BMW E36 Blog

I’ve found this BMW E36 and I thought the car is looking good, but I felt like something is missing from this car. I can see that the car owner did a good job in maintaining it, but I feel that it still needs a little bit more work and it will become a really sweet looking car. So I decided to post it here and see what you all think of it and how you can modify it in three steps to make it look fantastic. Remember that after applying these three steps, you have to be impressed with the car, not just saying ok … It looks better now, isn’t it.

Take a look at the photos first, then read below to know how I would modify this car:

For me, I think this car will need these three updates that will make it look great:

1. A Lowering Kit: I believe that lowering this car is a must and that you will never get a perfect looking BMW without lowering it.

2. 17-Inch Rims: I would choose the AC Schnitzer Rims.

3. Tinted windows: Right and Left windows will need to be tinted and I would go with a light smoke degree. Not the limo black one.

I can think of 3 more upgrades to the car and no, the M3 body kit is not one of them. I know that it is easier to make a BMW E36 look great with a M3 body kit, but you have to choose something else. Let’s hear your opinions.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I wrote couple days ago an article about BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors) and I was very excited to discover that some BMW E36 cars came with a parking distance control system. If you didn’t read my previous post yet, please do before proceeding with this. I’ve decided to dig into this subject more and may be find a DIY about how to install such a system in a BMW if that car didn’t originally have one. So, I was looking for more information about this parking distance control system (PDC for short) and I found that it costs a lot of money. I also found some information about other solutions that I thought are more valuable and I guess more modern for BMW cars.

The modern parking systems are actually equipped with camera(s) to help you park your car and see everything that is behind you. These systems are usually very expensive and hard to install, but I found two systems that I thought you’d like to know about.

The first system is equipped with two cameras which are supposed to work as  left and right mirrors while parking. Take a look at this photo:

This system is provided with two TFT LCD monitors and you can control brightness, color, and contrast. What I didn’t understand about this system is why they provided 2 monitors with different sizes? Why the two monitors are not of the same size?

Anyway, I kept looking for more information and I found another system which provides you with a monitor and a digital distance display that is integrated into your rear-view mirror. I think this is much cooler as I hate to make huge changes to the car’s interior. So, I think this system can be used inside your BMW and look OEM a the same time.

Take a look at these photos:

This system issues a warning sound when getting too close as well. I think this is much cooler than the previous one.

What I still need to figure out about these systems is how they can be installed inside a BMW E36. I think the most obvious thing is to connect the power of this system with your reverse light. This way, the system will turn on automatically when you use the reverse gear. But I still need to know how hard is it going to be to make holes inside your rear bumper and whether they’re going to look good or not.

Please feel free to let me know what you think? Do you know of any better solutions?

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.

This is a video of a race between BMW E36 M3 and Toyota Supra. It’s a real quick race and has a very exciting result. Which car do you expect to win this race? I know that you as BMW E36 owners would say that the M3 will spank the Toyota Supra, but my question is this . . . Are you sure?

Take a look:-

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate E36 Information Source.

I’ve found these photos for a really nice BMW E36 325is and decided to post them for you. It’s a great looking car, don’t you think?

Enjoy

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.