Longevity? - BMW Forum

MrScary · 03-26-2005, 01:24 PM

I'm going to look at a '84 318i. It has 250k miles on it. Do you guys think its worth buying?

guywithblack88e30 · 03-26-2005, 02:49 PM

how much thou?

e30bmwes · 03-26-2005, 04:51 PM

if the body is in good shape and still runs good for a cheap price then i would say go for it if not check to see what the problems are and how much too fix

e30fanm3 · 03-28-2005, 05:57 PM

no dont buy! look for a 325

gbm2.7 · 03-28-2005, 06:38 PM

im with e30fan look for a 325

e30fanm3 · 03-28-2005, 08:09 PM

ae.cowboy · 03-28-2005, 10:16 PM

yeah, def go for the 325, either i or e, I personally have the eta motor, and wouldnt trade it for anything short of a e30 m3! You will never get tired of all that torque from the 2.7L, but yeah, I would not go for the 4cyl, there are e30's that offer sooo much more for the $$$$

nukeduster · 03-29-2005, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ae.cowboy@Mar 28 2005, 08:16 PM
yeah, def go for the 325, either i or e, I personally have the eta motor, and wouldnt trade it for anything short of a e30 m3! You will never get tired of all that torque from the 2.7L, but yeah, I would not go for the 4cyl, there are e30's that offer sooo much more for the $$$$*

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325/325e is good if you do alot of in-town 45mph driving as it has lots of torque
which is what my 325 is for, just day to day errand running, but my daily hog to and from work is my 89 325i. Work is 33 miles away and high speed highway cruising in the 325i kicks butt. With a free flow filter and light mods my 89 325i has hit 140mph on the freeway issue-free, with someone sitting in the passenger seat and about 200lbs of tools in the trunk.

After I finish my turbo (about 2 weeks out, god this custom stuff nickle and dimes you to death) I expect to be able to hit 160+ after I switch to a slightly lower differential with no issues at all. God I love BMW's.

jze325i · 03-29-2005, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nukeduster+Mar 29 2005, 01:47 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nukeduster @ Mar 29 2005, 01:47 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-ae.cowboy@Mar 28 2005, 08:16 PM
yeah, def go for the 325, either i or e, I personally have the eta motor, and wouldnt trade it for anything short of a e30 m3! You will never get tired of all that torque from the 2.7L, but yeah, I would not go for the 4cyl, there are e30's that offer sooo much more for the $$$$

[snapback]320500[/snapback]

325/325e is good if you do alot of in-town 45mph driving as it has lots of torque
which is what my 325 is for, just day to day errand running, but my daily hog to and from work is my 89 325i. Work is 33 miles away and high speed highway cruising in the 325i kicks butt. With a free flow filter and light mods my 89 325i has hit 140mph on the freeway issue-free, with someone sitting in the passenger seat and about 200lbs of tools in the trunk.

After I finish my turbo (about 2 weeks out, god this custom stuff nickle and dimes you to death) I expect to be able to hit 160+ after I switch to a slightly lower differential with no issues at all. God I love BMW's.

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[/b][/quote]

140 with a stock E30???? Not unless you have got a chip to eliminate the rev limiter (and are on a BIG downhill slope) I have had 4 325i's now (87-91) NONE have hit 140, and I have tried!!!!!

jze325i · 03-29-2005, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ae.cowboy@Mar 29 2005, 12:16 AM
yeah, def go for the 325, either i or e, I personally have the eta motor, and wouldnt trade it for anything short of a e30 m3! You will never get tired of all that torque from the 2.7L, but yeah, I would not go for the 4cyl, there are e30's that offer sooo much more for the $$$$

[snapback]320500[/snapback]

Did getting rid of those cats do alot for you or what??

Gomerino · 03-29-2005, 07:40 PM

Seven dollars.... offer no more than that

nukeduster · 03-30-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

140 with a stock E30???? Not unless you have got a chip to eliminate the rev limiter (and are on a BIG downhill slope) I have had 4 325i's now (87-91) NONE have hit 140, and I have tried!!!!!

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-shrug- I have 215/40/17" tires, which are just *slightly* undersized from the factory 195/65/14"'s (23.77" vs 23.98") so the MPH on the gauge could have been 5mph or so off, but we were doing 140 very briefly on level pavement on the 101 freeway in tempe, arizona. At the time it had a K&N cold air intake, I removed the mechanical fan(BIG boost in seat-of-the-pants HP), platinum +4 spark plugs, msd ignition coil, stock wires. I was just under 6k rpm. Sorry if your e30's couldn't hit that speed, mine did.

e30fanm3 · 03-30-2005, 04:47 PM

how did you get those figures for the tires bein undersized? the 14s are 126mm tall and the 17s are 86mm tall

MrScary · 03-30-2005, 05:17 PM

Well thanks for all your input. I was thinkin about it and knew I didn't really want a 318 but I really wanted a e30 and it was the cheapest around

nukeduster · 03-30-2005, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by e30fanm3@Mar 30 2005, 02:47 PM
how did you get those figures for the tires bein undersized? the 14s are 126mm tall and the 17s are 86mm tall

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((215*.4)*2)/25.4 + 17 = 23.7716 rolling diameter
((195*.65)*2)/25.4 + 14 = 23.9803 rolling diameter
other things to take into account which are hard to calculate without simply doing it are width of rims used and tire pressure and load, but in an elastic enviroment it holds true where we are keeping it semi-simple.