[LakeCocoa]

Hey guys, so a friend of mine found a cheap bmw e90 4cyl petrol sitting by the road while we were on vacation, he wants to buy it and restore it, but he doesn’t know what exact engine the car has since it has been debadged.

I’m guessing it’s either a 318i or 320i, are there any visual indicators of what engine the e90 bmw has?

[4bangersketti]

Nothing on the body that I know of. I think the 318i has slightly smaller rotors and different brake calipers, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Can you see the VIN through the windshield?

[david in germany]

Originally Posted by 4bangersketti

Nothing on the body that I know of. I think the 318i has slightly smaller rotors and different brake calipers, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Can you see the VIN through the windshield?

This looks to be correct, the cars are otherwise identical.
Engine tuning and exhaust manifold are what give the 320i the bump in power.

[LakeCocoa]

Originally Posted by 4bangersketti

Nothing on the body that I know of. I think the 318i has slightly smaller rotors and different brake calipers, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Can you see the VIN through the windshield?

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it, we will go see the car in around 10 days again, until then I can only guess, I saw somewhere that the 318i only comes with manual climate control and this one has the auto, but i’m not sure how true that is

[4bangersketti]

Originally Posted by LakeCocoa

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it, we will go see the car in around 10 days again, until then I can only guess, I saw somewhere that the 318i only comes with manual climate control and this one has the auto, but i’m not sure how true that is

I'm not sure about that, but interior features might be your best bet. There might be a redline difference between the two as well. If you can see the gauges, that might give it away too. Is it an LCI or pre-LCI car?

[LakeCocoa]

Originally Posted by 4bangersketti

I'm not sure about that, but interior features might be your best bet. There might be a redline difference between the two as well. If you can see the gauges, that might give it away too. Is it an LCI or pre-LCI car?

It’s a pre-LCI, and yes I did see the interior i have two pictures of the inside, anything particular I should look for? What are the redline differences?

[4bangersketti]

Originally Posted by LakeCocoa

It’s a pre-LCI, and yes I did see the interior i have two pictures of the inside, anything particular I should look for? What are the redline differences?

I don't know, I'm just guessing. Post your pictures and we can see what we find.

[LakeCocoa]

Originally Posted by 4bangersketti

I don't know, I'm just guessing. Post your pictures and we can see what we find.

Here’s what I have:

[4bangersketti]

I have a pre-LCI 320i and it has dual exhaust tips, not the oval like that. Someone I work with has a 318 with that oval exhaust. I'm not sure if that is a coincidence or not.

[LakeCocoa]

Originally Posted by 4bangersketti

I have a pre-LCI 320i and it has dual exhaust tips, not the oval like that. Someone I work with has a 318 with that oval exhaust. I'm not sure if that is a coincidence or not.

Interesting I haven’t thought about the exhaust, well even if it happens to
be a 318i, I hope there won’t be a massive difference between it and the 320i, but still thank you very much for taking your time and helping

[4bangersketti]

Originally Posted by LakeCocoa

Interesting I haven’t thought about the exhaust, well even if it happens to
be a 318i, I hope there won’t be a massive difference between it and the 320i, but still thank you very much for taking your time and helping

It probably has an N46 either way. I think you can tune the N46 318i up to 320i power levels without too much trouble. I have a N43 320i, but it is pre-LCI. It was only a couple months that the "new" engine came in the "old" body style. So I don't really know much about the N46 engines specifically.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by 4bangersketti

If you can see the gauges, that might give it away too.

Good idea. I had a few minutes to kill and searched a little on ebay at used gauge clusters.

318i looks to redline at 6500 and the highest on the cluster is 7000
320i looks to redline at something like 7250 and indicate up to 8000

If those are indeed represented correctly in the auctions, the car on the side of the road there is a 318i.