318ti in snow?
 

Hi, I've been reading up on the 318ti quite a bit and have to say this site is awesome! I commute to my college so I've been looking for a new DD for quite a while. I was looking at VW GTI's but then a 318ti caught my eye while I was online.

Description: 1996, 102,000 mi, $5,500, black exterior, beige cloth interior, 5 speed, power windows/locks, traction control, am/fm cassette radio. No fog lights. What model is it? I know it's hard to tell without a pic, sorry.

After a little research, I still want some input from you guys (esp. people who live in snow states) in determining if it's right for me. A couple of questions, handling in snow? Maintenance costs? (I don't think I'll be doing much of the work). How quick is it stock? How much potential does this little guy have with minor mods? Problems that will come up? Sorry for the newbie questions (I know you're sick of them). Thank you for any and all replies.

does it have an OBC? (on-board computer) M3 body-kit? kinda hard too tell without pics, try getting the VIN and running it through Mallard's VIN thread

Snow tires make a world of difference. The skinnier the better. The Ti being RWD, is a blast to drift around in, however it's those occasional patches of ice that will take you out. Being from MN, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. The traction control works but is unpredictable, so don't depend on it to save you. The car itself is pretty light, so if you're driving on hard packed snow or ice, sometimes 18 wheelers will blow you off into the snow drifts. Nothing beats the donuts these things can put down in the snow or the incredible drifts, but don't get too cocky. Ask DustenT, lol J/K Dusten:biggrin:

Maintenance costs are less than your average BMW, but expect some markup on parts. It's a 12 year old car, so be prepared to replace some common wear parts such as bushings, suspension and cooling system components. If you lower it and don't correct the negative camber in the rear, expect to go through a set of tires every year. Minor mods will get you close to 150hp, probably 140ish at the wheels. All in all due to it's wieght and gear ratio, these things are pretty snappy off the line and hold their own in higher RPMs.

You know, this sounds a lot like my first post here.

Not sure yet how they handle in snow. I just got my car last Friday, so no snow to play in. The car sounds like it might be a good buy for that kind of money. As for which model it is, I'm guessing it's not the Sport, as I believe they came standard with fog lights. That leaves you with a base or active model. As Brendan mentioned, you should post over in Mallard's thread and he can give you a complete option printout for the car which should help figure out the model.

Performance wise, it's a pretty snappy car. In my car (a Sport model), 1st gear seems incredibly short. Saw a book at Border's yesterday (before my wreck) called "BMW Buyer's Guide." It listed the 0-60 as 9.3s for a manual, 8.3s for a manual Sport model, 10.2s for a slushbox, and 9.6s for a slushbox Sport model (these are for the '96-99 models with the M44). Can't really say anything regarding modifications as I'm mainly focused on getting my car repaired.

If you can, take the car to a BMW dealership or reputable mechanic to check out the car before buying. You may find it needs a lot of maintenance work or not much at all. As cooljess76 said, it is a 12-year old car, so be prepared to replace common wear items. This is a good reason to get it inspected before buying (so you can get an idea of what needs work). Also be aware that these cars are known to have persistant problems with the window regulators and some of the coolant line pieces.

Good luck with the car and home you'll be joining us proud owners soon.

Justin

I've been driving my 318ti in the Minnesota winters for years. A good set of winter tires and you'll be just fine! Very controllable and confident.

Yea snow tires help alot, here in colorado you never know if the sun is gonna be out or if a storm is going to hit. I drove in the snow with the snow tires and i never got stuck or had any issues with them.

I did fine in the snow this winter. We had alot of snow in Milwaukee and still more to come. The cars are fun to drive, have enough power and are good on gas. If you can do the work yourself repairs are reasonable to cheap depending on your deal hunting skills. You should take a ti on a long test drive and use your own experience to make a decision. Some things to look out for are catalytic converters, o2 sensors, and a few little interior things. All things that need to be replaced on any car with time. the cat is rather expensive. If you live where there are no emissions tests than dont worry. Other than that my car has been solid and trust worthy.

i hate the snow and ice...my car loved it!
i drove from Denver to Steamboat Springs this winter and got 36mpg. and it was icy and snowing the whole way.
the better winter tires (IMO) are Bridgestone Blizzaks.
also, i've never been stuck with my Michelin X-Ice tires.
good luck

I would say its a decent deal if its a clean car. Definitely have it checked out by somebody before you buy it. Rolls great in the snow even without snow tires, but I would highly recommend it as going uphill in the snow is difficult and not fun without snow tires. I would say acceleration is decent, could be better, but not bad for what it is. You could always drop a 6, 8, or 12 cylinder in it when money and opportunity presents itself. Superchargers give a 50% boost to the engine, so that is an option also.

Make sure you get snow tires, not all seasons. My ti runs like a turd with the kumho all seasons and my other Ti does exceptionally well with the winter bridgestones.... I think I like the lsd better than the traction control anyway....

Thanks so much for your input! I'll definitely try to get it checked out before hand and see if I can get that VIN#. It doesn't have a bodykit or M badging on the side so I think it may be the base model. What cooljess said about being blown into a snow drift worries me, hahaha. I'm hoping that with minor mods I'd be able to get that 9.3 sec 0-60 down to around 6, is that possible? I know that's hoping for too much. Will upgrading some parts help more than just replacing them with oem ones?

I am not for sure on this but your going to have to either do a swap or supercharge it.

Only if your looking for alot more power. Most mods to the M44 are for aesthetics only, intake+exhaust don't make any noticeable gains.

For a commuter car, you really wouldn't want to do much to it to begin with... and a supercharger is about $3k ... and swap will run you about $2500 if you do it all yourself and do the proper upgrades for the bigger motor (brakes, suspension)
To get the Ti down to a 6 secs would take a charger or a swap, and probably then some, that will not be possible unless you spend lots of dough.

For me personally, it was great for commuting car with the 4cyl (work was 60 miles there and back a day)

As for the Ti in the snow, I won't comment because everyone says their great, where me on the other hand - i think its lousy, but again, i was going to work and traveling 60+ miles a day, and did not enjoy it one bit. The highway with any snow on the ground was UNBEARABLE, stick to the back roads if you can.

I agree with this 100%. But then again I had Dunlop Sport 2000's on the car when I drove from Michigan to Cali. Some of you will remember the horrible ice storm we had in Nov '06 where they shut down I-40. I saw hundreds of rollovers and fender benders. Anything over 25mph was terrifying. Even at 25mph, I still had a difficult time keeping the Ti in a straight line. It took me a week to get home as I was drifting the entire 2000 miles. Every few minutes a semi would send me sliding towards the snow banks and ditches, but luckily I managed to recover and hang on to it each time. The funny thing is that the previous owner threw in a set of snow tires on steelies, but for some reason I never thought about putting them on even though I had them in the back seat! I guess the drifting was too fun, NOT!

that must have been a fun 2000 mile thrill ride!
back home in oregon when it snowed we used to hunt for snow and rally our little beater cars and trucks and i must say a light little front wheel drive car does quite a bit better than a rear wheel drive truck!

heres the only video i alreayd ahve posted
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ideoID=4164414

Yeah that would be scary for sure. I had a couple rough drives where a normal 30 minute drive turned into 3 1/2 hours...but im glad you and your Ti made it home without incident!

I dunno, for me and my experiences, my Ti will never see snow again - for any type of commute anyways... a run to the bank or store, sure but thats it.

ASC is a joke if you have any decent hills to climb. My opinion may change when I swap to a LSD... but nothing does better in the snow than a FWD car with good all-seasons tires, no matter how good you may think the Ti does with top of line snowshoes on it...
and not everyone is willing or can afford to pay $1000 for purpose snow/ice tires. So if your ballin on a budget, chances are your not gonna be spending that kinda dough on tires. Id sooner buy a 88 Ford Tempo for $400 and run it for winter.
I guess everyone has their own opinions, but my winters last 5-6 months of the year, and Ive been driving in brutal winters for the last 6 years, so I think I know what Im talking about.
Don't get me wrong, you'll make it where ever your going, just factor in a lot more time and also, you'll probably have alot less hair by the time you get there. :rolleyes:

dbl post, delete pls.

Gosh, so much to think about, esp. in regards to the snow situation. I expected it would be hard and expensive to give the 318 more pep, bummer. I know a lot of parts for these cars are 318ti specific. So is sourcing parts difficult?

snow & ti do not mix... I dont come near mine when it snows!
its horrific on snow.

P.S. - ASC+T sux too on snow.. I had to shut it off and baby the throtle last time I drove on snow, otherwise I could not get it moving while ASC+T was engaged.

Man, I know snow conditions vary but there are some very conflicting opinions here, hahaha.

i love driveing my ti in the snow not to mention i have blizzaks , have not got stuck this winter at all . but with the front being so low its like driveing a little snow plow hehe

Snow tires are a must I use Michelin arctic alpines on my stock rims then flip to my summer tires. Arctic Alpines are like four wheel drive they are that good. Have not had a problem with Michigan winters matter of fact we are getting eight more inches of snow right now :frown: over 80" so far this year....

I think you will enjoy the Ti shares a lot of parts with the other 3's b piller forward................vwt3

you mean a-pillar? I'm pretty sure most stuff behind the a-pillar is ti-specific, in front it's a 318 sedan

The 1996 318ti's came with a LSD correct?

My guess is alot depends on your driving style. I had I-40 in colorado close on me once when I was going out to ski, but then I took a back road that was snow covered and drifted my car all the way up and down the mountain. It was a great time and was very predictable despite my use of bf traction t/a tires. I don't think I would do it with the bf gforce sports that I have now. I would highly recommend getting the lsd as it would definitely help with getting up snowy hills, I don't have it and I can tell that it hurts traction when it comes to those situations only having the ASC. I know the LSD came on clubsports, I think it was optional in later years (96+)

I drive my ti in the winter with a set of winter tires and didn't get stuck at all. I like it way more than all seasons.

Here is a tip on ASC+T that might work for everyone. You can read up on it on BAVAUTO website.

http://www.bavauto.com/newsletter/20...newsletter.pdf

it was optional on all years, my 95 active has one :biggrin:

Fine in Boston
 

Put on Michelin Pilot Alpine and it is great in the Boston Snow. It is much better than my wife's Mazda 3 with her Continental snow tires, and that is front wheel drive. Buy a used set of wheels from Craigslist and it shouldn't run too much money. I got a set of wheels for $300 in perfect shape, but you can do cheaper if you don't mind a little corrosion or rash for cosmetics.

IMHO, $5500 seems too high. KBB on my 1998 with less miles is only around $4500. Unless this thing is excellent, I would try to get at least $1000 off.

Car isn't very fast, but it is light and a blast to drive around. For a city, it is perfect. On the highway, my manual turns 4K rpm at 80 mph, which is great for acceleration but not for noise. However, you already know this is a sporty car, not a luxury car. Otherwise, find a used 5 or 7 series for a nice comfy ride.

With some good snow tires and careful driving you will be fine. An LSD helps a lot too.

yeah we got slammed with snow this year in the midwest!!

driving wise my 95 is desent in the snow with norm. driving all season tires its done fine this year but its definetly gettin garage bound next year because i'm goin off to college so..... yeah

snow performance is mediocre. I can't speak too much to the benefits of snow tires yet, I'd have to wait until this year's snow season to fully test it out, but with my all-seasons, icy hills are totally undriveable (in either direction).

FWD cars were able to make it through, but me with my LSD and all seasons just had to slip down the street using the sidewalk to slow me down until I was on relatively level and ice-free ground.

So, I may update my view once the snow returns but in all likelihood, once I have a house with 2 car garage. . . I may end up picking up an AMC Eagle Sport SX as my winter driver :-).

I have driven a ti in the good ole Pocono snow for 6 years. Best advice I can give is have a separate set of snows.(save your sports for when the salt is gone!) Having 4 makes a huge difference (and knowing not to slam on your brakes helps too) I didn't find the need to put too much extra weight in the back, but a few bags of kitty litter or cement blocks helps the grip. Ti's are fun to "slide" around in the snow with! Try not to scare the other people on the road,,,they panic and hit ya!

I drive a "ti" as a winter beater, I've got top of the line Goodyear snow tires, and I've never had any problems in snow, and I think it is a great car for winter. My car doesn't have traction control either... All you need is a set of good winter tires, and heated seats :P

Some folks don't think of Virginia as a snow state, but here in the mountains we get a bit. I was at The Homestead in Hot Springs one night for skiing and it started to put down some serious snow. By the time I got home, I was actually pushing the snow with my front bumper, but she never slid once!

Sorry. Necro'ed thread.

I was looking for exactly this and found this page. The windows on my Ti are pooched (some bitch smashed them before I could even drive it but that's a weird story) and finally have the windows coming tomorrow (been months). I want to take it to the window guy to have them replaced. I'm a bit wary of going down a long hill in it even though the tires are good, but it will be quite cold so they're probably ice under the snow by tomorrow afternoon.

I have to get some work done on the Jeep Liberty, maybe I'll stick to that for the snow.