Kepes

Valves adjusted on the ol' M20 and new spark plugs. Old plugs looked very normal which is reassuring after 350,000km. (Edit: Plugs had only been in 30,000km of those) Also had Jon at Auto38 replace my gearbox fluid. All in preparation for this weekend's trip to Napier :~)

Given what Olaf has said about lidar falses, in that my V1 gets them and his STi doesn't, I wouldn't go with a V1 again, unless of course they have since updated it OR you plan on linking your phone to it (you'll need an additional V1 bluetooth dongle for this). YaV1 is a very highly rated app for this. Probably the best of those available. Interesting, what do you mean by your "style of use?" I do kinda get what you mean though, if there's 5-0 around you're going to check your speed regardless of whether they're in-front, behind, above, anywhere. What I do like is knowing whether a unit has merged onto the freeway behind me or i'm picking up something further ahead. Particularly if it's just a short alert, I know it's not just a cop using instant-on up ahead. Olaf, it would be cool if we could somehow compare how the two radars vary in terms of sensitivity, perhaps if we see a cop on the side of the road this next trip we can figure something out

Yup, I reckon they're still worth it. I've got a V1 and should it stop working tomorrow I'd get the same again. I love the directional arrows and ease of use. Programming is also simple Although I only use mine about once a month, it is great on the open road and has saved me a few times. I've got K band switched off, too many junk alerts but that also means that I won't pick up speed cameras however no demerits attached to those so not a huge issue. Laser is an interesting one. I get a lot of laser falses from newer model cars which use laser to stay in their lane and adjust following distance etc, mind you it's not the latest software. @Olaf do you have this problem with laser?? Fortunately the alert for Ka band and laser sound different. Like Richard said, you'll often pick up laser scatter if there is actually a cop using it down the road. Ka sensitivity is fantastic and I've never had a false. The V1 picked up a signal from 4km away once. If it's alerting Ka, it's a cop. Even if using instant-on a km or so down the road for other passing vehicles you'll likely pick up a quick signal and have enough time to slow down. I think most top-end detectors are a good choice and will perform very similarly. The advantage of the passport max and a couple others is that they use GPS and know where fixed cameras are, as well as junk K band alerts (automatic doors etc). Hopefully that was of some help

Such an awesome car, love that colour too. I just spent about 30min going through the photos on my phone because I know I took some when I saw this around 2 years ago at KFC kilbirnie Didn't find the pic but what a stunner, good to have ya on-board, welcome!

Whoops forgot that part, here she is

Some progress Got stuck into wiring the stock harness to the Link loom. Went with crimps instead of solder because it's easier and still solid. Heat shrink and then capped off the wires which won't be used. Labelled wires which I could potentially need in the future for things like Electronic boost control, wasted spark, etc. I used masking tape for the labels, is this a bad idea (fire)??? And I've been collecting a few more bits. All of the big ticket items now acquired! The steering wheel was free since the order took longer than they said it would, if anyone wants to buy it let me know! Clutch is a 6-puk Spec Stage 3 clutch. Good for 425ft/lb so more than enough. I know 6 puk is not the most streetable clutch but I have driven one on an Evo 7 and although it took some getting used to it wasn't horrible. The reason I got this particular clutch is because the ones available here in NZ like Exedy and clutchmasters didn't have the best reviews. This Spec clutch is one of the most common among the guys boosting their M20s in the US. Coilovers are D2, budget. Suited my budget. I'll need a cert anyway so coils made sense for a similar price to quality springs and shocks all around. A lot people have asked me about the cost of all of this, and it's hard to gauge what it will cost here in NZ since most builds which are documented are on US forums. So far with everything I've spent just shy of $6k and I've budgeted another $3k ($1k Tune, $1k Exhaust, $1k Misc.. Brakes, intercooler piping, fuel pump, hoses, vacuum lines, brackets, etc etc) I bought myself an Arc welder too. It'll save me a lot of time and money if I can make my own brackets for things like the intercooler and sensors. Just waiting on a helmet then I'll give it a go. Maybe if I get good enough I'll have a crack at doing my exhaust. This build will take a bit of a back seat until July as I have a very important assessment then. But after that it should be full steam ahead. Not sure how long it will take to put together as I already have all the parts, we'll see.

Well unfortunately the car sold over the weekend, and it wasn't to my friend! Really appreciate what every had to say. A manual E30 for $2.5k is great provided it's not a rust bucket. This is the second one he's missed out on. The trouble is, his budget is only around $3k, and at that price they get snapped up pretty quick. So, still in the market. For an E30 that is, not an E46, sorry, Olaf

Yup, on paper the E46 is a much better car for the money, totally. But trendiness is more important, right? That will probably be the go next week, provided it doesn't sell this weekend. Will let you all know how things go!

Just stumbled upon this thread now but those look great!! I've seen them on an E36 and they look just as nice. Good choice

Thanks for all of the thoughts, I agree with the majority here, it's an almost 30 year old car of course there will be a lot wrong with it but if it's not rusty then those other things can be fixed. The seller is being quite strange too, almost trying to talk us out of coming down to buy it, perhaps there is something more wrong with it that he doesn't want to tell us. Who knows. Anyway, he said someone local is having a look at it this weekend and may buy it, if not, we'll be making the trip down next week.

Evening, My friend is looking at getting into the E30 game and he's a little concerned about this particular car. He wanted an inspection but I told him it's not worth it. The guy selling it seems genuine, however he has mentioned there is a whine coming from the gearbox at 80km and above. The driveshaft has been re-balanced. Possible diff whine?? Anyway, being that this car is in Motueka it's a bit of a mission to check out for us in Wellington. If anybody has any insight on this E30 that would be wicked! For 2.5k, it's a lot cheaper than what a lot of others are fetching. Manual 318i "My first and definitely not last bmw that i will own, i love this car but i need to redirect my money and efforts into building a house right now...! Brand neew battery, new oil and filter, new gearbox oil, Rebuilt and rebalanced driveshaft cost $500, new odometer gears, fresh WOF and 6months rego, New fog lights and bulbs. Open to offers...im not out to rip anyonw off, i just dont want to loose to much on the sale."

Howdy Anthony, The answer will probably be no, but thought I'd try my luck. If you're interested in selling 1x centre cap for those 15" weaves I'm looking for one! In terms of value, I bought my set a couple of years ago and they owe me $300 (Were $500 but sold the tyres that were on them). That was a good deal. I reckon you'd easily get $500 for a set, possibly more dependent on condition.

Cheers mate, you're a lot more clued up than me Yup the link handles the ICV fine, I wasn't sure it would and I was thinking of deleting it but I'll be keeping it now I asked link about using the stock TPS and this was their response "It could be used but for best results (good accel fuelling) a variable voltage type is highly recommended." So im going with the E36 one and gonna get an adapter made

Sorry not sure what I did there ^ Only running mechanical boost to start with (1bar wastegate spring) but EBC will be on the cards in the future for exactly this reason No doubt I'll want more power in the future, we'll see what happens Thanks again for the input!

Cheers Neal Never even thought about this but definitely worth having, I think I'll try to get it running on the link as is and then add things like this and electronic boost control. My particular car didn't have this option, ha. Not sure how it's compensated for to be honest. Regardless, cap pointing backwards and arm hanging out the window is cooler, right? Never really heard of this, is it in addition to the fuel injectors or just a part of the ECU which controls the amount of fuel needed based on temp? I will have an intake air temp sensor. From what I can see the only form of traction control is launch control

Where's the fun in that?! Actually Link were helpful, I did ask them a couple of questions and they were quick to get back to me. There's only one way to find out whether or not it's correct!

Figured I would update this in case anybody was looking for this info in the future. There is almost nothing directly related to Link ECU and E30s, took me a long time to figure this all out seeing as it was my first time. If anyone finds this and can take something from it, great! ps. If using anything other than stock ignition (distributor + rotor) you'll need to use the cam ID sensor. It's the wire from the HT leads, pin 8 & 31 on the motronic 1.3. 8 being the ground, 31 signal. Also note I'm using a E36 TPS, not the stock E30 one. Stock harness can be used just swap a couple of the pins at the sensor end. E30 TPS: Pin 1 = Closed Pin 2 = Ground Pin 3 = Open (WOT) E36 TPS: Pin 1 = Ground Pin 2 = Signal Pin 3 = 5V Ref pps. This is not necessarily correct. It has not yet been tested. I'll report back once it's all together but it looks good to my amateur eye.

I didn't know they had this feature! Awesome, thanks mate. Look like the OEM clutch come close to 7kg. This an aftermarket 6puk so I imagine it'll weigh a little less. Perfect, Thanks again.

Hey guys, how much does a clutch kit weigh? Pressure plate and clutch disc... I'm visiting Australia and need a clutch from overseas. If it doesn't weigh too much I can have it sent to Australia and put it in my suitcase which would save me paying GST. Thanks

No worries! Nope, actually I'm yet to finish my build and install this ebay intercooler and in the future when I have more funds yes I will upgrade. The cheap ones are fine under normal loads etc etc but it's when you start driving a bit more spiritedly and things get hotter where you'll notice the difference. A company tested this on their worked Mitsubishi and found that at the end of the dyno run the air temp at the intercooler outlet was 15c warmer with the cheap intercooler vs a quality one. Not a huge increase but in their case this robbed them of 10hp. Still, not a huge amount. Would you notice the performance difference? I'm not sure you would. I'm not familiar with the engines in your car, what's the stock intercooler setup like? Is it a lot smaller than these aftermarket ones?

Plenty of reviews online for cheap intercoolers, just search "Ebay intercooler review." All the cheap ones are basically the same. After reading through a few I decided to go with an Ebay intercooler for my turbo build. They work but your car will be breathing hotter air and therefore be less efficient and produce less power when compared to something higher quality with more cooling fins. For a vehicle like yours I'd go with something higher quality and more expensive unless you're on a tight budget like I was. Avoid painted ones too, reduces efficiency plus the paint flakes easily. Ask me how I know. If you are after a cheap setup, save yourself a few bucks and get it from from Aliexpress for $280NZ landed.

Don isn't a member here but he's a good friend of my friends father. A real BMW enthusiast! He also has a really clean 635csi and E46 M3. I have mentioned this forum to him but I guess it's not for him. +1 on the price, seems steep.

I know you said you didn't want coilovers, but Scarles are selling D2 coilovers for $1000 shipped which is quite good. I'm getting a set for the E30

The only self wash in Wellington as far as I'm aware! Pretty crazy really. How much does it cost to spend a decent amount of time and do a proper/worthwhile wash there?

There was an E30 with an M20 at pickapart when I went a month ago. Still had the sump, might be worth a look!