zeb0r

..
um... so im a mitsubishi guy. i have an eclipse gt. and a montero xls. i am looking into the bmw market because i am fasinated with the bmw m3. i have looked into dinan packages and whatnot. what do you guys have to say about bmw m3's? fast? reliable? supercharged or turbo'd? pros and cons pretty much...

Steez

While ya'll are at it, since I don't want to start ANOTHER thread on M3s too, what about the e36s? Specifically 97s...

Mister VR6

My Friends 06 M3 Is Sick...Supercharged & All......I Just Bought An M3 Last Week I Love It To Death....Fast & Reliable Indeed....

JoeHoR1

I think they both LOOK amazing but the E46's are a million times better, but I only speak from seeing them on the streets... I have a E46 2000 328i and I love it so far. I am a valet and I drive alot of cars, some mitsubishi's and they're alright, but EVERY BMW I drive is godly. But that's just me...

99TL

pretty much any generation m3 is going to be an extremely fun car to drive. more specific questions and i'll at least try to help.

As far as forced induction if you are looking to build high horsepower the e36 m3 is probably better due to the lower compression ratio. Active Autowerkes has produced a supercharger kit for the e46 m3 that when coupled with a little nitrous produced right around 500hp. I want to say sans nitrous it is around 440 crank horsepower. There are many turbo/sc options for the e36.

As far as reliability there aren't too many high mileage e46 m3's running around but one of my best friends bought his 2001 m3 cab new and had no problems until now (65k miles). The e36 m3 motors (s50/s52) have proven to be pretty reliable. They are generally good for 150k+ without problems.

Main con is that parts are expensive for the cars and therefore they can get a bit pricey to maintain.

zeb0r

hrmph.. yea ive been told that the e36's are alot better than the e46.. but if i were to go back into an e36, id have to go with like an 98 m5. but they're too hard to find. damn.. anymore pros and cons guys? appreciate it..

mistervr6, you like it? do you regret it or what?

99TL

98 m3? There are plenty of them around. Just make sure you find one with good service records.

99TL

let's see some pics... would love to see the sc m3.

MCokewell

I've been searching for four months trying to find the right E36 M3 with a full history and must agree with you Zeb0r, they're really hard to find ... at least in the condition I expect. I drove a supercharged E36 in Lutz that's for sale on eBay currently, but the poor thing really needs some TLC. I'll never realize why people feel the need to bastardize an enthusiast car with a sticker price of over $40,000... Poor kid who's trying to sell it now is just trying to get himself out of the money pit he's got. One thing you really have to be sure to avoid is impulse buying (which should go without saying) because there are so many crooked assholes out there trying to get your money. I know I sound cynical but from what I've see over the past four months, it's proven itself true.

Anyway, check Edge Motorworks "75k mile list" for common issues seen in E36s. Also check this thread on Bimmerforums, AND check the E36 M3 FAQ

Hope this helps you in your quest! (Because that's what it will be, a f**king QUEST)

ED.T

Hey guys I work for BMW and I can say the e36 and e46 M3 are both sick cars I like the e46 for the new look and dinan has so much things for these car it amazing.I say TURBO...