1995 325 vert... poor acceleration

jut bought it.. runs very good. Smooth stable idle. starts right away without problems, and runs smooth at speed. it is a 5 speed manual

it does however seem to have very poor acceleration. I had mentioned this to a few people in another thread.

my other car is an extremely fast 2000 mustang gt with a 15k dollar race motor in it, so I am not sure if it is just a comparison situation.

the engine runs very quiet... no tapping or noises. it just seems like when I press the gas pedal, it is very slow to come to speed. it almost sounds like it is slightly hesitating until it gets to about 3700 rpm, and then it starts to accelerate a little better. it does not feel as if the car is "pulling" hard at all ever. I have started to run a quart of techron additive in every tank of 93 i put into it. I have run 3 tanks through it so far, and I think it is starting to feel a little better. It still does not feel like it is even close to accelerating like an "ultimate driving machine".

honestly, I had a 1980 320i 20 years ago with a 4 cylinder engine that seemed to pull way harder. of course back in those days i didnt have a 600 hp monster to compare it to.

Suggestions? any help and or tips are appreciated.

drive a 318 for a week.

no chance of that sir. I avoid 4 cylinder cars like the plague. They are frustrating and down right disappointing to drive. That being said, yours looks like it is in pretty good condition.

can anyone help me or what? nobody on here is a decent e36 mechanic?

Do you have a check engine light? If so, then I would suspect the camshaft position sensor.

Other than that, have you replaced the fuel filter, air filter, etc.?

no check engine light. it isnt throwing codes at all. I just bought the car. i am going to do plugs, air and fuel filters this weekend. I dont think it is any of the coils, because usually that will throw a code (check engine light), and also affect idle.

Try to find another person's 325i to compare? Not sure what to say. You could try a 0-60 run and compare the raw numbers, but as for how hard it pulls, I guess it is subjective.

Originally Posted by petriej

Try to find another person's 325i to compare? Not sure what to say. You could try a 0-60 run and compare the raw numbers, but as for how hard it pulls, I guess it is subjective.

I agree. Like I mentioned previously, my other car is very VERY fast, so it is difficult to say whether or not that is the culprit. I did however take my mitsubishi montero for a ride today, and it has a 6 cylinder motor.. (3.4), and it pulled way harder as well. But yet, 3.4 is a lot larger than 2.5 when it comes to motors.

I am not unhappy with the car, it runs smooth and drives nice. Starting off at lights though, feels like there is little or no torque at all. It just doesnt feel like a 6 (even a tiny 2.5 6) should feel. I will do some standard tune up stuff to it tonight and see how that goes.

the m50 engine is a high reving engine and mine is very unhappy till about 3000 rpms then it wants to fly. i guess its because the 3.31 bore and short stroke of 2.95. i rebuilt mine and was amazed at how beefy the rods where! but 189hp is a far cry from 600hp! just like 600hp is a far cry from the raw power of a full nhra 8000hp! so if its not pulling hard enough i suppose u need an m5 a BMW with a v8 v10 or v12 4cyls and 6cyl are for milage

Buy a chip for it from Turner Motorsports, I did that along with intake, exhaust, and the power pulleys and it helped my 1995 325i convertible a lot! It still isn't fast by any means but it did help