So, tell me your opinions on the e36 BMW gaise?

>gaise?

Just go oem. aftermarket Aluminium ones have been known to leak. I think OEM brand is BEHR. There is no need to buy the 'Genuine BMW' radiator just get the BEHR brand
Just go OEM again, silicone hoses have been known to leak.

I'm from the sunshine coast. Have commuted in 38C heat down to brisbane being stopped in traffic on the highway and haven't seen any problems with heat, even with aircon full blast. Bear in mind that the e36 temp gauge can read a hair above the middle of the gauge and thats fine. probably a slight voltage problem.

Haven't had the 5th gear issue no. It will be easier to drop the engine down out of the car with the trans attached than it will be to unbolt the trans while its connected. Just loosen the bolt on the driveshaft, shorten the driveshaft then drop the whole front subframe with motor and trans attached. it will probably take a couple of days but it will take longer to unbolt the trans by itself.

Also FCP euro is usually the cheapest place to get parts other than the radiator. Clickable automotive will be cheapest for the rad factoring in shipping. Pelican parts is my last resort if I can't find something

On paper it does nothing well but they are a drivers car. good feel from the steering and chassis and they are comfy on the highway.

If it has an I6 it's good to go
Go for the 328 over the 325 cause it has the ZF trans from the M3

Also this
My turbo E36 runs a BEHR factory radiator
They are very good, the plastic tanks just go to shit after like 10-20 years so people have some impression that they're bad

Also you are right about it not being great spec wise, but people are putting down impressive lap times

Sweet, thanks for the response. I'll just go OEM then.
Just a few more questions, did you ever need to do the rear subframe reinforcement on your cars? I don't plan on tracking my car anytime soon, but I like to occasionally launch my car and do pulls. I've read that the bigger motors have enough torque to damage the mounts over time.
Have you heard about needing to secure the oil pump nut? Don't think it was an issue on the 4 bangers though.

Thanks for the store recommendations, I've used clickable automotive before for filters, but haven't heard of FCP euro.

I never did any, you shouldn't need too unless its broken or you're making massive power. If you are worried change the subframe bushings out for powerflex purples. generally the reason those points fail is because the stock bushings go bad, the subframe can then move freely and when it does it basically acts as a hammer on the mounting bolts. So if your bushings are in good condition you should be fine.

yeah the pump nut is something you should definetly take care of. you can buy nuts with holes in them for safety wire. you can also threadlock, bash the thread a little so the nut can't unscrew or weld it if you can get it clean and dry. I was alwasy a fan of the bashing the threads because it means you have no imbalanced weight on the pump shaft and less stuff potentially whipping up the oil or coming off.

I don't know if thats the case in AUS, I think our 328's have the getrag box.

Best driver’s car you can get for the money.

Get a 6 cylinder and you'll be happy. They're excellent driver's cars for any budget -- (oem replacement, used, and aftermarket) parts are plentiful and reasonably priced and the internet knowledgebase is enormous

Cheers, I'll deal with the oil pump nut after the cooling system then.
How can you tell if the stock bushings are bad? I sometimes hear a faint knock from the rear of the car after taking off or changing gears while moving. But this is the first rwd and manual car I've had, so I don't know if the noises are normal or not.
If I jack the car up, would I be able to tell visually that they're bad?

>nsx
>c5
>viper

>not better than a shitheap e36

what kind of retard made this.

>muh handling

viper > gay ass bmw

>viper
>handling

That knock can often be the diff bushing being bad. That will pull the whole drivetrain out of 'proper' alignment. sounds bad but isn't really doing any damage.

You can visually inspect it but best to try adn give it a good wiggle or stick a screwdriver in there to have a feel. MAKE SURE YOUR JACKS ARE STURDY IF YOU SHAKE THE SUBFRAME TO CHECK

If they haven't been replaced then 99.999% of the time they are gone and you need new ones. Realistically I'd just budget for some new bushings and just get under there and do it.

Probably trailing arm bushings
Regardless you should replace them and add RTAB limiters when you do
Not a bad time to do wheel bearings either

The oil pump nut thing is a meme, don't bother with it until you're already there doing something else.
Much like the subframe and shock tower meme. Unless you have a dilapidated turd you'll be fine.

Alright, I'll give it a check this weekend.

Thanks, I'll leave the pump nut for later then.

Most of the remorse with getting this car are all the issues I've read that need to be addressed. Just makes it feel like a ticking time bomb. Money is tight right now, but I can at least afford to do the cooling system.
>Reinforce the rear subframe or it'll rip apart from the chassis
>Secure the oil pump nut or it'll come loose and the engine will blow up
>Replace the entire cooling system or it'll fail and blow a head gasket
>Drop the transmission to fix the 5th gear lean
If the rear subframe and pump nut aren't huge issues then I guess it's alright then. The car drives pretty nicely. The 5th gear lean issue is a fucking pain in the ass though. Makes finding 3rd gear a bitch. But it doesn't seem worth fixing until the clutch wears out and the tranny has to come out anyway.

They're fantastic introductions into being a car enthusiast. The interiors sort of fall apart due to BMW using hippy pleasing glue in the 1990s, but otherwise they're just sophisticated enough to feel modernish but not so sophisticated that they're impenetrable to the average mechanic.

Finding unmolested examples is very hard these days since they were so cheap for so long, minorities bought them and did that thing minorities do which is ruin everything.

328is is the best daily

Pic related is the weirdest one you can find, the 318ti

The transmission comes out very easy and weighs less than 70lb

Dated and trashy

Is it possible to supercharge an E36? Are their kits available? I don’t know why but a supercharger always seemed more “fitting” of the E36 than a turbo

There*
Sorry t. Retard

yeah theres a couple kits out there

Mine is supercharged with the Dinan kit
See

how much was it? Definitely worth the money im guessing considering their lifetime warranty

>my turbo E36
uh

really good intro to bmw, not as good as the e46 but still really good, and much less problem prone
90s styling but it's aged pretty well
can get them for cheap, for now
gud kar

>realization that e36 tourings will be 25 year legal soon, if they aren't already

...

will the GT front splitter fix the understeer problems i have with my compact at high speed corners?

Yes. Absolutely. 100%.

...

God those proportions are perfect.

Do you have the factory mismatched tire profiles? It helps to swap the fronts to 40-series.

They don't sell Dinan SCs new anymore
I got it used and had it rebuilt, but yeah it's worth it imo

My M3 is supercharged, as seen in the picture, does not use the stock cooling system
My 328 is turbocharged and uses the stock cooling system though

it's a 323ti SLE so it came with 225/45R17 on 7.5 wide wheels from the factory
I'll also get better tires in the spring, those will probably make the biggest difference

US spec M3 would probably shit itself with any amount of boost ;-;

Wrong lol I have a boosted S52 as do many others
What makes you think that?

/thread

I own both an E36 coupe and a W201 and I prefer the latter, although the E36 is better in some ways such as having a larger aftermarket, rack-and-pinion steering, proper EFI, and limited-slip diffs for the E36 aren't rare as they are for the Merc.
The E36 chassis has weak points and needs reinforcement for the rear subrame and trailing arm mounting points. Coming from the M30 and E34 world previously, I also don't like the M50 engines at all. The M50B25 feels gutless, even with vanos, and all cars I've driven with that engine had the vanos rattle.

This looks like the sort of car a cop would look for reasons to pull over.

Probably the best older BMW you can buy because it's dirt cheap while E30's are pushing $10k now

I've read a lot of people say the ZF trans is actually more prone to failure than the Getrag

Where the fuck can I find a good E34

Every one that has popped up on Craigslist is either modded to shit or super overpriced

Gaise = guys

We're not talking about the m3 specifically.

a 325i or 328i is a very decent sports car for the money.

Wow holy shit is that an M3? Your debadging and plastidipped wheels totally fooled me, doesn't look like a clapped out $1500 325is at all!

I love these cars. I used to have a supercharged M3 Dinan sedan and a naturally aspirated M3 Dinan coupe. Both were green but slightly different shades. They sound amazing with a Magnaflow catback. I really miss these cars. Ask me anything!

Forum rejects talking out their ass lmao
Everyone uses the ZF

When you gettin another fgt?

How often did your windows stop working?

e36 over any of those shitheaps all day.

When i got out of highschool i went straight into the factory and spend my first salary on an E36.

I fell in love with that car, drove it to absolute pieces and loved every mile i drove in it; a true god machine, i have never driven a car again that felt so connected to the road (in this price range).

Here in Yurop minorities and boyracers focus on the 3-series, so finding an unmolested E34 isn't impossible.

They're an electrical nightmare and the interiors fall apart like cheap Chinese toys. However they're cheaper and more refined than E30s so make a better purchase. Also the M50b25 is pretty much the 2JZ of Europe so you've got that going for them.

The M104 is the 2JZ of Europe. Even the M103 is a better candidate for turbocharging than an M50.

E30s are pushing 6-7k now, majority of decent ones with various issues (so all of them) are $5.5k give or take a grand. Minty ones aren't worth 10k but that's what retards list them as.

>m104 is the 2jz of europe
If that were true, everyone would be swapping benz engines in race cars/drift cars but everyone is using bmw and LS engines instead in europe.

If you want a reasonably powerful and cheap rwd shitbox e36 is the perfect choice, but i think they look kinda outdated nowdays.

Well, the M50 is more versatile since it is available in both front and rear sump.
The BMW engines might be more popular, but the Benz engines can take a lot more power on stock internals.

Availability and price is what makes M50 the 2JZ of Europe

The availability has gone down and prices have gone up in recent years though. M50 engines aren't that cheap anymore.

300-600 euros for a full swap is cheap
Plus old 2.5 bmws can be found in every scrapyard

you think the n54 might take the mantle of european 2jz next? Not many people swapping them, but keeping them in the stock cars, they seem to make a fuckload of power.