M is for Monday: E36 M3 is Solid Gold

"MotorAffair" (motoraffair) 01/25/2016 at 21:15 • Filed to: None

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One of my favorites from a HRE Wheels shoot I did some time back. In my opinion the perfect set of wheels with the right stance, a timeless beauty. Enjoy!

d15b > MotorAffair 01/25/2016 at 21:23

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The lack of tire sidewall makes it look like it’s a bumpy ride. :[

MotorAffair > d15b 01/25/2016 at 21:27

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It actually rode really nice. It was on ST coilovers, but the roads in San Diego are mostly smooth....

MotorAffair > MotorAffair 01/25/2016 at 21:29

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The tires are 215/35/18 so the stretch makes it look like less tire.

d15b > MotorAffair 01/25/2016 at 21:35

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I just moved down here (San Diego). You Opponauts grab a pint locally? Car & Coffee?

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > MotorAffair 01/25/2016 at 21:50

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Way to ruin a great handling car!

Burn-Spaz1966-Burn > MotorAffair 01/25/2016 at 21:57

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Looks > Function =/= Spaz

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MotorAffair > d15b 01/25/2016 at 23:49

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There is Cars and Coffee in Carlsbad every Sat Morning, 7-9am. It actually just moved to a new spot, Costco Parking Lot in Carlsbad, and had its first run last Sat the 23rd.

MotorAffair > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/25/2016 at 23:53

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Not sure if you are being sarcastic. This M3 drove amazing. Lowering a car can improve handling if done correctly, see because racecar, but ruin handling if done incorrectly.

My E36 M3 had a similar height with KW V3 coilovers and also handled very well.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > MotorAffair 01/26/2016 at 09:32

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It’s not that. I’m mostly referring to the tires. 215s? That’s 10mm less front and 30 rear from stock (On the 3.2L version).

Also, is the car corner balanced? Is the alignment optimized? Otherwise the drop is purely a shot in the dark in terms of performance over stock.

I can tell you I would never do (and never have done) this crap to my E36 M3. That’s your prerogative. But if you say you want performance (and not stance I assume, since those are in fact almost completely mutually exclusive) then you should know that your execution is a quite a bit flawed.

Sorrynotsorry, I’m all about calling it as I see it, especially on E36 M3s which are my favorite car.

I don’t mean to be antagonistic, so I hope you see the worth in my comment past the unintentional vitriol.

twinturbobmw > MotorAffair 01/26/2016 at 15:15

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Once I saw those photos I fell in love with those wheels. Shame they're quite a ways out of my budget. Those photos are great as well.

MotorAffair > twinturbobmw 01/26/2016 at 15:22

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Thank you. Here is another of my favorites from that shoot. I love these too, they remind me of BBS Style 5s but in a 18. A Classic wheel on a classic M. They are a bit pricey but well built.

MotorAffair > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/26/2016 at 15:29

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No reason to be sorry, but saying it ruins handling without having driven this car is a point without merit. I drove this car and it rode and handled very well. The owner spent the money to set it up properly with corner balancing and alignment. Many E36 owners do not pay the extra money to make the lowered stance ride well and do ruin the handling.

Now I do admit the tire size is more for looks than performance but this is a street car.

Although considering we in the good ol’ US of A only received 240hp a smaller tire patch does mean more drift opportunities ;)