E36 vs E46 M3

thireshan

New member
I owned both,felt the E46 M to be a much better car overall to an E36 M.
I see in the thread people have said even look at buying a x35i.

Firstly you must decide what you want,a na car which power lives higher up the rev range or an immediate power delivery which doesnt need to be revved that high.

I have a 335i now,lovely car,nice power but to me there is no better feeling than driving a M car,especially through the corners and that high revving motor where you gear changes are at 8500rpm and just know when the right time is coz u feel it in your heart:inlove:

I would say go for the E46 M,u wont regret it.I personally wont mind owning another 1:thumbs:

 

Technician

Well-known member
Legacy said:
moranor said:
if your E36 M is in good condition i would keep it...

+1

calypso said:
Its hard to say, what are your uses for the car?
E36 is more fun to drive, e36 also feels faster.
E46 is a better daily driver, and is actually faster.
E46 is much safer then the E36
E36 feels much lighter then the e46, e36 feels like a precision tool compared to the E46.
E46 is easier to replace then the E36
You will miss the E36, but it doesnt mean the E46 isnt a great car.

got to agree with both these guys- Calypso owns both and can give you the best advice.

but im bias and say buy the E46 and keep the E36:rollsmile:
 

Fordkoppie

///Member
The e46 is much more planted and also considerably faster.
Seating position is also way superior in the e46.
I would say the e36 is more durable and cheaper should something go wrong.
I had an e36 m3 with 300 000km that had nothing but services done to it. I really want to believe that the e46 would also make that :fencelook:
 

griffen

///Member
Legacy said:
moranor said:
if your E36 M is in good condition i would keep it...

+1

My macky says the same and he knows M3s inside out and has owned the E36 and E46
I really need to get behind the wheel of a 46 M!! so see what the difference is

kabal said:
griffen said:
Want some opinions
Will I miss my E36 M if I upgrade to a E46 M3?

no

griffen said:
I am told that the 46 M is not as tough or reliable?

there are virtually no cases of s54 motors blowing up besides a couple of the pre bearing recall ones.

griffen said:
Also with 2 decent drivers how much of an ass whipping will the 46 M3 hand out over the E36 2Door?

quarter mile, track, how long track, rolling highway????

griffen said:
All the E46 M3s I have seen for sale in cape town are in pretty poor condition so I didnt test drive them, and the interior plastics wer peeling which really put me off

pealing interior is part and parcel of all e46's

although some people wont admit it, the e46 m3 is superior to the e36 m3 in every way

Yo give me the low down, track, 400m, robot to robot 1km etc

Four Pipe said:
If you M3 looks like this I'd be interested :inlove:


80.jpg

that pics looks photoshop`d :)
This is my lady, with Make upon :inlove:

IMG_0022.jpg


IMG_0031.jpg


IMG_0034.jpg




I must say I dont like the fact that alot of ppl including my macky kinda says t he E36 feels faster or more edgy, I dont need more refined I thought the 46 M would be more of a brut than the E36 M?

Technician said:
Legacy said:
moranor said:
if your E36 M is in good condition i would keep it...

+1

calypso said:
Its hard to say, what are your uses for the car?
E36 is more fun to drive, e36 also feels faster.
E46 is a better daily driver, and is actually faster.
E46 is much safer then the E36
E36 feels much lighter then the e46, e36 feels like a precision tool compared to the E46.
E46 is easier to replace then the E36
You will miss the E36, but it doesnt mean the E46 isnt a great car.

got to agree with both these guys- Calypso owns both and can give you the best advice.

but im bias and say buy the E46 and keep the E36:rollsmile:

Im starting to think about this too, keep the E36 M and get a 46M
Btw saw some vid tests the 135 is quicker than the 46 M except around a track! :)

Also how would a Auto E 46 M compare to my car? I dont see many manulal`s for sale.
The auto is slower than the manual right?
 

thireshan

New member
griffen said:
Legacy said:
moranor said:
if your E36 M is in good condition i would keep it...

+1

My macky says the same and he knows M3s inside out and has owned the E36 and E46
I really need to get behind the wheel of a 46 M!! so see what the difference is

kabal said:
griffen said:
Want some opinions
Will I miss my E36 M if I upgrade to a E46 M3?

no

griffen said:
I am told that the 46 M is not as tough or reliable?

there are virtually no cases of s54 motors blowing up besides a couple of the pre bearing recall ones.

griffen said:
Also with 2 decent drivers how much of an ass whipping will the 46 M3 hand out over the E36 2Door?

quarter mile, track, how long track, rolling highway????

griffen said:
All the E46 M3s I have seen for sale in cape town are in pretty poor condition so I didnt test drive them, and the interior plastics wer peeling which really put me off

pealing interior is part and parcel of all e46's

although some people wont admit it, the e46 m3 is superior to the e36 m3 in every way

Yo give me the low down, track, 400m, robot to robot 1km etc

Four Pipe said:
If you M3 looks like this I'd be interested :inlove:


80.jpg

that pics looks photoshop`d :)
This is my lady, with Make upon :inlove:

IMG_0022.jpg


IMG_0031.jpg


IMG_0034.jpg




I must say I dont like the fact that alot of ppl including my macky kinda says t he E36 feels faster or more edgy, I dont need more refined I thought the 46 M would be more of a brut than the E36 M?

Technician said:
Legacy said:
moranor said:
if your E36 M is in good condition i would keep it...

+1

calypso said:
Its hard to say, what are your uses for the car?
E36 is more fun to drive, e36 also feels faster.
E46 is a better daily driver, and is actually faster.
E46 is much safer then the E36
E36 feels much lighter then the e46, e36 feels like a precision tool compared to the E46.
E46 is easier to replace then the E36
You will miss the E36, but it doesnt mean the E46 isnt a great car.

got to agree with both these guys- Calypso owns both and can give you the best advice.

but im bias and say buy the E46 and keep the E36:rollsmile:

Im starting to think about this too, keep the E36 M and get a 46M
Btw saw some vid tests the 135 is quicker than the 46 M except around a track! :)

Also how would a Auto E 46 M compare to my car? I dont see many manulal`s for sale.
The auto is slower than the manual right?






From the times at the strip the manual has shown to put down better times,u probably going to find 1 thats out of motorplan and that SMG box is expensive and is known for giving issues.


i see u mentioned that your machy says that the E36 feels faster and a few others.the thing you gotta remember the E46 M is a later model vehicle where technology,safety of the vehicle,etc has been enhanced so you will be going faster in a safer way,eg:traction control,something the E36 does not come with,but if u feel the need to go sideways or throw yourself around u can always switch it off:thumbs:










 

griffen

///Member
I think The wife will have something to say regarding keeping the 36 M and getting another M car lol

I do have a 2L 16v corsa with Throttles I guess I could part with that if I had to.
 

saturnz

Banned
a friend of mine has a manual e46 that he will be making available shortly

white with 19" CSL replicas and red interior and some other interesting bits.

Car stands by the old zeemax premises in paarden island.

 

griffen

///Member
saturnz said:
a friend of mine has a manual e46 that he will be making available shortly

white with 19" CSL replicas and red interior and some other interesting bits.

Car stands by the old zeemax premises in paarden island.

I would love to take a look when its comes available pm me the details please by red do u mean cinnamon interior?
 

thireshan

New member
saturnz said:
a friend of mine has a manual e46 that he will be making available shortly

white with 19" CSL replicas and red interior and some other interesting bits.

Car stands by the old zeemax premises in paarden island.



does he have this car for a long time?
 

saturnz

Banned
Yeah he has the car for about three years if I recall correctly.

The car recently made 225kw on the wheels at the Zeemax Dyno at their new premises.

He also has a cosmos black e36 M3 that he will also be making available.

 
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