Can someone please describe the details of the "is" option offered on 325's and 323's (i.e. "323is")?

The "is" only means that the car is an E30 or an E36 coupe. On the E46 line "Ci" means the same thing.

The "is" only means that the car is an E30 or an E36 coupe. On the E46 line "Ci" means the same thing.


I am going to have to disagree with that. the IS in the earlier models denoted a bimmer with the sport package. in the E46 line, Ci is for a coupe version regardless of if it has the sport package or not. :)

There are absolutely no 4 door "is" cars. All 2 door E30s and E36s are "is" cars, there are no two door BMWs called just "i". There are sports packages on the 4-doors and they are not called "is". Look anywhere you want online. You are wrong.

hey, calm down buddy! wrong is such a powerful word!

i never said there were 4 door "is" bimmers. i never even mentioned 4 doors. in fact, i know there are no 4 door "is" because the sport package was only available on two door cars if the buyer opted for it, thus if they did not, it was just an "i". i am sure that in the E30, the sport package was only offered on two door cars. however, on the e36, i only believe that they did not offer sport packages on 4 door bimmers. however, i could be incorrect. i am not a big fan of the e36.

no matter how sure i was, i took your advice and looked it up online. I went to www.bmwe30.net and went through the E30 registry. while their is a larger amount of 2 door e30's with sport packages (which we could probably attribute to the salesmen pitching the idea of the package to the buyers), there are several examples of E30's with only two doors, that are not "is" models, but just 325i 2 door. also on bmwe30.net, i looked up the technical articles and found this article:

http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=articles&report=view&ID=00127&Section=

it notes that the s in "is" notes the sport package. this does not note anything about the number of doors, however lays the groundwork that the s does indeed means the sport package, which is optional.

i went to edmunds.com and looked up the 1990 E30's (since the 91 E30 line did not have an IS, per the above article from bmwe30.net). This page can be seen here:

http://www.edmunds.com/used/1990/bmw/3series/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.mmindex.content.num1.0.bm w*

there, you can see the E30 325i 2 door, and the E30 325is 2 door listed separately. this supports the fact that there are 2 door 3ers that are just 325i!

the following page is the edmunds page for the 1991 BMW E30, which is a personal favorite of mine ;)

http://www.edmunds.com/used/1991/bmw/3series/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.mmindex.content.num1.0.bm w*

here you can see the 2 door 325i coupe. thus the existance of this without the "s" is again satisfied. also, i realized i was limiting myself to the 325 models, however there is also an abundance of 2 door 318i. and there are also plenty to eta cars left over from the great E30 age. these are either just 325 or 325e, and are available in 2 door as well. of course, the sport package was also available for them in the 2 door fashion, thus the 325es.

now on to the E36.

again, i am not a huge fan of the E36, so i did not spend as much time on it during my "research". however, going back to edmunds i found this page:

http://www.edmunds.com/used/1999/bmw/3series/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.mmindex.content.num1.0.bm w*

your theory holds a little truer for the E36 line. however, i can still find plain 325i on a two door, in the fashion of a 2 door convertible.

also check this page on deciphering trunk lid nomenclatures from bmwworld.com. here you will note that the s means sport package.

http://www.bmwworld.com/repairs/codes/models.htm

now on to the E46.

i will state that there are no "is" 4 door bimmers, however, in the E46 line (maybe in the e36 line too, not sure about that) they do offer packages like the sport package, even sometimes called the sport package ::gasp:: but this does not change the trunklid model. thus my earlier claim stands true in that Ci simply means a coupe or convertible coupe, regardless of it it has the sport package or not.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2004/bmw/3series/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.mmindex.content.num1.0.bm w*

on this page you can see that the E46's that are two door all have the "Ci". i think everyone will agree that in todays newer bimmers, the "S" mark has been laid to rest, somewhat like you said in your first post. however the sport package has gone nowhere and is available for all models in the 3er line.

this simply shows that the "is" and "Ci" mark stand for different things. however, in a round about way, they both identify two door models.

its widely misunderstood that the S identifies a two door. while it is true that the sport package was only available on two doors what it really meant is that all "is" bimmers are two door, but not all two door bimmers are "is".


or i could be wrong! and if i am, i will admit it. . .

however, all this has very little to do with the thread starters question. . .

thats quite a thesis! i did not know it was that long!

to answer AEQ74 original question, i have this quote from bmwworld.com:

"These models have sporting options like bigger brakes, stronger suspension, etc."

to find out exactly exactly what that model has, let us know what year it is from! :)

hehe, think, then post. . .

thats quite a thesis! i did not know it was that long!

to answer AEQ74 original question, i have this quote from bmwworld.com:

"These models have sporting options like bigger brakes, stronger suspension, etc."

to find out exactly exactly what that model has, let us know what year it is from! :)

I appreciate all the feedback and both of you have brought up some details that I had been wondering about. Let me explain where I was initially going with this.

I am looking for a daily driver 3 series and like anyone, I want as much performance as I can get within my price range (under $20,000). This has led me to look at the E36 328i/328is. I was really wondering if looking for only an "is" model was worth it, or if it would be financially comparable to make some brake and suspension upgrades to an "i" model and get similar performance. Naturally, it seems like there are lesser abused "i" models then "is" models, and with a vehicle of this age (at least 6 years old), I may need to replace suspension components, for example, anyway. Cutting to the chase, is holding out for a pristine "is" worth it, or should I just find an "i" and do the upgrades on my own?

Thanks.

I have a 325i two door e30. not an is. not an eta. it has the high revving i motor but no suspension upgrades of the is.

in fact its a 325IA.

Any model with an "s" suffix, like the 318is, 325es, and 325is, denotes the sport model which only came in two door form.

http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datac...=00127&Section=

I became a BMW enthusiast during the E36 line, and honestly don't know as much as I should about the E30 line. I'll admit when im wrong. I've just never seen a 2-door E30 or E36 without the "is" suffix. I was right that the "s" suffix could only be found on coupes, however I was wrong that all coupes had "s". Sorry bout that one... I was right about E36s though, which is what he is looking for.

AEQ74, go for an "IS". They aren't going to cost you much more then a comparable "I", and I've always found that stock components are more reliable anyways.

Guys... you missed something! : THERE IS an E36 4-door 318is! This car was available for a limited time and had the more powerfull 16-valve 1.8 with 140hp instead of the 8-valve 115hp 1.8 of the 318i (2 or 4 door). Basically (in Europe at least) 318is meant 140hp-16valve either 4-door or 2-door. I have no idea if you can find these cars in the US from where I suppose you all come from! Sites like Edmunds only list official US imports.

:)
well there is when the trouble comes in, in dealing with models from different parts of the world. i think most of the variations are made by the regional hq's and not by BMW AG.

i once read that BMW South Africa made a BMW E30 333i! they took the 3.3 liter out of the 5er and dropped it in an E30 chassis. only like 70 or something were built.

i dont want to step on anyones toes, however, for 20k have you considered an E46? i have been looking for one myself, and found several for less then 20k, and with maybe 50 or 60k miles on it. i personally dont like the E36 very much, and i have read that it has electricial probs at times.

i once read that BMW South Africa made a BMW E30 333i! they took the 3.3 liter out of the 5er and dropped it in an E30 chassis. only like 70 or something were built.



Yes indeed :wink: BMW South Africa built their own versions because they had a whole production line down there (sort of like the US have today). Back in the early 80s they also made unique E12s with E28 interiors (among other wild things...) :eek:

Did we forget the 2-door 325i convert. Thanks

hehe, i did mention this. . . :)