325ix newb

[WKirkwood]

Hey! just picked up an alpine white e30 325ix for $500 on craigslist. I've spent a few years tuning. Mostly with SAAB's and VW's and figured I'd try something new.
The 325ix has 133k original miles and came with a ton of new/used parts. It is a little rusty and soft in some spots but nothing I cant take care of.

So since I'm new to BMW let alone the ix I was just wondering if someone could place me in the right direction of tuning... Parts and upgrades to look into for the m20. Mind you this isn't a daily driver. Just a side project for restore/performance.

Part of me is leaning toward turbocharging and yes I will do some searching on the topic... The m20 can take what? 400-450 on healthy stock internals but I'm kind of weary about the drivetrain. Some say that the awd doesn't hold up well and others say with fluid changes and proper maintenance everything will be fine.

[Dude]

Clean it up and getting running really good and enjoy it.

Turbo a 325is or something

[Stevo-iX]

the front diff is where the ix drivetrain gets weak.
it won't easily be able to handle over 400.
AFAIK the front diff is know to give out at about 350ish depending on how many harsh launches you do and what not.

Welcome to r3v, and to owning an iX

[jasonsnoddy]

put an ///M badge on the grill.

[nando]

Hey! just picked up an alpine white e30 325ix for $500 on craigslist. I've spent a few years tuning. Mostly with SAAB's and VW's and figured I'd try something new.
The 325ix has 133k original miles and came with a ton of new/used parts. It is a little rusty and soft in some spots but nothing I cant take care of.

So since I'm new to BMW let alone the ix I was just wondering if someone could place me in the right direction of tuning... Parts and upgrades to look into for the m20. Mind you this isn't a daily driver. Just a side project for restore/performance.

Part of me is leaning toward turbocharging and yes I will do some searching on the topic... The m20 can take what? 400-450 on healthy stock internals but I'm kind of weary about the drivetrain. Some say that the awd doesn't hold up well and others say with fluid changes and proper maintenance everything will be fine.

those would be people with no actual ix experience. although the M20 can withstand 400-450 totally stock, it's definitely easier to get there with some mods. be careful of detonation, the stock pistons will break ring lands. I'd honestly be more worried about breaking the engine at 400-450hp than the drivetrain.

at 133k the drivetrain should be in good shape. Search on youtube for "325ix jack test" to see how to check your VC. VCs shouldn't normally fail unless it was abused (run with mismatched tires, towed with 2 wheels on the ground, etc). Check CV boots and replace them if they are ripped (www.elephantmotorsports is a great source for ix boots). Make sure that T-case isn't leaking fluid, it holds less than a quart of ATF.

also, see my sig ;)

Clean it up and getting running really good and enjoy it.

Turbo a 325is or something

what?

the front diff is where the ix drivetrain gets weak.
it won't easily be able to handle over 400.
AFAIK the front diff is know to give out at about 350ish depending on how many harsh launches you do and what not.

Welcome to r3v, and to owning an iX

nonsense. There's no established torque limit to the ix drivetrain. There are also people with way over 400hp.

besides, torque is what breaks stuff, not HP. if you aren't going to drag race it all the time, build it for as much power as you like. Look into having the front driveshaft splines lengthened (from 3/4" engagement to 1.5"), make sure everything is sealed and lubricated, and it will last a long, long time.

[Stevo-iX]

nonsense. There's no established torque limit to the ix drivetrain. There are also people with way over 400hp.

besides, torque is what breaks stuff, not HP. if you aren't going to drag race it all the time, build it for as much power as you like. Look into having the front driveshaft splines lengthened (from 3/4" engagement to 1.5"), make sure everything is sealed and lubricated, and it will last a long, long time.

I was going off what I've heard people say around here all the time, but of course...it's the internet. Don't believe half the crap you hear.
Good to know though, 3.0L stroker M50 going in next week :D -not that that'll be over 400 or anything...we'll see if the future has a turbo in mind.

And yeah I know, it's just how most people who judge a car's specs don't know that HP = CALCULATED FROM TORQUE haha torque is what you really feel moving the car.

You've probably answered this one a quite a few times, best place in WA for the spline lengthening? -I have robbieosterman's old iX, he used to have a lengthened one until the end snapped off.

[nando]

yeah, he swears it just failed, but he had to have messed it up somehow, or something else happened. I've had mine for 5 years and done hundreds of hard launches, track/autox and thousands of miles without a problem. He's the only person I ever heard of breaking one.

No place in WA I know of that does ix shafts specifically, but the guy who did mine still does them. His contact info was recently posted on E30tech, I really need to copy that down..

[nando]

got it:

Jim Smith
jcb215s@yahoo.com
1-906-458-6005

John Smith
2176 M-28E
Marquette, MI 49855

[WKirkwood]

Luckily the guy threw in a mint front diff. no leaks in the whole car other than the valve cover and window trim haha. I'm on break right now poking through some tuning sites and have come across tons of turbo kits for the M20. A lot of which are out of my price range. The combination of TCD parts and bits and pieces from ATP turbo might be the best way. Stage 1 TCD I think ended up being 300hp 300ftlbs. I'll post a list of upgrades I'd like to start putting aside. Also take pictures of the progress. Ill take any advice people have to offer.

btw this weekend the ix will be getting a full tune up and maybe all new gaskets. Few paychecks later... suspension and brake upgrades.

[Stevo-iX]

much thanks nando, I'll be copying this down

[nomansland92]

congratulations on the ix, post some pictures up when you get a chance. I bought my ix as a summer project and have it done by winter. There's cars do rust a lot because there winter cars and people never prep there cars the right way before hand or even properly taking care of them during the winter. There fun cars to drive but if i were you i would start with body work and rust repair in my oponion because its easy to swap the motor. Heres some places i would check for rust if you havn't already
front of floor boards
above exhaust
bottom of trunk corners
trunk licence plate lights
strut towers
sun roof
and if it still have the ix side molding/flares check under them the car hold mositure sometimes.
hope this help a bit and good luck with the car

[WKirkwood]

[WKirkwood]

needs all new gaskets. by the way how do you guys feel about schmiedmann.com. I think I might buy my suspension and exhaust off them.

get rid of any rot, valve cover gasket, shorty headers, lowtec suspension kit, strut bar, m30 AFM swap, K&N cone, chip.

Ive already repainted my grill flat black and deciding on if I should paint the side texture trim white to match or leave it black.

[nando]

schmiedmann can be ok, they have a lot of good euro stuff, but shop around for sure. and be careful with ix suspension. Almost everything is too low and too soft. Something like the lowtec suspension definitely fits in that category, as it's not meant for the ix.

I'd also really probe the rust around the strut towers or anywhere structural. You don't want structural areas breaking if you plan on really boosting this thing.

also shorty headers aren't much of an upgrade - even if you got them free, the cost of having the downpipe modified to fit is more than what they are worth. repair the stock exhaust or get some decent mid length or long tube headers. Especially if you're going turbo, don't throw away money on headers.

[WKirkwood]

the car is super sluggish with a hard to press gas pedal. new wires, plugs, fuel injectors, distributer cap, drop in air filter have been installed. i do have an exhaust leak between the manifold and cat pipe. i feel like the car should have a little more oomph even with the leak. i need to just dump some money on the AFM and chip. the throttle response is terrible.