Customer Reviews

101 Performance Projects for Your BMW 3 Series 1982-2000 (Motorbooks Workshop)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wayne Dempsey's new book should be a companion to, not a substitute for, the Bentley repair manual. Wayne tries to generalize a how-to article enough to cover 18 years and 5 different engines. It can be annoying, although a few of the projects are car- or engine-specific. Most such projects are specific to the e36 cars, rather than e30s. For non-specific projects, e36 photos are generally used. If you have an e36, the photos alone are worth the price of the book. They are much better than the Bentley. Even if you own an e30, the photos are still very helpful.

The great thing is it has a more narrative form than the Bentley, and explains a little more of the why and how, rather than just step-by-step instuctions. Wayne also spends a little more time talking about logistics. For example, the Bentley hardly even mentions the horrible top-bolts holding the transmission to the engine, but this book spends a couple paragraphs going over techniques and possible combination of tools to remove them.

Also, the word "performance" in the title is a little misleading. Most of the projects are general maintenance items.

Bottoms line -- it's a nice book to have around for any 3-series DIYer, and arguable a must-have for a e36 owner.

This is a great book for Bmw owners who enjoy doing repairs and modifications yourself.Though this is mainly a mechanics related book,it offers info and tips on bodymods,wheels and exterior.

The book is easy to read and is backed up by some great pictures showing each step of the prosess.The colourpictures are great for showing what the parts and problem area looks like.In all the projects featured in this book,the author also gives hints on brandnames and price. It is useful not only for those who wants to upgrade their car,but also for the DIY mechanic who needs info on those everyday smalljobs of replacing worn parts and general maintainance.

Highly recomended as a supplement in your BMW toolbox!

This is a clear, well written, helpful book containing many tips not listed in any other manual. It is organized by project, and within 15 minutes of opening it i found 3 projects i had paid over $600 to perform because i feared the complexity, only to find now that i could have completed them, probably by myself, in 3 or 4 hours of patient work. His pictures are better than any in any other publication, and I'm certain of this because i own them all.

I am restoring a 1990 E30 325iA Convertible. It's mostly mechanical stuff that needs replacing, so I thought this book would be a good companion. It's unfortunately not and I am retuning mine. This book is almost exclusively written for E36 projects. There si really only one project I can remember specifically written for the E30 ... timing belt repalcement. Control arm repair instructions initially look like they are for both models, but then again the E30 control arm mounting points are much more difficult to reach (passenger side) than those on the E36, so no help here either. If you know the 3-series, you know that the E30 and E36 are VERY different. The articles often indicate "For all years", but that is a long stretch in my view. Most projects and the tips and tricks mentioned are not applicable to the E30. All engine project pictures are for the E36 M50 VANOS engine and not for the E30 M20 six (except the tming belt project pictures). Interior shots and drive train photos are also all from the E36 ... no E30 help here either. I just did my brakes all around and there are significant differences.

I find this book not at all helpful for my E30. So be aware and informed about what you are buying. I personally think the title is very misleading. Don't get me wrong it is a great book ... but really only for the E36 owner. On top there is the very good "Bentley" repair manual specific to the E30 (available for other BMW models too!). No reason to get this book if you already have the Bentley. Or get the Bentley and you have a manual specific to the E30 and much more helpful. The author should call it what it is ... an E36 projects book.

It's always helpful to get a 2nd opinion. Which is why having this book is so helpful. So the Bentley manual is THE BIBLE for E30 BMWs, but 101 Projects is good in its own right and also worth having to cross-reference against. Probably a bit more useful to the E36 owner than E30. I recommend if you want to start fiddling with your BMW E30/E36- get both.

If you are looking for a book about Bmw e36 maintenance projects this book is for you! But if you are looking for performance projects that transform your stock car in a power beast, well this book has little about it, it covers little about CAI, chip, turbo, hp gains and torque, there's is nothing about big bore throttle, sport header, flywheel, pulleys, fan delete etc the mods you usually would do to bring your 192 bhp car to a 250 bhp monster. It covers little about others models.

just a great addition to a factory repair book, great pic and explanation for different projects

Any BMW enthusiast who owns the models covered should own this book. It's informative, as several of the tips and photos help fill in the gaps from other tech sources. But it also suffers from a damaging flaw: it tries to include too many projects for too many cars, and as a result, the information tends to be generalized and vague. There is a big difference between a BMW E30 and a BMW E36, yet this book tries to explain something like a brake job for both models in the span of two pages. You just can't do it and be clear and complete in the process.

Still, it's a good read and a great starting point for your projects. Just be sure to have a Bentley repair manual by your side when you actually get the wrenches out.

I certain it is a fine book but I bought this book soon after buying my 99 sedan and it (99 and 00 e46 3series sedans) ARE NOT covered.
the title really really needs to say 92 to 2000 E36 MODELS only, since that is the way everyone names the cars
That is my only complaint.

An excellent source of information for a new BMW E36 owner who like to work on his own cars.
It covers a lot of preventive maintenance subjects which I find more important than a how-to illustrating an oil change.
Pair this up with a Bently manual and a few tools and say goodbye to the Stealership!