Quote:
Originally Posted by tjts1
I had a 91 318i 16v 4 door. That combination only existed for one year and only in the US. Rare and worthless. On M3 springs Bilstein HDs, new bushings and RT615 tires it was extremely fun to drive on the local canyon roads. The downside was everything else. 4.1 diff made it noisy, inefficient and slow. With a 7200rpm redline it couldn't even make to 60 at the top of 2nd. Eventually I replaced the diff with a 3.64 and it became a better car instantly. After a while we acquired a 190e 2.3 in the family and the limitations of the E30 became obvious. Everything inside the 318 was cheap and flimsy by comparison, the ride was terrible, seats uncomfortable, the doors and windows let in too much wind noise, the engine was a pain in the ass to work on and it lacked low end torque compared to the Mercedes 8 valve. I replaced the M42 powered 318i with a cheap salvage title 190e 2.6 5spd. The 190e had its own faults but it was a vast improvement. Eventually I junked the 190e after it failed smog but many parts from it including the 5 spd lived on my 300d and I've never looked back.
In the end the e30 is a fun car with a cult following and i dont regret owning it (for a while) but for me its faults out weigh its good qualities. If you found a good one, enjoy it and don't forget to do the timing belt. |
I test drove a 318i but didn't like it, although most e30 enthusiasts like it much better than a 325e. I absolutely wanted a 6 cyl in my e30, and although not much hp in a 325e (127 hp), it has lots of torque and like all BMW inline 6, is very smooth.
And although the e (for eta) was oriented torwards fuel economy, it was actually the luxurious e30, with leather, rear headrests, power everything. The interior looks more substantial than the 318i, which to me looks a little bit cheap. But the 325i is the e30 to buy, but I couldn't find an unmolested, original, good condition 325i at a reasonnable price.
All in all, the e30 is not as solid as a 190e, but more fun to drive IMHO.