E36 Question - Footwell

NVP · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:43

On Saturday my friend got an E36 328 convertible (R reg I think), very smart looking actually, I was rather impressed!

Anyway, I've driven most E36's before (4-pot, straight 6 and the M3) but all have been Coupes, this is the first E36 convertible I have ever driven.

I noticed straight away a big difference in room for your feet, in fact the footwell was so cramped and the pedals so close together that I found it very hard to drive. I had size 15 trainers on which is normally only a problem in small cars for me, but I've never once encountered such a problem in any E36 before.

I was wondering why there would be any difference at all in the footwell between the different shapes of E36? I don't know whether it was actually smaller or the positions of the pedals were just different but something was definitely different.

Anyone noticed this before? Or does anyone know why there would be a difference? It doesn't make sense to me :confused:

merlin · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:44

You have size 15 feet?

NVP · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:51

lol kind of, some trainers 15, some 14 (depends on the make). My brother has size 17 :eek:

and he's smaller than me!

Not really a problem normally, only in older small cars. Didn't expect problems in this though, I assumed it would be exactly the same as every other E36.

Wicksta · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:52

doh wrong thread

paradigm · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:55

Footwell should be the same IIRC.

Firestar_3x · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:55

NVP said:
Or does anyone know why there would be a difference? It doesn't make sense to me

What happens to a rigidity of a structure when you remove one of its sides?

Could be due to extra bracing, either that or its the drugs stash from the previous owner.

NVP · 1 Mar 2011 at 13:57

Good point, I assumed all the strength was put back in through the sides and floor but I suppose that could mean they need to position things differently. Not sure how that would impact the footwell though?

EDIT: Turns out it was in a Cat C!! Maybe that's caused the pedals to shift slightly?

Disco Boy · 1 Mar 2011 at 14:36

So shall I ask? Is it true what they say about men with big feet?

NVP · 1 Mar 2011 at 15:25

Hahaha! So a thread about a footwell has descended into questions about my *ahem* lol! Being big ain't all it's cracked up to be... some may call it a curse

I have been chatting with my mate and he's checked the car over at work and it looks like the Cat C must have been a front impact. I think this could be more of a reason for the pedals to be "iffy", although the convertible rigidity theory is still plausible. I would be intrigued to sit in another convertible and see if they are the same or not.

InvaderGIR · 1 Mar 2011 at 17:20

I'd always assumed that the interior cabin was virtually the same throughout the range, especially so between coupe and vert.

NVP · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:31

Yeah me too, which is why it was such a surprise that I struggled to drive it

I need to find another E36 Conv to compare.