I have a US 97 M3, and I'm looking to buy an E30. I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on the differences in such areas as:

Everyday driveability
Acceleration
Braking
Highway performance
Handling feel
Interior comfort
Anything else you'd like to add.

Thanks,

Jeff

me and my bf got our e30 about 1 1/2 months ago. we also have a e36 m3. i think you will love the e30 m3.

Everyday driveability:

alittle rougher but more racey feeling. not as smooth as the e36 m3.

Acceleration:

i think it depends on the condition of the e30 m3. it accelerates hard in the freeway and in high rpms.

Braking:

excellent. brakes are really good.

Highway performance:

good for a i4 motor. more torque on the e36 m3.

Handling feel:

excellent excellent excellent. thats why we love driving the e30 m3 more.

Interior comfort:

its confortable. we also used to have the e36 328is with luxury seats. in my opinion it feels the same. much more confortable than the vaders in our e36 m3.

Anything else you'd like to add.

it feels more fun to drive the e30 m3. and the fact that you will not see much around while driving it. we see e36 everywhere here in the bay area.

Great info!

Now, I just have to find a nice one!

Thanks, girlm3

yea we had an e36, but bought an e46 m3(2001) and an e30 m3(1988) once we got rid of the e36 m3 (1998).

I have driven the e46 and e36 on track. E46 can pull much harder out of corners obivously, but going into turns, and mid turn cornering (hitting apex, etc) makes the e46 feel kinda top heavy, like its way way too heavy for what it should be (solution=CSL :))

The e30 we are actually prepping to race as we speak :buttrock

Everyday its probbaly going to need mroe maintence then the e36, just b/c the car is naturally old, even if it was well taken care of. Since the e30 is a 4banger, its power is gonna be up top, so the accel aint great (figure with a chip, exhuast, euro airbox), but with those mods the top end is very nice, and with sport suspension, and some chassis upgrades to stiffen it up (and a rear sway bar) it handles like a go kart.

E30 m3 is really the "raciest" of all the m3's in my opinion. Lightweight, very very well balanced, and just looks mean. Also it can be stripped and modifed beyond imagination.

If your looking for a fun car to take to the track everunow and then, e30 is good, but I dont think it would be a great daily driver. of course it would be a great car, but it might not like all that daily mileage. They like the track :D

Have fun in ANY m3 u get, you wont be dissappointed. Just make sure you get it checked out before you buy it, and check its history.

Thanks, racer. I enjoy my 97, but it feels kinda heavy in certain lower speed handling situations. My daily driving usually consists of about 10-15 miles, so that probably wouldn't be an issue.

What I'm considering too is cost. I could buy a solid E30 that needs some work and have a lot of money to mod it for what my E36 is worth. Then, I could continue saving for a more plush ride - like an M5...

Jeff

Well figure it this way:

1991 e30 m3, good condition, $15K, plus $3K for intitial maintence, and a good $5k for mods (suspension, rims, tires, exhuast, euro airbox, chip, brakes, etc).

1995 m3, decent condition $15K, $3k for initial maintence, and $5K in mods with some self installs and your at 310hp and a great handling, plus more reliable and slightly less maintence costs.

So its up for grabs. You wantr e36 or e30 body style really.

Originally posted by PSU///M3
Thanks, racer. I enjoy my 97, but it feels kinda heavy in certain lower speed handling situations. My daily driving usually consists of about 10-15 miles, so that probably wouldn't be an issue.

What I'm considering too is cost. I could buy a solid E30 that needs some work and have a lot of money to mod it for what my E36 is worth. Then, I could continue saving for a more plush ride - like an M5...

Jeff

On an E30 M3, don't skimp out on the initial buy $$. Find a good car, as a cheaper car will not mean savings. My cousin owns 3 E30 M3's. He bought one for 15k, and it needed nothing, and has run perfect ever since. He has spent very little money on it. One of his other cars, he bought for 9k. Good deal? Not at all. He had to spend 12k to get it up to a nice condition. The moral of the story is to get a very nice, clean car at first.

I would say that the E30 M3 does not make a good daily driver compared to the E36 M3. My car is a daily driver, but I put up with no A/C (too much power loss to run the A/C, I don't like it), bumpy harsh ride, noisy, buzzy motor and exhaust. I love all those things though, and some people would not like them.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun with your cars!

Good advice, guys. Thanks.

Let me clarify a little bit about my buying ideas. By solid, I meant a mechanically strong car that might need some TLC, interior work or have a tired, high-mileage engine. I figure on doing some extensive engine mods anyway, so why open up a low mileage motor? Also, I can live with some aesthetic issues as long as the car is otherwise ok.

I'm really looking for a not-so-ordinary 2nd vehicle alternative without spending a ton of cash. Kinda hard to go from the E36 to my old Honda civic, etc.

Does this sound reasonable, or am I off base here?

Thanks,

J

I would say the only thing off base would be the money. How much do you think you will be able to spend on the car (buying, and repairing)? The E30 M3 stands for Money times 3, which is very true. For some reason the parts just seem to be more expensive. I would suggest you looking into a few companies, to view prices, so you know what you will be spending. I was shocked when I replaced a coolant hose for 20 bucks.

I would say it would be a good vehicle if you bought it for a second car, just as a project car. You could buy one of the more 'tired' cars for pretty cheap, and then have lots of fun working on everything. I would say go for it!

Some places that I look at are:

www.turnermotorsport.com
www.bavarianautosport.com
www.bimmerworld.com (excellent place!)
www.bmpd.com

Bry,

I was hoping to find the car for less than 10k and spend money as needed to fix it up/mod it. And yes, it would pretty much be an ongoing project car that was still driveable as a second car.

Thanks for the links.

Jeff

Make sure if you get an E30 M3,check it inside out. They are extrememly expensive to fix/maintain. Thye make great track cars as well. A lot of them have been stripped down and raced. There are very few good quality E30 M3's left. It took me 2 years to find a good one. Good luck in your search...:buttrock

Thanks again, everyone. I hope to be joining you soon.

J

Originally posted by ROB89M3
Make sure if you get an E30 M3,check it inside out. They are extrememly expensive to fix/maintain. Thye make great track cars as well. A lot of them have been stripped down and raced. There are very few good quality E30 M3's left. It took me 2 years to find a good one. Good luck in your search...:buttrock

It took me 2 years also. I spent 11.5k on mine, with 140k miles. It was in really good condition. I had a lucky find, and I pounced on it.