Bunch of questions

[northmiler89]

Alright guys. Please bear with me here. Im a Volvo guy from volvospeed..and am picking up a 1989 325is with:

"The car is the IS model so figure all the M-Tech valances, spoiler lip rear and side valance are in EXCELLENT condition (if you know these cars this is a PLUS)"

So its got the M20 and a 4 speed auto. Does it come stock with a LSD?

I want to buy the Rieger roof spoiler and Rieger Infinity Lip Spoiler. Is the roof spoiler similar to this?:
/ Does anyone have it on their car?

Will the Infinity lip fit on the IS bumper?

Here is where I found both pieces: http://www.abrahamsmotorsport.com/e30.htm

Anyone ever buy anything from them? The prices seem pretty damn good.

What type of power should it make to the wheels? Tuning/ Chips. Any reccomendations?

Springs? I want to lower it as much as possible. I would like to be able to tuck a nice set of dished 16s with some stretched tires. Any reccomendations to a set of springs that will get me a nice, solid drop and be ok for the track? How about strut bars?

My plans for the car are to make it a fun, lightweight car that makes OK power. I figure it will be light enough that if I can get 160-190 whp it will move pretty well. The car is going to be painted Satin Black, 15% black tint and either all black wheels with a small red lip or black with a full polished lip.

Going to pull everything except the seats and dash. Going to go with side exit, straight pipes and if possible a projector/ HID retrofit and Hella smoked Ellipsiods, also from Abrams Motorspots. (Anyone here done this before?Once I get it looking the way I want and the engine work is done, I will put in some lighter racing seats.

Also-I know a few guys around here have their lights tinted yellow. Did you guys use like a 3m yellow protector or did you spray them?

Thanks
-Brandon

[ak96ss]

You'll probably want to head over to R3VLimited.com, Bimmerforums.com, or a site similar to those - they deal with those cars moreso than we do, since this site is dedicated to the 318is.

Having said that:

The M-Tech kits are nice, and are factory, while Rieger are aftermarket. I have no experience with Rieger, but I do know I wouldn't put a roof spoiler on anything I drive that didn't need it to keep it from flipping over at high speed. Which would be no car....  

No bad info on Abraham Motorsports, and I think some people have recommended them.

No idea on power for the M20 - it's not an M42.

Springs, all I can say is I would not recommend Eibach, which are what I am running. Stance and drop is good, but the spring rate feels essentially unchanged from stock, which, on a lowered car, is not such a good thing. I've not had any problems with mine, but I drive extra carefully! H&R have a good rep.

Strut bar, I'm a fan of the Sparco bar. Solid, inexpensive, fits well (except on an M42-equipped car, where it comes *really* close to the intake manifold).

Side exit straight pipes? Like, no muffler? Building a track car?

HIDs...  well, let's just say I don't like them on cars that didn't come with them, particularly since most people who install them don't give a rat's ass about properly aiming them. Do yourself and everyone else a favor, and if you put them on, aim them properly. Blinding everyone else on the road so you can see is not going to win you popularity points.

Most folks use 3M or Lamin-X film to go yellow. There are yellow headlights and foglights available from BMW, but they aren't cheap and the film works to protect your headlamp from chips anyway.

[northmiler89]

Having said that:

The M-Tech kits are nice, and are factory, while Rieger are aftermarket. I have no experience with Rieger, but I do know I wouldn't put a roof spoiler on anything I drive that didn't need it to keep it from flipping over at high speed. Which would be no car....  

No bad info on Abraham Motorsports, and I think some people have recommended them.

No idea on power for the M20 - it's not an M42.

Springs, all I can say is I would not recommend Eibach, which are what I am running. Stance and drop is good, but the spring rate feels essentially unchanged from stock, which, on a lowered car, is not such a good thing. I've not had any problems with mine, but I drive extra carefully! H&R have a good rep.

Strut bar, I'm a fan of the Sparco bar. Solid, inexpensive, fits well (except on an M42-equipped car, where it comes *really* close to the intake manifold).

Side exit straight pipes? Like, no muffler? Building a track car?

HIDs...  well, let's just say I don't like them on cars that didn't come with them, particularly since most people who install them don't give a rat's ass about properly aiming them. Do yourself and everyone else a favor, and if you put them on, aim them properly. Blinding everyone else on the road so you can see is not going to win you popularity points.

Most folks use 3M or Lamin-X film to go yellow. There are yellow headlights and foglights available from BMW, but they aren't cheap and the film works to protect your headlamp from chips anyway.

Thanks for the advice on those sites. As far as the roof spoiler it is more like a lip. Nothing crazy, just different.

I realized right after I posted that I mixed the two engines up. I tried posting at e30tech but cant for the life of me find the register tab..:rolleyes:

Good to hear about Abrahams..

Definitally going to be a track car. I want it to look cool, but it is going to be gutted and the pipes will be obnoxious for sure. I still want a exhaust though and I will probally end up putting in a t3/t04 so it will be a cheap alternative for now.

A good Volvo friend of mine owns a HID site: www.sharphid.com  And has an awsome warranty and everything, so they will be hooked up correctly..

I have been reading everything I can from e30 and here and there is a TON of weight saving. Around 50 with the sunrood and another 50 from the trunk tar.. Dont even want to know how much more can be saved, taking out the carpet and all the crap under it, headliner, etc. Swapping the leather seats for racing..

..I havent picked the car up yet. Planning on driving down Tuesday but I guess it has the factory MTech kit. I know it has the sideskirts and rear lip. The front bumper defintially looks different and the car is in the exact shape I am looking for.

Thanks for the help so far.
-Brandon

[gearheadE30]

If you have the Mtech kit, the Rieger lip won't fit, nor will any other, as teh Mtech cover hides the bumper clips. You would be able to just bolt it on, though.

Stock M20 power is 168 hp, 170 lbs-ft of torque. I really hope you are doing a tranny swap, and I would go with H&R springs, Koni shocks, and Ireland Engineering swaybars. Also, it might be worth it to check out flyingbrickperformance.com.

[RED IS 91]

don't forget bimmerfest.com

[Massimo]

Im on e30tech as well they good cos there are so many members the responses are quick. The regiseter button is a bit hard to find. But go to http://www.e30tech.com then about a quarter down the page you will see a small box and register next to it hit register and bang your there. Mind you it took me like 2 weeks before i had access. But all your questions on the m20 will be answered there. good luck.