CamB

You get a new arm usually - the inner and outer joints are part of it. Heaps of info here: http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....all++joint++new But don't do it unless you need to!

Well its stuffed or not - no point in changing it unnecessarily. I would just replace the one that needs it. As a general rule they last a long time and fail only because the rubber boot lets dirt/moisture in, causing wear. The sway bar has its own end links. They may or may not need replacing - you'd need to check. Don't get me wrong, going through a car and replacing all the bushings (and the shocks, if needed), makes them feel like new... but its expensive!

I dunno (sorry), but curious as to whether or not you've been doing 1 wheel skids?

Out of curiosity. how easy/possible is it to get around the EWS system? Dunno why I'm worried - I have a sedan (LOL) and its an M3 not a 325i (double LOL).

I seriously don't get it - if the weight of the car is on the subframe (via the jack), and you put jack stands under the subframe as well, nothing should change (unless the subframe is broken). The only thing I can think of is if you jack under the diff, and your diff bushing is good, then the car would jack up fine. If your subframe bushings at either end were bad, then jackstands under the subframe and releasing the jack under the diff might do what you say, but only a little bit. Can you take pics?

Technical incompetence, unless they can point to the component(s) causing the problem.

You can choose the master cylinders for front and rear (useful if you change the size of the calipers) and as you have separate ones and if you have a balance bar (usual on most pedal boxes), you can fine tune the front/rear balance. There are some other potential benefits, but that's the main one. In my case it got the brake and clutch master cylinders out of the way of the exhaust (not really an issue in an E30). Pedal boxes are expensive to buy, and the individual master cylinders aren't especially cheap either, and you need to modify the firewall (cut and weld) and run new brake lines. It's a pretty decent job.

Haha Kerry - exactly the process that I discussed for my race car with a mechanic which shall remain nameless. I think I will pay up for he weld-on kit from Ireland Engineering for my car (it has slotted holes and eccentric washers on the head of the bolts). It won't really work any better than your way, but it will be adjustable.

Personally I use and recommend google to find out what is out there: http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=mercedes+...22camber+kit%22 Looks like there are eccentric kits. Dunno what's available here.

Its sort of an all or nothing problem with the engine. If its good, its good. If it has a problem, the car's possibly not worth fixing/rebuilding and used engines are very hard to find (and $$$). I'm terrified mine will have a problem. Terrified by philosophical - I think mine's still a good enough car to get it fixed (exterior, interior and all running gear in good nick). Mine's done about half the km.

It depends on your power goal and the size of the other restrictions in the system. Personally I am stepping up to 2.5" straight out of the turbo, and that's on a 2 litre, although my research suggested it was marginal as to whether I needed it even on my top power goal. Partly this was because the intercooler and my throttle body are both 2.5". If you need a 2" to 2.5" elbow, PM me - I have a new one which I'll sell for a good price (not needed). "AFM"? Shouldn't you be removing that and running a MAP sensor based aftermarket ECU?

www.e30tech.com - in the intercooler section of the forum there are various pics of how people have done it in a Sticky thread.

I don't get it? Why do you need to visit him? I'm not sure a real telling off is any more (or less) effective than an e-telling off. If you mean more than that, by all means say it, get banned, and we can all move on

Yes the M3, and yeah possibly a coil problem. It only does it cold, only sometimes, and the only link I can think of is short trips. Even then its not like it is all short trips (or all times when it doesn't get up to temp). I'm gonna wait till its a real problem - too hard to troubleshoot otherwise.

Actually Ray should start a new thread anyway - this one spent 4-5 pages speculating on whether it was a good car for $8.5k (which was nowhere near the sale price anyway).

Oh I am confused. Can someone PM me the secret? On-topic ---> my car occasionally runs down a cylinder when cold but only if I've driven it a short distance recently (ie not warmed up properly). I put it down to that (could be a number of things - injector, valves not quite adjusted right, etc).

IBTL - this in fact is getting out of hand. Hopefully this can get cleaned up (like some of the other threads recently), including this post which isn't adding a hell of a lot right now.

Ah, it's better to stick to, and celebrate the benefits of, a non-M3 E30, like the guys say. http://bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=8 The engine is very different, and ridiculously expensive to find/rebuild. Assuming you are after the look (and there's nothing better IMHO), its very hard and (again) expensive to recreate. Sneaky BMW changed not just the guards etc, but the bootlid and area around the rear window and its hard to make that look good. There's also an issue around the suspension (5 lug), although in terms of look that is less critical.

The suspense is killing me (in an impatient, spoiled child sort of way). With the greatest respect, if there is mechanical carnage I demand pics at the appropriate time.

Thanks from me as well - always appreciated and good for reference.

Quoted in case you read that back and change it. OMG, proof-read before you post. Back on topic, this is a cool project.

Great job - the engine looks very happy there From those pics it looks like you've focused on the details. Awesome.

Awesome! Where did you source the pistons from? Any good?

I agree with Mike - it also doesn't help that 7" (for instance) is not a particularly consistent measurement on a car wheel (ie some are wider than others). It would be more helpful to try and build up a database of what works on what car.

Yeah, offset tells you where the centre of the tyre sits in relation to the hub. It only one part of the equation. Nicks list of offsets is approximately correct for wider wheels where all the extra width is "outwards" (ie the wheel/strut distance remains the same). For each inch of extra wheel width: - if the offset stays the same, the width is evenly either side of the hub (ie close to both strut and arch). There is obviously a limit to how far this can go... but - see below - if the offset decreases by 12ish mm, the width is all "dish". That's all easy - where it gets trickier is once you start considering where the tyre sits. When the offset stays the same, even on a wider rim, the same size tyre stays in the same position. If the tyre gets wider with the rim, chances are it will hit the strut if you stick with the 6" offset of 33p (possibly before the rim does). So if you want a wider tyre to go with your wider wheels, you probably need a lower offset, giving wider track. Geez, I'm not sure that makes sense unless you already know what I'm on about, in which case you don't need me to tell you... (edit) and, like the man says, caliper clearance is your next problem ----> not all wheels have a suitable amount of x-factor for an E30.