BMW E30 318IS IS A BABY M3

Could this BMW 318IS be the baby M3?! There really is something about old BMW's that encapsulates everything we love about driving. Lightweight, no assists, rear wheel drive and a big smile on your face... Oliver Allison reviews the 1990 BMW 318IS (E30).
/ heelandtoe.uk
Music - / azaleh-eikona-in-aeternum

[@ChannelAsh100]

This just showed up in my feed and i have to say, this is a fantastic piece of media you've created. You can tell there is love in this and the sound and shots are phenomenal. Thank you for sharing your car with us.

[@Turbo1602ti]

The 318is was built from early 89 to mid91 The US 318i m42 convertible was build for only one year

[@64bakes]

Ever since I was about 14 I lusted after the 318IS. Really wanted one as a first car but my Dad warned me off of something like this, for insurance cost and maintenance. Skip forward to now and I'm 30. These cars fetch much higher prices than the circa £2k they were going for when I was looking! Anyway, finally managed to buy an immaculate, low mileage E30 last year, but unfortunately had to settle for the 318i. It has about 20hp less than the IS, no LSD and no M sport seats. Still, it's just as well balanced and still an event to drive. I'll never fall out of love with these cars. I did own an E36 IS for a few years before, and that's also great. More grown up than the E30 and not as exciting / raw.

[@aaronraja3967]

I was thinking of getting one as my first car, I’d really speculate you’re thoughts mate

[@husi1745]

my first car was a e30 318is. Bought it with 136000km for only 1100€, twelve years ago....Loved that car :(

[@Cofisyt]

Amazing quality and effort in the video, keep up the good work !

[@northfilm5919]

Very informative as ever Ollie.

[@Treesuss]

Good video. I have a short shift in my E30 318is too. Huge difference.

[@bridges5659]

I have a whie1990 E30 316i , 4 door rhd.I bought it from a lady who didn't have space for it because she had a few new bmw's.She was very emotional when I picked it up and was leaving with it and told me to look after her "baby"The car comes with an M40 engine , 2 litre detuned engine.no electric windows , central locking but it has aircon which actually freezes.I do have a power steering kit to install , the car has provisioning for this.I think it was a limited edition in 1990 because it's the only model to come with a rear windscreen louver and boot fin.The car runs well and there's only 161 000 kilometers on the clock , original body , no engine upgrades , stock standard.I did put on a 320i stainless steel free flow exhaust which gives off a sweet tone.I did change the rims to 5 spoke Smith wheel rims but it was stolen and I had to put back the original steel rims,that's typical in South Africa,crime is rife here.I've done 230km on top end a couple of times but i don't like punishing vehicles , I like the comfort and road holding , runs perfect even in harsh,stormy weather.I have to take off carefully otherwise it starts to burn.I intend to put on 17" bbs rims after I've installed the power steering kit.i am constantly being approached by guys who want to buy the car but if you sell a bmw e30 in this mint condition , you cannot replace it.I would advise owners of e30's to NOT modify your engines or swap it.I have it for 7 years now.fuel consumption is + - 7 liters per 100km.Important to replace your cam belt every 40 000km or intervals of 2 years. It is very hard to lose the back on an E30 4 door when cornering sharp bends at high speed.I know what it is to "RESPECT YOUR ELDERS"

[@garyjerryterry2915]

This is an amazing video!

[@aaaugust8965]

Great production value for such a small channel

[@chaz6625]

Amazing reviews, keep up the good work mate!

[@OLLIEHEELANDTOE]

Thanks Chaz ... More coming soon

[@jamiestuart9194]

I think he ment 45kg not 450 odd lol but great vid!

[@OLLIEHEELANDTOE]

I did, apologies. I obviously cant read off a script XD

[@JD-hh2qb]

Got this for my first car instead of a GTI

[@neutrida5091]

Gj

[@user-uy7gw5rq7p]

😂😂😂😂😂gti 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@georgedermitzakis4315]

What to you think about that???

[@alexmartinez280]

They shouldn’t even be in the same comparison

[@360nastybusiness]

lovely looking car

[@jmvfrva]

Just picked one up this weekend. 85k miles.

[@oliverpvlawson1826]

Very good video mate

[@chrisclausen5447]

My favorite e30. I have had all of the models. Less can be more. Love the m20 sound and balance though.

[@guy4469]

south africa 328is 330is ,they were gifted .

[@dNgR1337]

i have a z3 with the m44 1.9 engine and being very similar to the 318is m42 i can agree on everything you said

[@callummccubbing4506]

Aiming to have one of these beauties as hopefully a first car or first interesting car at least! Possibly the 318i but I don't really want to give up the 6 cylinder so will probably just save it unti later

[@1962lp2h]

Added to all that are the E30's simple good looks.

[@negusplox]

great video man, i bought a 318is at the beginning of this year and i love it!

[@EdwinGarcia-bn2lw]

How much did you pay for it? I’m looking at one as I type

[@joeleonard9965]

Same but a month and a half ago. Mine Is really high mileage but is rust free and nearly perfect exterior wise, but it has quite a bit of work to get it to where I can feel confident taking it anywhere, anytime. I did teach myself how to drive stick on the 6 hour drive home though and it was just fine.

[@tomespir4813]

I own this car now!

[@themuseicman]

Had one for 6 years and loved it. Sold it for £1200 4 years ago. Gutted I let it go

[@tommeiner9983]

Should've waited a couple of years and sell it for 10 times that price.

[@startingtech3900]

that dude got a fricking steal he ROBBED YOU !

[@startingtech3900]

you must have been strapped for cash!

[@bekabeka71]

Here to support You, from your big brotha e34 m525i 😎

[@kitler01]

Nice video mate got yourself the 100th subscriber

[@isaacchecks3938]

I have a 318i and I love it

[@gG-jg8bv]

damn, that video so enjoyable and nice quality, u deserve more subs

[@koneking2569]

Great video ! I own a Black E30 318IS Australian spec model, no LSD, comfort spec seats & 14" basketweaves as opposed to 15" basketweaves.

[@datsoon9236]

Comfort seats? Interesting. I would think that all the IS's come with sport seats. My 89' 325i convertible came with the sports seats, as did all the convertibles

[@koneking2569]

@@datsoon9236 Here in Aus the 325is did, not the 318is. The convertibles had sport bolsters as well, why bmw decided to skimp out on euro spec seats on the 318is I don't understand.

[@EugVR6]

The 16v golf left 318is for dead but saying that I had 2 318is, the 2nd was an E36 but the 318 drove so much better than the FWD golf but at that age, I wanted speed and the 16v glof ticked my fast box.

[@Cranktothemetal]

That engine is better than a 6 pot it's lighter stays at the back of the front axle instead of being on top and that engine is tuneable to 200bhp easily

[@bjrnbreivik4582]

can u tell more? what to do to get 200bhp easily ofc keeping it NA

[@koneking2569]

200bhp is not easily tuneable, even with a cams, itbs, remap etc you'd be lucky to get an extra 40bhp and all of that would set you back 7-8 grand.

[@snoopdogg64]

@@bjrnbreivik4582 with itbs and a carbon airbox + tune youll be getting about 160hp

[@Giordo45]

4 years later this mans prediction kinda came true, except that here in italy good examples are going for 13000 pounds-ish.

[@sputumtube]

I bought an E30 320i on a D plate for £800 about twenty years ago. I was told by the dealer that it had M-techik suspension but not having anything to compare it with I couldn't be sure. It handled very well though. One drawback was it's lack of power steering which made it a bastard to manouvre in confined areas.

[@Charbelabouakl]

Same I got an 89 320i with the M suspension and a 2.7 stroker engine. Amazing car and still handles like a dream with that suspension

[@SKODABAS]

it doesn't matter anymore or the car was good or flawed when it fell off the assembly line. Loves to destroy its cylinder head gaskets ( fixed much later) had a ferocious appetite for brake pads and seized calipers and naturally, in typical BMW tradition, water pumps and timing chains. ( they would never break but slap around) Radiator, rear frame bushings and the list goes on. However, regardless of being an expensive pig in upkeep it was a feast to drive. Nimble, agile, toss able and semi affordable.What I liked the best of mine and the E-28, something nobody has mentioned (yet) you can see out of them and their headlights were and still are about the best on earth. Nice car but lets be kind now, maintenance sensitive.

[@RBslowman]

My E30 got a seized caliper while I was driving. I was actually on the way home from fixing a friend's Nissan and had my nice jack and full toolkit in the car. I stopped and unseized it on the spot

[@mrgcc]

Just came across your page mate, really nice video and really well put together, feels like you have been doing videos for a long time. Keep up the good work and if you ever want to collaborate let me know! (I just subscribed)

[@ForidKhan123]

I really miss my Lazurblau iS 😔 Was such a fun car.

[@sv_cheats1970]

Basically it's the european equivalent of the toyota ae86. Both are coupes, have inline 4s, rwd and produced in the 80s soo cool car

[@jazzragu]

I'm going to buy one in 14 hours! Hopefully. Thanks for the video!

[@diogomesquita2696]

Did you ended up buying it?

[@jazzragu]

Diogo Mesquita Ah, it was rusty as fook so had to walk. Will stick to the M2 for now- she’s quite the mistress and ticks a lot of boxes.

[@BTFD0618]

i found 1 and i want itttt

[@KingCast65]

I had a super eta 325 with open exhaust it was fun! I really wanted another E30 like a 325i or 318is but you kinda take what you can find these days so that put me in a no-rust 535is. I can handle that :)

[@markbrown1609]

hey Olly good vdeo well done; i' m across the pond down here in kentucy wth same car same color. kentucky lets us cut of the cat The car is so light ; if the car had wings, I beleivei the car would llft of the ground.

[@RBslowman]

Really, you're buying the chassis. The engine is of little consequence because it's such a wonderful drive regardless. Of course faster is fun, but my humble '84 325e coupe 5MT is the only car I really regret selling. I had a lot of fun modding it and making it faster

[@dsgant1616]

I’ve got a 91 318is so maybe here in the US it was different, because you said 90 was the only year the 318is was made with the M42 engine. Over here 91 was the only year :) Good video! (Minus the math mistake regarding the weight of the V6 engine vs the straight 4)

[@andrewharvey1849]

The 318is for USA (& Canada) were produced from November 89 through April 91, but were all sold as a 91 model year. For Europe they were produced from February 89 through May 91. "Model year" is a little different in Europe. I think they usually go by the date of the first registration.

[@arnasleseta2890]

Wat? V6? Do you mean inline 6?

[@cruzanthoughts6567]

Just so proper.....😅

[@MrWilma127]

this is just so proper proper snappy

I had a 1988 325IS ! The 2013 GP2 is more talented...1100 kilos with 6 pods Brembo! torque vectoring...218 hp.

[@user-fz4mn7or1f]

Е30 💪💪💪

[@datsoon9236]

What I find interesting is that people call this the baby M3, yet my 89' 325i is closer performance wise to the M3. Sure, this has a 4 Cylinder, and so did the M3, but the 318is has 134 horsepower and my 325i has 170, which is much closer to the M3's 200

[@OLLIEHEELANDTOE]

I think it is literally just the fact its a 4 cyl why it’s called that.

[@startingtech3900]

i have a 1990 BMW 325i with the jim conforti preformance ship getting it up to 200hp(195)! LETSSS GOOOO

[@aaaaz123456ful]

It's not about power!! It's about feel and the 318is is the closest to the real thing.

[@datsoon9236]

@@aaaaz123456ful well, I suppose with the 4 cylinder thing it is, yeah. But obviously I'm the kind of guy who doesn't think power is everything. I haven't modified any of my cars engine wise because I don't need more power 😂

[@samcarmel6975]

Can I buy it

[@Ieubop]

Mate isnt this car for sale?

[@OLLIEHEELANDTOE]

It was :)

[@andrewmcewan8081]

the 320is was the baby m3 only made for 2 markets , italy and portugal because they tax cars over 2l so much

[@dillanmistry]

Now it’s definitely not a poor man’s M3 😂 but most definitely the fastest original e30 not being the m3 as it was faster than the 325i

[@rubikobaby]

How many BHP?? How much consume? Thanks

[@tommeiner9983]

136hp Consumption depends on how you drive it...

[@rubikobaby]

@@tommeiner9983 does it have a limited slip differential?

[@tommeiner9983]

@@rubikobaby Yes

[@Norcal1990]

M42b18💪

[@NateDogg19811000]

Turbo s14 is the best 4cly E30

[@tommeiner9983]

Who tf puts a turbo on an S14?..

[@tau-ceti]

"feels like a go-kart" is used WAY too often. These cars have good steering, but they are not go-kart like in any way, lol.

[@snapple8255]

Z3 rack and it will

[@trophythedrifter]

the baby M3 is the 320 IS, not the 318 IS

[@mrcookiemonster96]

well the 320is is the "Italo M3" the s14 was restricted. In the BMW-Community the E30 318is is called the Poor-Man M3 or the Baby M3

[@trophythedrifter]

@@mrcookiemonster96 S14 is not restricted on the 320IS: 192Hp vs 195hp for the M3. Only evo 1 & 2 are upgraded

[@mrcookiemonster96]

@@trophythedrifter nop the s14 engine was downgraded from 2.3 liter to 2.0 Liter, because in Portugal and Italy there were special taxes on cars with more than 2.0 Liter engines. Thats the reason why the 320is had only 192hp

[@trophythedrifter]

@@mrcookiemonster96 do the math: 192hp/2l VS 195cv/2.3l, you can call it a downgrade if you want...