Damn - M Coupe Lovers check this out

[Ryan Stewart]

They will be the next E30 M3 to be coveted by purists. My .02

Will be? When they came out the value of every other inline-6 Coupe went into the crapper. These things are slick. Of course there are issues to overcome but cage the bastage and it should sitffen everything up.

Lotsa power, little car. Wheeeee!

[Z3Jonathan]

Does anyone know how the E30 floor pan compares to the M Coupe floor pan? I assume the diff and subframe mount to the unibody in similar fashions?

Jonathan

Big differance in HP and TQ numers so I don't think you should worry. Also you probably didn't pay 40k for your new M coupe.

Scarey part was this was going to be my next car in 5 years when the come down in prices. They will be the next E30 M3 to be coveted by purists. My .02

I don't think HP and Torque are as big of a factor, since this issue has crept on non-///M versions as well. Both enthusiast and non-enthusiast cars.

I've never heard of this being an issue on E30 M3s, and E30 325i's, which make roughly the same power as 2.5 and 2.8L Z3 Roadster and Coupes. Additionally, the average E30 has >100,000 miles, and there are many enthusiast owned cars that have been driven hard for longer than the Z3 has been around.

[M-technik-3]

The E30 has been known for being stiffer than it need to be from the factory. This is why so many of our cars are still around and are competitive after the years. Yea the E36 had rear seat failure issues but it wasn't so common on just the 325is and 328is. The E36 M3 yes, also the E30 M3 is not a torquey engine the M50 and M52 engine are in comparison to the S14.

[Z3Jonathan]

The E30 has been known for being stiffer than it need to be from the factory. This is why so many of our cars are still around and are competitive after the years. Yea the E36 had rear seat failure issues but it wasn't so common on just the 325is and 328is. The E36 M3 yes, also the E30 M3 is not a torquey engine the M50 and M52 engine are in comparison to the S14.

All very true... but until the E46 came around, the Z3 Coupe was the stiffest car BMW ever produced. Natural Frequency was similar to that of a Corvette. Chassis stiffness on the Coupe shouldn't be a problem.

Where I'm going with all this, is maybe manufacturing is an issue?

[mdistel]

M-technik, I think you have it backwards. The rear subframe fails on the E36 325i models and not the M3. The M3 came with factory welded reinforcements. A lot of regular E36 owners have been adding these to their cars. I've been looking into getting an E36 for my soon to be wife but I'm hesitant due to all the structural problems they seem to have. I like the 318ti and it doesn't have these problems so I may get one and swap in a 6cyl.

Mark

https://www.e30m50.com

[lukasbmw]

James, are you talking about Andrews 99 M roadster?

Scary shit indeed!

[TIATO]

. The rear subframe fails on the E36 325i models and not the M3. The M3 came with factory welded reinforcements. A lot of regular E36 owners have been adding these to their cars.
www.e30m50.com

e36 M3s were also subject to this failure and still are. Any factory re-enforcements would have come only after the initial failures. Despite renforcements, that area is still a glaring weak spot in an otherwise billiant rear suspension.

[Ryan Stewart]

Like he said those reinforcements were only on the latter M3s, Idont even think BMW made it a recall but just a bulletin. It might not be warranty covered.

Jonathan, like I said before. Never buy a US made BMW. Its how VW got a bad wrap too, the Mexican made ones were shitboxes. I am not saying all Z/X cars are crap or German cars are perfect, just that the ratio of defects slants toward the US side.

[M-technik-3]

The E30 has been known for being stiffer than it need to be from the factory. This is why so many of our cars are still around and are competitive after the years. Yea the E36 had rear seat failure issues but it wasn't so common on just the 325is and 328is. The E36 M3 yes, also the E30 M3 is not a torquey engine the M50 and M52 engine are in comparison to the S14.

All very true... but until the E46 came around, the Z3 Coupe was the stiffest car BMW ever produced. Natural Frequency was similar to that of a Corvette. Chassis stiffness on the Coupe shouldn't be a problem.

Where I'm going with all this, is maybe manufacturing is an issue?

I agree I think it's a design flaw that the factory should fix no matter when it happens. And the NHSTA should get involved and declare the safety defect.

The E36's managed to get by before they did that. This is BS that a 40k car can be that torn up in such short period. For a car that is suppoused to be a "Marque".