Inroduction?

[]V[egadet]-[]

Hello.

I'm new to 318ti.org, but the reason why I have joined is because I now have a 1995 blue 1.8 liter 318ti. It's in... fair condition. I'd like it to be a nice car, and the main reason why I joined was to get as much input from everyone.

I'm just going to say, right of the bat, that I am young. Quite young, an just got my drivers liscense. I might ask some really stupid questions sometimes. Truth is, I haven't really been 'into' car's that much. I don't know a lot, but that's also part of why I enjoyed. I'm probably going to ask questions that you might think anyone would know... But please, bear with me.

Truth is, I don't like my car. I love it. But it's not looking or performing exactly how I imagined. I'm going to ask you what I should do about little stuff, like the interior (which is my least favorite part of the car). Anyway, thanks for all input.

[tiFreak]

welcome, about $100 from ddmtuning.com will get you a replica M3 front bumper, you can also keep checking your local craigslist for rims, it takes a 5x120 bolt pattern

[ChItalian1027]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

welcome, about $100 from ddmtuning.com will get you a replica M3 front bumper, you can also keep checking your local craigslist for rims, it takes a 5x120 bolt pattern

agreed! i would fix the car up first then do mods, but while your fixing it up look for some front/rear bumpers, and side skirts, the things just under your doors. check out bavtoys.com or bavauto.com. bavtoys has lights for our cars and bavauto has parts like bumpers, wheels, ect. that your car needs. also check out pelicanparts.com for replacement parts.

welcome aboard man!! get a photobucket account and you can post pics of your ride

[projekt EPiK]

welcome, stick around and do a lot of reading. you'll have it fixed up n no time.

[pdxmotorhead]

Originally Posted by ]V[egadet]-[

Hello.

I'm new to 318ti.org, but the reason why I have joined is because I now have a 1995 blue 1.8 liter 318ti. It's in... fair condition. I'd like it to be a nice car, and the main reason why I joined was to get as much input from everyone.

I'm just going to say, right of the bat, that I am young. Quite young, an just got my drivers liscense. I might ask some really stupid questions sometimes. Truth is, I haven't really been 'into' car's that much. I don't know a lot, but that's also part of why I enjoyed. I'm probably going to ask questions that you might think anyone would know... But please, bear with me.

Truth is, I don't like my car. I love it. But it's not looking or performing exactly how I imagined. I'm going to ask you what I should do about little stuff, like the interior (which is my least favorite part of the car). Anyway, thanks for all input.

I'd recommend starting with just maintain it. Don't so anything till you have a few more months driving it. Until you have 24 months of driving the odds say you have about a 2 out of 3 chance your going to make a mistake. I'm not sure what you imagined, but these are a nice handling peppy little car, NO you won't beat an Acura in a drag race. But I've seen TI's sneak up and take peoples lunch money at Autocross events as well as lapping days. I'm old enough I kind of gave up on looks in a vehicle a long time ago, but I used to be where you are and I had a lot of fun tricking out a little old Datsun truck I had for my first car. Just remember every $ you put in a car has about the same value as piling them in a parking lot and setting them on fire .... You are very very unlikely to ever recover the money when you sell.

The biggest thing I see on this and other forums is folks getting into the BMW then finding out that if they are dependent on a mechanic for the service they can't afford to operate it. Learn to do all your own basic maintenance, it will pay you back.

Its a BMW not a japanese wonder car. It will treat you BAD if neglected.

Dave

[ChItalian1027]

i agree dave

[RedDog]

Good to have you here, this is one of the best BMW forums out there in my mind. The nice thing about this forum compared to a lot of others is everyone is open to help and compared to a lot of forums, you do not have to worry about guys that are just there to trying to knock people.

Hope you enjoy your new car, as a heads up they become addictive. As a little advice join BMW Car Club of America. It is the biggest car club in the world and has a lot of guys that are open to help you. Also, it would be a good idea to see if there is a Street Survival School that your local chapter is having. This school is a one day school that teaches you basic skills that everyone could benefit from no matter what age.

Final thing, post some pics when you get a chance.

[]V[egadet]-[]

Thanks.

For a little background info on my car, we got it a year and a half ago. We knew the guy who was selling it, so instead of getting it for $1800, we got it for $1300.

First thing that went wrong with it was the water pump. That was easy to fix, and we replaced the radiator as well. Then the head cracked and we had to get a new head. Once we replaced it and put the new one on, my father tightened the camshafts wrong, and one of them broke, warping some of the cylinders (I think cylinders). So, we got another one, and got the first one fixed incase the other one broke. Of course, we also needed a new camshaft. My father was quite surprised when he found that the camshafts were hollow.

The inside, the window kept falling off the track, and we finally got it fixed the other day, hopefully for good. The drivers door panel kept falling off as well, but my dad finally screwed it on.

Quick question: There's a switch next to the shifter that has an 'A' and an 'M' on either side. Both my father and I guessed that it was to switch between automatic and manual, but nothing happens when I press the 'M'. Is it actually for something else?

[PapayaSF]

You are very very unlikely to ever recover the money when you sell.

There's an old joke about the people who take a used Honda worth $5000, add $2000 worth of modifications, and create a car worth $3000....

[RedDog]

According to my basic owners manual for the 3 series that was included with the M3. It comments on the A/M button:

A- Economy Program:
Once the car has been started, this program is automatically selected for low fuel-consumption motoring. The converter lockup clutch engages automatically in 3rd and 4th gear.
Economy mode is automatically selected when starting the engine.

M- Manual Program:
This program is for single-gear driving (3rd fear if D is selected). The gear selected is also used for pulling away. For example, if the selector lever is in position 1 and you are driving up steep gradients, no undesirable upward gear shifts will take place. The same applies to driving on icy roads in winter: with selector lever in position 3, you can pull away smoothly and no gear shift will occur.

[]V[egadet]-[]

Can you explain a little more indepth of what that means?

[RedDog]

I am going by what the manual says since my car is a manual but:

A- Economy Program:
The way you will usually use an automatic. It will shift so you get the best overall MPG.

M-Manual Program:
If you want to hold the car in a particular gear. Whether you want to use it to help you accelerate quicker or if you are driving in snow and want to start in a higher gear so you lower the power placed down to the wheels to keep you from sliding out.