FEATURED CAR NOOSEE'S BMW M3

[Jabba]

Engine: 6 cyl, 24 valve, 2990 cc
Power: 286 bhp @ 7000 rpm
Torque: 236 lb ft @ 3600 rpm
Transmission: 5 spd manual, RWD, LSD
Alloy wheels: 7.5(f), 8.5(r) x17"
Tires: 235/40 - 17 rear and front
Weight: 1460 kg
0-60 mph: 5.97 secs (Top Gear Magazine)
0-100 mph: 14.5 secs (TG)
Standing Quater Mile: 14.5 secs at 99.7 mph (TG)
Braking 70-0 mph: 158.5 ft (TG)
Max speed, mph 157 (TG)

[gis]

very nice indeed,love the e36,any mods planned noosee

[666fast]

Awesome car! I've always liked the M3, I'd rather an E30 M3 myslef though.

Sweet ride, must be lots of fun!

[crazidude]

y is it ultra rare?

[gis]

4 doors,apparently they hardly made any of them,mostly 2 door

[TT]

Nice ride but around here there are some 4 doors E36 M3.. not ultra rare only rarer than the coupé

BTW, for the engine bay shot, did you removed the intake cover?

[noosee]

Originally Posted by gis very nice indeed,love the e36,any mods planned noosee

Thanks !!!!!!!!!

KW adjustable suspension and new sport exaust will go on later this summer.

Also i would like to replace steereng wheel (original is 2 big), front seats (not enough support) and wheels to lighter and bigger ones (something like oz superleggera 18').

I don't think that engine mods are needed for this car. Chip adds only 15 HP and Airbox 10 HP and would cost together 2000 EUR. Compressor can push power to 400 HP but it is expensive. And as I spend most of the time driving in traffic 286 bhp is enough.

[noosee]

Originally Posted by TT Nice ride but around here there are some 4 doors E36 M3.. not ultra rare only rarer than the coupé BTW, for the engine bay shot, did you removed the intake cover?

Yes it is not rare.

And for the engine bay - it is completly stock. I didnt change anything (exept for the air filter & oil).

[Jabba]

they are extremly rare in RHD form in the UK...but I removed the reference to it...so it doesnt confuse anyone anymore.....

[TT]

Originally Posted by noosee Originally Posted by TT Nice ride but around here there are some 4 doors E36 M3.. not ultra rare only rarer than the coupé BTW, for the engine bay shot, did you removed the intake cover? Yes it is not rare. And for the engine bay - it is completly stock. I didnt change anything (exept for the air filter & oil).

Ah, strange.. In my 320, there is a plastic cover on the intake part:



And if I'm not wrong, usually also M3s have it...

Edit - yes, I found another M3 engine bay:

[noosee]

[quote="TT"]

And if I'm not wrong, usually also M3s have it...

Edit - yes, I found another M3 engine bay:
quote]

Thats the US specs M3 engine bay.

Here some info:
The differences between the US and Euro BMW M3
There is a quite significant difference between M3's in the USA/Canada and M3's elsewhere (Europe/Asia etc.).

The "authentic" M3 (often referred to as the "Euro Spec." M3) has the real M-engine:

S50 B30 in the 3.0 Liter Euro M3 (built from 1993 to 1995)
S50 B32 in the 3.2 Liter Euro M3 (built from 1995 to present)

The S50 B30 develops 286 hp at 7000 rpm, the S50 B32 develops 321 hp at 7400 rpm.

The following are the engines of the US M3:

S50us B30 in the 3.0 Liter US M3 (built from 1995 to 1996)
S50us B32 in the 3.2 Liter US M3 (built from 1996 to present)

The S50us B30 and S50us B32 both develop 240 hp at 6000 rpm.

The US M3 engine is - from a constructors viewpoint - a tuned standard 3-series 6-cylinder motor: The S50us engine is a bored and stroked M50/M52 engine which was/is used in the 325i(s)/328i(s).

The Euro Spec. M3 engine is a hand-built engine which has Double-VANOS, 6 single throttles (one individual throttle body per cylinder) and has the characteristics of a racing engine: High engine speed red line almost at 8000 rpm, High specific power output of over 100hp/liter. The single throttles are a typical feature of all M-engines from the late Seventies M1 to the allnew E39 M5 8-cylinder. They all had/have single throttles. If you compare a picture of the US M3 engine with the Euro M3 engine with the hood open, you can see the difference by looking at the engine bay, even from distance.

Beside this essential difference, the US M3 also has a softer suspension, other headlights, wheels of different materials and other more or less minor differences. Also the US M3 is available with an automatic transmission beside the 5-speed manual gear box. The Euro Spec. M3 is only available with a 6-speed manual or a sequential gearbox (called "SMG"), which either works like a manual gear box (but without a clutch) or automatically. In 1995 the 3.2 Liter Euro M3 also got the 1994 M5 3.8 high performance brakes with compound discs, which made it one of the best braking cars on the German market (even competitive to the Porsche 993 TT for example).


Most likely reason for the "De-Tuning" is the fact that the Euro M3 might be too expensive for the US market (in BMW's opinion) and would never have reached the successful sales numbers of the US M3. And offering the Euro M3 as a special edition for those who can afford it was obviously not an option for the following reasons: 1. Adapting it to the US emission regulations and having it certificated for the US market would have been too expensive for BMW, related to the small number of cars that would have been sold with the financially much more attractive S50us-powered M3 aside and 2. the US M3 would have lost some great amount of prestige (Keep in mind, that many US M3 buyers find out about the Euro M3 actually AFTER they purchased what they thought was the "original" one...). So, although the US M3 unfortunately is not a 100 percent "genuine" M-car, it still remains being a hell of a machine

[TT]

Yeah, I know the difference between the models, but I thought every 3 series had the cover

[draak666]

I think the engine looks cool 'naked' 8) . Like the Alfa's.

I know constructors sometimes detune an engine a little bit in one country so that it would fit in a lower tax range over there. But damn, 46 hp less (and a softer suspension) that sucks big time.

I don't quite understand the Americans on this point either. Why are they so fond of a soft suspension? Are the roads so bad in the US? Or is it a misperception of me? Who's from the US and can explain it for me?

[draak666]

Forgot to mention:

A five speed gearbox is no problem, since you never have to use 6th gear when you're racing. But an automatic gearbox in a sportscar? That makes no sense. It takes away all the fun.

[SilviaS15Cwest]

Very nice car.