Derspeed

My buddy just had his fuel pump replaced via recall. While at the dealership, he was told tha a Dinan ECU flash was done there and the car would still be covered under some Dinan/BMW cooperative warranty.

MRAMG1

+1

I know I will keep my C32 for years to come. WAY too much fun, on the raod, on the track, and even a night out on the town. Sorry, but the BMW's just don't do it for me anymore. Had them, liked them, but come on guys, they still are not a AMG.

See yeah

m3_eater

If BMW had not turned the 1-Series into a bloated, heavy and expensive car I would've plunked down my $$ for one. Just 200 lbs less and a few grand less and I would have gotten serious about one. Now, I'll have to wait and see if they get the message from people like me and make the tii a stripped-down, lightweight version, possibly with a FI'd four-pot. Otherwise, it's just not worth it.

I always loved how quick the C32 is (especially once I had stage 2 and a Quaife on it). For the $$, it's very tough to beat the overall capabilities and refinement! However, I missed having something light and tossable. I solved that little problem by picking up a new toy this weekend:

Carl Lassiter

Nice E30. Supremely tossable.

Newzchspy

Not that one he bought. Cars been lowered and look at the clearance for the front wheels to fender, particularly for turn-in. Nice car though!! Probably is trackable BUT autocross wise would be rubbing the fenders on the front.

Glenn

dkflipse

Wow. Very nice - and clean! What year and how much did you pay? I was looking at one myself a few weeks ago. Curious to see how maintenance treats ya'.

m3_eater

It's built for road racing, not autocross. However, I am monitoring it closely as the rims are 17" and the fenders are not rolled (nor do I intend to do so)! I've had it in some pretty strong steering angles, off-camber hard corner deceleration, etc and bumpy sections of road too and not heard a single rub - but autocross would be a more severe case.

m3_eater

It's a 1991 chassis, but that's about where the old stops and the new begins. Try a 1999 24V DOHC M52 swap with S52 cams, converted to OBD1 (M50 manifold & parts, etc), 3:46LSD and a 2006 E46 M3 6-speed paint, interior, functional R134a AC, and tons more. I paid a pretty penny. Too embarrassed to say how much exactly, but try E30 M3 territory and you'd land in the ballpark. I don't like the old M3 - too boy racer for me - so this is perfect. Plus, I can have fun working on it myself!

dkflipse

Wow! I knew that engine bay looked too clean. Does it put the power to the pavement pretty well?

Post some performance numbers when you get to it.
Congrats again.

PS - the Henna one for sale is a looker.

c32AMG-DTM

Ahhh... interesting - I was guessing an S50 swap (and hoping for a Euro-spec S50 Evo... ) I used to drive a modded '91 E30 4-door 318i

FrankW

garden variety car with fuel pump problems... and uneven panel gap all around FTW!!

one of my friend's going through a lemon process for his AW 335 E92. and of course I drive it a lot. it'll give the stock 32 a good run for sure, but you can feel the 335 doesn't pull as well over 80mph. haven't driven any chipped one, but given it's a turboed car...sky's the limit until it blows.

FrankW

i was guessing an S52b32 from the look of the engine cover, but what's the M52...my knowledge stops short on the M engine name.

e30 M3 clean ones are around $22-23k ish...am i in the ballpark?

silence

the warranty voiding software issues have already been solved!

coming from someone who owns neither- 335 seems more reliable, easier to tune and generally better than a C32

Newzchspy

How do YOU know the 335 is better than the c 32 if you've owned neither. I've never been to the Moon so I really shouldn't comment on that either!!! Is this based entirely on your speculation or on the fact that you have a C43 and that gives you license to comment on a C32.

dkflipse

M52 engine = E36 M3.

And you can get an E30 for $18K or so if you shop. Of course not with the extent of work M3eater's has.

silence

in no way did i state that i "know"

I do know that there are more faster 335s out there (particularly relative to their newness)- take a look around at the general level of knowledge and fast timeslips here vs. 335s on bimmerforums...

everything else is absolutely speculative and i have no more right to throw it out there than anyone else

how does owning one of the two cars make you better able to compare? seems to me it just makes you biased

Slater126

+1. I don't consider these cars to be "competitors" at this point. It would cost me about $15-20k to move into a 135i from my C32. And I'd get about the same level of performance. Now, a 135 may handle a little better, but nothing you'd probably notice in day to day driving. I have better things to do with that kind of money!

I'd be leery about adding more boost to a 135i via an ecu upgrade. I think that would have reliability ramifications, not to mention it would void the warranty.

As someone said, it's a credit that a car designed in 2001 is still highly competitive with a 2008 BMW, at about half the cost in today's dollars. Sure the C32 was more expensive new, but you have to look at what they cost now.

If I wanted a pure track car, I'd buy a 1997-98 E36 M3 for about 12k and be done with it. Track cars don't need brutal straight line performance.

mdncn2762

I live in Bayern near Munchen, Germany. You can get a brend new M3 for $60,000 fully loaded. There are fast BMW's here. I seen a sweet Audi yesterday......... RS something maybe. Now thats fast. I was going 140MPH and he flew by me like I was in on a bicycle. He had to have been going 180-190 MPH.

FrankW

i always thought the e36 M3 engine was either s50b30 for the obd1 3.0 liter or s52b32 for the later 3.2 liter.

m3_eater

You are correct. Mine is an M52B28 from a 1999 328is, with cams from an S52B32 (E36 M3). Combined with the OBD1 conversion, a 3.5" 540iMAF (or Euro HFM) and software, it ends up in S50 horsepower territory. The M52 and S52 share the same block, but the M52 has a smaller bore (2.8L displacement VS 3.2L). This makes my engine an ideal (arguably the best BMW I6) block for turbocharging, because you can run ridiculous amounts of boost (16-18lbs) without blowing it up . Or, you can run an ultra-conservative 6lbs boost and have zero/negligible affect on long-term reliability! This is where I'll likely be headed down the road.

m3_eater

+1 on both counts. It's really hard to argue with the fantastic performance and profile per dollar that the C32 offers. Plus, the E36 M3 (with just a few inexpensive suspension mods & reinforcements) is one of the best possible starting points for a solid, reliable and fun track car.

Fifth Ring

Or for half that (plus a few bucks for suspension stuff), find a late 1980s 944. Pokier than the E36, but with it's an amazing instructional tool for trackwork.

bud4ya

It was an RS6. If it was an older one (Few years old) it was a V8 450 HP TT and if it was new V10 TT 580 HP.

mdncn2762

Not sure but it was f...ing fast.

Slater126

Since you're still alive it obviously didn't kill 'ya with maintenance costs My '87 325is soured me on very old German cars after it ate about $12k in repair and upgrade costs over a two year span. But I suppose an E36 M3 at this stage could easily put you in the same boat. You may laugh but how about an '03-04 Focus SVT? Probably less than 10k and would be cheap to maintain.