HVAC seals...?

[jdirty]

When i'm driving with the ac or heat i can easily smell the outside.
like exhaust fumes from traffic and the like even with the recirc on.
i normally just close the vents and overtake but is there some sort of seal that needs to be replaced?

[jlevie]

Unless the recirculation button is engaged, the HVAC system draws outside air in from the vents in the cowl.

[jdirty]

But this also occurs with the recirc button engaged..
does this sound like a microfilter issue?
looks like a pain to get to. :(

[Todd Black 88]

No, it sounds like your flaps, or cables are not working correctly.........or your windows are open.:)

[AndrewBird]

There is no filter on e30s. Only cars that had no AC came with a filter.

[jdirty]

No, it sounds like your flaps, or cables are not working correctly.........or your windows are open.:)

my cables are fine. I meant to say that my only remedy is to close the flaps using the three slide/toggles.

There is no filter on e30s. Only cars that had no AC came with a filter.

I must've been seeing the non ac hvac system in realOEM.

EDIT:
I realized that my problem might really just be the recirc function.
Found an awesome thread that sounds a lot like my dilemma