318 or 325

[Skunkworks]

I have been looking for a 4 door manual trans E30.

The question is what is the performance trade off of the 318?
Is it the dog that everyone says it is? I am not looking for a rocketship but I do enjoy performance driving...

What are your thoughts?

I am thinking about reliability as well.

[TobyB]

the 318is has the most valves.

the 318 really wishes it was still a 2002

t

[Vivek]

The m20 simply makes more power, is easier to maintain, and is a more reliable engine. With that said I absolutely love my 318i. The m20 has more raw power, but there's little things about m42's that you'll learn to love.

[fronton]

If you have to have a four door, M20 is the correct choice. If you can get a M42 coupe (318is or 1991+ vert), I'd prefer that. More exciting and involved driving albeit not as quick on paper. The M42s deliver the sensations of acceleration and speed without the tickets. And i disagree with Vivek about the M20 being easier to maintain than the M42. Having a timing chain vs rubber belt that can snap every 50k is much more comforting.

[Threehz]

The M42 rocks, and I have a feeling with a chip and new exhaust it will have quite a nice extra kick.

IMO maintenance is also easier, two less cylinders and a chain instead of belt.

M20 has more straight power, they are pretty cheap and easy to mod up.

This going to just be a DD?

[carguy101]

M42's do not require valve adjustments either. In terms of performance, it is a subjective one and depends on how you drive. I have a 12# lwfw, s3.73, chip, COP and a few other things done. Now, will it win you many drag races? Probably not. If you are looking at 4 doors, my guess is so you can carry more passengers. The M42 does lack torque but it is a rev happy engine, really noticeable change in power w/ the lwfw. I can see a pretty big difference in the way the car drives with more passengers. You will get better mpg w/ the M42 as well.

[nando]

If you have to have a four door, M20 is the correct choice. If you can get a M42 coupe (318is or 1991+ vert), I'd prefer that. More exciting and involved driving albeit not as quick on paper. The M42s deliver the sensations of acceleration and speed without the tickets. And i disagree with Vivek about the M20 being easier to maintain than the M42. Having a timing chain vs rubber belt that can snap every 50k is much more comforting.

except the M42's timing chain setup is garbage. you could replace an entire lifetime of M20 waterpumps/timing belts for the cost of one timing chain rebuild on an M42. the sprockets, the guide rails, and even the chain wear out way faster than they should.

it's a fun motor, it's just not built very well.

[slammin.e28]

318 cause m20s are pew pew.

[fronton]

except the M42's timing chain setup is garbage. you could replace an entire lifetime of M20 waterpumps/timing belts for the cost of one timing chain rebuild on an M42. the sprockets, the guide rails, and even the chain wear out way faster than they should.

it's a fun motor, it's just not built very well.

You may have to replace the timing gear/chain one time in 250,000 which I'd rather do once than 5 times on an M20. It will also never snap and total your car like the M20 does, it just makes more and more noise over the years which usually can be solved with a simple tensioner replacement.

[Hey_You]

m10 FTW
(That's a joke by the way)

[nando]

You may have to replace the timing gear/chain one time in 250,000 which I'd rather do once than 5 times on an M20. It will also never snap and total your car like the M20 does, it just makes more and more noise over the years which usually can be solved with a simple tensioner replacement.

Uhm, yes it will. Its happened lots of times. They often wear out well before then, and cost more than a whole motor to replace. Its not worth putting $800 into a 200k mile m42 ( I really wanted to, trust me).

The only reason a belt would break is if you neglected the maintenance. Also, you have to do a waterpump either way, the belt is barely any extra work.