M3 review: Sorting out fact from fiction in a 1987 BMW M3

[jgilber0]

"Just another boxy-looking product of the 1980s?" Nice writeup from Hagerty here.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid..._6_HagertyNews

[2mAn]

"Just another boxy-looking product of the 1980s?" Nice writeup from Hagerty here.

Not sure if this was sarcastic because if you read past the intro you'd get to stuff like this, "In those moments, the M3 lives up to the hype. You can get a similar feeling from a new Porsche 911 GT3."

I like Hagerty, Im glad they insure my Datsun because I get a lot of cool perks and their magazine is one I actually enjoy reading

edit: My take is that if you can own a S14 that makes ~250bhp there isnt a better car out there, I think this is why the S52 and other 24v swaps are popular because that takes the E30 to the "just right" power output. If you can get that power with the balance of the 4cylinder motor then it truly is as good as the hype

[MrBurgundy]

The windowsill is at perfect elbow-resting height.

[reelizmpro]

Not sure if this was sarcastic because if you read past the intro you'd get to stuff like this, "In those moments, the M3 lives up to the hype. You can get a similar feeling from a new Porsche 911 GT3."

I like Hagerty, Im glad they insure my Datsun because I get a lot of cool perks and their magazine is one I actually enjoy reading

edit: My take is that if you can own a S14 that makes ~250bhp there isnt a better car out there, I think this is why the S52 and other 24v swaps are popular because that takes the E30 to the "just right" power output. If you can get that power with the balance of the 4cylinder motor then it truly is as good as the hype

You hit the nail on the head and that's why I didn't understand why people swapped E30 M3's. Back in the day, S14 performance parts were much cheaper and one was able to get a reliable 250-260HP while keeping the original lighter S14. Then labor/parts prices went up and the engines got older. People just didn't want to deal with it and cashed out, so we started seeing more and more swaps since one could sell an S14 and recover most of the cost of the swap which by now has gotten to only be a few thousand vs 10-15K back in the day. Another reason to go S50/S52, is they make 240HP stock and are newer, reliable, relatively low maintenance engines.