Due to the currently high number of inquiries and the apparently very high level of interest regarding these bracket sets, we have decided to publish this article.

 

There are many myths, rumors and half-truths that also exist about the BMW E36 318 iS Class 2.

 

One of these rumors says that among the 2500 vehicles that were produced from the limited special series Class 2 were so-called “Procar – vehicles” and these are therefore very rare and therefore have a higher (collector’s) value than the rest of the vehicles of the special model series of BMW E36 Class 2.

Just to get this straight; that is not right! But where does this rumor come from? Well, we think that this is probably due to the fact that the first vehicles (approx. 900) had a so-called “downforce set” consisting of 2 spacers for the rear spoiler (unpainted), 2 rubber lips (so-called Gurney Flaps) to stick on and the mounting set for the front splitter to be installed in the extended state in a plastic box in the trunk of these vehicles.

Actually, these would have to be delivered with all BMW E36 Class 2 vehicles, since the FIA ​​approval regulation provided for this, or BMW already stated in the application for FIA approval that these parts would be included in the trunk of the vehicle, which was not the case applied to all 2500 vehicles. Since only some of these vehicles (approx. 900 vehicles) actually had these parts in the trunk ex works, it was obviously assumed that these vehicles would then be the so-called “Procar vehicles”, which is wrong. In addition, there was also the myth that these Procar vehicles should also have thinner windows, which is also not true.

 

Why are we mentioning this particular example?

 

Now this is directly related to our contribution.

In order to understand how these rumors and half-truths come about, we have to take a closer look at the homologation approval applied for by BMW at the FIA ​​(Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile) No. A-5526 from June 1st, 1994. On this application on page 20 A and 20 B the assembly of the front sword is described in the extended state as well as in the retracted state with the resulting changed vehicle length and assembly construction.

Since the front sword can be changed individually and as required, the holder of the output set, unlike the special model BMW E36 M3 GT presented by BMW a year later in 1995, cannot always be attached to the vehicle and the further fact that the metal struts used to attach the front sword (front splitter) were not eligible for registration or approval for safety reasons (risk of injury), these, together with the increases in the rear spoiler (so-called distances) and the adhesive rubber strips (so-called gurney flaps) were only mentioned for the aerodynamic add-on parts, since these are used depending on the application and need, depending on whether more or less downforce is required for the route.

Since BMW had to prove in the application for FIA approval that at least 2500 vehicles of this model had been built and delivered, BMW stated in the application on sheet 20E that these parts were in a box in the trunk when the vehicle was delivered to the end customer .

 

Here the list

However, this was not always the case! In fact, these were only occasionally (at least for all vehicles that were checked by the FIA ​​​​on the BMW site on the day of acceptance), in a plastic box in the trunk of the vehicle. Unfortunately, it is not known exactly how many vehicles there were, as the inspection report by the FIA ​​​​inspectors from the day of acceptance is unfortunately not publicly accessible.

However, as can be clearly seen, this application also states that both the 3 holders which are attached to the front apron and the 3 struts (two long and one short) and the curved support rods (struts) are actually made of polyurethane but they were made of metal!

Whether this was a mistake by BMW when applying for FIA approval or whether it was intentional cannot be said. The fact is, however, that this output set was also made by the company PFEBA, which also supplied the front splitter and the rear spoiler, the spacers and the so-called “Gurney Flaps” in motorsport, they had this output set manufactured externally by a metal company, since PFEBA itself was not a metal company, and then also supplied this to BMW. Since this was a “plastics processing plant”, BMW probably assumed that the spoiler parts supplied by the company were made of the same material, but that’s just pure speculation!

All of these vehicle parts (distances for the rear spoiler, Gurney flaps and the output kit for the front splitter) were never listed in the normal ETK (electronic parts catalogue) at BMW, since they were not approved for use on public roads and were exclusively for the competition were determined. Therefore, these parts were not given an 11-digit BMW part number, but only a 7-digit “item number”.

Of course, owners of these vehicles could order these parts from BMW, but not directly from BMW, but from the BMW Motorsport department, which also manufactured the competition vehicles for end customers. This can also be seen in particular from the fact that there is no information about what the set contains, as is usually the case with BMW spare parts and in retrofit conversion sets. It was therefore not possible to order individual parts such as screws separately. There is also no list of exactly what the sentence contains!

 

What is the item number?

In principle, the item number is the abbreviated version of the BMW part number, but with the difference that it does not have 11 digits but only 7 digits, since the vehicle categories are missing here. All abbreviated part numbers are therefore “part numbers”. For the BMW warehouse clerk, however, this is sufficient to identify the spare part, at least for the older vehicles (the parts can definitely be assigned to all Exx models in this way), as far as we know, this is still the case today, even with the current vehicles , but we can’t say that with 100% certainty.

 

Back to the downforce set;

How can you tell if it is an “original” downforce set? This question is not easy to answer as there were 3 batches in total. We call it the pre-series (first shipment of around 400 units), the series (around 500 units) and post-supply (around 60 units), the latter being of little importance as these were very few, and almost certainly more were only issued to customers who actually used their vehicle for competition purposes and in racing and who ordered it from BMW Motorsport (after an accident or similar).

The first batch was for the cars that actually had these parts in the box in the trunk and were shown to the FIA ​​at inspection that these parts are all in a box in the trunk on vehicle delivery.

These sets also had a printing error on the “Item number label”, namely between the date between the month and the year there are 2 dots instead of one, which was corrected later!

sample image

These each had 2 pins on the 3 holders which are mounted on the front apron on the left and right sides and in the middle (below the cover on the license plate).

The so-called “series” about 500 pieces! didn’t have this anymore!

Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to find out why these pins were on, or why they were later left out. The only fact is that the first holders with the pins were made of thinner material than the later holders. This change could possibly be due to a stability problem. The former employee of PFEBA, which had already gone bankrupt in 2001, who we contacted, could not remember either. These rates can also be recognized by the fact that there are no longer 2 dots between the month and the year on the “Item number label” for “Shipping date”.

In the case of the so-called subsequent deliveries, less than 60 pieces, only the screws attached for attachment were different again, why these were changed, unfortunately we could no longer find out.

Based on the numbers ordered, it can already be seen that these sets ordered were not sufficient for all 2500 Class 2 that were produced and delivered. Furthermore, it can also be seen on the FIA ​​approval application that the specified and used material of the attachment kit, as already mentioned above, was not made of polyurethane, but actually made of metal.

Due to the fact that this was also stated in the FIA ​​approval application, BMW Classic still provides information today, if you make an inquiry with your chassis number, that these parts were all in a box in the trunk when the vehicle was delivered.

However, this is certainly not because the good man wants to cover up something, but rather because the good man simply takes it from his documents (FIA approval application).