I just got back from the drag racing, here in South Africa. I just saw an E30 318i, clocking around 200km/h on the 1/4 mile. At first I just thought it was a 318i badge on something more sinister, but when I got too the car and had a look it only had 4 Cylinders. So I asked the guy about his car. It is a 318is motor. I also find out he is running 28psi (hmm...must be a turbo), well it is a T3/T4 hybrid. The engine's internals are all set for the turbo (forged pistons, conrods, etc). If you look inside the car there are only 2 changes from standard, there are 3 guages( the standard ones in a turbo car), and some bucket seats. I also found out from this guy what his top speed is, but he isn't sure but the fastest he has been is 286km/h, and he still had another 3000rpm before he hit the rev limiter. If you are wondering what the hp is, well it is 438 at the wheels, and too top all this off, it is his daily drive. Just imagine pulling up in your new M3 and getting dropped by a 318i... HAHAHA.
The fastest E30 318i ever
- Thread starter South Africa E30 driver
- Start date
I appreciate the fact that a glass bodied e30 with slicks and 750hp could probably come close to running 9s. But, there's a big difference between 438 hp and 750 hp. 438 hp in a stripped first gen Camaro should run 11s, and it's still gonna be a hell of a lot heavier and less aerodynamic than an e30. Here's some food for thought:
1968 Plymouth S/S Barracuda 426 Hemi V8 425hp 1/4mile - 10.5s 130mph - Muscle Car Review
1968 Dodge S/S Hemi Dart 426 Hemi V8 425hp 1/4mile - 10.5s 129mph - Muscle Car Review
1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1 427 V8 430hp 1/4mile - 10.9s 132mph - Popular Mechanics
2001 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6L H6 T/C 415hp 1/4mile - 11.9s 115.6mph - Motor Trend
And all of these cars are in stock trim (except slicks on the Plymouth, Dodge, and Chevy) - that means they are significantly heavier than an e30 (not sure about the weight of the Porsche), let alone a stripped e30.
I don't care if he spent a million dollars on his engine, doesn't mean he won't feed you a line of BS and inflate the amount of power it produces. I just find it hard to believe that you could manage to get 438hp out of a 1.8L four banger, even with 28 psi - the displacement or the ability to bore it out and create the displacement just isn't there. I also find it hard to believe that a heavy-ass Dodge muscle car in stock trim (except slicks) could run mid 10s while a lighter, stripped, tuned, more aerodynamic e30 with more "claimed" horsepower can only run 12s. Remember, the 438hp claimed by this guy is at the rear wheels while the hp figures I quoted above are at the crank!!!
I'm not saying that this car isn't fast, and I personally think it's quite an accomplishment to get a 318 (if you can truly still call it a 318) to run 12s. I just don't buy the 438 hp claim.
That's my two cents. Take it for what you will.
1968 Plymouth S/S Barracuda 426 Hemi V8 425hp 1/4mile - 10.5s 130mph - Muscle Car Review
1968 Dodge S/S Hemi Dart 426 Hemi V8 425hp 1/4mile - 10.5s 129mph - Muscle Car Review
1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1 427 V8 430hp 1/4mile - 10.9s 132mph - Popular Mechanics
2001 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6L H6 T/C 415hp 1/4mile - 11.9s 115.6mph - Motor Trend
And all of these cars are in stock trim (except slicks on the Plymouth, Dodge, and Chevy) - that means they are significantly heavier than an e30 (not sure about the weight of the Porsche), let alone a stripped e30.
I don't care if he spent a million dollars on his engine, doesn't mean he won't feed you a line of BS and inflate the amount of power it produces. I just find it hard to believe that you could manage to get 438hp out of a 1.8L four banger, even with 28 psi - the displacement or the ability to bore it out and create the displacement just isn't there. I also find it hard to believe that a heavy-ass Dodge muscle car in stock trim (except slicks) could run mid 10s while a lighter, stripped, tuned, more aerodynamic e30 with more "claimed" horsepower can only run 12s. Remember, the 438hp claimed by this guy is at the rear wheels while the hp figures I quoted above are at the crank!!!
I'm not saying that this car isn't fast, and I personally think it's quite an accomplishment to get a 318 (if you can truly still call it a 318) to run 12s. I just don't buy the 438 hp claim.
That's my two cents. Take it for what you will.
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Well maybe, he gave me the wrong figure, maybe it is at the crank, didn't think of that, next time I see him I will find out if it is crank or wheels. He also told me, today when I went to his workshop to take my BMW for service that everything that he could take out or lighten, exept for the interior of car he has probably done. So if his claim of hp is at the crank and his car is so light I think he could do thesetimes. I also looked at a dyno sheet that he has on his wall that says peak hp 438, so I don't know, but when I fetch my car tomorrow i'll find out, just too try and settle this debate.
Yeah just spoke to that guy, and he say's that he wasn't running 438bhp that night but only 390, and he only ran it at 438 once, and that is when he was on a dyno and the engine spat all his imported bits and pieces out, so he run's it at a maximum of 400bhp, but that night he was running a lower hp cause of the lack of traction. He did have decent tyres, I know that they were 17", semi slicks, but I don't know what brand.