325 vs 318

[tehwickerman]

318 forever and always.

[Colbatronbmwes]

I get 32 mpg in my eta and it's got torque lots of it

[bloodshot-e30]

my M42 car was amazing 3.73s mark-D chip all new timing components with a little extra cam timing advance and open exhaust rean pretty healthy for a 20 year old 4cyl :D


ooh yea i beat the shit out of the M42 and it lasted a good 40k and was still good when i pulled it.

my M20 wasnt worth a shit partly my fault cuz i wanted my M52 back in lol

[SUICIDE109]

depends on what diff gears you're running too...

[Ryann]

m42s get 35mpg???? :shock:

Sure, if you want to travel at 55mph on the interstate. Otherwise, 27-29 w/stock 4.10 at reasonable speeds (70-75).

The stock e30 m42 is a slug off the line and really pretty disappointing in town. The m42 is a loud engine. The engine itself is loud on every level and so is the exhaust, yet it lacks that delicious zipper-like m20 exhaust note, much like the m/s5x engines do imo. It is also a marginal freeway machine as it lacks the sound deadening and the taller diff. ratios of the six.

But on the twisty back roads it is a real fucking charmer. If you're comfortable with kissing the rev limiter it'll hang with almost anything. The experience is very similar to driving an older 2.0L ALFA balls to the wall, key words being balls to the wall. My car has surprised everyone I've gone on irresponsible ass-hauling coast runs with BEFORE they understood that it was a NA 1.8.

[e30trooper]

ive gotten 32mpg in my vert m20 going 85mph on a 100mile trip

[Schnitzer318is]

ive gotten 32mpg in my vert m20 going 85mph on a 100mile trip

I call BS... especially at 85. My vert was only capable of 27mpg highway if I was babying it at 68mph. And that motor was in damn good shape.

As for the m42... I have owned 4 e30's. 2 m20b25's, 1 m20b27, and 1 m42. By far my favorite is the m42. Even before I turbo'd it. Second favorite is the m20b27 car. Torque is great and mileage is around 32mpg. The 318is pre turbo once got me 39mpg going to and from Houston @70mph with the factory 4.10's.

My least favorite is the m20b25. My m42 dyno'd at 136 rwhp with very minor mods which is very close if not at m20 dyno numbers. The m20b25 is a good motor, don't get me wrong. It's just my least favorite of the e30 motors... besides the m10 of course.

[Shangsta]

I have had had all three engine combos and currently have a 91 318is. I am loving the gas mileage and yes it not the fastest thing when putting around town but one some back road twisties I absolutely love it. It definitely feel a lot lighter and tossable than my 325 ever was.

[freeride53]

Tree hate teen high

[mkcman17]

All of you that average 25 mpg in a b25 are damn liars. You must live on a freeway.

[B Randon]

i have had b25, b27, b27i and now i have b23. the b23 i get right at 30mpg an it has a 3.91lsd an dogleg. i run around 55mph on the roads here(all back roads)

[F34R]

I get 32 mpg in my eta and it's got torque lots of it

Same here, I got an avg of 30-33mpg heading to NYC for a parts trade.

[Bimmerman325i]

Drive both, buy the better condition car or the one you like more.

I prefer the M20's sound to the M42, so I bought an m20 car.

[expressfish]

I havent driven my eta in a long long time so my hand goes to my 318. The engine is quite spunky and might surprise you for a four banger. If you take your shifts to 4grand you'll be at highway speeds in no time. Course my diff is a 4:27 (vert) Great on gas. On another note Id buy the one that was best taken care of so you dont have to dump so much money into it. Lord knows once you get started .....and I think all these guys will vouch for this.......it becomes an addiction. Everything you do on the net will be E30 related, lol. That or you'll be lurking here all day like me :)

[grippymonkey]

91 m42 318is

:D

this.