E30 Zone

Hello all,

Im after a new cylinder head for my m10 318i and have found one on ebay but its from a 316.

Does anybody know if it will be a straight swap or are the heads different in anyway?

Thanks.

little qustion is the car a uk spec as far as i recall m10 engine never came in a 316i or 318i but was fitted with a carb in the uk or do you have a m40 which did come in 316i and 318i if you have a m10 then you need a m10 head as on the head is also the pump that supplys the petrol if you get a 316i or 318i head it will not fit the m10 block plus m10 is chain driven and the m40 is belt

I have a 318i m10 head if all else fails.

The 316 head is no good for a 318i as the ports are a different shape.

the M10 316i was a European only model (thats what my car is- German Import)

I have heard something about there being a difference but the only thing i have noticed is the 316i M10 had a cat and the 318i did not.

The LHD plastic bumper M10 316i is a detuned 318i with a lower compression, catalyst and 102 bhp rather than 115bhp. They are near enough identical and were built to use up the injection 1800 M10 engines after the E28 518i ceased production.

any idea how to up the compression on an M10 316i as mine has a de-cat stainless system, so with upped compression i should be getting just over 318i figures, hopefully to not much money either?

It's 8.2:1 as opposed to 9.5:1. Power only dropped 3 bhp - the M10 318i has 105 bhp, not 115 - that's what the M40 318i does.
Very early 318i cars had Bosch K Jetronic and a 10:1 compression - they went very well and were in reality over 110 bhp. They were changed to LE Jet in mid 1983 before the 318i was imported into the UK so you won't find one here.

so i'm stuffed really, just stick with my stainless system which should give me a few extra ponies, maybe as much as 5bhp if i am lucky. Still thinking about a turbo conversion later on but i don't think it has been done on a 316i M10, just the 318i although there shouldn't be too much difference really. At least it should be economical (as far as E30's go)

You have the ideal compression ratio for forced induction.............

A lot of work and expense which will have to wait for a while, at least adding a turbo to mine won't involve lowering the compression which is a real nightmare on some cars, just new manifold, turbo, pipework, oil pipework, oil cooler probably, intercooler and pipework, Megasquirt too, lots of expense and the E30 is going to be a daily driver so i would need to take a week or 2 off work, and have it completed and running by the time the holiday is over, either doing the work myself or coughing up some serious money and paying a garage to do it