e30 how long can it last?

[320ise]

if used as a daily driver what sort of millage can the m10 m20 and m42 handle without rebuilds etc?

[leeparkes]

If you look after it.....
for ever!

my 320i hit 220k with no issues at all
im sure brian moore had a tourer that had 300k on the clock

[ImysE30]

Important part is looking after it with regular services and maintanence, it should last a life time

[Cloud]

I dunno about forever,

the bores and cams and things will wear out eventually.

But it'll last a lifetime, if kept well.

[AlexBaur325]

i reckon the body will give up before the engine

[Cloud]

The body can be replaced with any metal though.

Imagine in 1500 years time, what's it going to be harder to find, a 1500 year old m42
or some two year old steel sheet for welding?

[poolnoodle]

A mate of mine who is a tech at BMW Autohaus claims to have regularly serviced an M20 with 500,000 kms + on the dial. Always serviced on time and looked after it will run forever

[blackcountrybimmerman]

BMW engines are pretty bomb proof as long as they are looked after properly.

[scottidog]

As long as YOU want it to END OF STORY.

[AlpineAde]

Top end components will wear eventually but the bottom ends are pretty strong on M20s from what I understand. With proper maintenance they should last for an aeon.

[Ziggy]

Depends on cold starts, how it's driven & how it's looked after:



Company tests synthetic oil by driving car a million miles
This column was published on May 23 in the Herald-Journal.

Author: Kenn Peters

Imagine driving your car or truck for 1 million miles. Why, it would take forever. And then you'd have to be driving around the clock.

Mobil, the oil and gas company, did it when it was developing Mobil 1. It took four years to cover the miles.

Bill Maxwell, an environmental engineer and head of product development for the Mobil Technology Co., in Paulsboro, N.J., said the company did high-mileage tests of Mobil 1 synthetic oil during 1989 and 1990 in two Oldsmobiles with General Motors' since discontinued Quad 4 engine.

The cars were put on a treadmill and run for 200,000 miles. The oil in one car was changed every 7,500 miles and in the second car every 15,000 miles, Maxwell said. At the end of the 200,000 miles, the car's engines were torn down and found to be in perfect condition.

"It was astounding. The engines looked like they were virtually new," he said. Mobil learned from that test that even people who break the rules by not changing their oil on schedule will be forgiven by the oil.

But Mobil wasn't satisfied. So the company bought a BMW 325i with a 2.5-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine. The company decided to go for broke and run the BMW 1 million miles.

The BMW spent four years on the treadmill, 24 hours a day, mostly at 85 miles an hour, but with varied speeds, too, down as low as 45 miles an hour to simulate everyday driving.

Mobil followed BMW's recommended service schedule. Along the way it changed the fan belt and hoses and did other hardware maintenance. It religiously changed the oil.

AT THE END of the road, when the engine was taken apart, Mobil's engineers discovered that the wear measurements were the same as the manufacturer's specifications.

Today that synthetic oil is commonplace not only for vehicles on the road, but those on the racetrack, too.

The 5W30-weight Mobil 1 is used almost exclusively by racing teams on the NASCAR circuit, and most Indy-type cars use 15W50-weight Mobil 1, Maxwell said. Military fighter planes have been using synthetic oil for a long time, he said.

One of the basic elements of synthetic oil is a so-called synthetic fluid, the development of which evolved over the years until it became obvious it could provide lubricating benefits not obtainable with mineral oils, Maxwell said.

ONE OF THE oil's toughest tests was in heavy equipment that does duty on the Alaskan pipeline. The oil must perform in temperatures that dip to 40 below zero, Maxwell said.

Oil companies are constantly being pushed to develop new products to meet the demands of engines that run hotter, Maxwell said.

"We want higher fuel efficiency and that means cars will be much more streamlined, hood areas will get smaller, and engines will have to be smaller," he said. "That will result in less air flow."

What all this adds up to is hotter running engines and more demands than ever on engine oil.

Incidentally, have you ever noticed how often manufacturers claim products have been used for years in Europe before they come to the United States? Well, that's the case with Mobil synthetic oil. Maxwell said it has been used in Europe for over two decades.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Auto Editor Kenn Peters' column runs Thursdays in the Herald-Journal.
Copyright ©1996, The Herald Company

[kieran325]

Ive owned my Sport for 14yrs and in that time it's had a thermostat

It used to get serviced twice a year being Inspection 1 & 2 without fail, even if it didnt clock any mileage.

Its been parked in my garage for the last 6 years and I was surprised how well it was, I put a new battery on and everything worked like how it used to, not one bulb broke

So if you look after your car then it will look after you and I hope to own it for another 14yrs.

[Alex]

i would say m10 to be the strongest they are very strong engines and if its serviced when it needs to be, it should easily see 200,000 miles +

my chromie had 169k and ran like new, the pierburg carb was about fooked mind you, it was ok when warm

get the 1.8i

[Jesus325iTouring]

if used as a daily driver what sort of millage can the m10 m20 and m42 handle without rebuilds etc?

M20B25 at least 234,000 miles,well mine lasted that long anyway with no work other than oil service's.

[Sawyer_E30]

if used as a daily driver what sort of millage can the m10 m20 and m42 handle without rebuilds etc?

M20B25 at least 234,000 miles,well mine lasted that long anyway with no work other than oil service's.

My m10 engine was bomb proof with servicing, although I got my new M40 engined 316i and at 155,000 with 9 previous owners it's not sounding as good as the m10 engine. I'm keeping the same principle though with this engine and keep at the maintenance. Although since I'm always working at the minute, I haven't gone to the garage to have a compression check yet.

[tailoutcharlie]

Does Brianmoooore still hols the zone record for an m20?

[magpie]

my m40 318i got a load of abuse for 14 mth even though i put a 91 lump in,
with new cambelt kit.my m42 is i have a tad more respect 3k oil changes from the start should keep these happy.
none of mine have had a miserable unreliability problem and never failed me yet.
i'm impressed so far

[magpie]

did the m10 have adjustable tappets?
i'v read the m10 loves a turbo.
though i may be looking m50 2.5 24v in the future as i have a decent car to
mod.what mpg doers this return with the family in round town?
miss daisy style.

[ChrisiS]

My iS (M42) is on 194,000 as of this morning, my Brother knew someone that had an iS that was on 270,000 when he sold it, and has heard that it is still going strong with over 300,000 up

Chris

[SCOTT325SE]

so in reply to the title thread "how long can it last?", the answer is a jeffing long time!