318is vs 325i What do you prefer?

[E30FreaK89]

well i have a 89 325is and a 91 318is and i love driving the 318is more! I have nothing against the m20, i LOVE the engine but on the other hand i really like the way the 318 can be put around corners easy!

[HarryPotter]

I love how the only people dogging on the m20's are the guys with m42's only. How interesting.

[tjts1]

what is the "real" weight difference anyways???? 30lbs...

You wish.

[mikeedler]

I love the handling and the fun-to-drive factor of mine, and as a daily, it's not too gutless. Mine can stay even with a stock 325i, and it has a chip, injectors, intake, and exhaust and that's it. It'll be FI soon, though... :)

keep dreaming!!! what ragged out 300,000mile crapper eta with an i badge were you "racing"

[mikeedler]

the 4 cyl. is almost 40hp weaker, and not that noticably different in weight.
don't listen to the 4 cyl guys that wish they had the extra hp.

what is the "real" weight difference anyways???? 30lbs...

[Strelok]

Handling has nothing to do with power at all.

Fixed

[harv]

I think the other thing that adds to the M42 fun is the 4.11:1 or whatever it is rear end ratio. It flirts with being buzzy but as Peter Egan says "It's a car that you can drive fast but doesn't go fast by accident". That's the reason I finally sold my WRX. It was a WONDERFUL car but in the end you had to drive everywhere at 90mph. You'd think to yourself, why are all these people driving so slow? And then you'd realize that your flirting with 100 again. I have the same feeling with the 318is at an indicated 75 witch is actually 72 and not fast enough to get a ticket on the freeways unless your unlucky or not paying attention to the V1.

John

[gearheadE30]

I love the handling and the fun-to-drive factor of mine, and as a daily, it's not too gutless. Mine can stay even with a stock 325i, and it has a chip, injectors, intake, and exhaust and that's it. It'll be FI soon, though... :)

[getouth]

The M42 is a modern engine with low maintenance and a hp per liter ratio of 74.5hp per liter vs M20 @ 67.2 hp per liter. Also the 318is is 360lbs less than a 325i. As far as handling goes.......318 all the way.

[Schnitzer318is]

Thanks for the (mostly) helpful input. Looks like a chipped 318is is more of what I am looking for in this car.

I think you came to a good conclusion... all the guys made valid points.

Here's my .02. I have a 91 318is, 90 325i, and 87 325.

My least favorite car is the eta... but that is my wife's daily, so it performs it's purpose in life quite well. Good mileage, low end torque... will still add a chip to it to give it a bit more power.

The m20 in the 325i was a nice even powerband engine that was (to me) VERY boring to drive. I used to take it to work instead of putting miles on my 318is. It's a nice commuter car (or was before the timing belt broke) but was not a "fun" car at all. This is the reason I neglected the timing belt so that this car would be my m50/s50 swap car.

The m42 in the 318is can get good power even NA. I used to run with or ahead of m20's, depending on their condition and mods. I dyno'd 136 rwhp with minor mods on a mustang dyno. I can list the mods if you are interested. The m20 dyno's in at around 145rwhp stock but weighs in at 200 - 300 lbs heavier due to sound insulation, motor weight, etc. That's where my car made up for the displacement and the handling on the 318is is worlds above. To be fair though, the 325i I have was sitting on a good stock suspension when I was driving around. I'm sure handing would feel better with an aftermarket suspension setup.

Now, for the kicker... I turbo'd the m42 and now, I am really in love. I'm pushing 10.5psi on stock internals and guessing (need a clutch to hold the power) I'm sitting around 210rwhp. This makes for a VERY fun car and there have been few cases where I've lost a short pull...

So there you have it... I'm sure some will disagree with me, but that's what the interwebs are for.

[SpyHunter]

Weight will always make a bigger difference to handling, than power. Handling doesn't have a lot to do with power at all. Take a look at the really good handling cars. Lotus Elise. Mazda Miata. Caterham/Lotus 7. All very light weight, low powered cars. Colin Chapman was a fanatic about weight for a reason.

Think of it this way. Power affects one area of performance; acceleration. Weight affects ALL areas of performance; acceleration, braking, turning. Give me identical cars, one weighing 300 lbs less, and with a better weight balance, and the light car would beat the other in all areas. Now give me two identical cars, one with 50 more hp, and all it will do better than the other is accelerate.

Make sense?

Now, to muddle things, power can affect handling when we are talking about a car the needs it to rotate.

Either way, I will always take lighter and better balanced, over more power and heavier for a track car. For a daily driver? There it all comes down to preference.

[MrSlacker]

Thanks for the (mostly) helpful input. Looks like a chipped 318is is more of what I am looking for in this car.

[2002maniac]

1. it was a legit question that i wanted an answer to. you seem to have a bit of a hostility problem. sensitive much?

No hostility from me. I was just hoping you would agree with me that power isn't the most important thing.

And yes, 70lbs of the nose is noticeably better.

140lbs off the nose (my black car) is amazing :)

[ck_taft325is]

is the m42 really that much more fun to drive? i cant imagine all 136 horsepowers being that fun in a car that weighs 2800lbs. and i cant imagine the loss of 2 cylinders changes the handling that noticeably.

if i wanted go kart handling, 4 cyl, dohc, etc. i'd get a miata. thats the "true" momentum car.

Well, a fairly well sorted m20b25 makes what?, 176hp at the crank? 145 or so at the wheels? The m42 makes 130 at the wheels or so? For the weight to "power" I REALLY enjoy my m42.

Granted, the only comparison I really have to go off of is a 273 cammed, chipped, coil over, 19lb injectored '88 325is which of course made way more power and was very, very fun. I still prefer my m42 for daily driving duties because it never fails to put a smile on my face when I go around nearly any turn.

If you're not fiscally blessed, I'd go m42, straighten out the maintenance issues, chip it, suspension and possibly exhaust? Call it a day and drive it. Enjoy all 28-30mpg.

And besides, if you want a bunch of power, you can always swap in an s5x. Or turbo the crap out of it...

[Kershaw]

But you think a 3000lb 4-door sports car with 159 ft-lbs of torque is fun?

btw, 2800lbs is BS. My slicktop was very close to 2500 bone stock.

1. it was a legit question that i wanted an answer to. you seem to have a bit of a hostility problem. sensitive much?

2. i was talking about handling. it was mentioned that the 318is is a momentum car, so is the rx8. its just that i cant imagine losing 70lbs off the engine really transforms the handling of the e30 so much that losing 30hp is worth it. but if im wrong on that assumption, im wrong. which is why i asked.

3. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. and yes i can do that personally. it is definitely fast enough for me to call a shit ton of fun. and yes, sports cars are fun. thanks for asking.

4. a na miata is 2100 lbs. 120hp. independent double wishbone on all wheels. so i still dont see why someone would pick the 318is over one. unless you're talking about style, but thats a different argument and still doesnt answer why someone wouldnt just get a 325is.

5. i drove one 318is in my life. it was really slow in a straight line. but i didnt take it into any fun roads so i cant really comment on the handling. i was genuinely curious as to whether or not the handling is that much different.