[dkdriver]

hi all!!

i am trying to get more hp out of my car without spending ££££'s on it. its only a 318i i am aiming to have the fastest 318i in thw swindon area (we cal all dream lol) was just wondering if there is anything you guys would suggest? i alread have a pipercross filter and a dtm back box would a de-cat be worth it?

thanks

 

[Keith2.2]

fastest in what way? 0-60, 50-70, top speed or point to point?

While I can identify with wanting a car to be faster, having a "fastest 318i in the area" seems like a pretty daft aim to me. Whole plethora of reasons, the main two being (without wishing to disparage your car) that having the fastest version of the slowest engine (ignoring the 316) seems like an exercise in futility - you want it to be the fastest, so it's for bragging rights and not personal enjoyment - you'll still get spanked by all but the lowliest models in the range, and I notice you have a 318i Saloon, which has about 25bhp less than a 318is coupe of the same age, so you're already at a disadvantage.

For the amount of money you'd need to spend to get a worthwhile increase in performance, you'd be better off getting rid and buying a 325i or something - especially with the prices of E36's these days.

If you really do want to make your 318 go faster then (and I don't know anything about the specific engine and availability of bits so I'm going to generalise) you'll want to start considering:

-Breathing
(cheapest to most expensive: sealed cold air induction, decat pipe, cat back exhaust, manifold, bored out throttle body, port and polish the head, check on flowbench) - don't forget that breathing is like a chain: sticking twin 5 inch bean cans onto a 2 inch exhaust isn't going to produce any power because the 2 inch pipe is still strangling the airflow. I've no idea what the breathing is like on a standard 318i setup - it could be that it's perfect as it is (for example, you can spend £600 on a new SS manifold for a DC2 integra, but the original is so good that all you'll get is a shinier manifold).
-Cams and Cam Gears (MUST have remap done)
-Lightened flywheel and pulleys (see below)
-Engine Management (you'll need to do this to make use of any other modifications).

Don't know your level of tuning experience, but please DO NOT make the mistake of working out power output with 'Nova Maths'

Standard Car = 120bhp
Induction Kit Claims 5bhp
Exhaust Claims 7bhp
Cams Claim 15bhp

Car IS NOT 120+5+7+15

The BEST way to make a car faster? Make it lighter, and remove transmission losses (as touched upon above):
Strip interior
Lightened pulleys and lightened flywheel reduce the amount of torque required to spin the engine and accessories.
Remove the air con and power steering (both have pumps that take direct feed from the engine so you'll free up a few horses, NB You won't be CREATING any extra power, you'll just be sending more of what is there to the road)
Lightening rotational unsprung mass (wheels, tyres and brakes) will have a huge effect.

The above have the added benefit of helping EVERYWHERE, not just straight line or whatever (better throttle pickup, flatter in the bends, stops better)

I've not even touched the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully have illustrated how "make my car faster" needs to be rather more specific..and maybe given you a few things to think about at the same time!

 

[dkdriver]

it would be more of a personale thing rather then bragging as i would see it as an acheivemet being able to make it faster then the 318is and to have the ability to scare 325i. but all the infornation you have told has made me thing about an engine conversion
and then maybe tuneing that. but im looking in overall performance rather then 0-60 or straight line.

 

[RYM]

For the money you'd spend on trying to make your 318i faster you could buy a BMW with a larger engine or do an engine conversion.

You don't appreciate how much I hate saying the above, It's all I used to hear on other forums when I was contemplating a conversion.

I spent a lot of time and MONEY trying to get my 318is to go faster... including Superchip, induction kit, de-cat and stainless Scorpion STW exhaust.

The car from the factory was 140bhp approx.... after all the mods it LOST about 7bhp:eek All that time, money and effort for nothing??? Not quite, I was so peeeeshed off about this that my 318is coupe now runs a 3.0litre Motorsport engine:hihi

If you want the fastest 318i then do a similar transplant and leave the 318i badge on the rear:rofl

 

[DSK]

IMO, forget about bolt on go faster modes like inductions kits and an exhausts ...... they are epxensive and the gain really are not noticebale.

Invest the money on a ECU remap and leave it at that.

Further useful gains can be had by the likes of uprated cmashafts and porting, but personally I'l just put the ££££ towards a 325i or something.

 

[dkdriver]

what sort of gaines am i looking at with a remap? whats the fuel bill like on a 328i engine as i use mine as a daily runner. what sort of prices am i looking at for a conversion and where could i get it done?

 

[Keith2.2]

I wouldn't bother with a straight remap, you'll see perhaps 10bhp. Remaps on turbos and diesels give good gains (25-40bhp), but on an n/a petrol it's only really worth doing in conjunction with modifications.

A transplant, unless you can do it yourself on the drive, will more than likely cost more than a new car would cost - and buying a new car would enable you to sell the one you've got (meaning it essentially costs even less). Then theres the insurance.

I suspect mr Rym will have spent more on getting his car as he wants it than an E36 M3 would have cost outright. The difference, of course, is that he has exactly what he wants. You pays yer money, you takes yer choice. If you want to use the car you've got, go for it. I put a H22 (2.2 vtec engine from a honda prelude) into my 1995 Honda civic - it's time consuming and expensive (and still doesn't run 100%).

Having said that, the 2.2 was never available in the civic, so I guess it's slightly different.

oh and short of a turbo conversion, a 318i will never scare a 325i..