New E30 Owner Performance Chip Question

[Clematis]

So I just bought a 1991 318i 4dr with just under 80k on it for my fiance. We will use it for street driving exclusively, no track.

I've read about a bunch of different performance chips, but I'm not sure what the best one for more power in a daily driver that usually won't spend much time at really high revs, and hopefully might help a little with mileage.

So, I'll throw it out there - suggestions?

[MF DOOM]

Mark D and WAR chips seem to be pretty popular. I havent read anything about either so im not much help.. Look them up though

[bmwman91]

The only ones that I am aware of that are worth it are the MarkD and Jim Conforti ones. They should run you $250-$300, and you shoul only be buying legit ones from the official sources. eBay is a crapshoot and most of the ones on there are fakes.

If you want better mileage, I would say stick with the stock one. The performance chips only change the full-throttle maps. If you don't want to revv the motor high, you bought the wrong car lol. The power doesn't really turn on until at least 3500RPM, and it starts getting fun at 5000RPM. A chip really only makes a difference above 3500RPM. The motor is gutless below that, chip or not. I have owned & messed with M42 powered E30's for over a decade, so take it from me.

[bmwm42]

We are no where near as bad as an m10

[Balleristic31]

You could try the midnight performance m42 chip. His method is to grab more power down low on the m42s. Might be better for dd

[mr ilia]

Before spending even 30.00 for ebay chip, do this first.

Retract intake cam by about 3-4 degrees, this mod will shift power band more towards mid range, this should help with the gas milage as well.

Forgot to mention: If you want to help with the gas milage, install mustang injectors. Get them from a junk yard.

[LightStone]

Before spending even 30.00 for ebay chip, do this first.

Retract intake cam by about 3-4 degrees, this mod will shift power band more towards mid range, this should help with the gas milage as well.

Forgot to mention: If you want to help with the gas milage, install mustang injectors. Get them from a junk yard.

Specifically which mustang injectors? (sorry for hijacking the thread)

[MrSlacker]

MarkD Chip is pretty good.

[mr ilia]

Specifically which mustang injectors? (sorry for hijacking the thread)

Any high resistance injectors with compatible size. There are like dozens of cars that use them. In my car I use 24lb from 1997 Lincoln Continental 4.6 DOHC.

Here is the link for you to digest.

http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233

[Clematis]

I ended up going with the Midnight Tuning chip from Barrie. I haven't gotten the car on the road yet because the front Billy sports were on back order, but I should be able to get everything together this weekend, and then I'll let you know how it feels.

Haven't had a chance to change the intake cam yet, but I should do it soon.

[george graves]

I'm not sure about the m42, but the m20 people are saying they are having great results with the new ebay chips that are being sold.

[bmwman91]

I wouldn't bother messing with the cam timing. I tried that years ago. Overall you gain no power; the power band just moves around and the car doesn't run all that great because the ECU really needs a custom tune optimized for the new cam phasing.

I have also tried running Mustang injectors, and just stuffing them in won't do squat for power on a stock motor. If you get the newer EV6 style ones with the 4 micro-pintles, the motor does seem to run a little smoother, but no more power comes from it.

Honest to god, the only power mods worth half a shit on the M42 are a legit chip and a lighter flywheel. I have been driving & messing with M42's for about 12 years now, and I have tried it all. The chip & flywheel are the only low-hanging fruit here, on a stock motor. Start increasing displacement, and yeah, there is something to be gained with larger injectors & a port + polish.

Just adjusting the stock cams is sort of silly...get custom ones with longer duration & greater lift. You get more power from getting more air into the motor. Moving the stock ones around just lets more air in at one RPM and less at another. Without re-tuned fuel & ignition maps, it is completely worthless.

[mr ilia]

Cam and injector mods are not for power gains (it was not posed as such), but itt is for "fine-tunning".

Injector upgrade is for fuel economy mod. Mustang injectors for the most part are 4 pindle, with in theory should help to provide more complete combustion. In my personal experience I gained on fuel economy without changing driving style...your results may vary, but the general concensus is beter fuel economy.

OP asked for more mid-range power, so retard cam timing would be a good solution. I do not think there was anything mentioned about gaining power with cam advancement, but it was mentioned as shifting power - wich is true.

m20 flywheel, chip, cam adjustment and fuel injectors - as combined packaged will wake up the car/motor really well.....If you think hard enouth, you realise the performance can be gained with out more power, but with only optimization and fine-tunning.

[bmwman91]

I disagree that home garage mechanics will do better "fine tuning" than BMW engineers. That is of course ignoring the stock chip which was purposely crippled to slow the M42 down to help sell the more expensive 325 models. I have been messing with these cars for over a decade and tried darn near everything under the sun. The fact is that a BMW is expensive when new, and part of that is because they pay engineers a lot of money to perfect the mechanical tuning of the motor.*

I tried the moving the stock cams around. For sure, I felt a big improvement in mid-range power, with top-end power suffering a lot. Personally I like revving the dog-shit out of the motor, so my personal preference was not to stick with it. Despite that, the car just didn't run well overall when I changed the cam position. The fuel and spark maps are not tuned for it.

*You CAN fine-tune the car to do well with a shifted intake cam. However, that requires the use of a dyno and the costs associated with it. Pulling the valve cover and playing with 4 M6 bolts is not "fine tuning." Doing that and then having custom software made to take full advantage of moving the cams is "fine tuning." Nobody in their right mind is willing to spend $1000 on tuning just to shift their power band around on a street car. At that point, you may as well get custom cams that give you more oomph all across the powerband.

I know that it seems very tempting to mess with things on these cars because every other kid with a Japanese import or American car can usually make an improvement of some sort with a screwdriver and hack saw. Those cars also cost half as much when new. While it is no fun to be mechanically-inclined and own a car that really has little or no "low-hanging fruit," it is what it is. If BMW had a reputation for selling cars with lousy mechanical designs, we wouldn't even be here discussing it!

[mr ilia]

Wellpaid BMW engineers made the car the way the "market" wanted it, not the way I wanted it. So I made improvements (fine-tuned) to suit my needs.

Yes, the chip is the key component here. All improvement combined, including the chip, do very well together.

I bet the same good BMW engineers made good decision to leave adjustible cam spokets, they probably had good reasons for it. Engine in my car has the cam advanced and I love my motor revving from 4500 to 7000 rpms.