# Newbie, i'm in the market, fill me in....



## Nik (Jun 5, 2003)

Aight i'm gonna buy an E36 M3, '95-'97 very soon. I keep seeing different years with the 3.0's, 3.2's, and even 2.8's i'm gonna get a 2 door for sure so what are the years and motors/options?? any not have like some of the luxury options? if so, what would those be specifically? all have cd players? cd changers? What is confusing that i should know i guess is what i'm saying when i buy one. I will get a yellow, black, or silver 1995-1997 M3 Manual for sure. So please fill me in. Any websites that give all models by year and what not? And specs and what not. Thank you in advance and glad to be a future bimmer owner, I am PUMPED! Later.

Thanks,
Nik Chipps


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2003)

There are no 2.8L M3s.

But you should be able to answer all of your questions at this link- http://www.eurospeed.org/e36m3faq.pdf


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## scottn2retro (Mar 20, 2002)

Thanks for the link TD - good reading :thumbup:

What do you plan to do with the car? If it's going to be a project/mod car, a poplular way to go is to do the '95 with the 3.2L ODBI conversion.


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## Nik (Jun 5, 2003)

*will be street/track car*

Basically the only mods i think i wanna do to the car will be full suspension(much to learn about the best setup), 18 inch rims/tires, 14" brakes, intake, exhaust, chip and mind you i don't know everything about what these mods do specifically to this car hp wise but just the main mods to give it a little more pep for auto-xin'. That will be all besides cosmetic mods such as lights and what not. So thank you much for your help. Keep in mind i come from twinturbo-land so give me hints on mods worth my while cuz intake, exhaust and chip i'm used to adding 100 hp . Thanks again. ttyl.

Nik Chipps


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## scottn2retro (Mar 20, 2002)

AutoXer - okay, here's one for you - see if you can find one with no sunroof. Good weight savings.


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## Nik (Jun 5, 2003)

*scott...*

was that a joke?


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## scottn2retro (Mar 20, 2002)

*Re: scott...*



Nik said:


> *was that a joke? *


Nope. rwg just recently found his e36 M3 without a sunroof and I've got this racer (with no sunroof) coming to SoCal when this season is up. It is not an actual ltw (the motorsport corner decals were put on by Team PTG), but having the sunroof definitely adds some weight the car - and in AutoX, weight is the enemy.


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## jderry (Sep 24, 2002)

> full suspension(much to learn about the best setup), 18 inch rims/tires


I would think this is a contradictory statement, you want to go with a full suspension AND then throw on 18 inch rims??? I would bet 99% of the time, 18 inch rims would hurt your auto-x suspension. You would want to run 17x9's at the most ...

Why do you want 14" brakes? They will *NOT* assist you in stopping quicker.

I still have my stock suspension and I get scared goin 8/10ths on the track ... I think you should be accustomed to the car before jumping into the mods.

I would recommend the 3.0 L 1995 edition, only b/c it is a bit more receptive to aftermarket modifications if you decide to go that route, especially with f/i. OBD-I rocks for f/i.


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## Stuka (Jul 17, 2002)

*My dream E36 Project car*

I thought about this before taking the E46 plunge:

96 E36 M3 with high miles (around 90K)
+
3.2 Liter REAL S52 321HP engine
+
Real S52 DME and harness
+
6 speed tranny on E36 M3 Evo's
+
M Floating rotors

In Dakar Yellow, of course.:thumbup:

In the end, the warranty issue won me over and I got me a fat pig of an M3. Yes, it's a stripper, and yes, it's still a fat pig.

Andy
02 M3 CB/Cloth SMG


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## Bruce (Dec 24, 2001)

*Re: My dream E36 Project car*



Stuka said:


> *3.2 Liter REAL S52 321HP engine*


Euro Evo motor is S50 B32. Only the US 3.2 has the S52 designation.


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## Ty Vil (Dec 19, 2002)

dakar yellow is the only way to go.


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

For autocross the 95 is the way to go. The OBD 1 cars take to engine tuning much better.

18s are a mistake, the wheels are heavier and the tire weight is out further adding rotational inertia. A nice 17x8.5 or 17x9 with something like the Hoosier A3SO4 in 245/40-17 works well. Typiclaly you need spacers at the front.

What class are you going to try to run?

For Stock, not much can be done. For SP the top guy is running a stock cast header, but with a custom section behind that. Most people just change the rear section, mainly for lightness, the stock muffler is HEAVY.

For the intake the car is competitive with the stock intake system, but he Euro HFM with chip does give significant gains, but not necessarily that much for autoX.

For suspension, shocks are your preferenece, I am running DA Konis. Springs - H&R Sport springs work well. For camber swapped 96+ hat do a nice job for inexpensive. Some form of sways, I have UUC.

Then the most important thing to do is to tune the nut behind the wheel.

Also the nice thing about a 3.0L 95 is if you want to go SM, you can put a blower on it.


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## Mpire (Mar 28, 2003)

For autocross get the E36/8 M coupe. Much more fun. But I am biased.


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