New to 318ti....

[morg93]

Hey all,

I have been searching for a car for a while now and I am very interested in the 318ti. I will be buying a car in a few months and I was wondering what year I should look for in a 318ti. I have went through a few used auto sites and found a good amount of 318's in my area. I have a few questions about the 318's....

1. I noticed that alot of you guys were saying the modelings were coming off, would it be a bad idea to put like some pretty big subwoofers in there? (12 inch) prolly 2 of them.

2. Whats the top speed of the 318ti like an estimate, from either package.

3. I noticed as it takes Premium unleaded as well, money will be tight for me due to I am only 19 and insurance is by far my biggest expense. Would this car really set me back for gas? I noticed that it is very good highway wise ( 7.0 liters to 100kms) 31mpg I think.....

Thanks in advance,
Morgan

[MEDIA PUSHER"]

Welcome to the sight.
To answer your questions
1. I'm not exactly sure I know what you mean by modelings, nothing like that seems to be coming off my car.
12s can fit fine, most, like myself prefer 10s, for space consumption, and clarity
2. Top speed is governed at 115mph if i'm not mistaken, but you can chip it if you feel the need. IMO the car aches for an extra gear, the engine drones as it reaches top speed, but the high revs feel great.
3.You can put lower grade in, some do, i don't, I think it makes the car sluggish and the difference in mileage is negligable. If everythings running well you'll be getting around 30 mpg.
hope that helps.

[morg93]

Yea that helps, thanks alot

About that modeling thing I just re-read what I thought to be that modeling issue and relise I mis-read it. I am not really a car guy.... Is it hard to tweak the (I am guessing software for the car) to give me better performance? like get better mileage/speed all that kind of stuff? I am taking computer courses so that may or may not help me out...

Ya I heard sorta the same thing from my friend who knows his stuff. He told me not to put anything but Premium unldead in there, just working it out a little here and it does kinda seem expensive. I live in Canada so like I bet its around $1.00 a liter for Premium.

I noticed that alot of people here are from warmer climates. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the 318 in colder climates? like I was reading all these nice features on the 318 that would definatly help in the winter. I was wondering how it handels during the winter?

Thanks,
Morgan

[cali-ti]

it handles well in the winter. if you're used to RWD, you should have no problem. if you're used to FWD, you'll have an adjustment period. take it out to a large parking lot and play around with it to get used to it.

unless you REALLY know the software, i don't think you want to be playing around with it :p i would personally leave it to the aftermarket tuners to tweak it (btw, little can be done for the m44, a little more for the m42). if you did it wrong, you could cause some serious issues.

i run "silver" unleaded myself. ouch, like $4/gallon ... that'll hurt :(

[morg93]

ya eh $4 a gallon is pretty steep. I am pretty sure its around that that, normal unleaded is like $0.83 a liter. How does your car do runing on Silver? Because if it runs really well then I might do that... it would save me loads of $$

When I was looking for a car I really took into consideration the fuel economeny and like the 318 is very good for gas but that Premium does set it back a bit. From what I compared it to it is still well worth it, I was also looking at a Ford Mustang or a Volkswagon Golf or Jetta. From my research the BMW beat or matched both of these cars. This was a shock to me because the VW Golf and Jetta are smaller then the 318, I think.....

I like all the heat features of the 318, the heated seats, door handels, all that will be great for the winter. Ya I am used to Front Wheel Drive, I haven't driven alot of cars ( Ford Minivan, Pontianc Sunfire and a VW Golf ). So I am sure I will have to get used to it. Also I am not really used to driving standard as embarassing as that is to admit, any tips on learning? I kind of driving a standard car before but not really.


Thanks,
Morgan

[jflip2002]

As for fuel..... You shouldnt put premium in newer cars on every fill up. Newer cars nowadays run hotter than older cars. I put the mid grade in my car most of the time, and you cant really tell the difference. In my car, I set the trip when I put in premium unleaded, and I got 345 miles in my 15 gallon tank. That wasnt even freeway, that was driving in stop and go traffic in fresno, and one single 90 mile roundtrip visit to Visalia. I drive 13 miles to work a day, and I fill up once every 7-10 days I'd estimate.

As for the governor kicking in at 115, Im not so sure about that. I was pretty late for work this morning, and I drive down a totally empty country road. My car hit 120, and was still accelerating. When I started to stop, I lost all depth perception, and felt a little dizzy, so I wouldnt recommend that lol. The brakes didnt like it much either, I think they started to get hot because they were pretty hard to push down.

As for buying used cars period.... I feel 100xs safer buying a standard transmission as opposed to an automatic, when buying without a warranty. They just seem less prone to go out.

[cali-ti]

ya eh $4 a gallon is pretty steep. I am pretty sure its around that that, normal unleaded is like $0.83 a liter. How does your car do runing on Silver? Because if it runs really well then I might do that... it would save me loads of $$it runs fine. i haven't done any real comparisons between silver/premium, but i have no knock (did with regular unleaded).

here is what my manual says:

"Unleaded gasoline only (at least 89 AKI or 95 RON) AKI=anti-knock index, RON=research octane number

Because these engines are equipped with predetonation detectors (knock sensors), they automatically adapt for operation with fuels of various specifications, such as 98 RON or 91 RON. The higher-octane fuels will provide increased performance and fuel economy, while the use of gasoline with a lower octane rating will have an inverse effect.

The official performance and fuel-consumption data are based on testing with 95 RON premium fuel."I like all the heat features of the 318, the heated seats, door handels, all that will be great for the winter.assuming you find one with the heated seats. do we actually have heated door handles/locks?Ya I am used to Front Wheel Drive, I haven't driven alot of cars ( Ford Minivan, Pontianc Sunfire and a VW Golf ). So I am sure I will have to get used to it. Also I am not really used to driving standard as embarassing as that is to admit, any tips on learning? I kind of driving a standard car before but not really.i would suggest getting the car in summer and using the time before winter to get proficient with manual. the most difficult issue with manual is starting from a stop. go to a parking lot and just practice this over and over again until you're comfortable with it. once you're moving, the rest of the shifts are pretty easy. don't try to be mr speed shifter and you should be fine :) don't worry about being embarassed ... none of us knew how to drive manual at one point. you'll learn it and that'll be that.

[morg93]

assuming you find one with the heated seats. do we actually have heated door handles/locks?

Ya I found this pretty good site listing the specs of the 318ti

http://research.cars.com/go/crp/optionsAndExtras.jsp?makeid=5&modelid=30&year=1997&myid=1885&acode=USA70BMC041A0&crpPage=features.jsp&gotopage=optionsAndExtras.jsp&aff=national

According to them it has optional :
Heated Front Seats
Heated Driver's Door Lock
Heated Front Washer Jets

Thats great news about the gas then. Thanks alot for letting me know that. I cannot wait to start my career now so I can buy one of these cars and make it really nice. I am almost done college thou so I am almost there :D


Ya I would like to get one this summer, I was getting pretty comfortable with a VW diesel standard but I lost my touch, if that is possible.


Thanks again,
Morgan

[cali-ti]

According to them it has optional :
Heated Front Seats
Heated Driver's Door Lock
Heated Front Washer Jetshmmm ... going to have to go investigating the ETK and my car now :biggrin: Thats great news about the gas then. Thanks alot for letting me know that.not sure what measurement system you guys use there, but you'll want to check that out. you may very well want to try premium and mid-grade to see if you can feel a difference or note a change in fuel economy over a full tank of each.

[morg93]

you may very well want to try premium and mid-grade to see if you can feel a difference or note a change in fuel economy over a full tank of each.

hehe u got $8,000($CDN)? Because then I can get the car and let u know about that data :D... lol just kidding, the more I learn about this 318ti the more I want one...

Is there any major difference between the years like 1995-1998 ? Anything at all... like if you know the advantages or dis-advantages that would be great if you could tell me.

Thanks,
Morgan

[cali-ti]

hehe u got $8,000($CDN)? Because then I can get the car and let u know about that data :D... lol just kidding, the more I learn about this 318ti the more I want one... hehehe, if i did, i'd probably have an m3 engine swap ;) Is there any major difference between the years like 1995-1998 ? Anything at all... like if you know the advantages or dis-advantages that would be great if you could tell me.big difference is the switch from OBDI to OBDII (on-board diagnostics) between 95 and 96. 96 only had a california option package (which i have). the california roof became an option 97 and later. 96 is also when all season traction control became standard. those are just some simple things. i'm sure there are threads that have already discussed that subject. try hitting the home page and i think from there there's a link to the FAQ too that describes the different option packages and such.

[morg93]

wow you guys here are great, you guys know these cars inside and out and are very willing to share your knownledge :D

Once again I thank you for all your guys help.
Morgan

[cali-ti]

no problem, that's why we're here :)

[morg93]

: )

Now comes the hard part... finding a used 318ti in Canada.... or well close to me enough I guess. I live in Ontario.