98 328i vs 99 328i

[2pac4life]

Alright my next car has been narrowed down to a 98 328i or a 99 328i. I know 98 is the e36, and 99 the e46, and the 99s are heavier. Is it worth the extra money for a new model year, over a 98. Is their a big difference change, from interior, engine or anyother features in the 2 model years? The sport package on BMW's makes em a few tenths faster in the 1/4 correct? Is it worth gettin that and just an exhaust, rather than gettin a 328i with i/e and chip. Which would be faster? My main goal is to put the car into the high 14s, and thats all i really need for now. Thank you for any of you suggestions, its appreciated.

[Kompressor]

If you want to street race, you're in the wrong car.

Go for the 98, it's a lot less weight, and easier to pull of HP gains.

[2pac4life]

Im not looking to street race, i just want it to have some punch ya know?

[Kompressor]

If it's manual it has a lot of punch. Even the auto can pull.

[2pac4life]

Ya, but id still like to be in the mid to high 14s, cus i will be streetracing from time to time and i want a quick car.

[Kompressor]

Is it manual or Auto?

[Kompressor]

i think stock they run mid 15's. Get an intake, chip, exhaust, pulleys, and you'll be fine. Stick with the 96-98 3's.

[2pac4life]

How much would all that come up to? Yes it will be a manual. Thank you all for your help.

[LinkinGlory]

how much are you going to spend on it? Why not somethin like a 95 M3?

[2pac4life]

I plan to have 2g's for aftermarket, and im not interested ina 95 m3, i'd rather have a newer bmw because of reliability, unless i was misinformed on that.

[Kompressor]

How much ya got to spend? Intake=400, Exhaust=600, Chip=400. It's not really a chip, but more of a software download because the car is OBD-II. Then you got about 600 left for "decoration".

*EDIT*

Then again, with the rest of the money, buy a short shifter kit.

[2pac4life]

For the exhaust, i do not want a loud exhaust note, more of a mediocre rumble. Any reccomendations for the exhaust,intake and chip? Does an Dinan intake,and the conforti shark injector as the software upgrade sound good for an intake and chip. Thank you.

[Kompressor]

Intake=Jim Conforti or AA Tuning's
Exhaust=I say AA because it gets the best gains from what I hear and not too loud
Software=Shark Injector
SSK=UUC

[red328i]

i pulled off a 14.9 with my car the first time at the track..

all that i had at the time was cosmos intake and fan delete...



both e46 and e36 are easily capable of 14's all day... only thing is which car do u prefer?

-Sam

[ArcticFlow]

stock my '97 328is ran 15.5, and haven't since run it w/ current setup...the car's an auto too. like said above, if you've got a manual, you could pretty much pull high 14's out of a stock 328, i've seen it done before.

go with the '98 328, its the BEST year (b/c it was the last production model of that bodystyle, most all the kinks were fixed by this time) and its lighter . The entry year for the e46 was of course 1999 and as with all entry level automobiles, their first year in production is actually just a test run to work out all the kinks and major issues with the new design/setup. The engines are mostly the same for both e36 and e46 328's , only changes are obvious, exterior and interior layout...both have the same features/options according to package selection (sport/premium/cold weather, etc)

Its really just a matter of choice:

e36 :

Pros: best build year
lighter weight
more reliable

Cons : Older body style


e46 :

Cons: first/worst production year
heavier

Pros: new body style