A German car with a Swedish heart:
Introducing the SVETSON tuned BMW 316!
4 Likes
Judgement - Prologue
Gav burst through Jason’s front door excitedly, yelling out.
“Jason! Jason! Look what I found!”
Jason peeked his head around the corner at the end of the entry hall.
“What’s the matter Gav? Is everything alright?”
“Look at this! It’s exactly what we need!” Gav shouted as he fumbled to get his shoes off in a flurry.
“Calm down a bit tiger and come in to the kitchen, I’ve just put some tea on.”
After a minute, once Gav had finally negotiated getting out of his tangled laces and run down the hall, he finally thrust forwards what he had been so eager to show Jason.
“Look here Jason, the latest ‘EuropeTuner’ magazine has a special edition focused on modding old BMWs! - there’s a whole bunch of companies that have packages to update the same 3-series that we’ve got!”
“Right-o Gav, that’s good timing. How about you sit down at the table and we’ll take a look together?”
Jason brought out the two cups of tea, along with some biscuits, and sat down with the excited Gav to look through the magazine and see if there was any worthwhile information they might be able to gather to help them shortlist a few companies to talk to about restoring and improving their old E21.
“Let’s see… says the part on the 3-series starts page 23… okay here we go…”
Jason and Gav flicked through the first few pages, but quickly realised that there were a lot of companies listed - far too many to go and talk to each.
“Hang on Gav, we can ready all this stuff later, but how about for now we just flick to the final shortlist at the end of the section and check that out?”
Gav quickly flicked to the end of the section and laid out the page for them both to see.
“Ah, here we go. It says here that they managed to shortlist the best seven offerings that provided a wide range of modifications, styles, and ideas. Oh… but Jason, the competition results here were based upon performance stats and a track-based comparison.”
“Ah that’s fine Gav. We can use this to figure out the performance side of the equation & then can look through forums, go to car meets, or visit the actual shops to determine the other aspects that we’re interested in.”
“Okay sure, let’s see what the magazine has to say about each one of these…”
Finalists (Alphabetical):
Lightning Garage – BDW E2 316
Pros:
- The engine revs reasonably freely, with a nice exhaust sound and crackle, and a good throttle response.
- Really nice corner turn-in but struggles a bit with exit grip…
- Oversteer easily producible and usually controllable.
- Sits very flat around corners with minimal body roll and very consistent handling at different speeds…
- Any loss of traction is usually well telegraphed and recoverable.
Cons:
- The car actually feels faster than it is (Con for the track, Pro for the road?)
- Quite noticeably loud and drones a bit at highway speeds.
- The only model in the finalists using an older single-point injection and it shows through this cars inferior economy.
- The brakes pull up reasonably well however the rear-biased brakes need careful application and very sporty pads need a lot of heat to get optimum results.
- Has significant rear downforce but still exhibits occasional scary oversteer at high speeds.
- This car has very hard and unforgiving suspension, meaning it will get unsettled over any uneven tarmac or mid-corner undulations.
- Odd Traction Control behaviour that sometimes allows more wheelspin than expected and makes the car less predictable.
Sunset Garage 316 Brule
Pros:
- Exhibits a quiet but nice exhaust note and a very smooth engine.
- Amazing torque due to the turbo gives unequaled driveability and flexibility, and even pulls hard from 2000rpm.
- Includes a smart eco mode to improve fuel economy when driven sedately
- Having a turbo on this sort of car & engine gives it a bit more of that ‘unique’ interest factor
- The gearbox is direct and a joy to use, with gears spaced well and an overdrive to reduce drone at highways speeds.
- Very comfortable due to both well sorted interior and supple suspension (rear suspension having been converted to double wishbones), which also provides predictable and controllable handling.
- The removal of rear seats has allowed for better chassis bracing and trick suspension.
- The car shows amazing lateral grip and good communication through the tyres and chassis
Cons:
- There is slight turbo lag but overall it isn’t that intrusive.
- The electric variable steering takes a bit of getting used to and reduces the feel transmitted to the driver. Potentially also a reliability risk on the track.
- The removal of rear seats means it is nowhere near as practical as the original design.
- Brakes would be considered good, except you need to be very careful in applying them heavily during cornering as the car has a tendency to slide the rear out in these situations.
318is Targa by LMJ Design
Pros:
- Convertible top provides that wow factor.
- The 1.8L engine revs reasonably freely with a nice exhaust crackle
- The larger engine borrowed out of the 318 feels just a little bit more special than the original 1.6L.
- The car exhibits such sharp and instant corner turn-in that it oversteers extremely easily if not careful (Pro for the track, Con for the road?)
- Oversteer is nicely controllable if it starts mid-corner and you are expecting it.
- The large oversized brakes give no noticeable fade, even after multiple full-speed laps.
- Firm-ish suspension but still comfortable with acceptable body roll
Cons:
- The car actually feels faster than it is (Con for the track, Pro for the road?)
- Probably the most disappointing throttle response out of all the finalists.
- The car feels like it could do with more downforce at higher speeds, as it starts to oversteer a bit too much.
- The lack of ABS brakes (compared to the other finalists) take a bit of getting used to but pull up reasonably well once practiced.
- One of the more difficult cars to get consistent times out of.
BMW E21 316 by Wdesign
Pros:
- An intruiging Targa-Top design that leaves a significant amount of roof intact for structural rigidity.
- Comes with a 6 speed gearbox, however the last 2 gears are overdriven (provides the quietest highway speed out of all finalists).
- Exhibits unexpected and surprisingly good throttle response.
- With the ESC on, even someone who has never driven a RWD car will have trouble getting into trouble (although they would also be extremely slow around the track).
Cons:
- The suspension is comfortable, but quite soft – definitely feels more like a cruiser than a racer.
- An overly tight rear causes the inside wheel to lift when attacking tight corners, leading to sudden oversteer.
- The ESC cuts in aggressively due to aforementioned wheel-lift and can upset the balance of the car mid-corner and wash off a large amount of speed.
- The brakes are not quite as good as the competition but due to the nature of the car this is much less of an issue.
Garage Citronne YAS 316iA
Pros:
- Good brakes that are progressive and responsive even from cold however must be applied with care mid-corner.
- The car doesn’t feel as swift off the mark as the others but the numbers say it is, at least compared to the other 1.6L entries.
- It has a surprisingly comfortable suspension setup with moderate roll and good driving feel.
- The car retains the original non-power assisted R&P steering system but with some modifications to offset the increased vehicle mass.
- Cheap parts, servicing, and great fuel economy help with the affordability argument.
- The sports-auto gearbox with flappy-paddles can be seen as a positive or a flaw depending on the driver.
- Somehow manages to fit some of the most recent safety features leading to a car that could probably even score well in modern vehicle crash tests.
Cons:
- While it boasts a large amount of rear downforce, it still feels somewhat more skittish at high speeds than some other finalists.
- The sports-auto gearbox with flappy-paddles can be seen as a positive or a flaw depending on the driver.
- The car drives well in sports mode but occasionally hunts or selects the wrong gear in Drive.
- Unfortunately the increased safety features do have a trade-off: increased weight.
316 SVETSON
Pros:
- The engine has a nice growl and sounds fast with the occasional crackle.
- The engine has good throttle response and is reasonably willing to rev – although it feels like it wants another 1000rpm past the redline.
- Although not fast, this car actually laped faster than its stats would make you expect.
- Has the highest servicing costs but its great fuel economy actually makes it one of the cheapest to run.
Cons:
- The brakes are okay on the road but start to feel underpowered if the car is loaded up, and definitely need to be upgraded for the track as it was was the only car to suffer from brake fade within one lap.
- This car retains the original 4-speed gearbox from the 316, but due to lower power is probably the car that actually needs the extra gears the most.
- Also the only car with more weight over the rear axle than the front. It shows, as it was also the only car to oversteer around a certain corner even with zero throttle input.
- An overly tight rear causes the inside wheel to lift when attacking tight corners leading to unexpected oversteer.
- A slight noticeable vibration from the inline 3 in the cabin but within acceptable limits.
- The wheels feel an inch or so oversized, and comfort is not helped by low profile tyres and stiff springs.
- Retains the original non-power assisted R&P steering system, which makes the steering heavier than other finalists (although lighter compared to some others that kept the R&P system).
ZRD Tune
Pros:
- Engine revs quite freely with an aggressive engine note with nice crackle from the side-exhaust and even the occasional flame near redline.
- An impressive amount of torque from this engine (not surprising being almost 1L more than stock) and also has the power to pull hard all the way to the 7000rpm redline.
- Generous torque curve means it is quite a flexible engine and is quite forgiving of not being in the exact right gear.
- Appears to be a reliable and well-built engine, with no real dramas on the track.
- The only car out of the finalists to reign-in the oversteer and even occasionally exhibit some understeer.
Cons:
- Throttle response is a little disappointing considering the rest of the engine.
- 5 speed gearbox tuned for acceleration leaves the car a bit loud when cruising at highway speeds (100 km/h @ 2600 rpm in 5th)
- Not very comfortable due to very sports-oriented suspension setup and retaining the original non-power assisted R&P steering system (this may be fine in the original ~1019kg car, it makes navigating this 1320kg car much harder at low speeds),
- The ESC cuts in noticeably upsetting balance, and while with ESC turned off the car is much more sporty, it is down slightly compared to its rivals in raw-grip levels
- The steering gets light at high-speeds which leads to some front-end wandering and undesired instability due to lack of any significant downforce
- The brakes not bad but noticeably harder and longer to pull up in comparison
Phew! Didn’t realist I wrote this much. Final scores and aesthetic judgement almost ready (hopefully tomorrow).
All the comments above have come from a combination of car configuration + stats + how they drove in BeamNG, although note that any impressions gained from BeamNG have been added for flavour text and have no influence over the actual scores
5 Likes
Nope - just a weird bug that Firefox does with uploading JPG sometimes! Should be fixed now 
1 Like
did you judge these in beam?
ah.
Little bit behind. 2 more cars to write comments for. Hopefully finished soonish™
3 Likes
Judgement - Commentary
*a few days later*
Jason and Gav sat down at the table to compare their respective thoughts and views that they had come to based upon the material they had previously gathered from brochures, magazines, online forums, and direct inquiries to the respective companies.
“Okay,” said Jason. “Let’s just go through them in the same order as ‘EuropeTuner’ and see what each of us think, then we can compare our scores at the end.”
“Sure - you first bro.”
Lightning Garage – BDW E2 316
Jason: Oooooh this is nice. Obligatory twin-headlight with halo mod tick! However these lights look a bit different to the others, which makes them stand out from the crowd a bit. The front air-dam/chin spoiler integrates really nicely with the fender arches and the side skirts dont look out of place at all. From the rear, the lights, spoiler, rims, and window blind combo gives the car a sporty 80’s look which I totally dig.
Inside continues the vibe, but I feel it leaves a bit to be desired. Some aspects I really like (such as the unique dash design), but other parts look like a few corners were cut. For example, the car has what looks like an infotainment screen but the only options available are basic trip info and AM/FM radio channels (not even DAB)? Interior colours are also, well… missing compared to the other options, although a plain and dark interior done well is still better than a bright and colourful one done badly!
Gav: That’s what I’m talking about! Those flares are sweet, that front is sick, those headlights are cool. Nice rear spoiler suits the car, but I wish they’d done something a bit cooler for the tail-lights, these ones just look old and boring. Also, why does it have plastic bits on the rear window – I don’t get it, what are they for? Are they like, extra wings or something? Oh, those rims are not bad, just small – I wish it was a couple of inches bigger (eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!). Oh… the inside is… well I guess it’s okay (better than what I’ve got) but not as nice as the other options, and wait, what? Radio only? Ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff!
Sunset Garage 316 Brule
Jason: Definitely an interesting and very much modernised take on the E21! Starting at the front we have the only finalist that hasn’t opted for the twin-headlight mod, to which I have to respect the risk even if I think it’s ultimately less attractive. The smaller projector lights (with covers) is an interesting choice, as combined with the mirrors and wheels it dilutes the ‘modern-ness’ somewhat to make it look like an updated E21, rather than a modern recreation. The front grille is not my favourite one, but again I respect the risk they took in diverging from the original design. Another chin-spoiler which is also reasonably well done helps increase the sporty look. While I like the wheels, I’m not a big fan of the colour scheme they’ve used unfortunately. Looks like they’ve gone to the effort of actually stretching/modifying the panels to flare the wheel arches which is cool – one of the aspects that makes the design more modern again. Hmmmm, also one of the few that have completely replaced the rear tail-lights with something different (that mirrors the headlight design). To be honest I can’t make my mind up about these – where I didn’t like the headlights, the tail-lights might grow on me over time. What won’t grow on me, however, are the oversized exhaust tips; I know this car is turbocharged, but they’re way too big and would look like I’m overcompensating for something. Slimline and modernised bumpers are nice (if a liiiiiiitle small?) and roofracks/skiracks are a nice touch.
Okay, for the interior…. Oh… wait… where’s the door handle for the passenger side door? I’ll have to make a note to ask the shop about that! The seats look upmarket but also very sporty, and I appreciate the accents on the equally sporty flat-bottomed steering wheel. I would imagine that the HUD and modern dials, combined with the sporty wheel and electric steering would make this car feel very different from the original E21 underneath to drive! The dash overall looks interesting and a nice balance between new and old, however is a little less premium looking than the rest of the interior. Taking out the rear seats has enabled this car to be both the lightest, fastest, and best handling, however the loss of those rear seats would be annoying over time I think, as we might want to take some friends out in our car.
Gav: Did someone read my mind while I was dreaming? This thing is just like I was imagining! It looks so cool and futuristic yet retro, like something out of an 80’s sci-fi movie. I like how the headlights are a twist on the normal BMW ‘halo’ lights and that front grille is unique. I like the flush modern handles as well as the way the crease in the bodywork makes it look like extra pin-striping from a distance – very smart! Not my favourite wheels, but I like how the colours match the body. Oooooh that review view is banging – getting super synth vibes, and that SUNSET decal on the back just amps it to 11. Twin exhaust gets an extra tick, but lack of cool wings gets a neg. The interior seats look wicked, like out of a supercar, and I like the bits of colour such as the door handles and steering wheel spokes (although overall still a little bit dark). Awesome integrated stereo entertainment and HUD and cool sporty looking tacho/speedo dials. The dash could have been a little bit more futuristic looking in my opinion and I’m conflicted about removing the rear seats. Less weight is always a good thing, but I also want my mates to be able to ride with me… I wonder if the seats are just removable and I can put them back in later?
318is Targa by LMJ Design
Jason: Oh look at this one, some sort of targa convertible combo? It looks like it has a targa over the front two seats and then a convertible top over the rears? That odd, but I can’t deny it looks like an awesome summer cruiser! Ok ok, lets look at this one bit by bit. The front keeps the classic lines and features but somehow manages to make them look a bit more up-to-date. The chin-spoiler is a nice addition and goes well with the rest of the design. Obligatory twin-headlight with halo mod tick! Although mixed up a little by the inclusion of coloured lights. Stylish wheels, although not sure on the colour choice. Rear looks nice with the roof down and, aha! The bumpers have been replaced with more slimline ones – it makes the car look lighter and smaller. The twin exhaust looks a little bit disproportionately large, but not comically so. Retains the rear lights but tidied slightly.
Ok, moving on to that interior. Can you say plush and expensive looking?! The red is a bit overpowering and definitely not my thing (especially with how much attention it will grab with the roof down!) but I imagine Gav will love it. Oh! I just noticed the bullet mirrors, a nice touch. Ahhh, and the only one here with a more classic wood-grain steering wheel – now that’s something I like and Gav will hate hahaha! Infotainment system seems to be okay, not many features but then again I usually just use the radio anyway. I hope those cup-holders are removable…….
Gav: Dude! Convertible! Sick! Oh man, this would be so sweet cruising down the strip with! Okay, so the front is alright I guess, the rear is boring again (seriously, is it only old dudes like Jason that design these things?) but man… that interior makes it all worthwhile! I love the colour and those seats look like royalty – I bet they’re so comfy. But what the heck is with that steering wheel? It looks like it came out of a toy car, ugh. Oh well, bonus points for featuring my favourite gamer fuel!
BMW E21 316 by Wdesign
Jason: Eye-catching colour, especially when combined with that unique decal on the side. That front is interesting, makes the car look a little more grown up. Obligatory twin-headlight tick! Wheels are an okay choice that goes with the rest of the design, and I like the continuation of the front to the side skirts to the rear. Only a small rear-tidy as far as I can tell, but interesting bumper design and looks like they’ve decided to hide the exhaust – curious. I’m not sure about the 1500 badges, let me double check… yep, it still has the stock 1574cc engine in it – that’s a bit weird. I wonder what the reasoning behind that was! Oh, nicely integrated 3rd brake light – I almost didn’t even notice it. Also has a large targa/sunroof thing, which although is not as open and airy as the LMJ Design car, the retention of a significant portion of the roof leads to a stiffer and lighter car overall it seems.
Moving to the interior, it definitely looks plush and that dashboard is very unexpected! It almost looks like they’ve gone into the car’s past to pull out that design, as it has heavy 1950’s vibes to me. I think it works pretty well, and definitely gives a unique sense of style to set it apart from the rest. With that being said, I’m not sure it really aligns with the design on the outside however, and the inside/outside styles do clash in my eyes.
Gav: Oh this one is different to the rest. Those decals and colours and modern mirrors really update this car. Somehow they’ve made the front look a bit more modern as well, but not quite sure why. Oh, another plain rear-end, but…. Where’s the exhaust? Well that’s something extra I’ll have to budget for – what’s the point of having a done up car with no sweet pipes? Oh what is with this interior? It looks comfortable and well made, but also looks like it was lifted out of an old person’s car.
Garage Citronne YAS 316iA
Jason: First of all I love the triple colour combination and nods to the past. I can see what the designer has tried to do with the chin spoiler and I like the concept, but I feel the proportions are just not quite right. Obligatory twin-headlight with halo mod tick! The rest of the front is mostly plain, but thats not a bad thing (it’s a handsome car to begin with). Classic looking wheels are nice and both size & fitment balance modern and classic aesthetics. Side mirror placement looks a bit off, like they made a mistake and fit them too far rearwards? Similarly to the front, the rear is relatively plain but again not necessarily bad. The 3-stripe theme shows up again, however I’d probably prefer it to be off-centred to match the front. Nicely integrated exhaust (that’s not too big or too small). Classic styled but modern tail-lights are appreciated. Sunroof a nice addition – although it adds a bit to the car’s weight due to structural reinforcements.
For the interior, again classic but updated looks in a minimalist style, feels fresh but respectful to the original design. Flappy-paddles are somewhat hidden, so I never noticed them when looking at the photos. Again an updated but classic looking dash and gauges. They’ve integrated the SatNav into the dash pretty well, although the angle means that passengers can’t use it without difficulty.
Gav: Wow, that colour is bright – not my favourite but I like it. Yep, definitely looks like a BMW. Overall the design looks a bit plain, but I like the racing stripe details. The rear is crying out for a spoiler or wing however! Wish they’d gone a bit more interesting and modern for the tail-lights. Wheels are okay, I wonder if they have an 18” option? Interior is alright as well – at least they went with leather – but it still feels a bit old. Oh man, imagine if they had a digital dash – that would be cool! At least I can bluetooth my phone to this one.
316 SVETSON
Jason: This one actually looks a bit refined and upmarket, maybe its the colour combo? Obligatory twin-headlight tick! Although this one has more period-correct ones fitted. Only has a single side-mirror, which seems like it doesn’t quite fit with the aesthetic of the rest of the car. Some slight fitment issues with bumpers and the like and…… wait a minute…. Is that the same brand exhaust as we have? It looks a lot better on this car, but again it slightly clashes with the rest of the style. The tidied up rear looks good but doesn’t stand out much, and those wheels are an interesting choice – makes it look a bit more muscular.
As for the interior, well – this definitely feels like it has all the bells and whistles! Probably period correct colour scheme, but not really a fan. Modern controls and SatNav functionality and… oh… ummm… is that control plate for the aircon upside-down? Sporty steering wheel but more luxury/executive dashboard.
Gav: Nice colour and rims man! Front looks a bit old, but at least it will look better than what we have at the moment. Rear view looks old too and again where are the sick wings or spoilers? Oh man, those seats look comfy, but wish they’d spiced up the colour a bit – maybe some red or blue to break it up a touch. Oh cool! It has a Paonner stereo and surround sound system! Sweeeeeeeet.
ZRD Tune
Jason: Wow, this one is much more full-on and obviously has significant modifications. Okay, lets take a closer look… Obligatory twin-headlight mod, tick! Nice chin spoiler design and fresh take on the front airflow arrangement. Red horizontal stripe in the front grille is eye-catching and I like how it is continued through the thinner stripe across the bumpers and side-strips. Bonnet louvers and scoop definitely suggest some significant and aggressive mechanical changes under the hood (which are thankfully justified), and the front fender mirrors are an interesting touch – I quite like them, but I imagine they won’t be to everyone’s taste. Moving to the side view, I like the idea of the skirts but the fitment is a little off and looks rushed. Noticeable but not oversized wheel arches, however the fitment of these wheels (which suit the design well) looks really tight – I’d be afraid of some significant rubbing on the bodywork over time. Rear brake vent is a nice touch (although not sure its really needed). And the side-exit exhaust is a really cool touch! I would want to check the legality, but I’m assuming if they sell it like that it must be okay? Ah, and one of the few entries that changed the rear light cluster to something different (albeit similar in dimensions), although I’m not the biggest fan of them as it makes the car look less BMW in my eyes. The rear spoiler and lower bumper are nicely synchronised in their design to the front spoiler, which really helps tie the design together. Retro style roof-racks and rear window blinds help give the car a classic feel. I’m not too sure on the angle of that rear window spoiler however – it looks like it would upset the airflow to the boot-mounted spoiler… maybe this is one of the reasons the reviews say it feels a bit floaty and wanders at high speed?
Alright, lets check the interior – Oh, that’s a handsome seat design that nicely coordinates to some of the exterior elements and I see it keeps the full 5-seat layout which is nice. Unfortunately no available pictures of the dashboard – perhaps I should fire off an email asking them if they can send some through later… Overall I really like that there are a number of quite subtle elements on this unsubtle design that shows the designer put in some thought, although maybe a tad too flashy for me overall?
Gav: Yeeeeeeeah Boi! Whoah! Vents! Scoop! And side exhaust?! Oh yeah baby! I like the front design, they’ve somehow managed to make it look fresh and popping but still looks like the car its supposed to be. Red stripes = win in my book. Wheels are okay, not exactly my style but they don’t look too bad on this car. Rear view is rad – it’s got a touch of synthwave vibes to it, although it’s got those weird plastic bits on the rear window like the Lightning Garage car – I still don’t get it. Nice spoiler on the boot lid, and another at the top of the rear window, awesome. But I really don’t like the weird roofracks on the top… I wonder if I can swap them for normal ones? Those seats look pretty cool but I wonder if they do them in a brighter red colour?
6 Likes
Judgement - Scoring
This was actually surprisingly close in the end!
Even though I tried to judge each of the cars from my pre-organised persona of both Jason and Gav without looking at how it was affecting the result, and combining this with a scoring system for the Automation stats that I had set up prior to plugging in any numbers (theoretical max score 75 pts), the final results were quite close together, with only a few points separating most of the contestants, and a thin 5% difference between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th - but with that being said, there was definitely a clear 1st place in the end.
"**Final Positions:**
1st: @HelloHi with the Sunset Garage 316 Brule on 62 pts.
Congratulations HelloHi. This car was just a level above the others when it came to how it performed and what it could do. Being 2nd most powerful, 1st in torque figures, the lightest weight, smoothest, best drivability, sportiest, and most comfortable - it was just too hard to beat. Plus it was close to exactly what Gav wanted in terms of asthetics (even if Jason rated it down the bottom of the list). Downsides were lowest practicality by far, average reliability, and expensive to service - but that wasn’t enough to make enough of a dent in your score.
2nd: @Ludvig with the Garage Citronne YAS 316iA on 56 pts.
This car just edged into 2nd, at least partially because it ticked most of Jason’s boxes when it came to asthetics and also managed to just pip most of the others in the Automation stats, even if just by a tiny amount each time. This one was a good example of sometimes being above average in almost everything has a compounding effect. Being the cheapest to own and run didn’t hurt either!
3rd: @Knugcab with the 318is Targa by LMJ Design on 54 pts.
The third place car actually one that I had secretly hoped might win, but alas it wasn’t to be. I could tell that quite a bit of effort went into the car, and its Automation stats were not bad at all, being reasonably sporty, safe, reliable, economical, fast, and cheaper to own. Unfortunately a few decisions (such as lack of ABS etc) meant it got pipped by the Garage Citronne by the tiniest of margins.
**Other Awards / Notes:**
Jason’s Favourite Asthetics: Garage Citronne YAS 316iA
Gav’s Favourite Asthetics: Sunset Garage 316 Brule
Fastest (Straight Line): ZRD Tune
Fastest (Automation Track): Sunset Garage 316 Brule
Most Driveable: Sunset Garage 316 Brule
Most Comfortable: Sunset Garage 316 Brule
Most Efficient: 316 SVETSON
Loudest: Lightning Garage – BDW E2 316
Most Likely To Be Broken Down On The Side Of The Road With The Bonnet Up: Lightning Garage – BDW E2 316 
Biggest Engineering Risk: 316 SVETSON (Volvo non-turbo inline-3 conversion with a rear-biased weight distribution and a 4-speed manual and non-assisted steering)
6 Likes
Thank you for a good and yet quick writeup on the reviews, congratulations to the winner!
(IIRC I intended the cupholders to have some kind of sliding mechanism so they sit flush with the dash when not in use)
2 Likes
Thanks Machalel for the detailed and prompt writeups! Unfortunately I’m unable to host this next one, since I’m currently on vacation without my computer. Passing it on to @Ludvig
1 Like
And I can already now say, that if Ludvig for some reason decides not to host, I’ll gladly take up hosting this time.
3 Likes
Yeah, I was initially thinking of doing a Honda K swap which went under due to it being over the budget, so I swapped to a Toyota GR Yaris 3 cylinder turbo which became also expensive, of which I went to the Volvo T3(Turbo 3 cylinder) of which the the turbo was too expensive making me have to remove the turbo to get within the budget.
The rear bias wasn’t something I have checked as I thought a 3 cylinder engine wouldn’t affect the weight bias that much.
The 4 speed manual and non assisted steering was due to both budget and the idea that 118 horsepower probably didn’t need them to begin with.
TLDR: K swap too expensive, non-turbo Volvo engine cheap
2 Likes
Yeah, I experimented a lot with other engine options too. That’s exactly what drove me to keep the original engine and just turbo it- I couldn’t get anything better than the original engine within budget without sacrificing a bunch of things that were more important. It was definitely a very tight budget for engine swaps!
sorry for nitpicking, but it’s the BMW E21 1500 by WDesign
nice reviews, btw
Thanks @machalel for hosting well
Nice to see how y’all turned my mediocre base into viable good looking restos. I’m all blank on what to do with a new round, so take it away @Knugcab
4 Likes
Great! I already have the brief so just give me some days to do a base car and some test mules.
4 Likes
Given that your last ARM (ARM20) as host went down quite well, I would expect nothing less than a smashing success for ARM22.
4 Likes
As I probably am a bit older then most of you, I wanted to give them them hole 80’s experience… at least I could have given them a casette player
Nice reviews and thanks for hosting!
2 Likes