U.S. M3 vs Euro-spec M3

[Patrokloss]

Is there a comprehensive list of all the differences? We all know the Euro M3 got a totally different engine and a 6-speed, but lately I've been finding lots of changes that are more subtle. Power rear vent windows, for example. And the cooler-looking LED for the alarm. Floating 2-piece brake rotors. Convex driver-side mirror. Better headlights. Rear fog lights. What else is there? How far does this list go?

[Serious]

lumbar seats, park distance control, better steering wheel.

[surfacewound]

They got power rear vent windows? The bastards! :mad :)

I've always wondered why the hell mine weren't powered.

[black_box]

the windshield wiper control module was progammable. i.e. you could set the delay for intermittent anywhere between 2 and 24 seconds or something. I believe its mentioned in the owners manual.

[DeeM3]

They also have the oil temp unit on where we have the mpg on our clusters.

[DDEM3]

Once again, the US M3 got SCREWED! Makes me angry

[Luftwaffe1O1]

Basically Euro M3 = Da shit, US M3 = shit.


JK JK, however the Euro Model M3, was much much better. Infact it would be a decent contender against a lot of modern day cars in terms of speed and technology. It was truly a beautiful automobile.... damn US consumer idiots...

[SG_M3]

from 96-early 97 Euro spec got aluminum doors
They have a different size rear diff and subframe
slightly stiffer springs

[Brent_Vino]

for having a shitty US M3....... we sure in the hell beat Ferrari, Vette, Porsche 911, Honda, Dodge, toyota supra, prelude sh, boxster, making the M3 the best handling sports car in America.

[BSH]

headlight level adjusters were also an option

hmm...i'm blanking out on other differences...you guys have pretty much covered it.

i love my eurospec#19 :)

[DDEM3]

headlight level adjusters were also an option

hmm...i'm blanking out on other differences...you guys have pretty much covered it.

i love my eurospec#19 :)

I................HATE...............YOU! :mad

hehe are you a lucky man :D

[JClark]

wow, i want all that stuff so much.

[skratch]

I think the euro spec got an engine and tranny oil cooler also.

[DeeM3]

A lot of the features mentioned are just plain safer and practical. Why do they remove so many things from these cars? Oh I know because america wants to make it hard for them to put all that stuff in their cars, so that their cheap american cars with cheap features would stand a better chance of selling.

[DeeM3]

The longer the list gets the more pissed off I get. I feel so cheated.

[DeeM3]

Oh I believe in 97 some eurpopeans also got SMG transmission. This wasn't available to us until 2002.

[RRSperry]

You guys don't get it. They may have gotten a lot more features, but they really did pay for it. An M3gt cost well over $50k, in fact very close to what a 911 cost. BMW simply thought there was no way in hell they could sell it in the US. And they were right. Not to mention the penalty you would have to pay to buy the GT. You have to live in EUROPE. Gas is $6 a gal, you have to put up with the French, you can't get decent pizza, or burgers, and the chicks have hairy pits. No thanks. :D

[maq]

lumbar seats

They had power lumbar support seats? :eek: Is there a retrofit kit out there?

I really wanna know about it. TIA!

[maq]

Oh I believe in 97 some eurpopeans also got SMG transmission. This wasn't available to us until 2002.

SMG I is signifcantly different from SMG II as seen in E46 M3s. It's more like SSG. If fact worse, it was just a crappy concept at the time

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq/E36_M3_SMG_Trans.jpg

[maq]

They had power lumbar support seats? :eek: Is there a retrofit kit out there?

I really wanna know about it. TIA!

Who knows where to get this kit?

[cane]

I've got SMG "1" in my euro e36, not crappy, but suppose it can't be compared against the e46's SMG. Still, it shifts faster than most SMG type cars, here's a nice comparison list of shift times@optimal conditions, as you see the e46 is outstanding but the e36 is on pair with ferrari 575 and Aston vanquish.

BMW SMG II (M3 E46) 80 ms
Ferrari F1 (Maserati 4200GT) 80 ms
Ferrari F1 (360 F1) 150 ms
Ferrari F1 (Enzo) 150 ms
Bugatti Veyron (proposed) 200 ms
Ferrari F1 (575M) 220 ms
BMW SMG (M3 E36) 220 ms
Aston Martin Vanquish 250 ms
BMW SSG (3-series) 250ms (150ms for 1st to 2nd)
Alfa Selespeed (156 Selespeed) (old) 700 ms

Taken from: http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_school/gearbox/tech_gear_manual.htm

About 50% of the euro M3's between 97-99 where SMG.

[surfacewound]

Couldn't they have at least made several of these things options? Like the 6 speed tranny, lumbar seats, power rear vent windows, etc.

I almost wanna send hate mail to BMW headquarters for shafting us out of these things. :D

[TBM3C]

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq/E36_M3_SMG_Trans.jpg

Ohhhh I like that console where the sunglass holder usually is. Wonder why they had to move the switches?? :confused

[cane]

Ohhhh I like that console where the sunglass holder usually is. Wonder why they had to move the switches?? :confused


That's the console that's on my car, but the pic isn't from a fully loaded car - mine also has switches on the regular place lower down controlling central lock, convertible top, harman kardon spatial sound system and what have you. The panel itself is added because of the SMG program mode switch & display showing where the gear selector is at. The actual gear number is shown in the main instrument where you have your consumption meter.

[al6pa]

my euro M3 3.2 6gear has also apart from the electric seats, automatic climate control and ofcourse 321hp. But as yours it has the same body roll problem (i hate it!).

[Patrokloss]

my euro M3 3.2 6gear has also apart from the electric seats, automatic climate control and ofcourse 321hp. But as yours it has the same body roll problem (i hate it!).What's different about the climate control? All '96+ E36's have the digital automatic HVAC unit...

[cane]

Yeah, I think the climate control is the same junky "automatic" unit that doesn't really do much :stickoutt

[argento]

Who knows where to get this kit?


This kit is for Lux seats, vaders or both?

jjr

[94 EURO M3]

In addition to the things that everyone else has said, I've noticed quite a few things. Basically, there are a lot of parts that are built completely different on the Euro's. It has a completely different cooling system, a lot of the parts on US cars that are ABS Plastic are made of Aluminium on the Euro.
On my 325is I ended up replacing the radiator because the plastic pieces where the hoses connect cracked. Also replaced the thermostat housing because it cracked too.... on my Euro everything is made from Aluminium so there are no issues.

Six TB's doesn't hurt either!

- Josh

PS. If anyone really wants to see the differences they can buy my car :o) I'm still considering selling it to buy a house.

[bimmerdriver99]

God this thread makes me wanna cry and call up BMW and just bitch and moan but that isnt gonna change anything. Idk why BMW didnt think that they would sell in the US. WIth all those options they would be worth that price and hell i would deffinatly pay the moeny for a car with all those goodies... That just makes it a true sports car.

[jgerry2002]

If it was not for the letter writing campaign by the BMW CCA we would have NEVER had the E36 M3 in ANY form.

And yes, it came down to cost. Nobody was going to buy a 50k to 60k 3 series no matter how well it performed. My guess they would not have sold 1/4 of the cars they did over here.

The fact is that the E36 M3 in its US form put this whole idea of a high performance version of a standard product under a special factory division and made a market for it at a decent price. Look at everyone else who followed suit with special versions of their vehicles. Yea you can say to some extent that the whole japanese "tuner" cars also pushed that market along as well, but I think manufacturers really watched BMWs "M" division success with envy.

Any euro option can be retrofitted for a cost of course. Power vent windows (next on my list), convex mirror (I have those), programmable wiper module (i have that too) etc.

My one problem was I wish that cloth was more popular over here, but the demographic that could afford these cars wanted leather, the sales numbers proved that. I'd bet that most people here are at least 2nd owners of their cars. I know I am as I was not in a position to buy one new when they were out.

Despite the US trim, my car with a moderate suspension mods (H&R OE springs, x-brace, camber plates, bilsteins, tc kline roll bar, track tires, motor absolutely stock) and many driver mods (read more track time) is an absolute blast to drive at the track. I am sure the euro would be even more fun with its extra power, but I really have never found any situation that I felt really outmatched because of a lack of power at the track (ok so I am not club racing yet, so my thoughts may change on this subject).

-Justin

[///3oris]

Keep in mind, BMW couldn't even sell the LTW's for years after they released the 125 or so of them. Now you pay such a huge premium for them. Lets face it, 90%+ of the people who currently own M3's probably woudln't even consider it if the price tag were 20k+ higher than it was. You know, if you have the money and really want a Euro M3, you can import one. It won't be cheap, but you can do it. Since you guys all want one... those of you that have the money, go and do it.













See... I didn't think you would :stickoutt

It sucks that we didn't get the Euro, but at the same time you have to be grateful for what you DO have.

Boris

P.S. I believe the Euro also have the Traffic Pro as an option, while the US never released it.

[bejita]

I dont' know why I don't see this site mentioned very often on this board each time someone asks "what's the difference between the Euro M3 and our US M3?" It's called The BMW M Registry. Go to this link for the 3.0L (http://www.bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=14) and this one for 3.2L (http://www.bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=15).

This site has very detailed info on the differences between the US and European markets as well as some other markets. If you check the FAQ section you can see info about all of the other Ms. They haven't put up info on the E46 M3 yet or any other newer Ms but it seems like a cool site anyways.

[jgerry2002]

Keep in mind, BMW couldn't even sell the LTW's for years after they released the 125 or so of them.....

At the time I was living in northern NY, the closest dealer was in Burlington, VT. I remember just staring at the LTW they had in the showroom. They could not sell it because nobody wanted to pay that much money for a car without AC. I still remember opening up the trunk and looking at all the fun factory parts (GT oil pump, wing extensions etc) that came with the car. I think it sat for a year or more.

It may have been the case that the expensive Euro version may have sat in the showroom as well. I guess we will never know.

-Justin