New 318ti owner, few questions.

[ChadG]

Mine seems to make a wining and rattling noise. It's annoying as heck, people that are on the road with me are probably judging me too LOL. I'd have someone remove the guts, but I don't know anyone who would actually do it. Emissions are not a problem here in Maine and the light is on because of the cat anyway, so no big deal.


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[ChadG]

Oh, here's another question. Let's say I go around a corner, the wheel does NOT automatically recenter itself, I have to force it back to the center in a way. It's not TOO stiff, but all of my previous cars had super light steering wheels that would float on their own. Is this normal?

Another question. Must I use 89-91 gas in the car? I put a full tank of 87 regular and the car kind of ran crappy (maybe its just in my head?) so i've been using the highest octane I can find. Just wanted to know if it was needed or not. Thanks!

[pidro713]

I don't think it's normal. Mine doesn't do that I don't have to force it. I use premium gas as it specifies. I don't know if anyone using 87.

[ChadG]

Il continue to use premium then. It's only an extra $5-8 per fill up, so I won't cry over that.

Also, it's not that I have to force it, its just like, after I go around a corner, if I let go of the wheel, the car continues in the direction I turned it. My other cars would always recenter back to going straight, by itself. Maybe it's just the age of the vehicle and the "stiffness of a 3-series" that people told me about.

If it isn't somewhat normal, I hope it's only an alignment and not the whole front end, as it seems to drive down the interstate doing 80-85mph like a dream!


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[ChadG]

On a 3rd note. Maybe I should just sell the thing and get rid of the headache? LOL! Not sure how much such an old car with a lot of miles is worth, probably not what I have into it anyhow!

[hotmilk400]

I would not replace the cat converter unless your check engine light is on or you need it to pass emissions. If you dont need it at all, you can just have someone remove it and install a pipe (or use a cheap/used converter) It is easy to do, the labor should be under 1 hour for either option.

the car should drive fine with any gas type.

The cars wheel should recenter to some extent. The steering is not the same as a new car, nothing forces it to recenter. Check the power steering fluid, maybe it is low. Maybe someone used power steering fluid and wrecked the steering system (the car used Automatic transmission fluid, not power steering fluid)

If a mechanic says it is fine, it is fine. I think you are just not use to the cars steering. If you dont like it, just sell it. No reason to keep a car you dont enjoy.

You could find a similar one and test drive it if you wanted to make sure.

[ChadG]

I'd try a test drive but I haven seen my model car in Maine AT ALL.

We don't need a cat (we don't do emissions) BUT to get the inspection sticker, the cat MUST be present.

And yes, the light is on because of the current cat. It's rattling, rumbling an whining, so I know it's clogging my exhaust and thats why I don't have much power.

I absolutely LOVE my little 318ti, the looks, the feel, the compliments I get from random people in parking lots. It's great! I'm just concerned about every aspect of it, because I want her to be in top notch condition, since she's my first BMW


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[Dr Shuffles]

Originally Posted by ChadG

Another question. Must I use 89-91 gas in the car? I put a full tank of 87 regular and the car kind of ran crappy (maybe its just in my head?) so i've been using the highest octane I can find. Just wanted to know if it was needed or not. Thanks!

Use the fuel that the manufacturer recommends (89 in this case). If you use a higher octane than recommended, you won't damage anything, you'll just waste money. This rule holds true for all gasoline-powered cars, unless you make major modifications to the engine, like adding forced induction.

[ChadG]

Well, in the manual and on the fuel door, it says 90 minimum. Therefore 91 (highest available in Maine) is my only option. 89 is mid grade.


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[Dr Shuffles]

Interesting. On my 1995 TI it says 89, and I just assumed it was the same for all the 318 variants.

[ChadG]

I wonder if bumping it down to 89 at the pumps would hurt it. Or just spend the 40¢ more per gallon and go all out on the highest?


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[ChadG]

So I finally got a moment from my mechanic to open up the cat... What a waste of time! It was already completely empty! What the heck! Ugh. Apparently the noise i'm hearing is the hollow/tin sound from it being empty. I'm leaving the poor car alone!

The only thing left is to figure out which bulb I need to buy. the front passenger side blinker works, but when the headlights are on, the amber one isn't lit up on that side... Must be 2 bulbs in the blinker compartment, one for the light when the headlights are on and also an identical one for the blinker. Weird. Hope I can find the part number!

Thanks everyone!