did anyone know if a e30 318is with the m42 engine is good for drifting ? Enough power, easy to modify ? Thank you
perfect car. Very solid and tailhappy. Not much cars are as easy to modify than the e30. There's a engine conversion for every budget. lots of space under the bonnet which means endless options. But it's a light car (strip it!), the m42 already is enough.
It's a light car, you can drift it by going to fast. You don't need much power after that. I admit it's not easy to drift a underpowered car in the dry. but that's where you should start. Start on wet surface, as soon you know what to do, dry drifts will work. Kick the sh*t out of the M42 and if he dies you can do a engine conversion then. From 4 to 12 cylinders, whatever you can afford, anything will fit under that bonnet.
Lightweight flywheel, new paddle clutch, hydro, welder, exhaust. And you will be away! Perfect to learn in.
Most 318is E30's came with a proper LSD. If it did it'll need literally nothing to be a nice drifter. If it didn't; welded diff and you're done. Everything else is optional extras. The only thing on that list you might actually need is a hydro and even that's not until you're already able to hold a slide with the damn car. Diff that locks, bucket seat if you're feeling flush, coilovers when you start thinking you need something more than the m-sport suspension. If you're going to start off with something cheap then don't make it expensive by suddenly paying out about 800 quid on stuff that'll make bugger all difference to a beginner.
I've got an e30 welded diff if it's any good to you. Came fitted in a breaker I bought not sure on spec. located in Bristol. But like said above 318is should have LSD anyway.
Why? All it does is move the stress of constant clutch kicking onto something more difficult to replace. Stock clutch will hold up fine, even when kicking it a lot and, if you're just starting out, there's a long way to go before you're desperately trying to kick the crap out of it to make it hold high speed stuff.
Lool if I can get my 320i sidewards you can defo get the 318is. Take it stock first time you go, see what you'd like to improve. I found the comfort seats were useless so opted for a cheap set of cossie recaros (£80 for the pair). A welded diff and a better set of springs and shocks. But I suspect the 318is already has sports seats, LSD & uprated suspension. 60/70psi in the rear, 40upfront and really kick that clutch. Only thing I would upgrade is oil, invest in some good quality oil, your car will thank you for it.
fuck e30's for drifting. they have a shit pirate ship steering rack, shit engines, shit prop shaft bushes and they're fucking old so everything is brown metal or fucked.
lul - the only agreeable thing is the steering rack but even then they drift fine as standard. E36 racks can be had for £10, run them de-pas and they are a bolt in swap. The rest sounds like a wind up. E30 318is mainly having LSDs is a bit of a myth from what I gather, especially as the small case 4.1 LSD is so rare to find. Weld the standard 4.1 diff and have some fun. The main drawback is cheap E30 318is are hard to find, I keep meaning to try the E36 version.
I started out with a std 318i, e36 rack welder. Built the car up slowly over the years as my driving improved. Vids are from last year with a 2.8 m52
