looking into e30...tech specs..new member

[soupbone]

hello. I am thinking about purchasing a e30. Looking at the 325is. My primary interest in this car would be to make it quick and handle well. Forced induction is also a very good possibility.

Right now i drive a 2002 nissan sentra spec v.
I dont know how large this community is, but im trying to get some input from current owners of the 325is.

here are some questions that i have:

1. how much of a difference is there between the 325i and 325is (horsepower, engine-> limited slip, more displacement, sport orientation, etc)
2. what are realistic horsepower numbers i am to expect from the 325i or 325is stock?
3. do these cars respond well to modifications (bolt ons, etc)
4. what are major problems with these years cars?
5. What problems should i look for in buying the car that is specific to this year?
6. Is there a good aftermarket for these cars?
7. What are some horsepower numbers for tuned e30s?
8. how do these cars handle& what about weight distribution?
9. what are common engine swaps into the e30


that is all i can think of for now...like i said, i am concerned with performance and i will be tunin this car to the utmost of its potential.

thanks for reading, and any info whatsoever is appreciated.

 

[mikev]

(this is all from european perspective) I have the 325i.Ths is has no HP gains and it only comes in coupé form and has larger tires(16"?) rather than the 14" with the i. it also gains a LSD. From standard realistically upto 170Hp is standard tune. (alougth i'd say 160hp due to the age and usually optimistic BMW fiqure quotes, tested at 7.4secs 0-60 by Bmw Mag). Things like CAI, injectors and remapped ECU responed well in this car and more serious mods would be readily availabe (esp. if you don't mind shipping from europe )

Mine pushes out 190Bhp and has cams, full exhaust, ecu and CAI. it pulls well but has been setup for acceleration (135Mph top wack realisticaly for the age and Brick shape of the car) it does, however pull away from an E36 328i (until around 110Mph) and would give an unwary 330i driver a scare (but would then be horribly embarresed) E36 3.2 M3 engines have (relativly easily) been squeezed into these shells. I would steer away from forced induction and concentrait on improving the N/A aspect. Don't expect to get more than 240Bhp from the 2.5 if you REALLY want more go for an engine swap (but you could loose the fantasic handling.)

So far this winter in the snow my record is 3 1/2 times around a roundabout sideways. so YES they are very well balanced, alougth the back is very light (all the more fun ), but a couple of bags of cement will allow the girlfiend to drive it .

 

[epj3]

hello. I am thinking about purchasing a e30. Looking at the 325is. My primary interest in this car would be to make it quick and handle well. Forced induction is also a very good possibility.

Right now i drive a 2002 nissan sentra spec v.
I dont know how large this community is, but im trying to get some input from current owners of the 325is.

here are some questions that i have:

1. how much of a difference is there between the 325i and 325is (horsepower, engine-> limited slip, more displacement, sport orientation, etc)
2. what are realistic horsepower numbers i am to expect from the 325i or 325is stock?
3. do these cars respond well to modifications (bolt ons, etc)
4. what are major problems with these years cars?
5. What problems should i look for in buying the car that is specific to this year?
6. Is there a good aftermarket for these cars?
7. What are some horsepower numbers for tuned e30s?
8. how do these cars handle& what about weight distribution?
9. what are common engine swaps into the e30


that is all i can think of for now...like i said, i am concerned with performance and i will be tunin this car to the utmost of its potential.

thanks for reading, and any info whatsoever is appreciated.

1. There is no horsepower difference between the 325i and 325is, only the 325is has a Getrag 260 (?) transmission which is better than the tranny used in the 325i (cant remember which one they used, but it's not getrag)
2. 167 hp 165 ft-lb torque stock
3. They do not respond to modifications nearly as well as other engines. BMW is pushing a lot of power already out of a SOHC 12 valve 2.5 liter 6.
4. Major problems -- Only ones I can think of is the head bolts they originally used on some cars could crack the block, and they had some bad heater cores.
5. Nothing specific to look for -- Just make sure it drives well. Remember, these cars are 16+ years old.
6. Not much of an aftermarket at all, just Dinan which doesnt do much with E30's, and a few different chips. There are aftermarket exhausts that sound decent (IE remus) Most people who do big mods, end up dropping the E36 M3 engine into their E30. You can buy a conversion kit and do the conversion in a few days.
7. I saw a turbocharged E30 (with the e36 engine) that pushed 700 hp and enough torque that it twisted a drive shaft like it was a thin piece of wire.
8. Weight distribution is near perfect as bmw has been up until the new 5 and 7 series. They handle absolutely great, they sure dont look like it (with the little wheels, thick tires, and high profile) but they will surprise anyone who's never been in one. Biggest problem, as MikeV said, is that the rear gets very loose -- and it DOES. You might end up facing the wrong direction once or twice when you push it TOO hard too quick.
9. Already said about the engine swap. A lot of people put the E36 M3 engine in their cars. Pretty sweet conversion.

Overall the best way to make an E30 an even better car is to drop an E36 m3 engine in it (S50 engine, i believe). I dont think it would loose much handling ability, since the engines dont weigh that different.

Oh yea, the LSD makes for some good donuts

 

[rjp325i]

The head bolts that sometimes caused problems were the hex bolts. Beginning in Apr 1989 all M20 engines were assembled using the Torx bolt replacements. This is a $25 diy upgrade for all hex bolt M20s. Especially when upgrading suspensions, rear shock mounts are a weak point. E46 or billet shock mounts are recommended depending upon intended use. M3 offset control arm bushings are a recommended upgrade when replacing the stock bushings due to wear or suspension upgrade for better high speed handling. There are several aftermarket suppliers for parts as well as serious upgrades but expect higher prices than that for a Sentra. Check Bavarian Autosport, BMP Design, Ireland Engineering, Turner Motorsport and others. A simple chip changeout to a Conforti/Turner Motorsport one will bring a stock 2.5 L engine into the 180 hp range. Schrick cams are also available in different configurations depending upon use as well serious intake manifold changouts. Different headers are also available. All these parts tend to be rather pricey. As said in other posts the M50 engine swap is a popular one and worth considering for max performance. Beware of the OBD 1 vs 1996+ OBD 2 configurations.

 

[ODDferkOUT]

Ah yes, the tailend does get happy. I found that out the hard way in the rain.

 

[epj3]

Hehe, especially with the limited slip!!!!

The IC has a limited slip differential I believe.

ODDferk.. I think all of us e30 drivers find that out the hard way.

 

[jrt67ss350]

ODDferk.. I think all of us e30 drivers find that out the hard way.

I know I found that out the hard way. Taking a cloverleaf offramp at a "spirited" speed for the first time made the back end come out. It surprised the hell out of me, since I was used to driving my Camaro that loved to understeer. You have to really intentionally try to get the back end to come around in that car. The E30 will surprise you if you aren't aware of its tail happy nature.

That being said, you learn very quickly how to control the tail coming around. Once you get a feel for it, it is pretty predictable.

 

[ODDferkOUT]

...I'm just wondering now if it's a characteristic of all RWD.

Haha...I'd admit, I was scared during my triple spin in my car, but in retrospect, it was fun. I got to be Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear for a while.

 

[epj3]

Haha man, I love rear wheel drive.

 

[german-speed-demon]

RWD rules, man. There's nothing like punching it on a rainy day with no cars around. i had a cop tell me I ''shouldn't do that", but it's sooo much fun. and it's off to the races for me

 

[epj3]

i had a cop tell me I ''shouldn't do that", but it's sooo much fun.

Hehe i had a cop pull me over for doing that on a snowy day.

 

[jrt67ss350]

...I'm just wondering now if it's a characteristic of all RWD.

Haha...I'd admit, I was scared during my triple spin in my car, but in retrospect, it was fun. I got to be Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear for a while.

Nah, tail-happiness isn't a characteristic of all RWD cars. My Camaro loves to understeer. You really have to intentionally try to oversteer in that car if you want to hang the back end out, and believe me, it's got tons more power than my little old eta BMW. It must just be the way the E30 is set up.

RWD is so incredibly superior over FWD for handling and driving dynamics though, and I'm glad to see more manufacturers switching back to RWD.