BMW E36 Blog

I wrote before about a BMW E36 with blue interior LED lights conversion process. In that post, I presented a video with a modified BMW E36 and it looked great!. After that, I did some research to gather more information about how this process is done. It turned out that all the parts should be removed and the amber lights inside them should be replaced with blue LEDs (Light Emission Diodes). This can be accomplished with some intense work and care.

What I felt missing from this process is the gauges conversion. If you saw the video in my previous post, you will notice the red needles on the blue gauges. I was unclear about how this should be done until I found the owner of that car (DJ Genius). I’ve contacted him and asked him about these gauges and how he made the conversion. It turned out that these gauges are actually sold as one piece on the German Ebay and for a really great price (49 EUR). Check them out here.

I believe this is really nice and will make your car stand out from the crowd. So what do you think of such a conversion? Is it really cool or what?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I’ve found an impact safety test for the BMW E36 cars. The test was conducted on a BMW E36 316i sedan which was moving at a speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) when the impact happens. I have to admit that the E36 didn’t perform well as expected. Take a look at this photo:

The problem in the frontal impact test was in the chest injuries which were life-threatening. The steering wheel was pushed backwards by 8.8 inches which may cause very serious damage to the driver’s chest. In that test, the knee also has suffered some injuries as well. So, the main problems with the fontal test in E36 cars were in the chest and the right knee for the right-hand drivers. The driver’s neck was protected very well in that test.

In that impact test, the passenger was protected well. So, this is something good on the contrary of the above chest and knee injuries.

The side impact test for the E36 was ok as well, so this only leaves us with two main problems that I could see which are the chest serious (life threatening) injuries and the knee injuries. If you’re asking about the airbag and how it was supposed to protect the drivers chest, I think the problem was in the steering wheel moving towards the driver’s chest by 8.8 inches which is a very long distance in such situations. 

Anyway, if you’re like me, I hate talking about accidents, but I thought I needed to write this information here to remind you all to drive safe and to make sure that your Airbag(s) are in their best shape all the time (YES, all the time).

If you’re looking to read the full impact safety test report, please find it here.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I wrote about Bluetooth Ready Headunits For Your BMW before and I suggested the Pioneer (DEH-P7900BT) and the Sony (MEX-BT2500) headunits to be used in your BMW cars. The only problem that I could see and didn’t like about these two types was the blue illumination which didn’t exactly fit into your BMW car illumination. I’ve received some comments about other types that are designed with the same purpose in mind. One of these is the Alpine iDA-X001. This headunit is designed for iPod users and integrates flawlessly with them. This headunit doesn’t have integrated CD-ROM. Only Radio + iPod connection to play and manipulate your songs inside your car. This is a really cool way to store and play your music. It has almost the same interface that you use to play music using your iPod. And best of all, it can work as a car phone kit at the same time by using the Alpine Car Bluetooth Adapter. If you are not impressed with all what I’ve just said, I’m sure you will be when I tell you that this receiver can illuminate in either Blue or Red colors which will make it look great in your BMW E36 console. I’ve prepared some photos for this Alpine headunit for you to check out. Please take a look and let me know what you think. Oh, yes, I just wanted to thank Alexander for the photos that he sent me.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

My brother is a big fan of car phone kits. He’s always trying to find the best one and comparing between them etc etc. I didn’t care much about them and I usually use the traditional way to talk on the phone while driving. That is one hand holding the phone and the other is adjusting my head unit 😆 . I also, hated installing car phone kits because it usually involves a lot of hassle. So, I’ve been avoiding this until I realized that the cops are not going to go easy on the issue of talking on the phone while driving.

A year ago, I had a brilliant idea (at least that’s what I thought) that why the big boys like Pioneer and Sony are not manufacturing head units that have Bluetooth units integrated inside them. Which means that these head units can act as a music player + a phone kit at the same time. The head unit is usually connected to the car sound system remember? Yesterday, I discovered that I’m not the only one who thought about this and that this is already done 🙁 . I’ve found two examples for such head units , one from Pioneer (Pioneer DEH-P7900BT)

And the other from Sony (Sony MEX-BT2500)

The only thing that I hate about these two is the illumination color. It’s Blue. I wish they’ve made another type with Amber illumination. It would look and act great inside my BMW E36.

What do you think of my idea which has been stolen by Pioneer and Sony 😆 . Should I go and claim my invention? :p

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I’ve found a collection of tuned BMW E36 cars. Take a look at the video below. But I’m warning you that you’re about to see some seriously messed up cars here.  As a matter of fact, some cars look ugly as hell and it makes me wonder about BMW E36 car owners who keep updating their cars until they look exactly like a E46 BMW Or a Peugeot!! What the hell? Why not buy a BMW E46 or a Peugeot 😆 right away? I’m almost sure that you will end up paying much more for the upgrade than just buying that car directly.

Take a look.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.