Messages

1

Suspension / IE sway bars

« on: December 02, 2007, 11:25:59 PM »

i am not sure why, perhaps with other suspension mods the spacing changes between things.  but hey if they work for you then great!  with that stiff of a bar make sure to weld in the mounts though, as others have stated.  with a 19mm rear bar on my 325e i had one of the rear mounts came apart, luckily nothing unfixable though.

2

Member Profiles / John W

« on: December 02, 2007, 11:22:15 PM »

If your ball joints are new, inner and outer, then there's nothing to gain with new control arms. You can get the M3 CABs for $50-$60 at FCPGROTON. Has your car been lowered? If not, you can use the solid CABs non-M3. Offsets help bring the wheel back where it should be after lowering. I don't know if you gain anything by using them on stock height cars. Anyone know the deal with these CABs?

i dont think its about bringing the wheel back to where it should be, its more of a caster change improving the turn-in.  i just had them installed on mine (along with new CAs, inner/outer tierods), and with all those changes the steering feels extremely precise (obviously), but its hard to tell a difference exclusive to the M3 CABs because everything else was so worn out anyway.

3

Suspension / IE sway bars

« on: December 01, 2007, 01:55:36 PM »

ive read from others with these that the 25mm in the front can rub on the control arms.

4

How-To's / DIY Full OBC Retrofit

« on: November 26, 2007, 10:45:44 PM »

Same here! What happend to the link?

heh, me too.

5

General Topics / speaker sizing issues

« on: November 25, 2007, 11:55:59 PM »

hi to a fellow M42 driving, Dachshund loving fellow Portlander

hello to you too!  there are quite a few of us E30ers in portland.

6

General Topics / speaker sizing issues

« on: November 25, 2007, 11:55:11 PM »

Try slotting the holes in the speaker frame.

the distance of the holes in the car are beyond the metal frame around the speakers (barely), so there isnt really any way of modifying the speakers.  i guess i was just seeing if anyone had OE speakers that were a slightly different size.  after all the speakers i removed from the front do fit, but im pretty sure those are 5.25inchers also.  maybe i will just upgrade to 6.5's.

7

General Topics / speaker sizing issues

« on: November 24, 2007, 07:30:56 PM »

hello everybody, hopefully someone here can shed some light on the issue i am having.

on my old e30, a 325e, i replaced the 4 speakers with 5.25in speakers with no issues.  i figured that i wouldnt have any problems with my 318is, but i do.  i bought 4 5.25in JL audio coax speakers, and they are BARELY too small to fit properly.  if i get one screw through one corner, the other 3 corners do not reach the holes to have the screw go through.  the speakers i was removing didnt fit either, with only one screw holding them in.

i originally thought this was just an issue in the rear deck, because when i went to install the speakers in the front, the speakers i was removing fit properly and looked like 5.25in speakers.  but it turns out that the front is also slightly too large.  

it is pretty clear that there hasn't been any custom work done, so what could be the issue here? has anyone else had this problem?  unfortunately i bought the speakers online a few months ago so i cant return them and will have to sell them on ebay (or here i suppose).

would there be any reason why my car would have 6 inch speakers instead?

thanks in advance for any insights you may have.

8

Vendors / GB / EAT chip group buy for E30 M42!

« on: October 23, 2007, 01:42:48 AM »

It's not a good idea to use the 93 octane chip on 91 octane.  

Is anyone else looking for a chip?   I'be received a few emails from people saying they would like one and missed that GB.   I can only take $10 off now as the exchange rate is already taking off about $130 CAN from my revenue compared with two years back.  :eek:

Mark, I am interested in a 91 chip but unfortunately will have to wait until spring to make the purchase.  and yes, i will actually buy one in the spring, regardless of whether you offer $10 off or not.  save one for me!

9

Vendors / GB / EAT chip group buy for E30 M42!

« on: October 16, 2007, 07:38:26 PM »

is there is significant performance difference between the 91 and 93 octane chips?  we have 92 octane here, but i travel to places where there is only 91.  it seems like most people have been getting the 93, though.  so, is there a big diff?

10

General Topics / Is this crash damage?

« on: October 13, 2007, 07:34:29 PM »

Thanks for all your help though. I'm guessing the US E30's were manufactured in the US and perhaps that production line didn't produce the wrinkles.

weren't all E30's made in Germany?

11

Member Profiles / eric ^__^

« on: October 13, 2007, 02:05:21 PM »

bavarias are, if anything, more underrated than the M42 318is

that car made me feel like a hero drifting around in the snow. Long wheelbase and skinny tires! Saved my life once as well.

But then I drove a 2002 again and had to have one. The brown car looks rough but I did a lot to it. It's got a five-speed and reasonably fresh motor. I did the suspension and added some bottle caps.

Those bottle caps really look great on an '02, but I think they date the E30 (make it look old). They're really weak wheels too, anything is stronger! I'll keep the hubcaps on my new car for now, as I park it on the street.

Down the road, who knows. I really want some of these

i thought about those wheels too but the price is absurd!  and i think weaves look better on e30s anyway.

12

M42 Reference / m42 hate on bimmerforums

« on: October 02, 2007, 04:39:32 PM »

Having done the Oktoberfest DE in my 318is yesterday, I can vouch for how well balanced the car is. Sure it was lacking in the power department, compared to the mostly newer and V6's bimmers out in the track, but when it came to the tight turns that is where the lightness came into play. My instructor was amazed at how well the car handled.
Ripping through the track at red line almost the whole way, that is fun!

a v6 bimmer- now that is something i would pay to see!  i knew what you meant, though.

13

Engine + Driveline / Shifter Linkage

« on: October 01, 2007, 07:50:28 PM »

see if this helps.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Shift_Bushings/E36-Shift_Bushings.htm

14

Engine + Driveline / replacing the throttle cable

« on: September 30, 2007, 05:35:56 PM »

thanks, i actually overlooked one of the adjustment pieces and figured out how to tighten it.  i thought the adjustment piece would be in the same place as the M20, but it wasnt.

i still dont see how one can get the cable through the firewall though without taking out a few different things, like the fusebox.

do bmw dealerships usually take returns on parts?  i have an extra throttle cable now...

15

M42 Reference / m42 hate on bimmerforums

« on: September 29, 2007, 10:46:20 PM »

Well I got my shits and giggles tonight with my puny little 1.8. 30 minute drive with a beautiful sunset interlude. No complaints here. I would love to see one of those fools keep up.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=mill+valley,+ca&daddr=37.920368,-122.630424+to:fairfax,+ca&mrcr=0,1&mrsp=1&sz=12&mra=dpe&sll=37.932284,-122.584076&sspn=0.128897,0.233459&ie=UTF8&ll=37.948529,-122.590256&spn=0.128868,0.233459&t=h&z=12&om=1

drooooooooool