BMW a couple of questions

[godzilla200sx]

as some of u may have guessed from my impreza thread im in need of a new car since i sold the s14, and im now thinking as i only use it for work 4 miles down the road its a waste buying a turbo as its not gettting to temp before i shut it off, im now thinking of a bmw ,

E36 of some sort would obviously love an M3 but cant quite justify the insurance over say a 328i, i no the M has 100bhp more but thats not my issue, im just after a reliable car thats gonna be comfortable on the odd ocasion i hit a motorway, and has to have leather trim

anyway i used to keep hearing all these rumours about engines and what not to get are there any truth in these was always told the 323 was the best god knows why tbh, but think that was with the E30 ,

im looking at a 4door,328i,325i, mainly E36 but consider E46 if cheap enough to buy .

can anyone clear up the rumours iv been told and suggest whats the best sort of engine to go for minus m3.

[smiths14a]

I think with the E36 you have to steer clear of the engines with the Vanos unit. If you ring your local BMW dealership with a reg theyll be able to tell you if it was affected or not.

I had a E36 323i Coupe, 2.5 straight 6, full leather, 18" MV2s on mtech susp. It went well, sounded good, comfortable, boring. I sold it and bought an S14a

[godzilla200sx]

lol thanks bud, my 200 was unreliable crap wish i never got rid of the GTiR for it, but thats another thread,

so stay away from vanos. is there any way without ringing round , to get a list of what years/models/engines came with this vanos

[Bahnstormer]

Nothing wrong with VANOS at all, provided it's been looked after. The scare stories are (for the most part) vastly exaggerated. I think the problem you're actually thinking about is the Nikasil problem which iirc was only used on M52 and M60 engines.

BMW Engine Types which incorporate VANOS:


•M50TU: Inline 6 cyl. engine, single VANOS.
•M52: Inline 6 cyl. engine, single VANOS.
•M52TU: inline 6 cyl. engine, double VANOS.
•M54: Inline 6 cyl. engine, double VANOS.
•M62: V-8 cyl. engine, single VANOS after 1998 model year.
•M73: V-12 cyl. engine, single VANOS after 1998 model year.
•S50: Inline 6 cyl. engine, single VANOS.
•S52: Inline 6 cyl. engine, double VANOS.
•S54: inline 6 cyl. engine, double VANOS.
•S62: V-8 cyl. engine, double VANOS.

Basically if you don't want a VANOS engine, you're looking at a four banger.

[godzilla200sx]

right so vanos is good aslong as its been looked after, all i no at the min is i want a E36 nothing lower than a 323, so options are smaller with only 3 engines in my bracket forgetting about the M3,

[smiths14a]

Nothing wrong with VANOS at all, provided it's been looked after. The scare stories are (for the most part) vastly exaggerated. I think the problem you're actually thinking about is the Nikasil problem

Thats it Nikasil. Haha, im an idiot

[Bahnstormer]

Just a thought, but does it HAVE to be a petrol engine?

[godzilla200sx]

yeah not a fan of diesel im stepping down from turbos so cant go down too far in the chain lol

[Bahnstormer]

lol fair point. In that case, anything from a 323i upwards would probably fit the bill quite well. Check out the "Why a BMW?" thread for some opinions on various BMW's

[godzilla200sx]

yeah will do thanks

[retardrift]

I have a nikasil block in my 328 and it runs sweet......

Again as long as it has been looked after its ok.

The problem was with older cheap unleaded fuel being used in the nikasil blocks as it had high sulphur levels.

Find one with smooth running, steady idle and a good service history and you will be fine

[spencer_foxwell]

I had a 328i.

The 323 is 170hp the 325 is 190hp and the 328 is about 190hp aswell but a fair whack more torque. The 323 and 325 are both 2.5 then 328 is a 2.8

The 325 (not sure on the 323) is not effected by the Nikasil issue, the 328 is. The way to check is look down the engine you want to see a capping inplace, will probably look a little rusty. if it's not there then the Nikasil was never sorted, it becomes a problem because of our pap fuel so if the car has been run on the best of the best all its life then it's fine but it's way safer to just get a sorted block. I'd post some pictures but I'm on my crappy phone internet

[godzilla200sx]

cheers retardrift, il be looking for as much history as possible, got 3k to spend so should find a decent one going off the prices on pistonheads/autotrader,

[godzilla200sx]

spencer foxwell- any chance you can post some when u get the chance would be so much easier to just go up to an engine and see it sorted or not, then walk away rather than buying and getting a dog, i wont be actually viewing anything for a week or so , so anytime u can get some pics up would be a great help.

[retardrift]

I had a 328i.

The 323 is 170hp the 325 is 190hp and the 328 is about 190hp aswell but a fair whack more torque. The 323 and 325 are both 2.5 then 328 is a 2.8

The 325 (not sure on the 323) is not effected by the Nikasil issue, the 328 is. The way to check is look down the engine you want to see a capping inplace, will probably look a little rusty. if it's not there then the Nikasil was never sorted, it becomes a problem because of our pap fuel so if the car has been run on the best of the best all its life then it's fine but it's way safer to just get a sorted block. I'd post some pictures but I'm on my crappy phone internet

It doesn't have to have run on the best of the best fuel all its life......If you get a late car(mine is a 98) that has been looked after then it should be fine.

Fuel these days makes no difference as its all low sulphur.....Its the same as any car you look at...if the engine sounds unusually rough and the power delivery isn't smooth then you know to avoid or investigate.

[spencer_foxwell]

The trouble is there's no way to know how much damage has been done and how long it will last before it starts to make it'self known

Mine was fine when I got it and nearly a year later it has started to get lumpy and ropey on idle Easiest and safest bet is to just get a sorted block

This is a nikasil lined block;



This is a sorted block;



Easy to see it's down the passenger side iirc

[retardrift]

http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/nikasil.htm#what_causes

[kingj]

you want a 325 or 328 323 are a pile of **** and basically a restricted 325 If you phyone BMW with the chassis number on a 328i they will tell you if the car has had a replacement engine fitted the vanos is only really to worry about when its twin(ala 3.2 evo) so nothing you need to worry about the 325i is pretty much bombproof and the one I would go for but there are more 328s around.

HTH J

[godzilla200sx]

I read most of the above artical and it does seem the 325 is the one to go for especially if I'm not sure , I no I'm trying to go for comfort etc but I guess they can be fun also am I right , tunable ?

[kingj]

I read most of the above artical and it does seem the 325 is the one to go for especially if I'm not sure , I no I'm trying to go for comfort etc but I guess they can be fun also am I right , tunable ?

tuning any n/a bmw is pointless imo,very expensive for what you get. If you want to tune them then get a diesel they can be fun but will never be exciting,more of a all rounder daily driver as far as Im concerned

328i is supposedly more economical than the 325i but both can be tuned to around 240bhp(induction,exhaust,remap,cams) but you will only get 25-40bhp for your 3k's worth of mods.You can put the 325i inlet mani on the 328i too!