Hey everyone, I'm new around here to the BMW world and I have a few questions. I love the E34(?) M3's and would love to own one sooner or later but I have many questions about them.

As you can tell from my sig I am a big time Volvo guy...I know their cars inside and out, what they are capable of ECT.

What is the max hp you can get out of an M3 engine without adding forced injection...like with bolt ons(exhaust, intake, ECU, cams, ECT) what kind of power are we talking about?

What's the max limit on the gear box?

What year M3's are the good ones and which ones aren't as good and why?

I know it's a BMW and what's not to like but I'm just curious...as soon as I get this college thing figured out and out on my own I plan to seriously look into purchasing an M3. Thanks in advance for you time, peace out yo

Originally posted by Marvelous3
What is the max hp you can get out of an M3 engine without adding forced injection...like with bolt ons(exhaust, intake, ECU, cams, ECT) what kind of power are we talking about?

What's the max limit on the gear box?

What year M3's are the good ones and which ones aren't as good and why?

I know it's a BMW and what's not to like but I'm just curious...as soon as I get this college thing figured out and out on my own I plan to seriously look into purchasing an M3. Thanks in advance for you time, peace out yo

i think you're referring to the E36 M3, made from '95-'99. max hp is probably approaching 400, but that is a full race motor. for a daily driven OBD I M3 ('95 only), you can upgrade to 3.2 internals ('95=3.0L, '96->=3.2L), aftermarket cams, HFM and some other goodies and get about 300hp at the crank. on the '96 and later OBD II cars, you can get a cam kit for around $3k (plus install) that will get you around 290hp at the crank.

gearbox seems to hold up pretty well, even to forced induction (400hp). driveshafts and diff mounts have been known to fail on the forced induction cars, but it is rare on n/a cars.

all E36 M3s are good. some people like the '95s because they are OBD I and easier to mod; others like the '96-> cars because they have the 3.2L. side airbags were added in '98 (i think), digital climate control in '96... a few other things. but all in all, any E36 M3 is a fine choice.

beware transmission problems on the 5 speeds... particularly the '98s. when the car is cold, if you engage 5th gear and then put it back in neutral, the stick may not return to the center position. during that time, the 2-3 shift is vague and you will often catch 5th instead. bmw has been replacing these transmissions that are still under warranty, but if it is out of warranty you are stuck. regardless, the problem clears itself up when the car warms up (10 minutes or so).

hope this helps. good luck.

M3 has 333hp

E36 M3 ('95-'99) has 240hp out of 3.0L ('95) and 3.2L ('96->) engines.

E46 M3 ('01->) has ~333hp out of 3.2L.

exactly!