What kind of potential does my M10B18 have?

[MikeM10]

So i have been playing around in my head the possibilities for my 85 318i. I love the car, even though its a beater for sure, but i just cant stand how damn slow it is. granted its old and and not as peppy as it may have once been but its not a very powerful engine to begin with. I live paycheck to paycheck right now so i just kinda fix what i can when i can on it. its my daily driver so i just want to keep it alive for now. Early next year i'll be getting about 2000 dollars thats going into my car. i just want it to be a fun car to maybe play around in and have a little bit more power and pickup. Id really like to be able to beat some civics and integras so i at least feel a little good about my car too. and a little better gas milage. what kind of power can an m10 produce with a small budget? ive thought about picking up another m10 from a junkyard and getting it bored out stroked and rebuilt. I dont want to spend that kind of money if its not gonna do much and be unsatisfying. ive also thought about getting a junked 318ti and switching just about everything over. suspension and the whole powertrain. i feel like the m42 has alot more potential but would it be worth it? any help is appreciated.

[MikeM10]

im not going turbo by the way. not for awhile at least

[illest318i]

I guess I'm not the only one who feels the same about the M10, I have the same problem you do! for now maybe just CAI and cat-back is what I think.. Good luck

[e30e]

They make great tables.

[bmwguy325is]

They make great tables.

Well option one. Gut the entire car including fenders and side glass. That should give you a better power to weight ratio. Run som 195s on 14inch rims for great unsprung weight. Then spend some moneny on an intake snorkel and a straight pipe for more power. Well and a chip gotta tune the new set up. BAM most bang for the buck. May make for a rough DD though.

Option two
De-stroke it. then turbo the hell out of it. BMW once got that engine to make 1000hp. May have only run a few hours but still.

[slammin.e28]

BMW once got that engine to make 1000hp. May have only run a few hours but still.

Just gotta run long enough to get that dyno paper.

[Jaxx_]

m10 power for cheap? nitrous. otherwise, m42 swap would be better option for the same price. my car was 2300lbs with 3/4 tank and my 175lb self. the 318s are pretty much the lightest e30s.

Realistically, 2k is not enough for turbo and supporting mods. It's doable, but not easily. You're talking about plenty of extra stuff you might not have thought about. management is just one thing, you'll need a clutch to support the power, oil/water lines (preferably an oil cooler as well), all your IC/exhaust piping, fab time, and all the small little goodies you're gonna want to have. I'd hope that you'd upgrade to rear discs, too.



Cheap. Fast. Reliable.
Choose two.

[Jaxx_]

Well option one. Gut the entire car including fenders and side glass. That should give you a better power to weight ratio. Run som 195s on 14inch rims for great unsprung weight. Then spend some moneny on an intake snorkel and a straight pipe for more power. Well and a chip gotta tune the new set up. BAM most bang for the buck. May make for a rough DD though.

Option two
De-stroke it. then turbo the hell out of it. BMW once got that engine to make 1000hp. May have only run a few hours but still.

an intake and a straight pipe will maybe net him 10 extra horse power, not any real power. there is no chip for L-Jet. No fenders are illegal in most states.

85s had 9:1 compression ratio, already down from 9.3:1 that the 84s had because the EMS was so shitty it couldn't handle the heightened compression. There's not even a knock sensor. (I'm not sure if motronic 1 did....)

[bmwguy325is]

an intake and a straight pipe will maybe net him 10 extra horse power, not any real power. there is no chip for L-Jet. No fenders are illegal in most states....

Said in no sense of seriouness. Guess you never saw that article in Sport Compact Car?

[Blackangusinc]

Said in no sense of seriouness. Guess you never saw that article in Sport Compact Car?

That was a hilarious article!

Seriously though, in addition to a lot of other things, Metric Mechanic builds performance m10 engines. You could pick up a head from them for around what you have budgeted. Check out their site.

[IRON-E]

What about some headers and straight pipes, to get your chops wet. Maybe in time you could build your own M10 with all the options, I mean the old school 2002 ran great on that motor.

[Jaxx_]

Said in no sense of seriouness. Guess you never saw that article in Sport Compact Car?

14 seconds for free? i've seen it. that was around 2004. It's not exactly helpful to the OP

[mason6556]

you guys are not the only ones, i to love the car but just need more power it really dose how can you get an extra 20 hores power i know 120 not much but is a lot better then 100

[bmwm42]

m10 has no potential for fast not on the cheap at least

[401e30]

Id really like to be able to beat some civics and integras so i at least feel a little good about my car too.

my man unless your 318 is built, the only Honda's you'll be laying waste on are D15 nonVTEC Civics

maybe

P