Oppo, I am stupid

"Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car" (pilot-and-car-guy) 09/11/2015 at 12:03 • Filed to: None

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Can anyone please explain the visual difference between a normal 3 series and an ///M 3 of the same generation. Yesterday I saw an e36 3 series sedan with a big ///M badge on the trunk above the plate. I know it wasn’t an ///M. But how can I spot a real ///M from a fake ///M if the badge is in the proper spot, without looking at the shift knob and or wheel?

e30 m3 for your time.

EL_ULY > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:06

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Wider almost blocky fenders and front bumper I think. Boot lid also

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:08

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GTI effect. You don’t know how you know, you just know .

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:09

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Opening the bonnet.

Party-vi > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:10

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E30: coupe only, boxed fenders, Strange looking trunk/spoiler.

E36: Specific wheels, M badging on the body molding, different fascias and side skirts, sporty-looking mirrors.

E46: Coupe only, hood bulge, flush-mount vents on the front fenders, specific wheels, flared fenders, quad exhaust

E90: Hood vents, flared fenders, quad exhaust, wheels

Wacko > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:10

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Sound of the engine

Jcarr > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:11

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Found this for current gen:

BKRM3 > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:12

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How do you know the E36 sedan wasn’t an M3? The M3 was available as a sedan for the E36, E90 and F80 body styles. Awesomely, the E36 M3 sedan with a manual transmission is known as the “M3/4/5.”

Your bigger question on “how do you tell” is pretty hard to answer, unless you’re able to look in the engine bay of every suspected M3 you come across. Normally, there are body elements like fender vents or flared wheel arches that give away “real” 3 series M cars, but that’s not the case with the E36. The “real” ones also usually have different side mirrors (true of the E36 whether sedan or coupe, true of the E46, true of the E9X and F8X...) but those are pretty easy to install on a non-M car for “lookalike” status.

Looking at the shift knobs, for the same reason, really isn’t gonna tell you jack. I suggest you put your mind at ease by going full-BMW-nerd and learning everything you can about every M3 ever made. You’ll never be sorry you did, and you’ll never run into this problem again =)

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > BKRM3 09/11/2015 at 12:13

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Someday, I plan to. That e36 had 328 badge in the usual sopt and a big ///M badge in the center of the trunk...

Party-vi > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:15

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I think the worst ///M badge offenders are E36 owners. I’ve seen more ///M328s than real E36 M3s at this point.

BKRM3 > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:16

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LOL! Yep, I guess that’s a good way to tell. Here’s a picture of some BMWs for you to practice (spoiler alert: my E90 is the real deal).

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > BKRM3 09/11/2015 at 12:18

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E36 not a ///M

E46 ///M

E90 ///M (you told me)

I know I got at least 1/3 :P

BKRM3 > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:19

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You got all 3. You are ready.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > BKRM3 09/11/2015 at 12:20

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Not quite. The e46 I thought because it was wider. The e36 seemed narrow.

michael bleggi > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:21

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the e36 has minimal aesthetic differences... no widebody. lots of imitators

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:27

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The 328 doesn’t have the best reliability so they might have done an s52 swap

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:30

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E36 is the worst gen for imitation because it’s the easiest to do. M3s have front bumpers with a big rectangular grille, the skirts have an overlap “twist” look to them, thicker plastic door trim, and there’s a diffuser looking thing on the back bumper rather than being smooth. Also the mirrors are round abs have two arms rather than the square, single arm ones on the standard car. Also special wheels.

For example, Standard E36

M3:

finn's arm > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 12:30

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E36’s are probably the hardest to tell. The major things are all the same (hood, fenders). An Mtech 325i or non-m’s with M bumpers & trim can easily pass a quick visual.

The dead giveaways are the exhaust and rear splitter. Most will not take replace their non-M exhaust w/ the M3 exhaust (polished and larger exhaust tips). Everyone usually upgrades to something (WAY WAY WAY) lighter. I have an E36 M3 exhaust on my 323is. It’s heavy. It also tricks people into thinking it’s a lux pack M3.

The rear bumpers are quite different and while there are rear diffusers that plug into non-m, the angle of the sides give it away.

ShiroZ31 > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 09/11/2015 at 13:09

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I can usually tell an e36 M3 from the sound of it’s lifters ticking at idle.

Justin Hughes > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 09/11/2015 at 13:58

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You can’t even go by the front end these days. When someone I know cracked the front bumper of his non-M car, he found an aftermarket M style bumper to be less expensive than the non-M, so he replaced it with that. Not to be a poser, but because it was simply less expensive.