BMW 320si, E90 WTCC homologation model
Discussion
Update on page 5/December 2020, the blue car becomes a silver one! Then, on page 9/April 2022 I sell the silver one....and buy another silver one!
Hello,
With the birth of my son in May I sold my road legal RX-8 race car and have been using my Corvette C6 as my only car: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
With Autumn here and salty roads around the corner it was time to buy a second car for commuting and family duties. Another RX-8 was tempting, but Mazda parts prices are ridiculous, so I was keen to get back to BMW (yes, they are often cheaper!). With my heart set on a nice 6 cylinder, manual E90 325i or 330i I started looking around. Then I remembered the 320si, sure, it's not 6 cylinder and it has a reputation for catastrophic engine failure, but I raced an RX-8 for two years and my other car has 213,000 miles, so I laugh in the face of such risk
I like the appeal of the racing connection, wheel design, fancy carbon fibre cam cover, handling and rarity.
If you already know about the model feel free to skip this bit!
https://www.goodwood.com/grr/columnists/dan-trent/...
and https://www.carthrottle.com/post/66dy4dx/
This last article is wrong in two ways, the car doesn't have an LSD, nor does it have individual throttle bodies.
So, it's essentially a 320i with the M Sport package, with the following differences:
Unique, hand built 2 litre n/a engine, higher revving, shorter stroke with solid lifters and a carbon fibre cam cover. It's mounted lower and further back for handling.
Shorter final drive, 4.1 diff ratio.
Larger discs front and rear.
Wider and lighter BMW Motorsport wheels
Larger radiator
....and that's about it apart from a few small details. Oh, nice that it has proper hydraulic steering too.
Of the 500 rhd UK cars there appear to be 310 remaining according to: https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_320_si
There was/is one for sale on Pistonheads (good communication with the seller), two on ebay, one on Autotrader and none on Facebook. It was the highest mileage car on ebay that interested me last weekend, as it was available to buy immediately and I'm happy with high mileage provided the price reflects it. I took a chance and sniped with 6 seconds to go, winning the auction at £2173.45 (no idea it's such a random amount). The photos showed a pretty grubby, well used example, one of a collection of cars owned by the family. It was described as having various scratches, with fairly uninspiring camera phone pics; I don't mind this as it's sometimes an opportunity for a bargain. The camchain had snapped three years previously, with a top end rebuild, other than that no other issues were noted.
When she came home later that day I told my wife I'd bought a car (!) and she kindly drove me the next day down to Hayling Island (two hours away). A quick test drive to check it ran and we were done in an hour or so. A nice folder of receipts stretching back to when the car was new, a stamped service book, both keys, handbook and a small box of bent valves and a snapped chain as evidence of the former rebuild!
The car is dirty, but appears accident free and the scratches are minimal. The alloys are kerbed, an angel eye bulb is out, it needs new mats and it's due a major service, other than that it's fine. Matching, recent Bridgestones give a clue that some money on maintenance had been spent.
These are the photos I took on Sunday when I stopped mid test drive (hence it looks a bit grubby). No interior photos as it had assorted grime and glitter everywhere. The seats are cloth and alcantara, a bit worn but no holes or tears.
The drive back was pleasurable, impressively tight feeling with no knocks and dead straight tracking. The engine is pretty gutless unless revved (I'm used to that with the RX-8), doesn't sound especially inspiring and the gear ratios are well matched for acceleration, if not motorway cruising (3500rpm at 80mph). An M car it is not, but for less than £2200 it's a lot of car.
I've just spent the best part of £400 with BMW Bath, the most expensive part being the cam cover gaskets (£120+). This engine has the same solid lifters as the S54, so valve clearances are required periodically. Fortunately I kept all the tools and shims for such a service from when I owned a Z4M a few years back.
Long term plans will depend on whether the car grabs my heart or whether I'm lured to the straight six instead. My mind wanders to converting it as a race car in the future, but my wallet says otherwise and I should just stick to using the Corvette on track. If the 320si car stays I will work on the cosmetics and possibly add a limited slip diff. Oh and to improve warm up and reduce cold starting shock I will probably add a sump heating pad so I can plug it in over night; this has been an effective modification on the Corvette.
Cheers, Dave
Hello,
With the birth of my son in May I sold my road legal RX-8 race car and have been using my Corvette C6 as my only car: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
With Autumn here and salty roads around the corner it was time to buy a second car for commuting and family duties. Another RX-8 was tempting, but Mazda parts prices are ridiculous, so I was keen to get back to BMW (yes, they are often cheaper!). With my heart set on a nice 6 cylinder, manual E90 325i or 330i I started looking around. Then I remembered the 320si, sure, it's not 6 cylinder and it has a reputation for catastrophic engine failure, but I raced an RX-8 for two years and my other car has 213,000 miles, so I laugh in the face of such risk
I like the appeal of the racing connection, wheel design, fancy carbon fibre cam cover, handling and rarity.
If you already know about the model feel free to skip this bit!
https://www.goodwood.com/grr/columnists/dan-trent/...
and https://www.carthrottle.com/post/66dy4dx/
This last article is wrong in two ways, the car doesn't have an LSD, nor does it have individual throttle bodies.
So, it's essentially a 320i with the M Sport package, with the following differences:
Unique, hand built 2 litre n/a engine, higher revving, shorter stroke with solid lifters and a carbon fibre cam cover. It's mounted lower and further back for handling.
Shorter final drive, 4.1 diff ratio.
Larger discs front and rear.
Wider and lighter BMW Motorsport wheels
Larger radiator
....and that's about it apart from a few small details. Oh, nice that it has proper hydraulic steering too.
Of the 500 rhd UK cars there appear to be 310 remaining according to: https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_320_si
There was/is one for sale on Pistonheads (good communication with the seller), two on ebay, one on Autotrader and none on Facebook. It was the highest mileage car on ebay that interested me last weekend, as it was available to buy immediately and I'm happy with high mileage provided the price reflects it. I took a chance and sniped with 6 seconds to go, winning the auction at £2173.45 (no idea it's such a random amount). The photos showed a pretty grubby, well used example, one of a collection of cars owned by the family. It was described as having various scratches, with fairly uninspiring camera phone pics; I don't mind this as it's sometimes an opportunity for a bargain. The camchain had snapped three years previously, with a top end rebuild, other than that no other issues were noted.
When she came home later that day I told my wife I'd bought a car (!) and she kindly drove me the next day down to Hayling Island (two hours away). A quick test drive to check it ran and we were done in an hour or so. A nice folder of receipts stretching back to when the car was new, a stamped service book, both keys, handbook and a small box of bent valves and a snapped chain as evidence of the former rebuild!
The car is dirty, but appears accident free and the scratches are minimal. The alloys are kerbed, an angel eye bulb is out, it needs new mats and it's due a major service, other than that it's fine. Matching, recent Bridgestones give a clue that some money on maintenance had been spent.
These are the photos I took on Sunday when I stopped mid test drive (hence it looks a bit grubby). No interior photos as it had assorted grime and glitter everywhere. The seats are cloth and alcantara, a bit worn but no holes or tears.
The drive back was pleasurable, impressively tight feeling with no knocks and dead straight tracking. The engine is pretty gutless unless revved (I'm used to that with the RX-8), doesn't sound especially inspiring and the gear ratios are well matched for acceleration, if not motorway cruising (3500rpm at 80mph). An M car it is not, but for less than £2200 it's a lot of car.
I've just spent the best part of £400 with BMW Bath, the most expensive part being the cam cover gaskets (£120+). This engine has the same solid lifters as the S54, so valve clearances are required periodically. Fortunately I kept all the tools and shims for such a service from when I owned a Z4M a few years back.
Long term plans will depend on whether the car grabs my heart or whether I'm lured to the straight six instead. My mind wanders to converting it as a race car in the future, but my wallet says otherwise and I should just stick to using the Corvette on track. If the 320si car stays I will work on the cosmetics and possibly add a limited slip diff. Oh and to improve warm up and reduce cold starting shock I will probably add a sump heating pad so I can plug it in over night; this has been an effective modification on the Corvette.
Cheers, Dave
Edited by Fishy Dave on Saturday 9th April 22:06
Xenon lights and bluetooth. They're quite rare on the 320si. I love the fact that the redline is so high, too. I think these engines were made in Hams Hall.
I'm a straight six fan (Own a 330i of similar vintage), but there's an allure to the 320si. I bet they handle sweetly with the low weight over the front axle, and an engine that doesn't dominate the experience so much.
I'm sure now it's been rebuilt, it won't go bang again, touch wood.
The original press release for the 320si:
https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/middle-east/article...
I'm a straight six fan (Own a 330i of similar vintage), but there's an allure to the 320si. I bet they handle sweetly with the low weight over the front axle, and an engine that doesn't dominate the experience so much.
I'm sure now it's been rebuilt, it won't go bang again, touch wood.
The original press release for the 320si:
https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/middle-east/article...
These are cool - I've always fancied one. I remember reading a test in Autocar when they were new and just thinking the whole thing sounded very appealing. Then I remember people saying "it's slower than a 330i so what's the point?" but I think that they missed the point 
It's just very cool to have something with an interesting specification in my opinion.
ETA I spotted this one on Ebay the other day on a random browse. If it's any good, it sounds like you got a bargain! Good luck
It's just very cool to have something with an interesting specification in my opinion.
ETA I spotted this one on Ebay the other day on a random browse. If it's any good, it sounds like you got a bargain! Good luck
Great oddball choice there! I remember a film of Vicki Butler-Henderson thrashing one of these on Fifth Gear - she seemed to love it. I’ve always kept my eye on these for all the reasons you’ve highlighted but last time around, I went for an E46 Clubsport instead. Be very interested to see how you get on with it...enjoy!!
Thank you all, now I'm a few weeks in I've got a better feel for the car. £350 spent on parts with BMW and I got to work.
I replaced a blown angel eye bulb, but two weeks later the other one has failed, typical.
I changed the oil (Millers Nanotech 5w30), oil filter and air filter (a nicely designed standard cold air feed, airbox and filter). Where the engine is set back it gives loads of room to the front of the engine.
My six month old son, Austin seems to like it.
I discovered that the replacement exhaust back box was only held on by the exhaust rubbers. New nuts and bolts and it's sorted.
I love the look, chassis, grip and comfort, however, I just can't gel with this engine. I think that part of the problem is that all four of the BMW's I've owned before have been six cylinder (Z4M, 330d, E30 320i and 325ti). The si is quick enough, with nice short gear ratios, but it sounds harsh to these ears and the economy is disappointing.
I will complete the inspection 2 service and give it a polish and then re-list it for sale, so this is going to be a pretty short readers cars thread, soon to be followed by one for an E90 325i!
I replaced a blown angel eye bulb, but two weeks later the other one has failed, typical.
I changed the oil (Millers Nanotech 5w30), oil filter and air filter (a nicely designed standard cold air feed, airbox and filter). Where the engine is set back it gives loads of room to the front of the engine.
My six month old son, Austin seems to like it.
I discovered that the replacement exhaust back box was only held on by the exhaust rubbers. New nuts and bolts and it's sorted.
I love the look, chassis, grip and comfort, however, I just can't gel with this engine. I think that part of the problem is that all four of the BMW's I've owned before have been six cylinder (Z4M, 330d, E30 320i and 325ti). The si is quick enough, with nice short gear ratios, but it sounds harsh to these ears and the economy is disappointing.
I will complete the inspection 2 service and give it a polish and then re-list it for sale, so this is going to be a pretty short readers cars thread, soon to be followed by one for an E90 325i!
Edited by Fishy Dave on Tuesday 9th February 13:50
These are pretty cool; I love the wheels. Le Mans blue really suits the E90 (but I’m biased having had a Le Mans blue 330 
).
Personally I struggle with the engine, so would always be looking for a 325/330 but the biggest issue is finding a manual. The old ZF6 which I had isn’t the best and doesn’t really suit the N52.
).Personally I struggle with the engine, so would always be looking for a 325/330 but the biggest issue is finding a manual. The old ZF6 which I had isn’t the best and doesn’t really suit the N52.
Two grand!?!? You basically stole it. These hold the right balance of being dismissed by some people whilst actually being quite interesting/rare for me. I didn't realise they were available that cheaply. You could have bought all manner of dull and tedious things for £2k so that's total win in my book. Will be watching with interest!
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