M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: Pac_Man on April 06, 2009, 09:40:54 PM
-
Why is it people seem to give the M42 engine such a hard time when in reality its a great little engine 140bhp in a small car like an E30 still puts a smile on your face.
I’m fairly new to experience the M42 having just purchased a 1990 IS and in all honestly if practicality was out the window I would love a 325 or above but the M42 engine fills a nice gap between the big thirsty motors and the 8 valve engines available.
A quick look at the figures (average figures crated using stats from various different sources)
E30 318is
BHP 140
0-60 – 9.7
Top Speed – 122
MPG – 27
E30 325i
BHP 170
0-60 - 7.6
Top Speed – 128
MPG – 21
Having owned an e36 325 I can safely say that 21 mpg in a 325 is only achievable if you drive incredibly sensibly and the slightest bit of lead foot and figures of 17-18 are much more like it, where as 27mpg from a 318 is totally achievable.
We all know the BMW 6 cylinder engine is reputed to be one of the best engines in its class but I think the M42 4 pot is still a cracking little motor,
by the time you have thrown a chip on and a few other choice mods your sitting at around 150-160bhp which is ample for a daily driver that’s fun to drive but at the same time very cost effective.
The legendary Vauxhall C20XE aka the Red Top 16v for those Burberry hatters amongst us has a massive following and in my mind is easily in the same league as a slightly fettled M42 lump
I’m no expert on tuning but due to the fact that the M3 shares the same engine as do some touring cars which push 300+ horse power it must be a very capable and tuneable engine.
Ok so a 325 is considerably faster 0-60 but I bet half of the everyday people who drive 325’s would get smoked by a 318is around the track with a more experienced driver behind the wheel.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not hating on 325’s at all and in an ideal world I would have one but once you take all the costs in to account a 325 is very costly to run with only small gains to be seen and I haven’t even brought road tax in to the argument!
One place the 325 wins hands down that I won’t even begin to defend is the engine sound. A high litre BMW 6 pot is one of the nicest sounds in the world
Sorry for the long winded post but I’m currently on a night shift and quite bored
-
Problem is that people consider the feeling of power over the feeling of balance. At least that's how it is across the pond.
I don't blame them, torque is a wonderful thing and the m42 most certainly lacks it.
I loved my m42 but in a city environment like NYC it just didn't have the "get up and go" from the start that you need in order to maneuver around town.
-
M42 doesn't have to be slow.
http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=64009&postcount=7
-
it's a better design than the m20 really, most people just don't want it because it doesn't put down as much power as a m20. the metric mechanic motors are mean as hell, search those on youtube, they are win. but in reality, when i see a 318i/is, im like damn, nice!
325's are cliche around here, even if they are clean, they don't impress like a 318 does.
-
I use the M42 as my yardstick, when making comparisons about engines. It's got such a good output:displacement ratio, even better than a lot of modern engines. The M20 is lovely, smooth, and pulls nice, but if it were about torque, the M3 would have had six cylinders. The agility of the M42 is perfect for the E30.
-
When I had my 318's, I never really experienced many problems with them. They are fun little motors for tooling around in the cities and get nice mileage and i miss that myself. Besides the lack of torque, alot of people complain about the reliability of the motor. Its a great motor but they've got some quirks like the profile gaskets, the bolts that fall out of the upper oil pan, etc. etc.. I like said, I have never had a problem with them, but I have heard that they can be a pain to work on.
I am sure that if Peerless come on, he'll have something to say about this.
-
Its a great motor but they've got some quirks like the profile gaskets, the bolts that fall out of the upper oil pan, etc. etc.. I like said, I have never had a problem with them, but I have heard that they can be a pain to work on.
But with all this community sharing it makes DIY repairs a snap. That leaves the best M42s in the hands of loving enthusiasts.
-
I just found this on wiki lol
The M42 is forged on the thighs of a thousand virgins, of shavings from the gates of Hades. Zeus himself is responsible for the design, which its self is the result of Venus and Saturn having interplanetary sex. Many m42s were melted down and used by Saddam Hussein as WMD's. Indeed the Ark of The Covenant, which brought down the walls of Jericho, contained an M42. The Challenger shuttle was the only shuttle not to be powered by the m42, we all know how that ended. The magnetic wobble, experienced by Earth every few centuries is the result of some halfwit stalling a 318is. The 318is is galvanised with the skin of Jesus himself, making it impervious to friction, wind resistance and aerodynamic drag. When Jesus walked on water, he was actually driving a 318is.
There. The concise history of all things m42.
-
I just found this on wiki lol
The M42 is forged on the thighs of a thousand virgins, of shavings from the gates of Hades. Zeus himself is responsible for the design, which its self is the result of Venus and Saturn having interplanetary sex. Many m42s were melted down and used by Saddam Hussein as WMD's. Indeed the Ark of The Covenant, which brought down the walls of Jericho, contained an M42. The Challenger shuttle was the only shuttle not to be powered by the m42, we all know how that ended. The magnetic wobble, experienced by Earth every few centuries is the result of some halfwit stalling a 318is. The 318is is galvanised with the skin of Jesus himself, making it impervious to friction, wind resistance and aerodynamic drag. When Jesus walked on water, he was actually driving a 318is.
There. The concise history of all things m42.
:rofl
-
If it's pure power you're after than yes the m20 cars are nicer. I prefer reliability and ease of repairs. I find it MUCH easier to work on the m42 than my m20. LOL in fact my m20 just bit the dust because the timing belt failed. I HATE that there is an internal belt controlling timing, which is probably why I didn't replace it. Now I'm looking for a motor to put into it :) I'm thinking an m52 coupled with an e46 m3 6spd.
-
...
The M42 is forged on the thighs of a thousand virgins, of shavings from the gates of Hades. Zeus himself is responsible for the design, which its self is the result of Venus and Saturn having interplanetary sex. Many m42s were melted down and used by Saddam Hussein as WMD's. Indeed the Ark of The Covenant, which brought down the walls of Jericho, contained an M42. The Challenger shuttle was the only shuttle not to be powered by the m42, we all know how that ended. The magnetic wobble, experienced by Earth every few centuries is the result of some halfwit stalling a 318is. The 318is is galvanised with the skin of Jesus himself, making it impervious to friction, wind resistance and aerodynamic drag. When Jesus walked on water, he was actually driving a 318is.
...
LOL, jokes. :D
-
It's a fairly nice engine that likes to rev and complements the chassis well, but a little more finicky in terms of durability compared to the m20 when the mileage passes the 120k or so mark. The six cylinder cars definitely do have their charms in terms of driveability as well.
-
I never drove an m42 in a e30, but I imagine it being a better motor for the lighter e30 than the heavier e36. My only complaint about the m42 in my e36 is that its too slow, otherwise its been a bullet proof motor.
-
I've owned a m20b25 and m20b27 e30 and driven every other e30 model . besides the m3 I like the 318 m42 best. The 6 is smooth and sounds great but ringing the m42s neck is so fun. 24v swap cars are great too but for me boost on my m42 will be perfect.
Hunter
-
In terms of power, the m42 and m20 should be compared if they have the same or close displacement.
m42b18 vs m20b20....lol
or a 2.5L m42 and a m20b25
-
m42 77 hp/l
therefor a 2.5 liter m42 would have 194.4 hp. woohoo.
-
I made mine slower with a 3.73 rear end. Actually makes it faster to 60 because I don't have to fight into 3rd gear. One really nice thing about the shorter ratio is that 3rd gear lasts forever. I still find excuses to drive it, it's more fun than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Here's a few other reasons I love the E30/M42:
1. I can hardly fit in the car; but that's not a problem...it's so comfortable with the Recaros that it's more like "wearing" than driving. If only Recaro made shoes...
2. The balance of this little car is outstanding. The M20 in this car gives more power but it pushes too much weight over the front axle. While the M42 shakes a bit more, the steering is so precise and easy. I also have an M20 525i, it's like a boat in comparison. If you think it, the car just follows through.
3. Repairs are easy. Good thing too, as it seems the whole car is falling apart!
4. It's red. I never thought that'd make much of a difference.
5. Soon it'll be a classic car. That's right...we're not old, we're a "classic." With the original tape deck (Queen's Greatest Hits) I can re-live the 80's one more time...that's priceless.
6. This board is great. Good suggestions, great knowledge, friendly banter.
-
I made mine slower with a 3.73 rear end. Actually makes it faster to 60 because I don't have to fight into 3rd gear. One really nice thing about the shorter ratio is that 3rd gear lasts forever.
i can get 60 mph in 2nd gear? and i'm running a medium cased 4.10LSD. DINAN allows me to do that. ;)
-
Well, I went to the annual meet here in France (e30passion forum)
I have a chip (custom made by an engine management engineer), COP, and a perfect compression :) on my M42.
The truth is I was pushing a 323i with auto tranny, Blew up my buddy's 320i completely emptied with a S4.10 (an dI had my 16x9 borbets on the car.
Torque wise, I was right next to my buddy's 325i until we reached 3rd gear, etc...
We drove 1,000 miles and we were a bunch of e30s, 49 cars at the meet exactly.
Everybody with no exception was impressed with the torque and feel in the car.
So, all this to say, I think they are jealous that a little 1.8 16v, 4-banger engine can stand up against many M20s :) :)
I don't even want to think about the time I'll have my turbo installed.
BTW, I reached 220km/h at 6,500RPM (limiter at 7,100) and the car was still going.
All that with a pretty nice gas mileage considering we were averaging 100MPH during the trip ;)
-
Because it's a 4-pot and not the 6cyl that people are used to in BMW's. But I, for one, have way more fun in my M42 than I did in my 232hp RX-8!
-
I’m no expert on tuning but due to the fact that the M3 shares the same engine as do some touring cars which push 300+ horse power it must be a very capable and tuneable engine.
just for the record, the 4 cylinder in the e30 m3, called s14, is an m10 based engine with little or nothing in common with the m40/42/44 line. sorry.
robert w.
-
I have three BMWs.
One is a fire breathing e34 540i that puts down something like 330 hp at the wheels and handles like an M5.
The car I have the most fun with is the e30 318is. It is far better balanced, gets way better gas milage, much easier, cheaper and simpler to mod and work on and is easily a far better bang for the buck. It has a "usable" amount of hp and torque for blasting around anywhere, (even track days) not just stoplight to stoplight tuner posing. It has always been reliable, constantly is a source of joy, and it is a daily driver to boot ... going totally unnoticed by the local cops, speeding around is a freebie. It's simply a great car and BMW will never again build a car so amazingly perfect (sad indeed).
If I want to blow smoke up some corvette ass then out comes the 540, but believe me, those moments are few and far between even when I'm deliberately fishing to kick some unsuspecting butts.
BUT ... PLEASE YOU GUYS ... stop drawing attention to how excellent these cars are, willya! I want these all for myself and the few other chosen M42 true believers ONLY! I do not want to share these with dopes!
Let them elitist snobs have their visions of six and eight cylinder bliss!
At the end of the day, they'll still come home empty.
-
The M20 is the easiest E30 engine to service--it's durable and reliable like a tractor. Kudos to BMW for making it easy to maintain a quality car.
-
I have owned (4) M42 cars (2 91 318is models, and 2 95 318 models, E36).
The M42 is painfully reliable and insanely robust.
My first BMW when I was 20 was the 95 318is. I drove it like a typical 20 yr old and would *sit* at redline of 7000+ for a good amount of time before shifting to the next gear...just to beat on er a bit. (had the Conforti chip to help that high revvin capability!) ;)
Overall, they are just awesome little motors. And I currently have the best iteration, 4.10LSD, E30 body, MarkD chip, 2500lbs. Car flat out moves nicely.
-
The M20 is the easiest E30 engine to service--it's durable and reliable like a tractor. Kudos to BMW for making it easy to maintain a quality car.
Disagree... M20 was much harder to work on, and uses a timing belt. I let mine destroy itself so I could swap it out. Now I'm putting in a m52 aluminum engine so it "feels" more balanced, like my m42. Oh and so it has a timing chain, like any self respecting engine would.
I have a much easier time working on my m42. Intake can be off in 5 mins, whereas the m20 takes at least 30.
-
holy fuck some of yous have nice yokes!!! naika that black bm is sex
-
loe my m42
simple, plenty of power for country life
well balanced car
-
Why is it people seem to give the M42 engine such a hard time when in reality its a great little engine 140bhp in a small car like an E30 still puts a smile on your face.
because people are idiots
because people believe what others tell them instead of thinking for themselves
because people form opinions before getting nearly enough info (i.e. trying the car)
because men in the usa are homophobic. god forbid someone will think of them as gay or a hippie because they drive a perfect, small, sensible, 50/50 honest engineering kind of car rather than a front heavy "yaa, look at my huge dick" bucket
what's funny is, okay. 318 is girlie, so you get a camaro or something. fine. but a 325 :p are you serious!?
funny how a 4 cylinder is suddenly enough when its a 320is, 323 or m3 :rolleyes: or 2002. which i had. btw, those grandpas doing s13 swaps, what a waste of money. donate it to charity or something!! shove an m42 in there, fly machine because the '02 is very light, and unsafe compared to e30s, the m42 is not only more powerful but 100x smoother (than the mechanical injection, i'm not even talking about the carbureted 2002)
-
^ Some valid points.
I recall in my autocrossing days (late '80s - early '90s) with a 1985 CRX Si, the "smaller displacement" guys used to hang out together. We always figured the mega horsepower cars were for guys to make up for their lack of linear inches.
-
holy fuck some of yous have nice yokes!!! naika that black bm is sex
Thanks man, tons and tons of work into it.... but I sold it 2 weeks ago since I moved back to France :(
I know it made another e30 owner happy, it's in VA now.
I'm working on the 318is, but doing different things, big brakes, turbo, another direction I guess :)