How much more fun is a Tii?

[asifallasleep]

Is there a huge difference between a regular 2002 and a Tii? Do you notice it at all speeds or.........

Wondering if I should try and find a Tii and sell my 2002.

[thehackmechanic]

The sound and feel of the engine as it winds up is pretty distinct from a carbureted '02.

[jrhone]

Depending on how the car is set up, maybe not more fun at all....what are you looking for? More speed? better handling? Quicker acceleration? All can be had from a well setup carbed 02....also you can fuel inject a carbed 02 and tune it as well with a good EFI system for more power....so it really depends on what you want. Yes you can also mod a Tii, but because of its value in stock trim, most dont. So if you want a more fun STOCK car, yes the Tii is it...if you want the most fun 2002 period, then maybe a modded carbed model is what you are looking for....

[asifallasleep]

I must admit that I love the sound of the weber carb.

[JackF]

The way McCartney describes it in the "Resto Guide" for general around town running the carbed '02 may be better due to better torque down at the lower rpm vs the tii which will show its stuff at a bit higher rpm. Having said that, I've never even ridden in a tii, so what the hell do I know;)

[jgerock]

Even with my original 4-speed, the tii is an amazing car on the highway. It loves to rev and accelerate from 50+ MPH. The best part is the fuel mileage that improves with the O.D. 5-speed.

[Guest Anonymous]

First car ever was a '69 2002, always wanted to put duel carbs on it never made it - just a down draft weber. Had a little bit of a cam (278 or so) was a lot of fun and pretty darn quick. Then the 73tii, great car made even greater with ALPINA FI, the a 74tii, basically bone stock (billys, 5sp OD), also lots of fun. Given this some thought, unless I ran into a screaming deal on an ALPINA FI unit, I would probably go the route of duel Solex's or Webers, 300 sport cam, lots of fun at a lot less cost. Not as sexy for sure as the ALPINA FI but nearly as much speed/quick etc., Personally, I would be hard pressed to mess with an original Tii - short of the normal appropriate upgrades (suspension and possibly wheels). That said I loved my Tii's, if I were to come across another with potential it would be hard to pass up. Just me though.

www.alpinabmw2002.com

[saaron]

The sound and feel of the engine as it winds up is pretty distinct from a carbureted '02.

Eurotrash has said similar things re my tii. Mutterings about the sound and the feel of the engine.

Having driven around in both, assuming both are in good condition, the biggest difference is the regular 02 feels torquier down low in the rpm range, and the tii engine is peakier.

I have one of those old books that has article reprints from when the tii came out, and that is the theme of the articles...around town the regular 02 might feel better and maybe be slightly quicker. You have to wind the tii out to access the performance.

If you are a huge 02 fan, maybe you just need to get a tii at some point just so you can experience it yourself. Variety is the spice of life, etc.

Scott

[f1reverb]

It doesn't matter if it's a completely stock USA '67 1600-2 or a Euro '77 1502, an 1802, 2002, Tii, Touring, Turbo or any '02 ever made. It's the nature of the beast. All were designed to be driven at their maximum on the Autobahn all day long. What more could one ask for from an '02?

[c.d.iesel]

fun = yes - the power and get up and GO!

fun = NO - unless you fully understand the function of every

part of the fuel injection system, know how to maintain it

correctly, know that there is an added cost when parts are needed,

that if you live out of the range of a specialist that can

maintain it for you at a great expense yer fuched! . . . . .

[eurotrash]

The sound and feel of the engine as it winds up is pretty distinct from a carbureted '02.

Eurotrash has said similar things re my tii. Mutterings about the sound and the feel of the engine.

Having driven around in both, assuming both are in good condition, the biggest difference is the regular 02 feels torquier down low in the rpm range, and the tii engine is peakier.

I have one of those old books that has article reprints from when the tii came out, and that is the theme of the articles...around town the regular 02 might feel better and maybe be slightly quicker. You have to wind the tii out to access the performance.

If you are a huge 02 fan, maybe you just need to get a tii at some point just so you can experience it yourself. Variety is the spice of life, etc.

Scott

I was impressed with the quiet power. Of course, I was in the euro variety. = not fair maybe, but it was an interesting comparison to my car.

Honestly, I wonder how much of the allure and awe is in the name. Like an M car. I felt an elevated respect level just sitting in Scott's Tii. I was a bit star struck..

On the road, at speed, driven with the pedal waaay down and the tach waaay up, I bet the Tii is a scream, and something to be envied. The curiosity there has me considering EFI.

It comes down to this for me.. are you a tweaker, or a set it and forget it kinda guy?

I can't stop tinkering, so I went carb.

[bluedevils]

IMO, when working properly, a tii is a lot of fun, lots of low end power and nice top end compared to plain vanilla 2002. I converted my tii to EFi because I didn't want to spend 3-4K for Kugel Fischer pump rebuild. I believe, the biggest problem with a tii are the injectors, they are very expensive new, and once they are worn out, they can never be rebuilt to factory specs, that is why shops who restore MFI systems have to recalibrate each injector for the KF pump output using shims or lapping to stretch the special spring inside the injector to a different level, to adjust the fuel spray. Even if you can find used injectors it would be hard to know their condition. I had cleaned and tested many used injectors, only a few were good. Many were corroded badly. Some even had metal failure. With a EFI from a 318i my car feels much the same, runs even better and faster, you definitely get more power. You may find a tii block and EFI it for a cheaper alternative, or build a stock block to higher (like tii) compression and EFI it. There are many 2002 rebuilds with higher compression and Megasquirt injection which will smoke a regular tii in any one-to-one comparison. One approach would be to use an EFI system with tii intake manifold or early 320 manifold to preserve the period correct looks. You can even put a supercharger in the place occupied by the Kugel Fisher pump in the original tii engine timing belt cover. So there..