charles28

I've been driving the E30 a bit more lately. In early Feb next year my work is moving, which means we'll be going back to running 2 cars full time, (its a 70km commute) and at this stage I've been dropping the missus off at work and then driving to mine, however that will no longer be practical, so she will end up using the Golf, (She only drives automatic and the golf has a DSG tranny, so while she gets to drive the 200hp + Golf GTI I get.. the E30, some will say shes getting the better deal. But rather then wanting to save money on fuel I am wanting more performance from the ole E30, sure, I could buy a faster car and save a bucket load of money, but I love the old E30 and can't bare to part with it, despite it not being the safest choice of daily driver. Currently its making 102wkw approx, but I need more, the solution? boost of course, well.. ideally boost, but I have a limited budget. So I am thinking, Stroker build. 2.8 M52 Crank, suitable pistons, new rings, bearings, 284/272 Cam, 19 lb Injectors, AFM Delete, ECU with MAP sensor, suitable RHD Headers (seem next to impossible to find at the moment). I'm still undecided on what option I'll go for, I'm not that interested in performing an engine swap however, so this might be my best course of action. The end result is, i'll have more usable torque, but i'm also worried that i'll spend all this money and barely gain 20kw. Turbo is another option, however to do this for around the same price, i'd have to cut corners and leave the engine alone and just bolt on parts, in the long term this isn't ideal for a daily driver.

Nice one, $1500 is an awesome deal too Welcome to E30 Ownership

4k for a respray on average. You can't do much once the clear coats gone. It would be cheaper to re-sell the car and buy another with a good paint job sadly.

I use Penrite 10w40 Fully Synthetic

I like my Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit, which is just Eibach Sport Springs, and Bilstein sport shocks. http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-22130-e30-325e325i-bilstein-b12-pro-kit-sport-suspension-package.aspx

Awesome Car! If you do end up wanting to convert it to manual, I have a G260 Box that the seller I got it from claimed to only have around 85,000k's (was removed from a Motorsport Tech 2 E30) he said he purchased it from Ray at Hellbm, so its likely to be true.

I am in need of: 2x Inner Door Sill Covers (For 4dr E30) 6 x Clips for Inner Door Sills 3x Screws for Lower Dash Board Cover under Steering Column I can buy these new from Pelican Parts etc, however the shipping is a killer, bring the total cost upto $120 ish landed. So just seeing what you guys have in NZ. Cheers

Cool, but to me it looks like the body panels vary in colour. But silver is a hard colour to match it would seem.

To an old BMW. http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_111630/article.html?popularArticle Took an old Merc 190E and fitted it with the latest diesel Engine of the time.

No Longer for Sale.

No Longer for Sale

http://www.turners.co.nz/Cars/Search/BMW/325i/1133659/ It has the same interior as mine, but with only 107,000k on the clock, although it could be clocked I guess. It appears to be an S A Built car, but I've never found that to be an issue. It would be a good match for my 85,000k Manual gearbox, but I have no more room in my life for another car at the moment.

Nice, cool that its a manual tranny model too

I've had a Mk5 Golf GTX for 5 Months now, (Its a 2litre Turbo with the same Engine and Gearbox as the GTI, DSG gearbox), its a less sporty looking model that has full leather, heated and electric seats etc. I've done 10,000k in this time, as we commute around 78k's a day in this car to get to work and back. (Currently it has 91,000k on the clock). It averages 8.6L/100k and goes rather well for what it is. (But runs best on 98 Octane Fuel). So far I've replaced the Outta CV boots, DV Valve, Thermostat, DSG Oil & Filter, Engine Oil and filter. (I did all these things straight after buying the car). It needs to use VW approved Oil, but its good for 15k Service intervals. I wouldn't bother with the non turbo GT model myself, as they use about the same amount of fuel but have smaller brakes, less power, no twin clutch DSG gearbox. But I like to have a bit of power, so each to their own. I had a count up of the air bags, 12 of them all up, 5 Star Euroncap rating, a lot of car for the money. Even though i'm more of a BMW fan, I have to admit that this is a good all round car which out performs my E30 325i in every aspect. ( Of Course the BMW is almost 20 years older). I was torn between the model with the 3.2 V6 Engine and the 2litre Turbo, (I was looking at the Audi A3 Version of the 3.2 V6 as they are 10k + cheaper then a Golf R32) I love the sound of the V6, its likely that next time around i'll go for that, but fuel economy becomes an issue when you drive 500k a week. The 2 Litre turbo Model goes good enough. http://www.zeperfs.com/en/duel501-1256.htm this is an odd comparison, but it shows that it can almost compete with an E39 540ia, however I only looked this up as I am thinking about buying a 2001-2003 Motorsport 540i

my FL E30 has a PFL gearbox installed (was great being rid of the useless 4 speed auto), it was from a 1987 Tech 1 2dr, along with the flywheel, pedal box, drive shaft etc. A spigot bearing was installed, I don't recall it having to be from a PFL model. I re-kitted all the shifter parts I could to firm up the gear shift and installed a Z3 Shifter at the same time. I just used the clutch that came with my manual conversion parts as it seemed to be quite new, a year later its still fine. Annoyingly I now have a spare FL Gearbox from a 1990 Tech 2 that had one 85,000ks but don't really see the point in changing it again. At the time the PFL gearbox was what came up for sale however. From what I recall, some of the shifter bushes etc were changed on the newer gearbox, but i don't know the details.

My 1st car, a 1983 Accord Hatchback 1.6L 5 speed (well, one the same ish), I had this car in the Mid to Late 90's, was rusty, NZ New but reliable as, also as boring as watching paint dry to drive. Uploaded with ImageShack.us My 1st Euro Car, a 1985 Golf GTI Mk2 8V, didn't get this until around 2006, so I suffered for years driving various Japanese cars before realizing the true awesomeness of Euro Uploaded with ImageShack.us My 1st BMW, purchased in 2007, this was a 1997 320i, this car almost put me off BMW's, it had the jatco gearbox and crap handling (worn suspension was to blame). Uploaded with ImageShack.us

That's very disappointing, hopefully a forum member buys it and fixes it up and keeps it in good condition

Very Cool! your setup will definitely overcome the weight of the E34 Chassis and be crazy as Of course by todays standards an E34 525i isn't really that heavy I guess, since a new VW Golf is close to 1400kg (for a small ish hatchback) .

Old best motoring video, not in english, but a good race none the less.

Nice work, I'm a fan of the ole E28's imo a lot cooler then the E34 shape. I like the torque from the M30 engine also, cool car

Slight Ride Height difference between my 2 Cars. BMW = BMW E30 325i manual with Eibach Sport Suspension and Bilstien Shocks Golf = Stock GTX Mk5, (Same spec as GTI) Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.com

Managed to pass a Wof, sounds simple enough, but E30's are old cars.

I like this one for around that price, has had some parts replaced so it might drive quite well. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=626933436 I have a Getrag 260 box spare that came out of a car with 85,000ks you can buy for $600 if you want to convert one to manual, they are a bit dray ish and boring as an automatic to be honest.

Nice cars, I wanted one and did take one out for a drive, but needed a car the missus can drive, so got a Golf GTI with DSG gearbox, also the golf got a better fuel economy rating. The only issue I had with the Euro R was the lack of low down torque. They make: Max.power (Net), kw(PS)/rpm 220 ps (161.81 kw) / 8000 rpm Max.torque(Net), N*m(kg*m)/rpm 21.0 kg*m (205.94 N*m) / 6000 rpm Where as my Golf is 200ps at 5500 rpm and 280nm from 1800-5000rpm, for every day driving this "feels" much faster, but if you are the type of driver that likes thrashing the car hard out, then its a good option

To be honest it hasn't had a wash in 3-4 Months (was sitting in the garage most of the time though) it still needs some panel and paint work, but now that i'm paying a mortgage its hard to say when this will be completed. I sometimes use the E30 for my work commute, as driving the Golf can get boring now and then so like the change I guess you were in the same traffic as me, but I have to go all the way to Rangiora, the old beast still has the power to defeat new Corollas etc when hitting the 100k zone getting on the motorway going Marshlands road way.