KwS

If you haven't already, check the condition of the drive shaft giubo.

Do these run spring pads like older models do? Could run a thicker pad to increase height. I'd look into the legality of those strut shims too, I know "lift kits" that use strut spacers need a cert now.

You seem well sorted, but ill ask anyway, did you fill the trans, run it to temp and then fill it again when running at temp? If you filled it with the engine off, it'll be low by a couple of litres. I hate to say it but it sounds like something you have done isnt working right and its leaking off pressure in the trans (especially since it didnt happen beforehand). Might be worth catching the fluid, dropping the pan and valvebody and making sure everything is how it should be?

Or the NZ built Speed Science ITR with NSX engine mid mounted

For anyone else, like me, that had never heard of this model, check it out. Pretty cool for a 4 banger! https://www.bmwblog.com/2009/10/28/bmw-320si-a-real-drivers-car/

The packaging would be terrible. Would need a massive trans tunnel and high boot floor to fit diff. Oh wait, maybe that's why they want to go FWD....

Eww, who wants a car without an OBC? Peasants.

haha sh*t, and i've even owned one ? Still a very niche brand though.

They still build cars to meet the needs of the market. I suspect the only reason they dont make a FWD econobox like everyone else, is because of VWAG. VW and Audi already have the FWD market covered. BMW doesn't have any other brands under its hat, so of course it's lumped with econoboxes in its own lineup. BMW wont stop making "fun" ///M cars, even if they are AWD. The only thing a RWD car does better than modern AWD cars is skids/drifts, and whoop de do.

Honda reliability > Renault reliability. Honda also knows how too make damn good fwd cars. Anyway, potato tomato, if it's not what you want, fair enough. The point is that not all fwd/AWD cars are bad, especially for the daily A-B commuter, which is what the majority of cars sold are. Drive line is insignificant to most.

Sorted.

Reviewers were certainly impressed with how they drive though, and isn't that what matters? It's not a luxury car, and never pretended to be.

I'd rock it, as long as it's honda reliable and not BMW reliable

No, they really haven't. They're still a good drive, and a cheap way into classic motoring. The Chinese ones though, I agree, brain-dead to buy.

Its been a couple of years now, how has this held up, Dave?

Well, the time has come. I'm keeping the BMW for the foreseeable future, so the only logical next step was to drop some dead weight, and pull out the subs. The decision to keep the BMW wasn't one I took lightly, but I'm not sad or disappointed to be stuck with it. I actually quite like the car. There are a few things that didn't suit me about the car though, and having a bunch of useless weight sitting over the rear axle is one of those things. The boot install looked nice, but it really killed my enjoyment of the car. It sounded bad, and had been hastily thrown into the car. The main issue was that the capacitor on the driver's side wasn't actually secured by anything and was just sitting on top of the battery. This meant that every time I cornered hard (like an M3 should), the damn thing would fall over and go for a scoot along the boot floor, until the power wires restrained it. It was sitting on a block of wood So out it all comes. I'll tell you what, getting the sub box out was a mission. First out comes the floor panel and amp from the spare wheel well. Then the side amp, and capacitor come out. This gives enough room to shoehorn the rest of the trim and the box out of the boot opening. Turns out the box wasn't secured at all and was held in with hopes and dreams. It's a big box, that's for sure. I forgot how big a coupe boot actually is! In goes the carpet from Pick A Part, after a quick vacuum Even though this spare wheel doesn't hold air (buckled and leaks at the bead), I still put it in the boot as it helps to hold the carpet up, and also helps with weight balance. I need to find another wheel at some point. The wheel and tire weigh about the same as the amp that was in there, it was a beast. The previous owner butchered all the standard wiring for the speakers, so unless I want to run a whole lot of new wiring, I'm stuck with running the speaker amp. Thankfully I actually like this one as it looks cool, and doesn't take up too much space. Even the wiring going to this is a mess though. Yes, that is the pair of RCA connectors (usually used as one pair for front, and one pair for rear), split out to fill all four channels, front and rear. I'll rejig the RCA cables that went to the sub amp, and use them for the rear speakers so fronts and rears are split properly. The final result isn't perfect. The carpet needs some fettling to tidy it up, and the battery is the wrong size so the plastic cover on it doesn't quite fit properly, but otherwise, it's now a fully functional boot. Driving the car to work yesterday and the lack of weight is noticeable. It's not major, but it doesn't feel like you're dragging the backside around anymore. I would've pulled a good 20-30kg out. The next steps for the car are in motion. I have a set of BC Gold adjustable coilovers to go in, and a nice Purple Tag E46 steering rack to replace the horrible 3.0 M3 rack, which is the dumpster fire of steering racks. I'll also be rebuilding the vanos, since I already have the parts to do it, just need the time.

Its bloody gorgeous as it is. Im not even usually an E30 fan, but damn what a looker.

It's also not really for sale anymore unless someone wants to pay the full asking price. The E36 video made my winkie tingle. And then I went out and revved mine to 7k and all was right in the world.

Source for new fuel caps? That really sucks about the rack, I cant believe (well, i can really) that autosure weasel'd their way out of paying for it. They shouldn't just "wear" in that sort of timeframe, but hey, that's what insurance companies are for, to get out of paying after taking all your money.

Looking for a good condition low KM purple tag rack. Prefer if it came with inner rack ends, don't need outers.

Finally got around to ripping out the South African show spec boot install, and fitted Pick a Part carpet (needs some more fettling to level it out). Its on tardme if anyone wants it. Also got some BC Golds on the way, and looking for a purple tag rack.

I saw that purple one in person at a show earlier in the year. Looked like a really nice example (other than the tacky M3 badges stuck everywhere). I'd pay 20k for it if i were in the market, knowing what others are going for, and whats actually on the market.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-2042740769.htm Tobagoblau inside and out. Certainly not an "M3" colour AFAIK, but looks nice on E36/E46.

Markets bloody saturated with them. Two at 20K now? Jeez, too common ?