WTB: 318Ti Manual - Looking at 318Ti
 

first post. so hello to all. i currently have a 2002 4.4i X5 and been searching for a sweet little car and i think i found it, the 318Ti. i originally wanted an M coupe but 2 seats is not enough, and the 318Ti has a nicer price and leaves me some left over for upgrade/mods!

how are the back seats and cargo area in the 318? won't use the back seats much but i am sure that every once and awhile i will have an adult back there.

One i found in my area is a 1999 with auto. i really think i want a manual transmission. Is there a big difference with performance of the auto to the manual? (i'm sure the answer is yes) maybe if some people can post their experience on the highway. (cruising mph and tach reading.)

The rear seats are just fine. I'm 6'0" and have sat back there without any issue. As for cargo, the 318ti will carry FAR bigger things than the standard E36 sedan or coupe will hold. Remove the rear decklid and fold the seats down and you have basically a small wagon.

The manual transmission version does get to 60 mph faster and achieves slightly better MPG. I've owned both and really could take either. Some people just have to have the manual though, and I can see that.

At 70 mph, the auto runs 3,000 RPM and the manual 3,250 RPM.

thanks for the response. i will definitely be looking for the Sport model. is there a particular year that is best?

Definitely get the manual version. Ive owned three tis, 1.8L manual, 1.9L manual, and 1.9L auto and the auto is by far the slowest thing out of the three.

Id say, to be comfortable, the people sitting in the back shouldnt be more than about 160-180lbs and over 6'. Ive sat in the back of mine with friends to see what its like and i was comfortable, 5'10 140lbs. You will notice when there is extra weight in the car as well, whether with friends or with a lot of weight in the hatch.

As for the storage space, i put a corvette 5.7L V8 fully assembled engine, two crates, and a large toolbox in mine..

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/v...e/DSCN2396.jpg
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/v...e/DSCN2397.jpg
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/v...e/DSCN2403.jpg
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/v...e/DSCN2405.jpg

haha, that pic made my night. that is great.

as expected with the added weight i figure that i would notice.

thanks for the post!

there's no year that's really the "best", but here's a quick breakdown

95:
pros: OBDI (easier to tune), less strict emissions inspections in most states
cons: they're the oldest of all the ti's, the rocker panels and lower bumpers are flat-grey instead of body color, only the limited edition clubsports came with the M aero package

96-98: (no real difference between the years)
pros: regular sport package comes with the M aero package
cons: performance software is much more expensive than OBDI and usually requires the ECU to be reflashed

99:
pros:all of them were the sport package and had the 3-spoke M3 steering wheel, they're the newest examples of ti's
cons:they're rare (only ~540 made) but that could be considered a pro ;)

Dayum Tony, you're a scrappy dude:tongue:

I'm 6'2, 185 and can sit comfortably in the back seats as long as someone my height isn't in the front also, need the front seats forward for leg room.

I've had 4 235 45 17's on rims in the rear with the seat folded down, and still had the whole area from what would be the back of the seats to the back empty. I love my TI for its practicality. Manual/auto is up to your preferences. Myself, if I bought an auto it'd be swapped ASAP

:biggrin:good stuff thank you much. i'm going to look at one locally hopefully sometime this weekend. it has 160K miles on it, but it is what it is. i dont really feel 100% comfortable with that high mileage, but if the engine goes i can always swap it out with another / get it rebuilt. the transmission is manual which is probably fine. i'm gonna search the forum to see what luck people have had with rebuilding an engine / transmission / rear end?

98-99 have rear headrests :D

My car is currently just over 190k on original driveline. So long as its been maintained, theres nothing to worry about. I believe there was a member here that saw 300k on his TI!! :eek:

Cali-Ti has 241,000+ on his...I was driving it when it clicked over...:biggrin:

Oh and Homey Depot called when I was driving home from work on Sunday and told me that my blinds were in (3 windows and 1 slider). I zipped right over and picked them up, no problem! :wink: