Need advice / sharing my concerns with someone

[Pinecone]

18 hours ago, MikeOH said:

Great car!  I owned one for almost two years...until a lady in a Hummer rear ended me at a stoplight 

Never had any issues; car ran strong and reliable (no overheating issues even with the stock radiator in stop-n-go traffic). I'm still looking for a replacement...prices have doubled in the meantime and none I've seen are in near as nice a condition.  Mine was bone stock which is nearly impossible to find.

 

My favorite color.  And I actually prefer the later ones with the black extended bumpers.

 

[Pinecone]

18 hours ago, 201Mooniac said:

I need a windshield as well but the dealer was crazy expensive, I was thinking about checking with Safelite or someone like that, 

Safelite glass is very soft and chips easily.

BMW uses Pilkington glass.  You can find auto windshield shops will do Pilkington.  There is a upcharge if you want the windshield with the factory markings.  I did not when I had mine replaced.

 

[Pinecone]

20 hours ago, EricJ said:

In most M3 iterations the main useful difference is the engine.   For E36s and E46s it doesn't take much modding to make a non-M better than an M, with the exception of output power.   My E36 chassis was modded way past stock-M performance (most competitive track cars are), but the stock non-M engine allowed me to stay in lower classes where the car was exceptionally competitive.   Dropping an M engine in can be done pretty easily, and then you're back to M power output or better and can mod from there to move up if you like.   E36 and E46 platforms have been very popular in amateur racing because they could be prepped to be competitive at nearly any classing level.   That's getting a bit harder these days at the higher power-to-weight classes with things like Corvettes that have brutal power and torque right out of the box.   

My point was, the M is a very different car from the factory than the non-M.  In any make, you can mod a non-performance version to be better than most of the available models.  It just takes money.

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, Pinecone said:

My point was, the M is a very different car from the factory than the non-M.  In any make, you can mod a non-performance version to be better than most of the available models.  It just takes money.

I was saying that beyond the engine the differences aren't that big, at least in the E36 and E46.   There are a lot of differences, they're just mostly tweaks.   

[Pinecone]

21 minutes ago, EricJ said:

I was saying that beyond the engine the differences aren't that big, at least in the E36 and E46.   There are a lot of differences, they're just mostly tweaks.   

A lot of tweaks.  The E46 has something like 3000 parts that are different on the M version non-M.

[EricJ]

32 minutes ago, Pinecone said:

A lot of tweaks.  The E46 has something like 3000 parts that are different on the M version non-M.

Definitely, and some of them are genuine "upgrades", but most are incremental changes or styling/marketing.   They make a little differences, and it can add up, but they're not huge.  In a few cases, like the strut bearings, the non-M part is arguably better than the M.   For street hooning the differences aren't going to do much for you other than the engine, and on the track most of the M parts are going to be replaced, anyway, except the engine, maybe the diff, maybe a few other things depending, but mostly the engine.   They're great cars, and the Ms are nothing to sneeze at, for sure.   They sold a lot of them and M3s continue to hold crazy value in the market.

[Pinecone]

6 hours ago, EricJ said:

They sold a lot of them and M3s continue to hold crazy value in the market.

Yeap.  I have an E36 M3 LTW in my garage.

 

[Schllc]

17 hours ago, Pinecone said:

A lot of tweaks.  The E46 has something like 3000 parts that are different on the M version non-M.

I had an 740i m sport with a lot of dinan upgrades, and I also had an e39 m5, which I believe the last model of a real clutch and stick. 
I was never a real enthusiast, but don’t they take the stock chassis and interior from the production line and convert them to M’s, or do they manufacture them entirely separate?

I know they did that with the alpine editions. 
I loved my m5, but you couldnt help but drive that thing like a crazy teenager.  
it was just so fast and responsive, and a real joy to drive. 

[MB65E]

This thread got better!

Fly a Mooney! 

I’ve owned an old e36 318 that was like a go cart. It had more options (LSD rear end) and drove nicer than our 05 X3 with the 3.0l manual 6. Currently driving a sport package 335D. 
I cringe more with SES lights in the BMWs than master caution lights while flying jets. Slowly rebuilding my 86, 944. 
-Matt

[Shadrach]

9 hours ago, Schllc said:

I had an 740i m sport with a lot of dinan upgrades, and I also had an e39 m5, which I believe the last model of a real clutch and stick. 
I was never a real enthusiast, but don’t they take the stock chassis and interior from the production line and convert them to M’s, or do they manufacture them entirely separate?

I know they did that with the alpine editions. 
I loved my m5, but you couldnt help but drive that thing like a crazy teenager.  
it was just so fast and responsive, and a real joy to drive. 

The E39 M5 is a keeper. It will always be loved as one of the best analog street cars ever made. I never owned one but have been fortunate enough to drive several. The best was dealer prepped with lots of Dinan goodies. I still have vivid memories of running it up rat one between Stinson Beach and Mill Valley , CA. The owner, a buddy of mine who was in the right seat with white knuckles had asked me to showcase its capabilities. I was young and stupid (nut not a teenager), so I obliged. Low mileage and one owner cars are becoming unicorns.

[Shadrach]

6 hours ago, MB65E said:

This thread got better!

Fly a Mooney! 

I’ve owned an old e36 318 that was like a go cart. It had more options (LSD rear end) and drove nicer than our 05 X3 with the 3.0l manual 6. Currently driving a sport package 335D. 
I cringe more with SES lights in the BMWs than master caution lights while flying jets. Slowly rebuilding my 86, 944. 
-Matt

CELs are an accepted reality. Love my 535d but the emissions system is overly complex.

[Pinecone]

10 hours ago, Schllc said:

I was never a real enthusiast, but don’t they take the stock chassis and interior from the production line and convert them to M’s, or do they manufacture them entirely separate?

I know they did that with the alpine editions. 
I loved my m5, but you couldnt help but drive that thing like a crazy teenager.  
it was just so fast and responsive, and a real joy to drive. 

 

The M cars are built in Regensburg.  Most of the regular 3 series are made in Munich.  So separate lines.  As I stated, most of the parts are different.  The interiors are pretty much the same, except for some M markings and things like red line.

Alpina was a tuner company.  They got cars (sometime complete sometimes not) and then modified them to be more sporty.  Due to their success, BMW started the M cars to keep them in house.  AMG in the MB world and Abarth in the Fiat also started as tuner companies, but the makers bought them and brought them into the company.

There is no longer a "chassis" as they are unibody.  But, IIRC in the E46 there were some additional welding to make them a more torsionally rigid.

IMO the E39 M5 and E46 M3 are the last of the nice looking, real cars.

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, Pinecone said:

Alpina was a tuner company.

Alpine is still a going concern. I almost bought a beautiful grey market, 1978 Henna red Alpina 323i. This was in the 90s and the rear shock towers look like Swiss cheese from all the rust. I wish I had bought it and kept it

[Echo]

23 hours ago, EricJ said:

I was saying that beyond the engine the differences aren't that big, at least in the E36 and E46.   There are a lot of differences, they're just mostly tweaks.   

My son currently has a Z4 M Couple with the E46 engine.  It is a really fun car.  He had an aftermarket carbon fibre intake and tuned exhaust istalled.  The car is chipped.  The whoop from the intake is a wonderful sound.  Very analog feel.  It recides in my hanger over the winter so his new project (Mastercraft boat) can receive TLC over the winter. (redo teak platform and install new floor.)  

Edited February 24, 2024 by Echo

[Schllc]

2 hours ago, Pinecone said:

 

The M cars are built in Regensburg.  Most of the regular 3 series are made in Munich.  So separate lines.  As I stated, most of the parts are different.  The interiors are pretty much the same, except for some M markings and things like red line.

Alpina was a tuner company.  They got cars (sometime complete sometimes not) and then modified them to be more sporty.  Due to their success, BMW started the M cars to keep them in house.  AMG in the MB world and Abarth in the Fiat also started as tuner companies, but the makers bought them and brought them into the company.

There is no longer a "chassis" as they are unibody.  But, IIRC in the E46 there were some additional welding to make them a more torsionally rigid.

IMO the E39 M5 and E46 M3 are the last of the nice looking, real cars.

i could not agree more.  I owned them for quite a while and really didn't enjoy selling the m5.  but i was tired of chasing the electronic gremlins in the dash and sound system.  Between burnt pixels, and the god awful radio, only made tolerable by a hack for an audio in it was unusable.

but the performance was unreal.  i mean it would do 60-70 in first gear and lay rubber all the way up through 3rd gear.

on the track it would take your breath away.

i do miss it....

[Pinecone]

On 2/24/2024 at 10:45 AM, Echo said:

My son currently has a Z4 M Couple with the E46 engine.  It is a really fun car.  He had an aftermarket carbon fibre intake and tuned exhaust istalled.  The car is chipped.  The whoop from the intake is a wonderful sound.  Very analog feel.  It recides in my hanger over the winter so his new project (Mastercraft boat) can receive TLC over the winter. (redo teak platform and install new floor.)  

I had a 2000 M Roadster.  My ex kept it.

It had Bilstein Sport shocks, HR Sport Springs, RD Sport sway bars.  Ended up with a Turner Stage 4 engine kit with shorty headers into Super Spring exhaust.  FUN car.

My E46 M3 has a TC Kline suspension kit and HR sway bars.  Borla exhaust.

I have never owned a car that remained stock.

Heck, I even put Bilsteins and Addco rear sway bar on our 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.