Madhatter

+35 is too big too really, you run the risk of rubbing on the strut with that high a positive offset, will completely depend on wheel backspace. If you want something 7" wide, just stick to anything +15-+25mm and you wont have to worry.

You need to match the right sized tube. Most of the cheaper coil overs are tapered inside, so you leave 50mm on the bottom of the strut tube which slides inside of the bottom of the coil over and helps locate inside so it's largely centered. They aren't just welded to the stub axle, so size does matter. No problems using 51mm struts in a car that had 45mm ones, they all bolt up the same, so if you can't find 45mm ones, just use a set of 51mm tubes from a 323i or 325i and convert it over. BC also make them in a 45mm fitment for 4 cylinder cars. Only suggestion whoever you use, if you want the car low and still want to have any sort of suspension compliance, make sure you get ones which are base height adjustable. That way you can change the ride height without needing to compress the spring and shorten the shock travel.

Yeah, 75/80 or 75/90 is fine, it's pretty much an SAE80 gear oil. Just make sure what ever oil you use carries a GL-4 api rating as it needs to be an extreme pressure gear oil. Can run GL-5 rated oils ONLY if they clearly state they contain inhibitors that prevent corrosion to non ferrous parts (like the brass and bronze bits used inside these gearboxes).

It shouldnt. Nothing wrong with the website on my end and Lee has been in business for years so nothing dodgy should be going on. Probably the only bmw guy to exclusively develop brake kits for a host of different bmw's. Try a direct link perhaps http://www.massivebrakes.com/brake-systems.php?p=e30_front_300x32mm Here are the fronts on mine.

I have race studs from here. http://www.motorsporthardware.com/ Have also used their regular silver ones, both worked well, no problems.

www.massivebrakes.com

they generally cut them down to fit as arp dont make an off the shelf m20 kit. you can get modified ones from racetep. http://www.racetep.com/arp.html

Problem with the part numbers is bmw (along with other euro marques) are notorious for using new part numbers for updated/revisions of (car) models, yet the part is actually physically the same. What you end up with is a part that might have been used in both early and late E21's, then used again in say, series 1 E30's, but has 3-4 different part numbers for exactly the same part. Thats where the superceeding comes from, when you open their epc you can scroll back through the revised part numbers to the original. All the smaller capacity (2.0-2.3L) m20 cams ive measured ive measured have been the same. Only one I cant say for sure of is the later series 2 320i's which run motronic, so im expecting they went the way of the 325i and reduced the duration, the ramp angles and lsa of the camshafts. As I said in a pm, I know the south africans did "hot up" the 325is they sold over there, they also gave it m3 bits too, but the few normal south african models Ive seen in aus have used euro motors, so id expect the motor (and cam) to be basically a euro 325i motor. I want to buy an optical pickup and plug mine straight into the computer to make some profiles, but the electronic cam doctor type setups cost upwards of $2000, so there are simply other things to spend money on at the moment. Ive got a stand I made by cutting a couple camshaft bearings out of a spare (cracked) head, then bolted them to a frame to locate and support the cam. With a little oil on the bearings, you can turn the cam without a problem. A timing wheel on the front coupled with a point welded to the front of the stand (so its fixed in position) gives you cam timing to the degree, then a magnetic stand and a good quality dial indicator can be positioned over the lobes to take cam measurements at any given timing event. Works well and is just the same as old school cam indexing, I just didnt like the idea of paying $700 for a universal stand to place the cam in for measuring when something could be made for cheaper. Only thing ill probably buy is a good cam package that allows you to plot points and generate both a master profile and a electronic graph from the data. That wa you can send the electronic data away to a company and have master profiles cut for the grinding machines without actually taking measurements from a physical camshaft (so essentially you can create any profile you wish). heres a couple prepared earlier

would be passing 25k I reckon and now im thinking about a supercharger.

Sorry, but I dont know where you get that from? if anything they respond to boost quite well, I can name a half dozen m30's which make 700hp. You dont need bits made out of unobtanium and if you have a good look at an M30 head they actually arent that bad being such a big valve, big chamber head. Any motor you run regardless of what brand, single or twin cam, will still need a fair whack of boost to reach those sort of figures, 25psi is nothing abnormal, especially on a new bottom end. I dont see where the huge cost is coming from. 20k for what exactly? I love the block and bottom end of an M30 as far as turbocharging goes, so big and chunky, its like they were made for boost.

by all means, speak to thomas and see what he has to say, other people have purchased his products and he keeps selling them, so I guess they must have some sort of quality too them. Im just saying his customer service really sucks in my experience, plus others who have dealt with him. So if you do buy from him in aus, it might upset you if the customer service and communication is really lacking (probably start thinking you have done your money or something). As I said, this was last year so maybe he has upped his game, but its enough to put me off so im not going to buy from him again (besides ive found a lot of his parts like pistons and even rods are expensive anyway). On the rockers though, its not so much power thats going to cause you problems, but rather lift and seat pressure. AFAIK, like the M10, the rocker ratio is reduced on the m30 so the end result is that there isnt as much pressure working on the nose (and across the bridge) of the rocker, so its not as normal for them to break rocker arms. Its pretty normal for m10 motors to run at 7000rpm without too many issues it seems. So unless you plan to rev the motor, and given that you probably arent going to be running a very high lift cam, I would start to think if billet rockers would be needed anyway. Locks for sure, the springs just plain suck, but for the rockers I reckon Id probably look at buying a machined set, or buying a new set of OEM rockers and having them machined (shot peened and polished) yourself. In looking at his rods, they appear to be similar to the eagle h beam series, I wouldnt be surprised if thats what they are. Have you spoken to the guys on mye28.com? there is a pretty active community on there, so im sure they will have an idea of the aftermarket rod options. The rods they sell are 4340 steel, pretty much like everyone else, they look a whole lot like the ones this company is selling too http://cgi.ebay.com.au/conrods-BMW-Big-6-e...oQQcmdZViewItem So id say its a generic rod, you could buy it cheaper elsewhere (even if it comes form overseas) than buying those for $1200AUD. edit: same rod? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/H-SHAFT-Pleuel-Tuni...1QQcmdZViewItem pleuel tuning? in having a look through his store again though, the m30 rods he has advertised here for under $1000 AUD seem like a pretty good price. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/H-Beam-Conrods-Conn...5QQcmdZViewItem

yeah, i was just thinking, I cant work out how or why they would go through the mains, seemed a little strange. Ive used studs before and they were easy, only thing to remember with head studs though is if you want to take your head off, you have to raise it up about 4 inches to clear the top of the stud before you can pull it off. Thats fine on a stand but stick it in a car and the firewall can suddenly get in the way (a little "massaging" with a bfh works well ).

how come the studs have to go through the entire block to hold the mains in place? Since you said you are getting machining done, when you get the head and the block machined, let them know you are running a steel gasket. Surface grit finish you place on it is different than composite gaskets if you want to get it to seal as well as it possibly can.

If he does get together a group buy, its not like its going to happen tomorrow. The dollar would have to end up almost level again with the US before the money you saved on the discount was equal to the money saved on the exchange, thats not going to happen any time soon. Besides, im sick of this crap about holding out for exchange rates, if you are looking to buy something and you can already afford it, who cares? a cheaper price than what you are currently looking at would only be a blessing.

is a guy on one of the E30 forums that was talking about organising a group buy for them. Brings the kit down to about $1400 USD. Interesting kit, though the linkage looks a little bit out there, i notice the manifolds they used are from rowland in south africa. Throttles look great though. Ive got some toyota throttles, half thinking about buying those and just bolting them on (have to make up a fuel rail for the toyota ones and work out the linkage). What I really like about them is you can buy extensions for the throttles, so say you want to space them out further from the head or the filters, you can get extensions up to 50mm in length that just fit right between them. edit: found the post. http://e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70871&page=2 scroll down a little. I reckon it could be a go.

It can collapse and come appart, but ive also seen more than one occaision where the shaft has twisted and broken, only to come screaming through the floorpan, cutting a hole through it in the process. Worst one ive seen was a turbocharged 5 series, cut right through just behind the front seats and wrecked the car in the process (was scrap after that).

Wrong side of the pond, but thanks mate Should have the alpina painted within a month too then work can get started on putting the motor together in the jps

Ok, how I really think. I purchased parts on the provisions he had them in stock and would send them out to arrive within a week. After 2 weeks of calling him, sending emails, etc, he never returned my calls. I finally got a hold of his mobile number by a whois lookup on his website. Called him on his mobile, pretty much just brushed me off as some guy from qld who purchased some stuff. Apparently, he had been busy with other customers who he supplies, he couldnt return any of my calls. Turns out that he had the rockers in stock but didnt have any parts of the rockers instock such as the ball feet adjusters or nuts. Of course, when I told him it was a time deadline and he promised he would send them out in time, no problems because they send via a courier (they came via post), he said he could supply them, sending them out within a couple of days. Basically it was nearly 4 weeks from the date I paid for them till they arrived, I was just about ready to fly to melbourne to sort him out because it was rubbish. They arrived, appeared to be in good condition and I have used them, however as all my allocated holidays had now vanished, it meant that my engine wasnt built, it wasnt run in and as such still sits in pieces on the floor in the garage waiting for a time when i might get some more time off (being a manager, it can be difficult). The parts appeared to be good quality, ive been happy with them based on physical appearence, however I havent had a chance to run them in yet. However, this is not the end of the tale. Doug (digger) purchased a set for his motor, they arrived drilled offcentre, very poor fit on the rocker shafts, basically just poor machining all round. I kept checking back with him as he was trying to get in contact with thomas, the last time I sent him a message, after nearly 6 weeks thomas was still pretty much ignoring him, so he ditched the idea of rockers and kept his shotpeened ones. They did have some problems with the pad compound, including people who have had them snap the bolts and come clean off the rockers, plus those who can be found with extreme wear, but he assures people it has been fixed with a different material. So yeah, what I think is, the product appears to be good quality, however I havent actually had them running on the motor yet, but his customer service just plain stinks. With the time he wasted, I could have waited till now to order the ppf (thats the sweden guys) as they have a set of billet rockers too, but have an established reputation within the community. I told thomas clearly I cant bag his product, because quite clearly, it seems to be of good quality, but I told him straight out if anyone asks for an opinion on the products Ill tell them exactly how you dealt with me and all the stuffing around that has occured. Thats how I really feel

sounds like from pure performance motorsport? Customer service is about the worst you are likely to find ever in the history of buying bmw performance parts.

new or used? (so are you looking for something a little cheaper?)

one here was definately an M6 too, was on ebay. Edit: found it listed on carsales, says its a replica though. http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/deale...id=12010297A0A4

No, it doesnt make any sense at all. You can expect maybe a 6-8 psi increase at the most if you get the tyres really hot, largely due to the water vapour present in most compressed air. It wont magically increase the tyre pressure by 20 psi, thats just very unrealistic. As said above, its largely the water content of the air being used to inflate your tyres. At best you can hope for a tyre shop to drain their compresors daily, but even then a lot of water ends up trapped in the system, along with vapour trapped in the air that occurs naturally, so the easiest way is with a dry air system or using compressed air cylinders.

if you get into the realms of 400hp id be looking at rods then too, at the very least, decent rod bolts and maybe shot peen your existing ones. Only one company offer rod bolts in a kit for the m20, cant remember who it was though (maybe vacc?), otherwise you have to go to arp with bolt dimensions and see what they can match up. honestly, if you are doing a rebuild now id be throwing in things like rockers, eccentrics and shafts too, plus maybe another cam more suited to the turbo. Stock one will develop pretty good power with guys running over 300hp using them, but it could be an option too.

well, would you trust a person to be selling you a good kit when they call the m20 a v6 in the title? But seriously, lots of use of the word universal, the 10" rad fan is a joke, plus the fact that its a cali location so you can pretty much be guarenteed the manifold is designed to fit LHD models in the US, so id say there isnt a whole lot you could do with the kit.

Nice, id like to find someone to make a set of stahl long tube headers.