Ottawa's thoughts on E30 318is's

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 04:16 PM

Hey guys so I never thought I would be interested in a 318 but I have located two with very clean bodies (as far as eastern ON/PQ e30's go). Although I hate the thought of driving an m42 powered car I was kind of hoping some one on here would be able to lean me into wanting to buy one. So anybody got any positive experiences with there m42's they would like to share that might convince me to like a 4cyl e30? Thanks guys.

PS as I am almost 100% sure the subject will arise... Bear... so Ill state it now. Im NOT interested in boosting it just dailying it throught the winter and focusing on suspension next spring.

ecuconnection · 08-09-2009, 04:45 PM

POSTIVES
strong motors
parts are heap
easy to work on
good on fuel
12psi = 13sec car

NEGS

slow NA
stock tune is not very good
no lsd

Duct_Taper · 08-09-2009, 05:00 PM

IMO it depends on how you drive. If you want to accelerate super fast and run around at high speed everywhere, you're better off finding something with more power.

That said... my 318iC M42 moves itself around fine, handles great (esp. for a convertible) and actually feels pretty lively above 4000rpm.

Edit: Some E30 M42 cars do come with LSD as well. My vert has a 4.27 LSD from the factory.

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 05:45 PM

This is what I have heard from researching the forums so far. They are awesome little go-cart feeling cars in the upper rpm range but no so good down low. I have also heard that many of the is's didn't come with LSD's

I have been leaning towards them only because I found these 2 at a reasonable price in good shape while over my years of searching I have yet to find a 325i at a resonable price that isn't rusted to shit already. Thanks for the input guys!!

Duct_Taper · 08-09-2009, 05:48 PM

According to Rich (guy in Oshawa with an M42 car) the 4.27 LSD from the vert combined with the lighter weight of the coupe really wakes up the 318is.

That said, I dunno how easy the 4.27 LSDs are to find. I'll likely be selling mine eventually if/when I do a motor swap, but that's at least a year away, lol.

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 05:56 PM

haha i don't think I have ever come across a 4.27 LSD before so I doubt they are that easily obtainable. That being said if you wake up one morning and you no longer have a diff in your vert it definetly wasn't me....

So far I have heard the best thing for the e30 is a chip, opening up the exhaust and a lightened (m20) flywheel. Besides that nothing really gets any gains besides FI.

I was thinking that if I picked one up I would wait till the engine went and then do a swap, most likely an m30 if my money situation permited at the time. Anyways it is definetly given me something to think about. Thanks again

Duct_Taper · 08-09-2009, 05:59 PM

Yeah, that's my plan with the vert... I have a spare M30 5-spd trans in my garage so I'm just waiting for something to go wrong with the M42 so I can have an excuse to put an M30 in it.

I feel like it might take a while though... M42 has been dead reliable so far (knock on wood).

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duct_Taper

I feel like it might take a while though... M42 has been dead reliable so far (knock on wood).

haha you know you're an enthusiast when engine reliability is a bad thing

msinger · 08-09-2009, 07:35 PM

just buy it and throw the m30 in, you know you want to, sweet torque down low smooth power all the way through. you can take my m30 e30 for a spin again just as a reminder if you want.....

chromius · 08-09-2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearsBmw

POSTIVES
strong motors
parts are heap
easy to work on
good on fuel
12psi = 13sec car

All these apply to the 6cyl too though, except with the 6cyl there's a pretty good chance of getting an LSD, and you get more torque and more power.

I'm a big fan of flat torque curves, and just torque in general, especially for around town driving, so my vote would always be for the bigger displacement of the 6

Really comes down to personal choice though, and what you're looking to get out of it.

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 11:00 PM

^^^ This is exactly what I have read in other threads. That all the "positives" for the m42 are either the same as e30m20's or so similar it is a negligible difference.

I geuss what it really comes down to is the fact that I have been completely unable to find a nice e30 with an m20 in it so I have resorted to 318's which for some reason there seem to be a couple of clean examples FS. I would much rather a 6cyl but that is something I can deal with at a later date. My first priority is a clean body. As such, I wanted to get everyone's opinions on the m42 to see how bad/good one might be to daily with. But my allegiance will always lie with the m20.

chromius · 08-09-2009, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldskool3

I geuss what it really comes down to is the fact that I have been completely unable to find a nice e30 with an m20 in it so I have resorted to 318's which for some reason there seem to be a couple of clean examples FS. I would much rather a 6cyl but that is something I can deal with at a later date. My first priority is a clean body. As such, I wanted to get everyone's opinions on the m42 to see how bad/good one might be to daily with. But my allegiance will always lie with the m20.

What about an e34?

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 11:04 PM

I think the only other e I would consider would be an e28 and most are similar to e30`s = rusted out or pricey.

oldskool3 · 08-09-2009, 11:08 PM

Here is an example of one I have found for $500 more than I paid for my es with a blown to shit head gasket.

The other looks to be in similar condition and price range and apparently never winter driven

chromius · 08-09-2009, 11:12 PM

^^Looks damn nice, that's for sure.