Our most memorable E36 BMW was the unusual 318ti?

We lived through the ’80s and ’90s and spent a lot of time with the era’s greatest hits–drove them, raced them, even knew them when they still had that new car smell. We fondly remember shopping for Kamei air dams, Hella lamps and 14-inch tires.

But were the cars of those times really that rad? 

We wondered that ourselves, so …

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I really hate how the quality of photos from the mid-late nineties makes it look like it might as well have been 1973.  I mean, 1973 was about as far away from 1997 as 1997 is from now.... :(

Is the 318ti the best BMW? No

Is the 318ti my favorite BMW? Absolutely

I recall that build.  I remember it having an off the shelf bolt in cage.

Man, I remember being in Germany in 98-99 and these things were everywhere. I enjoyed driving them. That and the early A3's were awesome. Of course my company car wasn't any of those cool rides. It was a Barney Purple Passat. 

In reply to BA5 :

FWIW, back then we mostly shot prints since it was faster and less expensive. However, we’d break out the chromes for shots destined for covers and really big layouts. Sometimes we shot medium format, too, if working with an outside shooter. 

I shot this one in my old driveway. :) 

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

I recall that build.  I remember it having an off the shelf bolt in cage.

It had a bolt-in bar. Tim and I fit it in his old shop. 

David S. Wallens said:

I shot this one in my old driveway. :) 

Looks like it was a fairly fast film as well?

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Some of that grain is added to help the red title bar pop. I’m looking at the original scan right now, and it’s not bad. It’s a little sharper than what you see online. 

I had forgeline rs on my galant vr4 because of builds like this and all the M3s, NSX and Supras of the era rocking them. I love that period look.

crankwalk (Forum Supporter) said:

I had forgeline rs on my galant vr4 because of builds like this and all the M3s, NSX and Supras of the era rocking them. I love that period look.

Same–totally love the look. Sadly, that style is no longer in production (and, yes, I have lobbied for its return). 

buzzboy said:

Is the 318ti the best BMW? No

Is the 318ti my favorite BMW? Absolutely

Yup.

Those forgelines bring me back to BMWs hayday! Love it.

I liked the look of the E36/5, but never drove one. I did own an E30 and have driven several M coupes. It's hard for me to get excited about the E30 rear end in there, but I'm sensing they have their fans. 
I think that's the sexiest one I've seen.

I drove a 318ti in college. By then, it was well past the point in time when BMWs start to fall apart from the inside out, but still plenty of fun to zip around in.

i had a Calypso Red Ti, Fun little car. Mine sat on M3 rims with Starspecs for rubber. Bilstien PSS9 suspension holding her off of the ground while a magnaflow exhaust freed up a few stubby ponies. While most everything was faster, there was little that could keep up with it in the corners.

I can remember getting onto the Atlantic City Expressway leaving work one evening. I had some guys in a WRX riding my bumper as we hit the heavily decreasing radius onto the highway. They didn't make it.

318ti is a fun quirky car. I had an M52 swapped one with 328i brakes. Great time at the track.

And, looking back, I’d definitely put this one under the heading of cars that we didn’t appreciate enough at the time. 

David S. Wallens said:

And, looking back, I’d definitely put this one under the heading of cars that we didn’t appreciate enough at the time. 

I think after having gone through the 2010's/2020's with BMW, most BMW's from that era can be in that same bucket (e36/e39/e34/e30/etc). Nimble, communicative, playful, light (enough), plentiful in the 5 speed variety, very easy to wrench on/well documented, consumables were cheap, and up to extreme abuse on track if properly sorted.  

In reply to Olemiss540 :

Yes, very true. Just that the 318ti wasn’t exactly the brand’s quickest offering at the time. It was way fun on track, though, and would totally welcome that car back. 

the Ti is one of the few cars I once owned I would like to have another version of. It is a shame we never got the hatchback version of the 1 series.

I am sadly about to get rid of my M3Ti. It is an amazing car that doesn't work for my lifestyle anymore. As soon as it comes back from head replacement, off to the chopping block. I will miss having a "fast" car, even though it's slower than pretty much anything on the road these days. But it is a blast to drive on twisty roads.

In reply to buzzboy :

Way back when a friend built an M3ti.  He put in the M Coupe rear diff and all that stuff, it was a great car and I was kinda mad at him that he didn't tell me he was selling it.  What're the details on yours?

S52, ZF320, dashboard, Vaders, front suspension and brakes from a 98 M3. I swapped in a mid case 2.93LSD. Cruises the highway like a champ now. Runs low 14s in the quarter. Can fit my surfboards if I don't have a passenger. Even fits an entire miata drivetrain inside!

In reply to buzzboy :

Dang. Ours ran a best of 17.0.