Difference between South African and NZ New E36 M3

[tintop 10]

Hey I'm looking at buying an e36 m3 soon.

Looking at two particular cars, one is a ex SA 106km car with reasonable service history for around $25k, the other is a NZ New with full dealer service history but its done 150km, its also around $25k.

Is there any difference between motors? I heard the later 3.2 litre SA cars were detuned thanks to the crappy gas in SA? Is that the same for the 3.0 cars?

Any other major differences between SA and NZ models?

cheers

Al

Edited April 5, 2006 by tintop

[Nic325i 0]

Copied from the BMW M Registry

"How does the South African-spec S50 B32 engine differ from that of the European-spec version?

Due to low-octane fuel requirements, the S50 B32 motors produced for South Africa utilize different pistons which result in a reduced compression ratio of 10.5:1. These engines produce 310 hp (DIN) at 7,400 rpm and 251 lb/ft of torque at 3,250 rpm."

Euro/NZ spec should be 321 hp and 258 lb/ft torque, although there has been some "debate" about how realistic the 321 hp figure really is.