Questions about '96 ti sport...

[rated///M]

Found a nice hellrot ti near us, a '96 with 106,000 miles... claimed to be a CS, but unfortunately just found out that the CS was never introduced in '96. Well, anyway it's Hellrot / black, the interior is black cloth seat center with what i'm guessing is leatherette bolsters/etc. This car was supposedly a BMP Designs show car and the front seats(which when BMP owned the car where replaced with 'red seats') are in very good condition, and said to have only been used while he has owned the car(from 80k>). Also, one thing I thought was kind of strange for a BMP car, was it had the rear seats taken out(so they're also in perfect shape, and said to almost never been used) for a large audio system that BMP had in there for show purposes.

Anyway, the car seems to be very sound, after driving and going over it with a fine tooth comb, have only found 1 real flaw that really bothers me at all...this is a very small area of rust bubbles on the right rear 1/4 panel, right on the wheel well. This would be an area that would immediately be fixed...but wondered what you guys thought of, the car has obviously been in some weather elements.

The paint on the other hand is extremely glossy, so the rust was quite a surprise...the car has supposedly been garaged, but was overall very impressed with the depth and glossiness of the paint for a 100k mile hellrot.

I'm trying to figure out at this point if it has LSD, and if it has the beefier sway bars like the ClubSports have. The fact that it's not a CS came as a disapointment...but wouldn't be as much of one if it did have some of these types of equipment like the CS.

So, if some of you guys wouldn't mind throwing in some of your opinions and $.02, that'd be especially appreciated as there seems to be more knowledge of ti's here than bf.c/roadfly or any other bmw internet forum for that matter.

TIA,

[bimmerboi318]

if the paint is glossy and nice looking and there is also bubble rust, i might suspect there has been some body repair. my hood and fender were repaired at some point before i owned the car and there is a minor spot of bubble rust on the edge of the hood. i planned to have it fixed the right way but it hasnt gotten any worse in over a year but it is definately bare metal. i only used a little touch up paint to keep it covered. that is the ONLY body rust on my car (that is visible at least) and it was because it was repaired poorly. its been driven in salt and sand through several winters and the paint isnt as lustrous as it once was but the fenders and wheelwells are still holding up nicely with no rust.

[1996 328ti]

I agree. I believe there is some body damage. Could have been a minor fender. These cars have showed no signs of rust yet.

If it's a Sport it has the same springs as the Club Sport <I think>. The easiest way to tell if it is a Sport is by the M-Technic trim. It will also have an ///M on the side molding.

I doubt if there is an LSD in there unless it was installed afterwards.
LSD was an option before ASC-T was standard.
Do you have ASC-T? Easiest way to tell is to look for a switch to turn it off and on. You will either have 3 blank spots for switches to the bottom left of the steering or there will be one for traction control.

Two ways to tell if you have an LSD without driving it. One, there will be a metal tab attached to the diff. That tab will start with the letter S if it's an LSD. Not sure what an open diff says. Another way is to jack up the rear. If you turn the right wheel and the left turns, you have an LSD.

[rated///M]

Well, about the body...i've been around enough cars that have had paint/bodywork to tell this car has had been sprayed up front...but other than that the paint lacks an 'trash' and looks factory.

I know that it's a Sport, because it does have Mtech moldings...

the car does have ASC, and have forgot to look at the tag when we were there...just thought you might know if a '96 sport featured LSD.

I'd have to agree about the springs statement...it sits quite low and does appear to be quite a bit lower than most of the non-sports i've seen.

Anyway, I was impressed with the car...and would have the wheel well fixed as soon as we got it...of course matching hellrot would be my only concern.

Just need to figure out at this point if I should look at this instead of a m50/m52 e36...

[1996 328ti]

If it has ASC I doubt very highly that it has an LSD.
I don't know what your intentions are with the car.
A 4 banger ti is very tossable on the track.
There was a guy at Watkins Glen that whizzed by me in his stock 4 cylinder. I have an M52 motor in mine. I didn't mind him flying by me. Just proved how much of a better driver he was.

A 325 or 328 will handle differently. Besides the extra horsepower, the multi-link rear suspension will make the car a but easier to handle. More forgiving in making mistakes. But that is why I like the semi-trailing arm rear suspension from the E30s.

If you do find you need more hp, a Downing Atlanta SC is the way to go.

[rated///M]

Yeah, I do hate that it most likely lacks LSD...matter of fact I really hate it...but probably not enough to go with another car.

The car would be a daily, but I wouldn't mind throwing on a 4:10 and doing some suspension work and doing some autoxing/DEs.

About hp, once I really get tired of the M44...i'd do a swap instead of messing with forced induction...would most likely do a s50/2 but it all depends on situation.

[J!m]

If I may hazard a few guesses....

If BMP owned the car, as claimed, it most likely DID have a re-paint, regardless of body damage, to 'gloss it up' nice for photos etc. A good thickness gage all over the car is the only accurate way to determine paint thickness and if there is any filler present. On the other side of this coin, if it looks so good you need a thickness gage, why bother??

The springs most likely have been changed to BMP springs. The factory sport does not sit much lower than stock (3/4 inch or so).

"Sport" and "Club Sport" cars differ in year of production, M3 mirrors and (in some cases) interior color [my interior happens to be the 'red' one]. Mechanically, they are identical (with the obvious engine difference)

The LSD is an 'order seperately' option. How do I know this for sure? I ordered my '98 sport new in '98, and did not get a LSD because I did not specifically ask for and pay extra for it.

For general information...

[rated///M]

yeah, so does the 'sport' have the complete 'clubsport' suspension?

[1996 328ti]

I do believe a 1995 Sport and 1995 Club Sport where the same mechanically. The only difference in 1995 between the two were the M-technic trim. And the same could be said for a 1996+ Sport and the 1995 Club Sport except the 1996+ Sport added M-Technic trim, sans M3 mirros.

Personally I like the look of the M-Technic trim over the Base/Active.
I've seen a noticable difference when watching autocrosses between stock and sport.

You could always replace the suspension anyway.
My guess the shocks of a 100,000 mile car are going to be worn.
It wouldn't hurt to change all of the bushings, control arm links, and ball joint.

If I was to buy any car with more than 60,000 miles the first thing I would probably do is an Inspection II and replace all possible worn parts on the usupension anyway.

When looking for a car I would factor in the cost unless you could find one where someone already has done that recently.

There are good cars out there. Just need to be patient.

[rated///M]

well, this car has M tech moldings....but does not have M tech mirrors.

...as far as the suspension goes, the rear is actually quite low for a stock setup, about as low as the M3 actually...but the front has a healthy amount of wheel gap.

i'm prepared to do suspension work on the car, and i'm sure this is around the mileage where i'd have to start worrying about that anyway.

as far as inspection II goes...i'll probably skip that and just replace these parts myself...but thanks for the advice.

[J!m]

The suspension parts are the same on 1995 Club Sport and 1996-1999 Sport models. I have these parts available used, if you are interested.

Even when the car was new, the rear appeared to sit quite low, due to the shape of the opening. The 'gap' in the front is quite a bit larger than the rear- even after changing all my suspension parts, the gap in the front is still quite large. I always felt the front needed to drop about 3/4-1 inch more.

Now I have a completely different suspension set-up, and with the splitter, dropping the front could be a big problem for a daily driver...

[rated///M]

sorry to break it to you guys but the car got sold...and am looking at a m50 e36, unless i find anything else...thanks for all the help.