Project: Budget Beater

[Budget Beater]

Big Update:

hello everyone. Well after some more repairs the car is finally up and running. the control arm needed to be replaced. I got all new brake pads front and rear and got rear cross drilled rotors for $20 for the pair. I also got the ATE powerslots for the front rotors. The racing seats also went in today with the harnesses. I also installed the M50 injectors today. The car runs smoother with the M50 injectors and it pulls harder mainly b/c the stock ones were clogged up from the crappy fuel that sat in them for years. In addition, the rear seats were taken out and the rear spare was taken out. Also, I installed the LTW Odyssey racing battery (only 15lbs vs. 50+ weight for stock batter). the car feels much much better than it did. the car is completely gutted out from the drivers seat back gut i need to take out more stuff from the front to balance out the weight removal. Not bad though b/c i took out about about 150+ lbs today. I can definitely tell the weight is off however now traction is a real issue. however I have found a S4.10 diff which i am tempted to get b/c its a limited slip. Is the 4.10 diff too short for 325i? how much does a S4.10 go for normally? Anyways the car is in good enough shape to get a baseline dyno so the dyno will be coming soon. just wanted to keep yall updated.

[Simon S]

i tried keeping all my costs itemized and recorded. that lasted about a week.

can totally relate.

[erik325i]

Is the 4.10 diff too short for 325i? how much does a S4.10 go for normally?

a 4.10 is a popular upgrade for 325i's. Personnally, I don't feel the need for it, but many people like theirs.
I have seen people get a 4.10 LSD for anywhere from $40 - $350. It all depends on how good you are at finding parts.

-Erik

[Budget Beater]

thx for the tips erik, ya i'll try and get the eibach springs/bilstein shocks for under $50 along with the 4.10 LSD for under $50, that would be a real accomplishment.

[Budget Beater]

I will be creating a microsoft Excel spreadsheet picture of the full price breakdown (no i haven't given up after a week, i have kept full record of everything). Hopefully i can get baseline by the end of the week. I am expecting high 120s, low 130's (i think thats a conservative yet safe estimate).

[erik325i]

thx for the tips erik, ya i'll try and get the eibach springs/bilstein shocks for under $50 along with the 4.10 LSD for under $50, that would be a real accomplishment.

Why get Eibach? Their almost the same spring rate as stock. e30 m3 springs are stiffer (and cheaper) than the Eibach Prokit.

The only way you will be able to get a 4.10 LSD for that cheap is to find one at a local junkyard. You won't find anyone asking only that little for theirs.

[h0lmes]

Why get Eibach? Their almost the same spring rate as stock. e30 m3 springs are stiffer (and cheaper) than the Eibach Prokit.

The only way you will be able to get a 4.10 LSD for that cheap is to find one at a local junkyard. You won't find anyone asking only that little for theirs.

And it better be a pick-and-pull because any junkyard that knows its shit isnt gonna let a 4.10 go for under a couple benjamins.

[The Fast One!]

I still love what you are doing man, got any pics?

[Digitalwave]

Big Update:

hello everyone. Well after some more repairs the car is finally up and running. the control arm needed to be replaced. I got all new brake pads front and rear and got rear cross drilled rotors for $20 for the pair. I also got the ATE powerslots for the front rotors. The racing seats also went in today with the harnesses. I also installed the M50 injectors today. The car runs smoother with the M50 injectors and it pulls harder mainly b/c the stock ones were clogged up from the crappy fuel that sat in them for years. In addition, the rear seats were taken out and the rear spare was taken out. Also, I installed the LTW Odyssey racing battery (only 15lbs vs. 50+ weight for stock batter). the car feels much much better than it did. the car is completely gutted out from the drivers seat back gut i need to take out more stuff from the front to balance out the weight removal. Not bad though b/c i took out about about 150+ lbs today. I can definitely tell the weight is off however now traction is a real issue. however I have found a S4.10 diff which i am tempted to get b/c its a limited slip. Is the 4.10 diff too short for 325i? how much does a S4.10 go for normally? Anyways the car is in good enough shape to get a baseline dyno so the dyno will be coming soon. just wanted to keep yall updated.

I'm guessing you are running equally shitty $50 tires to match the rest of the car, because traction shouldn't be an issue for you. A 4.10 LSD will only make it worse.

[kowalski]

I'm guessing you are running equally shitty $50 tires to match the rest of the car, because traction shouldn't be an issue for you. A 4.10 LSD will only make it worse.

it could be the huge power gains from the new injectors and rotors:D

[Budget Beater]

I'm guessing you are running equally shitty $50 tires to match the rest of the car, because traction shouldn't be an issue for you. A 4.10 LSD will only make it worse.

no it won't b/c right now i have open 3.73 diff, limited slip will help out more even though its a more aggressively geared diff.

[Budget Beater]

Hey guys, made dyno appointment tomorrow, hopefully should have some decent baseline numbers but im kinda skeptical b/c the car just still doesn't feel like its at full power, or maybe i just forgot what my old E30 felt like. we will see, i'll keep yall updated. .

[Budget Beater]

Dyno Results In!!!

hey guys,

well i finally got the baseline dyno taken care of today, the results were on a dynojet. I will note that the car was still not running very good and is still running rough but was much better than it was on the stock clogged injectors (baseline dyno with M50 injectors). The car's thermostat needs to be changed b/c it was getting real hot on the dyno so i need to address the car's cooling system.

The Car has 225K miles on it (which i believe is original motor). The final numbers were basically 133/133 HP/tq. They are good balanced numbers but are a tad bit low (roughly 160 crank HP) however for a car with 225k on the clock and running pretty crappy these numbers are nothing short of amazing, so i am very happy and my prediction of high 120's low 130's was correct. Unfortunately the place i dynoed at does not do A/F ratios but its obvious tuning above 4500 is out of wack on the graph based on the shape of the curve alone. I am very happy with the numbers so its a decent enough of a baseline.

Now the modding frenzy begins!! :) :D

[asubimmer]

pics please :)

[Budget Beater]

Pics coming soon...On a side note, after driving the car hard for a few days now i have noticed improved performance from the M50 injectors and the fuel pump no longer whines so i think all the restrictions in the fuel system have been taken care of. Also the brakes do an excellent job and really ram u into the seatbelts. The weight reduction also helped the braking and handling quite a bit but i need to get rid of this stock steering wheel, i feel like im driving a school bus. anyways updates coming quickly, take care.