Messages

1

Engine management / Mark D EAT Chip SALE!!!

« on: April 14, 2009, 08:48:40 PM »

During my last big Thanksgiving sale, I sent a discount even to people who just ordered from my site and were not aware of the sale and I'll do the same now also.

Hi Mark,

I ordered mine through your website last week without realizing the sale was going on (M42 91-oct, payment sent from "my name"@yahoo.com).

Could I get the discount when the number finalizes?  

I'm in no hurry.  Whenever you get around to it.

Thanks.

2

Exterior / Post your SINGLE best pic!

« on: June 03, 2008, 09:16:09 PM »

Me driving at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, CA.  My buddy Brian shot it.  I had a painted iS lip, but broke it the day before when I went 4-wheel off in turn 2.

3

General Topics / Streets, Buttonwillow, Laguna Seca

« on: May 31, 2008, 07:15:01 AM »

Erik, did you end up buying an E30?

4

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

« on: January 28, 2008, 11:20:54 PM »

I'd be interested in a 91 octane chip.  Will have money in two weeks.

5

Engine + Driveline / Supersprint installed Vid inside.

« on: April 11, 2007, 11:07:54 AM »

Is it any lighter than a stock muffler?

6

General Topics / 2006 Season Action Flicks

« on: February 11, 2007, 11:08:05 AM »

...My moto has been: Work with what you have. When you put that behind you - it makes you a better driver...!

Amen.  When you get good enough to drive a stockish 318is fast, you can drive just about any car fast.

7

General Topics / Big Willow last weekend

« on: February 08, 2007, 10:46:00 AM »

I'd like to try Sears (Infenion) and T-Hill this year.  I'm guessing you run with NASA?  I'll see you out there sometime.

8

General Topics / Big Willow last weekend

« on: February 04, 2007, 09:53:06 PM »

Lucky me... There's virtually no off-season in SoCal, though there's a hell of a price to pay (ridiculously expensive housing, state income tax, miserable traffic, etc).

Willow Springs isn't a world-class track like Laguna and Sears Point, but I do recommend driving it once in your life.  Some events even allow a rental car, as noted above.  T8/T9 will give you pure adrenaline rush even in slower cars like ours.  I really think it's a momentum track, despite high average speed.  It really rewards drivers who can carry speed through corners, and it gets better and better as you get faster.

9

General Topics / Big Willow last weekend

« on: February 04, 2007, 11:46:23 AM »

I ran Willow Springs big track last weekend with Speedventures (as I usually do).  No other E30s were found, unfortunately, other than my buddy's 325i.  He drove out from Flagstaff, AZ just to hang around.  He was going to drive, but backed out at the last minute when PS started to leak.

IMO, you owe it to yourself to try a track event or auto-x if you drive an E30.  Typical "Hard/spirited driving" on street is really about 4/10th driving for those who have done track/auto-x, and you WILL NEVER be able to appreciate the good handling nature of these cars or true potential of expensive suspension mods at that level.  If you think you're driving above that level on street, you either have no clue or are danger to other motorists and pedestrians.

Many track events offer instruction for newbies.  Getting quality instruction itself is worth the cost of entry.  It'll make you a better driver on and off the track.  Chance of wrecking your car is not much more than a chance of an idiot running a red light T-bone your car, unless you do something stupid.


Anyways...Not much change to my car since the last track event at Streets of Willow Springs (SOWS) - H&R race springs, Magnecor wires, and Porterfield R4 pads have been added.  I still have crappy under-valved dampers, which makes T8 and the crest of T6 interesting.  

Although turn-in was pretty good, I noted understeer during mid-corner and exit - I couldn't rotate the car much with lift, which made it somewhat difficult to drive.  I was in desperate need for camber plate, better dampers and stiffer rear bar but that's gonna have to wait until the next time.

As I wrote in my SOWS thread, my target lap time was 1:42s.  I missed it by miserable 0.1 second   Upon returning home, I studied the line on good driving videos on YouTube and realized I was on completely wrong line at the entry of T9 and T2.

There's one interesting thing I confirmed.  During previous outing to Big Willow last year with my M10 318i, I realized my laptimes were better with gas tank almost topped off.  I thought it was a fluke, but the same thing happened again this time around.  My educated guess is that due to the location of tank, the weight of gas changed corner balance to better suit the track layout (right-hand sweeper dominant).  It's something to try out if any of you drive on Big Willow.

Speedventures offer informal time trials during Sunday events.  The classing isn't as detailed/strict as NASA TT, and a 318is is placed in "2.0L and under Normally-aspirated" class.  Meaning, you get to compete against Lotus Elise/Exige and Miata.  Fortunately for me, there were only two Lotus'es (or Lotii?) out there, and one Miata was a couple tenths behind me.  Elise and Exige snagged 1st and 2nd place in the class, and I got 3rd place and $20 credit towards SV's future events.

One of the coolest things we saw was a German guy who happened to be in SoCal for business or something, and he showed up in a rental Mustang.  FTD went to a guy with race-prepped 993, with 1:27.xxx.  A driver who can dip below 1:30 in a production-based car at Big Willow is considered very fast.  

Sorry, no pics or video.  Laptimes are shown in the link below.  

http://speedventures.com/event_results_db.asp?event=1/28/2007+-+WSIR&results=OA&s=lt

10

Suspension / Hankook RS-2s?

« on: December 16, 2006, 11:49:22 AM »

I corded them in four track days and about 3000 miles of street driving.  Although track alignment didn't help, they sure didn't last long for street tires.  Grip was pretty good, I suppose.

11

General Topics / Track day at Streets of Willow Springs

« on: December 16, 2006, 11:36:55 AM »

I took my 318is out to the track for the first time last weekend.  The event was at Streets of Willow Springs, organized by SpeedVentures.  I do SV events often b/c they are the only guys around here who offer AMB timing, aside from NASA.

The car is almost stock, except for MM flywheel/clutch, RA1s and Hawk HP+ pads in front.  PO may have replaced the springs, but I don't know what kind.

It's been 6 months since I drove on track, and it showed in lap time.  The best I could do was 1:39.xxx, which I feel is pathetic.  I've done 1:45.xxx with my M10-powered 318i on street tires last year, and that was before they made a bypass at T4 (said to worth 1~2 seconds).  You can see my name somewhere in the middle of the link below, and all my lap times of the day by clicking on my lap time.

http://speedventures.com/event_results_db.asp?event=12/10/2006+-+SOWS+CW+Blowpass&results=OA&s=lt

The FTD was 1:19.xxx done by a guy driving a full-on 993 racecar.  The lap time is smoking fast!!  It could very well be the track record for production-based cars.

I'll be driving Big Willow (main road course at Willow Springs) at the end of January.  I did 1:49.xxx there in the 318i, so shooting for 1:42ish.  Then I'll be back to Streets in March, hopefully with some suspension and brake mods (camber plates, H&R race springs, Bilsteins, Carbotech pads, etc).  I'd like to do at least 1:36ish.

If you're in SoCal, come on out and say hi, or better yet, drive yours on the track.

12

Engine + Driveline / Clutch release bearing and Guide sleeve clearance?

« on: November 15, 2006, 12:21:08 AM »

Sorry, I have to make a correction.  The release bearing I used was indeed a different part.

What happened was, I bought a replacement through IMC (or something like that) when the bearing went south.  I pulled the transmission out, and found out that it took out a couple of diaghram fingers with it.

Since I needed to replace a pressure plate and I really didn't have an inclination to take the tranny out twice, I decided to get a light flywheel/clutch kit from Metric Mechanic.

At this point, I did try the replacement bearing.  It felt loose (about 0.025" radial clearance), but I didn't measure it.

The flywheel/clutch kit arrived, with another release bearing.  Although they looked identical, I decided to use the one included in the kit, thinking that there may be some difference that is not apparent.

Turned out, they were different indeed.  This one had larger bore size.  It had about 0.100" clearance, so my estimate of 1/8" was pretty close.

So that's what happened.  I apologize for the confusion.


Anyway, 0.025" clearance on the replacement bearing was still a bit more than I liked, especially with the new pressure plate that has larger center "hole" that is defined by the tips of diaghram fingers.  There isn't much contact area between the bearing and the fingers (though the area does increase as the clutch pedal is depressed).
 
So I ended up using the big-bore bearing, and made a sleeve from 1.625" x 0.134" HREW round tube I had laying around.  Clearance now is 0.006", which I feel much more comfortable.

Car is running now, and I can honestly say that I recommend light flywheel for these cars.  People at Metric Mechanic was very pleasant to deal with.  I will send them an e-mail to thank them for their superior service, as well as to raise my concern about the bearing clearance.

P.S.  I don't work for Cisco.

13

Engine + Driveline / Never mind...

« on: November 11, 2006, 03:07:20 PM »

Actually, never mind.  I know this isn't right, even if this was normal to these cars.  

There's a great possibility that the release bearing comes in contact to the pressure plate fingers eccentrically.  It will probably makes itself concentric after a few revolutions, but that few revolusions, each time I step on the clutch pedal, will probably beat up the bearing.  And I don't need another release bearing fail on me 150 miles from home.

I have to fix the car today, so I'll just make a sleeve that takes up the excessive clearance.

Thanks for looking.

14

Engine + Driveline / Clutch release bearing and Guide sleeve clearance?

« on: November 11, 2006, 04:23:01 AM »

I have a question for those who have replaced the clutch release bearing (aka throwout bearing) on E30s.  I have searched this site and a couple others with no luck.

I'm in the process of replacing mine, and I noticed that the new bearing is very loose on the input shaft guide on tranny.  The radial clearance is about 1/8".  Is this normal for these cars?  All other cars I've worked on had smooth clearance fit, but certainly not 1/8".

I thought I received the wrong part, but as far as I can tell, it is the correct part for the car.  It's a common replacement part for E30, E36, etc. manufactured by Sachs.  The part# is 3151 231 031.  Inside Diameter measures 1.515", which is 0.010" larger than worn-out OE piece.

Judging from the wear pattern, I don't think the input sleeve isn't worn much.  Besides, I don't think it's possible to wear 1/8" off of hardened steel.

Has there been some update on the input sleeve, and that I'm supposed to replace it along with the bearing?  Porsche has done that on some model.

I would like to know how your bearing fit when you replaced it.  If yours were indeed as loose-fit as mine is, have you experienced any subsequent problem?  The clutch pedal on my car had been very stiff compared to my other E30, and I'm guessing this could have been a part of the problem.  

Thanks much in advance!!

15

General Topics / 22 mpg? Why?

« on: September 23, 2006, 02:01:33 PM »

This is true in my case but then why would the odometer be reading less than the actual mileage and the speedometer be reading high? Seems as though if the odometer was too low, the speedo would be too. Just not the case. And 10% low on the odometer from one size up? Don't think so.

It is unlikely, but is there any chance that speedo and odometer operate independently on these cars?  

One time, the odometer on my beater '85 318 quit working momentarily for about 15~20 miles.  The speedo functioned properly all the while.

On my '91, I currently run 225/50R15s.  Their loaded radii are within fraction of inches to that of stock tires.  Speedo is still off (as if the tires are small), but odometer is pretty accurate according to GPS.

My car averages about 25mpg, 60/40 city/highway.