t_dot_SiR

can any m3 motors (if i can find a complete one, yes i know it'll be tough) drop into a 2000 323ci? direct drop? lots of mods?

i found one for a very dirt cheap price but it has 213,000 km already. $11k cdn, worth it or not?

i heard there is rear subframe issue. what does that mean? the rear subframe will rust and needs replacing?

V8 Fascist

These cars have serious chassis design flaws.

For some reason BMW thought it would be a good idea to bolt the rear differentials to the thin floor pan sheet metal. THus it is very common that the mounts tear off of the floor pans. You will notice this as clunking coming from the rear. A lot of $$$$$$ to fix. There is a TSB in Europe for this issue but not in North America.

Even worse the front strut towers are very struturally weak and begin to "mushroom" (strut bolts on towers will become concave) and bend away from one another. You will notice this as your caster and camber specs will begin changing. Aftermarket strut tower braces are actually intended to prevent this issue.

I presume this is one of ths issues to which you're referring.

Don't even bother with an M3 swap, it will simply cost too much money and still be as slow as fucc with no mod potential at all.

The only "reasonably" priced modification for these pices of crap is a $9000 super charger.

Did I forget to mention that these cars a total garbage?

E46er

dropping an M3 into a non-m takes a lot, you need to change everything from the drive train of an m3 you basically have to take the whole rear out. And wiring is another issue, you might be better super charging it.

TTZ_JSpec

Ask Supra_RZ he used to work at a BMW dealer.

sr_injected

Man if you want M3 speed, get am M3 it was designed for the power and speed. I have a 323ci I love the car but i'd never put real power into it, it just wasn't made to handle power. With all the money you'll spend on bringing it up to M3 standards you'll be losing out on all the goodies. Don't bother tuning the 323. Hey V8 Kid how do you know that an M3 in a 323 will have no potential? Where do you get a $9000 supercharger? . . . I'll get ya a kit installed for $8000 that's with my $4000 mark up.

Dinan3

^^ hahah yea i dont know wat this V8 kid is talking about. S54 swaps have been done before in non-m e46's and even E36's. Hell u can put in a Ls-1 if you want, it will cost pretty much the same. If you want some decent power and dont mind buying an older motor, get an S52 and drop it into ur 323, you'll have about 250 hp stock and the motor/tranny setup will cost u something like 4000-5000 lol. top it off with an 3.23/3.15/3.38 LSD and you'll be running low 14's quarter mile. As for a supercharger, I can get a single screw for 5800 installed...

jint45

big headache with that type of swap

kakahoya

I would just wait till m3 gets cheaper.

e30_kid89

too much money, might as well get the real m3.

GLI

^ agreed wait and save up

SamE30e

So S54 into a E46? For the price of an S54 complete with tranny, accessories, and car, you're almost looking at the price of a E46 M3.

S52 + E30 = win.

pandaj

Why don't get a E46 330ci? Lots of potential for add-on that will make your car a monster under sheep's skin.

kev77

i guess it would depend on how much he could find the parts for and if he was willing to do some of the work himself .