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I pressed the car into service as a commuter for a couple of days - due to a temporary shortage of cars at work - and it did the job perfectly. As my drive's over 100 miles a day I wouldn't want to use it regularly, just to avoid racking up stellar mileage, but it was great fun to stretch its legs. I could do it every day just to continually blast away from a 350Z that keeps showing up - it can't keep up, much to the owner's annoyance. It should be able to post a similar 0-60mph time but I guess I'm just a little more committed, or had more traction. The only trouble I had with it during this time was keeping the speed down - on a motorway cruise it's doing about 3000RPM, at which point it's only just getting into its stride. Ambling along in fifth gear it'll still pull hard and, because the engine's relatively smooth, building up another 10 or 15mph without noticing is easily done! The thing that still amazes me when I drive it is just how relentless it is. Once the BMW's on a roll it's just unstoppable. Pin the throttle to the floor, holding it all the way to the limiter at 7250RPM, change up, and the needle continues to climb into the red at the same pace as it did in the previous gear - with only a deeper engine note indicating increased effort from the change in ratios. Over the week it even returned sensible economy for what's effectively a 1700kg, 315bhp, saloon:   I've finally managed to source a replacement foglight lens as well, for a reasonable £15. New complete units are £45 but seeing as it was just the glass that was gone on mine, it seemed a bit unnecessary. Not much progress has been made on any plans, as of yet, due to work and holidays - but soon it'll get a service, a few minor touchups, then a rolling road session to make sure it's in spec. After that I may start looking at a few sensible upgrades. There's a chance that I may make it to the 'Practical Performance Car in the Park' show, so it could hit the Mallory Park race circuit in anger. I'd love to wind it out fully! I took a few random pics today too, messed with a few of 'em in Photoshop:        I had my first issue as well. The tape player ate my MP3 adaptor. |
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Last Edit: May 8, 2011 19:08:13 GMT by Lewis
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Oh, I also emailed Mark about the chip for it, with some questions about getting the best map for my car - so hopefully I'll hear back soon and take it from there. I'll get it on the dyno before and after, though, to see what happens.
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Sorry about the fog, only just reading this thread again since. Glad to see it's not giving you any bother - one of those cars where you really enjoy it if you buy well to begin with!
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No problems SS - I appear to have bought it off you anyway |
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theseoldcars? ballix, I sent that off earlier, but that was a spare used unit I'd found while searching. I still have the NOS one sitting because it's in the 'reserved for special people' pile lol
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Haha, no bother, just glad to have it sorted The used one will probably suit it more! |
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Last Edit: May 9, 2011 20:54:43 GMT by Lewis
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Ether
Posted a lot
Posts: 4,450
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May 10, 2011 21:40:10 GMT
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The thing that still amazes me when I drive it is just how relentless it is. Once the BMW's on a roll it's just unstoppable. Pin the throttle to the floor, holding it all the way to the limiter at 7250RPM, change up, and the needle continues to climb into the red at the same pace as it did in the previous gear - with only a deeper engine note indicating increased effort from the change in ratios. Reminds me of CAR, circa 1975. |
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bryn
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,913
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May 10, 2011 21:48:47 GMT
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The thing that still amazes me when I drive it is just how relentless it is. Once the BMW's on a roll it's just unstoppable. Pin the throttle to the floor, holding it all the way to the limiter at 7250RPM, change up, and the needle continues to climb into the red at the same pace as it did in the previous gear - with only a deeper engine note indicating increased effort from the change in ratios. Reminds me of CAR, circa 1975. "With a faint waft of oversteer, there's no time to admire the scenery at this pace." I've often thought you should have been a Performance Car tester in the 80s Lewis, Matt was telling me about your job. Congratulations! I really like the look of this E34, and I don't like them. E28s all the way for me Fuel economy is epic, got to be happy with that  |
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Volvo, Buggy, Discovery and an old tractor.
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iv just got me a e36 5 series.... this is mint. mines abit less mint lol.
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if in doubt get the  out!! or you could go flat out  |
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Jun 12, 2011 11:36:03 GMT
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Thanks for the comments Matt & Bryn! I actually started writing a 'period' road test of this, must get it finished and up here. Hope you're both well by the way! A few minor updates today. Firstly was a new pair of OEM wipers:  The existing ones, besides having tired blades, weren't doing a fantastic job - they seemed to be skipping certain areas, so I bought entirely new wipers. It was interesting to note the excess curvature on the old ones (on the right) - presumably they'd started having less effect as they'd lost their stiffness and were just dragging across the screen. No doubt they're the original parts. The next thing to sort was something that I'd been noticing more and more over the past month. Basically when you sat in heavy traffic for any duration of time the temperature would creep over the half mark - which to me wasn't right - and the engine bay generally felt hotter than it should. The problem became even more noticeable when, in a gridlocked Dunstable, the temperature got up to the 2/3rds mark and then the secondary electric cooling fan kicked in - which by all means you should never really hear unless the ambient temperature's very high, or you're using the air-con on maximum settings. I suspected that this was caused by a failed viscous coupling on the primary cooling fan. I didn't get that characteristic 'whoosh' from the cooling fan since I'd had the car but obviously the coupling had now weakened so much that it was just windmilling the fan and providing no cooling effort - which isn't a problem, until you stop in traffic. A viscous coupling, in cooling applications, for those at are unfamiliar with the idea, is a fluid-filled device that connects the fan to the engine. When the engine is cold, the fluid inside the viscous coupling is thin and offers little resistance, so the cooling fan turns slowly and pulls little air through. This allows the engine to warm up quickly and reach the right temperature, also improving economy as the engine doesn't have to turn the fan all the time. When it heats up, however, the fluid in the coupling becomes near-solid, meaning that the engine drives the fan almost directly - increasing the amount of cooling action and bringing the temperature down. As the engine is cooled to the correct point, the viscous fluid thins, and the fan slows again. It's easy enough to test - simply turn the fan by hand with the engine off and cold, and note the amount of resistance. Then run the engine fully up to temperature, turn it off, and try turning the fan again. You should find that it's stiff and 'locked up'. If it turns freely, like when cold, then it's broken. When you turn off the hot engine the fan should also stop very rapidly, and not continue spinning - like mine did. You can also find that the viscous coupling will fail in 'locked up' mode - your car won't warm up properly and you'll hear the fan working constantly. Now, obviously a cooling system isn't something you take chances with, especially on a car like this, where the engine is worth almost as much as the whole car. Consequently I took the car off the road and ordered a new viscous coupling, which arrived promptly from ECP. So, to work!  Fan shrouds off:  Cooling fan out:  The trouble-maker:  Old viscous coupling removed, next to the nice shiny new one!  New coupling on:  .......and voila:  Perfect:  With the new coupling in place the temperature remains consistently on, or below, the half mark and the characteristic 'whoosh' of the viscous fan is back - much to my relief. The engine bay feels much cooler too, a benefit in something that's as cramped and as hot-running as this. What was a pleasant surprise was how simple the job was. There was plenty of room and even things like fan shroud simply unclipped and slid out. Always pleasant to have a job not turn into a complete fiddly nightmare. I also took the time to replace the air filter while I was working on the car. I had a sneaking suspicion that it had a K&N panel filter fitted, which I really didn't want for reasons that I'll explain. I pulled the airbox apart and was happy to find the AFM and mesh screens were in good condition - and noted that BMW have obviously paid a lot of attention to getting the best flow from the stock airbox, lots of nice trumpets and rouded edges:  .....and my worry was confirmed. A K&N panel filter, pretty much clogged solid:  Now, you're probably wondering why I dislike the idea of a K&N filter being fitted. Well, firstly, it's an oiled-type filter - which shouldn't be used with mass-airflow systems as the oil can end up being deposited on the MAF itself, causing poor running and more issues. Secondly, oiled air filters can clog very quickly. This means that while it might deliver more flow initially than a paper filter, about two weeks down the line you'll find that it's actually delivering less than a standard element. The cost of re-oiling a filter is almost as much as a paper element that'll last 10,000 miles or more while delivering better lifetime flow - so why bother. Thirdly, and the most amusing, is the whole 'performance' aspect. K&N claim that their filter offers greater flow and filtration (interesting concept when I can see daylight through it). This really did make me laugh. Here's the stock filter compared to the K&N:   Haha! So apparently that little oil-clogged filter on the right is going to offer more flow than a filter that's got probably two or three times the surface area? Jog on. Suffice to say the car feels a lot happier with its OEM paper filter reinstated. Be interesting to see how my economy fares from now on. Next on the list is some minor paintwork, an oil service and to get my new Continental rear tyres fitted, as I've now killed the old ones that were on it. They do get worked quite hard.  Last time I washed the car I used an Autoglym Aqua-Wax kit that I was given - and I highly recommend it. You simply spray it on to a wet (or dry) car, let it settle, then buff it off. It works really well, very quick and simple to use, and keeps the car looking glossy. It'd been under a cover for a week and I simply dumped a bucket of water across it and rubbed it down with a microfibre cloth which brought it up really well. Still need to give it a proper cut and polish mind. I also found out that if I fitted a US-spec diff and 18" wheels then it'd be geared for 222mph - but that's something for another day. Onwards! |
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Last Edit: Jun 12, 2011 11:52:08 GMT by Lewis
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Mark
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,818
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Jun 12, 2011 15:05:34 GMT
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I do love these cars. Those turbine rims are awesome too. I almost put a set on my e30 M3 before I sold it. Defo with you on the ''performance air filter''. Maybe they were being ironic?
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BMW 320d (fridge on wheels)
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Jun 13, 2011 19:50:43 GMT
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Definitely something ironic about that 'performance' filter - or just plain moronic! Sounds much better without it too, which is odd - although that's probably all in my tiny mind....
I've seen some E30s with turbines on them - look awesome. I do keep idly thinking about putting similar-style Corvette wheels onto it but that's something for another day, methinks.
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Last Edit: Jun 13, 2011 19:54:13 GMT by Lewis
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Jun 13, 2011 20:04:30 GMT
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I do want one of these one day?? Gorgious example by the way  |
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Sig pic too big!
83 MK1 Golf 1.3 Driver-sold
83 Mk1 Golf GTI Pirelli-sold
95 BMW 520i Individual-sold
94 BMW 525i Sport-R.I.P
04 Audi A4 1.9TDI 130-55mpg:)
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p1RATE
Part of things
Posts: 355
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ive just seen this on the readers rides and I'm drooling all over this! such a beautiful car. e34's are a favorite of mine and i have a thing for white cars at the moment! and to top it off it has that m5 engine!!! |
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• 13 BMW 320d
• 92 Pink/Purple Mercedes 190e (Project)
• 97 Rover VI 1.8 (track car)
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maf260
Part of things
Posts: 513
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Lovely car. Regarding the air filter & airbox - BMW are well known for their work in this area. Many E30 owners change the stock airbox for a 'performance' cone filter, either K&N or cheapo because of the perceived benefits. It's been proven many times on a dyno that the standard airbox with a standard filter (preferably new) delivers greater power output. K&N cone filter = less power!
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A viscous coupling, in cooling applications, for those at are unfamiliar with the idea, is a fluid-filled device that connects the fan to the engine. When the engine is cold, the fluid inside the viscous coupling is thin and offers little resistance, so the cooling fan turns slowly and pulls little air through. This allows the engine to warm up quickly and reach the right temperature, also improving economy as the engine doesn't have to turn the fan all the time. When it heats up, however, the fluid in the coupling becomes near-solid, meaning that the engine drives the fan almost directly - increasing the amount of cooling action and bringing the temperature down. As the engine is cooled to the correct point, the viscous fluid thins, and the fan slows again. i do enjoy reading your posts - very informative and well written. its a beautiful car - always fancied one. i've also always wondered just how those fans worked - thanks for that! |
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Jun 21, 2011 20:14:28 GMT
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Minor update. A nice man dropped around in a van to fit my new rear tyres - Continental SportContact 3's. Originally I planned to fit Falkens or Kumho tyres, due to previous good experience with them, but they couldn't supply anything that matched the OEM specification.  I've yet to bed the new tyres in properly but initial impressions are good - which bodes well, as it was very wet when I drove it. I can highly recommend the services of eTyres, very quick and prompt - although if you're offered the chance to buy tyres inclusive of fitting, do go through with that as it's usually cheaper. I regularly check the fluids and I'd noticed a very minor loss of hydraulic fluid, so promptly topped that up to the correct level. Besides the power steering, the LHM fluid also operates the self-levelling rear suspension. Mine weeps a little from the reservoir seal - which is why it drops slightly - so I'll change that at some point.   That's the correct level you should see in the LHM fluid reservoir - just above the mesh filter basket. Having not properly driven the car since I'd fitted the new viscous coupling and air filter, I took it out for a spin to see what it was like. It was noticeably smoother (thanks to the unclogged filter), the temperature remained below the half mark in all instances and the oil temperature was also a good 10 degrees cooler. There was, however, now something else wrong. Coming down through Milton Keynes, I saw a red light and downshifted from third to second - blipping the throttle nice and hard on the way down. Entirely unrelated to the large crowd of people standing around outside a restaurant. Unfortunately, instead of the melodious bark of BMW's finest hand-built engine, I was rewarded with what sounded like a horrific rattle and screech. I cut into neutral and the engine still sounded absolutely spot on, so I coasted to the lights and tried to hide as best as possible from the crowd. Tad difficult in a bright white BMW that's thundering away quietly to itself. Moving off with the lights, there wasn't a single unpleasant noise from the car - which puzzled me somewhat. I nursed it home and glared at it on the drive for a while. It occurred to me that the best course of action was, after checking that there was nothing obviously wrong with it, to run the engine and try and track down the source of the noise. With it cold, there was no hint of anything amiss. When it got hot, however, revving it hard in neutral produced what was actually a loud screech from the nose of the engine. Closer inspection revealed that the auxiliary belt that drives the air-con compressor and AIR pump was damaged - phew! Presumably this was the source of the noise, slipping under load and creating all that racket. The AIR (Air Injection Reaction) pump, before you start thinking that's some horribly Google-mashed translation of the German version of supercharger, is an emissions control device. When the car's cold it pumps fresh air directly into the exhaust manifold. This dumps oxygen into the hot exhaust gases, which combusts with unburnt fuel from the rich-running engine. This cuts emissions and also has a knock-on benefit - it raises the exhaust temperature which causes the catalytic convertors to warm up faster, further reducing emissions. I decided that the logical, and fastest, thing to do would be to cut the belt off and run the car without it - to check that it was the actual fault.  After losing a lot of skin and half an hour of my life, to the radiator shroud and waterpump housing, I decided that this was, in fact, a stupid idea. There simply wasn't enough room to get anything in there to have any meaningful cutting effect on it. Have you ever tried sawing through a modern V-belt? They're damned tough. I moved on and removed the radiator shroud, which took all of ten seconds, allowing me quick access to the belt in question - and I had it removed in about another 30 seconds. I must remember to make jobs simple for myself. Anyway, the belt wasn't in fantastic condition:   So, fingers crossed, that'd solved it. It hadn't. I drove back from my quick test drive a bit annoyed. I had a poke around the rest of the engine bay and came to the conclusion that it definitely was a belt issue, but it must be the power steering or waterpump/alternator belt. Then it hit me, like a truck. Remember this?: The new viscous coupling I fitted last week. Fitting it meant that the cooling fan was now working properly. This meant that the load on the waterpump belt - which drives the waterpump, which the cooling fan is driven off - had gone through the roof. That's why this squealing noise had suddenly appeared and also why it was intermittent. As the engine heated up, the fan would engage and cause the belt to rub and squeal as a result of the increased load. When it cooled, the belt would get an easier job and the noise would disappear. A quick visit to ECP's website had me a trio of fanbelts on order. Well, I lie. I ended up ordering five as there were different versions available and I wasn't going to play the "well, this one doesn't quite fit" game on Saturday. I'll simply send the belts back that I don't need. The car's due to be displayed at Supercar Sunday ( www.supercarsunday.co.uk/) so I'll be replacing the belts, doing some minor paintwork and changing the oil before then. Expect an update soon! In other news, I'm still loving this ol' beast and it's making quite a mark. To bolster its credentials with me, I recently got my insurance renewal through for it. Fully comprehensive, including commuting use, full UK & European breakdown, windscreen cover, agreed valuation, legal cover and unlimited mileage on my new policy came to......... .................. £225. Onwards! |
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Last Edit: Jun 22, 2011 5:57:14 GMT by Lewis
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Jun 21, 2011 20:14:55 GMT
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I found this 2800 fitted with an S38 and triple 50 carbs too:
Suddenly found myself lusting the idea of gutting my car, making it clean and as light as possible, then turning it into some Nascar-style hot-rod with minimal electronics and carbs.
Then maybe a blower.
Another time, maybe......
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Last Edit: Jun 21, 2011 20:15:56 GMT by Lewis
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Jun 21, 2011 21:33:36 GMT
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Think that's just plain perfect as it is.... Stunning car and I'm most jealous!
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Jun 22, 2011 15:22:34 GMT
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Absolutely gorgeous and I love reading your posts and the fact you are really looking after the car. I'm very jealous!
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'86 E30. '86 E28. '92 E32. '97 Laguna. '98 March. '00 A4. '05 Focus.
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