Choice: 325i vs 318i

[nando]

^ have you owned that car since new? those sure don't look anything like the ~180k M42s I've seen.

[Asbradley21]

I can say without any doubt that a well maintained m42 will run for fuck ever. Mine is 190K miles now, no problems timing wise at all, and Tjts is right, replace the tensioner every 50K and you'll never have any problems. My dad's is at 260k miles, and still running strong.

[jrdeamicis]

Seems like the 318 is a better starter platform.

[LovableSheep]

Just adding another vote for the M42.

This what mine looked like at 193K:



Currently at 215K and still runs great.

I really have no experience with M20s, so I'm not going to make any comparison comments, but I sure love my car.

[Jean]

I love it how people are posting pics of the chain where you can't see the wear on the guides since the guides were not removed... lol

[reelizmpro]

I'm quite surprised by the M42 love. I always thought if it had to be a 4 cylinder, it better be an S14, otherwise the M20 powered 325i seems like the logical choice to me unless you plan on swapping the engine later and just want a lighter platform. These days there's virtually no difference in price between 325i and M42 318i. Not to mention there are tons of M20 parts readily available to build cheap strokers, etc. The 325i will be a nicer car with more options that you can sell off if you need to. Stock for stock, I'd take a nice 325i/iS everytime.

[James Crivellone]

^ have you owned that car since new? those sure don't look anything like the ~180k M42s I've seen.

Yeah no kidding, they must be buying cars from the 2% of people who actually maintain them.

The rest of us need to replace these so called lifetime components

[nando]

Yeah no kidding, they must be buying cars from the 2% of people who actually maintain them.

The rest of us need to replace these so called lifetime components

I really wanted a 318is for a while - was thinking of buying my friends, which is in the 98% category (240k+ and hanging by a thread). Then I added up all the stuff the engine needed, and realized it would have cost more than the car was worth. :(