323 vs 328 Performance Differences??

[DailyDriver]

I am seaching for a daily driver to replace my aging 911 SC. My driving is almost exclusively in the city, so I am concerned about performance 'off the line'.... that is 0 to 40 mph. As an older guy that has owned lots of sports cars, I know that if I really wanted a stop light racer, I would be looking at Detroit iron, but my tastes are more sports car oriented.

I am looking at late 1990's BMW coupes & 4 doors. I am willing to make some modifications (springs and lower geared differential).

In my area, there are more 323's than 328's. I have been searching the boards, and am now confused..... I have read that 323's, as OBD II engines are way slower than 328's, even though there is a less than 10 hp difference between the two engines. On the other hand, I have had people say that BMW dropped the 328 because there was little real difference between the two engines.

From a real world, 0 to 40 mph perspective, is there a difference between a 323 & 328?

TIA

 

[bmw555]

I am seaching for a daily driver to replace my aging 911 SC. My driving is almost exclusively in the city, so I am concerned about performance 'off the line'.... that is 0 to 40 mph. As an older guy that has owned lots of sports cars, I know that if I really wanted a stop light racer, I would be looking at Detroit iron, but my tastes are more sports car oriented.

I am looking at late 1990's BMW coupes & 4 doors. I am willing to make some modifications (springs and lower geared differential).

In my area, there are more 323's than 328's. I have been searching the boards, and am now confused..... I have read that 323's, as OBD II engines are way slower than 328's, even though there is a less than 10 hp difference between the two engines. On the other hand, I have had people say that BMW dropped the 328 because there was little real difference between the two engines.

From a real world, 0 to 40 mph perspective, is there a difference between a 323 & 328?

TIA

I never drove 323 but 328 has an awsome engine, it will take you from 0 to 40 in no time. I drove E46 325ic though and I can tell that my E36 328is is somewhat faster - I could feel it, but it's noticeable only at high rmps.

 

[knightpitt]

There's a big difference between the 323 and the 328. For the 323, they simply took the 2.5L off the shelf, threw OBD2 electronics and controls on it, and let it go. The 328 is the premeire non-M e36 car. It's what there is the most aftermarket support for, and the more serious of the two cars, by far.

There is also a 22hp difference, along with a 42ft-lbs! torque difference. As you know, for that 0-40, the big difference is going to be the torque.

I would have recommended a '93-'95 325, as they have OBD1 controls, but they lack the torque of the '96-'98 328's.

As for the actual real-world difference, it's huge. BMW knew it, too. That's why they shirked their naming convention by calling a 2.5L engine the 323. The difference between the power of the two cars is much more than could be attributed to 0.3L. They wanted to space the numbers enough so that people would expect the difference that they felt.

 

[DailyDriver]

knightpitt & bmw555

Thanks for the information, and that totally makes sense to me. Horsepower wins bench races - torque wins real races, and 42 ft-lbs is a huge difference for a car of this weight!!

I can only find stats for the E46... based on those stats, the 4 door weighs almost exactly the same, (within about 25 lb) and actually has mildly better weight distribution.

Was the same true for the E36?

Harry

 

[dny79]

well my 328 is smoke check any 323 even if the got minor upgrades i am all about 328's because is a unique ride is mot a m3 and is not a 323 the dont produced it any more and i fell that the boxxy look is a representation of the 90's puresport car dropp it rims and that is your machine ......... hopefully you can find a good deal. make sure is an IS....

 

[knightpitt]

www.consumerguide.com has the declared specifications for the e36's on there. Just follow through looking up used cars.

As you can see, the 2dr and the 4dr are supposed to be the same weights. I guess that I'll believe them. I'm not sure about the exact weight distribution, but I'd expect it to be so comperable that you'd never tell the difference.

For bang for the buck, a '93-'95 325i might suit you pretty well. The cars are cheaper to begin with, cheaper to maintain due to being OBD1 (aside from the oem plastic impeller waterpump issue and an extremely rare rear subframe issue), and certainly within the same performance "realm" despite being down on torque a bit (25 ft-lbs) and having 1hp (whoopie) less.

I guess that I'm a sucker for OBD1 cars, though.

 

[tom busby]

You may want to consider an e46, like a 2001 325i. I drove some e36 323i and 328i cars (these are '96 to '98 I think in the 3 series sedan models) and ended up buying a 2001 325i manual trans. The 325i 2001 is a nice car mostly because the 325i has the infinitely variable VANOS (variable valve timing and lift) that makes a lot of power in a wide rpm range. The torque is a flat "peak" from 3500rpm to 6500rpm. The 325i manual is 7.3 seconds to 62 mph, while the 328i manual is 7.2 seconds to 62 mph, so I think you would not consider the performance any different.

However, I recall that the 328i is easier to drive smoothly, probably because the 328i has about 25 ft.lbs. more torque, especially below 2500 rpm, than the 325i, if I recall correctly.

I think the 323i has no VANOS at all, while 328i has a 2 stage VANOS rather than the infinitely variable VANOS, which explains the difference in the engines in a nutshell.

I also have an e36 ('95 318i with auto) and I like the car a lot but the e46 has a lot smoother suspension and a little bigger interior. However I like the looks of the e36 better than the e46, especially the crease in the front fenders that fades out over the wheel arch flare and then reappears and continues all the way to the back of the car. Check it out! That is some nice metal curves and there are a lot of nice things about an e36.

The 323i and 328i e46 cars that I drove were worth about $12k to $14k (asking $15k) and the e36 323i and 328i cars were around $9k, but I bought a 325i with hi-miles (72,000) for $15k. The retail on the 2001 325i manual is about $20k but you can find them cheaper. 2001 3 series are called "pre-face lift" by some.

 

[abcxyz]

If you want more power/acceleration from a dead stop, I'd go with the E36 328 over the 323. As some have stated, it has a signifcant amount more torque. Also, I believe the E36 328 does 0-60mph in 6.2 - 6.4 seconds, not 7.2 seconds. Well the 1998 one does any way from what I researched (and then bought). I've done it in under 7 seconds and I'm not a professional driver by any means. Also raced a E46 325 from a red light who had a head start and beat him by a lot. The E36 323 and E46 325 are "entry level" now that the 318 does not exist anymore.

It sounds like you're looking for power from 0-40mph so I'd go with the 328, and if more people in your area have the 323, then for sure get the 328, have something better than most. Your best bet would be to test drive the two and see for yourself...

 

[Joe_31]

I have the 97 328i sedan and man I can tell you you will not be disappointed. When you step on the gas the feeling is great! I can't compair it to the other model though as I have never had a chance to test them. I have left a few cars in my rear view mirror I can tell you.

 

[fredo328]

My suggestion is to get the last year of the e36 model. 1998 is the last e36 328, the next year, 99 328 becomes e46 and they have their own new problems. I've found that by 98 most if not all the bugs have been worked out of the e36. There are some issues, as with all cars, that you will still have to deal with but the big ones such as the plastic water impeller went out with the 97 328. Depending on how many miles your car has you will have to eventually deal with the cooling system and ac other than that it is all pretty much maintenance things. I've had mine for about 23,000 miles and have had no issues. I'm now at 81,000 and it is riding like a new car. I've changed my valve cover gasket (an easy DIY) and plugs along with regular maintenance things-it is an extremely easy engine to work on. I needed a daily driver I could put 25,000 to 35,000 miles/year on and still be reliable, this is the car. A couple of my buds who have 98 and 97 328i for more years also agree. Good luck, make sure you get and look at the carfax. By the way, ask the guys here http://www.328i.org/ any questions about the 328 too.