911 and E30

[deathpunk dan]

95 325is with 152k on it here.
bilsteins/h&r/x brace/TMS chip/ECIS intake/ltd slip
I've put 82k of that mileage on it in the last 3 years.

Much better car than my old VW Corrado VR6 ever was.

[Jon3sy]

87 911 Carrera With 224,xxx miles on it. Driving more then 1 person around at a time became a problem with the 911.

I picked up a 92 32is a few months back. I love it.


Now i drive the p car when its sunny, and the bimmer any other time.

Only funny thing is that both the cars are red, and have seemed to both obtain a red and black theme.

[makaio]

I originally picked up my E30 to build into a track car. I paid $1000 for mine with 207,000 miles and have since put $700 into it with new tires, brake pads and rotors, new brake fluid, a/c charge, timing belt, water pump and thermostat, and aux. fan resistor. The car is VERY easy to work on, and parts are pretty darn reasonable. Plus I can buy all my BMW parts from Pelican as well.

I took it to the track once and was amazed at how balanced it was, and how much easier it was to drive vs. my old SC track car. It didn't have the same umph out of the corners, but was still a blast.

Since then things in my life have changed, and I decided to use it as my summer commuter instead of putting track bits on it. I put my Thule rack on it and haul my kayak or mt. bike into places I wouldn't take my Chevy truck thanks to the limited slip and not being concerned with scratches in the paint.

[boost]

i have a 930 an a e36 m3
why ????
my reason is i couldnt find a nicer car to travel long distance in and still giving gr8 performance .
the porsche is gr8 but just not the luggage carrier the m3 is.
cant complain about car theyre a joy to own

[chaf]

The E30 was one of the last BMWs that were really built.

I just sold an '88 E30 325iS. It was the best and cheapest car I've ever owned - I drove it from 108k to 196k and in that time it needed a control arm, a tierod, a (scheduled) timing belt, brake pads, oil changes, and tires - that's it. Original everything, no oil consumption. Amazing.
Not the fastest thing in town, but great fun to drive:
http://www.blight.com/~chaf/Chaf_vs_Marin.avi

I still have an '88 E30 M3, worked up for track use. It is the very most satisfying car I've ever owned - there's this lightness and eagerness about it that I have never encountered in any other car, and it makes even an awful driver look like a pro.

If you think an E30 might be a good fit for you, you're probably right.

[Maltese Falcon]

E30 must be a fun street/ track car to drive . Wayne sells quite a few of our 325 header sets over there at Pelican. I recently did some header work for a local guy that stuffs e36 engines into the e30 chassis--those are guided missles
Marty

[chaf]

Originally posted by Maltese Falcon
E30 must be a fun street/ track car to drive . Wayne sells quite a few of our 325 header sets over there at Pelican. I recently did some header work for a local guy that stuffs e36 engines into the e30 chassis--those are guided missles
Marty

Yeah yeah, but go over to any E30 M3 forum and say something like "I want to put an E36 motor in my E30 M3." Actually, you can just see what folks here have to say in any of the V8-911 conversion threads and save the trip

[Maltese Falcon]

Michael, the guy that does the e36 conversion in L.A. is Jose. He's done several and his car , e30 M3 absolutely looks meticulous. He's also got a dedicated race e30 / e36 power that he runs at Willow Springs, nice stuff. But I'm sure the purists would'nt agree
Marty

[Rick V]

How could anybody replace the S14 engine from the E30 Mcar and sleep at night? I refuse to believe that the added weight and change in handeling you get from such a Frankenstine is worth the effort.

[KillerDynoSoar]

Originally posted by Jon3sy


Only funny thing is that both the cars are red, and have seemed to both obtain a red and black theme.

Thats cool as my 911 and my E30 are both Black. Its nice to have colour matched cars.

If I do get a 98 model touring 528i then I have to make sure its black too.

[atlporsche]

Originally posted by Rick V
How could anybody replace the S14 engine from the E30 Mcar and sleep at night? I refuse to believe that the added weight and change in handeling you get from such a Frankenstine is worth the effort.

kinda like the E12 or E28 chassis with the 4.4L and 6 speed I have envisioned?

NOTE: the V8 is actually lighter and sits a little farther back than the M20.

sjd

[chaf]

Originally posted by Rick V
How could anybody replace the S14 engine from the E30 Mcar and sleep at night? I refuse to believe that the added weight and change in handeling you get from such a Frankenstine is worth the effort.

I've driven both extensively, and I don't personally like the 6cyl in the M3 - the weight up front is perceptible and the engine's character is all wrong. But it sure does go like hell.

[jinos]

I have a e30 m3 and a 911 targa sc, and I hate to say it but the m3 handles way better. All that was done was lowering. I spent a ton on the sc with new bushings,bilstein shocks and was lowered and it still does not handle as well as the m3. Also it is alot easier to take friends around in.

[dd74]

Great thread, but I know absolutely NOTHING about BMWs: so can someone educate me a little...

I like the first generation M3 - what "E" is that car? I really don't like the newest M3s; they seem to have taken the direction Porsche did with the 911 when it became the 996.

Which, in anyone's opinion do you like more? The middle generation M3 (which is "E" what?) or the first generation M3 ("E" what)?

And can a standard E series BMW be modified up to a level of an M3?

"Stuffing an E36 engine into an E30 chassis?" Can someone elaborate on that process?

Sorry about all the questions, but I think it's time I learn something about another car other than the 911.

Thanks.

[donstevens]

I have both;

1972 T Coupe

1990 325is

Both white.

The 325is is my wife's street car. Lowered, 16" BBS, dual twister race mufflers. It is a fun, attarcive street car with cold A/C (important in FL).

At one time I also had an 81 SC and a 87 Alpina C2 2.7....That was a fun car.

Don

[chaf]

Originally posted by dd74
Great thread, but I know absolutely NOTHING about BMWs: so can someone educate me a little...

I like the first generation M3 - what "E" is that car? I really don't like the newest M3s; they seem to have taken the direction Porsche did with the 911 when it became the 996.

Which, in anyone's opinion do you like more? The middle generation M3 (which is "E" what?) or the first generation M3 ("E" what)?

And can a standard E series BMW be modified up to a level of an M3?

"Stuffing an E36 engine into an E30 chassis?" Can someone elaborate on that process?

Sorry about all the questions, but I think it's time I learn something about another car other than the 911.

Thanks.

Someone's going to yell at us for talking BMWs on a Porsche forum.

BMW numbers all its chassis E-something. In the case of the 3-Series, it goes:
E21 - 1977-1983
E30 - 1984-1991
E36 - 1992-1998
E46 - 1999-2005
E90 - 2006-

The first generation M3 is the E30 - it was a homologation special with a 192hp 4cyl engine and fairly serious (for the time) suspension and brakes.

The next, E36, M3, had a 3.0 or 3.2, 240hp six. A lot of people like them better because they're more refined, more powerful, etc - but some people feel they're too big, too heavy, too refined; clearly the emphasis was more on street and less on track. The E36 M3 is still a great performer, though. For me personally, the E30 M3 is my absolute hands-down single favorite car of all time, bar none.

Asking whether a standard E30 can be turned into an M3 is a lot like asking if you can take a 911SC and turn it into a 930 - yeah, it's possible, but... As for tweaking up to similar performance, of course anything's possible, but you lose the wonderful, integrated, "factory" feeling of the M car. This is less true with the E36 M3, which is really just a (very well) souped-up stock E36 and not a built-from-the-ground-up M car. IIRC, all the E36 M3 parts will bolt onto a regular E36 car, whereas the same is not true of the E30.

As for stuffing in an E36 engine... The most powerful engine that BMW ever put in an E30 was that 192hp four in the M3. But the E36-series cars mostly used a 24v six (M50, M52, S50) that was based upon the E30's older M20 engine and had similar dimensions. It's a little bit of a squeeze, but an M50-series engine can be bolted in, giving 180-240 stock horsepower with a minimal weight penalty. Since the E30 chassis weighs like 2700 lbs, a chipped S50 making 260ish hp with tractor-like torque is pretty awesome in there.

[chaf]

Originally posted by jinos
I have a e30 m3 and a 911 targa sc, and I hate to say it but the m3 handles way better. All that was done was lowering. I spent a ton on the sc with new bushings,bilstein shocks and was lowered and it still does not handle as well as the m3. Also it is alot easier to take friends around in.

Yeah, absolutely. There are a few things I like better about the handling of the 911 - hard to describe, but the thing just hooks up once you get it turned in. Something about the Porsche rear suspension works really really well. That said, the M3 is so much more nimble and tossable, and it turns in like nothing else I've ever driven.

[dd74]

Yeah - I just now checked out an M3 site on line. The E30 M3 is faster than the E36 - at least 0-60. 5.5 vs. 5.7. Yes, it's splitting hairs, but at a 50 horsepower disadvantage, that says something...

[chaf]

Originally posted by dd74
Yeah - I just now checked out an M3 site on line. The E30 M3 is faster than the E36 - at least 0-60. 5.5 vs. 5.7. Yes, it's splitting hairs, but at a 50 horsepower disadvantage, that says something...

Weeelllll... Unfortunately, that 5.5 number is incorrect, or it might refer to a non-stock car. The 0-60 that BMW claimed in their original literature for the E30 was 7.1sec., and my experience suggests that's about right. On a racetrack, an E36 M3 will walk away from an E30 M3 quite handily - in the straights. Throw in a few corners, though, and it equalizes out surprisingly well.

[Todd Simpson]

Something's wrong there...the US E30 M3 is about 6.9 0-60. 195HP, 170TQ and almost 2800 lbs.

ROW got some cooler versions, up to 230hp or so with 16's, nicer spoilers and other upgrades.

I just picked up a '91 E30 M3 this week and it is indeed a very cool car. I love the buzzy four cylinder and the 4:10 rear.

A swap may be faster but who cares, the S14 four is like a 2.8 MFI. Sure you can swap in a 3.6 but you've lost character in the deal.