Oppo Showdown: BMW 320i vs 325e

"MultiplaOrgasms" (themightymultipla) 05/15/2015 at 17:14 • Filed to: I need a girlfriend or something

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Two BMW E30s with nearly identical hp, but two massively different philosophys. One is a rev happy small displacement straight six, the other one uses upsizing to improve fuel economy. But which is the superior? You decide.

Here are the facts:

320i:

M20B20 Inline 6, 80mm x 66mm, 1990cc (121cui), 129hp, 174nm (128lb-ft)

1160kg (2557lbs)

0-62 in 10.8sec

Top speed 197kph (123mph)

Fuel economy: 9.9l/1ookm (23.7mpg US, 28.5mpg UK) Regular unleaded

325e

M20B27 Inline 6, 84mm x 81mm, 2693cc (164cui), 122hp, 230nm (169lb-ft)

1180kg (2601lbs)

0-62 in 10.1sec

Top speed 193kph (120mph)

Fuel economy: 8.4l/100km (28mpg US, 33.6mpg UK) Regular unleaded

All of those figures are for a 1986 model 2-door sedan with catalytic converter because I could only find figures for the 325e with catalyst

Mattbob > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 06:10

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325e with a head swap and a turbo.

traderQAMobileTestAutomationMobileBoostOn > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 06:32

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-3 25 e

- 2,693 cc

Even in 1986, BMW’s naming system made little sense.

Jobjoris > traderQAMobileTestAutomationMobileBoostOn 05/20/2015 at 07:21

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Makes perfectly sense as positioning it as a 327e would have put it on top of the (non-M) E30-hierarchy. Which it clearly wasn’t.

Jobjoris > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 07:27

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Pretty easy one when it comes to your daily driver:

Better fuel-economy, more (and ‘smoother’) torque: 325e. The rest of the specs are almost equal. Although I have serious doubts about the fuel-economy being that much better in reality.

MultiplaOrgasms > Jobjoris 05/20/2015 at 08:01

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Surprisingly the stated MPG figure for the 325e seems realistic. As for the 320i, can’t confirm anything, but the source I used stated similar numbers for the 320i without catalytic converter and the eta with catalytic converter . Do old-ass cats reduce fuel economy? Don’t know, those were way before my time.

Bluecold > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 08:10

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I’ve been in a 528e (in the US it was called 525e), and it’s basically a petrol engine with all the upsides of a diesel without the downsides.

Jobjoris > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 08:50

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They reduced power so probably didn’t ‘help’ in the fuel economy either.

I’ve checked a local comparison-site wich used factory-specifications:

325e: 1 liter to 11,9 kms

320i: 1 liter to 11,2 kms

Not that big a difference. The 325e over here came with a catalytic converter, the 320i without. The 320i with 125hp (so the one built up to 1985) reached 11,6 kms on a liter.

DipodomysDeserti > Mattbob 05/20/2015 at 09:04

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Gotta be careful with that as they have cast cranks.

Mattbob > DipodomysDeserti 05/20/2015 at 10:16

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oh, at that point it’s pretty much a rebuild isn’t it?

duurtlang > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 10:31

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As the owner of a 320i I pick that one, even though the 325e might’ve been a better choice. But as the 325e never came as a Touring I picked a 320i Touring.

TotallyThatStupid > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 10:34

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Clean Euro E30s... don’t care. I’d take either one.

God I wish my bumpers were that nice.

DipodomysDeserti > Mattbob 05/20/2015 at 11:09

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Pretty much. Most guys just do the 325i head conversion which basically gives you a bored out 325i. There are also chips available which plug into the DME and raise the redline and add a few more ponies. With the higher redline you still need to be careful with the crank.

MultiplaOrgasms > Jobjoris 05/20/2015 at 13:18

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The only real difference then is the etas increased torque over the entire rev range.

Jobjoris > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 13:26

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Yep. And for your daily drives that’s key. For the track I’d probably prefer the 320i though: less weight, more top-end.

Maybe not an as easy choice as initially expected ;-)