Straight up-- choose between 325is and 318is

[Wes325]

your all haters!! 318is for life

Ive had both and I prefer my 318, you just need to drive one for yourself, but if power is a big issue for you then go with the m20. but power cant be THAT big of an issue when your staying with stock engined E30s, ha

[chuckybob]

FTW! Buy an M10 318i.

and then turbo it for 1500hp... and wear fire-retardant clothing

[James Crivellone]

Not necessarly. I much prefer working on M42's.

No timing belt to change = BORING
no valves to adjust = BORING
no cap/rotor = Nope, just 4 coil packs to fail ;)
The M20 is just a dinosaur = Dinosaurs can eat people, thats my kinda logic =)

[nando]

heheh, I'm with james, I actually kinda like adjusting my valves. wierd huh? I also do it every 10k instead of every 5 years like other people ;)

[James Crivellone]

heheh, I with james, I actually kinda like adjusting my valves. wierd huh? I also do it every 10k instead of every 5 years like other people ;)

Exactly, I like working on my motor.


I DO agree with m42/james partly though., as he is a bmw mechanic I bet it does get old, especially after ripping apart e39 m5 engines on a daily basis ;)

[Jarvis]

FWIW I'd rather change an M20 belt every 50K than an M42 chain ever.

Very very few E30 owners keep the same car with the same engine long enough to change the belt twice. Belt vs. chain is kind of irrelevant. Chains can still skip a tooth and fuck up your engine.

[golde30]

I own both, and I would take the 325is hands down. I just miss the power too much.

+1

[motorprestige]

Fifedog, Mileage is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to an e30, no matter what type, as long as it had been maintained. It sounds to me that your previous car was shit on, and therefore had lost a lot in its long years of misuse. My 87' 325is has 232,xxx on it, and with just a jim c chip, ireland engineering cat back, k&n drop in, and 205/60 14 azenis, My car ran a 14.848 Second quarter mile. Faster that day than an integra gsr with similar modifacations, 2 civic Si's (B16a2), a ford probe turbo boosting 8 lbs (FTW), And a celica gts. All These cars had less than half the mileage of my car, and i was still faster.

[nando]

yeah, that ix was more of a 17-18 second 1/4 mile. yeesh! :p

it's okay, the engine will be a little better when I'm done with it ;)

[m42technic]

as he is a bmw mechanic I bet it does get old, especially after ripping apart e39 m5 engines on a daily basis ;)

Thankfully this is not the case, doing so would break any man.

In all honesty though, wrenching for a living does make working on my own car not as fun as it used to be. I just like driving. :)

[motorprestige]

yeah, that ix was more of a 17-18 second 1/4 mile. yeesh! :p

it's okay, the engine will be a little better when I'm done with it ;)

Elaborate?

[nando]

Elaborate?

just your basic stroker formula.. although as is, a stock rebuild would be good for 10-15hp. :p

[DaveInLA]

and 205/60 14 azenis

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the Azenis only came in 195/60R14.

[///M42 sport]

well, I have both and just jumped into my 318is after a couple of months driving the 325i. I sure miss how tossable the 318 feels. I only have suspension upgrades otherwise its stock. The 318 has a go cart feel that the 325 just cant measure up to, and is just more fun as a daily.

Long distance drives, I would take the 325.

[e30sd]

having owned and modified both, i definitely would go for the m42. i beat the crap out of this motor, track events, autox, daily beating, cold starts. it still runs great, and the motor is very easy to work on. the torque isnt that big of a deal, its just forces you to carry more momentum through corners and make use of everything at hand (brakes, suspension, etc). plus getting 30+ mpg on roadtrips kicks ass.

ps m42 cars dont have trunk tar