Initial Impressions:
Well that was a disappointment!! First the front seems wwwaaayyy heavy. Completely lost its nimble feel it had before. Then the power delivery was lacking, it was on/off switch at 4k RPM, throttle was mushy, and clutch engagement horrible.
Then I took a step back, eat something, then went back to drive. The power is definitely better I need to drive and drive to get a real feel of it. I know power is not great, but it is okay, suspension needs to be revised, the front needs to be lightened. Shocks feel soft.
Issue: throttle sensitivity: motormounts need to hold more weight, so stiffer ones needed for more direct power delivery, tighten throttle cables? BBTB?
Clutch engagement mushy? Proper slave cylinder? CDV really deleted?
Shift is SUPER long!! : Need to find the z3m shifter/shifter bushings refresh
Cluster, back light is purple!!! mileage is too high 212xxx, rpm needle sticks? No CEL, Brights icon not lighting up.
That was the initial reaction the day I picked up the car. Now that I have driven it for ~250miles and tanked up some other thoughts. After putting in some fresh gas and ~130miles the low end came alive. Now instead of a on/off switch at 4k RPM its a smooth powerband all the way through, its a LOT better. It definitely is more powerful and now that I am slowly accepting that this is the new normal I need to figure out how to balance it to try to regain the light feeling I so enjoyed previously.
I have gotten used to the gas/clutch engagement but it needs some work.
The muffler seems gutted so it is too loud and drones on the freeway too much, very annoying, so that will need to be fixed.
The Take Away (So Far)
For me the biggest take away is that, sure the m44 318ti is under-powered. BUT, the front is light and tossable and with some decent suspension and a tight drive-train for a responsive throttle, it is a lot of fun. It takes time to build the speed, but maintaining the speed is great. It is a great base to learn on to utilize momentum and safely push the car. The 318ti offers something not often seen:
- MPG - Even when driven hard I would get 27mpg
- Practicality - Four seats and a hatch/radio/A/C etc.
- Reliability - m44/getrag is very solid . . . with 176xxx miles and lots of high rpm driving, it still had 180psi across all cylinders. (Maintenance is key!! *cooling*)
- Aftermarket - there is tons of support between e36/e30/z3 there is more then enough parts to upgrade or replace, only part maybe lacking to a degree is engine support and that is for a good reason as building a m44 is not a real fruitful endeavor.
- Under powered but fun car to drive. Seriously. *With refreshed suspension* . . and z3 shifter..
- RWD - YES!
I think even now there are not many cars that offer all of those things in a single package. Now my MPG's will suffer and the balance that I so loved is lost. I will consider the MPG's a lost cause, but will see what I can do to get some of the balance back that I so enjoyed.
More to come!