What do you love about your 318?

[veritas.smit]

Hey everyone, im in a dilemma, ill try to make it short so i wont bore anyone.
But maybe you guys can help.

I am in between 2 cars right now and i really cant decide.
318 e30 (Can't find a 325) $2k
e36 Front Crashed but supercharged 328 $4.5 with many more mods

So my budget is 4.5k for a car so obviously i can't restore the e36 till i get some more money in my pocket, plus i love the e30 look way more than i do the e36. WAY MORE. And with 2.5k left i can fix up all the things it has wrong with it. However it bothers me that its a 318 but i think its because i dont know enough about them.

But then my dad says its to old of a car and i need it to go to school etc etc, also performance is a big issue for me and the m42 is something that i may not be to happy about. I was looking more for having the e30 as more of a turning (something like auto crossing) car, but then does it work well work with 138 hp?

Personally i honestly dont know what to do because im being overpowered here, my brother is a major e36 enthus. so as you guys can see im getting all the positives about it while my view of the e30 stays the same and im not getting new info.

So what do you guys think? What would you go for?
Why do you love the 318 so much? If you would pick one car over the other tell me why. Why did u pick the 318 over the 325 or over another car?

And if you dont know id be cool if u could just give me some info that you think might help me out.


Thanks alot

[twistednut]

If I had to sell my e30 or my e36 I would sell the e36. The 318 is just a blast to drive. It gets better gas millage and is cheaper to fix.

[Asbradley21]

I autocross my 318is without any problem. Get in one that's well tuned and maintained, and you'll see they're one hell of a car.

And many people believe they handle better than the m20 ones even.

[dannyyisntt]

take the motor out of the 328 and put it in the 318 and do your own thing. If your bro likes the e36, thats cool, but you should try to have your own style.

[FL318is]

For me my 18 is like driving a go-kart with air conditioning. Its a blast, light and responsive.

It is afterall a 4 cyclinder. Plenty of pull.

Try craigs in Orlando. They have been a few 325s listed.

[gearheadE30]

I love the balance and the revviness of the motor. Most of the M20s I;ve driven I would not be comfortable at 6k+ at an HPDE. Its also much lighter than other e30s because there was almost no factory sound deadening, which has its downsides.

[romeomike]

If I had a do-over, try for the 318is as it had better suspension components as compared to the 318i. Back in 1991, the 318i was the cheapest BMW to purchase, and that was the deciding factor.

What's to like about the M42:

No timing belt to change
Easier to work on
By now, a previous owner would have taken care of the profile gasket and head gasket issues that troubled pre-1993 M42s.
Better gas mileage than an M20

I'd favor the M42 as you will have some money for unexpected maintenance issues as well as performance upgrades.

[strad]

We've driven our 318 20k miles (from 190k to 210k miles) and during that time it has never failed to get us where we were going. I've spent a lot of time replacing worn-out stuff, but I have no doubts about the hardware. It's a great little car, and with proper maintenance it'll serve you just as well as a newer car might. It's not a fast straight line car by any means, but it handles very well and will get down a windy road quickly if you keep it on the burner.

It's nowhere near as quick as my 328is, but it's an honest little car and does its job very well. My advice to you would be to get a car that's easy to fix and within your budget for now, and get a more expensive/more involved-to-maintain car later, when you have more of a budget.

[ojingoh]

I like mine for a Daily Driver, although truth be told the light weight makes stick driving in a hilly city kind of hard, as the car will roll backward quite fast. I have to use the E-Brake a lot in downtown Seattle.

Bieng a communter car, a clean one just kills any other car, certainly for its price, if you are hoping for something more sporty that gets better mileage. The only other FR layout car I can think of in this price range are old Audis and MB, neither of which is as fun to drive or as inexpensive to maintain. I suspect that someone in BMW still has a hard-on for us, as they keep making parts for a car that they stopped making in early '93.

The other thing that's pretty cool about it, at least for a daily, is that you can roll the engine to 4k on the freeway, which is right in the powerband, and you're not doing 100 miles an hour. I do wish I had a bit more launch, definitely, but it's fine.

My biggest complaint about that car is the lame transmission and flywheel. The first two gears are stupidly spaced way too far apart, 3 +4 are good together, 5 is fine, it's overdrive. If i could change anything about the car I'd get a new tranny and lighter flywheel.

[wolfgangstbd]

i just like engines that sound better and make more power as the rpm's climb. i can go on a far trip and only go through 4 gallons of gas if i drive nice. for a 1.8l 4 cylinder it actually has alot of pep and pullsform like 3.5k to redline. if your into that then just get a 318

[achtunge30]

It gets as about as good gas mileage and as cheap at the pump as my wife's 2006 Civic.
Parts are cheaper than the E36 counterparts.
Timing Chain vs. Belts
No need to do timing checks every 30k.
Poor Man's E30 M3 (even applies to us now in 2009).

I found my 318is quicker than I could find a 325is. I have no regrets. It served me so well the 3 years I've had it with no major issues, that I rewarded myself and bought a 135i and awarded the 318is by doing a complete timing overhaul (new chain, gaskets, water pump, m20 clutch / 8lb flywheel single-mass) as well as did alot of aesthetic mods in the last 3 mo, (cardinal interior, mtech2 wheel, BMW Performance shift knob) and I can't be happier. BTW my car has well over 200k on it.

[jeffw]

18s are great for a daily driver. good gas and enough pull to make people look.

[tjts1]

$1000 car with $1000 worth of parts into it. 3 years and 30k miles later its been dead reliable, fun to autoX, good suspension bits all over the JYs, quick, dirt cheap to run and If I destroy it tomorrow I can just buy another one.

If I had a do-over, try for the 318is as it had better suspension components as compared to the 318i. Back in 1991, the 318i was the cheapest BMW to purchase, and that was the deciding factor.

I hate to break it to you but 318i and 318is have the same shocks, springs and sway bars from the factory. Spring PNs are different but if you put the 2 springs side by side, they are identical. Only difference is most 318i has steelies with hub caps instead of bottle caps. E30/M42/4 door was a 1 year deal for the US/Canada market only. The rest of the world got the 8 valve M40. You have a very rare car.

[Erick]

enough pull to make people look.

where!?! Because (wishfully) 138hp really won't get you anywhere in a straight line very fast.

Seriously. My 318iS is a blast to drive. It really is. I enjoy daily driving it because any open corner is guaranteed fun. However, as a daily driver, there are little to no advantages over the 6 cylinder e30.

Maintenance-wise, it's a car. M42 owners brag about the timing belt vs chain issue. Oh noes! Show me anyone here that's daily driving an M20 and has done more than 2 timing belt swaps in the entire lifespan of their ownership of that e30. You do timing belts every 50-70k miles. If you take a penny every day of the week from your kid's college fund you'll be able to pay for a timing belt kit by the time it's due again. By this mileage, M42 owners should be concerned with their profile gasket instead. Go on. Change your profile gasket while I do a timing belt. Let's see who finishes first. I'll even take a few breaks watching re-runs of House MD to compete.

Besides that, the M42 has given me as many issues as any car would. The little things here and there that every 15 year old car or older would give.

Now I won't beat around the bush.... and hate away, but this car saves no gas. At least no more than a 325i does.

First of all, I drive my car on the highway mainly. This means the 4.10LSD comes into play. At anything above the minimum speed limit of 40mph, you're close to the redline. If you follow your speed limits, you're at least by 3500rpm. I'm usually at 4000rpm. This is cruising at 80-85mph.

Second. It's a 4 banger. And no, not a good thing. The clutch fan alone is like an anvil dropped on your lungs. Then turn on your A/C and you'll quickly realize that someone strapped the titanic to the back of your car. The A/C Compressor is really a strain on the M42... you'll see your MPG gauge needle go down about 3-5mpg depending on your cruising speed.

Also worth noting that the M42 has to run on at least 91 octane. Penny pinchers will see a difference of ~$3 every time they fill up.

My old e38, with the A/C on, would net me about 23mpg highway at 80-85mph. And mind you this car is like a Sherman tank with a *gasp* V8. My M30 E30 (the M60's older brother big six) pulls around 25-28mpg highway with a welded 3.25. How is it that my e30 with half the cylinders of the V8 can't match that?

Now yes: You could move out of this inferno that is south Florida and not rock A/C. Perhaps a worthy sacrifice.

But if you start there to save gas, I'd have a feeling you'd dig the M42's grave and swap a 3.73 (or lower) rear end, trying to lower the cruising RPMs on the highway. And that's where it all goes south, because now you killed 3/4 of the reason why to own one. Now I read an article that a 3.73 makes a 318iS faster on the 1/4 mile than a 4.10. Before anyone tries to even defend that, we're not drag racing. And it's not any valid point above a speed of 30mph.

Which comes to my main point: don't f*ck with BMWs engineering on this one. Interestingly enough, this is my favorite e30. It's that much fun to drive. It's predictable, it works with you, and there's no smug feeling of a big torquey V8 just pulling away without breaking a sweat. The M42 is pure athlete running his/her 100 yard dash, giving it all it has.

It's not the car you'll bring to a competition, but that's why a lot of race car drivers have similar cars. The old school rwd Corollas are insanely popular for this reason as well. Great underpowered fun cars. Not very competitive without thousands more than any of it's competition would require. But on it's own? Massive fun.

I think every motoring enthusiast should own a 318iS (or E30 M3) at some point in time. Like any well kept BMW it won't let you down, it's a solid daily driver and it'll most certainly bring a grin to your face every time you drive it. Just don't get fooled thinking it's selling points are cheaper maintenance and gas savings (without sacrificing a lot).

And um.. yeah. /rant

- Erick

[tjts1]

blah blah blah blah blah

Ur doing it wrong.