Re: <e30> looking for more power!

["Justin Hughes" <ka1ult@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>I have an '84 318i auto w/ 168,000 miles.  Even though the car is 15 years
>old, i know it had to have more power than this.  I haven't timed the
>acceleration, but 0-60 has to be in the 10-12 second range, if not more.
>Are there any adjustments i can make to get a bit more power out of it?  My
>A/C is shot, and looking like 700-1000 to convert to new standards, so i
>was thinking of just pulling the whole thing for weight, which should help
>considerably.  Any other suggestions would be great.

Making your car lighter is always a good way to get free "power" - physics
tells us that the less weight the car has, the less momentum it has, and
therefore the faster the existing power can move it.  My car's AC compressor
was disconnected when I got the car last October.  The car was barely used
for 2 years before that, so I'm sure the AC is pretty much shot.  No
biggie - I have a sunroof, and another car with AC if I really want it.  One
of these days I'll just pull the AC like you're considering.

I have an '83 320i, which has the same engine as your E30.  How much more
power you can get depends on how much work you want to do and/or how much
money you want to spend.  The '77-79 320i had a true 2.0 liter engine, which
was downrated to 1.8 liters from '80 onward, including your 318i.  One trick
E21ers sometimes do is put cranks and pistons for the earlier engines into
their later engines, turning it into a 2.0 liter and gaining a little power
(plus low end torque, which our engine lacks).  An easier way to gain power
is to improve the intake and exhaust.  This can be as simple as popping a
K&N filtercharger into your airbox, or going whole hog with a K&N cone
filter and installing a header and low restriction exhaust.  I'm told that a
K&N adds a bit of power to our engines, though I have yet to try it myself.
See Randy's earlier post which strongly disagrees with this for a second
opinion.  Personally, I know lots of people who run K&Ns in many different
cars without a problem.  Most of all, the best way to keep getting power out
of this engine is to just maintain it well.  I wasn't too pleased with the
power (and especially the lackluster torque) when I got the car, but as I've
replaced parts, maintained the engine, changed oil regularly, and just plain
driven it, it's improved vastly.  I think one of the best ways to keep any
BMW running well is to drive it.  Tough job, but someone's gotta do it. ;)

      - Justin
        BMWCCA #160110
        '83 320i

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