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Difference Between 325is and the 328is...

6K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  MrM3 
#1 ·
What is the difference between the E36 325is and the 328is? (horsepower/torque, 1/4 mile, options, etc)
 
#2 ·
i think this is right:
325 is a 2.5 L engine
328 is a 2.8 L engine

see stats at: www.car-stats.com

the 328 went on to be the 330. clearly, the 325 is still the same. otherwise, just a few hp difference. i have a 328 is. '98. pretty sweet little ride.

hope that helps.
 
#4 ·
the 328 is a M52 and is a stronger engine with obd-2 diagnostics, the e36 325 is a M50 with obd-1 (which is a reason for the close to equal hp). the e36 323 has a 2.5L M52 engine that replaced the 325's M50, and again is obd-2, but even though it lacks almost 20hp it accelerates about a second quicker than the 325 in 0-60 and in 1/4mile. when bmw introduced the M52 (in 323's and 328's) they estimated a life expectancy of 300-400k miles which should be enough for most people
 
#6 ·
Originally posted by enemigo@Sep 3 2003, 04:48 AM
323i e36 accelerates faster than 325i e36? :/ My 325i is doing 0-100 kmph in 7.5 seconds with driver only and in about 8.0 seconds with driver and passenger.You mean 323i will do 0-100kmph in 6.5 seconds? I don't believe this :)
car and driver magazine got a e36 323is to do 0-60 in 6.6, but realisticly its probably around 7.0 (i was thinking the 325 was around 7.5-7.8). the 323 is still a 2.5L, using a slightly evolved 325 engine. again, a main reason for the hp difference is that one car is obd-1 and the other is obd-2, if you reprogrammed a 323 to obd-1 it would possibly show higher hp numbers than a 325.
 
#8 ·
If you could choose either a 328is, a 325is, or a 323is, which would you want? (all of them are E36)
 
#14 ·
Originally posted by Furious@Sep 4 2003, 03:40 PM
that picture in your signature is it your car? it looks like the car they used in 2fast 2furious
My sig is the car from 2 Fast 2 Furious.
 
#16 ·
Originally posted by enemigo@Sep 3 2003, 04:06 PM
yeah, but if 323i is not reprogramed it is slower than 325i, right? 20hp makes big difference..
one thing ive noticed but cant explain is that the newer M52 equipped cars somehow are more efficient at putting more power to the wheels. ive seen a dyno sheet of a stock 323 putting 156hp to the wheels, which is incredible considering it has about 168hp at the crank. i'm not sure about the e36 325, but the e30 325is with a 2.5L 168hp (same as the 323) puts around 126hp hp at the wheels. i would guess that the rwhp of the e36 325is is around the same as the 323, but then the 323's extra tq gives it the edge.
 
#17 ·
The 328is is a sweet ride! :driving I only got mine a month ago :) but i fell in love with it from my first test drive. My friend has a 323i Convertible and that's sweet as well (I just couldn't afford a convertible for my first really car :cry ).

The 328is does like to drink fuel :gulp a little, probably only a little compare to my old ford mondeo. But as your probably in the US and your cost per litre is low, thats probably not an issue. Where as in the UK it's 74.9p a litre atm :( (Dont you just hate politicians!).

Anyway I hope you get a nice car! And try and get the full OBC not just the temp sensor/clock/check control!!
 
#19 ·
So, from what I understand, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a 323is and update it to obd-1. I found a circuit board like thing that did that for 250 bucks. From what I understand, if I did that, it would be quicker than a 325is. How much faster would the 328is be than a reprogrammed 323is? Are the engines in the 323is supposed to last as long as the 325is and the 328is?
 
#20 ·
Originally posted by Import2ner@Sep 6 2003, 08:45 AM
So, from what I understand, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a 323is and update it to obd-1. I found a circuit board like thing that did that for 250 bucks. From what I understand, if I did that, it would be quicker than a 325is. How much faster would the 328is be than a reprogrammed 323is? Are the engines in the 323is supposed to last as long as the 325is and the 328is?
stock for stock a 323 is a hair faster than a e36 325 regardless. obd-1 conversions arent very common and are hard to come by, on non-m cars at least. the 323 and 328 have the same engine (M52) just slightly different bore/stroke dimensions to give different displacement. the 325 has a M50 which is just a older version of the M52, but is basically the same in alot of ways (24v dohc single vanos) and if you looked at a M52 and M50 side by side they would look extremely similar.

just to clarify things here are the years that the cars were made:
1992-1995: 325is
1996-1999: 328is
1998-1999: 323is
so as you can see the 323 and 325 dont over lap each other, therefore bmw was not trying to imply that the 323 is inferior to the 325.
 
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