What is the best way for me to get 180bhp out of the 318iS engine?

First thing I've ordered is a K&N Airfilter, original exhaust, but may change that.... and was thinking of gettin a superchip...

anything more that can be done?

Plan's are to create a "Baby - M3"..  180bhp out of a 1.8 normally aspirated engine,... just like its bigger brothers... 100bhp per 1000cc..

That would be possible wouldn't  it?

Really... damn...

so what do you think is the max i will get out of it?

my aim to get my 0 - 60 times to drop to early 7s than that would be ok aswell... i mean is that poss without any sort of turbo's.. nitrous..etc?

I have to disagree with this.

Ant (who runs the Tuning Zone on the http://www.e30zone.co.uk - http://www.e30zone.co.uk  ). Has some M42 chips in the pipeline which are looking very promising. Check out the site or mail him at mailto:chips@e30zone.co.uk - chips@e30zone.co.uk .

everyone here is giving some excellent advice... thanks guys...

so has anyone actually got a 318is with that much power?

Re-mapped ECU, induction system, cat back exhaust, big-bore throttle body, a power pulley, gas-flowed head, performance cams, lightened/ balanced engine parts? To fit a turbo will have to lower the compression i.e new pistons (shorter engine life!)

Or the (much) cheaper/better option, swap the engine!

swap the engine? for what ? more performance..

i think even with 136bhp the car is FAT... i believe BMW made this engine similar to the Mk2 Golf GTi 16v.. similar power... but gti's faster cause its lighter...  but they sound similar though...

Swapping engines is a difficult job. Trouble is to change for a 4 pot to 6 pot you need the engine loom also. Cheaper option again would be to buy a 325i.

Think your better off doing the usual mods and seeing what kind of improvements you can get. Plus know what your car was like in standard for. Then if it's not enough move on to a 6 pot or M3.

The loss of grip is more likely due to poor quality tyres as the 14" x-spokes are only 0.5 " narrower than the 15"/16". Also, bear in mind the E30 will naturally understeer on a light throttle but will oversteer with a good dose of the right boot!

Really the change in accelaration speeds will not be that noticeable, only said that coz i would like a set of 16" Alpinas but can't afford them.   So i was making myself feel better about the 14".

The iS came as standard with Steelies & trims, any kind of alloy wheel was an extra.

Best reason for going to a 15"/16" wheel is the better choice of decent tyres at afford able prices, in 14" you are limited to Pirelli, Michelin or the **** stuff like Kwik Fit Specials.

15" BBS rims are the best for a E30!!!!!!!  possibly lower it as well?

Tyres are one of the most inportant aspects of the handling of a car - get the best you can afford!

Remember when fitting an induction kit, unless its enclosed and/or a cold air feed your will actually lose power cause of heat of engine - colder the air the more dense it is, the most dense it is the more oxygen - better combustion.

'Chipping' the engine will increase petrol comsumption, also chips work better with cat back exhaust (back box won't do anything!) and a cone filter.

Skim the head too, will increase compression.

Job done. Good luck!

Sorry, was probably over estimating the money you had to spend, wid the engine swap business - but tis the only way your get that performance you wanted, was thinking a M20 2.3L, 0-60 is about 8sec.

Good luck finding a set of BBS split rims with a 4 stud pattern!! The odds are better for finding the Alpinas but even then your looking at the £500+ mark for a rough set that need a refurb.

Yeah, i've got the 14" x-spokes, i love the look on the E30 but when it takes as long to clean the wheels as the rest of the car i sometimes long for some lovely 3 spoke alloys.   

I have currently got the 15" BBS X-spoke on my e30 but was wondering if i can get a wider wheel on the back.  I currently find when i really push the car through 1 - 2 as 2nd ingages i loose an incredable amount of traction through the rear.  My tyres are new and dampers are good.

Maybee uprate the rear dampers for a stiffer pair?

On the note of tuning i am aiming to reach about 170 on my 1.8is without extensive work. I met i guy at santa pod who was running a E30 318is Turbo and was hitting 290 Bhp!! This thing was fast and the work done was not stupidly out of reach, just time consuming.

There are a few American companies that make tuning parts for this engine and boast the ability to get a road running 1.8 is hitting 200bhp.

beema318is wrote: you joker... BOB... making yourself feel better...haha.. so u also have the 14 i assume? ill be looking for for good qulity alpinas maybe... but now it may just be 15" bbs cross spokes.. they keep the car looking more original and they seem to fit the arches well aswell..

If you want to get a 5 stud conversion I have a set of good M3 E30 alloys going spare and may let them go for a reasonible figure

Chris

As for the car I was having a look in Practical Classics and there is a garage in there that specialises in 320is. If you dont know its the Italian version of the M3 sort of and they start at 4k but Id just go out and get an M3 rather than spending ,000 on modding your car.

It all makes sense in the end cos youll end up getting one some day honest

E30 320is ?? I didn't even know this car existed...

Damn.. im always travelling to europe, should have picked one up from there... Have you guys seen the specs for that motor... its 191bhp!!! 0-60 in 7.1s.... (quicker than a 325i??) .. check these specs... don't know how accurate.. but they seem from a german website...

http://www.bmw-power.de/Service/BMW_Datenblaetter/BMW_E30_320is_Datenblatt.htm - http://www.bmw-power.de/Service/BMW_Datenblaetter/BMW_E30_320is_Datenblatt.htm

DAmn...damn... That was the car i wanted...

Best bit with the 320iS is the fact you can get them in all the body styles from 4 door 316i Sleeper to the full on M-TechII kitted 325i Sport style.

Can beat the Q Car style.  

Q car style is when the car is really rather fast but looks very understated i.e 200bhp in what looks like a 316 body. Perfect example of this here ( http://www.bmwe21.net/320is/ - http://www.bmwe21.net/320is/ )

THe 320iS was only produced for the Italian and Portuguese markets because of their stringent tax laws on engines over 2000cc. I think it was produced between about 1988 & 1990. It's basically the S14 M3 engine of reduced capacity (~1990cc) coded S14 B20 but externally looks very similar to the S14 B23.

Quite a few have found their way to the UK and there is a company down south who specialise in importing them or you could go to Italy and do it yourself. Have seen a couple advertised in the backs of Total BMW & BMW Car magazines.

http://http://www.bmwe21.net/320is/ -  

I tried the test to see if i have an LSD and as far as i can tell i do.

When i spin the wheels in 1st there are two even in lengh lines of rubber laid on the road.

Is there a way of finding out for sure if i have an Lsd?

3201s. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Sounds nice.

How come it is only .2 of a litre bigger that the 318 is but gets over 40BHP more?

Cause the 320iS is a cut down version of the E30 2.4  M3 engine.  M3 engines always produce around 100 bhp per litre.. from the E30 to the latest range... so the original 2.4 was a around 240bhp... they just cut it down to 2 litre... not take a standard 1.8 and increase it capacity....

But it is a very nice car though... i must say...

 I have a 318is with low mileage and it would be stupid to mess about it.... Are there any reports of people dropping the 320is engine into a stock E30 successfully to make a track day car?

It's not worth the hassle of transplanting the S14 B20 into another regular E30 shell. This is what the 320iS is and for the price of them you may as well buy genuine.

The 318iS ran at 10.0:1 compression while the 320iS was running 10.8:1. The main reason for the 40bhp increase is the use of individual throttle bodies on the S14 compared to the single set up of the M42. Plus really the S14 whether in B20, B23 or B25 form were homologation specials and not designed for road use primarily.

As for the 100bhp/litre. None of the M3 models ever reached this in factory spec. The closest was the M3 EvoII (non-cat) with 220bhp from 2302cc.

When i said non of the M3s made 100bhp / litre i was only thinking in terms of E30.

Many of the UK spec E36 M3 Evos don't actually make the quoted 321bhp. Apparantly this is due to a revised manifold shape to accomodate the steering column on RHD cars, which isn't ideal for cylinders 4, 5 & 6.

Sohlman wrote: The engines are very different. The 320is engine is the same engine as an e30 M3 just with a smaller capacity. This engine was taken from the M1 engine and two cylinders were lopped off making a very high compression 4 rather than a high compression 6 so that weight savings could be made for racing. The 318is engine is a good 16 valve unit, but is basically a very different design and runs on a lower compression. Basically the 320is/M3  is a race engine and the 318is is a road car engine in a nutshell.

Wasn't the s14 engine developed from the M10?

Alright m8. 

'fraid not Paul. It was a modified M88 engine with 2 cylinders removed like Sohlman sez.

Guys.. universal E30 question... i hope..

Installed a cd player, everything working fine.. than yesterday the following stopped working:

Rev Counter

MPG gauge

Interior lights(by doors)

Analogue clock

Are all these 4 items linked by one fuse? or relay ? or something ?

I've checked all fuses, they seem ok.. does this look like something major is F****d???

Cheers

If i remember correctly, the mpg gauge and speedo are connected and not the rev counter therefore the fuse associated with these should be OK.

The haynes manual for the E30 has pretty good circuit board schematics so you could possibly trace all the electical faults back to a relay or the like. 

Have you updated your speakers as well as the stereo? if so did you have the square pioneers fitted on the parcel shelf and what did you replace them with?

Dave

yeah but my speedo is fine... but the mpg and rev is dead...

so is there a fuse that controls the rev counter?

i only replaced the stereo.. used my normal speakers which were in the car..

Caesar Bob wrote: Alright m8.  'fraid not Paul. It was a modified M88 engine with 2 cylinders removed like Sohlman sez.

Hey Bob,

The block was from the M10, and the head was from the M88/S38 engine designs.

beema318is wrote: Guys.. universal E30 question... i hope.. Installed a cd player, everything working fine.. than yesterday the following stopped working: Rev Counter MPG gauge Interior lights(by doors) Analogue clock Are all these 4 items linked by one fuse? or relay ? or something ? I've checked all fuses, they seem ok.. does this look like something major is F****d??? Cheers

Same happened to my car. Its something to do with the way you have wired your radio. What may have happened could be your switched live has tripped (hence fuse gone) but the permanent is still working.

Is is draining your battery aswell?

paul325i wrote: Sohlman wrote: This engine was taken from the M1 engine and two cylinders were lopped off making a very high compression 4 rather than a high compression 6 so that weight savings could be made for racing. Wasn't the s14 engine developed from the M10?

Both right. The S14 block was developed from the M10 (also used in the F1 turbo motor) & the head was developed from the M1/M635 head.

However, as the joke goes, if you want 180bhp+ I wouldn't start from there (a 318iS). A 325 engine is the cheapest & easiest route. Less stressed, more low-rev torque, cheaper parts & less shock for the insurance company.

I just finished fitting my new stereo / speakers.

The original speakers were the pioneer ones (13cm front / 16cm rear ).

I replaced them with 13cm Infinity Kappa Components in the front and 16cm Infinity Kappa 2way coaxial in the rear and it sounds great. Better than my las car with half the speakers (E30 has good acustic dynamics).

Just need to find a place to hide 2 x 1" thick power/earth cables through to the boot. Any sugestions please as i don't want a bulge under the carpet.

I ran my power cables under the centre console and under tha back seat in my old car (316) in the 2.5 battery in the boot has made it much easier.  You can run them down the side of the sills and up under the back seat also.

and what are you running an earth to the boot for?  take an earth from inside the boot, off the bodywork.

Hi all,

I am new today to the boards.  I have a 318iS L 1994.  I have 18" 's on the car ond the look the b***ox.

See ya around

By running the earth directly to the battery you get more power for the amp and also a cleaner signal. There is far less resistance running through OFC cable specially designed for it than the sprayed mild steel body work of the car.

Also it is due to the fact i am running a big power cap and it needs a good source to charge, on the digital display i gain 0.4 V when wired direct to battery.

Hi all,

I've had my E30 318is since April 1997, and I'm thinking it's time for a change - if only because I want an E30 in Lachs Silver as opposed to Diamond Black !

I've been thinking about either a mint, original and un molested 325i Sport, or a similarly mint 320is. (I favour the latter for rarity) It's a shame thought that the 320is doesn't have the distributorless ignition system of the 318is, as the latter gives a spark that (in theory) is 3 times stronger than a conventional system. 

I've been reading the pages in the forum, especially on the subject of chipping and wheels / tyres.

Firstly, I looked at the possibility of chipping my 318is. There are performance chips, available from people like Superchips, or Van Aaken Developments, but also "drivability" chips from Star Chips, available through Brodie Britain Racing, in Brackley, Northamptonshire (01280 702 389). Theses chips are designed to flatten the torque curve, making the engine more flexible. This means more torque in the lower part of the rev range, giving better more consistent acceleration throughout. Also they decrease fuel consumption, and also stop the 318is's annoying habit of holding the engine speed at or around 1000rpm while coasting, until the car comes to a halt, when the engine speed returns to normal idling.

Now you may not get a significant increase in power, but they do mean that you no longer have to push the engine speed as high to get maximum torque - and it's torque that makes a car accelerate as opposed to power.

Secondly, on the subject of wheels and tyres, my 318is has the 14" BBS Cross-Spoke alloy wheels, and over the years I've run a number of makes, including Yokohama, Continental, and currently Fulda. My point is that 195-65 / 14 is an unusual size, but I havent found that I'm limited only to budget tyres.

Finally, has anyone here imported an E30 320is ?

I did think about getting someone to find and import one for me, but it seems that the cost of that is more than the cost of the car itself !

Does anyone have any ideas about where to start looking for one ?

Hello E30only,

I have seen them advertised in the back of a classic car magazine before now. Can't remember which one but it was a place that had a few of them for sale so I guess they imported them. Next time you are in smiths have a flick through the classified sections of a few of the mags. It was something like classic and sports car I saw the add in. You could also try searching on the net.

Edited

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