I love my E30 ETA = am I the only one?

[lukeADE335i]

I loved my etas, daily drove for them for almost 10 years, did autox and even a HPDE weekend in one and had lots of fun. I'd never really driven a faster car until I got my e36 328i, but even then, with a chip and 325i exhaust my e was still a fun, competent car to zip around in that got decent mpg. When I got my 325i it obviously felt faster being able to rev it out but honestly I was expecting more and was a bit underwhelmed.

Not surprising given the eta has more torque than the 325i - for a street car if you’re staying under 4k rpm, there wouldn’t be much in it & if it were an auto then the differences would be even less if both had the same diff ratio. For a street car, torque at low revs makes for a better drive in most situations.

[packratbimmer]

My favorite E30 was a Euro 1984 318iA that i swapped to an eta and 5-speed. The car was very light and a blast to drive. Gotta' love all that torque!

[E30 Wagen]

I loved my etas, daily drove for them for almost 10 years, did autox and even a HPDE weekend in one and had lots of fun. I'd never really driven a faster car until I got my e36 328i, but even then, with a chip and 325i exhaust my e was still a fun, competent car to zip around in that got decent mpg. When I got my 325i it obviously felt faster being able to rev it out but honestly I was expecting more and was a bit underwhelmed. I always wonder if the eta I had (with the chip and exhaust) was particularly healthy and strong, and if the 325i I had was down on power.

Knowing what I know now, if I could go back 20 years to collect e30s I'd still like to get another 325es. The unique 'es' valence has a special place in my heart, but I'd get the shorter '88 bumper shocks, and I'd complete the look with Zender side skirts and rear apron for that supreme mid-80's NA spec look haha. I think it'd also be fun to build a euro eta - early high compression pistons with a 731 head swap, euro bumpers with a zender/kamei/pfeba/bbs/mtech1/etc kit.

[atmh]

Well, so far nobody with an ETA seems to feel like me!

I think I only get about 20mpg with the 'conforti' chip, the upgraded diff and driving with my foot on the floor quite a bit.

The way people here are talking about the eta makes me wonder if they've ever actually driven one. A 120hp car is not *that* slow, especially when it weighs only 2600lbs. Sure, a more powerful car can certainly make passing more of a breeze, but I never had any issues driving my eta in stock form on the highway or anything like that. It has plenty of power to be fun. The eta is only a little bit worse power/weight than an NA Miata, which is also a total blast to drive completely stock.

Just because my e30 is a project car doesn't mean I don't have love for the eta: I do. :)

For what it's worth, my dad always had a love for diesel cars. This might put things in a little bit of perspective: A 1981 VW Rabbit diesel has only 52hp, and my dad had a small army of those cars growing up. They also had a 1978 Mercedes 300SD - another pitifully slow diesel car. If people think the 325e is "slow" they simply haven't driven an actually slow car. Etas have plenty of power to be fun. (Caveat: If you're at elevation, especially >5000ft, an eta might feel pretty darn slow. I'm just talking at sea level)

[cirrusblue]

Well, so far nobody with an ETA seems to feel like me!

I think I only get about 20mpg with the 'conforti' chip, the upgraded diff and driving with my foot on the floor quite a bit.

[TobyB]

I wonder if those big bumpers really absorb parking impacts.

Hell, they hold off Ian Alexander at PIR! So yes, they do work great.

As to eta, where it's not out of its element is in front of an auto box stuck in traffic. Nothing wrong
with it as a cruiser, loafing along getting good mileage.

I wouldn't hesitate to daily one around here- yep, with the biggie bummpies, too.

t

[uturn]

In Houston..... An E30 without power mods is irrelevant and best kept to side streets and the slow lane. When everyone driving a camry/accord/ford pickup does XXmph there just isn't enough power to make XXmph to pass and catch your exit. Your 325e would be best as a Sunday driver here.

But the "eta" was built to combat the oil crisis.... it'll see its second coming among the EVs.

[atmh]

Every good, clean running, well maintained e30 is excellent. Big HP is overrated. I loved my eta when it was stock, and I love it modified. Either way, I loved it. I'm not going back to stock at this point, but one key component I'm adding with my latest restoration/rebuild is a dial-a-boost electronic boost controller. I want it mostly so I can run my car at "low power" because that's simply more fun most of the time. I'll save full boost for the track or the occasional open stretch of road.

[cirrusblue]

Yes this is the idea!

I mean no disrespect to anyone, esp. guys who are great at swaps and who like really fast e30's.

But, i posted that kind of just rying to see if there are any folks in here that like their ETA's and work on their cars and do things but it's not so much about making the car as fast as they can.
I started to realized I actually felt bad, that I wasn't trying to turbo my car, build a stroker, or engine swap or getting rid of my bumpers. Why? I guess I thought it wasn't cool to other guys.

But I really enjoy my car - and I can drive it fast enough to suit my needs.

I was curious who else may be doing things with their eta, or just enjoying it as kind of another side of the e30 world...

[varg]

I wonder if any of the originality-obsessed collectors will eventually be looking to spend big money on the lowly eta because it will get to the point where a majority of the surviving cars in good condition have been swapped or otherwise modified. A clean, all-stock, survivor eta ticks all the right boxes for collectors. They have cars so they can drone on about the history and pedigree of the car and wouldn't know the difference between eta and 325i performance anyway because they only drive the cars slowly to shows

[lukeADE335i]

As a 320d owner, I can see the appeal of an ETA as a daily drive. The high torque / low revs thing doesn’t really matter so much in a daily, and with the 3.25 gearing they would work just fine, similar to a diesel. Your car looks great too.

Still, every time the M30 throws me back in the seat I still smile driving my e30 (had it out today )

[Joe Bacal]

What is it with you forum jokers, (roguetoaster, Vincenze) this guy is simply just saying he likes his eta. I also have an eta and I didn't buy this particular car to win races. Been in the industry a long time and this is exactly why I am not a fan of forums. Lots of great information and mostly really good people but these jabs are what turns me off. Usually keyboard racers talk like this....you do you

[rudy]

I wonder if those big bumpers really absorb parking impacts.

They have for me. Some elderly man backed into me at a recycling center and absolutely nothing happened. I think they take those lighter parking impacts pretty well.

In response to OP's post, I also love my eta and the early model look. I've driven a handful of other enthusiast cars and while my eta is one of the slowest, the torque curve of the eta makes it one of the most fun cars to drive as a daily imo. Still though, I plan to find out what a different engine within my e30 feels like eventually.

[Vincenze]

I wonder if those big bumpers really absorb parking impacts.

[venerated]

I have an ES ETA and I plan to leave it stock.

I also have other "fast" cars. I understand why people who only have the ETA would want to change it's power, but there's nothing wrong with leaving it the way it is either.