I could be wrong, but i think the 's' comes with wider and/or larger rims and tires, and painted side skirts and front bumber. Thats about the only difference i'm aware of.
It is hard to expect us to answer a question correctly when we do not have all the information. US and Canada models never used the m40 engine on the E36, so I assume you are outside of that region.
The m40 engine was used on 318i sedans through 1993. The 318is (again, "is" simply denotes coupe) was built with the 1.8 m42 engine through 1996, and with a 1.9 m44 engine afterwards.
i have heard of a 4 door e36 318is... i didnt believe the girl but she had her father check the vin. and it checked out. i want to get pictures and such soon hopefully. anybody else hear of this?
i have heard of a 4 door e36 318is... i didnt believe the girl but she had her father check the vin. and it checked out. i want to get pictures and such soon hopefully. anybody else hear of this?
There were sport model 2 and 4 doors, but in the USA e36 range 'is' denotes 2door. In all other model ranges (e30, etc) the 'is' means sport.
In europe is means sport, as there were both 318/325/328i coupes and sedans with sports models being denoted with 's'.
Obviously bmw further mixed things up with using different engines under the same name, and using faux naming conventions (like 323i which actually uses a 2.5L engine but was named differently for political reasons to further the 2.5l single vanos engine from the 2.8l dual vanos 196hp 328i vehicle..also bmw historically always makes models with at least a '5' between each model... 318/325 were produced concurrently.. 323/328 were produced concurrently... 330/325 were produced concurrently.. 325i/330i / 328ci/335ci (more then 5)... etc etc. i guess 5 is a satisfying number)
this was all off the top of my head at 2:30 in the morning, but im pretty sure its mostly accurate
The main differences in Europe and probably in US and Canada are the following:
318i M40:
- 115HP
- 8 valves
- 1 camshaft
318iS M42/44
- 140HP
- 16 valves
- 2 camshafts
That is why You see different engine in Your car. The cylinder head and cylinder head cover is bigger than 318i. There must be place for all those things.
You have different petrol so all engines produce for US have lower compression.
The main differences in Europe and probably in US and Canada are the following:
318i M40:
- 115HP
- 8 valves
- 1 camshaft
318iS M42/44
- 140HP
- 16 valves
- 2 camshafts
That is why You see different engine in Your car. The cylinder head and cylinder head cover is bigger than 318i. There must be place for all those things.
This explains the differences between my car and my brother's. I've heared that 318is is 16 valves with double camshafts. But in all the forums, the guys just say that 318i means 4 doors and 318is means 2 doors which didn't really convince me.
When I used to have E30 before, I saw some cars with "is" exetension and I was told they're with "sports" package. This means that BMW should follow the same convention for E36.
well i have the e36 318is (1999 model) and they seem to only have been custom from the factory as all the ones i have seen have been quite different.
Commonly: they all have sports springs and 2 doors aswell as the m tech skirt kit (as far as i know).
Personally i havent seen a 4 door "IS" which i thought made sense as the body has a different door build to the I model; it is lower and longer since the seats are also lower to the floor.
Also an IS with 4 doors in my opinion is a bit strange like putting 4 doors on a lotus or something just seems weird but maybe thats just me.
The main differences in Europe and probably in US and Canada are the following:
318i M40:
- 115HP
- 8 valves
- 1 camshaft
318iS M42/44
- 140HP
- 16 valves
- 2 camshafts
That is why You see different engine in Your car. The cylinder head and cylinder head cover is bigger than 318i. There must be place for all those things.
You have different petrol so all engines produce for US have lower compression.
Yup. The main confusion comes from BMW not using the same nomenclature around the globe. Our first few replies were mostly based on the BMWs that came to the US market.
When i first bought the car, I didn't even know it would be two door.. i picked it up online.. i had the the picture of a plain 318I in my head.. when i saw the two door thing.. i almost cried foul.. lol..
Look at me resurrecting an old thread...
In regards to the 4 door 318iS yeah u can get them I bought one yesterday there limited as they were only built for one year with the "M" kit I.E suspention etc.. they kick out 140 bhp and i think they only came in the Avus Blue colour (i think) I shall take some pics of mine and load them up on here. Oh yeah they year they were made was 1998 (R reg in england)
The amount of wrong information in this thread is staggering and it's really simple.
In the USA, all cars had the m42b18 (later m44b19, starting in '96) regardless of whether or not they were an 'is or i. All that the 'is meant here is 2 doors.
In the rest of the world, the 'is meant the car had the more powerful engine compared to the m40 or m43 found in the sedan.
As far as I know, the m42b18 was identical for all markets. There should be no difference (aside from maybe emissions ... I think there were some cars with no catalytic converter, but that's a minute difference that really wont do anything for performance or the lack thereof).
As for the differences: the only thing that comes to mind is glass lights, nicer steering wheels and steering wheel tilt on euro-spec cars. Everything else is exactly the same.
Well, i have a 318is and my auntie had a 318i. Maybe it's because in my country the trims are selected by the dealer as a package, we do not get to choose. My 318is is slightly older than my auntie's 318i but her car has more luxurious items in the interior, all exterior parts have matching colours, classier rims, and no sporty exterior package.
Meanwhile, my 318is had cloth interior, sportier exterior package, more powerful engine, but black plastic trims for the exterior.
Hope that helped.
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