First post...Long question and pics.

[Gleb]

Hello r3vlimited,
As you can see it s my first post, but I am sure not the last.

I have a 1987 325i with 240.000kms (about 150.000miles), that is mostly used on the track/autoX, the only time it spends on the street is when driven to/from track.
Anyway, here is my looong question.
The transmission needs to be rebuilt/replaced, so I took a look at Metric Mechanic's site and of course it's impossible not to look at the MM engines while there. Since I was planing on rebuilding the engine as well over the winter, it got me thinking about an MM 2900 engine.
I did many searches on MM, but found very little info, mostly just specific part stuff.
I plan to keep this car FOREVER, so what I want to know is, if anyone has any FIRST HAND experience with their engine/tranny/diff, any problems, etc...
Reliability is of great importance to me.
I know that most people will say that MM=$$$, but I don't mind if it's worth it.

Couple of pics of my car:

[s52e368]

nice pics...


but you need skirts

[Gleb]

maybe, but skirts will not make my car any faster:)

[s52e368]

maybe, but skirts will not make my car any faster:)

neither will those bumpers

[Dave]

Gleb,

Welcome to our little corner of the internet. I like your car (save for the bumpers - but hey, its your car, if you like them . . . ).

Look around, and you'll find that most e30 owners are broke-ass kids - college age ( or in many of their cases junior college). Or they are people like me, who have an e30 as an extra, disposable fun car.

As a result, not too many people are willing to shell out the coin for MM stuff. your engine swappers here are mostly guys getting junkyard M50s are dropping them in.

I hear good things about Metric Mechanic stuff, but can't say I have any first hand knowledge.


BTW, I loves a clean sexy track-rat 4 door. What roll-bar do you have? i am in the market for one and am trying to decide which one to get.

[Gleb]

neither will those bumpers

Actually they do, they are much lighter then the old diving boards

[s52e368]

Actually they do, they are much lighter then the old diving boards

does the weight loss even out the drag

[FredK]

does the weight loss even out the drag

Downforce son, downforce.

:loco: :mrgreen:

If you have like 5000-6000 to drop on a MM engine, you could probably do an S50 swap with some bolt on goodies, and if you are a serious stickler for weight distribution you could do a stroker M52 from the 97-98 Z3 for around the same price. But, these configurations depend on your labor, otherwise costs will skyrocket.

[Gleb]

Gleb,

Welcome to our little corner of the internet. I like your car (save for the bumpers - but hey, its your car, if you like them . . . ).

Thank you,
Yeah, I am not too crazy about them either, but they are much lighter than the old diving boards. I am looking around for something E30 M3 looks wise, how is this place for quality:http://www.fiberartz.com/wwwfiber.html, I've seen some very nice CF stuff from Germany, but very $$$.

Look around, and you'll find that most e30 owners are broke-ass kids - college age ( or in many of their cases junior college). Or they are people like me, who have an e30 as an extra, disposable fun car.

I know what you mean, and while I am not a kid, I just have regular job and don't make tons of $, but nothing's too good for my baby, I live for track days:loco:

As a result, not too many people are willing to shell out the coin for MM stuff. your engine swappers here are mostly guys getting junkyard M50s are dropping them in.

I hope I don't offend anyone, but M20 rules, and swapping for an S50/52 is sacrilegious in my opinion, plus doing it right will cost just as much if not more, but what the hell do I know, to each...

I hear good things about Metric Mechanic stuff, but can't say I have any first hand knowledge.

That is what I've heard, but almost no first hand experience.


BTW, I loves a clean sexy track-rat 4 door. What roll-bar do you have? i am in the market for one and am trying to decide which one to get.

I have a half cage built by Raven, but the shop is in Toronto, Canada, I will go to full cage soon as well. His name is John Dimoff, he built pretty much everyone's cage in our club, very good work, I don't know his web address, but if you search Raven Performance I am sure it will turn up, very knowledgeable guy too, he races what he builds.

[Gleb]

does the weight loss even out the drag

Have no idea

[Gleb]

BTW, I loves a clean sexy track-rat 4 door. What roll-bar do you have? i am in the market for one and am trying to decide which one to get.[/quote]

http://www.ravenperformance.com/

[nando]

I don't have a full MM motor, only their 2.8l pistons (im using an 81mm e crank). Honestly though, if you want an N/A stroker M20, MM is the way to go. if you don't mind spending the coin, look into the 3000 with their high-flow head. the 84mm stroke/86mm bore makes for a shit-ton of torque and with their piston design you can run more timing advance without worrys of detonation. they are designed to run with the stock computer, intake, and exhaust, but you'd definitely see improvements with aftermarket tuning and intake/exhaust mods.

my car really isn't super fast or anything (it's still pretty heavy), but the torque of the motor and the awesome sound it makes puts a huge smile on my face every time I drive it. considering my ix can break the tires loose in 2nd gear on dry pavement, I don't think you'll be dissappointed at all with their motor in the much lighter 325i. I have to be careful with 1st gear in the rain though, I've ended up completely sideways a couple times :D

I believe their entire motor is around $8k. I built mine myself (including a rebuilt head), mostly for the experience, and to know that every nut and bolt on my motor was put on by me. but honestly I did not save that much money, and I'd bet that the MM engine would make more power. if I could do it again, I'd probably still build it myself, but I'd seriously consider going with their 3000 pistons and the 84mm crank. as is though, I'm very happy with what I have!

also, I know everyone always says "S50 swap!!!!11!" but you know, fuck it. there's just something about the simplicity of the M20 that I love, and you can still get plenty of power out of it for smiles. when everyone looks under your hood, they will think your motor is stock, you only have to tell them what's inside if you want to :)

[arsevader]

I have a half cage built by Raven, but the shop is in Toronto, Canada, I will go to full cage soon as well. His name is John Dimoff, he built pretty much everyone's cage in our club, very good work, I don't know his web address, but if you search Raven Performance I am sure it will turn up, very knowledgeable guy too, he races what he builds.

mmmmm Raven. They have built some pretty kick ass track machines.

[Gleb]

I don't have a full MM motor, only their 2.8l pistons (im using an 81mm e crank). Honestly though, if you want an N/A stroker M20, MM is the way to go. if you don't mind spending the coin, look into the 3000 with their high-flow head. the 84mm stroke/86mm bore makes for a shit-ton of torque and with their piston design you can run more timing advance without worrys of detonation. they are designed to run with the stock computer, intake, and exhaust, but you'd definitely see improvements with aftermarket tuning and intake/exhaust mods.

my car really isn't super fast or anything (it's still pretty heavy), but the torque of the motor and the awesome sound it makes puts a huge smile on my face every time I drive it. considering my ix can break the tires loose in 2nd gear on dry pavement, I don't think you'll be dissappointed at all with their motor in the much lighter 325i. I have to be careful with 1st gear in the rain though, I've ended up completely sideways a couple times :D

I believe their entire motor is around $8k. I built mine myself (including a rebuilt head), mostly for the experience, and to know that every nut and bolt on my motor was put on by me. but honestly I did not save that much money, and I'd bet that the MM engine would make more power. if I could do it again, I'd probably still build it myself, but I'd seriously consider going with their 3000 pistons and the 84mm crank. as is though, I'm very happy with what I have!

also, I know everyone always says "S50 swap!!!!11!" but you know, fuck it. there's just something about the simplicity of the M20 that I love, and you can still get plenty of power out of it for smiles. when everyone looks under your hood, they will think your motor is stock, you only have to tell them what's inside if you want to :)

Thanks, I was "afraid" of the positive review, guess I am gonna have to spend the big bucks. I am still going to ask around some more and think about my options, but it looks like MM is the way to go.

[ColdAccord]

damn, your car is so clean. pinstripes look good too. damn that thing would be soo hot with m tech, or plastic bumpers