Quickest E30 318is.. how to do it?

Why not just get and E30 M3. There are still loads of people out there that dont know what they are. Even a 325 driver didnt seem to know what it was when I was behind him and hinted that he should pull over. Took a sneaky look at his face as I roared by him and his face was a picture. "WTF"

You should be able to get good money for your 318is and you can get a good 325i sport for around £3-£3500. Ive had two and they are ace.

Got to agree about 1st gear both mine were like that, I usually set off in second.

In terms of the top speed my clock said I was doing 152 MPH. Obviousley clocks arent 100% correct but I think 140 is a bit on the low side.

Chris 

Here is Brian Purcells Article :

The Greatest E30 ever? by Brendan Purcell

Okay, okay, I won’t try to make

out that anything other than the

M3 was the pinnacle of all the

many E30 models. So maybe I

should start by coming clean

and calling the article ‘the

Second Greatest E30 ever!’

Although the M3 was the icon in most people’s eye, it had a couple of drawbacks which made it impractical for many, not least of which were the increased maintenance, insurance, security and purchase costs. Then add in the left-hand drive stipulation. So the runner up was the 325i Sport then. Well, not so fast. BMW, in 1989, had another 4 cylinder 16 valve car with characteristics similar to the M3’s S14. The engine used technology derived from Formula 1 and touring car successes, with cylinder head and inlet manifold design akin to previous M cars. This engine had a forged crankshaft,

pent roofed chilled cast aluminium alloy cylinder head, Motronic controlled coil-percylinder ignition with semi-sequential fuel injection, specially designed 3-electrode spark plugs, finite-element lightened pistons and con-rods, hollow camshafts, hydraulic lash adjusters, a duplex timing chain, twopiece inlet manifold and 10:1 compression ratio.

The engine was of 1796cc, designated M42, and generated 136bhp minimum, therefore yielding 75.5 bhp/litre. Many run-in engines produced around 140bhp yet could return 47.9 mpg @ 56mpg, 37.2 mpg @ 70mph and 26.9 mpg Urban. It weighed 13kg more than the existing M40 engine while being just 30mm taller. BMW briefly introduced this engine in the

E30, although it was much more extensively used in the follow-up E36 model. It was their first non Motorsport production 16 valve engine. Solid rear and ventilated front discs from the 325i were fitted. BMW adapted the Mtech suspension for the lighter engine, giving, in Europe, a 20mm front anti-roll bar, 14.5mm rear anti-roll bar, uprated gas dampers (in 51mm struts up front), -15mm front and –17mm rear uprated springs. A 4.10 differential was fitted with a limited-slip version being optional. The result was a reasonably quick car which was broadly comparable to the Gti brigade at the time.

However only now, when comparative focus is turned inside the BMW range, is it clear how its character was very much akin to the M3. The engine had a pronounced power jump at about 3750rpm. Although lacking low down oomph, it really flew above 4000rpm. In many ways the M3 also had a similar high end biased delivery. But if the revs were kept up, its power disadvantage on the road to the 325i was not so great (other than in top speed). 325i’s usually had greater specification, were higher geared and, given the M20 engine, ended up being sometimes over 100kg heavier!

Anyway, E30’s were not so much about drag racing... Its weight distribution was very close to the M3 too, with comparable spring/damper settings, although not quite as stiff (especially in roll). Cornering balance was almost identical though, even though the M3 had the greater outright grip. The car was shadowlined (dechromed) as standard, sat lower due to the M-Tech springs, had an extended front spoiler and generally sat on 205/55/15 or 195/65/14 basketweaves.

So, here was an E30 which handled and delivered power in a manner similar to the M3, yet cost less than £15,000 new. Its maintenance and running costs were low; fuel efficiency and emissions excellent. It used state-of-the-art technology in its engine while taking the best of established engineering in terms of braking and suspension.

It easily outperformed the 316i, 318i and 320i while out-handling the 325i. Although being down on power against the 2.5 litre engine, it could still give a decent turn of speed when kept on the boil, yet could return an overall fuel efficiency in the thirties. It was relatively rare car, with just 41,234 being made in less than three years. You can get a clean example nowadays for as little as £3000 - less if your standards drop.

Oh yes, the second greatest E30 was called the 318is. Written by Brendan Purcell, BMWCCGB Ireland Region, see his web site for more details of the E30 318is at:

www.esatclear.ie/~bpurcell/index.html.

38 BMW Car Club Magazine

Madrab wrote: falkster I'm just running a 325i mate not an IS. Does your IS get over the 150 mph mark...ooer!!

As far as I am aware there is no difference between the 325i and the sport both have 172bhp (If i remember correctly). The 152mph  that I got was out of my old 325ise.

beema318is wrote: O yeah... B Purcell's car does 0-60 in the low 8s... which is very reasonable... this could give a 325 something to remember... I  also found some info on the E30Zone site about a new chip being checked out, costs around £175 and supposed to push 170bhp out of the engine... Im checkin that option out aswell...

Thats got to be total nonsense. No way can you get 35bhp from a chip unless its a turbo'd car.

You would usually expect about 10% from a new chip unless you get your ecu remapped and they will sort you a chip out that is specifically for your car but you still wont see that improvement.

If it works (which is highly unlikely) give me the number and I will get one for my M3. All those guys on trackdays that have spent £,000s on their engines and are pushing little more than 260bhp would be spitting blood.

Sarcasm over

Sorry

Chips are good! They do increase power (slightly).. but driveability is vastly improved. I had a Alfa 155 16v which i chiped. reved to 7500rpm.

Salted

Sorry.

dbanbery wrote: jonp my jokes are far worse, far far worse.. i prefer spicy flavour.... my 318 i crap in 1st too... chris, doesnt setting off in second screw your clutch faster?

Dave

Sounds stupid but 325s second was/are more like a first. If I set off in second in my M3 it would shaft the clutch.

35+bhp CHIPS??

Can I have a bag full please?? oops sorry... 

falkster wrote: As far as I am aware there is no difference between the 325i and the sport both have 172bhp (If i remember correctly). The 152mph  that I got was out of my old 325ise.

Yep for sure, totally agree, same engine + same BHP but did some of the IS's not have revised gearing and a different LSD final ratio as well?

The chip available from E30 Zone which has been proven to increase power from 139bhp on a standard 318iS to 170bhp was in conjunction with an enlarged throttle body. The rev limit is also raised by the chip to 7,000rpm.

There are rolling road graphs to confirm the results of the test car.

I have to say that I am extremely sceptical that a chip ,even in conjuction with an enlarged throttle body will produce that kind of power increase. In order to do this the standard throttle body would have to be hugely restrictive. I would have thought that you would at least need a change the cams as well to ge thtat kind of power. I could be wrong however!

Also speedos are inacurate and normally always tell you  that you are going faster than you actually are. The inaccuracy gets greater as your speed increases. I once new a guy who said his 1.8Mk2 cavalier SRI would do 138mph, another bloke who said his 1.3 astra would do 122mph. I was also in a 1.3 maestro that was apparently doing 118 mph according to the speedo. If you look at most road tests run by magazines like Topgear and EVO  cars tend to be slightly slower than the manufactures quoted top speed, not faster. 

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/

Keep an eye on the Tuning Zone section on the above link. It should be up and running soon.