E30 Zone

if you have owned both your comments are welcome if not, shh

Right I've currently got a 318is and while pissing about I have managed to get a decent quote on a 325i, now I've been to see a touring and 2dr today both 2.5's and what I want to know is your opinion on which one is better. I can afford either but after driving the 2.5's today I'm not entirely sure that getting a 325i is actually THAT much faster than a 318is in real terms.

can anyone point out if I'm missing something or is the 318is really such a good all rounder?

Oh no...not this can of worms again !!!!!!!!

read here.... http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ic&t=52955

The 318is has four cylinders, not six, therefore the m20 is superior.

There's a good article about the 318is in this month's total BMW - definately worth reading if you're considering buying one. As for the 2.5 - I know which one I'd rather have, but I'm stuck with the 1.8 - for the time being! If it's of any consequence, my humble opinion is that the 318is is likely to be more sought after in years to come, given it's relative rarity, and therefore worth more? Purely speculation of course, and it's not unknown for me to be completely wrong about such things, so please feel free to tell me to put a sock in it!

sorry, just reread your post and noticed you've already got a 318is! doh!

iv a 325i and a 318i and id say if you want power and sound and empty wallet then go for the 325 if you want a full wallet and a slower ride get the 318, i use the 325 and i love it

yeah, couldnt feel all that much difference in pace to be honest so just wondering others thoughts

noney, 318iS mate not a stock 318i mate

is there that much diff in the i and is

noney82 wrote:iv a 325i and a 318i and id say if you want power and sound and empty wallet then go for the 325 if you want a full wallet and a slower ride get the 318, i use the 325 and i love it

he said the 318is there a 16v

i was talking to koss about this, and from what i got was the 318is with i think a chip he said was the same around town as the 2.5 but the topend wasnt as good,

i know one thing 2.5 around town drink fuel, so from what iv been told, if you are driving in town keep the is if not get a 2.5

ah my bad lol didnt see the is first time round sorry,

I've had both
They're both good cars

Depends what you want from the car, for most people the 325i is the better choice - you can drive them quite lazy, pull well etc etc
If you dont mind driving like in a race everywhere and revving the tits off a car, keeping it in the power band then the 318iS does not have a huge difference in speed to the 325i as it had lower gearing and weighs less (75kg before other equipment according to the manual - not sure how much actually in real life, possibly less)
You'll drink as much gas as the 325i though driving like this

Of course straight line speed isnt everything
The 318iS is def. better through the corners than the 325i when you're pushing on
In my experience a 325i wants to push wide on turn in, and then from the apex will oversteer if you wish
A 318iS is much more balanced/neutral on turn in and exit
Of course for regular driving this isnt a concern, and I'm talking stock suspension (which is mtech on the 318iS)

I'm sure I've posted slalom speeds for 325i vs 318iS somwhere here before that prove the 318iS is quicker though the bends, do a search

For me the 318iS is the more fun car to drive, you have to work harder to keep the speed up, but then its more rewarding, and you can still scare yourself silly down a decent back road
And you can get decent MPG out of it if driven sensibly

If you're more a lazy or straightline speed kinda guy then go for the 325i

I must admit, sometimes I miss the sound and torque of the 325i and I'm occasionaly tempted back to the dark side

i've had both and drove both cars together for a few months.

I thought the same thing the 2.5 wasn't that much quicker than the 1.8 but it is really! It's all rubbish about 325's only people with 318iS like to go on about it. Dan can't afford an iS let alone a mighty 5i!!!

touring or 2 door, hmmm tough i've got both at the moment. Up to u really on that front, but both are loved unlike 4 doors!

U can notice understeer on all E30's thats how they were setup. 325 Tourings handle pretty crisp mine does but it's quite low now! Very planted at high speed which i can't say of any saloon i've had

I ask myself this, i'm on my 4th 2.5/2.7 E30 and i've had a 318i and 318iS but i've never gone back? IF the lure of the 318iS was so great i would of bought another by now surely? Alot of the oldskool zoners have had an 318iS and then move onto a 325i 2.7 or M3 afterwards. It's called natural progression!

I've got both. The 325 is definitely the faster, but the iS feels every bit as fast, even if in reality it's not.
The iS is all about revs and gear changing and is better for throwing into the twisty bits, whereas you can drive along in fifth in the 325 right down to idle speeds if you want to.
One other noticeable difference, is the fuel consumption gauge operates in a much healthier part of the scale on the iS.

i love my is n only reason i nvr went for 325 was running costs!!

the noise is amazing if u can afford 325 DO IT just for that straight six roar.

uuhhh

good points for and against and simon I agree about the 325 tourings been well planted and very much more so than a 2dr. can only think because of the extra weight?
Still in contemplation about it I've driven a 327 too not monsterous bhp but it had matching torque and felt a lot better than a stock 2.5 pulled harder lower down the revs and didnt seem to loose any momentum as the needle went around the clock maybe the M3 diff made it feel a touch laggy with it being so long? I dont know.

I will be sleeping on this although having been out in the is tonight it just doesnt pull in 5th at 30 like the 6's did.. I only use it for pleasure activities, I have a van for work and can use it outside of work aswell. cheers for the insight lads just what I wanted and no childish "I've got 2 more cylinders so mine must be better bollocks"

Simon13 wrote:I Dan can't afford an iS let alone a mighty 5i!!!

Yes, a mighty boat anchor. If i cant afford it how come iv got one rodney?

what at the torque and BHP figures from the 'is' and the 325?


just out of interest

325i - 171 bhp 167 lb/ft
318is - 136 bhp 127 lb/ft

A 318is with a BBTB and Chip everytime, I don't have any trouble driving past some modern saloons and fuel costs not too bad to be honest.

Red D

reddevil wrote:A 318is with a BBTB and Chip everytime, I don't have any trouble driving past some modern saloons and fuel costs not too bad to be honest.

How about 325s though? Quite a difference in performance.

325i 132mph 7.4 0-60

318is 125mph 9.3 0-60

My pennies worth,i own both at the minute and i can honestly say the IS is more fun and definatly better to drive than the 25sport. In my opinion 2.5 litres and only 12 valves giving out 170hp is poor,straight 6 does sound good but not as good as a V6.Also i kinda prefer the screaming 4 pots at high revs,16 valve 4 pots for me every day of the week. Nice set of cams and head work and a proper ecu chip and youve the same power..someone wrote the m20 being a superior engine,no way. 16v twin cam on injection def superior in my book!!

Think it all comes down to how you drive. If you don't ever push the car, it doesn't matter anyway.
If you do drive hard, then the 318is would have an advantage in handling due to less weight at the front end.
Like for like, it depends how fast you need to go, unless you're racing it the iS is quite adequate. if you're not worried about keeping it standard, I'd prefer a tweeked iS. Just my opinion for the record.