E30 318iS vs E36 318iS - BMW Forum

LondonE30-318iS · 03-20-2004, 02:00 AM

Hello Guys.. just logged on first time... just got myself a 1990 E30 318iS.. have to say, one of the best cars I've ever driven... not as fast as the 325's but better balanced..etc...
ANyway what do you guys think of the later 318is?? Was to work today.. came up on the light with a 94 318iS.. i thought he would beat me, so put the foot down anyway... i could see he was trying but he got left behind...
Was there anything wrong with the E36(i could see he was giving it all

...or is that normal?
And what top speeds have fellow 318iS drivers reached(in a safe environment of course!!)? The top i have reached is 130mph... i could have gone more though... well it was revvin at 6000 so dont know when it would have cut out..

So guys.. any feedback??

Cheers

M

e36_m3_Turbo · 03-20-2004, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LondonE30-318iS@Mar 20 2004, 01:40 AM
Hello Guys.. just logged on first time... just got myself a 1990 E30 318iS.. have to say, one of the best cars I've ever driven... not as fast as the 325's but better balanced..etc...
ANyway what do you guys think of the later 318is?? Was to work today.. came up on the light with a 94 318iS.. i thought he would beat me, so put the foot down anyway... i could see he was trying but he got left behind...
Was there anything wrong with the E36(i could see he was giving it all ...or is that normal?
And what top speeds have fellow 318iS drivers reached(in a safe environment of course!!)? The top i have reached is 130mph... i could have gone more though... well it was revvin at 6000 so dont know when it would have cut out..

So guys.. any feedback??

Cheers

M

your top speed is around 130(limited) i know the 325 is 136-138mph unless the exact on the 318

LondonE30-318iS · 03-20-2004, 02:36 AM

I see... well i reached 130 so must have been on the limit... im gettin a chip done soon... and changing the AFM .. that should be good for 170bhp... o yeah and that takes the rev limit to 6700 aswell....
BTW..what car is the 325iS? Is that the same as a UK spec 325i (174bhp i think).. or the 325i Sport (192bhp...?)
Aint seen any of these around here in the UK... or Germany (lived both places)... seen the 320iS(2 litre M3 engine) though, now that is another mad car, just a tad bit behind the M3 in speed and handling..

bigred318 · 03-20-2004, 02:39 AM

yeah well heres the anwer to your question i drive a 94 318is and my buddy drives a 91 318is, and his car woops mine! Way lighter, and just faster cars! However when i sell my car and buy my new one i will have the last laugh haha

WElcome to the boards!
David

LondonE30-318iS · 03-20-2004, 02:47 AM

Hello David.,,

So it is true... here in the uk forums we got enough guys(withE30) who have tried to race their (E36) mates and got whooped... so i just assumed that was the case,.,.,

so is this forum more US based... just realised not many UK posts here...

Fox · 03-20-2004, 12:36 PM

I think a little misconception is being thrown around here guys.

The 318 isnt more balanced than the 325, its practically the same car. The suspension is not as stiff however.

The top speed is not 130 because the car doesnt have enough power to get up there. The 325 can barley get up to 130. And thats with a torque curve extremely flat. And your car isnt electronically limited.

There is no way you can be making 170 bhp with a chip and an AFM. Theres no way an m20 could make 170 with a chip and AFM.

MrM3 · 03-20-2004, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LondonE30-318iS@Mar 20 2004, 03:16 AM
I see... well i reached 130 so must have been on the limit... im gettin a chip done soon... and changing the AFM .. that should be good for 170bhp... o yeah and that takes the rev limit to 6700 aswell....
BTW..what car is the 325iS? Is that the same as a UK spec 325i (174bhp i think).. or the 325i Sport (192bhp...?)
Aint seen any of these around here in the UK... or Germany (lived both places)... seen the 320iS(2 litre M3 engine) though, now that is another mad car, just a tad bit behind the M3 in speed and handling..

fox is right, there's no way you'll even get close to 170hp. a chip may put you in the low 140's, up from 138. the E30 325i's (M20B25) made 168hp and i guess they couldve been around 174 in europe, the M50 found in the e36 325's made around 189-192hp

bigred318 · 03-20-2004, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fox@Mar 20 2004, 01:16 PM
I think a little misconception is being thrown around here guys.

The 318 isnt more balanced than the 325, its practically the same car. The suspension is not as stiff however.

The top speed is not 130 because the car doesnt have enough power to get up there. The 325 can barley get up to 130. And thats with a torque curve extremely flat. And your car isnt electronically limited.

There is no way you can be making 170 bhp with a chip and an AFM. Theres no way an m20 could make 170 with a chip and AFM.

wait so how are the 318, and the 325 practically the same car? are utalking about the e30's or the e36's or both? Cuz i know that the power of the 325 is way more noticable than the 318, i dont know if you were talking about suspension or what... but yeah haha

David

spiff325is · 03-20-2004, 02:12 PM

I have an 89 325iS and its got 168 bhp, and is at 130 at about 6100, so it cant go much faster, maybe 132, but thats about it. yeah, again with that chip, no way you could get an extra 30hp from a chip, unless...well it just wouldnt happen. your engine just couldnt GET more power software-wise. your 318iS, its an E30 right? well the E36 318i's are quick, but I am sure that the E36's are a bit slower then the E30, I can feel it and watch it. My E30 has a lot more power then my moms 325i conv. 5spd. thats all I think I can add to this convo..

'85 318i · 03-20-2004, 05:45 PM

i dont have an iS but i do have a 318i, it does 125 EASY no chip. havent dynoed it so im not sure of my hp. its even an older 318i '85. I am limited to 125 it could go further if it wasn't limited... i don't know maybe my car is different but, I definatly have the power to get there, and reasonably quick too.

LondonE30-318iS · 03-21-2004, 02:25 AM

Hi Guys,

I'm very sure i didn't make the mistake when mentioning the top speed, maybe the european cars are a different spec... but I've confirmed the top speed again, actually it was around 135 this time(around 6100-6200)... and my mate in his 1996 Audi A6 2.6 was following, that car is good for 145-150... so if my tacho is off, well the Audi was doing the same speed as me, but a few yards behind(I don;t condone unsafe high speed driving, but as i work shifts, and have to get onto this great British motorway knows as the M1, usually at 2AM all lanes are clear, so you get to push the car quiet nicely....) Also the engine is supposed to gain a few bhp as it gets to 100000miles or above... mine has 122000... so in theory the car must have around 140bhp by now.. also i think i made a mistake when talking about the mods to get the power to 170bhp... you still use the same upgraded chip, but you also require a modified throttle body(which the chip guy also does).. combined costs are around £75.. I;m gettin this done in the next few weeks... will update once done...

"The 318 isnt more balanced than the 325, its practically the same car. The suspension is not as stiff however.

The top speed is not 130 because the car doesnt have enough power to get up there. The 325 can barley get up to 130. And thats with a torque curve extremely flat. And your car isnt electronically limited."

Fox: The 318i isn't more balaced than the 325 maybe.. but the 318is is... there is a slight diff... car is less top heavy... engine is lighter than the 325 in line 6... actually the 318is is more closer in weight distribution to an M3 than a 325... also it shares a few front suspension parts with the M3... I'm not saying the 325 is slower, but around twists and turns a 318is would have the edge... Also.. UK spec 325i are rated at 174 bhp... most can do over 135 easily... i think the US spec are down graded a little for some reason... ive never heard of a E30 325 with less than 170bhp(here in Uk anyway)... and we dont have any 325e's or 325is's available to us either..

O yeah there is a interesting pdf article on the E30 318iS that people may(or may not find interesting) that I have atached at the bottom... please check it out..

I'm gettin more details on this....

LondonE30-318iS · 03-21-2004, 02:27 AM

The PDF article again... been tryin to attach it sucesfully...

LondonE30-318iS · 03-21-2004, 02:36 AM

Guys,

This is a german website, http://home.t-online.de/home/Pro-Auto/tuning-chips.htm offering all sorts if chip upgrades, it's one of the better chip suppliers in Europe... This guy is actually a mechanic who races one of his E30's( 320is and 325i) on w-ends, and also tests the chips, and gives a guarantee on performance... the prices seem reasonable... he's got chips for cirtually all E30... but for the 318is for example there are 3 chips... each rangin in spec and top rev cut of point..... from 7000 - 7800!!! im looking to get the 7000 rev cut off chip with the throttle body... the chip should be good for 15-18 bhp maybe...

Cheers

M

MrM3 · 03-21-2004, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LondonE30-318iS@Mar 21 2004, 03:16 AM
Guys,

This is a german website, http://home.t-online.de/home/Pro-Auto/tuning-chips.htm offering all sorts if chip upgrades, it's one of the better chip suppliers in Europe... This guy is actually a mechanic who races one of his E30's( 320is and 325i) on w-ends, and also tests the chips, and gives a guarantee on performance... the prices seem reasonable... he's got chips for cirtually all E30... but for the 318is for example there are 3 chips... each rangin in spec and top rev cut of point..... from 7000 - 7800!!! im looking to get the 7000 rev cut off chip with the throttle body... the chip should be good for 15-18 bhp maybe...

Cheers

M

there's no way you will add 15-18hp with a simple chip, even with a bigger throttle body. an optimistic number would be around a 10hp gain, and even that doesnt mean you add 10hp to the factory 138 and get 148, you will most likely be around 140-142 peak hp after a chip. ive never heard of cars gaining hp above 100k miles, if anything it loses hp due to carbon deposits and crud in the intake manifold.

also, saying that the 318is handles better than a 325is is pretty subjective, as it could all come down to tire or shock choice. it is lighter, but doesnt share any M3 components that the 325i doesnt.

Fox · 03-21-2004, 09:00 PM

There is no way possible that a car can gain power as its mileage increases. As engines go through more cycles more and more engine surface is worn down creating more blowby and whatnot.

I see no possible way the 318 can achieve 135 mph top speed when its torque is so much more peaky and ... just plain less powerful. Honestly I am vexed. Im not saying your lying but when Ive gotten my car to 138 and thats with a few upgrades. I have never heard of a 318 being faster, if not anywhere close to being as fast as a 325.

As for the 318 being faster in the corners... I dunno, Ive driven many and compared to my 325 I like that extra power through the turn. I think that if the extra weight is properly handled the power makes up very nicely for it.