nick496

Yeah, I didn't have any E90 drop hats on the floor when I went to install them. Something I might do later on, but I mostly just wanted to get them in there and go for a drive.

Did another track day. This time mates came with me. As you can see, it was a bit wet on Saturday, so times weren't great. I drove around on my ACS wheels with lots of trend, and surprisingly didn't have many traction issues, which gave me some good confidence in the car. Came back on Sunday, and for the first time saw another E30 there at the same time as me. The weather fined up in the afternoon, and managed a 1:59 by the end of it, which wasn't too bad. Managed to burn some of the paint off the rims due to the heat. And then managed to get some H&R springs and install those. The car actually sits higher than with the Eibachs though, as I also replaced the front strut mounts at the same time. I clearly didn't bother to clean the car after the track day and before installing the new springs. I must say, I can see why everyone likes the H&R springs. They're firm enough to keep the car fairly level around corners, but not too harsh driving around town. I might swap to Koni's later on to get the damper adjustability, but until then happy with the Bilsteins.

Gosh, it's been a while since I've updated this. Not that much has really happened in a while to the E30 anyway I sold the Blue Ti I sold the E36 328i I installed some coilovers briefly thinking they'd give me better performance on the track. Drove around town. Hated them. Pulled them out the following day. They did sit nicely though. Lost a few door trim pieces (but have ordered some replacements) Did another track day, different wheels this time I can't recall why, but my times were great, but within the ballpark. No coolant puddles though, which was a bonus Then did a Motorkhana up in Pukekohe, which was great fun. And then got another set of wheels And then got my ACS wheels straightened and repainted. Stripped: After: There is quite a bit of dips in the paint, but that mostly seems to be due to them being powder coated previously

If you want to clean your VANOs, the "easiest" way was to boil it up in a pot with some washing powder: https://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/54588-e30-touring-m52-swap/?do=findComment&comment=656871 I was doing my VANOS seals at the time, so it had to come out anyway. But for in-situ, you would probably be best to grab a rag to cover the rest of the head, and get in there with a toothbrush + degreaser to clean most of the black stuff off, and preventing it from flying back into the engine.

Yes, there are a few interesting conversations about that on that Facebook thread. Such as "what if I leave my brake pedal alone, and have the wide pedal" "what if I replace my brake booster, would I need a cert for that?"

Oh Gosh, this old chestnut. Do you have this in writing that the cert isn't required from NZTA and LVVTA? LVVTA website: https://www.lvvta.org.nz/knowledge_base.html "Does an auto to manual gearbox conversion require certification? Yes, all gearbox conversions require certification as the braking system has usually been affected with alteration or modification to the brake pedal-box." Here's where it can come down to interpretation: Good old NZTA guidelines, as you say, proving it's all OE. https://vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz/virms/in-service-wof-and-cof/general/miscellaneous-items/engine-and-transmission?fbclid=IwAR2-FTQGwnolB46UxVLJzpvmfvM4GcOm8R2muIhXQ_lnAQ-eapQKIpetT44#tab2 However, good old LVVTA interpret OE as OE to the vehicle in question. https://www.facebook.com/LVVTA/posts/does-my-auto-to-manual-conversion-require-cert-even-if-im-using-oem-componentsth/2381117905319025/ It has been discussed a few times, and to take a clear example from the comments: In summary, yes LVVTA say you need a cert for your manual conversion. Will you fail a wof on it? Probably not if you've actually done it well. What will insurance say in event of an incident? Well that will be fun for someone to figure out, because LVVTA say it needs a cert.

Eagle is right. You probably don't want to mess with your ratio with the little m40b16. You could go to a 4.1 which is what the m40b18s run. Lsds are getting expensive these days, and if you're wanting to do a swap, you'd be looking most likely at a medium case of some ratio. Though you'll see in the link below the m42 e30s ran a 4.1 small from the factory. I run a 3.64 behind my m52 swap with a getrag 240. https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/Differential

The Leaf's kwH/100KMs is that I've calculated mine out to be based off a few charges, so the results of that are fairly accurate for my use. The Outlander dealer site says Dealer site say 7.4l/100km, electricity at 16.9kwh/100km, so I've just inflated those numbers slightly. I purchased it looking to save 2k a year in fuel, and more in maintenance for the next 2 years. Countering against it devaluing to next to nothing over the next 5 years assuming the battery degrades to below 50kms of range. So it should save me a little bit of money over all, but probably won't have been the case if it was 10k+ Total emission calculations really are a mixed bag, as it requires drawing a lot of data from a bunch of places who aren't particularly forthcoming about providing such data. I'd say that for everyone, you might as well drive your current vehicle until you want to replace it, and then see what has come to market.

I've recently purchased a second hand leaf, mostly because the cost of it was so low (4 figures), and it meets 90% of my driving requirements. (E30 suits the longer distances funnily enough) But they do seem to have gone up in price with that clean car discount, which is achieving it's true goal of driving more initial interest in purchasing a new EV. Which is ok as a short term strategy, but debatable long term, as I feel that simply continuing to hike fuel prices would be the easy way to force people into more efficient vehicles, or public transport. In terms of running costs, there's no question that EVs are currently super cheap to run. However it really depends on what the government decide to do once the RUC exemption expires in 2024, and if they'll charge them at the standard RUC rate, or come up with another scheme. After that I'd guess that having a Hybrid would probably still be the vehicle of choice as a single vehicle. But I imagine there will continue to be a large number of enthusiast who will hold onto their vehicle(s) of choice I put together a wee calculator based off some claimed economy figures from fuelly to play around with to justify the purchase of a third car.

I'm running the e28 round motor mounts, with a barina steering shaft.

Is the vibration on the steering column happening on idle? On Straights? Or only on certain corners? I had an issue with mine, which turned out the be the engine moving on tight corners on the track, causing the exhaust to touch the steering shaft. Ended up getting the headers modified to be a bit further away, and it's been fine since.

After a 188mm 3.23/3.25 ring and pinion for a future project. Ideally in an complete e30 medium case housing, but will see what comes up.

I think the underdash panels are pretty well received. Not sure about the mtech kits stuff though, you would probably be best to have a search on the E30 Enthusiasts Australia facebook group.

You know what, as an around town car, ideal. It's actually covered 90% of my driving requirements. Back to BMWs, as other have said, the E46 reds like to peel. I'd probably avoid the 320i, but you know what, the M43 powered 318i's aren't too bad.

It really depends on what was used for the 220 manual swap The E36 flywheels are dual mass, however you can use either -The 318 flywheel -The 32x flywheel. If you don't know what you currently have as a starting point, that will be difficult to recommend.

Based on what current cars are selling for, I'd say 6-7k is on the money providing it doesn't have terminal rust. https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/Rust Heck, I know a few people who'd jump on it at 6k

Even off the road. One of my mates neighbours was attempting to do skids in his front paddock with his ute in the weekend.

But on the positive side, they're sports seats and don't have rips in the middle of them.

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/general-technical/168215-instructrion-of-how-to-remove-dash-hvac-heater-face-plate-etc Looks like you're up to step 6 to remove that box. You'll need to remove the panel in the engine bay, and there are 4 nuts you need to remove which will free up the box.

Yeah, I have tried to squeeze a viscous fan on my m52 swap, and would have had 2mm clearance with the radiator, and was concerned that under heavy braking on the track that they'd end up touching. Install would have involved removing the radiator, installing the fan, and then reinstalling the radiator. Some people have somehow made it work. But I, like most, have a 16in electric pusher fan on the radiator which works well.

I've found if you can get a pot large enough to sit an end in, and put that on the boil, and add washing powder will do a great job.

In the E30 you could get cruise control in the manuals. Very rare over here, but some cars internationally had it fitted.

You'll definitely want to replace the seals on the heater box which go to the firewall, and also the one on top that goes to the dash. Ah, so you snapped up the cruise control. I'd finally finished my tour around the south island, and figured cruise control would be a great thing to have.

Hawk HPS pads are good for spirited street driving. I think 16's are the right size, but it's really a personal preference thing. Hmmm, the whirring is probably it attempting to engage the ac pump? (so something wrong with the system) Or does the sound occur if you have the fan on low speed as well? (in which case, it's probably the fan rubbing on something) Coilovers I'd suggest driving some others to see if you can find a setup that you like, and then attempt to copy that directly. I have moved to an H&R setup with Bilstein's, which I find the sweet spot for me, but some people are fine with even stiffer springs. The race series guys are correct, and the stock brakes are fine. I think even the E30 series in Aus runs stock brakes, and they run 325i's. I've personally found them to be fine when I take mine out on the track with race pads and race fluid, though I start getting inconsistent after about 4-5 laps, which is likely just a me and my poor driving. That said, for that purpose I'm looking at upgrading the fronts to a larger disc for the heat, but staying 4 stud.

I recently redid my insurance on my 24V touring up to 25k, given there have been a number of decent looking cars around the 18k mark. And as above, a look of people wanting 10-15k for their 320i sedans, or 15-20k for 325i's autos.