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Greetings all–I am new to spec e30 although i’ve been around the track a fair amount as an instructor. I would prefer to buy a car pretty much ready to go at $8,000 or less, but haven’t found anything. I have a line on a 91 318i donor car. I tip the scales at 200 lbs. would this car run with a similarly prepared 325??
Anyone have a line on a car ready or about ready to go?? Thanks for your thoughts.
A 318i would be a great chassis to swap an M20 into… 
The only person I know that thinks 318’s are going to be competitive is Rob. We won’t know until someone actually puts one on track with us.
there was a spec e30 318iS in california that Mike Mills had built (searching here may find the thread). In back-to-back testing at a track, the 318iS was slightly slower. They don’t have the torque coming off the corners. I suspect that when more start running and if they are found to be uncompetitive, that some adjustments to weight will be made (just my guess).
bruce
I sort of suspected this–significant horse power/ torque difference, and a 150 lb allowance. No wonder I was finding so many 318s.
anyone seen or heard of a 325 donor or built car??
800$ for a “i” motor and trans, wash on diff since the stock one is a 410, and you have a 325. If body is in good shape the conversion is easy. Chuck
My read of the rules says that an M20B25 swap into a 318 means that you have to use a 3.73 diff and would have to meet the 2750lb min weight (9.3.2 of the regs).
I took what Chuck said to mean that it would be easy to swap a 4.10 with someone for a 3.73 (a wash)
cheers,
bruce
Exactly…somewhat simplistic reply of mine, but the swap is an all bolt on affair. If you decide to do that let me know and I can get more detailed. I wish someone would to a 10 tenths build on the 318…at the lower weight I think the car can be more than competitive. Chuck
cwbaader wrote:
you may get your wish… I’ve been building a '91 318is, following spec E30 rules as a DE car. Eventually I’ll be upgrading to an M20 powerplant, and joining y’all in the spec E30 grind.
I’m currently in group 2, with 13 track weekends planned for this year. Wooooo Hooooo!
See all y’all at VIR! 
thanks everyone for your comments and guidance
I am going the 325 route
see you at the track
cwbaader wrote:
i bet it would depend on the track…325’s might be better for longer/horespower tracks while 318’s might be better for shorter/tighter tracks…
so the question is, who’s going to build both and have a short track car and long track car? 
dmwhite wrote:
…IndyJim. He’s going to outfit them both with R888’s and end up finishing 14th and proud.
No, not me. I’m too fat to make a 318 work. But racer X, he just might. He is a crafty b@stard. At least that is the word on the street.
Sell your IP car and you can build 4 in whatever combination of short and long track that you wish! :laugh:
Sasha
I don’t do spec e30, but I do run an 325e in ITA. The GCR weight on my car is 2550 and I make 140hp at the wheels. My lap times are generally 1-2 seconds faster that spec times…but I run 710s. 120 is probably reasonable at the wheels for that motor, and it that is in fact true, The car should loose another 75-100#:woohoo: If you do a 10 tenths build, the powers at be can be shown the car can be competitive at a lesser weight. With the preponderance of 318 cars available, it certainly opens another avenue for racing. Chuck
One other tidbit…went to the doctor this morning…I weigh 271 and my car comes off the track at 2567# with 2.5 gallons of gas. No, you are not too heavy to run a 318. Chuck
120 huh… My frankenstein junkyard motor had no issues knocking out 125+.
Maybe because it sat out all winter with the head off it.
Excellent!!! Always knew a old bottom end with a fresh head was the way to go. Do the math…power to weight vs. rear gear. I think you will find it quite interesting. Chuck