E36 Question

looking at 318is's on the web. Some have black lower cladding while others are body color. Is this an option? Part of a trim pkg? Do these cars have a limited slip diff?

mine were stone grey that i had to paint black to match the rest of the car. Some people like to get later E36 rockers or M3 rockers to put over top... I dont think i had limited slip in mine...

I think the black cladding has more to do with model year than anything else. At least that's what it seems like, with the newer cars having body-color cladding.

In terms of an LSD, if the car has ASC (became standard in late '96), it doesn't have a LSD (the only exception is the M3).

A lot of owners swap in LSDs after the fact.

http://www.bimmerforums.com is your friend for general E36 info...

Early cars had grey bumpers and rockers. Later cars were body color... not sure exactly when the change happened.

I "think" LSD was part of a cold weather package and may have also been available as a stand-alone option on the early cars. I also think that LSD went away with the advent of traction control in the later years.

As many know (but not all) the "3XXis" is a coupe and "3XXi" is a sedan. Unlike e30 cars where the "s" suffix referred to an option package.

Edited to correct brain fart as pointed out below.

bludroptop wrote: I "think" IRS was part of a cold weather package... I also think that IRS went away

I "think" you mean LSD ;)

The 1.8 is a little anemic for these cars, but the gas mileage bump is nice these days. Whatever you do, stay away from the autotragic cars.

dj06482 wrote: In terms of an LSD, if the car has ASC (became standard in late '96), it doesn't have a LSD (the only exception is the M3).

Not exactly accurate - it was still a factory option so any 3 series could have had it from the factory. If the car is an 'is' model '95 or earlier it has LSD. If the car is just an 'i' or has ASC+T (introduced in '96 IIRC) then you have to ask.

bludroptop wrote: As many know (but not all) the "3XXis" is a coupe and "3XXi" is a sedan. Unlike e30 cars where the "s" suffix referred to an option package.

I was behind a 325is Sedan just today, same dark green metallic as my 325i. I saw other 325is Sedans when I was shopping, they do exist, I seriously doubt there is that much badge swapping going on, most of those jokers put on M badges anyway. My 92 "i" does have an LSD, a quite impressive one too, nothing like the wimpy LSD in my Supra.

I <3 E36, best used car bargain going right now!

SupraWes wrote:

bludroptop wrote: As many know (but not all) the "3XXis" is a coupe and "3XXi" is a sedan. Unlike e30 cars where the "s" suffix referred to an option package.

I was behind a 325is Sedan just today, same dark green metallic as my 325i. I saw other 325is Sedans when I was shopping, they do exist, I seriously doubt there is that much badge swapping going on, most of those jokers put on M badges anyway. My 92 "i" does have an LSD, a quite impressive one too, nothing like the wimpy LSD in my Supra. I <3 E36, best used car bargain going right now!

Those have gotta be badge swaps or SOMETHING...there was no trim difference between i/is cars, just body style IIRC. I once got 'pwned' on Bimmerforums for arguing against that fact. The is trim package was also only available on coupe E30's.

I still kind of miss my E36, other than the whole dashboard fire thing.

nderwater wrote:

bludroptop wrote: I "think" IRS was part of a cold weather package... I also think that IRS went away

I "think" you mean LSD ;) The 1.8 is a little anemic for these cars, but the gas mileage bump is nice these days. Whatever you do, stay away from the autotragic cars.

I'll disagree, it gets out of its own way. There is one consistently in the top 10 H stock at nationals.

the Lower gray was not cladding, but gray paint put on the sides of the car. I think in 95 or 96, BMW started putting plastic covers over the rocker panals and these were done in body colour and they started painting the bumpers all one colour to match. The gray was actually a stone protection paint.

Early 96 was the last year for the LSD option in all but the M's, If the car comes with traction control, it does not have an LSD. This is not to say that all pre-mid 96 cars had LSDs.. as stated above, it was mostly part of the cold weather package (which my Ti has) or as the rare sport package.

In reply to mtn: It's classed well in H stock but for a daily driver it's a bit wanting, certainly by BMW standards.

I cannot say for the sedans and coupe's.. but the M42/44 is certainly more than enough to get the Ti through the daily grind AND have a bit of fun too. It is no stoplight warrior, but it can still spin the tyres.. even with running 235/40/17s and an LSD.. It may take a bit of revs.. but it can do it

Gotcha - I was referring the the heavier cars. The worst is the automatic 318i sedan - it feels like it has a ford tempo drivetrain.

The Ti's are a special case, and it's a crying shame that BMW never sold a hotter version here. It should have been a no-brainer to package the car with an I6, stiff springs and lsd.

They did.. in europe.

Europe also got the real E36 M3. We were robbed in the 90's.