320i - anything going for it?

[Dr Firefly]

The 320i gets lots of stick, I was just wanting to know if they actually do have anything going for them?

I know 325 has similar economy, and has much better performance. But if it's the same block as the 325, does that mean the 320 is a lot more reliable than the 325. Does the engine last longer with it not being bored out as far, and being more overengineered?

And is there really no performance difference between a 320 and a 318?? Find that hard to believe - I know the engine's heavier, but surely the extra torque helps?

[dan_emaps]

hmm the sound.. the heads don't tend to crack, h/g failure isn't as common.. erm.. er.. thats about it lol, to be honest i really doubt there is much between the 318i and 320... my 320 touring did an 11.3 0-60.. says it all really lol, any marginal performance gain the 2.0 has would soon be over shadowed by the iminent petrol stop

[Geeman]

Best bit about a 320i is that you can just stick a 525e bottom end in, chip it and you've got a 2.7 motor...

Obviously this is just the bare minimum required. You can stick on the 325i inlet system to help things along a bit as well.

[Jamese30]

I have had a 320i for the past 8 years and think it is superb. I recently wrote an artical in the BMW Car Club magazine defending the car for all the stick it gets!!

In terms of performance there are a few things you can do quite easily to make them quicker. To mine I fitted a 325i scorpion exhaust (twin system) with the 325i manifold and an induction kit. This did make quite a noticeable difference in performance. Fuel economy was a little better than a 325i but only by 2-3mpg.

A friend of mine had an early M10 318i and my car was quite noticeably quicker, and it also had that beautiful 6 cylinder sound. Dynamically due to it having more weight over the front end, (hence a lighter back end) it is a bit more tail happy than a 4 pot E30 as well.

I second dan_emaps comment about the engines. My opinion is that the heads are stronger than the 325i units, althoguh with smaller ports and valve holes they should be. My engine covered 158,000 miles without missing a beat - no burning old, coolant or cracked heads.

I would always have the 320i over the 318i as an every day car. As my car is not my everyday car now though the engine has been removed for a faster item, and I have now covered 2,000 miles in my new 2.7 engine.

[cliffybabe]

U can also fit a 325 TB or BBTB aswell

[psychochild187]

they go for peanuts
and loads of them around for spares
but no oil cooler so if you swap 2.7 wise u need it back .

[orangecurry]

And is there really no performance difference between a 320 and a 318?? Find that hard to believe - I know the engine's heavier, but surely the extra torque helps?

not between the later (post 87) 318 M40 engine and a 320, no... the 320 has LESS torque

M40
bhp/1000kg = 106
bhp = 115@5500
torque = 122@4250

320(M20)
bhp/1000kg = 110
bhp = 129@6000
torque = 120@4000

[Andyboy]

320i over a 318i every day of the week. The 318i is really a very ordinary car with an ordinary noise. Plus the M40 engine is a heap of shyte - okay when it works but most are rattly bags of spanners. Pain in the arse and expensive cam belt changes (three rollers), all the top end dramas and even stupid stuff like leaking fuel hoses under the inlet manifold. Yuk.

In theory the 320i isn't a lot better and around town the 318i might be better. But the 320i has much better top end go and with the 325i inlet manifold and TB fitted (half a day and Ԛ£25 in bits) plus a chip, really transforms the way they go. The 2 litre is a very short stroke engine that sounds lovely when wound up and is just such a lovely smooth, quiet unit the old M40 isn't in the same league. With the 320i you feel like you're driving a BMW and not a glorified Cortina.
The 320i does crack heads - I've seen a couple in breakers lately with the coolant full of oil. But in general it's a bulletproof engine and vastly nicer to work on than the M40 which is a f*cking hateful thing - it's only when you work on them that you realise what an ill concieved abortion they were. Absolute rubbish.

[Davenotouring]

My 320i did sound nice actually, almost actually preferred it to the 325i noise. But it was painfully slow, the fact that it was only just quicker than 1.1 Saxos was embarrasing.

[Andyboy]

The problem with the M20 2 litre is that it's a big bore, short stroke engine with biggish valves and very decent sized ports - fitted with a stupid little throttle body to strangle it to meet insurance regs so you've got torpid low end grunt and not too much top end either. They also run very lean in common with the other cat prepped cars. But my gold one used to go very well and the top end was surprising.

[ed325i]

There is always the 323i

[Andyboy]

There is always the 323i

That was 20 years ago - most have rotted away now and they were never that great compared to either the 323i E21 or the 325i. They have the same problem as the 320i with that stupid throttle body so the same mods apply.

[E30BeemerLad]

so if the 320 mill is a short stroke affair, with a 325 inlet etc to help it breathe etc, is it a bit of a revv machine then?

or do you still end up revving the fanny off it, making a lovely noise, but still not really going anywhere?

[daimlerman]

320i is very cheap to buy,even cheapppper in 4 door style.And 6cylinders make it a proper BMW.Wonder why the American market never got 320s........

[dom-1984-320i]

My 320i is a joy to drive, nice engine note, smooth around town, great on long motorway runs. I know they are not built for speed and can be a little thirsty, but with a few simple mods they can be made faster and not for a great deal of expense and as for mpg if you are worried about that get a 1ltr polo. I think you have to remember its depends on what you want from a an e30, if you want some thing fast and want to drive it hard dont get a standard 320i, unless you want one that has been tinkered with, but who knows what could go wrong. Mine in 22 years old with 76k on the clock and has been very well looked after, no under the bonet tinkering and i want to keep it that way. If well looked after you could find yourself with a very smooth running motor with i think a great engine. Saying all that as soon as i can am getting an M3!!!!!

Cheers

[e30bmlover]

glad i found this one!!!
the 320 is a brilliant car, useually rust free, dont get thrashed like the 325i's do, if you really want a 325i... buy a 320 and swap the engine. my 320 has done just over 107,000 and has never let me down. that counts for allot.

[dom-1984-320i]

glad i found this one!!!
the 320 is a brilliant car, useually rust free, dont get thrashed like the 325i's do, if you really want a 325i... buy a 320 and swap the engine. my 320 has done just over 107,000 and has never let me down. that counts for allot.

i agree 100% mate

[Cloggy Saint]

Nice to see the 320 get some good press for a change. As has been said already, if you want a lovely sounding smooth ride, the 2.0 is a good choice. It's not the fastest thing on the road but it isn't the slowest either, and it's far less likely to have been molested/thrashed. 2.5 has the pace 2.0 has the grace.

[ed325i]

There is always the 323i

That was 20 years ago - most have rotted away now and they were never that great compared to either the 323i E21 or the 325i. They have the same problem as the 320i with that stupid throttle body so the same mods apply.

Still a good car if you can find one.

[320Touring]

320touring, Ԛ£300 and 6500 miles in 13 days.

nuff said!

and did I mention it sounds the dogs danglies

[Simon13]

2.5/2.7 all the way

[Chris-W]

You're right Simon, but that doesn't mean that 320's aren't worthwhile!

[Simon13]

this is true also

most popular E30 sold in the UK so i have read

[Speedtouch]

The 320i was renowned for its extraordinarily smooth engine - some compared it to the Jaguar V12 for refinement! I've owned two of the L-Jetronic ones (pre-Motronic) and never had any major problems despite 100K+ miles. Since April this year, I moved on to the 325i and again so far so good, with quite a bit more oomph for no fuel economy penalty though the 320i engine is definitely smoother.

[Andyboy]

some compared it to the Jaguar V12 for refinement!

And some have compared the Jaguar V12 to Pacerpete for refinement. Man, the refinement is eerie.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

sorry for the thread hijack but....

Andy, how's the KA?

[eldarvanyar]

I have a 320iSE. I bought in 2000 sold it to a friend in 2001 and got it back a couple of months ago. I find its fast enough to be honest,although I am 39 now, its very smooth and reliable, proper BMW That's why I bought it back. I can go out and buy a much newer car but I like the character of the E30 plus they have classic cult appeal and look much better than an e36 in my opinion.

They do seem to be a lot cheaper to buy and you can do a conversion if you want. I paid Ԛ£1200 for mine with a full service history all the MOTS, very clean high spec. I probably paid to much but I knew the car and how it had been looked after/ It depends on what sort of car you want. If you want a sports car then get a 2.5 sport. If you want a reliable BMW you wont go far wrong.

At the end of the day I suppose its 'horses for courses'

[Nelly]

Agreed with the already mentioned - i've had numerous 320's now and apart from the lack of GO, there's nothing you can really fought them on - Sarah's Baur has the 'OLD' 2ltr engine in it running on the old fueling system and an ignition module + old style dizzy - but still faster than a post 90 model LOL - alas, all to change for her very soon, i've given in to the violent demands for an M20 2.5i.

Neil.

[Dr Firefly]

Cool, was just interested to see what people think. Bought one that turned out to be a bit of a shed about 8 months ago - was a Ԛ£300 buy off ebay that I took a chance on, mainly cos I liked the numberplate (F346 ECK), and took a chance on. It had been really badly looked after, but it's never let me down, and with a new ICV, AFM, TPS, oil change, sparkplugs, air filter, fuel filter, cam belt, tappets adjusting, new clutch, new diff, new rear brakes, fixing the handbrake, fixing the speedo, changing the SI board, one new left leccie mirror, new right mirror glass, welding toe front jacking point, new rubber intake book.... oh shit . I didn't actually realise how much time and money I've spent on it till writing that list...

Well anyway, it hasn't actually let me down once yet - all that was pre-emptive maintenance! And its now running beautifully - got a 4.10 diff in it and once you get her over 3k rpm she just leaves everything for dead. Which is why I was surprised that everyone seems to think they're slow. In 5th mine only really starts accelerating well over 85mph. And the fuel economy has seriously doubled since I got it - was only doing about 18m/gal when I got it - now it's about 32-34 at 70mph on the motorway.

Ps: New driver's seat, mtec1 steering wheel and gear knob...

I can't believe how much I've done, that's shocked me. I know other guys will have done a lot more though - is it a disease? E30philiaitis?

Good to know there are some 320i lovers out there - and one of the best things about E30zone is there are always so many cheap 320 parts going because people are always buying them and upgrading to 2.5/2.7/3.5s and flogging the 320 bits.

[Cloggy Saint]

Good to know there are some 320i lovers out there - and one of the best things about E30zone is there are always so many cheap 320 parts going because people are always buying them and upgrading to 2.5/2.7/3.5s and flogging the 320 bits.

Good point!

[Dr Firefly]

OMG, just looked at one of the first threads I posted saying what a good deal I'd got. If only I knew then what I know now...

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=