Dilemma... not sure what to get

[ohheycheckmeout]

So... I've been looking now for a weekend track car/fun car that I can occasionally hop in and go to auto-x events and occasionally the track. Its come down to two cars in question... and wanted to see what everyone thinks.

1st-

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2281/2462314419_cdfda51706_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2369/2462314131_7ba88ebd93_o.jpg

1987 GTI 16V completely stripped. Perks: diesel title, car is dialed with suspension, recent motor rebuild with 8k miles on the car in total, car was built from the ground up.

Negatives: FWD... although I have driven FWD for the past 6 years, and don't look at it like a terrible thing. 16V-never worked on one before and not sure about the maintenance. Not much else


2nd-

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2322/2463140588_fe67e9275a_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2134/2463138660_1d400c8aac_o.jpg

1991 318is E30. Perks: rear wheel drive, BMW, roll-bar, seats, recent maintenance done to it, however, no rebuild, a bunch of extra parts.

Negatives: No motor rebuild as of yet, car needs some good cleaning love under the hood, needs new control arms installed, however, they are included with the sale.


What would you do, why? I'm 50/50 and can't push myself one way or another.

[oc-audica]

took me a few minutes but i like the gti better

[bugzy]

either way, can you PM me the info ;)

ill take which ever you pass on

[ohheycheckmeout]

haha thanks Lon, and yes, I'll pm you the info

I drove the GTI on thursday and it was quite a treat.... pretty much an amazing little car. Checking out the 318is tomorrow hopefully, seller seems to be a flake though

[bugzy]

haha thanks Lon, and yes, I'll pm you the info

I drove the GTI on thursday and it was quite a treat.... pretty much an amazing little car. Checking out the 318is tomorrow hopefully, seller seems to be a flake though
i know the E30 guy

he comes to Fusion once in a blue moon with his E34 5 series

[ohheycheckmeout]

yeah... he does have the 5 series. he's nearly impossible to get a hold of, so I'm not holding my breath tomorrow or will be shocked if he can't meet up. I have cash too for either/or and apparently money doesn't talk for this guy. oh well... we shall see, could be driving home in a 318 when I go to SD

[ohheycheckmeout]

anyone else?

[Monster8V]

The GTi will spank the 318 as they sit. Btw, being a BMW isnt a plus. A car is a car is a car. Since the GTi has been recently build, you wont know if it has any teething issues. You wont know that about the 318 either once you get them on the track.

Gti will have better power to weight ratio and parts will be vastly cheaper.

With low HP cars, I dont see the advantage of FWD vs RWD cars on most tracks around here.

Id go with the GTi if those are my choices.

[ohheycheckmeout]

Thank you monster...

Parts will be cheaper, which I keep coming back to, and I didn't think that the FWD vs RWD would be a huge difference, if any. I put the BMW as a plus because it would just be a new car manufacturer to me. Here's a few more pics of the GTI, tell me what you think, or see they may be shoddy.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/2462314325_8630fded38_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3226/2462314233_60aa8a8e31.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2464040355_0c954411fe_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/2464040515_0c60e7a476_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2198/2464870714_00ef67bcc7_o.jpg

[S4TW]

BMW all the way for me. Oversteer is much better and easier to control for track events. You can get a little understeer going into a turn and the some corrective oversteer for the exit. Granted, with relatively low HP numbers the oversteer will be minimal.

I come from two Integras and could not stand the constant understeer.

[ohheycheckmeout]

anyone else? still curious what some think.

[SELFatvi]

what is the weight difference? I personally like the GTI better for road course track like events.

Sadly i will be parting ways with my 16v gti which has half the track work done as that one and it handles like a dream. I cant imagine how nice that red one handles.

[ohheycheckmeout]

The GTI weighs in at 1925lbs as it sits. E30's ive been told on R3V and other forums, if gone through and made for weight reduction, weigh roughly 2300-2500 lbs... all depending one what you do or do not take out.

any reliability issues I should worry about with a 16v 1.8L?

[mike]

that 318 isn't the fastest, but when setup right, will work cars all day long in a canyon set of twisties, The E30 318 is the way I would go, its a 200K mile car easy with good care, they don't build them like that anymore.

[Monster8V]

if its a fresh build then no, go drive it.

Otherwise get a spare set of hyd lifters, water pump belts, rear wheel bearings, front wheel bearings, brake pads and rotors, alternator, water pump. Then bring fluids. oil. brake fluid.

Dont use coolant, use straight water but add to it either water wetter or get something called 40 below.

http://www.ecklers.com/images/vette/29331.jpg

Works great.

Will you drive it to events or tow it?

[ohheycheckmeout]

pulling me in both directions haha.

i will be driving the car to and from events for the time being, occasionally around town to the beach or to grab a bite to eat, to keep the fluids moving and why not.

the 318 guy has been super sketchy with his dealings and doesn't seem like a stand up guy, which is pulling me away from that particular car. i would hate to buy it only to find out its a piece of garbage. i do agree though that the cars handle amazingly, and have ridden in a friends e30 more than a few times. he was actually the one who turned me on to them.

the gti has all new wheel bearings, starter, alternator, control arms, etc replaced in the build up as well. thanks monster for the advice on the coolant and what to buy.

[mike]

The GTI, since it has had lots of work done to it, if its been done right, its a great starting point, looks like a lot of fun too and will be pretty damn quick,

If the 318 guy is being flakey, forget it, plenty of other fish in the sea.

[Monster8V]

yeah, what Mike said.

[ohheycheckmeout]

Yeah... I was leaning the 318 way for a while... all while trying to get in touch. I have tried to go look at the car since April 7th... an entire month.

[mike]

I wouldn't give the guy any of my time if he didn't call me back after a few days, see, meant to be a GTI!!!!!!!!

I've had guys want to come look at my cars I'm selling, flake on me, no call no show, then they call me a couple days later to try and see it and I tell them its not for sale anymore, to them.

[SELFatvi]

The GTI weighs in at 1925lbs as it sits. E30's ive been told on R3V and other forums, if gone through and made for weight reduction, weigh roughly 2300-2500 lbs... all depending one what you do or do not take out.

any reliability issues I should worry about with a 16v 1.8L?

ohh yeah!, but i am sure most of those have been taken off for a track car. If it is running manual steering anf stripped of all the useless stuff for track such as AC then you should be pretty good.

Make sure the belts are tight and in good conidtion. Most of the issues i had with my 1.8l 16v were mainly transmission related. The engine ran like a champ and pulled hard till redline.

But i eat gears up, heated portions of the transmission will sometimes cause it to not want to shift right but these are all issues which can be fixed.

[ohheycheckmeout]

yeah, i agree mike. than it is fate. plus the guy who currently owns the gti works at yokohama and said if i ever needed anything, to let him know. Plus he's throwing in an extra set of medium compounds to sweeten the deal. well... as soon as i get it and get it all cleaned up, all post up shots. thank you everyone for the advice and help

[mike]

Looks pretty good to me from here, and you will have fun schooling the C6 vette guys at auto-X

[ohheycheckmeout]

little update... still have neither :(

[your_blog_sucks]

How much they asking for the GTI?

[ohheycheckmeout]

GTI he is asking for $4500... with only a few extras. I got him down to $4000 but couldn't pull the trigger. Its hard to know what they are worth because its a completely different area for me. The car seems pretty well sorted, only major problem is an exhaust rattle. Other than that, its fast as hell for being what it is and is a blast to drive. $4000 included the car with black koseis, an extra set of R compounds, shifter rebuild kit, and a few other randoms

[your_blog_sucks]

4 Grand is a lot of money!

You can probably find a great condition stock 16v or 8v GTI for that amount.

I would rather do all the mods I want on an unmolested car.