improve the general condition of one of these beasts, things just crap out for no apparent reason and it does not matter if is trim, electrics or mechanical parts.

And yes I know from experience.

I think you can safely say that about ANY BMW past the E30/ E34 etc cutoff.

An undermaintained E46 is just as bad as an E36, for example.

I WOULD offer that the 318ti is still an e30 at heart ;)

t

[earthwormjim]

I think you can safely say that about ANY BMW past the E30/ E34 etc cutoff.

An undermaintained E46 is just as bad as an E36, for example.

I WOULD offer that the 318ti is still an e30 at heart ;)

t

I don't know why E30/E34s wouldn't be included. A poorly maintained E30 is not fun to drive.
It's really true for any driver oriented car, ever made.

[TobyB]

You can spend big $ just trying to maintain or slightly improve the general condition of one of these beasts, things just crap out for no apparent reason and it does not matter if is trim, electrics or mechanical parts.

If you take my statement out of context, yes, it makes less sense. In agreement with the above:

You can ressurect a miserable old pile of an E30 to be fun and reliable
for less than what you'd
pay for a nice one in the first place. It won't be pretty, perhaps, but if it was a good shell
to start with, you can make a decent car out of it in any condition.
And it won't cost a fortune to get it safe and reliable.

A beater E36 or later- forget it. You'll be into it 10x+ what a really nice one will cost,
and even then, you may never get the thing to idle, use its vanos correctly, etc.
And the door panels will fall off as you're driving it.

Having had several examples in varying condition...

t