“Do you prefer the E36 or E46 3 series BMW?”
May 2nd, 2006A: That would depend on the year…
The E36’s M50 and S50 motors were pretty free breathing and cammy, perfect for a weekend in the canyons and best paired with a manual.
By contrast the M52 and S52 were more torquey in everyday conditions but they didn’t sing at high revs. The manual M52 was paired to long gearing that saps some of the fun but is still preferable to the 4 speed automatic.
E46s had terrible manuals thanks to the CDV and electromechanical or electronic throttle. 01-> rear wheel drive cars had a ZF tranny rather than a GM one with closer gear ratios.
Similarly the E46’s M52TU (‘99-’00) was pretty muffled while the ‘01 and later 325i liked revs. Oddly the 3.0L is relatively rough due to its long stroke – the ZHP Performance Package’s different cams and management gave it more zeal but its hard to shake the fact that this engine was meant to haul the mass of the X5 around.
So far my answer is simply taking into account engine note and torque curve, but there’s more to consider such as build quality (the E36 feels more disposable, the E46 more like the E39 - meant for a long service life) throtttle response (which McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray agrees is more important than horsepower – >‘96-’98 M52/’96-’99 S52 sharpest) or chassis feel/handling balance. (I don’t care for anything on staggered rims, aftermarket Limited Slip for non Ms after 96 is a must. The 95 M3 my favorite E36 chassis, followed by sport pack non M – the 3.2L M chassis is too biased towards high speed stability. Considering E46s, ZHP E46 on lighter wheels or 03 and later 325i sport feel best, the Xi surprisingly is most neutral of all and can be faster from point to point as you don’t need to slow for rough pavement – it feels the closest to the way BMWs used to feel – long suspension travel, dirm damping).
The E46 had 3 steering iterations: heavy/vague (due to slop in bushings)/slow, light/precise/slow, then heavy/precise/quick (some say excessive weighting), I can’t decide if I like the 2nd or third one better overall – depends on tire size (my favorite being 205/50R17s all around). Suspensions didn’t gel until the 02-03 model year – before that the base models seemed underdamped/somehow Japanese and the sport packages too nose led and soft at the rear. Later base cars were almost too firm – many who get sport packages would be surprised at the balance and composure of the base cars…
Basically you have to try them all as I have and decide what you’re most sensitive to, but at least now you have a sense of how many differences there are from year to year…
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Cool article, thanks for this.
A couple of quick quesions:
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:03 pm
Glad you liked it and happy to clarify…
CDV stands for ‘clutch delay valve’ – its fitted to all (non M?) manual transmissioned E46 and E39 cars. Think if it as the equivalent of a light switch that fades in and out when you switch off and on – no matter how quickly you release the clutch valve ensures the clutch plates come together sloooowwwly – like electronic throttles, SMG gearboxes and soft engine and transmission mounts the CDV is designed to reduce stress on the driveline when a hamfisted driver’s at the helm. It’s meant to make the average driver smoother but it tends to make the advanced driver less smooth which is why some owners drill out the valve…
The CDV is on all E46s but 99-00 cars have an electromechanical throttle that hangs onto revs when you lift and 01 and later cars have an electronic throttle that doesn’t crack the throttle open quickly enough – both are meant to reduce emissions. The 99-00 cars can be bettered with an update detailed in a technical service bulletin, the ‘01 and later cars benefit from a reprogram such as DINAN’s that leaves the factory spark and fuel mapping alone but sharpens throttle response (similar to pressing the sport button on a Z4, E46 M3 or E39 or E60 M5s… the E46 ZHP Performance Package has similarly sharpened response and a shofter shifter throw – you’ll notice its far easier to shift smoothly when you’re not paying attention…)
Luckily the E90 manual tranny has an alchemy between shifter, throttle and clutch that is back to where the E36 was – in fact its the easiest BMW to drive smoothly I’ve ever sampled, near Honda-like in fact…
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:02 am
Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification.
Well, it sounds like there’s an easy fix available for both configurations, so I guess you can “de-louse” any manual E46…
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:08 am
Question is: will you? I tell myself I’d budget any E46 for the ZHP suspension, a limited slip diff, drilling out the CDV and this drivability upgrade but in reality I’d get around to maybe one or two of ‘em : )
(A more important question: should you have to??? Funny how so many companies got distracted/lazy with their core competencies in the late 80s/early 90s…)