tibbs.james

Hopefully this shouldn't be in the maintenance forum but this is a suspension problem sooo.... Ever since i did my manual conversion ive noticed my car was quite jerky to drive and hard to take off smoothly in 1st & 2nd gear without being very very easy on the accelerator or slipping the clutch. Next thing is when im in a low gear 1st or second and really stomp on it i get this clonk when i accelerate or when i lift off. Could this be rooted subframe bushings ? Diff has been swapped for a known good unit that was low kms. also the last time i really launched it at the lights i got a bit of wheel hop. Again makes me think subframe bushings are rooted. how can i find out short of pulling the whole subframe? yes i know they should be replaced since its 20yr old rubber, but would i be on the right track? And of course which brand of bushings should I use ? Oem or urethane . Daily driven streer car but its getting some koni adjustables in the near future & already has ebach springs. Help appreciated Regards James

Ams oil Fully Synthetic API GL4 80W90 In my Getrag 260. Went through with my gearbox man and found out Some getrag's needed ATF and some didn't depending on what label the transmission is.

Got my Boot Cover thing from BMW parts It was the only way to get it. Shifters are everywhere. BMW parts seriously have everything and reasonably well priced too.

I have Heard of Something like 20 RHD E30 M3's that were built by the factory. i believe i read somewhere their power output suffered due to the headers ect. Of course all talk no proof. But i have heard it somewhere

So true....

Engine Management Would be the fun part...

driftit, the 15x6.5 20 offset rims on my Z31 Clear the Skyline 4 pot calipers i bolted up as a test fit. you know the ones i mean.. So maybe a similar size rotor and a 5 series caliper with a custom brackett or something would work well.

Worst Case Senario you could get it Mig welded back up, A decent engineering place should be able to do this no trouble at all. If a broken Cast Iron Exhaust manifold can be re welded up surely Cast alloy could be welded by the right person.

Snow Plough ? But Seriously That is one hell of an E30 you got there

I disagree with that statement, as you have not given any reason as to why A cert is a waste of time. They do far more than slap a piece of metal on your car. In general Car Certifiers are not Chumps and are the very car enthusiast's similar to so many on these boards, who most of which have had a lifetime of modifying cars and experience. I belive modifed cars that need certification should dam well have it, No i don't agree with some of the rules/regulations but as has been mentioned earlier in this topic Peoples Family & Friends are out there driving around and they should be able to do so safely without Some Chumps as you put it's car with his cut springs,bald tires & big turbo hooning around when he loses control and kills somebody. No Reg & No Wof should = Crushed car. You Don't deserve to be on the road if you can't organise these basic things.

Could have been worse, At least they didn't do it to a classic Ferrari.

Would your old Ones be any bigger/better than Standard 320i Jobbies ?

LVVTA website has a list of all the cert guys and their Contact Details. Its probally best to speak to the actual certifier on this, as diffierent wof places may differ on how they see the situation ( some wof guys are just simply out to get you ) And a certifier would be more than happy to advise what other's have done and what is structurely sound. Quite often the Police don't know anything about the wof/cert regs. So if you get pulled up it reccomended you keep the acutal documentation in the glovebox so you can avoid that bullshit ticket. I know a cert guys son, the cert guys themselves really are a great wealth of information. Cheers Jimmy

Yup I would be keen as long as they mesure up to specs, Its a deffinate that the Pre FL pistons work with the FL head and camshaft ?

Well the Sub is gone, E30 is still in the driveway. All is well apart from more money to spend.

Sounds very a very cool Project, Welcome to bimmersport. Pics !!! Can't wait to see it all going for ya.

Thats awesome thanks, will call him tomorow !

As title says Looking for some 9.8:1 pistons from an E30 320i FL engine All 6 must not be out of round, scuffed or out of spec. Std or oversize is cool. Maybe one of you Race Series guy's has a spare set from an un used engine or something Complete bottom end considered Regards James

My Car was a jap import, go figure low compression emmission regs ect. My M20 bottom end is getting a bit tired and needs a set of rings. Before i go and spend $500 getting rings bearings and a hone ( what my father reccomends ) I am going to Ring Pete at Euro Rec just in case he has a FL 2.5 avalible for a good price. Only you can see my situation where not so long ago I Sunk $600 into doing a head rebuild and I'm getting frustrated thinking I will be in for that all over again. I know i can probally do a rebuilt bottem end for $ 400 But if I Buy a 2.5 Cost of the engine say $500 Rebuild the Head $600 inc all parts gaskets water pumps cambelts & misc belts Rebuild Bottem end Say $400 inc rings bearings and gaskets and say add a larger Dia 325 Exhaust thats probally $250 with a muffer & resonator and some pipe ( cutting welding and fitting myself ) Call it $1700 What an a**hole! Ive got a 300zx engine to build soon and i Would prefer the money to go into that. Perhaps im being stupid thinking about all this cost to get another 30hp dosn't really seem worth it. Anybody have 2c to throw in ?

Well I just went and spent another $200 or so fixing up my sloppy gear shifter. In the future is set of bilsteins and poly bushings. andone day the other half of what my Getrag 260 was bolted too. Yeah im keeping the E30. way to awesome to get rid of.

How its done eh.

Is that the old " if you don't insure my son I will cancel the insurance for my both of my houses my boat and my brand new car trick ? Do you have a cert mike ? Oh sorry to Hijack, Good to hear you fixed the head did they comment on cylinder head hardness ? I was told the alloy in my head was basically perfect for hadness after i blew my HG

"Afaik, the 320 pre fl hi top pistons and block so you get dissy advance options, with the fl head for better flow. This should give you 9.8:1 compression I believe. Just with these small changes the race series cars are going over 125 hp at the wheels. With cam and chipping, and exhaust freeflow, you should get to 140 or so I would think." This is very interesting Dave, as it would be super to make use of my recently reconditoned ( wihin 10,000kms ) cylinder Head FL Can anybody confrim this - seems like not a bad option really

When i mean chip I mean one done specificly for this car, not a trademe or similar item.

Right I Am considering an engine swap for my E30 as im after more grunt. So sick of the stock m20b20. My intention is more power and torque than a M20B20, but also to make minor improvements on the 325's engine torque at the same time. It would appear it not to be worthwhile to play around with the 2.0 as 2.5 engines are avalible for a lot less effort that working up a M20B20. So i have a few questions What is the diffierence between a 320i FL Intake& Exhaust manifold compared to a 325 FL intake manifold & Exhaust manifold Reason i Ask is do i go for a short block with complete Cylinder Head or a complete engine. It seems a complete engine is going to be necessary. From what i understnad a PRE FL or FL block will do just fine. I know there are different Model Cylinder Heads about, So which model car does it come off. Or what part number is it ? Camshaft. A good cond 325 Cam should be ok, but is it going to be worthwhile to do a mild cam regrind now for a little extra go ? Exhaust manifold a 325 item should be easy to find but i believe FL items are more open and better flowing ? Compression Ratio's is the FL or PRE FL engine diffierent, I assume 9.0:1 to be correct ? How does one increase the compression ratio on an M20 donk. When my 2.0 head was rebuilt i was told the head should not be skimmed to increase compression. Short of new pistons is there anything you can do about it? Or Perhaps a certain Head/Block combo creates an ideal ratio ? As far as tuning With an ECU chip the, MAF re tensioned and fuel Press regulator, there is no reason not to achieve a perfect tune ( dyno assisted of course ) using the 320i ECU Any help of these questions would be greatly appreciated