E46 316i

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:39 pm

Does the E46 316i have a detuned 1.8 or 1.9 engine? I've seen mention of both.
Also, how is it detuned? Is it intake and tb like on the M52B28s?

Cheers

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:51 pm

Yeah, my wife has a e46 316i 1.9L with 105 bhp.!! Not a fast car.. but its always baffled me how BMW couldn't extract more power from a 1.9, its a very solid block and very free revving.

The E46 318i has the same 1.9l engine with 115 bhp but it has a different ECU. I can't see any reason why it can't be tuned to around the 140 bhp mark.

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:59 pm

105bhp is a bit low. Even the old 1.6i CVH used to give that, in the XR3i.

Strangled by emissions crap, I suppose.

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:38 pm

Cheers guys. I loved my old XR3i, seemed pretty quick, I guess down to the tinfoil construction

What year was the 316i 1.9 available?

I've seen from 1999 to 2001. After that its a 1.8, does that sound about right?

On the subject of emissions crap and tuning, I'd be looking at running it on a carb so dumping the complete inlet and tb. The only electrics I'd need is for the spark.

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:30 pm

1998-2001, according to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E46

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:24 pm

They were deliberately detuned to 105 and 115 bhp. The 2.0 320i was 150bhp, 2.5 323i 170 and the 328i 193,

Post Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:52 pm

Andyboy wrote:They were deliberately detuned to 105 and 115 bhp. The 2.0 320i was 150bhp, 2.5 323i 170 and the 328i 193,

For the same reasons the 328i was detuned?

Given they have been detuned, any idea how much bhp the 1.9 could produce?

Post Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:31 pm

I'd put it at the 130-140 bhp mark. You can make these a lot quicker by removing the clutch delay valve too.