E30 Zone

why do some people prefere the 318i rather than the 320i?

mic

Better on fuel would be my guess, 320's rev like a bitch though both are equaly great cars.

Better on fuel yet performs just as well.

Doesn't sound as good though. 320 has 325 noise but lacks the pace!

cant be that much difference tho between the engines for the sake of .2cc on fuel?

try 40bhp difference. 320 runs around 129bhp, the 325 168-170bhp mark. More torque on the 2.5 plus has the power to throw the weight around.

true, according to 'performance BMW' mag a 318i has 105 bhp and a 320i 129 bhp

I assumed the comparison was the age old 318is quicker than 320?

This is beginning to get a tad boring

Big loves to the E30.................







Rgardless of engine size

wasnt there very little between the 318 and 320 in performance but the 320 6 pot was a lot worse in fuel economy,the plus side being the 6 pot rumble.i had a 320 touring and it was surprisingly nimble considering it had 190000 miles on it

boomer wrote:This is beginning to get a tad boring

Big loves to the E30.................







Rgardless of engine size

cant please everyone! im after advice, i wasnt on a mission to 'bore' anyone but hey i appologise to anyone i offend for asking 'basic' questions on a car before i go buy one...

No offence intended mic1

It's just that this topic is becoming a bit of a regular discussion item on here

End of the day (as far as I can sum up the general opinion):

316i
318i

4 pots good but "underpowered"

318is great but "poor mans sport"

320i great but "318i performance, poor economy but great 6 pot howl plus a bit more torque"

325i great but "economy can be bad"


Horses for courses methinks

HTH

no offense taken we all tryin to help in our own ways

just a suggestion but isnt there a FAQ section on here? cant this kind of topic be added if it saves people answering the same questions? would save everyone typing the same thing out over an over again!

You should be able to buy a 320 for less money than a 318,the 320 seems to be the orphan of the range.4 door ones look to be the least desirable. Find a sound 4 door 320,stick a 525e short motor on the 320 sump with a 325 head on top and you will have a street sleeper to make you happy, for less than the price of a tidy 325.(unless the heads keep cracking....)

320i's are excellent cars.

From my experience, id say that generally, 318's are better cars. Better on fuel, similar performance, more nimble ect. But 320's make you feel better, the sound they make is fantastic I think they have more "character than a 318.

Although saying that ive never driven an IS!

Julian

Yesterday I drove a 320i convertible, a 318is, a 318i touring, a 325i touring and a 325i Msport.

All are excellent cars.

mic1 wrote:just a suggestion but isnt there a FAQ section on here? cant this kind of topic be added if it saves people answering the same questions? would save everyone typing the same thing out over an over again!

Now there's a bloody good idea.

Mods, Admins, heyouge posters please take note!

Chris-W wrote:Yesterday I drove a 320i convertible, a 318is, a 318i touring, a 325i touring and a 325i Msport.

All are excellent cars.

my point exactly

costs the same as running a 325i, with all the power of a 318i

other than that, im just waiting for Simon13!!!

LOL! the 320i is often over-looked, and sometimes rightly so!

The 318i (115bhp m40) is a 4pot-so two less cylinders to pour fuel down= more economical

Pour difference (14bhp or so) isnt really enough for a "butt dyno" difference against the 320i.

However, my mate has just spent 2 weeks driving my 320i round eastern europe, and actually prefers it over his 2001 pug 406 HDI, even though it has no air con etc.

He says that the 6pot lump is so smooth and lazy to drive that it makes 6500 miles in 13 days seem easy going..

As previously stated though, an e30 is an e30 is an e30=they're all good!

320Touring wrote:The 318i (115bhp m40) is a 4pot-so two less cylinders to pour fuel down= more economical

If that logic works I'm building myself a 5 litre single pot with which I'll be able to get to the south coast on a litre of unleaded

Chris-W wrote:

320Touring wrote:The 318i (115bhp m40) is a 4pot-so two less cylinders to pour fuel down= more economical

If that logic works I'm building myself a 5 litre single pot with which I'll be able to get to the south coast on a litre of unleaded

LOL! you know what i'm saying though, more cyl=more injectors=more fuel per rotation.

bring on the 5.0 1pot

When it's ready, I'm taking it Supermoto racing!!

maybe it'll rev to 75rpm

a 318i wont be 105ps.. the 316i is 103ps - there would be no point in having one in the range

also the miltek (iirc) cup wouldnt be very fair, with it bein either 318i or 320i's i believe

Jhonno wrote:a 318i wont be 105ps.. the 316i is 103ps - there would be no point in having one in the range

also the miltek (iirc) cup wouldnt be very fair, with it bein either 318i or 320i's i believe

thats what i'd heard, cheers jhonno

Quoted bhp:

316i : 102
318i : 115
320i : 125
318is : 136
325i : 171

dont know where these figures come from but in 'performance BMW' magazine it says:

316i 1766cc 4 cylinder M40 90bhp
318i 1766cc 4 cylinder M10 105bhp
318is 1766cc 4 cylinder M42 136bhp
320i 1991cc 6 cylinder M20 129bhp
323i 2316cc 6 cylinder M20 139bhp
325i 2494cc 6 cylinder M20 170bhp
M3 2302cc 4 cylinder S14 200bhp
M3 EVO 2302cc 4 cylinder S14 220bhp
M3 EVO SPORT 2467cc 4 cylinder S14 238bhp

wouldve thought the difference in a 318i and a 320i should be noticable if those figures are 'true'

316i 1766cc? That'll be the M10 then, not the M40.

Quite right on the 320i 129bhp though.

yea sorry i typed that wrong didnt i. just checking someone was on the ball

my 320i is 125bhp, it's a early L-jetronic, and belive me you feel that it has a bit more power than a 318i especially the m10 318i. now i'm talking about the early models, the 320i came standard with check controll and stuff like that, where the 318 didn't have that. you can even find a 318i with a big clock insead of the revscounter ...
the diference between 318i and 320i in economy could be 1L on 100km max.