[Drei28]

Hey, this question may have been asked but I was wondering, for those owners who have/had an e36 m3, what is the major difference between the two cars, in terms of, everyday use.

I currently drive an e36 328is (modded) but am very familiar with e36 m3 as well. I recently drove my friend's 04 6MT M3 and felt that the car didn't seem as raw as the e36. However, there was the obvious power difference.

All in all, I'm in the market to move up to the M and know already the maintenance costs for both cars. Although the e46 may be more expensive to maintain, I'm leaning more towards this route as oppose to the e36. However, I wanted to hear your opinions before I bite the bullet. Thanks

[ccaarmerciill]

E46, if you can afford it... go for it. My E36 was a fun car, don't get me wrong. But there is a huge difference in performance. Although the E36 'Feels' more tossable, and connected. It will be outperformed by the E46 easily. Also E46 is a much better daily driver.

[Tricky_Oz]

Definitely go E46. I think the E46 scores in the following areas:

- better M diff and hence traction on acceleration
- bit quicker, but not that much in it
- way better looking car (subjective, I guess)
- whilst I loved the E36 leather seats in black, the rest of the E36 interior now look seriously dated. The E46 interior is lovely, probably a nicer place to be than an E92
- easier to live with day to day
- better to have switchable DSC stability control than none at all (ie off if you want to have fun on a track, on for when a truck pulls out in front of you in the wet!)

That said, the E36 is still a great car, very lively.

[hum3a]

i've had both.. e36 M for 5 years and the E46 for about 6 months.

the e36 is definitely more connected in feel. much more 'tossable' i guess you could say and it is fair amount lighter. suspension is a bit stiffer as well. but i guess that's about it.

the e46 pretty much fixed everything that was wrong with the e36. The ride is very good.. 140mph in the e46 feels like 70mph in the e36, its just a much more solid car all around. not to mention it looks 10x better.

if you have the money i would take the E46 without hesitation.

[Da Jemster]

Off Topic...sorta

I never had an E36, but reading what the two above commented on, is just how I feel having an E46 and an E93. The E93 isn't as "tossable" as my E46. E46 interior feels "dated" with all the newer tech in the E93...blah...blah...blah

excuse the ranting....

[PKumarM3]

the same goes w/performance.

the e92 most definitely will outperform the e46 m3

its just what makes you smile in the morning. For me, the e46 m3 keeps me smiling.

[R10_Telemetry]

I concur with most of the comments above. My E36 M3 was a great car on and off the track, but the E46 M3 feels much heavier and less nimble even with a full suspension modification. I wouldn't considering taking the E46M3 to the track without serious weight reduction, stiffening, and other modification whereas the E36 could do double duty without many changes. The E46 M3 on the other hand is a great daily driver which is exactly how I use it.

[ohnoes]

Originally Posted by Tricky_Oz

Definitely go E46. I think the E46 scores in the following areas:

- better M diff and hence traction on acceleration
- bit quicker, but not that much in it
- way better looking car (subjective, I guess)
- whilst I loved the E36 leather seats in black, the rest of the E36 interior now look seriously dated. The E46 interior is lovely, probably a nicer place to be than an E92
- easier to live with day to day
- better to have switchable DSC stability control than none at all (ie off if you want to have fun on a track, on for when a truck pulls out in front of you in the wet!)

That said, the E36 is still a great car, very lively.

Note that Tricky_Oz is in Australia, where they have the Euro-spec, 321bhp S50B32 version of the E36. We don't have those here; thus, the E46 is a TON faster than the E36 here.

Originally Posted by R10_Telemetry

I concur with most of the comments above. My E36 M3 was a great car on and off the track, but the E46 M3 feels much heavier and less nimble even with a full suspension modification. I wouldn't considering taking the E46M3 to the track without serious weight reduction, stiffening, and other modification whereas the E36 could do double duty without many changes. The E46 M3 on the other hand is a great daily driver which is exactly how I use it.

While it may not feel as nimble, the E46 is still faster around the track, significantly so with suspension mods. It's not like it's still not an M3--a world-renowned track and street car. It did the 'Ring in 8-10 seconds faster than a Euro-spec S50B32 M3. Imagine how much faster it would be than a 240bhp S52 US M3.

[tenfifteen]

^^+1.

If I wanted a second, track-only car, I might *consider* a late E36, but if I was going for an S52 car, it'd be the Z3-based M Coupe. Love that car.

[jmciver]

Keep the E36 for the track and the E46 for a DD, wait I did that..... . But seriously, as others have mentioned, the E46 is more refined than the E36 (just like the E9X is more refined than the E46). Also, if you are going from a modified E36 to a stock E46 the refinement "delta" will be even greater. But of course this is all somewhat subjective.

But as a point of reference, when I took my E46 to the track for the first time, it was faster than my E36 because of the S/C, but not as nimble since my E36 has been heavily modified (suspension, brakes, weight reduction, etc). Having driven an E36 as long as you have, I think you should be happy with the E46 as a DD (I drove my E36 for 6+ yrs as a DD before my E46).