325 Vs 318 is

[Simon13]

Yo! i see your in Ash, not too far from me in Camberley.

I've had both cars in question and both at the same time for a few months.

325 anyday

325's handle it's about how u drive them. U can be more reckless with a 318iS and it won't bite u on the arse like a 2.5 can

my 325i touring is fast becoming my new hero i'm starting to get faith in it now i've had it a few weeks. Very chuckable so far and feels more planted than a saloon in most situations

[powelly]

Camberley is very close to me indeed, after Xmas I hope to get down to the Guildford meet, with any luck in an E30.

[MadE30mike]

Save up some extra cash and buy a 325i Sport mate ! The way i see it is that if you want an E30 they are all old cars so youve got to expect problems, although touch wood iv had none since i bout mine but as far as im aware mine is a good one but i paid the money for it.

Don't get me wrong i like the look of 318is my mate has one n its mint, but depends why your buying an E30? To pose in or to drift the arse of it ? 325iSport has both properties

Ohh and you cant beat that throaty tone of the straight six !!!

[powelly]

I want a car that I can improve on , when I say that I don`t mean a basket case resto job, just something that needs tidying up, the E30 will simply be a second car for high days and holidays and a few road trips, as mentioned in a previous post one of these will be to Le Mans so I need something that can light the wheels up nicely on mad friday.
I will be doing the odd track day so will be carrying out a few mods, mainly handling, is a sport really that much better than just a normal 325i, the LSD would be nice but it`s not really needed in a car that is mainly going to be driven on the road, albeit fast road driving and for the odd track day the extra expense is not worth it, atleast not to me, having said that i`m fully expecting to get addicted to these cars and i`ll probably end up eating those words.

[stuartgallafant]

personally, if its gonna be a track car, i'd go for the iS. if you want to pose and get the arse out all the time, then i'd go for a 325i or a 325i Sport

i love the iS. its such an undermined car. I like the 6 pots too, but the only one im really interested in is the C2 2.7 ALPINA... or a convertible!!

[fuzzy]

i cant see how there would be that much of a difference in handling between either cars with simple suspension upgrades.my 325 touring has almost perfect 52/48% weight distribution and weighs 1320 kg so the 6 pots weight makes very little difference at the front end and the 35bhp difference in standard form will make the 325 faster on any road or track and is a better starting point imo

[powelly]

One other question, are tourings any slower, to me they look quite good and I can't deny the boot would come in handy, do they handle any differnetley to the saloons.

[fuzzy]

One other question, are tourings any slower, to me they look quite good and I can't deny the boot would come in handy, do they handle any differnetley to the saloons.

ive never had a saloon so i cant really comment on that but i do know that in the dry my touring handles like its on rails and can outbrake most on the twisties with simple bilstein suspension upgrades.tourings look much better imo,a bit different and is the only model id buy.an 130 bhp 'is' just doesnt make the grade these days,you get little corsas with more power than that

[stuartgallafant]

140 actually fuzzy, and i've whipped the shit out of corsa's. In fact, even 2.0 litre mondeo's and vectras and junk like that wont get away if you know how to use the M42 lump properly...

[e30bmlover]

325...... end of.

[Dan318-is]

325...... end of.

Yep. Id choose a 30 year old tappety boat anchor over a efficient 16v engine anyday, just because it sounds good!

A*se.

[Simon13]

Dan do u ever get sick of following 325's? seeing that world famous "325i" badge on the boot

I'd recommend an LSD on a 2.5. Tourings are just as quick as saloons and tread very very carefully with sports they rust like f**k especially ones from scotland.

i love this argument because everyone who bigs up a 318iS has never owned a 325i and used one everyday to make a fair comment about which car is better, or had both at the same time

U can't knock the car that built bmw in the UK and was a performance saloon icon can we

[Dan318-is]

i love this argument because everyone who bigs up a 318iS has never owned a 325i and used one everyday to make a fair comment about which car is better, or had both at the same time

it works both ways round though. IV driven a lot of 325i's and i do like them dont get me wrong but the engine is just to old school mate!

[Simon13]

Come on Dan pull out the fighting talk!

thats not a very good reason not to have one Dan it's too old.

it's old skool and simple and will still be going in 2020 if u looked after it.

hows your profile gasket and oil in your sparkplugs!

Everyone says, oh 325's crack heads i've had 4 and all have been fine. One is on around 220,000 and it's the original head as it still has the old style 6 sided head bolts.

I've had one 318iS and u guessed it. the head went major awol on me. My one went through 3 cylinder heads in 3 years. The last two being later E36 heads. Luckily i didn't foot the bill on any of the topend rebuilds it had! Pacerpete did the last engine job on it.

When a 318is engine sh!ts itself it equals big bills and is not very DIY friendly

When a boat anchor goes it's a simple engine and parts are alot cheaper

[Dan318-is]

it's old skool and simple and will still be going in 2020 if u looked after it.

hows your profile gasket and oil in your sparkplugs!

Everyone says, oh 325's crack heads i've had 4 and all have been fine. One is on around 220,000 and it's the original head as it still has the old style 6 sided head bolts.

I've had one 318iS and u guessed it. the head went major awol on me. My one went through 3 cylinder heads in 3 years. The last two being later E36 heads. Luckily i didn't foot the bill on any of the topend rebuilds it had! Pacerpete did the last engine job on it.

When a 318is engine sh!ts itself it equals big bills and is not very DIY friendly

When a boat anchor goes it's a simple engine and parts are alot cheaper

Yes but likewise im on my second I.s., and a friend has just bought one and non of them have cracked heads! its luck of the draw; like you once told me if the coolant has been in there for nine years what head isnt going to crack??

[Simon13]

true but at the end of the day 1800cc's just don't cut the mustard. 2500cc with 2 mighty valves are not the heros they were of the road 15 years ago and i struggle with alot of modern machines so how do u 4 banger boys cope?

Oh the shame of being rinsed by a bad boy Saxo VTR and the like!

Gallafant beating a 2.0 vectra is nothing to brag about!

I tried racing a E46 320d once in my old 318i M40 oh it was funny looking back on it now. I honestly thought i would 'ave him

[Splondike]

[Simon]

Love these threads!

I drove a couple of 318is's before buying my 325i Sport, they did nothing for me, very boring car to drive.

Suprised nobody has mentioned the 'baby M3' thing yet...

Keep on dreaming!!

[stuartgallafant]

Oh the shame of being rinsed by a bad boy Saxo VTR and the like!

those things are actually bloody quick!!!

Gallafant beating a 2.0 vectra is nothing to brag about!

Si, those Ecotec engines are quite lively mate, albeit, its in a car that is reminiscent of a shopping trolley...

I tried racing a E46 320d once in my old 318i M40 oh it was funny looking back on it now. I honestly thought i would 'ave him

they're rapid! I dont care what anyone says, those things are amazing!! and i reckon they'd eat an E30 325i... Need the boost to come in quicker though...

This debate is always somewhat amusing, because all the 325 boys just jump on the "we've got 2 more cylinders and 30 more horses" band-wagon. But ask yourself, for approx. 700cc more engine capacity, is 30 horses that great?!

NO, its not is it. I agree, you guys will always beat us on the torque front, you cant argue that 2 more cylinders on a N/A engine aren't gonna allow some glorious torque! But at the end of the day, you guys have to give it the big'un about it, because you feel threatened about what the iS is capable of... look at Kos' for example... 3 BASIC engine mods, and an extra 30 odd horses and some more lb/ft, and it was nearly neck and neck with one of the fastest 325i Sports on the zone on a drag strip, let alone, you put it round a track and it would have embarrased the brashest 6 pot driver.

I love 325i's! They sound amazing, they look good, and they cruise nicely. I would have a 6-pot! But all that unladen weight at the front makes the whole car feel uneasy when turning in fast, and for the weight of the car, the brakes would be better if they were made out of kitchen sponge and digestive biscuits...

[stuartgallafant]

this is a 325i owner...

[Theo]

Stu - come along to a track day next year with your lawnmower..... I mean 318is , I think you might be overplaying the handling factor! 325's still handle ok, I just personally don't experience these issues in high speed cornering.

[stuartgallafant]

325's still handle ok, I just personally experience these issues in high speed cornering.

enough said really...

see you at the track day, big boy...

[Theo]

Haha - missed the word 'don't' in that sentence! hahahaha TAXI!!!!

[stuartgallafant]

[Kos]

[Sport owner mode on] The noise is better, the weight makes sod all difference to the handling, what about the extra 30 bhp, the sound oh the sound - Kos wind yer neck in, ex is owner! [ sport owner mode off ]

ex owner, but i've had both cars, in standard trim and modded

1 the noise, if that really does it for you so be it, but a 16v at full chatter aint too bad

2 the weight on the handling DOES make a difference, and power to wirght ratio will come into play especiall on a track, a simple re-map on astock is will takie the IS to with in 15bhp of a sport, yes 2.5 has more torque , but is good enough for every day driving

3 fuel economy, IS wins hands down

My advice for what it's worth- drive both and see which you like best. As has been said I am sure a well maintained 325i will waste a shagged 318is round a track.

more shaged 2.5's around, especialy sports than is's

[fuzzy]

how can the 318is handle better than the 325? dont they both have the same m-tec 51mm suspension? and as someone says the 2.5 is only 20kg heavier so no difference in handling then.you can say that anycar driven correctly will be better but its how that particular muppet behind the wheel at that moment drives that counts.the 318 is with '3 simple mods' was keeping up with 325's,how would it have done if the 325 had had the 3 simple mods done as well?

[Kos]

how can the 318is handle better than the 325? dont they both have the same m-tec 51mm suspension? and as someone says the 2.5 is only 20kg heavier so no difference in handling then.you can say that anycar driven correctly will be better but its how that particular muppet behind the wheel at that moment drives that counts.the 318 is with '3 simple mods' was keeping up with 325's,how would it have done if the 325 had had the 3 simple mods done as well?

a complete m20 weoght more than 20 kg then a compler m42, also is where the engine sits in the car, on the is there's hardly any weigh infront of the wheels

also, the 2.5's will not relase as much puwer with a re-map, hetaer plate removal and back box ( the 3 mods i did to the IS )

[Morat]

I think the head debate needs some clarification here. Correct me if I'm wrong for the M20 they're sensitive to overheating, so if you're not aware and let it boil after a thermostat/viscous coupling/temp sender fault you're asking for problems. Is this true of the M42 as well or are there more problems for either engine that I'm not aware of?

This is a neutral question for all our benefit!!

[pacerpete]

Sorry lads, lets face the facts, SIZE matters. IS owners are like the little geyser with the 4.5" c0ck bleeting on about it's not what you have got but what you can do with it etc etc .
A competently driven stock 325 will go faster in a straight line and around a track than the same pilot in a stock iS ,end of.
ISs are nice little cars but if insurance and the extra 5mpg are not big issues why settle for a cubicly challenged tiddler when you could hang with the big boys !

[Simon13]

stuart bring the iS to the ring next year and i'll show u some clean heels in the 220k 325i touring i have

[Splondike]

Here you go Stu / Kos

[spence_star]

325 all the way. put it this was i had a 318is coupe 97 E36 brillian car strong, reliable good on the juice. But now i have a 325 E30 and the difference with the 6 pot and a 4 pot is unbelievable. When people use to say to me its not a BMW unless its a 6pot, i never understood it but now i do.

Smoothness, power, and long life. These engines are so strong they will go on forever.

[schuey]

Here you go Stu / Kos

[Dan318-is]

[stuartgallafant]

stuart bring the iS to the ring next year and i'll show u some clean heels in the 220k 325i touring i have

cant afford to mate, unfortunately...

gotta concentrate on getting the ol' girl back on the road, before I even think about whipping her round a track

and i've heard about your clean heels... i knew you were into a bit of cross dressing!!!