Squeezing power from 318i e36 saloon
Discussion
tomTVR said:
I hate to be the one to say it but if you want to go faster then swap it for a 328i - easily the best bhp/£ upgrade.
I don't know how much you paid for the 318i but as above, you're only option is an engine swap - and doing that will hit you more in the pockets insurance wise than just buying a 328i straight out...
Edited by neil_bolton on Wednesday 5th September 14:28
This seems like a really odd thing to ask. I remember a while ago, somebody saying they had just bought a 325 auto, how can they change it to manual? Err, buy a manual.
Is there something special about this particular car that made you want it above a bigger engined alternative?
Even if dropping in, for example, a 2.8 proved cost effective, its going to be more expensive to insure than a standard 328 and potentially less reliable plus it'll always be a modified 318 and consequently probably worth less than a standard 318 let alone a 328.
Is there something special about this particular car that made you want it above a bigger engined alternative?
Even if dropping in, for example, a 2.8 proved cost effective, its going to be more expensive to insure than a standard 328 and potentially less reliable plus it'll always be a modified 318 and consequently probably worth less than a standard 318 let alone a 328.
Dino D said:
Gad-Westy said:
This seems like a really odd thing to ask. I remember a while ago, somebody saying they had just bought a 325 auto, how can they change it to manual? Err, buy a manual.
Some people aren't perfect and make a mistake from time to time with their car choice....Just to reiterate a little on the idea of tuning a 318i.
In general a performance chip is unlikely to have much effect. It may feel slightly "revvier" or raise the rev limit a little but significant powergains are very unlikely. Chips make a lot of sense on turbos but not on N/A engines IMO. Other standard choices are exhaust, filter etc... In combo with a remap, you might see some improvement from these but you'd have probably spent £500-£1000 to see another 10bhp.
To really get more power out of an N/A engine usually requires head work, basically to get air in and out of the engine as fast as possible. With some porting of the head and some racier cams you can start to see real gains but it costs, especially if your intake and/or exhaust can't keep up. And after all that, you'll have a peaky engine, not particularly suited to a roadgoing saloon.
Obviously an aftermarket supercharger/turbocharger is an option but the conversion would likely cost a similar amount to an early 3.0 M3 so it starts to look a little pointless.
I know people sitting at their computers and telling you that you should sell the car you've just bought comes across as a little tw@ty but if you're really after significantly more grunt, a car swap really is the best solution.
In general a performance chip is unlikely to have much effect. It may feel slightly "revvier" or raise the rev limit a little but significant powergains are very unlikely. Chips make a lot of sense on turbos but not on N/A engines IMO. Other standard choices are exhaust, filter etc... In combo with a remap, you might see some improvement from these but you'd have probably spent £500-£1000 to see another 10bhp.
To really get more power out of an N/A engine usually requires head work, basically to get air in and out of the engine as fast as possible. With some porting of the head and some racier cams you can start to see real gains but it costs, especially if your intake and/or exhaust can't keep up. And after all that, you'll have a peaky engine, not particularly suited to a roadgoing saloon.
Obviously an aftermarket supercharger/turbocharger is an option but the conversion would likely cost a similar amount to an early 3.0 M3 so it starts to look a little pointless.
I know people sitting at their computers and telling you that you should sell the car you've just bought comes across as a little tw@ty but if you're really after significantly more grunt, a car swap really is the best solution.
Edited by Gad-Westy on Wednesday 5th September 16:40
With the extra grunt from an engine swap, you'll soon be looking for more stopping power (doesn't the 318i have drum brakes at the rear?) and better handling. So even with more power, you'll soon be wishing you swapped for a 328i.
Their cheap now anyway, get a good one and look after it and I doubt it will go wrong on you.
Their cheap now anyway, get a good one and look after it and I doubt it will go wrong on you.
Ravell said:
With the extra grunt from an engine swap, you'll soon be looking for more stopping power (doesn't the 318i have drum brakes at the rear?) and better handling. So even with more power, you'll soon be wishing you swapped for a 328i.
Their cheap now anyway, get a good one and look after it and I doubt it will go wrong on you.
And still return 30 mpg!Their cheap now anyway, get a good one and look after it and I doubt it will go wrong on you.
Fer said:
Ravell said:
With the extra grunt from an engine swap, you'll soon be looking for more stopping power (doesn't the 318i have drum brakes at the rear?) and better handling. So even with more power, you'll soon be wishing you swapped for a 328i.
Their cheap now anyway, get a good one and look after it and I doubt it will go wrong on you.
And still return 30 mpg!Their cheap now anyway, get a good one and look after it and I doubt it will go wrong on you.
)Fer said:
neil_bolton said:
Try 35mpg on a motorway run at 80mph (if you can resist booting it )
It will never happen! )
Having some great fun, although that hateful MPG guage is worrying, since it keeps dropping off the scale to the right...
At the moment tho, I've got NO fuel gauge - I've had the infamous dodgy wire on the fuel sender - and I need to do the repair which includes removing the fuel pump and soldering the wire back on
Cheers for all the amusing/interesting replies 
What I'm hearing is "you can't polish a turd"....
Budget at the time didn't squeeze to the bigger engines - I'll just have to adjust to life with the 4 cylinders I guess (have had the 525/528/635/728 in my time, all lovely and smooth). This for pot lark makes a lot more noise under stress
It'll do for now - might just save the slush fund for next year!
Cheers folks.....
What I'm hearing is "you can't polish a turd"....
Budget at the time didn't squeeze to the bigger engines - I'll just have to adjust to life with the 4 cylinders I guess (have had the 525/528/635/728 in my time, all lovely and smooth). This for pot lark makes a lot more noise under stress
It'll do for now - might just save the slush fund for next year!
Cheers folks.....
robodonkey2005 said:
Budget at the time didn't squeeze to the bigger engines - I'll just have to adjust to life with the 4 cylinders I guess (have had the 525/528/635/728 in my time, all lovely and smooth). This for pot lark makes a lot more noise under stress
I'm not quite undertstanding how you managed to not get a bigger engined BMW for less?Shirley the 2nd hand market is such that your budget determines condition not engine size - hence why we have a Best Barge Bargains thread with about two million 540i's that can be had for less than a bag of sand?
Take your point Neil. I was trying to cheapen my motoring costs and I had a list of criteria that influenced my purchase.
I'm getting the feeling I should have had power higher on my list
Still - low miles, FBMWSH, low tax (in Ireland this can cost ££££
, low insurance, 4 doors, leather/aircon......now if I can just get used to the missing bhps....
I'm getting the feeling I should have had power higher on my list
Still - low miles, FBMWSH, low tax (in Ireland this can cost ££££
, low insurance, 4 doors, leather/aircon......now if I can just get used to the missing bhps....Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff