E30 318is best tuning route to take.......

[Andy_roo]

What have you done with your 318is that worked (proof may be requested)

Got wheels and sus kit and havent actually bought the car yet typical !

[Alex]

a few good cost effective easy mods for the IS:

BBTB

CHIP

Heater plate removal

possible a freeflow panel filter

[leeparkes]

m20/b25
only joking boys!

[GrindCulture]

Before anyone else gets there, the best way to get more power for less ££ is to drop a 6 pot in there. 24v conversions are very popular, but the best iS I've seen in Karans old M5 powered car.

Other than that, check out Appletree's supercharger build or tim_s's 2.1 build. Both excellent projects. Big power from an iS is expensive.

[GrindCulture]

m20/b25
only joking boys!

Damn I was beaten to it! Wish my PC would work properly. Anyway dopping an M20 in is pointless when M50 conversions are sooo much better

[magpie]

heater plate???where is it and what does it do,,,
what is gained by taking it off??

[capri_rob]

must be some sort of record - it made it to the 3rd post before someone suggested adding a couple of cylinders

[Alex]

heater plate???where is it and what does it do,,,
what is gained by taking it off??

its a plate on the throttle body which warms up the air entering the engine. its mainly for colder climates to stop the throttle body freezing open. people have dont it and said it makes the car more responsive and a little quicker

to remove it all you do is remove the coolant pipes to it and join them backtogerther

[Alex]

must be some sort of record - it made it to the 3rd post before someone suggested adding a couple of cylinders

i think one made it to the 4th post once

[GrindCulture]

must be some sort of record - it made it to the 3rd post before someone suggested adding a couple of cylinders

i think one made it to the 4th post once

I was planning on dropping it on the first line of the first reply before my computer shat itself.

[Alex]

LOL

here you go magpie

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... te+removal

[GrindCulture]

Generally there's a reason people by iS's though, either a) they're young and can't afford to insure a 25i, b) they want better economy with fair performance or c) they're a bit weird...

[Alex]

Generally there's a reason people by iS's though, either a) they're young and can't afford to insure a 25i, b) they want better economy with fair performance or c) they're a bit weird...

A + B apply to me

i dont think C applys to me, but you can be the judge of that

[Andy_roo]

I have an 3.0 E36 M3 and an E28 M535 had an E30 318is before and a nice cheap one has come along for me to tinker with, so no (more) six pots required.....

[GrindCulture]

I very nearly forgot the MOST important part!

Before you start spunking £££ on your car chasing power, make sure it's as it should be. Give it a thorough service, renew all filters, fluids, plugs. Make sure it's not leaking fuel or oil, check it's cooling properly, is the timing chain about to explode on you at 5,000rpm? If so, replace it (expensive but necessary for high mileage engines, if it's not been done already) All these things will help the car no end when you start hunting for a few more ponies.

BTW I don't mean to sound like I'm teaching you to suck eggs it's amazing how many people think that bolting on goodies to a nackered engine is a good idea...

[Gortour]

I'd quite like to dump an M42 in my Touring.
Er...

Generally there's a reason people by iS's though, either a) they're young and can't afford to insure a 25i, b) they want better economy with fair performance or c) they're a bit weird...

a, not young, just tight
b, that's the main reason
c, yup, quite probably

[magpie]

I'd quite like to dump an M42 in my Touring.
Er...

Generally there's a reason people by iS's though, either a) they're young and can't afford to insure a 25i, b) they want better economy with fair performance or c) they're a bit weird...

a, not young, just tight
b, that's the main reason
c, yup, quite probably

X2

[Alex]

I very nearly forgot the MOST important part!

Before you start spunking £££ on your car chasing power, make sure it's as it should be. Give it a thorough service, renew all filters, fluids, plugs. Make sure it's not leaking fuel or oil, check it's cooling properly, is the timing chain about to explode on you at 5,000rpm? If so, replace it (expensive but necessary for high mileage engines, if it's not been done already) All these things will help the car no end when you start hunting for a few more ponies.

BTW I don't mean to sound like I'm teaching you to suck eggs it's amazing how many people think that bolting on goodies to a nackered engine is a good idea...

did you see top gear on sunday...


50 bhp from a service

[appletree]

D- there cheap, an fun for a budget track day car with all the bits you'd want if you were goin to do an engine swop in the future.

And there galvanised

[Alex]

E - cheap car for sale in the local paper (guy thinks its a normal 318i )

[DHFiS]

There seems to be a consistent inability to distinguish between improving the iS and converting a car to 6 cylinders an this forum.

If the question is 'How can I get maximum increase in bhp for minimum expense' then the answer is fit a 2.5.

If you want to improve the performance of the iS then renew the suspension and brakes, service it and fit a chip.
Big drops in ride height and very low profile tyres will not give you more grip. Only induction kits with effective cool air feed get near the efficiency of the standard air inlet. BMW did a good job of the exhaust and the standard system does not restrict the engine.

There are 5 pages of discussion in the link below that dont get you any further than that......

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

[magpie]

F-- can only inrease in value as not many left,,,
if i wanted a guzzler i'd buy one

[chips]

If you want to talk about the m42 engine without people suggesting that you're mad or you should swap it for a 6 pot every second post, have a look at www.m42club.com.

Had to be done

Its an American site though so the zone is still the best place for all other E30 stuff.

[chips]

Nobody flamed me yet? come on!

[e30topless]

great avatar PZero, Bubbles has never been the same without conky !!


sorry back on topic

as alex said bbtb and chip maybe a free flow stainless system ?

or
...
a 6 pot m20 b2.5

[Bob_S]

z - lets use the search function to find the other 365 posts from the last year on the same subject

fit an m50.. it's easy and better

[jaistanley]

Well I do agree that the best way to get bangs for bucks in an e30 is fit an M50/M52 lump,but that's not the question here.

Being a practical type I see no problem in stripping the engine down ad essentially re-building it. On top of that I think the best way to get an M42B18 to perform better is to increase the displacement to around the 2 litre mark by fitting S50B30 pistons, an M47 (diesel) crank and the other mods (fairly simple for an engineering shop). After that, appropriately sized throttle bodies etc. If you were tuning an escort, or some other rwd 4 pot car it would be par for the course. Of course in the E30 it's a much less travelled road because of the awesome array of larger displacement engines. Just read tuning books and apply to your car. It might be more un-conventional in your e30, or more expensive because it's less common; but traditional tuning methods are the only ones that are going to yield any worthwhile results!

I'd love to build a well tuned 2 litre M42 with a sensible sized supercharger and sensible chassis mods. It'd be a great rwd drive retro car with modern tech in the engine bay that you can drive everyday. If I was being reasonably sensible I'd fit an M50B25 and get over the forum hysteria that 6 pot e30's don't handle. If I were a complete tosser that likes to waste money and time I'd fit an S50B32. Different story......

Jai