What makes the E30 318is a fun driving car?

[nando]

I like the 318is - it's fun to drive. But sorry, the M42 is a boat anchor.

A modern BMW 6 cylinder weighs about the same as an M42, makes double the power while also getting the same/better gas mileage and being more reliable.

[5Toes]

... more reliable? I havent heard much about high miles new BMW engines except for tidbits about the dealer repair bills. Ill happily take a m42 with a new crank sensor and some new seals for reliability :)

[Poorhouse]

I like the 318is - it's fun to drive. But sorry, the M42 is a boat anchor.

A modern BMW 6 cylinder weighs about the same as an M42, makes double the power while also getting the same/better gas mileage and being more reliable.

Modern engine vs. 30+ year old tech. OK.


I like the M42 more than I thought I would. It is an engaging twin cam. Smoother than the 2.0 16V VW of the same era.

I can see calling the 318is a modern 2002.

Having owned 2002's in the past and now a 318, they don't do it for me. I like torque and a big engine in a small car package.
The M42 in my 318 will be getting swapped for something with more displacement and cylinders.

[nando]

it is what it is. 130hp was never going to do anything for me, it's not like it has an excitingly high redline or other characteristics. Just a buzzy old 4 cyl, with timing chain components that wear out prematurely and cost a fortune to replace. I wanted to build one pretty badly until I started looking into it seriously..

[Stanley Rockafella]

i personally like the m42 just fine. its all the stuff missing from the car that pisses me off.

no cruise control, no check panel, no 13 button obc......the thing that really annoys me is those freaking vinyl perforated seats installed in 95% of them. well, the seats are fine, but i despise sitting on that slippery plastic. as they start to disintegrate, the surface looks like lizard skin.

how the heck do you drive an e30 with no cruise? sorry, my vagina hurts. end of rant. carry on.....

Years ago I almost pulled the trigger on a minty, red 318is with that vinyl crap.

From the time I cranked the engine and accelerated from a stop I was disappointed. Just no juice to that engine. Only once you rev the snot out of it are you able to appreciate it. Even then it was kinda....lame. The crazy tail happy nature of the m20 was addicting

Not to mention the lack of features compared to the 325es I had previously had. This meant I had to wait an additional 8 months until I found fully loaded 325is with cloth.

[Codym42]

it is what it is. 130hp was never going to do anything for me, it's not like it has an excitingly high redline or other characteristics. Just a buzzy old 4 cyl, with timing chain components that wear out prematurely and cost a fortune to replace. I wanted to build one pretty badly until I started looking into it seriously..

This.

My 318is is fun to drive but there's nothing special about the engine itself. At 278k miles, my timing chain components are worn out. I looked into replacing those parts, and doing a mild refresh with all new gaskets, and the parts alone came up to over $800. Some of those chain guides are stupidly expensive. I said screw it and bought an aluminum block m52 single vanos engine out of a z3.

The only other thing lighter (not mentioned in this thread) about the 318i/is is the diff. The medium case differentials weigh quite a bit more than the small case.

[tak7]

Count me in the pro m42 camp. The nimbleness along with the want and willingness to be rung out that got me.
I've had m20's come and go but don't forsee the m42 going anywhere.

[Rennsport]

E30 320is was the "baby M3". Calling a 318 that is an insult to the M3. All this talk about weight in the front is easily dialed out with the right suspension set up and totally forgotten with enough power. BMW quit making 4 bangers for a reason!

You do realize, that all of the new 228, 230, 328, 330, 428, 430, 528, 530, x1 28i, and x3 28i cars are 4 bangers. The only models that you can't get with a 4 banger are the 6,7,x5,x6, i8

Edit, Jesus BMW makes a lot of cars now

[reelizmpro]

The M42 318iS was referred to as the "poorman's M3" as I recall it. Seems a better fit considering the boost in popularity of the Italian 320iS with S14. That is more a baby M3 than the 318iS, IMO.

As pointed out, many auto makers have fallen back to smaller 4 cylinder engines + forced induction. Big engines will be a thing of the past especially with EV technology these days. Many high end performance cars are now hybrid electrics + small turbo engines.

[mtech325]

Interesting points being made about the m42 318. As others have said, the m42 can be fun because you have to keep the revs up, but ultimately I feel the engine had too many teething problems when it was first released. The cylinder head threads for the valve cover tend to strip, the timing chain guides can be problematic unless the case is updated to the later style, the cam sprockets wearing out, etc.

That's not to say other motors are perfect, but comparatively to an m20 or a 24v, the m42 is much more maintenance intensive (at least from my experiences). From a technology standpoint the m42 is quite neat, but that technology seems to have been reliably ironed out on the m/s5x family of motors.

However, to each their own. If my m42 wouldn't have bit the dust, I'd probably still have it in the car. Like mentioned in previous posts, the cost of rebuild & replacement parts wasn't justified and in the end I went with a 24v setup. No, it's not original, but the reliability and extra power are hard to argue with.

[Schnitzer318is]

I am a bit biased as my 318is had an m42 in it that only had 20,000 miles on it that I swapped into it. It was purchased as an updated long block from BMW back in the mid 2000's I think. I can't remember, I gave the new owner the records.

That engine was fun as all get out. Dyno'd with m20 numbers (130+) after efan and chip. Got ridiculous mileage >32mpg highway. And then came the turbo... then things got really fun. 190+rwhp and 220ft/lbs were awesome. Still getting 28mpg highway and 21mpg city weren't bad either. Both of those figures were better than my m20b25 powered cars. The m20b27 did get better mileage... but that had no guts. Still fun for other reasons though.

[Bimmerguy91]

To me the simple answer is that it can be fun to have a car that you can wring out on the street without tripling the speed limit.

[91tii]

I keep hearing a lot of people say that it isn't a robust engine, but if you take care of an M42 it will last an incredibly long time. I have a 1991 318i with its original M42 (untouched bottom end, valve seals done at 230k) and it has just over 400k miles on it and it still runs great. Due to rust issues, I am going to be transferring the mechanical bits into my motorless but rust free 318i shell to keep it going!

I have owned both m20 and m42 powered cars and I really prefer the rev-happy nature of the m42, even with the stock flywheel. I just didn't giggle like a little kid when driving my 325i (like I do with the 318is) and I ended up not keeping it for that long. It was really not that much faster than my 318 and not as nimble, you could definitely feel the added weight up front. They are both excellent cars, and the m20 is a fantastic engine that sounds incredible (something that can't be said as easily for the m42), but for my driving style the m42 is my favorite.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

You do realize, that all of the new 228, 230, 328, 330, 428, 430, 528, 530, x1 28i, and x3 28i cars are 4 bangers. The only models that you can't get with a 4 banger are the 6,7,x5,x6, i8

Edit, Jesus BMW makes a lot of cars now

And at this moment in time not a single one is worth even glancing at. Really unimpressed with what BMW has been doing the last few years.

[Wolfman]

SMH.... You CLEARLY have zero knowledge on BMW history. The 4 cylinder is the reason any of our BMW's isn't a Mercedes. They quite making them because the 2.0 liter racing regulations were lifted so they could use bigger engines. So when they designed the cars they were with 6 cylinders so they could be raced with a 6 cylinder since it was offered in the dealership. I recommend buying the book Unbeatable you will learn a lot. With out that little m10 bmw would be bankrupt making parts for merc's.

SMH....you clearly are taking things waaay to literally. By "quit making" I was referring to the US market after interest in the e36 318, the ti's and the 4 cyl Z3s dried up. After that there was quite a long absence of 4 cyls in the US until now due to turbocharging. And without that early 80s 4cyl F1 cars wouldn't have made 1400+ bhp either. Thanks for the attempt at a history lesson but the fact is the 318 existed for the same reason the Boxster does. Cheap entry level cars to gain market share, after all it was their first sub 20 k car and at least 7k cheaper than a decent e30 and 15k less than a proper one.