Choices of an E46 3 Series or Others?

[Delta00]

I am preparing my first car purchase and I have been looking around at a number of cars around the price range of $23,000 and under (I know its a lot but my parents understand im into cars and my brother got a N/A 97 Supra for his 1st) . Speed is a LARGE factor, as I will be racin competively wiht my brother and his friends and I have a school of about 1000 and it is important for me to have the fastest car (while this is not that hard at the moment as my bro with the '97 N/A Supra is the fastest, second is a V6 Auto. camaro), not to mention the ability to take off with friends in the car while your driving alongside another of your friends - its just plain cool . Anyways I had been looking into a number of cars I am looking for your guys' personal opinions.

1. 330ci - Very classy, and decent performance with chip and exhaust, however slightly over my under 23k price range
2. 325ci - Again classy and chic but a big leap down in performance from a 330ci
3. Supercharged 323ci - Im not too sure about the price about this, but should be pretty damn good performance ( maybe .5 a second better than a 330ci?)
4. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - The class just isnt there but the speed is, people only think its cool if they know about cars, so thats about 10 people at my school. But perhaps even moreso out of the price range?
5. Mitsubishi 3000GT Vr4 - Speed, and the sporty look is very enticing, but hte reliability kinda sucks
6. Chipped A4 - Pretty fast with the +50 HP Chip and shit, rivals a 330ci in perofrmance, OK looking.

I realize this is a BMW forum and there is a tendency for BMW bias but Id like to your guys' opinion if you had these choices under my circumstances, keep in mind id buy these cars at around 50k miles (to drive down price). and only manual. Obviously I couldnt do that wiht hte evo but if I waited maybe 6 months I could find one wiht 20k miles or sumthin.

While Im at my first post Id figured Id squeeze in some more questions I had to not take up space.

1. I heard the 330ci has the same engine as the e36 m3, could this mean i could put in an e36 m3 turbo kit (the only turbos ive seen for BMWs)?
2. Id really appreciate it if ANYONE could post their numbers and shit they have on their bimmers because when I searched I couldnt find anything as far as 1/4 Mile times or RWHP after upgrades.

I realize a lot of 12 year old kids post here with no point and no intention of buying a bimmer ever, but I really appreciate your guys' opinions, it is really important to me as I have read the forum for a little while and you guys seems very knowledgeable and savvy.

[the///man]

you can get a twin t supra with a good deal of mileage for that price. also, you probably shouldnt get the 300gt. yes it has a steel frame which makes it safe but it isnt reliable at all (cheap japanese parts). bmw mostly aims their cars towards great handling with speed as more of a by product. but if you get an ///m car speed will definately be there. so what i suggest to you is this, either get a e36 m3 and supercharge it and do other mods to it. or you could get a twin t supra with a bunch of mileage. either way, youll probably be the fastest guy at school. hope this helps man

[MrM3]

Welcome Delta00,

I dont see why a E36 M3 isnt on your list, you could probably get a 95-97 in your price range. a 330Ci does not have the same engine as a E36 M3, however it does have the same displacement as a 95 M3, though the M3 still out performs it. you could probably get a 2001 330Ci in the mid to high 20's, but i think it makes more sense to supercharge a 328Ci or a M3, but then again giving forced induction to a highschool kid isnt a very good idea

[Delta00]

While a TT supra sounds great it would be kinda lame having teh same car as your bro who was "mr. fuckin big hot shit" with his N/A supra this year. And I did consider hte E36 M3 Im just slightly weary of its "hard lines" exterior and not as classy interior like the E46. Thats the only detearment, because i would be going to a bimmer for the luxury of it and it just seems if I could, sacrifice some performance for the coolness factor of hte e46 interior and exterior. Thanks a lot for all your guys' input and please add more!

[the///man]

holy crap, you didnt just say "not as classy interior like the e46". damn dude the e36 m3's interior is crazy. those seats are awesome. check this guy's supercharged m3 out. its insane and those seats are far from crappy. i hope this changes your mind cause it sure makes me drool.

http://www.bmw-forums.com/forum/index.php?...?showtopic=3046

[Delta00]

Few more questions...

1. Ive never heard a supercharger, my friends all have ricer turbos, with 7psi out of boost on a supercharger are u still gonna hear the PSH from the BOV? I hear my friends SRT-4 with 18psi of boost pretty dang loudly I was wondering if I could get anything comparable.

2. Do the 325i and 325ci's have hte same engine? Could I put a supercharger for a 325i into a 325 ci?

3. Anybody have any recomended companys for forced induction for non-///m e-46's?

4. Would any BMW autoshop install a bolt-on turbo or supercharger if you ordered it online and it came as a complete kit?

5. Would you guys pick a 323ci with a Supercharger (Soemthing simple that is like 5 grand) over a 330ci?

6. Anybody have some .wav's of UUC Twin Exhaust (or maybe others?), everyone reccomends it but Id like to hear it before forkin over the money. I am looking for a real aggressive heard growl like my brother has on his Supra with Magnaflo exhaust?

[e36_m3_Turbo]

e36 m3 sedan (de-badged) with$$ for mods

[MrM3]

Originally posted by Delta00@Sep 13 2003, 10:40 PM
Few more questions...

1. Ive never heard a supercharger, my friends all have ricer turbos, with 7psi out of boost on a supercharger are u still gonna hear the PSH from the BOV? I hear my friends SRT-4 with 18psi of boost pretty dang loudly I was wondering if I could get anything comparable.

2. Do the 325i and 325ci's have hte same engine? Could I put a supercharger for a 325i into a 325 ci?

3. Anybody have any recomended companys for forced induction for non-///m e-46's?

4. Would any BMW autoshop install a bolt-on turbo or supercharger if you ordered it online and it came as a complete kit?

5. Would you guys pick a 323ci with a Supercharger (Soemthing simple that is like 5 grand) over a 330ci?

6. Anybody have some .wav's of UUC Twin Exhaust (or maybe others?), everyone reccomends it but Id like to hear it before forkin over the money. I am looking for a real aggressive heard growl like my brother has on his Supra with Magnaflo exhaust?

a 325i and a 325ci have the same engine as long as you are looking at the same year or bodystyle. a E36 325i engine is not the same as a E46 325i or 325ci engine. a s/c'ed 323ci will probably have around 230-250hp and will be able to beat a 330ci. most mechanic's would install a turbo or s/c for you if you want to pay big bucks for labor, but it would be better if you knew of a bmw specialist

[Delta00]

Originally posted by bimmer328isss@Sep 13 2003, 10:36 PM
holy crap, you didnt just say "not as classy interior like the e46". damn dude the e36 m3's interior is crazy. those seats are awesome. check this guy's supercharged m3 out. its insane and those seats are far from crappy. i hope this changes your mind cause it sure makes me drool.

http://www.bmw-forums.com/forum/index.php?...?showtopic=3046

hmm, that car looks pretty nice its just, the E46 do look better inside, the steering wheel, the leather (since id get a newer one the leather would most likely look better). And i love the new style E46, you now have me torn between the two lol. Not to mention people who dont know much about cars are going to know that an e46 looks way newer, and obviously attract over that more.

[the///man]

basically, if you want the modern style your gona have to stick with an e46 3 other than the m3. the car alone will cost you more than 20k which means, on your budget, you wont be able to supercharge it. so youll be stuck with a relatively stock car. thats why i recommended the e36 m3. i think it looks awesome and its really powerful not to mentioin what happens when you put in a supercharger.

[lwebb12]

go with the E36 M3. you will not be dissapointed. RMS makes superchargers for it.

[mikefliggity]

the Audi 1.8T are great cars. It's fairly cheap to mod and get a lot of horsepower. The RS4 body kit gives it a crazy beautiful look. the K04 turbo upgrade makes it quick as hell and also the 4 wheel drive gives it unbeliveable handling. thats what i would go for (with a little more money you could get the S4 and upgrade the turbos which will blow any car out there), the S4 is one of my favorite cars. I also love my bmw. it's a great car but there's something about the S4.