More C36 help...

[nbb925]

Hey yall,

As some of you might know... I just bought my first c36! I had to open it up this morning... some old dude in a new Porsche Twin Turbo came up next to me at a light. To make a long story short... I got seriously smoked!

Neways, after I floored it, I noticed that after I accellerated, the engine made some funky noise?!?! It sounded like a blow-off valve from a supercharger... but mine isnt supercharged?!?!?! Any ideas?

Thanks,

Nick

[jnolte]

Do you know what is weird. SOmeties when i floor it in my C43 i get a high pitch whistle sound, sounds like a turbo spooiling or a S/C. I was thinking it was somehting in the intake blocking causeing the whistle but nothing. i have no idea what it is

[redc36]

my c36 has same whistling noise. it def has to be intake. i posted here on this forum. now as far as speed goes. i dunno my car dont feel that fast. sometimes it does after driving hard it sort of gets into rythm. but if i am driving slow and all of the sudden i want to race it feels like a turtle. well not that slow. but i feel like all the fans are on when its trying to get to the redline. i feel like everyone looks at me and says look at that guy abusing his benzo. cause it just sounds loud. meaning the engine. now my friend got 2000 audi s4. anytime u floor it it pulls. if u down shift even better. never feels like its out of breath. with my benzo i feel i am on the old racing horse.i come to a stop and car feels tired.

anyways i love the design and interior though but something has to be done about engine hp. i mean 280 torque. when? i dont get it. audi got 258 torque and i feel it. i got 280 torque at some point lets say 4200rpm but u know wut i dont feel it. in my experience 22 torque shoould be easily felt. i used to own e36 325is and test drove 328is. same hp but around 30 more torque. and WOW wut a difference. car was flying. so anyways. at this point keepin it stock and adding beckermp3 and eomsunshade are my only mods. there are only 400 of these beauties therefore i feel it is a sort of privilige to own one. i'll simply keep it stock.

[nbb925]

Originally posted by redc36
my c36 has same whistling noise. it def has to be intake. i posted here on this forum. now as far as speed goes. i dunno my car dont feel that fast. sometimes it does after driving hard it sort of gets into rythm. but if i am driving slow and all of the sudden i want to race it feels like a turtle. well not that slow. but i feel like all the fans are on when its trying to get to the redline. i feel like everyone looks at me and says look at that guy abusing his benzo. cause it just sounds loud. meaning the engine. now my friend got 2000 audi s4. anytime u floor it it pulls. if u down shift even better. never feels like its out of breath. with my benzo i feel i am on the old racing horse.i come to a stop and car feels tired.

anyways i love the design and interior though but something has to be done about engine hp. i mean 280 torque. when? i dont get it. audi got 258 torque and i feel it. i got 280 torque at some point lets say 4200rpm but u know wut i dont feel it. in my experience 22 torque shoould be easily felt. i used to own e36 325is and test drove 328is. same hp but around 30 more torque. and WOW wut a difference. car was flying. so anyways. at this point keepin it stock and adding beckermp3 and eomsunshade are my only mods. there are only 400 of these beauties therefore i feel it is a sort of privilige to own one. i'll simply keep it stock.

Yeah, I know what you mean... That whistle/blow-off sound wasnt there the day I bought it (or atleast I didnt notice it...) I gave my car a pretty good workout that same night and the next morning - I did a 40-100mph test/lost miserably to a Twin Turbo Porsche... after that, I noticed the blow-off noise?

After that one last excelleration... it felt like my car was out of breath too... like I was just tired? Im paranoid that something will soon go wrong with the car. Maybe its just my mind and my paranoia?

Thats pretty sad that our $60k car will go neck and neck with a 328... kinda sad! BMWs are a dime a dozen... they really should have made the c36 atleast 300hp with matching torque.

My parents have a 2000 Chrystler minivan thats 220hp... that car feels like it plants you in your seat more than my c36! I love the car, dont get me wrong. The 202 style is awesome! I have an older 190e... it somewhat feels like the same car, more juice... and just a little bit more technology added to it. Yeah, my c36 looks awesome... but it feels like im driving a 96' version of my 89' E class?!?!

Im pretty proud to be driving one of these rare beasts. Just thinking about the production numbers alone is awesome!!! 1 of 328... its like a rare baseball card... that nobody knows about.

The sleeper potential of our cars is amazing. If i were to debadge my car, wow! Nobody would know what the crap just schooled there car. Im sick of all these damn kids running around in their parents 325s, beating them to shit and not taking care of them and thinking they are the shit... TIME FOR A LESSON!!!!

[redc36]

that whistle noise can be noticed when u let ur car idle and barely tap the gas. u hear it sucking up air making whistling noise. try it with a light tap of gas.
now i have no idea why it feels out of breath like that. i get annoyed too. sometimes i feel like doing a dyno on it and get it over once and for all with. if numbers are not there then something is wrong. if they r then maybe we just got some weird counter acceleration seats :-) . i start coming up with ideas of vacuum leak but dont have the will to start searching for it cause dont know how. but hey if anyone ones please let me know how to test those things. if there is a pro mechanic in NY area let me know too.
on this board i heard story of beating 330i bmws and s4s with stock c36 but i dont know if its true. kinda hard to believe after driving s4 and riding in 330.

[jnolte]

Originally posted by redc36
that whistle noise can be noticed when u let ur car idle and barely tap the gas. u hear it sucking up air making whistling noise. try it with a light tap of gas.
now i have no idea why it feels out of breath like that. i get annoyed too. sometimes i feel like doing a dyno on it and get it over once and for all with. if numbers are not there then something is wrong. if they r then maybe we just got some weird counter acceleration seats :-) . i start coming up with ideas of vacuum leak but dont have the will to start searching for it cause dont know how. but hey if anyone ones please let me know how to test those things. if there is a pro mechanic in NY area let me know too.
on this board i heard story of beating 330i bmws and s4s with stock c36 but i dont know if its true. kinda hard to believe after driving s4 and riding in 330.

i beat s4s and 330s all day in the c36

[kameraguy]

C36 is fast. But considering it was last made in 1997, there are a LOT of cars faster than the C36 now. But not to say the C36 can't hang.

A BMW 330ci with sport package is faster than the C36. The stock 330Ci would be a tad slower but not by much. It's a newer car though. I believe it's geared different too.

An Audi S4 is a totally different kind of car. The low-end torque is very good. Plus the turbo rush is just different.

I guess it depends on what you expect from the C36. I bought mine because I wanted an understated 4-door sedan that wasn't anemic. I also wanted something you don't see everyday. I think the C36 accomplishes this great.

Not sure if you know, but the C36 has an adaptive transmission program. It will change depending on how you drive the car. If you drive it smoothly, the tranny will respond in a leisurely manner. But if you drive it hard it will adapt to a more aggressive shift map.

When I test drove my car before buying it, I was pleasantly surprised to find it hold revs after letting go of the accelerator for a turn when I pushed it. Just like a manual tranny

If you want, you can reset the shift map by switching from S mode to W mode, and then back to S. This supposedly resets the shift program. Then drive the car hard and it should be be more responsive.

As for getting smoked by a TT 996....well, was that a surprise? j/k, but it's true

[redc36]

when u describing adaptive tranny thats probably for 5 speed. i got 95 model with 4 speed. is it still adaptive?

[jnolte]

Originally posted by redc36
when u describing adaptive tranny thats probably for 5 speed. i got 95 model with 4 speed. is it still adaptive?

nope

[BongC36]

It is not surprising that you lost to a twin turbo. The C36 was never intended to be a drag machine but rather a fast cruiser with a nasty streak.

The 95 C36 is plenty fast. E46 325i's are no match whether from a stop or on the freeway. I have both and I tell you the C36 is much faster especially between 160-220 kph ( approx 100-140 MPH)

Maybe your car is not yet delivering properly? Best way to find out is with a dyno of course but a couple of timed runs should tell you if your car is healthy or not.

Off-idle (no brake-stand), you should hit 60 MPH in high 6's or low 7's (temperature dependent). My best run is 6.8 secs (timed by hand-held chrono) but of course + or - a tenth or so due to intrinsic inaccuracy of the timing method. Many forum members report low 6's and some even 5's but I cannot duplicate that without over-stressing sensitive and expensive AMG drivetrain parts.

The C36 pulls hardest between 140-220 kph where it hits its sweet spot. I have yet to be bested although I don't go out looking to race (too old for that).

Good luck and enjoy your pocket rocket. Just know its strenghts and limitations.

Mine does not have that whistling sound that you describe, even after a hard run.

[nbb925]

Yeah, I know its not a drag car... but I just bought it and I had to test it out and see what it can do! Mine runs in the low 6's (0-60mph) I also used a stopwatch and had a friend watch the spedo. Mine has best pickup around 80mph - i guess thats 100kph? Its a tough car... I really dont want to work/stress it that much - expensive repairs/costly gas! - so I plan on taking it easy... as soon as I get the need to "test" the car out of my system!!!