[The Sage]

just got mine installed. had to push the side fents further back to clear the turbo

Untitled by tim wilson, on Flickr

Untitled by tim wilson, on Flickr

 

[The Sage]

Looks awesome!

 

[Stevo12]

Pretty stoked on how the headlights turned out, first time using one of those headlight restoration kits

It's probably the nicest part of the car right now...

 

[westopher]

My buddy took me out for a photoshoot last Sunday. Bonus extra shot from another local automotive photographer that happened to be walking by on his way to take some landscape shots.

 

[x(why)z]

Pretty stoked on how the headlights turned out, first time using one of those headlight restoration kits

It's probably the nicest part of the car right now...

Way better! I was surprised at how well those kits work the first time I used one.

My buddy took me out for a photoshoot last Sunday. Bonus extra shot from another local automotive photographer that happened to be walking by on his way to take some landscape shots. View attachment 68378

Gorgeous, as usual.

 

[danny_16v]

Seriously, your car still continues to inspire for cleanliness I will never achieve. And I mean the selection of parts and the rarity of them. I gave up, putting in a recaro pole position in my driver's seat soon lol

 

[westopher]

Thanks guys. I still just love the car. There's nothing for me that checks the boxes like it.

 

[freedo84gti]

figured id ad this to this thread too. my 98 328is is getting tuned this week. bone stock 185k mile engine with just a fresh victor HG and ARP studs. gt3071R turbo, rapid spool industries manifold, tial wastegate with 7psi springs, m50 intake, nissan 350z MAF and stock ECU. pretty basic turbo build. my tuner is doing a series of how to videos on tuning a obd2 engine for boost with the stock ecu. should be pretty good.

Untitled by tim wilson, on Flickr

 

[EnIgMa '06]

I cleaned up my winter beater and took it out to explore the best barren fields and muddy parking lots that rural Minnesota has to offer.

 

[Stevo12]

I've put about 100 miles on this since the re-shell. Installed the car seat in the back and picked up the kiddo from daycare to give him a taste of what a fast car actually feels like. Then later that night, I took the car back out to remind MYSELF what a fast car feels like. The ol' girl still does a great burnout.

I then discovered a bit of a fuel smell from the left rear, I pulled the sender cover from the interior and discovered the return line is leaking at the sender, might just be a loose clamp. I'll pull the hose off, cut the end off, and re-clamp it.

I'm also swapping front bumpers back over. The OG bumper from the '98 had a missing fog light and some epoxy shoved in the fog light holes (for some unknown reason) and the '97 bumper that I had mounted on the car is missing a left front mount. I'd also kept the bumper trim off in case I needed to pull it to get it on my trailer when I took it for an alignment. So, I'm swapping the fog light blanks from the '97 bumper to the '98, and mounting the '98 bumper on the car.

But in the meantime, I shot this picture of the car with the kiddo. If it weren't for the sun glare, this would be a pretty darn cool picture.

 

[The Sage]

After getting all my parts in i started putting the car back together. I went with a OEM head gasket rather than the victor reiz. They are similar but different with the amount of material between each piston. Dropped in some riot racing cams along with some turner headers (not sure if these even do anything but hey they were a deal). Also replaced all 6 injectors with new matched units. Hoping to get it started in the next 2 weeks. Doing a 24 hours of lemons this weekend (in a 1993 imprezza 1.8L) so no time for the little e36.

Current state of the car.

 

[freedo84gti]

Untitled by tim wilson, on Flickr

made 289/278 on the 7psi wastegate pressure
and made 371/385 at 13psi.

pretty happy with how it turned out being that its a pretty basic build. it will be stress tested this weekend though

 

[dan of montana]

I did a little spring clean and tire swap on my E36 M3/4/5 a week ago.

Cleaned up, summers on the M (winters still on the R)

Cleaning up the winter wheels /tires for storage, and mid wash on the M3.

And a little work to clean up the tips on the Borla exhaust.

 

[The Producer]

7 year ownership update. Still the best car I've ever owned, makes a strong case for being the best all rounder I've ever driven. Easy on the eyes, relatively easy on the wallet. Aftermarket is still great - for now there's nothing I can't get my hands on within a couple of hours locally.

The market on these has changed quite a bit in the past 7 years - but so have all basic, manual, enthusiast cars of this era. I still think these are great value for $. Get the best one you can afford, you won't lose money on it.

Untitled by GhstRidr, on Flickr

 

[EnIgMa '06]

7 year ownership update. Still the best car I've ever owned, makes a strong case for being the best all rounder I've ever driven. Easy on the eyes, relatively easy on the wallet. Aftermarket is still great - for now there's nothing I can't get my hands on within a couple of hours locally.

I didn't realize you had one of these too. We're twins. Corrado, E36 M3, 996 Aero...only my Corrado is broken.

 

[The Producer]

at one point it seemed like the whole corrado forum was going to E36 M3's. Doesn't surprise me that people who are into C's would make the same progressions through cars.

Untitled by GhstRidr, on Flickr

 

[x(why)z]

I didn't realize you had one of these too. We're twins. Corrado, E36 M3, 996 Aero...only my Corrado is broken.

at one point it seemed like the whole corrado forum was going to E36 M3's. Doesn't surprise me that people who are into C's would make the same progressions through cars.

Untitled by GhstRidr, on Flickr

Any chance you two could contrast your e36 with your 996? I'd love to know your impressions as I keep grappling with selling my M3 for a 996, or something like an Evora.

 

[The Producer]

sure - no problem

the E36 is a tank. it feels like it in every way. The car feels heavier, steering feels heavier, turn in feels deliberate and planted. I rarely if ever feel like the car is going to come around on me. It brakes well. It brakes very well w aggressive track pads, but i don't run them on the street. I like the way the car fits me except that despite being a comically short person, I can't get the stock power seats low enough. Interior fit and finish - it's OK. I certainly like the way it's laid out. Power, plenty for the street. These are great light to light cars. Excellent gearing. I think I'm allowed to say this as a former euro m3 owner - these cars ARE really 332is's. I mean that in the best way. Wonderful all round torquey daily drivers. All I do to go to a track day or auto-x is throw on a sticky and square wheel and tire setup. Of note, I run a PSS9 coilover setup - most of the rest of the car is stock mechanically. Only thing on my list to improve at this point is steering input. I know having driven Westopher's car (and my own Z3) that the zed steering rack swap is basically a must do. I just haven't gotten around to it. Actually that's not true, at some point I will add a Dinan supercharger to this car. 300hp would be perfect.

the 996 by comparison feels lighter, and smaller (I don't know if it actually is). I find the front end much lighter (obviously) and that results in a little less confidence w the front end. The 3.4 on my early car makes more power than the e36, but I find unless I'm wringing it out they feel about the same. I dislike the clutch feel of the 996 (and my previous one). This might be remedied w a different clutch setup or pedal setup or whatever other blackmagic the internet suggests. I've never tried. Despite the relatively low cost of the 996, I do worry about it. I hate that part about it. I never worry about the e36 - it's a 3k longblock away from even the worst mechanical disaster. The 996 on the other would be at least 10k for a mystery motor, and double that to start building one. I LOVE the way this car brakes. Even without the bigger TT brakes, it stops on a dime, even w street pads. Of note, I run a H&R/billy suspension setup. It's WAY crashier than the PSS9's, but that's not a criticism of the car, just the parts on it. I like the interior - all Porsche seats (especially the GT3 hardbacks I have) are light years ahead of the E36.

Bottom line, the E36 is an inferior car on paper I'm sure, but I prefer it. To me the Porsche is always for sale, but the E36 never will be. It's the unmeasurable qualities that make it a better car to me. it just feels good to drive.

If you have any specific questions let me know. What's an evora worth these days? I feel like that's not really a fair comparo to a basic 996 - maybe a turbo.

 

[beefjerky]

sure - no problem

the E36 is a tank...

I know that wasn't a sales pitch, but damn, I'm sold

 

[DOCorrado]

at one point it seemed like the whole corrado forum was going to E36 M3's. Doesn't surprise me that people who are into C's would make the same progressions through cars.

Untitled by GhstRidr, on Flickr

So funny you said that’s the natural progression, I love the E36 M3, always have...my wife as well. She now thinks I should ditch the G60 and buy an E36, M3! Not a bad problem to have I guess!


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