Spoiler or no spoiler, that is the question.

[m3f_motorsports_3]

I recently bought an LTW Rep for my M3. After spending a crap load of time on body work and fitting, I mock fitted it and didn't think it would look great on the car.


Rather than re doing the work to make it fit without the risers, I sold it and moved on.


Now I am on the edge between running no spoiler, and LTW with out risers, or lately i've been looking at the Ac Schnitzer three piece lip spoiler.


I've even thought of trying to find an OEM LTW wing, but the few i've seen in person fit bad as well.


What do you guys think, its clean, leave it alone? Or does it need that wing aspect?


Any other recommendations for wings?













Pics for reference.

[m3f_cblock]

The spoilers are cool but I don't think an E36 "needs" one to look right and I like the spoilerless look.


If it is a sedan then definitely no spoiler.


Nice looking car BTW!

[m3f_Contracheatcode]

First off... NICE CAR.


Second, I think a spoiler looks great on the 2 doors. Though I am not sold on any particular one yet.


Third... On the sedan, I think just the right spoiler makes the 4-door look awesome and adds some functionality. I have not found one I really like yet, though I am kinda partial to the one "Treats on the Street" uses.



YouTube (Short URL)

[m3f_SQ13]

Buy a second trunk and install a wing on that.

[m3f_Braymond141]

The spoilers all look great, the factory installed arched being the best.


You’re talking about wings though, not spoilers and I’m not entirely sure what you mean by OEM looking bad. The wing you are after is called a GT wing. The Lightweight wing only exists for the Lightweight. It’s a GT wing that BMW had PTG cut a third brake light into the base for DOT regulations, a la “LTW” wing... only 125 of these exist. You can certainly buy a genuine Lightweight wing if you’re after that... but they are easily 2x the price as GT wings (which are the same wing minus the PTG added light bar). They only make sense for a Lightweight owner who is missing the original wing on his $50k+ car.


You need the front GT tray setup to pull off the rear wing, especially with risers. The OEM GT wing fits fantastic and looks amazing. Low mode (without risers) you need the front velocity splitters at a minimum (imo).

[m3f_westopher]

Car looks ****ing great as is.

Heres a chance for me to ***** and you to decide. In my opinion, all look great, and all suit a different theme.

DSC_0706 by Chris West, on Flickr

DSC_0332 by Chris West, on Flickr

DSC_0475 by Chris West, on Flickr

[m3f_Texaz3]

No wing for me.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

I have the low spoiler that came on my 99M3. I know of a person who swapped the low for a high years ago and lost a few mph at the dragstrip (500 rwhp supercharged motor trapping in the 120mph range). My front end feels light at very high speeds (despite a highly modded and well maintained suspension). I am thinking about a front splitter. I do think the high spoiler looks good, though, and maybe it helps with rear traction on some tracks.

[m3f_Nate047]

I have some input... Get the OEM GT wing if you can find one and worry about the risers later. The GT wing looks awesome. The risers are cool, but they are rare and expensive and the wing in "low mode" is also really good looking IMO. Here's a few photos of my car with the OEM GT wing without risers, and with the OEM front bumper corner lower spats or whatever they're called. The brake light doesn't really matter if your car was originally a no wing car (like yours) since there's a 3rd brake light behind the glass. It's kind of hidden behind the wing but not enough to get you pulled over.



E36_MalibuSunset_001 by Nate Hassler, on Flickr



NHassler_E36_BigWillow_1 by Nate Hassler, on Flickr



NHassler_E36_BigWillow_2 by Nate Hassler, on Flickr



NHassler_E36_BigWillow_3 by Nate Hassler, on Flickr



Also looks alright with just the stock front lip. Def not as balanced looking, but it's not horrible.



IMG_9380 by Nate Hassler, on Flickr



FWIW regarding the bumper corner pieces, my car is not THAT low and those little ****ers still got completely destroyed and tore off within a few weeks. That's why there's tape holding them on in one of those photos lol. The GT splitter/tray would probably be better even though it's lower, because it's rounded on the front edge and smooth on the bottom, so you will kind of slide and scrape over shit instead of hitting the ground with a flat front edge. The corner things catch on driveways and speed bumps and just get ****ing rocked. Also with the splitter, you'll get the extra front end grip to compliment the added downforce from the wing. Not talking about huge amounts here but it's not nothing.



CN: get both the OEM wing and front splitter, or neither. Don't do just one.

[m3f_mainstreamer00]

An LTW wing on your car would be so boner-worthy - go all-out if you have the chance ;]


I sometimes wish the E46 had an OE option for an obnoxious wing. Love it.

[m3f_Earthwormjlm]

A coupe needs a spoiler or wing. Reminds me of a bald man without one.


Sedans look fine without a spoiler or wing.

[m3f_M3AN]

It's a very personal choice, run with what you like as long as it's one of the "generally approved" options lol.



I really don't like the LWT/GT/whatever wing with the risers, way too OTT for my liking on a street car and we all know it does nothing but get in the way at street speeds. On the other hand, I think one without risers looks very good.



But then I like no spoiler also on a coupe from the side... looks a bit empty from the rear though.



I have a E39 M5 style lip spoiler on my black motorsport 328 coupe and think that looks really good from the side and rear.



My M3 has the standard spoiler (the flat one, not the arched one) and I'm happy enough with that. I think the flat one suits the square lines of the e36 a little better than the arched one. I am disappointed though that it was a dealer and not a factory option because I have a disabled rear window 3rd brake light and, given that it's duplicated in the spoiler, would prefer plain rear glass and a flat rear shelf. Although if I went for a LTW/GT/whatever rear spoiler (without risers) it will be convenient to reinstate the 3rd brake light in the window because it's a legal requirement to have one here.



If I ever get a different option it'll be attached to a second trunk lid so I can swap them back and forth. When I replaced the trunk wiring loom (I hope you all have) I used connectors into the main harness so swapping the whole lid out will be trivial if I need to do so, plug and play, no cutting wires.