E30-323ti

Pity the E30 has those Simmons wheels and not some BBS RS's or E28's

Well said, other than the "factory" race cars, as that is a bit open, in terms of 'super tourer/BTCC' Vs the 'M3 GTR's' of the E36 variety which not only run staggered widths but heights also. With race tyres costing substantially more than most/all road tyres, the ability & intern flexibility of being able to swap tyres around to cater for wear & damage etc... far out weigh any real or perceived gain by running a staggered setup for 95% of E36 racecar owners. Also given the E36 poor camber curve & shocking roll characteristics of the front end (esp. low racecars) the wider/balanced front tyres will get plenty of excercise & be well worth it. If you've got the coin to throw around running different width/diameter/compound race tyres (let alone the rest of the setup) to suit the track,weather etc... then go for gold.

Nice & Tidy. Personally, I'd go with the smoked clear lenses (indicators) and paint the wheels Gloss Black. Just MO.

I'd look at a standalone ECU, Cams & intake/exhaust mods if you are serious, otherwise, just keep it well maintained.

And the width while you are at it

Should be et35 IIRC And yeah, can't help yourself!! We don't even have any pics of the E30 with the LM's I sold you!! Slacker!!

I'd be inclined to agree It's more of a 'Howl' than I note I'd say.

I don't think you want a line locker. It sounds like you are planning to 'T' the hydraulic handbrake (with it's own reservoir) into the rear line after the Line Locker giving you independent front & rear brakes? I think you will find, with the rear line unlocked, when you press the brake pedal it will squirt out the hand brake reservoir? Which is not good. A hydraulic handbrake usually takes the input from the rear output of the master cylinder, ie. it is in series, so it effectively manually 'boosts' the rear brakes as required. Like in this pic:

Thought I could feel my ears burning LOL You will definitely need a bigger diff. A 188 medium case should do the trick(E36 325 auto IIRC), something around a 3.91 for a W5x box. With the axles that go with it. I presume the outer CV's must be bigger than the E30's which are crap. If not then ideally the axles and trailing arms from a E36 M3 would be better as they have bigger CV's. But not a common find so you would have to make do. And an LSD is a must. For the E36 you will need a rear sump JZZ30 or JZA70 1JZ and a JZA80 W58 or JZZ30 R154 with the remote shifter to get near the stock location. And of course a E36 Manual pedal box or DIY In the E30 the engine & body looms are reasonably separate so integration wasn't too bad, not sure on the E36 though? Things like ABS, Traction control & Air Bags would be my concerns. Get a 6cyl instrument cluster & the tacho will work fine, I still use the E30 temp gauge, as it has no numbers it is purely relative. Mine runs at 1/4 with a 72d t'stat, fans come on at 92d which is 1/2. When I did my conversion there were no translated/annotated easy to use wiring diagrams, but I managed it, one can only assume it is easy these days.

Looks more hassle than it's worth, unless you have the parts lying around like Brent. Just find a whole M52B28 and plonk that in. Are you thinking of building a motor for someone Brent? You could stroke your E36 DD, but I guess 'if it ain't broke....'

The rears will fit fine obviously. The fronts coming in 16mm will be into the spring unless you have 'shorties' (5" springs) and the perch/collars are high enough. Being able to run a 'square' setup would be the advantage over the staggered (both in handling & tyre rotation). Whether it's an 8" or 8.5" setup would be the question. (7.5" is a bit weedy for a tubby E36). A 255/40 fits a 8.5" OK but is ballooned on a 8" and best on a 9", it will also likely rub on the E36 without some guard rolling. The other size would be a 235/40 (or 45) which is fine on a 8" or 8.5" and won't rub. But is that enough tyre for you?? It's what I run at the track (D01J's on 8") but a couple hundy kg less and bit more power.

You are running coilovers aren't you??? If so, 8.5" wheels will need spacers up front, I run 15mm spacers with my 8.5" et40 wheels, I think 10mm would work but I need bigger for caliper clearance. Also depends on your front spring length, as to were the collars/tyre sit.

pffft, rules are made to be broken. LOL Then it would have to be 16x8" Alpina's all-round

I know you said "no 5lug" wheels, but these are the 'Best E30 Wheels - Ever' E38 16x8" Style 5's

I don't like the bridgestones, they run 'skinny' to suit the 'dress-up' market and we don't get the good RE01R's here, just the big jump upto the RE55s. Dunlop SP Sport Maxx would be my pick of the above, but from memory are quite $$ Goodyear, is that the same as the GS-D3, if so, no thanks. Last I bought were Conti Sport Contact II's (245/40), and I loved them, they are a lot quieter than the Japanese tyres, and they stuck well. OT, but IMHO 215/40 on a 8.5" rim is too stretched to get the 'best performance' out of a tyre. A 235/40 would be a better fit for the width or if the rolling Diam. is too much for you, consider a 245/35. I have wide* 225/45 RE070's on 8.5" & 9.0" rims and would consider them borderline on the 9's and perfect fit on the 8.5's thats on the E30 btw. *wide = wider than a 245/40 and almost the same tread width as a 240/625 slick My 2c for the day ps. As Apex said, the DZ101 is an option, great value for the money, I got some for the wifes car 215/45 R17 were $190ea. pps. In this pic the E30 has 215/45's on 8" rims (Bridgestones), it's hard to see but they are quite stretched. Wider rim & lower profile wouldn't be good. Fine for a piece of... Nissan Laurel Drift Hack which no one gives a... about, but please not on a +$50k E30 M3 [/End ranting, Sorry]

Normally 1psi = 10hp, so a stock M30 running 5psi would be ~260hp, just about anything running 5psi will be reliable (within reason) let alone a bullet proof M30!! If you plan to turbo it, don't waste your time on high cost low return NA mods. And if you "have to spend" then do it properly, like 'topcat' did on his M30 turbo build.

Much cheaper to keep it lower comp. & 12v then add more boost.

ATE maybe? They make the majority of brake components for BMW's (definitely in that era).

From what I remember, the 28 is the thickness & 309 is the diameter of the discs calipers can accomodate. E34 540's are 300x28 aren't they? Sounds about right then.

I just recently bought the same camera, and love it. What are you using for editing, storage & burning/output?

Did you use a 'dual mass' flywheel?? Could have come apart? as they do. Part of the pressure plate failed?? Seen that put a hole in a bell housing before!! Is the clutch release mechanism working fine?? clutch fork or centre release bearing may have collapsed? Is the starter motor matched with the flywheel? armature not 'over' engaging and/or not retracting enough and jamming on flywheel? Same tooth count/pitch? Sticky solenoid? Was it always manual? or have you just converted from Auto??

Not that I run a M30, but probably similar weight. 550lbs/in coilovers up front. Have run 350lbs/in also, feel great on the road but were a bit soft for the track. If you don't want to go to coilovers, look for some around this rate.

Not uncommon for NA motor's to be running near the max efficiency/duty cycle of their injectors. 470cc isn't overly big for a 3.0L turbo motor, stock turbo 7M's & 2JZ's run 440's. One would think going as big as sensibly (tunability) possible would be the most cost effective. Especially when the bug bites you real hard and you want more power, more $$ again for injectors. Eagerly waiting to see the dyno results.

E28 They will fit on the Rear but sit way inside the arches ie. looks like crap. On the front you will find they hit the struts. E36 Depending on the offset & tyres they may just squeeze under the guards, but general rule is: Lots of rubbing. If you are after some 17's for the E28, drop me a PM as I have a set forsale (with tyres).

A Getrag 260 (E30 325) or 240 (E30 320) should bolt right up to your M20. Depending on the input shaft your clutch etc... may be fine to use, clutch forks etc... may need swapping if the clutch is actuated differently, same with the gear selector. I would suggest getting a complete Manual conversion that someone has forsale, that way you have everything you could need.