'95 1.8 Litre vs 1.9 Litre Engine

[ATF]

I've been scratching my head at this one...

Is there any significant difference between the '95's 1.8 Litre engine and the other 318's 1.9 Litre Engine? I attempted to search for "litre" and "liter" and do some browsing on the net, but still nothing prevailed.

Sorry for the dumb question, but it's killing me :)

-Nick

[pnosker]

The 1.8l is the M42 motor, has forged rods and slightly lower torque. It runs at lower compression (I think). Also, the air filter is a different size (also think), and oil filters are different. They're pretty similar, but slightly different. HP ratings are the same, just a difference in torque, and also in the HP and Torque curves since it's OBDI and pre-optimization. With a Dinan (or other) chip, it is readjusted timingwise to produce much more similar power to the 1.9l M44.

[weezer]

the first 318ti (95 only) came out with the M42 engine that has 1.8L and produced 133hp and 129 lbft torque. From late 96-99 the M44 engine came out with 133 lbft torque. The euro figures were a little more optimistic at 140 hp, similar to the 318Is at 141hp. The M42 engines were prone to overheating, thats why it had 3 choices of thermostat ratings: 75, 88, 92 degrees. The M44 had a longer intake plenum and uses a Mass Air Sensor (MAF) starting from 1997 the secondary air pump was added for emissions.
The M42 is easier to tune, especially with a chip, some figures have added up to 15 hp (Dinan) vs the M44 where everything is pretty much maxed out, because of the higher displacement and using the updated OBD2.
Significant, no......but some prefer the earlier ones than the later ones.

[Rhys]

also AFAIK, the M42 has a timing belt as opposed to the M44 which has a chain.

[pnosker]

My dad's 91 318i had a timing chain, but it was half as thick as the M44 chain. It broke twice. His motor was the M42 (1st year)

[Rhys]

My dad's 91 318i had a timing chain, but it was half as thick as the M44 chain. It broke twice. His motor was the M42 (1st year)

Aye, maybe your right there. Just checked here (http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/enumber.html) and it says its a chain. Looks like the euro M40 was a belt.

[John Firestone]

The European horsepower numbers are usually slightly higher than the American ones, because Europe uses a slightly smaller horse. The M42/M44 have the same, rated output of 103kW on both continents which translates to 138 DIN hp and 140 SAE hp. We wouldn't have this problem if everyone would think in kilowatts. I believe that was tried in Germany some years ago, but like the U.S. metrification program, people still count how many horses they have.

I thought the M42 always had a timing chain, but I don't know its early history. I know the M40 had a timing belt that you wanted to change no later than every 80 000 km (50 000 miles).

[robcarync]

m44 had the MAF...what air measuring device did the m42 have...i used to know it but for some reason it has slipped my mind and i cant find it...

[John Firestone]

From the 1996 BMW NA "Fast Facts" booklet, the M44 key features include:

New, improved cylinder head. Instead of the previous bucket-type hydraulic valve lifters, the valves are now actuated via roller rocker arms, which replace sliding friction contact between the camshafts and lifter with rolling contact. This reduces friction in the valvetrain, contributing to the improved performance and efficiency and potentially reducing wear. Mainenance of zero valve clearance (which is what hydraulic lifters always do, to reduce noise and eliminate periodic clearance adjustments) is now done by stationary, hydraulically positioned pedestals on which the rocker arms pivot. This arrangement, used here for the first time on a BMW engine with four valves per cylinder, is similar to that found in the BMW's most premium engine, the 750iL/850Ci V-12.
New engine-management system and fuel injection. Also new is a Bosch Digital Motor Electronics (DME) engine-management system, the same type used on the latest 750iL and 850Ci models, with new hot-film air-mass measurement and fully sequential fuel injection. This type of air mass measurement offers less resistance to incoming air and can react faster to changes in throttle position, so it too contributes to the engine's new performance.
Dual resonance intake system, which provides two intake-pipe lengths to the cylinders according to the engine speed, continues but has been refined to improve serviceability and match the new engine. It now changes over from low- to high-speed setting at 4200 rpm, 600 rpm sooner than before and a good indicator of the engine's improved torque characteristics.
New exhaust sytem, with fabricated stainless-steel headers replacing the previous cast-iron ones. These shorten the warmup time for the catalytic converter, helping reduce emissions after a cold start.
Emphasis as in the original which was written to raise the troops' selling spirit.

[robcarync]

bump for my previous question...

m44 uses MAF, but how does the m42 measure air...i cant remember and its hard to search for a term that i dont know (already tried)

[John Firestone]

m44 uses MAF, but how does the m42 measure air....With a Mass Air Flow sensor, specifically, a hot wire MAF. Instead of heating a thin film, the M42 heats a wire and measures how much the air flow cools it and lowers its resistance.

[mooseheadm5]

M42 uses a VAF or vane (or volume) air flow meter with a flapper door like older BMWs. The incoming air opens the flapper and a resistance circuit tells the computer how far open the door is. Not as accurate as MAF but usually more reliable.
-Paul

[hhspunter]

the first 318ti (95 only) came out with the M42 engine that has 1.8L and produced 133hp and 129 lbft torque. From late 96-99 the M44 engine came out with 133 lbft torque. The euro figures were a little more optimistic at 140 hp, similar to the 318Is at 141hp. The M42 engines were prone to overheating, thats why it had 3 choices of thermostat ratings: 75, 88, 92 degrees. The M44 had a longer intake plenum and uses a Mass Air Sensor (MAF) starting from 1997 the secondary air pump was added for emissions.
The M42 is easier to tune, especially with a chip, some figures have added up to 15 hp (Dinan) vs the M44 where everything is pretty much maxed out, because of the higher displacement and using the updated OBD2.
Significant, no......but some prefer the earlier ones than the later ones.

how important is that secondary air pump? i have codes 0455 and 1423 at the moment... anyone know anything about those?

[John Firestone]

Sorry, strike what I wrote. The M50 was hot wire.

Interesting. I posted 2 1/2 hours after Paul yet his post appears after mine.

Oh, we have become threaded.

[robcarync]

so m42 determines fuel based on volume of air, and m44 determines fuel based on mass of air...

this just makes me curious about intake systems

such as even if you use a high flow air filter/cold air intake, the volume would be the same, but the mass would be more...but since the volume is the same, the amount of fuel injected would be the same on an m42, you would get absolutely no gain at all unless you have a chip to add more fuel

and on an m44, since the computer measures the mass, the stock software can compensate for more mass of air and inject more fuel without any other softwares.


i mean i know on our cars intakes dont really give much gains (if any at all)

but this logic would indicate that m42=no gain and m44=some gain possibly

correct?

[mooseheadm5]

Not exactly, because it looks at intake temp as well and mass, volume, and temp of air are related.
-Paul

[Den]

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6776

[robcarync]

word thanks guys....just curious for a bit....hijack is now over