CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Been thinking of getting another Beemer after having a 323i coup before the Scooby and the only other option seems to be the M3 
Anyone had any first hand experiences of them first hand? I know there was a 3L and a 3.2 but is an M reg a 3L?
I know a few things after owning mine ie the Vanos needing checking and the Nikasil issue but any other tips?Insurance that bad compared to my scoob without me getting a quote?
Cheers..
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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3.2 is the Evo, most adverts will tell you if it is.
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paulr202000
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Registered: 20th Jan 01
Location: Lancaster
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not all that quick really compared to todays stuff make a lot of noise but not all that exciting a E46 M3 is a lot better but pricey. A E64 330 diesel will beat it
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Doug
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Registered: 8th Oct 03
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www.e36coupe.com
Use that site mate!!
You could get a 328 with a 325 intake manifold, nice and fast car there 
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STEvieXE
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Registered: 21st Jan 03
Location: Ballymena N.I.
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my mates standard jtd alfa romeo 156 raced a e46 m3 standard alfa is 150 bhp and 220 i think of torque, m3 won (obviously) but i think the alfa did really well against it. m3 pulled about ten car lengths or that...
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Interesting responses  I borrowed my old 323i from the guy i sold it too and it felt SO much nicer to drive than my scooby! Not anywere near as quick though that's what's making me think of the M3.
Thanks for the site doug i'll go take a look mate  I thought it was the other way round with the manifolds and throttle bodies though? ie fitting a 328 items on the 323 and 325 to get it up to the 3238 spec?
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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nope, the 328 had the 2 litre manifold and TB on it, so it fell into a lower insurance band in Germany.
193bhp with that, 214bhp with a 325 manifold and TB
was in total BMW this month 
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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oh, and obviously the 3.2 is far far better than the 3 litre, if you want more power.
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Arrrrrr right
Are the early model M3's 3L and the later ie R reg was 3.2?
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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yeah, not sure what year the changeover was though
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Born_corsa02
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Registered: 20th Dec 02
Location: Essex
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Either are quick cars even by todays standards. There aren't many 3.0N/A cars in production now that could beat em.
At the time held the record for highest BHP per litre on a production car I do believe.
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Yeah i mean i suppose it's gonna be slower than my scooby but i rekon it's just because of the way they deliver there power? I loved the way my 323 delivered it's power and that only had 170 brake!
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Born_corsa02
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Registered: 20th Dec 02
Location: Essex
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Standard for standard would beat scooby its N/A with 300odd brake vs what? 280bhp turbo my money would be on the M3
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mk4_astra
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Registered: 15th Oct 03
Location: aylesbury,bucks
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my mates just got an e36 m3, he said from acceleration its quicker than his old e30 with a 3.5l engine in but top end isnt as good, mind you its still good for 140. if your scooby is around 240bhp then i would say the m3 would be quicker except on launches, however if you enjoy b road twisties you might want to re-consider
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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early one is 286bhp iirc, so it would be about the same as the subaru (with less traction though) but the evo, with 321bhp should be quicker.
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DAYZEE
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Registered: 13th Nov 00
Location: Stevenage, MR2 Turbo, 328i Coupe, CBR600F
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An M3 Evo is 0.4s slower than an E46 M3 up the 1/4, how can you say its slow?!? Its savage ffs! Stop listening to what people reckon they know and go in one.
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NovaGTE2
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Registered: 26th Sep 06
Location: Peasedown St John, Bristol Avon
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321 BHP evo's, amazing engines fookin love mine; one major problem which is the Vanos unit; expires about every 50K and is a £2K part BMW £1500 specialist
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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I've got a really good garage near me which is a specialist so any work needed can be sorted.
The ones i can afford are the wrong side of 100K though so i'll have to tread carefully.Mind you my 323 had 130K and it drove like it was new!
Cheers Dayzee i really value your input mate.
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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http://www.justcarsalesincheshire.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=26552&pageid=1
Here's the one i'm looking at..it's about half way down.
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Blue one btw not the boston green one!
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NovaGTE2
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Registered: 26th Sep 06
Location: Peasedown St John, Bristol Avon
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Servicing is high, 4.5 hours just for an oil change every 20K as the valves need setting. Engines are good and will be fine for over 100k; just depends on the age and millage on the vanos; thats why i spent a bit extra and looked for quite some time for mine
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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thats a 3 litre.
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DAYZEE
Member
Registered: 13th Nov 00
Location: Stevenage, MR2 Turbo, 328i Coupe, CBR600F
User status: Offline
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My 328 has 122K on it now, the engine is still perfect, regularly outruns my mates corrado VR6 (much to his dismay) but the suspension needs replacing. Most specialists recon 120K is good going for the dampers and now some of the front bushes need replacing, its just wear but at 100K+ these are the things that you need to start to think about. The 19's won't have done that one any favours either. That being said the E36 is a solid car so it may run to 200K with no real problem.
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Ditch
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Registered: 29th Nov 02
Location: St Albans Drives: JDM Celica GT4 WRC
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Fella I know has owned his E36 M3 Evo convert. for about three or four years now, and its cost him £££ after £££! And thats only on about 80,000 miles...
nice car though and still pretty quick for the size of it!! Very good at top-end... It pulls to the electronic limit no stress
I still own him out on the road in my Celica though... untill about 100 that is
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dhdev
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Registered: 22nd Dec 05
Location: Midlands
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I currently have an E36 328 but have owned an E30 M3 in the past, I've got one mate with an E36 evo and another who has had E36 evo and plenty of other M's. They are fantastic cars, supercar performance in an understated body. Unfortunately the running costs are high as people have already mentioned. I'd recommend getting a well maintained 3.0 as there is less to go wrong! One mate has got through 2 evo engines in less than a year  And as said they don't seem to come alive till 80+mph, I've been in one with the needle nudging 170mph and it felt really composed 
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