New E30 318i Owner =)

[race2win]

Hello everyone, I'm a noob here, I just picked up a non-sunroof 91 318i E30 4-door this weekend. I have owned various BMWs in the past, including an E30 325is, E39 540i, & an E34 M5, but never an M42 powered car. After driving a few different BMW models (another E30 325is & a couple E28 5-Series), I just loved the way the 318i felt. Sure, it isn't the most powerful thing, but it has so much liveliness to make up for it. Anyway, I have been reading up on these cars & it's 2-door big brother 318is, trying to learn what I can. The only magazine articles I can find only pertain to the 318is, so I am curious how the available options differ between the 2 cars. From what I can tell, the only options on the 318is were a sunroof, metallic paint, security system & a limited slip differential. Were these the same options that were available on the 4-door 318i? I think I read somewhere that the 4-door had a couple more options that the 2-door had standard, such as fog lights, but can't remember for sure. Does anyone know for sure if the limited slip diff & 14x6.5" alloys were optional on the 4-door? I may try to set it up for stock class autocross for a while, if those 2 items were available on the car when new it would definitely help the car go faster Does anyone have any idea how many (or few) 4-door 318s came without sunroofs? I thought all 4-door E30s of this vintage had them, I was VERY surprised to see this car didn't!

Well, for now this will be my daily driver, I spend a fair amount of time on the freeway so the 30MPG sounds great to me. I already have a top notch R-Package Miata for autocrossing, but depending on how light it's possible to get the 318, I may consider trying to beat the mighty 89 Civic Si's in street touring some day For now, time for some general maintenance, a new set of tires & a solid cleaning. Here is a picture from right after bringing it home, thanks for looking!

[Ryann]

howdy, I'm relatively new here also. Used to be a 2002 guy that recently picked up a 318i 4d in brilliant red from the original owner. I've also done some research, some of which I did in the owner's manual that came with my car! The LSD was an option for the 318i, and leather, as was a sunroof. The "bottlecap" alloy wheels you've got were an option (mine didn't come with those). What our cars couldn't have were the 318is' sport seats. There are some other minor options such as the panel above the rear view mirror, an upgraded clock/trip computer in the dash, map lights in the r/v mirror, etc. If you're serious about autocrossing this car, another apparently little known fact is that in '91 the 318is had a close ratio gearbox, different from the one in our cars.. a swap I'd consider myself if I came across a low milage one. Anyway, welcome!

[DesktopDave]

I have the same car...a brilliantrot 318i sedan.  Mine came with steelies and the 4.10 open diff.  I upgraded to a 3.73 LSD medium case diff from a 325is and some 14" basket weaves.  So the LSD is definitely an upgrade.

The bottle cap rims look like they came off an earlier 325 perhaps?

I'd guess that the only options available were the sunroof, the radio, the seating fabric and the outside temp display...but maybe Ryann is right?  I'd be interested in knowing just for the heck of it.  I didn't think leather was an option, only vinyl or fabric (definitely not the coupe's sport seats either).   Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.   Even an automatic transmission, cruise control, power sunroof, crank windows, Check Control and the 13-button OBC were unavailable for our budget-basement 318i!

Suspension is different too, wonder if the M-Tech bits on the 318is were offered for the sedan?

[race2win]

Thanks so much guys for the warm welcome! Yeah, I'm pretty sure this car did not originally come with those bottle-caps, but were added at some point. The spare is a steelie, so I am guessing that is what was on the car originally. I have'nt checked the diff yet (raining right now) but I will later to see if I am lucky & it has an original LSD.

howdy, I'm relatively new here also. Used to be a 2002 guy that recently picked up a 318i 4d in brilliant red from the original owner. I've also done some research, some of which I did in the owner's manual that came with my car! The LSD was an option for the 318i, and leather, as was a sunroof. The "bottlecap" alloy wheels you've got were an option (mine didn't come with those). What our cars couldn't have were the 318is' sport seats. There are some other minor options such as the panel above the rear view mirror, an upgraded clock/trip computer in the dash, map lights in the r/v mirror, etc. If you're serious about autocrossing this car, another apparently little known fact is that in '91 the 318is had a close ratio gearbox, different from the one in our cars.. a swap I'd consider myself if I came across a low milage one. Anyway, welcome!

Where did you get this information about the different gearbox ratios? My car also came with the original owner's manual, but reading the gearbox ratio section is somewhat confusing. It lists 2 columns for manual tranmission ratios, one of the columns has "318i" above it & the other column has nothing (as if ALL other manual tranmission '91 3-Series models had the same tranmission). However, the ratios listed under 318i (3.72, 2.02, 1.32, 1.00, .81) are the same exact ratios all 3 major car magazines listed in their road tests of the 318is 2-door. Can anybody else confirm if the 4-door does in fact have a different gearbox & what exact ratios are?

At this point, from what I can tell, the 4-door is mechanically identical to the 2-door. Both cars had the same available options (sunroof, fog lights, cloth or vinyl, security system, metallic paint & LSD), but only the 2-door was available with the sport seats, spoilers, & the small interior differences Ryann mentioned above. The only thing I am still trying to confirm is if the 14x6.5" basket-weave alloys were available on the 4-door, or if they were exclusive to the 2-door....anyone know for sure?

[DesktopDave]

I'd suspect that those wheels were not an option, but I honestly have no idea.

I'll be repainting my 14" basket weaves this spring.  They do look nice on the sedan, even in primer.

My guess is that BMW NA got a batch of sedans priced to lure yuppies with a sub-$20k sticker...while BMW federalized the M42 for the upcoming e36.  The only e30 platform that really had many options was the 'vert.

[av8drvr]

Nice example, I too am the proud owner of a four door with no sun-roof 318i. In the year+ I spent looking for an M42 I never came across another hard top four door, and yours is the only other one I have seen. Mine is Brilliantrot over black and I think it was the least optioned you could get (I dont even have a radio, but that was stolen not factory deleted). Unfortunately my entire front end is in total dissarray and my open diff is howling like a banshee so I am looking at @$2500 in parts in the next month ( two and half times what I paid for the car!!). I do love this car, and after three months of ownership and some pretty damn frustrating projects completed, I cant imagine getting rid of it. Cant wait to drive the car with a sorted suspension and functioning steering rack, should be a dream!

[DesktopDave]

Ouch...$2500?!?  Can't you buy some salvage parts?  I paid $250 for an entire 325is that gave me a lot of the stuff I needed.  Front suspension parts are something that should always be bought new though...

[race2win]

Hey guys, just jacked up my car & found out it does in fact have the 4.10 LSD diff!!  I think this means that the 91 318i was the only 4-door E30 to ever get a limited slip differential in the US. So, the only options my car appears to have are the fog lights (which I am going to delete) & LSD with no sunroof. Sounds like the perfect stock-class autocrosser to me Although, SCCA classifies the car in G Stock right alongside the 318is, I don't think it would be very competitive in that class. But, I may just take the Hoosier A6s off my Miata & try it out at one of the next events..... :cool:  

I remember when these cars were new in the early 90s being very fast in autocrossing. Originally the 318is was in E Stock I believe, & the 318i was in H Stock. But then the 4-doors were dominating HS, running pretty much the same times as the 2-door was 2 classes up, so they combined them together & they have been that way ever since. Hmmm, might be worth a letter to SCCA for a class change proposal .

So, still trying to determine if the 14x6.5s were an option, I know where I can get a set cheap. Oh yeah, one more thing, does anyone know if these cars had a power antenna originally? My car has a manual one that you pull up by hand. Thanks again guys for the welcome, been driving the car a couple days now & really like it =)

[Ryann]

Sounds like mine is identical to av8drvr's, 117K original on the clock.

info revision: leather was not available for either the 318i or 318is as DesktopDave said, and the photos I've seen were apparently pleather. sorry. options were: alarm system, fog lights, LSD, special colors, and sunroof. the bottle caps were not available as an option, and steelies were standard with optional wheel covers. YES- the 14" basket weaves-"Sport wheels" were an available option with your choice of black, white, gold, or silver centers. another wheel option was the very rarely opted 15" "Starspoke" Style 10 alloy that came wrapped in Pirelli P-600 tires. power antenna was standard. according to my original documentation the '91 318is was fitted with a transmission that had shorter gearing in 1-3 with identical gears 4-5, hence the same MPG's and top speed. I read some info on the web indicating that this gearbox was borrowed from the Euro 518i.

ratios as stated in my original documentation:

318i         318is
3.84         3.72
2.20         2.02
1.39         1.32
1.00         1.00
0.81         0.81

race2win: I'd be happy to purchase your foglight package should you decide to delete it!

[race2win]

Sounds like mine is identical to av8drvr's, 117K original on the clock.

info revision: leather was not available for either the 318i or 318is as DesktopDave said, and the photos I've seen were apparently pleather. sorry. options were: alarm system, fog lights, LSD, special colors, and sunroof. the bottle caps were not available as an option, and steelies were standard with optional wheel covers. YES- the 14" basket weaves-"Sport wheels" were an available option with your choice of black, white, gold, or silver centers. another wheel option was the very rarely opted 15" "Starspoke" Style 10 alloy that came wrapped in Pirelli P-600 tires. power antenna was standard. according to my original documentation the '91 318is was fitted with a transmission that had shorter gearing in 1-3 with identical gears 4-5, hence the same MPG's and top speed. I read some info on the web indicating that this gearbox was borrowed from the Euro 518i.

ratios as stated in my original documentation:

318i         318is
3.84         3.72
2.20         2.02
1.39         1.32
1.00         1.00
0.81         0.81

race2win: I'd be happy to purchase your foglight package should you decide to delete it!

I see those same ratios in my owner's manual, but in my book the first column does not have a particular model above it, & the 2nd column has 318i above it. Here is a picture of it, is it different than your book?

You mention the 318is having shorter gearing, but aren't the 1st 3 gears in the left column shorter? The 2nd-3rd spacing is closer on the right column, but otherwise I read it like the 1st column has overall shorter gearing (bigger numbers) in the 1st 3 gears. I wonder if that 1st column is for the 6-cylinder cars, it would make sense due to their 3.73 rear diff ratio?

I don't suppose you mind sharing where you got the info about the wheels do you? Now that I know my car has the limited slip, I am really thinking hard about stock class autocrossing it. In stock classes, we can run any size tire that fits on a stock sized rim. The bigger the rim, the more tire we can get on the ground. The extra 1/2" of the basket weaves will go a long way in helping get my 225/50-14 Hoosier A6s on the ground. I have never heard about a 15" wheel being available on the 318s, I think that must have been a dealer-installed option since the door jamb sticker & owner's manual only list 14" tire sizes. What was the width of that 15" wheel?

[deekay]

a 318i sedan was originally what i was looking for, but i impulse-bought the vert when i found it because i wasn't previously aware you could get an m42 drop-top. every time i drive over rough surfaces and feel the cowl shake i wish i'd kept looking. great find, OP.

if the 15" option is the one i'm thinking of, it's a fluted 6-spoke... i can't find a pic right now, but i checked on car-part.com and they list a 15x7 basketweave-type wheel... but it has a pic of a 5-lug m3 wheel.

does the fact that you could get a car in europe with a 15x7 allow the use of that size wheel, or does it have to be a USDM option? could you use car-part (search on 1991 bmw 318i) to argue that 15x7 was a stock wheel size and run euro-weaves?

[av8drvr]

Ouch...$2500?!?  Can't you buy some salvage parts?  I paid $250 for an entire 325is that gave me a lot of the stuff I needed.  Front suspension parts are something that should always be bought new though...

I am going to go with a re-man 95 M3 steering rack, all new control arms, E30 M3 bushings, new tie-rods (complete) new sway bar links, H&R Sports and Bilstein's at all corners, new wheels (the 15" Panasport Replica's from Ireland Engineering),Vorschlag studs, new tires, I need a diff (my open 4.10 is toast, so LSD it is) and a new steering wheel. Then I will need an alignment and I should be sorted. My plan is to go Lemfoerder for the suspension bits so that is the real cost driver here, but I only want to do this work once, and I figure my 8 year old daughter will thank me when she gets the keys at 16 to a solid 30 year old classic (what teenage girl wouldnt be thrilled, right!?).

[DesktopDave]

That's quite the list of hardware...still, I'd have to figure the car is worth it rather than a payment on something newer.  Low mileage M42s are rare, I can totally agree with your investment in parts.  I expect that my six-year-old and five-year-old will be fighting for the keys one day...

You can't buy anything else like this car...nobody makes anything like it, not even BMW.  The only cars I've driven that come close are the 2002ti/tii, Merc 190 2.3-16 (fun little car, that) and maybe an e30 M3 (not that I've driven one myself).  The e30/m42 is nearly as much fun, but without the problems with spares.

[av8drvr]

I wholeheartedly agree with your take on the M42, it was the only choice for me when I got serious about buying a hobby/project/auto-cross car. I own an E46 M3 (my first BMW) and although I love that car for its technology (I think the last true "M" from BMW, a debate for another board) it has spent quite a lot of time in the garage. My 318 needs a ton of work, as I have mentioned, and frankly it drives like crap right now it is so loose and unpredictable in the front, but my motor runs strong and I can feel the potential in the lightness and balance. I can not wait to get this car sorted, at which point I will start my own thread and quit hijacking this poor man's intro.

[race2win]

No worries on the hi-jack, I love reading up on all this stuff...soaking it up like a sponge! My car has 167K on it & I paid $1500, I got lucky though in that the previous owner put all new shocks/bushings/control arms/cooling system in it within the last year. I was thinking yesterday, what more could I have got with that money? The answer was pretty much nothing....maybe a Corolla, Prizm, or some hacked up Civic/Integra :confused: My Brother needed a cheap commuter last year & ended up spending $2K on a Toyota Paseo lol. For less than that I got a very fun to drive BMW that also happens to get great gas mileage!