valve adjustments how do you like'm?

[e30pdee]

alright guys a ive gone through enough threads to the point where my head hurts. do you guys adjust your valves tight or loose, personally i do them snug at .25mm or .10in cold. but some people go as low as .08in on cold or even .06in saying that it makes it quieter, but doesnt that risk the chance of burnt valves? on other threads ive read that the valves are adjust at .12in or .30mm on cold saying that it will increase performence. what gets me the most is the drag some people slam the eccentric on the feeler other leave enough room to let it slide out. how do you adjust your valves? tight like a virgin or loose like a wizards sleeve?

[CHIF8008]

i run em at .10in stone cold. although iv heard people run the exhaust tighter but i dont wanna risk anything. or was it the intake? i cant remember

i think that any tighter, and you increase wear by a huge amount on the cam lobes.

i try for a drag, but this last time i did them with a bit more drag. i have quite a bit of miles on my engine and think that running them with a bit more drag might help with any wear that has occurred over the years.

[Raxe]

Semi-loose at 0.10 cold. You want to be able to pull the feeler out, but you also want to have to work a bit for it.

I have no valve tick with the above technique.

[bddog]

.010 and a "no go" at .020 . Dead cold. I always start it up and re-check. In the valves that will not stay adjusted , I replace the eccentrics . Compared to other vehicles, E30s seem to to be normally a tad bit noisy. Specs are there for a reason.

[paperplane94]

Loose is the safer bet.

Can't have burned valves. Then the engine will be very quiet.

[cholyoke]

I like mine to be 0.010". 0.10" is a tad loose.

[e30conv2]

0.10 I like that spec. I perform valve adjustment on my M20 every six months.

[jlevie]

On a head that I know to be in excellent condition (recently rebuilt) I'll use cold settings of 0.006" for the intakes and 0.008" for the exhausts. Otherwise, 0.010" for both. Tighter settings mean very slightly greater valve opening and thus very slightly greater flow, which yields a tiny increment of performance.

The best way to adjust the valves is the use the BMW spring tool or it's equivalent. That removes subjective judgement of how much drag to put on the feeler. And as a bonus it is easier and faster.

[paperplane94]

this?:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...ment%2C%20Each

[jlevie]

Yes.