BMW E30 318is OMG RWD update 04.04

[shite_meister]

Today I can haz a 1991 E30 318is, I actually bought it a month ago then dropped one hell of a bollock and had to wait a month before I could actually afford it the vendor is someone I know in a say-hello-work-in-the-same-trade sort of way but fortunately for me he held onto the car for me for a month even though other people wanted to buy it-what a top bloke

 

Anyway here are some wank photos, its got wanky E36 M3 replica wheels which shall be binned in favour of some original 15" BBS and the perkiest 1.8 16v engine I've driven in a long while. I also own an E36 M3 and another E30-a 325i and I was expecting to be really disappointed with the way the 318 drove but nope, its neither ball-crushingly rapid nor slow. I don't normally like four cylinders but this is nice, the engine sounds really cammy and rorty past 3k revs although it does have a fruity-wop-wop gaylord exhaust. Eyebrow 'things' are coming off tommorrow.

 

Its done 85k and has tidy black leather chairs, being red its now pink. Even though its only a 318 I've wanted this particular car for the last nine years as I know a previous owner, I'm quite fortunate that a car will catch my eye and years later I end up owning it-thats happened qute a few times now.

 

[trigger]

I think Pog will love you long time now!.I agree about ditching the wheels, they look shite but lovely car, They are getting quite collectable as well so you might even make a few quid on it when you came to sell.

[shite_meister]

I think Pog will love you long time now!.

 

I agree about ditching the wheels, they look shite but lovely car, They are getting quite collectable as well so you might even make a few quid on it when you came to sell.

Cheers, I made an offer that was way off his asking price and I thought he'd tell me to fuck off but a week of playing it cool landed me with it.

 

I also own this which is a 325i Sport, I want to get some of these wheels for the 318:

 

I sometimes frequent an E30 website called the e30zone but its full of kids bickering mainly about how shit 318is are compared to a 325i I find it now a somewhat nauseating site to go on.

[Milford Cubicle]

Good call on losing the wheels. I think these look appalling on big blingy wheels, same goes for most older cars really.

[trigger]

Your 325i Sport is gorgeous! The BBS alloys look much better as well, They are often coming up for sale on Retro Rides.

[Albert Ross]

Proper knob jockey rims. Try an Ebay swap with a Paki in Leicester for his Grandma's Steels off her 316 Auto she gave him for Crimbo/Ramadan/Diwali... (can I say that on here?)

[shite_meister]

Your 325i Sport is gorgeous! The BBS alloys look much better as well, They are often coming up for sale on Retro Rides.

Thanks Mike although the photo makes it look far nicer than it actually is, I owned the 325i originally many years ago and like a twat I sold it, it was the only car I've ever had that I regretted selling and it had lots of mega rare optional extras so I bought it back two years ago, unfortunately it has a bit of rot here and there and I hope to have it restored soon as I've already done the mechanical bits, in fact that came with horrendous shitty 17s and FUCKSHIT suspension too when I got it back so I put original spec stuff on it.

[garbaldy]

Proper knob jockey rims. Try an Ebay swap with a Paki in Leicester for his Grandma's Steels off her 316 Auto she gave him for Crimbo/Ramadan/Diwali... (can I say that on here?)

That is not politicaly correct you should be hung drawn and quartered i also find it very offensive when people like yourself resort to shortening words so just remember before you post the next time its Christmas

[trigger]

At least he didn't write XMAS.

[Guest]

Proper knob jockey rims. Try an Ebay swap with a Paki in Leicester for his Grandma's Steels off her 316 Auto she gave him for Crimbo/Ramadan/Diwali... (can I say that on here?)

That is not politicaly correct you should be hung drawn and quartered i also find it very offensive when people like yourself resort to shortening words so just remember before you post the next time its Christmas

Deft!

[Fat_Pirate]

I sometimes frequent an E30 website called the e30zone but its full of kids bickering mainly about how shit 318is are compared to a 325i I find it now a somewhat nauseating site to go on.

Is there any BMW forum that isn't full of arseholes? The primary topics on the E39 one are eBay HIDs, mahoosive RIMZ, and how to dress for court appearances. No, I'm not kidding - "I was caught doing 90 in a 50mph zone, I already have 9 points for speeding, am I going to get banned?"Nice car by the way - have you got some stretched tyre goodness going on there too? BONUS!

[shite_meister]

Is there any BMW forum that isn't full of arseholes? The primary topics on the E39 one are eBay HIDs, mahoosive RIMZ, and how to dress for court appearances. No, I'm not kidding - "I was caught doing 90 in a 50mph zone, I already have 9 points for speeding, am I going to get banned?"Nice car by the way - have you got some stretched tyre goodness going on there too? BONUS!

The E28 and E34 sections of the BMW5 forum was ok when I used to loiter.Thanks for the comments, I've no idea if they're stretched tyres as I picked it up at 19.30 and as I've not yet told her indoors for fear of testicle re-alignment I couldn't really bring it home, fuck it'd be less hassle to have an affair or be a smack addict.The chap I bought it off is a mechanic for a top independant BMW specialist, nice to see he even greased the sunroof runners It makes a lovely growl when I place it in second gear and press the pedal on the right and turn the steering wheel in a fast twirly motion.

[Pete-M]

Nice! I like E30s, ran a 325i Touring for about 9 months until a year ago.If I buy another, I'll do the E36 rack conversion to it.

[VWPowered]

i used to have an early E30 318i

 

 

looks a nice ride that though chap well done

[shite_meister]

Nice! I like E30s, ran a 325i Touring for about 9 months until a year ago.If I buy another, I'll do the E36 rack conversion to it.

Yeah I remember-metallic black? would like a touring. The steering on an E30 (except the M3) is renowned for being like 35 turns lock-to-lock I have a Z3 gearlever on my 325i which shortens the throw without being nasty.

[shite_meister]

i used to have an early E30 318i

 

 

looks a nice ride that though chap well done

Cheers VW, I had a 320 identical looking to yours...right pile of shit.

 

Hey them rear lights on your Scirocco are awesome in a 1980s-fashion sort of way, I remember them 'back in the day'

[VWPowered]

yes tht scirocco was an original scala scirocco that came with the white alloys, white interior and white taillights

 

sadly disposed of by jealous ex wife

 

 

wher my names comes from was the last car to grace the VWPowered.com website (big us website) before it closed its doors and turns to webrings and money

 

 

 

in moodier times

 

 

as it was before misses binned it..

 

 

and es my 318i was complete rubbish too, whine from the rear diff, seriously iffy brakes (duff servo) swapped it for another scirocco

[Betaphile]

The steering on an E30 (except the M3) is renowned for being like 35 turns lock-to-lock I have a Z3 gearlever on my 325i which shortens the throw without being nasty.

Oh right, so it's not just me then. Every time I've driven an E30 I was never able to understand why there was so much wheel-turning necessary, especially considering every journo ever raves about the handling on these.

[shite_meister]

The steering on an E30 (except the M3) is renowned for being like 35 turns lock-to-lock I have a Z3 gearlever on my 325i which shortens the throw without being nasty.

Oh right, so it's not just me then. Every time I've driven an E30 I was never able to understand why there was so much wheel-turning necessary, especially considering every journo ever raves about the handling on these.

I'm not sure why this is the case-possibly a RHD issue as it was designed as a LHD car being German even the brake servo is mounted on the nearside instead of the offside, The M3 has a much better rack but they're LHD only so a popular mod is to use an E36 or Z3 rack.

[Owain-328i]

Like it!! E30's are fantastic and id love to own a 325i Sport like yours one day Im a big fan of all BMW's right up to the e39 5 series, that was the last car they produced that i like and quite fancy owning in V8 flavour soon

[andrew e]

I sometimes frequent an E30 website called the e30zone but its full of kids bickering mainly about how shit 318is are compared to a 325i I find it now a somewhat nauseating site to go on.

Is there any BMW forum that isn't full of arseholes? The primary topics on the E39 one are eBay HIDs, mahoosive RIMZ, and how to dress for court appearances. No, I'm not kidding - "I was caught doing 90 in a 50mph zone, I already have 9 points for speeding, am I going to get banned?"Nice car by the way - have you got some stretched tyre goodness going on there too? BONUS!

Its so true!!! A lovely 3 there - welldone!

[Gompo]

Am I right in thinking these have a particularly heavy flywheel?I was a bit disappointed with the one I drove, seemed to be lacking in any enthusiasm to rev (and thus accellerate) and even when it got to the higher part of the rev range it seemed a bit slow. I imagine a different flywheel would make a nice difference.

[pogweasel]

deep joy!!!(GR8 4 polishin'!)I've had about every flavour of E30 going, and the iS is deffo the best.

[shite_meister]

Am I right in thinking these have a particularly heavy flywheel?I was a bit disappointed with the one I drove, seemed to be lacking in any enthusiasm to rev (and thus accellerate) and even when it got to the higher part of the rev range it seemed a bit slow. I imagine a different flywheel would make a nice difference.

Gompo there must have been something wrong with the one you drove because the first thing I noticed was its willingness to rev. I know a popular mod is to fit a lightened flywheel from a six cylinder and although I have one lying about I will no doubt do fuck-all about it.Pog-it isn't the disappointment I thought it might be, I find the 325i has a more lazy approach to the way it delivers its power fairly low down whereas you ring the neck of the I.S but its definately not a let-down and it feels like you can chuck it all over the shop, it sounds great for a four-pot too. I'm hoping that once I've stopped driving like a twat aound corners and calmed down that the fuel consumption might prove to be ok.

[Hudsonpie]

Nice purchase mate looks lovely. E30 zone.....twatshop.......The 318is was released alongside the the 325i and had to be de-tuned as it was just as fast. The mods they carried out are well known and can be reversed to wring out a little more power. That said 138 or so brake from a 1.8 is not to be sniffed at. Oh and apparently they don't like shit big exhausts....The rack swop is a good idea as is moving the front wheels forward a bit to help with turn in. The added bonus is the rear end is the same as two five so you get rear discs etc. IMO BMW got it right from the factory and they really don't need any mods as they are already a cracking little car.I once raced a Caterham along a windy A road, and he had to work hard to leave me behind.Try Fritzsbitz.com....for bitz....Random Dave is THE man to talk to about Bimmers.Also the scabby 318is in my spots thread might be coming my way as the tit who owns it has been moaning that hes wrecked it etc etc (he ripped the front spoiler off playing in the snow) Hes on about scrapping it so I'm waiting to pounce......

[Gompo]

Am I right in thinking these have a particularly heavy flywheel?I was a bit disappointed with the one I drove, seemed to be lacking in any enthusiasm to rev (and thus accellerate) and even when it got to the higher part of the rev range it seemed a bit slow. I imagine a different flywheel would make a nice difference.

Gompo there must have been something wrong with the one you drove because the first thing I noticed was its willingness to rev. I know a popular mod is to fit a lightened flywheel from a six cylinder and although I have one lying about I will no doubt do fuck-all about it.

..To be honest I hope there was something wrong with it! It did have pretty much FSH, around 90K on the clock and was in VGC. I suspect it was a little under used recently so maybe just needed a good run out. I think I was expecting a bit too much from it after reading so many good reviews about it Admittedly I wasnt that impressed with the handling either but I didnt have the longest test drive..Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy yours

[hennabm]

I sometimes frequent an E30 website called the e30zone but its full of kids bickering mainly about how shit 318is are compared to a 325i I find it now a somewhat nauseating site to go on.

I too go on there and if you're not fitting huge wheels and exhausts then forget it. Standard cars just don't get a look in by many.One so called expert took a perfectly good 3 and ripped it apart to put a Volvo T5 engine in? Derrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Never seen a note to say he finished it though. The 318is produces nearly as many horses as my 323i but being a lighter engine means better nose weight for handling purposes.Nice car

[Pete-M]

Back in the depths of time I had an E21 323i. That was ace fun.Gold one, with 13" BBS, dogleg manual box, PAS and LSD. Had <60k on the clock and cost me £400. YAT153X it was.

[hennabm]

{Back in the depths of time I had an E21 323i. That was ace fun. Gold one, with 13" BBS, dogleg manual box, PAS and LSD. Had <60k on the clock and cost me £400. YAT153X it was.}They were wild on the back end especially in the damp. I did like the twin exhausts on those E21s.I had two E21s but both 316s. One was KWG 757P, an early one with a 1600cc engine and then EST 980X with 5 speed and 1766cc engine. I did want a 323 and saw one at Harry Fairbairn but just on the day I was to see it Calterdon offered me the E30 323 I still have,

[shite_meister]

Had an E21 323i myself, really miss it actually and it was immaculate too.

 

some more pics.

 

As bought:

 

Thirty seconds later the eyebrow 'things' were duly removed

 

I CAN HAZ BLAK LETHR sports seats, worth a few quid to the E30 boyz as they're usually borked. I also swapped the stupidly small crappy aftermarket steering wheel for a proper BMW jobbie I had lying about (own parts supplies are GR8!)

 

Wanky wheels need to go, got wheel wobble so went to tyre dept, got out of car saw offside front wheel had a dink in it got back in car and fucked off.

 

So thats it, drives well apart from the wobble and although I aways miss the straight-six growl when I start it this has its own charm. I'll be busy with the Farecla G10 and a mop when its dry/I can be arsed.

 

I've made three very small mods to the car since I've owned it all of which took me no less than five mins in total and have transfomed the car, first was the frankly awfull steering wheel that was on it, why have a wheel so small that you can't see any of the info on the dials? even looking at the fuel guage required some serious neck cranking, the second was the drives mat, the standard BMW mats have a plastic heel bit which on this one had come away and been bent back so every time you moved your foot it'd get caught up in some stupid piece of plastic but obviously the previous owner enjoyed that, only took two seconds to rip it off! third was them there eyebrows which weren't even stuck on properly which was a relief. Usually I'd run a mile seeing a car with such wank mods but I know the guy really looked after it mechanically.