As the E30 3 Series established itself as a full line including compact coupes, sedans and convertibles. The 3 Series quickly became the envy of the the industry with likes of the Cadillac Cimarron and Audio 4000 Quattro were nothing more than cheap imitations. BMW was now faced with replacing a perfect specimen, anything short of that would hail big time sales danger.

The E36 brethren to the E30 was a jump forward in body styling with different proportions and styling breaking out of the details established by the 2002, this was an all new machine.

In every way the E36 saloon was just slightly larger than the E30, the wheelbase coming in at 106.3″ was just 5.1″ longer, overall length was up by 4″. All this extra size accounted for more passenger room, a much stiffer body structure and 50/50 weight distribution. However the new wedge shape kept the E36 from looking much larger than the squarish E30, this new shape made for less wind noise and improved aerodynamics.

Unchanged from the E21 BMW stayed with the MacPherson strut front end, but made some major changes out back. Dubbed the “Z-axle”, going away from a trailing arm in previous 3 Series, engineers devised a multilink system, this made for improved camber changes throughout the suspensions cycle. Although the “Z-axle” wasn’t cheap, it did make it’s way into prototype form on the 5 and 7 Series. Some bits remained unchanged the E36 kept the rack and pinion steering, four wheel disc brakes and the ABS system.

The all new dual overhead cam 24 valve aluminum head, inline six cylinder made an astounding 189 horsepower in the 325i. This made for a 0-60 time of just 6.9 seconds, (just as quick as the E30 M3 in a production four door sedan!) and a quarter mile time of 15.3 at 91 mph. In 1993 the BMW VANOS variable valve timing system, was adopted by the M50 6 cylinder and made for a beautifully wider torque curve.

The 318i e36 still used the four-valve four cylinder cranking out 138 horsepower, although most U.S. buyers were opting in exceptional new sixes. Following this trend made sales for the 318i to become fewer and fewer each year.

In 1991 the E36 saloon was introduced as a 1992 model, the coupe didn’t make an appearance until later that year. Breaking out of the mold the new coupe wasn’t a saloon with two less doors, it was an altogether more sporty car, the convertible remained unchanged. BMW added more rake to the front windshield laying it back, the same goes for the rear window. Pretty much from the A-pillar back the coupe was a totally different car, however upon inspection it looked a lot like the sedan keeping with the family design. Some critics complained that BMW could have made the coupe much more radical, although consumers still loved it.

Now everyone knows that Europe always gets the goods before the U.S. in doing so BMW wouldn’t import the “Touring” wagon model E36, that was introduced in 1995. However they did import the “Compact” hatchback dubbed the 318ti. The hatchback had a semi-trailing arm suspension like that of the E30 3 Series, a semi “stripped down” interior compared to that of it’s upper classmates and was backed up with a chopped off rear end. This compact version of the 3 Series was marketed towards entry-level buyers or the down market. In keeping with the previous 318i e36, BMW kept the 138 horsepower 1.8 liter four cylinder. Being that the 318ti had a narrow marketplace and was never accepted by the enthusiasts, by 1999 it left production.

By 1995 the 2.5 liter in the 325i and 325is, was swapped out for the larger 2.8 liter version putting out 190 horsepower up from 189, this isn’t that significant however the torque rating went from 181 pound feet at 4,200 RPM to 207 pound feet at 3,950 RPM. There were some slight visual changes for the 1996 BMW E36 model year as well. The model disignatino numbers also changed due to the larger motor to 328i and 328is. By 1998 BMW decided to introduce another entry-level market car dubbed the 323i Convertible and 323is Coupe, under the bonnet lied a 2.5 liter inline six producing a 168 horsepower. Strangely there has been no one to come up with a convincing story on why they didn’t dub them 325’s.

Now for the new king of the 3 Series the M3. Coming into the U.S. market in 1995 the hard hitting M3 was an amazing piece of engineering. Unlike the previous version the coupe wasn’t an all out track racing machine, but a well mannered road going rocket with a bulletproof motor and chassis. In the U.S. the M3 featured a bored and stroked version of the 325i’s inline six, making it a 3.0 liter monster with 240 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. However being that Europe gets all the good stuff the Euro version M3’s received a 282 horsepower individual throttle bodied inline six.

Everyone raved about the new M3 from the perfect suspension tuning to the beautifully crafted interior, and commented on how tastefully done the exterior ground effects were designed. Not to mention the car was fast! Upon Car and Driver’s testing the M3 shot to 60 in just 5.6 seconds, and ran the quarter mile in 14.3 at 98 mph (From the previous E30 M3 that’s an amazing 1.3 seconds quicker, and just shy of a second quicker in the quarter.), and keeping everyday drivablility and civility.

Being that the newly embodied M3 was so successful with enthusiasts BMW introduced the M3 lightwieght in 1995. Sans air conditioning, radio, back seat and featuring nicely crafted forged 17″ rims only available to the lightweight. It was a car truly made to grace the track coming in at 200 pounds less in total weight. As expected the 85 Lightweights imported sold quickly.

Another offspring of the M3 is the Evolution model featuring a 3.2 liter inline six producing an astounding 321 horsepower at 7,400 RPM in Europe (of course.). The American version differed as the power rating came down to 240 horsepower but the torque rating grew slightly to 236 pound feet at 3,800 RPM. In 1997 the M3 was also offered as a saloon (four door) with a five-speed automatic transmission. Motor Trends test M3 saloon equipped with a manual transmission ran to 60 in just 5.5 seconds.

By 1998 BMW offered a convertible version and the E36 body style was nearing it’s end.

BMW e36 technical details:

BMW E36 cabrio

Modification	doors count	Value	Power	Max speed	time to 56 mph	Started	Ended
323 i 2.5	-	-	170	-	-	1995	1999
318 i	2	1796	115	194	12.5	1994	1999
320 i	2	1991	150	211	10.6	1993	1999
325 i	2	2494	192	229	8.6	1993	1995
328 i	2	2793	193	230	7.7	1995	1999

BMW E36 coupe

Modification	doors count	Value	Power	Max speed	time to 56 mph	Started	Ended
325 i	-	-	192	-	-	1992	1999
316 i	2	1596	102	195	12.7	1993	1999
318 is	2	1796	140	213	10.2	1992	1999
320 i	2	1991	150	214	9.9	1992	1999
323 i 2.5	2	2494	170	227	8	1995	1999
328 i	2	2793	193	236	7.3	1995	1999

BMW E36 sedan

Modification	doors count	Value	Power	Max speed	time to 56 mph	Started	Ended
316 i	4	1596	102	195	12.7	1990	1998
316 i	4	1596	100	191 (189)	13.1 (15)	1990	1993
318 tds	4	1665	90	182	14.4	1995	1998
318 i	4	1796	115	201	11.3	1993	1998
318 is	4	1796	140	213 (207)	10.2 (11.6)	1993	1998
318 i	4	1796	113	198	11.5 (12.8)	1990	1993
320 i	4	1991	150	214	9.9	1990	1998
325 i	4	2492	192	233	8	1990	1995
323 i 2.5	4	2494	170	227	8	1995	1998
325 tds	4	2498	143	214	10.4	1993	1998
325 td	4	2498	115	198	12	1991	1998
328 i	4	2793	193	236	7.3	1995	1998

BMW 3 Series e36 car review.

BMW e36 (M50/M52 Engine) 325i/328i models Tuning Guide

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