I love the TI!! Now I need one!

[etherpool]

First of all the search features on all of these forums sucks! After an hour of searching I figured I was gonna have to ask.

I drove my first ti today and loved it. The car was a 98 5-speed with premium package. Car has 156K on it. Guy wants $4K for it. Car was in good shape inside and out except for the steering wheel for some reason. Everything seemed to work. Ran a little rough when I first started it but smoothed out after 30 seconds. Guy said it had been sitting for over a month. But there were a few things that concerned me.

1. The ASC light was on. Is this a common problem?
2. What is the lifespan on these motors? Not used to the modern 4 cyl engines. I know you can get well over 200K on a 6 cyl.
3. The passenger air bag cover (the part on the dashboard) was curled up on the corners. Looked like the sun had warped it. Is this common?
4. Are the shocks & springs different from a standard E36? I want to swap them asap. Is it a difficult job on these?

I plan on using the car as a daily and an autocross car. Any help would be appreciated!

[adamud]

1) No idea
2) Members have 300k + It just depends on how you decide to take care of it. I personally have 210k and it still have great compression on all 4 cylinders
3) No idea
4) Front shocks are interchange able (non-M3), rears are ti specific.

[etherpool]

Originally Posted by adamud

1) No idea
2) Members have 300k + It just depends on how you decide to take care of it. I personally have 210k and it still have great compression on all 4 cylinders
3) No idea
4) Front shocks are interchange able (non-M3), rears are ti specific.

Well 2 outta 4 aint bad! Thanks.

Also, anybody know the standard gear ratio on these cars? And what it takes to swap out the rear for an LSD?

[CirrusSR22]

1. I don't have ASC so I don't look much for it on this site. But then again, I don't see many posts about it. I'd say not common. What is fairly common is to see people with BOTH the ACS and ABS lights on. That's usually a wheel speed sensor broken as they both use the wheel speed sensors for proper operation.

2. The engine will last for a very long time. It's rare that any modern engine "wears out". Like bad rings, bearings, cylinder walls, etc... If you are willing to replace things like the alternator, sensors and little misc part, you could probably run it past 500,000 miles if you really wanted to. I'm at 189,000 and it doesn't use any oil over my 7,500 mile oil change intervals. It still easily does 35+ MPG on a freeway trip too.

Your #1 job for durability with these engines is to prevent it from overheating by following the advice in this thread. http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16068 Replace these two parts unless you know for sure they have been replaced recently. It's probably the only significant issue with these engines. Thankfully the parts are about $10 each. There is a bit of labor involved in replacing them though.

3. Mine is slightly lifting at the corners too. I wouldn't worry about it, other than for looks.

4. If you are going to buy a full set of shocks, springs or both, you need to buy a 318ti specific set. The suspension is totally different in the rear vs. the standard E36 cars.

The gear ratio for the manual transmission cars is 3.45. The easiest (mechanically) option for LSD is to find a stock 318ti diff with LSD. Simple swap then.... Those are hard to find though, so there are other options from earlier BMWs (like the E30) for LSD swaps. There's a forum on this site dedicated just to differentials. http://318ti.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

[tiFreak]

95-early 96 ti's were available with a stock LSD, the ratios for both the open and limited slip diffs was 3.45 for a standard transmission and 4.44 for an automatic

[bmvw]

My experience is the same as CirrusSR22's except mine has only 183,000mi. And 35mpg is tough to get the way I drive, it's closer to 30 on the highway. Uses no oil or fluids.

I got the car in '06 at 107,000 and have had to replace since then:
Tires
Window regulator
Front shocks
Battery
A/C (hit animal on road and destroyed cooler), radiator, fog lights
Control arm
Those plastic parts on the back of the motor
Throttle cable
Headlights (makes car look new)

I have a pinhole headgasket leak when I overheated the engine 20,000 miles ago, fixed it with 1/2 bottle of Bars Leak.

I have an intermittent airbag light, clear it myself with an Ebay tool ($100) that reads codes also.

I have the ASC light thing and wheel sensor is next.

In all these cars are much more reliable than American cars at equivalent mileage, though probably not as reliable as japanese.

[etherpool]

Thanks to all for the info! Been a big help and hopefully I will be able to find one as soon as I sell my E30 325is!

[dahamler]

The ASC light is commonly trigger by the TPS sensor located on the throttle body. One associated symptom include intermediate power loss or bucking at speed.

I'm at 222,XXX right now and as much as I would like to believe that the car doesn't burn any oil the fact of the matter is that all cars consume oil from new. These engines are very well built and require little maintenance to maintain. Regular fluid, filer, and spark plugs changes are pretty much all that's needed. The only engine that is easier to work on and maintain is the M50 series.

[dahamler]

Originally Posted by etherpool

Thanks to all for the info! Been a big help and hopefully I will be able to find one as soon as I sell my E30 325is!

We should trade!

[etherpool]

Originally Posted by dahamler

We should trade!

Looks like your car is much nicer than mine! I am uploading pics and info tonight so I will send you a link. Maybe we can work something out.

[dahamler]

Originally Posted by etherpool

Looks like your car is much nicer than mine! I am uploading pics and info tonight so I will send you a link. Maybe we can work something out.

The car pictured at the bottom is not for sale/trade it never will be, its my alpha swap car that is very special to me.

This car however is for sale.

http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28497

[etherpool]

Originally Posted by dahamler

The car pictured at the bottom is not for sale/trade it never will be, its my alpha swap car that is very special to me.

This car however is for sale.

http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28497

Just tried to PM you but I'm too new I guess. Are you in SC or in VA still? I saw this car for sale but was leery of the mileage. I plan on using it as a daily as well as a auto-x car for about 10 to 15 events a year. Would it hold up to that?

[dahamler]

Originally Posted by etherpool

Just tried to PM you but I'm too new I guess. Are you in SC or in VA still? I saw this car for sale but was leery of the mileage. I plan on using it as a daily as well as a auto-x car for about 10 to 15 events a year. Would it hold up to that?

Well nothing is definite but the car is well taken care of mechanically, I'll bet this TI will run rings around others with less miles. My wife autocrossed it for a season and I drove it from MA to VA several times. I abide by a intensive maintenance schedule including Royal Purple or Redline fluids Shell gas documented in a protected binder. Now it serves as my faithful daily driver. We now live in SC and we certainly loving the south.

I guess the bottom line here is that TI car excellent cars for enthusiasts. They offer a great base and have pretty good potential for upgrades. Find one that is in your price range that runs well and buy it.

[eurohb]

well idk about u guys but i have E36 325is Front struts and Rear shocks on my car :P which i got for free when my buddy wrecked his so yeah i am thinking you can swap the suspension over.. but what do i know i've been running this suspension since may

[dahamler]

My black 332ti had a complete E36 M3 suspension on it in great condition but the car drove like absolute crap. The rear was all over the place, very unstable.