bmwe21.net forums

hey there!

just joined up, from southern california(santa barbara, i attend the city college).Used to own a sweet 89 325iS: www.anonymousvoice.com/mycar.htm sold it to the owner of E30tech.com

anyways, i'm driving a saabaru 9-2x linear right now, and am currently saving to get my ass back in a BMW!

anyways i was checking out some of the s14 e30's, and just had a few questions for ya'll.

how are the engines on maintenance? are they tempermental like the 2.3L s14? i'm assuming so? if so..what are some of the things i should look for if i get one?

but mainly my question is..if say i found an E30 S14 320iS, and it was located in UK, Germany, Italy..or some foreign country..will the smog own my face? Is it legal for me to import one of those cars? because it's seems that there are a lot more E30's over there with bettery pricing, not to mention maintaned a whole lot better!

so if anyone kind of just understood what i said, i'd appreciate any feed back.

lata!
-Dan
p.s.
E30 is probably the most aggressive best looking 3 series style ever, imo!

Hi Dan, welcome here!

The 2.0 litre S14 is for 90% identical to the M3's S14, no worries on the temperamental side. It's worse even as they got a even higher specific output out of it (192 HP from 2.0 l instead of 195 HP from 2.3 l). And it's even more powerful than the US M3's 185 HP. Just a little down on the torque side because of the difference in displacement.

A well maintained S14 engine won't give you much trouble. OK maybe change the chain tensioner, do a valve adjustment job, with some bad luck the intake might need new gaskets. Since the engine uses M3 parts, parts are more expensive. Luckily it uses the stock E30 chassis and suspension though.

There are some nice 320iS's around here but beware as not all are as advertised... I guess that's the car business and it's the same wherever you go. Maybe plan a trip to Europe and see a few...

But... a big but... regarding smog (emissions)... the 320iS never had a cat or 02 sensor as standard! That might pose a problem in the US. Nowadays a few cars are converted to cat versions using M3 parts (even some dealerships in Germany and France did that). Converting a 320iS yourself might be a bit costly.

Still... ok a 320iS is not a M3, not for handling and not for looks, but I think with some mods handling can be quite close and you buy a rust free VGC example for less than half the price of a good M3. Over here rust is always a problem, but as these cars come from the warmer European climates of Portugal and Italy rust usually is no issue.

Thanks man, i really appreciate the write up, answered all my questions plus more.

HOpefully after i save up a few more bucks i can get back i nto an E30 or possibly a nice E21.

'preciate the write-up again.

thanks!
-Dan

You're welcome! Keep us posted on your further adventures!