should i get one...i hear good and bad......

[knudsonsm3]

things about these ti's....What do yall think about them. How do they handle?

[spidertri]

Obviously we all hate them.

Seriously though, they are great little cars, basic maintenance isn't too expensive, they can be made to handle very well. Stock M44 motor is down on power and don't expect big gains from bolt ons. They will accept an M3 motor swap very easily though. Cooling system is the biggest weak point, as it is on all E36s. I routinely get 33mpg out of mine.

[marko]

think of it as a Gti 16V - but with rear wheel drive.

[96cali]

or a 318i without a trunk.

FWIW many of us (me included) have owned more than one. I have little experience with other e36 models but they are favorites for track use because of the light weight (2750lb- lighter than a Z3) and very balanced handling. No doubt they stand out and most love em or hate em. If you get one I strongly advise a sport model with 5 speed.

[tiFreak]

definitely get them, they handle great even if it's really hard to build power out of the stock engines

[nyle]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Cooling system is the biggest weak point

+1
As long as you take care of it it's fine, but there are a couple little things (two connectors specifically) that tend to go bad that aren't quite easily replaced. Aside from that though the cars are a good BMW introductory car.

Aside from the engine side of things... hatchbacks are amazing. not only are they small and sporty looking, but you have a ton of storage space. the back seat bottoms come out very easily, and the backs fold down so its basically level with the trunk. thats probably one of my favorite features of the Ti

[paddyhart]

how do they handle compared to an e30?

[aceyx]

It's a bit heavier than an E30 but it feels far more planted. If you're going around a bumpy turn there's less jitter and you don't feel as if you're going to flip it sideways. The feedback is different between the two chassis, but I wouldn't rate either better or worse.

[Mallard]

A good allrounder. And with split rear seats , loading area is huge

[scoti49]

I just took advice from here and elsewhere and bought me a 318ti 2003 E46 2lt motor .At 66.000klms it was a good buy .Its an Australian model ,that helps as I'm in Australia .

Unbelievable fuel economy ,love the Hatch ,the seats on this sports model are a bit hard and the sides wings annoy the heck out of the thighs.
traction control works well ,it needs the 17inch wheels (16 fitted).

The 2 litre engine is stock and does the job for a car at 1.4 Tonne.

I have got to work out service indicators ,not paying the equivalent of the National Dept for BMW service ,do it all my servicing myself .I will let ALL in on what I get when Cobbn Co get their act together from the UK (GB,England ??)

[woh]

Originally Posted by nyle

+1
. . . but there are a couple little things (two connectors specifically) that tend to go bad that aren't quite easily replaced. . .

Tell us more please

[DaedHead8]

Originally Posted by scoti49

I just took advice from here and elsewhere and bought me a 318ti 2003 E46 2lt motor

Pics please!

Originally Posted by woh

Tell us more please

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16068

[scoti49]

Pics in my Gallery .dont have a clue how to put them here ?

[briansol]

Originally Posted by knudsonsm3

things about these ti's....What do yall think about them. How do they handle?

this is my 2nd bmw, and several of my friends have bmw's as well, so i've driven quite a few in my day.



Likes:

• Storage is good.
• cheap car with some 'status'
• pretty reliable
• fairly easy to work on compared to most german cars
• it handles ok, but it's no m3.

Dislikes:

• gearing. specifically, it needs a 6th gear for the highway
• fuel mileage. everyone else is saying 35... i see 24.1 on my obc. maybe its just my car, but IMO, this car gets better mileage in the city than it does on the highway, mostly due to point 1 here
• stock seats suck (at least my 95 active ones do). no side support; too slippery (pure leather); plus, i wish the seat went back 1 more notch. i'm 6'1 and i find myself wanting just one more notch in seat travel.
• some aftermarket stuff is hard to find/rare due to the limited numbers of these cars ever made
• passenger windows fall off the track

Overall, i like the car. it's fairly fun to drive, it's great for going boarding without the need for a roof rack, etc

a 6-speed and some vaders would drastically change my view on the car to the better

[DaedHead8]

^Hehe, you complain about not having a six speed but as a 4 speed auto owner, I constantly find myself wishing I had a fifth gear. At 80 mph my car runs at about 3500 rpms. Enough to make me want that fifth gear.

So what are the RPMs for a manual Ti in fifth gear at 80mph?