What makes the E30 318is a fun driving car?

[Bimmerguy91]

Followed by being rear ended cause its so damn slow haha.

I refreshed an M10 for a guy with an 84 318i with an automatic. It was literally the slowest most mind numbingly terrible experience of my life. I thought I was going to get killed on the interstate because it would barely go the speed limit lol.

[Hooffenstein HD]

An engine swap.

[roguetoaster]

Damn...you guys must be way too young. Back in the '90s, Ford V8 in the Thunderbird made only 150 hp and it was a fun car to drive.

Sadly, both of those are debatable. The smart cookies took the 2.3 Lima turbo instead, which was probably the right choice.

[ahrensNW]

Maybe I'm just bitter about only having 145hp, but it seems like the 4AGE in particular has more potential than the M42.

This guy for example: http://www.billzilla.org/4agmods.htm

...seems to think a 200hp 4AG is relatively easy to build.

A 200hp m42 is literally the same to build as a 200hp 4AG.

And they come in much better looking cars.

[dnguyen1963]

Damn...you guys must be way too young. Back in the '90s, Ford V8 in the Thunderbird made only 150 hp and it was a fun car to drive.

[c0rbin9]

Maybe I'm just bitter about only having 145hp, but it seems like the 4AGE in particular has more potential than the M42.

This guy for example: http://www.billzilla.org/4agmods.htm

...seems to think a 200hp 4AG is relatively easy to build.

[roguetoaster]

It's kind of ridiculous how little power the M42 makes IMO. Look at Toyota's 4AGE or B-series Hondas. Way more power - same displacement. I don't get it.

Where are you pulling those thoughts from? 4AGEs make the same or less power per liter, while B series made plenty more HP, but less torque per liter. It's also worth considering that the B series was way more like the S14 in the Honda lineup.

I think the reality is that pretty much everyone had a 1600-2000cc 16v engine making 120-150 HP in the late 80s to early 90s, and it was really only a matter of which brand/drivetrain/tuning preferences/reliability history you wanted or could afford as a buyer at that time. So, at the stop light drags it was really all about gearing.

These days most of those engines are outclassed by your run of the mill base model power plant, but it's also over a quarter of a century later. So it can fairly be said that everyone was about on par in the 4 cylinder twin-cam game back then.

[Schnitzer318is]

sorry but 130whp is like an M20B25 running on 5 cylinders with 140psi compression. If you put that same turbo effort into one, you'd be at 300+whp easily. There are plenty of N/A M20s these days making over 200whp (it got a lot better when RHD started making M20 intakes).

Glad you enjoy it for sure though. The things I liked best about the 318is I drove for a while was the fuel economy and balanced handling. It was beat to crap and no matter what, i always averaged over 30mpg.

I hear you on the turbo potential of the m20b25, but stock it only put down ~135ish at the wheels. There were (this happened years ago so forgive my memory) I think 3 325i/is models at the dyno day I took mine to and the m20's were putting down similar numbers. Some less than the 136 the m42 put down.

I enjoy both engines, I just don't get the "under powered" argument from some unless they are comparing it to m5x/s5x swapped e30's. I felt the m42 was easy to mod and super reliable. But again, mine was a fresh reman engine purchased from the dealer and I drove it til just under 80,000 miles. 40,000ish were turbo charged I think?

[c0rbin9]

It's kind of ridiculous how little power the M42 makes IMO. Look at Toyota's 4AGE or B-series Hondas. Way more power - same displacement. I don't get it.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

You press the gas peddle, then all you can feel is crushing disappointment. THEN, that crushing disappointment goes into an automagic box of sadness and magnifies that crushing disappointment into debilitating depression.

Followed by being rear ended cause its so damn slow haha.

[Wolfman]

You press the gas peddle, then all you can feel is crushing disappointment. THEN, that crushing disappointment goes into an automagic box of sadness and magnifies that crushing disappointment into debilitating depression.

[stonea]

And at this moment in time not a single one is worth even glancing at. Really unimpressed with what BMW has been doing the last few years.

I used to really like the 2 series, so much so that I even did the math and budgeted out for a M235i. That is until I saw them in person and saw how big they were.

[nando]

That engine was fun as all get out. Dyno'd with m20 numbers (130+) after efan and chip. Got ridiculous mileage >32mpg highway. And then came the turbo... then things got really fun. 190+rwhp and 220ft/lbs were awesome. .

sorry but 130whp is like an M20B25 running on 5 cylinders with 140psi compression. If you put that same turbo effort into one, you'd be at 300+whp easily. There are plenty of N/A M20s these days making over 200whp (it got a lot better when RHD started making M20 intakes).

Glad you enjoy it for sure though. The things I liked best about the 318is I drove for a while was the fuel economy and balanced handling. It was beat to crap and no matter what, i always averaged over 30mpg.

[MrBurgundy]

I freshened up an m10 on an e21. Such a solid engine, all jokes aside.

[IceWhite]

But, now that I think about it, it is special. Firstly it teaches you patience and secondly, it teaches engine and gearbox swaps.