long time bimmer lover, first time owner.

[trackjunkie21]

Well first off I would love to introduce myself, My name is Kamil, I had just recently turned 16 and I have been in love with bmw's ever since my dads first bmw ( 1985 e23 ). I promised myself I will own a bmw of my own in the years to come. So 2 days ago I get a phone call from my dad saying there is a 1986 325e for sale with only 86k miles. All the car needs is a engine mount and it is good to go. So now I am a proud owner of a 1 owner 86k mile e30. So here is my question, All maintenance has been taken care of. I would love to add some mods to it to make it a little more sporty, I know it's an eta but still just anything would really help. Sadly it is an automatic and I would need to swap in a 5 speed but being only 16 I really do not have the funds right now. I heard 4.10 rear diff but it's an automatic I would guess that would make it suck on the highway correct? What about a new cam? Would an i cam work fine? Sorry for all the noob questions. I will have pictures of the car later today or tomorrow :p

[Farbin Kaiber]

Awaiting pics. Congrats on the score, getting an e30 can be a wonderful occasion.

[Goya20]

welcome! fellow nyc r3v

[trackjunkie21]

Thanks guys for the welcome! Now can anyone answer any of my question? Is there any differential that can help performance but wouldn't hurt highway driving too much? And also I see headers for the car but they are all for the manual transmission cars

[trackjunkie21]

bump! need some help

[whodwho]

Leave it and drive it, do maintence as needed.
Later autos came with a 4:10 but not thinking the eta did.
A chip if available might give it usable bump

[deutschman]

i would just do small mods for now till you have money and knowledge to do the big mods correctly. stick with some bolt on parts for now and maybe a suspension/wheels & tires.
search around the forum for mod ideas for your eta. there is a lot of info that has already been covered on this subject. when ever i get a car i always start with maintenance (which you have already taken care of) and then i move to the suspension. a good suspension set up really makes a huge difference. sway bars, struts, springs, bushings, ball joints, control arms, and tie rods are all things you have to look forward to. also always remember not to get carried away and start spending money on parts you really do not need. the first e30 i bought i spent $600 on aluminum control arms... why? because i was young and dumb and thought they were cool, but i really did not need them at all.

[Farbin Kaiber]

I have driven stock and chipped eta's, the difference is noticeable. That and ignition system maintenance, you'll be good to go.

[trackjunkie21]

I have driven stock and chipped eta's, the difference is noticeable. That and ignition system maintenance, you'll be good to go.

Alright I wasn't planning on much for the engine until later on with the e to i head swap after a 5 speed swap. Can anyone chime in and tell me about the differential? I would like a little bit more oomph.