Black 95

[Bender]

OK... let me preface this by saying I am no stranger to car forums (datsun, datsun racing, Porsche, etc...) and actually own a couple forums myself and I understand how torqued the stalwarts get when a n00b comes on and asks stupid questions. Yes, I am aware of the SEARCH function and have browsed through quite a bit tonight. However I have not seen the answers to a few questions.

Are the options rflected in the VIN like the 944's? LSD... sport susp... etc?

Cound a car with 150K miles on it. Seems tight, interior good, kinda gutless little thing, but I figure a 5X fluid change, a new exhaust, cold air intake and all new vaccuum hoses + a bottle of inj cleaner and it oughta perk up. Other FI cars respond very well to the above recipe.

This thing is black/black. sunroof, no cruise, no tilt (drivin a goddam bus), has foglights, 5sp, rear wiper, KONI adjustables all corners (are these stock?!?!), maybe 24-25mm front and a pathetic perhaps 5/8" rear stab bar. Vented AL diffy cover. It definitely isn't an M, but browsing here I see 'active'? 'Sport'?

Are the BMW 4's chain? Please say yes. Nikaseal? Is there a pre-95 nikaseal issue?

Has these wheels

The headlights AND brake lights DO NOT WORK unless the key is on. WTF?!?!?

One more thing: Little light of a picture of a drum brake on constantly in the dash. Pads good. Rotors worn, but can't imagine this little thing having rotor thickness sensors on it. Gotta be parking brake micro-switch?


Really falling in love with this little thing. Quite possibly the smallest RWD car on the planet!!! Almost bought a 740 (BMW's are sposed to be straight 6's and double sixes and here i am looking at 4's and v-8's !!! sheesh!!!!) but then found this thing and started snooping around and realized what a treasure it is. Did you know there are currently 3 yes THREE 318Ti's on EBAY in the USA?!?!? Three. I just spent four days in LA and saw 2. Quite possibly the BMW capitol of the world and I saw 15,000,000 3-series, 20,000 5-series, 50,000 750's, 50-or-so M3's, maybe a dozen M5's, 3 850's (pure sex) 3 M-coupes and TWO 318Ti's. So... based on my highly scientific research, this is a rare car. I like unusual cars until I go to buy A/M parts. But I am assuming (please correct me) everything from the crunch-back forward is standard issue 3-series. ?

Yes, I realize it's kinda high miles, but i have several other cars and it won't be a daily driver. just looking for a cruiser for up and down Cali that is interesting and fairly good on petrol and won't put so many miles on my newer cars. If i can get another 50,000 miles out of it in the next cupla-three years without any major overhauls of any major components, it will easily pay for itself.

Anyway... just introducing myself. Answer at will.


steve

[1996 328ti]

Lots of questions.
The warning light is the brake pad sensor. There is no warning for rotors.
If those are the stock wheels, it's an Active.
Odd it does not have cruise.

Tilt was available on early E36s, not the ti.
Not in the US anyway.

Nikaseal is no longer an issue.
The VIN won't tell you anything although a dealer might be able to tell you what options it had.

Koni adjustables are not stock, nor is the diff cooling cover.

[zboot]

Originally Posted by Bender

The headlights AND brake lights DO NOT WORK unless the key is on. WTF?!

Anyway... just introducing myself. Answer at will.


steve

Yup - VIN does not give any details about options.

As for the lights - mine are that way too, they are wired to use switched power not the permanent one.

In 99.9% of situations, that shouldn't be an issue - unless you were like me - buying a manual and driving it 1500 miles in two days when you'd never driven a manual before and stalling on a dark street where your car essentially becomes invisible when you have to switch it off to restart the engine.

[Will'sBimmer]

Posts some pics up of the car!!! Always like to see a differant Ti.

[DustenT]

From the A pillar forward, it's a e36 sedan. The rear end suspension is the same as an e30.

Koni adjustables are nice. Both the m42 (1995) and m44 (1996+) use a double link timing chain, no issue with that.

The motor is a 16v N/A 1.9L. 140 crank hp stock. Not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but nimble and fun to toss around. Downing Atlanta makes a stellar supercharger kit for around $3000, bumps it up to around 180-200hp at the wheels. The m42 (1995) motor has forged internals, which makes it a better candidate for big boost.

Good questions!

[pdxmotorhead]

Search for Fogged Air box on here and the bimmer forums,,,

Cheaper and by all available data the best HP bump of any CAI strategy....
Although the 95 isn't near as restricted as the 96 and on models for that, its our Air flow meter thats the cork....

Dave

[Bender]

On the Datsuns we swap out an AFM from a turbo with a spacer. Not too difficult and about the only way to gain oomph on an FI car (no chips available for Datsun 'puters--something I assume is readily available on the BMW). Or for a considerably more complicated mod, convert to MAF. People LOVE to put fat cams in an FI motor but it's really pointless unless the ECU is mapped to compensate--or rather--NOT compensate! It's all about FLOW.

Oh... and couple corrections after reading my late-night-three-martini-no dinner-post: FINNED diffy cover, not 'vented'; and pre-96 nikaseal issues, "not pre-95"... but I think you'all got the point.

Sounds like stuff like springs, strut braces, stab bars and other bits are easily sourced for these. Awesome.

One more: Is there a manual rack made for these? The PS is pretty good--barely notice it (gotta be speed-sensitive), but would love to get rid of that pump and hoses and all that crap. Is the geometry set up to make manual steering possible?

[Bender]

Oh... one more: At first glance I assumed the grey skirts were plastic. On closer inspection they are indeed steel. Is it sposed to be a two-tone car? or is that just oxidation of that different paint down there? If you get wax on them, what happens?

[Will'sBimmer]

If the skirts are grey and the car is painted say red. Then the car is just two toned. This is more common on older BMW's. My brother's car has grey skirts and white body. The newer models have the skirts color matched. You could do this too just have to have them painted but I am not to sure what would happen if you put wax on them.

[Watchmyradical]

If you wax the side skirts they will return to the orginal dark grey for a few days then go back to the light grey color. I eventually got tired of looking at the grey and went and got the side skirts painted to match the body.

[Bender]

I bought it.

Airbag light is on ONLY WHEN COLD. Goes off when car is warm. If the car is warm when you start, it only stays on for a few minutes. ?

Are these hi-flo cats or are they the old solid miles and miles of tiny honeycomb style? Prolly get a test pipe made anyway. Exhaust is first on the list. Gotta get rid of that 6" long CRUSH around the rear Xmember.

I assume 50-state CARB headers are available? This poor motor needs some SERIOUS opening up.

Need left foglight. Beuller? Bueller? Bueller?

Pictures at 11.

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by Bender

Sounds like stuff like springs, strut braces, stab bars and other bits are easily sourced for these. Awesome.

RE: suspension bits

• The Sport package cars have larger sway bars, so you can get a little upgrade for fairly cheap.

• Look into the BMW Motorsport X-Brace before the strut braces. It's a real BMW part and it works very well. $100.

• M3 control arm bushings are cheap, very stout, and give the steering a more firm and direct feel. $60

• Ireland Engineering urethane subframe mounts help a lot too. $90

[Den]

Originally Posted by Bender

I bought it.

Are these hi-flo cats or are they the old solid miles and miles of tiny honeycomb style? Prolly get a test pipe made anyway. Exhaust is first on the list. Gotta get rid of that 6" long CRUSH around the rear Xmember.

I assume 50-state CARB headers are available? This poor motor needs some SERIOUS opening up.

Need left foglight. Beuller? Bueller? Bueller?

Congratulations on your purchase, Sir. You are clearly a discerning driver of excellent taste. What other car fora do you run?

It's Bueller's day off, but I'll field a few Q's.

Dunno 'bout the cat's construction, but it already has a header from the factory. How cool is that?
You just missed a 318ti.org group buy on Stromung exhausts for $400. Hmm. . .maybe he'll do another batch. . .

Try eBay for froglights.

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Lots of questions.
If those are the stock wheels, it's an Active.
Odd it does not have cruise. . .

My guess is that it's a '95 sport like mine.
10-spoke alloys. No cruise. Grey skirts in '95.
Let's see how Den's psychic powers are woking tonight. Hmm. . .I see a beautiful dark car with. . .
Sport suspension
Sport seats
LSD
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Premium sound
Sunroof

At least that's what came on my '95, also black on black. I call her "Tyra." Found another one with the exact same options. I think it might have been a common 'sport' configuration for '95. . .sorta like the E28 M5 which came to th US in one color. Black, right down to the black anodized aluminum bumpers. There was also the Ti Club Sport in '95 which came in 2 colors, black or red. Anyhow, I have the impression that somebody at BMW has or had a thing about cloaking their bad-to-the-bone models in darkness. Hence my prediction that your 5-speed has the sport package + LSD. Do your seats have leather trim(sport seats)? Call any dealer with the last 7 digits of the VIN and ask what options came on the car. If they are A-holes about it, just hang up and call another dealer.

Originally Posted by Bender

On the Datsuns we swap out an AFM from a turbo with a spacer. Not too difficult and about the only way to gain oomph on an FI car (no chips available for Datsun 'puters--something I assume is readily available on the BMW). Or for a considerably more complicated mod, convert to MAF. People LOVE to put fat cams in an FI motor but it's really pointless unless the ECU is mapped to compensate--or rather--NOT compensate! It's all about FLOW.

Oh... and couple corrections after reading my late-night-three-martini-no dinner-post: FINNED diffy cover, not 'vented'; and pre-96 nikaseal issues, "not pre-95"... but I think you'all got the point.

Sounds like stuff like springs, strut braces, stab bars and other bits are easily sourced for these. Awesome.

One more: Is there a manual rack made for these? The PS is pretty good--barely notice it (gotta be speed-sensitive), but would love to get rid of that pump and hoses and all that crap. Is the geometry set up to make manual steering possible?

I'm gonna say that the diff cover with cooling fins is stock. Not completely sure on the Ti, and I'm not going to go crawl under Ms. Tyra right now to look, but a few(3-4) cooling fins on either side of the diff's drain plug is standard BMW practice. My E28 and E30 both have them. Now, if you are talkin' 'bout something with monster FINS that looks like it came off a Klingon ship, then you have an M Coupe diff cover. Very cool, but probably not necessary unless you do lots of laps.
http://e30m3performance.com/installs...Diff_cover.htm


Chips are available for 1995 cars(OBD I.)

Euro manual steering racks are probably available. They exist for the E30. E36 racks can be used on E30's, so E30 racks can probably be used on E36's too, if you can't find a Euro E36 rack.

Since the suspension is a slight evolution of the E30, which folks have been modding for 20+ years, suspension parts are plentiful. It's just a Q. of how much you want to spend. If you already have Konis, you probably have sport springs too, even if you didn't get them as part of the factory sport package. Stay tuned to this channel for a possible group buy on a 19mm M Coupe rear sway bar.
http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14675&page=2

[Bender]

YEah... noticed the header tonight while under. Kinda like the late 944's. Very cool.

Cat in front, resonator middle. Right? (and of course muffler in rear).

Now... about that open diffy.... While bleeding the brakes and changing fluids tonight, I noticed each rear wheel spins independently without affecting the other wheel. I'm used to the whole 'both spin same direction=posi; each spin in opposite directions=pegleg' Is the diffy just worn so bad it's loose or is the BMW engineering different?

and NO, it is not this cover.

[Den]

BMW generally splits the exhaust into 2 sections:

Front = downpipes + cat.
http://realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?mo...05&hg=18&fg=10

Rear = resonator + muffler.
http://realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?mo...05&hg=18&fg=20




Yeah, that's an open diff. LSD wasn't part of the sport package; I was just predicting that it was included on your car since it was an option in 1995. No big deal. You can get a beefy E30 LSD for ~$300. . . bump up to a 3.73 at the same time. Look for an "S" stamped on the aluminum ID tag bolted onto the rear, like "S373."
Perfect time to install that big sway bar too.

Drop the subframe while you are at it and change the busings if you really want to rock the maintenance. PITA job, but you can think of it as less of a PITA if you are dropping the diff anyhow. Might want to do the rear wheel bearings too while you are at it. Probably the best idea I've heard is to take the subframe into a machine shop and have everything pressed out / in. Rear subframe bushings and wheel bearings have to be the worst jobs on this car.