67rschev

I own a 105 k mile 99 M3 , its my daily commuter . It has just a wonderfully smooth motor , that delivers plenty of torque down low ( a must at our altitude ) , and when the VANOS kicks in , they pull nicely up top . It gets decent fuel economy at around 22-25 , and mine has a really sweet euro growl from the exhaust with the true dual UUC Twin Silencer . Gearbox is smooth and easy to use , the clutch takes more effort than the 44 , and I don't like BMW's use of a delay valve in the clutch . Brakes are very good and balanced . Interior is nice and comfortable , all though i agree , they are a little ' cheap ' and are fragile at best . BUT everything is exactly where it needs to be in the ergonomic department , from the pedals , to the gages , to the climate controls , and thats without tilt steering ( I don't think you could get it as an option on the M3 ) . Much easier car to heal toe shift than the 944 . If you are looking at a 2 door , the Vaders are nice and supportive , and my kids say the back seats aren't so bad . YEAH ! functional back seats ! The car is easier to get in and out of on a daily basis , and at my age that is starting to count for something . I think if you are tall , might be a bit of a squeeze , as i am 5' 8 , and with my helmet on i was bumping the roof a bit , but i do have my seat most of the way up .

These cars are not the perfect car by any means . These are needy German sports-cars , just like the 944s , if you don't do the work yourself , you better have deep pockets . They have chronic cooling system problems with the over use of composite plastics in the motor , that need replacing every 60 k . The suspension bushing in the front and rear are prone to wear out every 60 to 80k and if not attended to , can cause major damage to the chassis and components . The climate control on these and other e36 models seem to all be possessed ( had same issues with my 94 325is also ) . The 96 and up models are OBD 2 and will throw a code if you look at them wrong .

I have never tracked the M3 , only have a few autocross s logged so far . In stock trim , she feels very forgiving with a slight amount of push that can be modulated away with the use of the accelerator . I'm running a square tire set up of 235 s around , stock was 225 front and 245 rear and i think this would cause the car to understeer even more . It is HEAVIER than my 944 and feels that way . Steering isn't as precise as the manual rack in the 44 , and i feel more isolated from the road . Over all , just not as ' sharp ' feeling as the Porsche , but the 944 has been prepped , lowered , bars , springs , alignment , Konis ect , and the beamer is stock . I think i could keep up with the 944 in the corners , you just would drive completely different lines to achieve the same outcome .

Overall , if i had to choose one car , and one car only to drive , it would be the M3 . From the beautifully handsome and timeless muscular looks , to the silky smooth motor , great handling , and usable back seat . Fortunately at this point , i can keep the 944 as a weekend warrior , and keep the Camaro as the 401k , and keep the Ram 3500 Cummins dually so when i pull up to a stop light and see some Yahoo there with New York or New Jersey plates ( i.e. Tom R ) driving while flailing their hands and flappin thier gums , we can grab our cowboy hat and laugh as we bury them and their little ' forrin ' sportscars in a cloud of thick, thick , black diesel smoke ......

Tom R.

105k, yours is barely broken in compared to my 182k.

as long as you see me in my furrin car i can handle the diesel smoke. while not thrilled to be behind a diesel, i prefer that to being under one.

Josh B

I've got a 1997 M3 sedan with 125k that is used as a daily/family car and can only say good things about it. It really isn't that heavy of a car IMHO...

E36 M3 curb weight - 3109lbs
944 turbo - 3115lbs
944 85.5 + - 2932lbs
pre 85.5 - 2601lbs

Got those numbers online at random sites ..... One of them was saying that the BMW had 50/50 weight distribution as well....

roman944

anything > 3k is heavy

they are great cars though

I hate how many posers are out there with 325's and 328's with "m3 bumpers/sides" trying to race people ...

would make a great race car though, gut it, swap it, suspension/tire, w00t

Lemming

Loved my '95 M3. Great car as a daily driver and lot's of fun to drive. The only reason that I do not have an M3 at the moment is that I wanted my daily driver to have the same ergos as my track car, hence my 968 DD.

Oh yea, the '03 was ok as well :-)

Josh B

Not to get off track here but that would include the Porsche GT2 at 3150lbs and the Carrera GT at 3042lbs. About the only cars in the same league as a pre 85.5 944 weight wise would be an early miata or a Lotus Elise or some serious race car that is marginally streetable like the Mclaren F1. IMHO the "heavy" title is better reserved for cars with curb weights in the upper 3000s and beyond. Of course today's safety requirements for car manufactures like airbags and advanced wheel brake control systems don't help.

Tom R.

my brand new 08 astra with a whopping 138hp is about 3,000 lbs!! Good luck finding a new car that is lighter that you wouldnt be afraid to drive.

my 90 S2 weighed about 2985 lbs when it was corner balanced. i may have had a few casettes and a t shirt in it along with a paper clip in the ash tray and figure a half tank of gas, and owners manual. those may have tipped the scales a bit, but the recaros probably knocked more than a few ounces off as well.

i dont remember what the 951S weighed when corner balanced. if the current owner joined, maybe he will chime in with the numbers.

MM951

I agree with Josh. You are not gonna find many cars at all under 3000lbs, especially one as comfortable as a E36 M3 or even late 944

FWIW, my 951 with my weight in it (210lbs) was not much more than 3000lbs IRRC. (Van, if you remember differently please correct me) and I have 8 way heated 964 seats, tool kit, full interior, etc. The only thing that wasn't in the car was the spare tire!

roman944

hey I'm not saying a pig can't be fun ...

its kind of sad that there are hardly any high perfomance light weight sports cars anymore

but an E36 weighs in on a heavy side compared to some modern AWD + turbo'd cars ( like Evo/STi etc. ) which actually have 4drs

granted I'd rather have an E36 M3 then most of the cars being manufactured right now ...

jdgunn

I've had 3 924S's, a '78 928, a '95 325i auto, '94 325is 5sp with 225k and a '99 M Roadster with 23k so my opinion is from a mashup of cars, but the e36's win as the "best car I've owned so far."

Drivetrain:
In my opinion, the BMW drivetrain (manual transmission only) is bulletproof. I drove the crap out of the 325is with over 200k miles. I mean, i drove that car HARD and it simply would not die. I did change a few water pumps, radiators, t-stats but the work was easy (average waterpump job took 90 minutes!) The rubber guibo was a consistent point of failure, but that was probably due to oil leaks I never bothered to fix.

In my opinion, the e36 automatic transmissions have a 120k mile lifespan. I'm driving a 4 door '95 e36 as my daily driver and the transmission needs to be rebuilt. Everyone I know with an older e36 either has a new transmission or needs one. Just sayin'.

The S52 engine in my M Roadster (same as the M3) was unreal. I didn't like how the convertible handled, but that engine was amazing. I really wanted to swap it into my 325is, but the wife would have murdered me (rightfully so.)

Handling:
I do not like how my 4 door handles compared to the 2 door. My older 325is felt nimble, well balanced, and gave plenty of feedback. The 325i feels sluggish, pushes through corners and is very insulated from the road. Every e36 I've driven has felt different but I don't see how it could be too hard to get any of them to handle well. It seems like an excellent chassis

Comparing the BMW's to the Porsches I've owned I have to say the BMW is the smarter choice in the value and headache category. Of course, I sold all but 1 of my BMW's this year. The last one is going on Craigslist they day my 924S reaches DD status...

Josh B

Hey Roman - look up the weights... From what I can tell the STI has never been under 3000lbs and the current version is well over that at 3300+. The Evo has certainly had versions back in the 90s there were under 3000 but anything made after 2000 has been over that and the current version is at 3500lbs!

roman944

yes, and what I said is that E36 M3 coupe weighs in on a heavy side compared to Evo/STI (which are heavy because of AWD system and everything else needed for the engine etc.) plus Evo/STI's are both 4dr sedans which is important to some people

Potomac-Greg

I was looking at a G37 Convertible. That sucker is over 4,000 lbs! That's SUV territory.

roman944

and that's what I mean, they are still nice cars, and are pretty quick, but just imagine if it didn't weigh an extra 500-800 lbs

ilikemy944

Roman - have you ever weighed your car?