Which E30 should I buy?

[martin318is]

I am 32 years old and Australia based and have had a 1990 318is in the past which i loved but traded for a leased vehicle for tax reasons (man was I an idiot).

Here I am 4 years later and I am still in love with the E30. I want to get one.

The main problem is that I don't know which way to go. Regardless of the base car I pick up, I will be uprating the brakes, suspension, wheels, interior, exhaust, and probably an MTexh II body kit.

I will also be doing some engine mods. That is where the decision problems come in. Do I buy a 325is and port the engine etc? Or do I buy a 318is and do an engine swap?

The options I can see are:

Car: 318is - $10,000, 325is - $16,000 or 325i (4 door for the family) - $12,000.

Engine: Stock modded, Turbo, or engine swap (which engine?).

[Jesus325iTouring]

Welcome to the Zone fella,another member from around the globe

I would go for the 325 4 door,far more practical with the kids,I had a coupe with kids and it was a pain in the arse,musch much easier on the school runs etc with foor doors.

Plus,you must join the 6 pot massive

[320Touring]

Welcome to the Zone fella,another member from around the globe

I would go for the 325 4 door,far more practical with the kids,I had a coupe with kids and it was a pain in the arse,musch much easier on the school runs etc with foor doors.

Plus,you must join the 6 pot massive

as Jesus says 6pot all the way!

that said though, there are a few dudes on here with some pretty smart (and damn fast ) 318is!

4 door is the way forward for families, and I actually like the look of them better!

However, its probably the best idea to pick the most solid car to start with-so you can spend your cash on maintainance and engine /suspension upgrades!

I'd judge an e30 on its physical condition, relative to the asking price....

engine swaps aint too difficult, so not as big a consideration

[JoeP]

Whatever you get don't stick a turbo on it.

[Zayyan]

Buy and 316 and a 535i and then do the engine swap you were talking about

JoeP, what's wrong with turboing?

[BMK]

Im inclined to agree with Jesus.......(well he is the Lords son!!)

Seriously though.....4 doors for the kids/shopping etc......
325i for the power/sound. And imo simple engine mods will be fine, no need to spend Ԛ£$Ԛ£$Ԛ£$ unless you really want to of course!!

[JoeP]

JoeP, what's wrong with turboing?

Call me a purist, or a twat or an ex-student of mechanical engineering but it's cheating.
The thing I admire about BMW is their acheiving power through quality precision engineering.
Having spent some time in Oz they love sticking turbos on things. I don't know if it's because of the number of cheap Jap imports or what. When I was there in '02 one of their car mags gave the E46 M3 car of the year, mainly because they couldn't understand how it made so much power from such a small engine.
The only turbos I like are shandies! (Half a stella/half a smirnoff ice)
Feel free to flame me but I'm N/A all the way!

[Simon]

JoeP, what's wrong with turboing?

Call me a purist, or a twat or an ex-student of mechanical engineering but it's cheating.
The thing I admire about BMW is their acheiving power through quality precision engineering.
Having spent some time in Oz they love sticking turbos on things. I don't know if it's because of the number of cheap Jap imports or what. When I was there in '02 one of their car mags gave the E46 M3 car of the year, mainly because they couldn't understand how it made so much power from such a small engine.
The only turbos I like are shandies! (Half a stella/half a smirnoff ice)
Feel free to flame me but I'm N/A all the way!

I totally agree with you, when people ask about the M3, engine size(2.3), how many cylinders has it got(4), and then what power output it has(215bhp), they all assume it has a turbo, and when I tell them it hasn't got one they can't believe it!

[E30_320i]

i also agree with joe!

i think that bmw's are so highly thought of because of the sheer power and quality of a non-turbo engine!

and i dont think itd sound right hearing a dump valve from a bmw

btw it was to my understanding that the M3 badge on a bmw meant that it was a 3 litre i.e 330i, as with the M5 being a 5 litre 550i. i was wrong wasnt i???

Lee

[Ziggy]

i was wrong wasnt i???

Lee

In a word, yep!!

[E30_320i]

lol whoops!

so then could someone plz clear things up for me and explain what engine size is the M3 and what engine size is the M5??

and are they M3,M5 bcuz they have more powerful engines than a 330i, but smaller displacements?

a confused Lee

[JoeP]

. i was wrong wasnt i???Lee

It's the Motorsport version of the 3 series, 5 series etc. isn't it.
I used to work with a bloke who thought his own 323 was so called because it had a 3.23 litre engine! Is there an eye rolling emoticon?

[E30_320i]

so what litre is the M3?? and is it faster than a 330i?

and what litre is the M5?

[AndyTouring]

Depends on which M3 & M5 you're talking about.

The E30 M3's were 2.3 or 2.5 litre 4 cylinders.

The E36 M3's were 3.0 (286 bhp) or 3.2 litre (321 bhp) 6 cylinders.

The E28 M5's were 3.4 litre (286 bhp) 6 cylinder

The E34 M5's were 3.6 (315 bhp) or 3.8 litre (340 bhp) 6 cylinder.

The M3 & M5 six cylinder engines were not the same.

[E30_320i]

cheers andyt you cleared it up for me

[Sjoerd320i]

the 325is isn't that a 2.7?

[E30_320i]

one thing i cant understand is why did bmw start putting badges on i.e 318i on some cars when it was actually a 2.0 litre??? is this just to add a bit of confusion to its customers? not that effects us E30's

Lee

[martin318is]

Not wishing to drag the conversation back on topic or anything but.....

To summarise, the consensus seems to be the 325i 4 door for the body?

I understand the opinions about the turbo vs NA question, but to be fair, turboing of BMWs is not exactly coming from Australia. It seems that Sweeden has the rest of the world cold on that front. I am by no means set on a turbo. It is just an option.

The question remains though: What engine?

I want to see a figure of upwards of 200 to 250kW That means 250 to 310 bhp.

Would be hillarious (and stupid) to wedge an M70 in there. Real options would be a worked S14, S52, S38, M60, M62, S39 or a ridiculously expensive S54 or S62.

The big questions are: What will fit the easiest in the bay? What will be the most reliable under load? What will maintain the best weight balance? What will be the most drivable?

And f course, the big question? What should I do?

[Moofles]

Is there an eye rolling emoticon?

the 325is isn't that a 2.7?

sure you aren't thinking of the 325e/325es?? or possibly SA 327i, but i think that was actually badged 327i not 325i...

on the actual topic, i would get the 4 door 325i as well, tbh it doesn't make a car look that much different whether it has 2 or 4 doors!

i would stick with previously done engine swaps if you want an easy ride!

that means,
2.7 conversion (~200-230hp dependent on tune)
m50b25 conversion (200hp)
m52b28 conversion (also 200hp, but - this is the best bit - it is pretty restricted and 250-260hp is about Ԛ£1k away...)
s50b30 (286hp)
s50b32 (321hp...supposedly )

this s all uk engines, you mentioned s52, now i think about it i think you unfortunately got the poor american s engines in the e36, so youre talking more like 240hp from 3.0/3.2 litres...

and dont do s14, they should stay in m3's tbh! especially when you can get more power for your money

if you want a figure upwards of 310bhp, youre looking at either of the s50 swaps really.

or actually, wait till karan gets on here about his s38 swap, that shouldn't be too difficult i have been told...

[Sjoerd320i]

the 325is isn't that a 2.7?

sure you aren't thinking of the 325e/325es?? or possibly SA 327i, but i think that was actually badged 327i not 325i...

i thought that was the SA 327i i believe there is one person one here that has one

[Jesus325iTouring]

Not wishing to drag the conversation back on topic or anything but.....

To summarise, the consensus seems to be the 325i 4 door for the body?

I understand the opinions about the turbo vs NA question, but to be fair, turboing of BMWs is not exactly coming from Australia. It seems that Sweeden has the rest of the world cold on that front. I am by no means set on a turbo. It is just an option.

The question remains though: What engine?

I want to see a figure of upwards of 200 to 250kW That means 250 to 310 bhp.

Would be hillarious (and stupid) to wedge an M70 in there. Real options would be a worked S14, S52, S38, M60, M62, S39 or a ridiculously expensive S54 or S62.

The big questions are: What will fit the easiest in the bay? What will be the most reliable under load? What will maintain the best weight balance? What will be the most drivable?

And f course, the big question? What should I do?

Nitrous Oxide?

[Moofles]

the 325is isn't that a 2.7?

sure you aren't thinking of the 325e/325es?? or possibly SA 327i, but i think that was actually badged 327i not 325i...

i thought that was the SA 327i i believe there is one person one here that has one

there is deffo an SA 327i, i thought it was actually badged 327i (as opposed to 325i) but could be wrong!

the 325e/325es available in america has the 121/125hp eta/super eta engine...the crappy ones available in our 528e and used for 2.7 conversions

i thought you might have meant that, cos i thought the 327i was badged as such - hope that clears things up (probably not)!

[Sjoerd320i]

sure you aren't thinking of the 325e/325es?? or possibly SA 327i, but i think that was actually badged 327i not 325i...

i thought that was the SA 327i i believe there is one person one here that has one

there is deffo an SA 327i, i thought it was actually badged 327i (as opposed to 325i) but could be wrong!

the 325e/325es available in america has the 121/125hp eta/super eta engine...the crappy ones available in our 528e and used for 2.7 conversions

i thought you might have meant that, cos i thought the 327i was badged as such - hope that clears things up (probably not)!

i'm not sure either but i don't mean the eta's
i din't know if the SA car is badged as 327

[Cotty]

The options I can see are:

Car: 318is - $10,000, 325is - $16,000 or 325i (4 door for the family) - $12,000.

You could also consider the touring, always handy if you have kids

[Simon13]

SA 2.7's. Aluminium front wings,bonnet and doors! engine similar to C2,H27 spec. And M3 brakes/5 stud hubs! very few made.

WLN sold one a while ago, don't know if a zoner bought it?!

[Zayyan]

JoeP, what's wrong with turboing?

Call me a purist, or a twat or an ex-student of mechanical engineering but it's cheating.
The thing I admire about BMW is their acheiving power through quality precision engineering.
Having spent some time in Oz they love sticking turbos on things. I don't know if it's because of the number of cheap Jap imports or what. When I was there in '02 one of their car mags gave the E46 M3 car of the year, mainly because they couldn't understand how it made so much power from such a small engine.
The only turbos I like are shandies! (Half a stella/half a smirnoff ice)
Feel free to flame me but I'm N/A all the way!

I totally agree with you, when people ask about the M3, engine size(2.3), how many cylinders has it got(4), and then what power output it has(215bhp), they all assume it has a turbo, and when I tell them it hasn't got one they can't believe it!

I have to agree about power through quality engineering, but....surely turbocharging is a way to further take advantage of this quality and maximise its potential?

BMW have done turbo'd petrol engines in the past and are going to in the future, so obviously they don't think there's anything wrong with it

I respect your opinions, I just personally see taking the turbo route more of "improvement on perfection" rather than "cheating"

[martin318is]

But which is the bigger cheat then?

Bolting a turbo onto a standard 325i engine? or dropping in the entire engine from a 5 series or other car?

Personally, I would prefer to keep the engine and work it, but if that is not going to give me my desired performance, then a quiet modification is the way to go.

For the record, this will not suddenly become an "M3" like so many other cars out there.

Also, all modifications will stay in keeping with the overall E30 mystique. No ridiculous wheels, no stupid sound system with tv screens, no decals, classic bodykit changes that improve the lines without being over the top.

What I want is the best E30 I can produce. THat means:
light weight,
classic looks - something like M-Tech II,
17" lightweight wheels with high spec rubber,
uprated brakes,
adjustable suspension with uprated springs/shocks/bushings,
rigid chassis - sway bars and stiffeners.
free exhaust,
free breathing,
improved ECU,
LSD,
more power and response,
and the perfect driving position,
improved classic interior.

[6potWil6pot]

Ive just seen this thread Take a look at my car in the gallery section Martin, if you want an idea of a good E30 conversion.
It sounds like your going for the right stuff with the mods your talking about too

[martin318is]

great idea.... which one is yours though?