Making a 316i better, on a budget

[jon316]

Hello, I'm new here, but I have some vaguely pressing questions I thought people might have answers to. Hope I've got the right forum and all that...

I've got a '91 316i 2dr, it's been lowered 40mm front and rear with cheapy G-Max struts and springs and there's a K&N panel air filter stuck in, some nasty 15" TSWs but the rest is standard. The body is in mint condition, the engine a bit tappety but otherwise sound (I think - 142K on the clock!). Oil/coolant and all other bits have been looked after religiously since I've had it and no problems so far.

I'm on a tiny budget but I'd quite like to go faster and handle better. Engine swaps are out down to insurance as well as difficulty/time involved.

I'm thinking of getting stiffer roll bars for a start - can I cannibalize ones from a 318is in the scrappy - is it a straight swap? Poly bushes on everything worth thinking about?

I've read the E36 rack conversion article on here - is that worth messing about with or are there better things to think about?

Also, this breaker's 318is still has the engine in. Is it possible to swap the DOHC head and bits off the 1800 M42 onto a 1600 M40 block? Is it worthwhile?

Any thoughts and advice appreciated...

Cheers!

[HotboxDeluxe]

it'd be a lot easier and quicker to swap engines than mix and match heads and stuff i reckon - more worthwhile too but you said you weren't going down the engine swap road so that's that

stuff like the anti roll bars and whatever else you fancy off the i.s should go straight on - if the seats are any good then you should definately have them! oh and check if there's an lsd in that breaker - even if you don't want it in your car (you may think it's a bit pointless in a sixteen, but as soon as it rains you'll be grinning daftly) you should be able to turn it out somewhere like here for a bit of a profit...someone told me small case lsd's were worth a few quid - the one i've got is staying in the car however

not sure if it's worth doing poly bushes and rack conversion unless you're going the whole hog with it - and that'd involve an engine swap!

final thought; TSW wheels are baaaaad, and you need some proper ones on there! Standard BMW cross spokes are fine and never look wrong ever on an e30 - sounds like a tidy car you got there!

[mrLEE30]

to be honest you are never going to get any ''real performance'' out of the 316, and the M42 and M40 blocks/head are not interchangable. the engine is tunable but not on a budget.

in the same manner i would not bother throwing money at the car to make it handle better as the engines performance will not let you explore the benefits of handling. My advice to you is lower it with springs/shocks, the 318is shocks and springs will go straight on and will lower the car by 15-20mm and give you a stiffer ride. use the money to invest in a good set of rims/rubber as once you decide to move onto something else you can put em on your new car assuming its a E30! best bet is to make it look good and enjoy the car for what is it, de badge it and most will have no idea what engine is in there (only zoners and those in the know will spot the exhaust, rear drums and lack of engine check panel (unless you have a sunroof) and will spot it for a 4pot)

enjoy its cheapness, economy and save up for a bigger engine car once you can afford it.

ps welcome to the zone!!
mrlee

[magnumlove]

As a 316i owner I agree with mRLEE30. Spend your cash on making it look smart but subtle especially if the body work is in mint condition. Just keep it well serviced and it'll be fine. Mines now touching 150k and still pulls strong. They are pretty slow but who cares, at the end of the day it's still an e30 but with decent fuel economy and cheaper servicing bills.

[jcjdavis1]

Hi and welcome,I run a 316i M40 and have thoughts of a 6pot but everything is a compromise.I am trying to keep mine looking good, engine fine so any money is spent on the tidying up the body.So enjoy what you have got until you can upgrade.PS any pics.

[Rupe30]

Done the same! get the mtech kit and 17" alpinas and lower it 90mil to give it the lowrider look! i blitzed a new 1.6 golf the other day after picking up my powerflow system, so they can go alrite! but the aim is to get a 320 engine in it. any1 elses back end fly out in the wet!? my car loves 2 drift!

[e30bemer]

all e30's love to drift!

its a way of life!!!

[316eyes]

Ditto to most of the above.

If you search around here and the net you will notice the lack of worthwhile engine mods for the M40.

And I ditched the K&N off mine as I prefer peace and quiet from the front end, if that's possible on an M40 engine!!
The (arguable) HP gains are not worth the racket.

[cliffybabe]

but the aim is to get a 320 engine in it

Y a 320 lump r u thinking of a 2.7 conv

[bimmaman]

I used to have one of those funny little engines... sounds like a babies rattle at full chat! Went ok tho! Sat quite happily at 120mph on the motorway!! Oh, and as for drifting, I never had a problem getting the back out - it just took a bit of encouragement!!

[jon316]

Cool, cheers everyone. I'll stop plotting and just enjoy it as is for the time being. Just need to stop thinking about how hard an M42 would be to drop in there and whether the insurance company would notice...

any1 elses back end fly out in the wet!? my car loves 2 drift!

Yeah, coming from only driving FWD cars the first run in the wet was a bit interesting. It's much more fun when you're expecting it though..

I've been keeping my eyes peeled on Ebay for some decent BBS/Alpina style 15" or 16" rims so I think that's where the spare change will get directed next..

Thanks again..

[AndyTouring]

Sat quite happily at 120mph on the motorway!!

In your dreams maybe!

Autocar only managed 112mph & BMW only quoted 114mph max so a "happy" 120mph from an old motor just isn't going to happen unless you've driven off a cliff!

Jon - forget engine swaps, tuning & trying to dodge the insurance issue. If you up the performance the insurance co. will want you to pay more. If you don't tell them they'll pull the plug when you try to claim.

Cheapest way to improve your on-road performance are some advanced driving lessons - really!

When you can afford more insurance just sell your car & buy the biggest engined car you can afford to insure. Ins. co's prefer that approach to home-built bitza's.

Of course you could always make up some new numbers to stick on your speedo adding 10 - 15mph to the actual speed. That way you'd feel like you were going faster! Seems to work for Bimmaman

[Kemix]

ahem... my 316i went 127mph with 3 of us and luggage!! on the flat...

[jon316]

That all seems pretty sensible - any recommendations for advanced driving courses?

As for top speed, an indicated 110 is the fastest I've had out of it, not that it's big or clever

[bimmaman]

Sat quite happily at 120mph on the motorway!!

In your dreams maybe!

Autocar only managed 112mph & BMW only quoted 114mph max so a "happy" 120mph from an old motor just isn't going to happen unless you've driven off a cliff!

No - and I had someone in the car with me... Me thinks you are thinking of the 316, not the 316i...

[HotboxDeluxe]

um, when did speedometer readings become gospel? a 316i would be lucky to crack 110 - just cos it says 130 doesnt mean it's doing 130!

[320Touring]

I have to disagree with some of the comments on this thread!

If jon316 wishes to tune his m40 lump, then fair play to him. certainly he wont see massive gains on a budget, but he can make the engine a lot more responsive, and more pleasant to drive.

Having seen the performance of my mate erik's (78dude) 316i on the scottish meet last sunday I'd say even a stock 316i is a capable car if looked after properly

Certainly though, you guys provide wise council by suggesting that he should take his time and select complementary mods

However jon316- I would suggest this mode of approach

1. Make it stop!
2. Make it Handle!
3. Make it go...

in that order

[316eyes]

Done a fair bit of motorway driving in the tourer recently, which is unusual, and 100mph came up very quickly with no sign of stress or strain.
Traffic prevented me finding out how much further the dial would go.

[320Touring]

Done a fair bit of motorway driving in the tourer recently, which is unusual, and 100mph came up very quickly with no sign of stress or strain.
Traffic prevented me finding out how much further the dial would go.

proof if you need it

[AndyTouring]

ahem... my 316i went 127mph with 3 of us and luggage!! on the flat...

Ahem... Optimistic speedo - 112mph +10% (11.2mph for those not so good at maths) = 124mph (being generous).

That's assuming an engine in the peak of health (ie. 10k - 20k miles), 2 people on board max & really good weather conditions.

You might have had the weather but you wouldn't have had the other two.

If BMW could have reliably achieved 127mph with a 316i why would they only claim 114mph? FFS a 325 was only good for 135mph!

Here's the proof:-



And for those interested in a 325 Tourings performance:-



Any questions?

[Simon13]

as said really, 320 touring was spot on

i'd leave the engine alone and make it handle, brake better. This will make it quicker!

if your good with a spanner then i'd fit 325i sport/318iS (they are both the same) running gear.

So u get the bigger struts with vented front disks and rear disks also.

plus anti roll bars! 316's never had one fitted to the rear so that will improve things, plus the new front one wil be thicker

But to get real benefit u should replace the relevant suspension bushes which are bound to be tired and this is where the cost could add up

[320Touring]

as said really, 320 touring was spot on

i'd leave the engine alone and make it handle, brake better. This will make it quicker!

if your good with a spanner then i'd fit 325i sport/318iS (they are both the same) running gear.

So u get the bigger struts with vented front disks and rear disks also.

plus anti roll bars! 316's never had one fitted to the rear so that will improve things, plus the new front one wil be thicker

But to get real benefit u should replace the relevant suspension bushes which are bound to be tired and this is where the cost could add up

I'm glad of that simon13

good point about the bushes too

[HotboxDeluxe]

only one disagreement from me! for an engine to be in the peak of health it doesn't need to be minimal miles! quality stuff like bmw's are often better and quicker once they've loosened up a bit, and i'll stand by that to the death if necessary!

i love high milers personally, if they still sound sweet and don't leak/ooze/smoke/bubble i'm fully confident of it taking a caning and being quicker than some pampered-never-seen-6000rpm low mile minter

[320Touring]

only one disagreement from me! for an engine to be in the peak of health it doesn't need to be minimal miles! quality stuff like bmw's are often better and quicker once they've loosened up a bit, and i'll stand by that to the death if necessary!

i love high milers personally, if they still sound sweet and don't leak/ooze/smoke/bubble i'm fully confident of it taking a caning and being quicker than some pampered-never-seen-6000rpm low mile minter

this is true- TBH I prefer buying a car with a min of 70k miles so that most faulty bits have been replaced.

cars are for using afterall- I use mine 2 days a week and still do 250miles a week

[AndyTouring]

I'm not saying an engine with 70k odd mile is over the hill, just that after a point the more miles the more tired it gets.

Think about it - it would be no problem for a manufacturer to put 50k on their road test cars before the magazines get them but they don't. They run them in carefully for a few thousand miles then put them out for test. They want the best performance figures possible & that comes with a fresh well run in engine.

Whenever the mags do a long term test the higher mileage car always performs worse than the younger one.

[magnumlove]

Personally I'm not overly bothered about 0-60 times but I'm sure in the BMW handbook it quotes 0-60 at around the 12 second mark not the 10.1 as in the magazine acticle above. I suppose it goes to show that every ones opinon is different!!

[hammoj28]

Yeah, the best way for your 316 would be to work on the handling etc. Spend your money on a nice bilstein kit or similar. I put one on my old 316 and it made a hell of a difference. Also anti roll bars are great. Different car with em on.

Also get some decent pads/discs. Im not any expert but i assume some EBC discs and greenstuf pads seem decent.

316i is quite a fun car nd is rather capable if its got decent suspension.

Once you have the handling sorted then just start saving your money to put a better engine in: 318 IS or 325.

Thats my bit anyway.lol