M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: Prefontaine on August 18, 2017, 10:38:43 PM
-
Hi everyone,
New user here. Current E92 M3 owner, but looking to get into the E30 game. I posted the following thread on bimmerforums.com, but I'm hoping I'll have more luck here. Thanks for reading.
-----
Short story:
I feel like I honestly need to experience both cars to know at this point which one I want to search for and buy. Is there anyone within ~2 hours of Newport News, VA that owns either one of these cars that I could meet up with and see? I'd happily return the favor with gas/beer, and/or a ride in my E92 M3 if that's your thing.
Long story:
I really want an E30, I've narrowed it down to these two. I love the idea of high revving engines, but sometime living with them when not pushing the car can be frustrating. But I've heard the 318 is (91 model with the M42 engine) is a lot of fun even though it's not "fast" and you really have to get on it to get the most out of it.The M20 powered 325i (or is...not terribly worried which one because I'd do suspension work at some point) would be great because of the added torque, but I really want to keep weight down (that's one of the most frustrating things about the E92 M3) and even 200 lbs in an E30 seems like a lot. I do love the M20's sound too, though.
Speed and acceleration, while nice, are not the emphasis here. Hell, even perfect handling isn't the emphasis. The experience is. I'm just trying to figure out which I prefer before starting my search...I think my budget would be around 6k max.
Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to being a part of the community here.
EDIT: I'm also not too worried about maintenance; I'm a DIY mechanic type and don't mind getting my hands dirty at all. It's all part of the fun, and it seems like both engines are very strong but need attention in differing ways. Not really a discriminator at this point.
-
Sorry, can't help, I'm about 8 hours from New York and my supercharged 318is isn't running at the moment. I am curious to hear what you have discovered though.