First e30 .. Couple questions & some pics

[bimmershark]

nice i got a bronzit 325i myself (tho yours has been painted )..great cars ..

[HarryPotter]

That thing exposed I believe is an altitude meter.

That motor is definitely an m20b27.

[Strelok]

Yeah you have an eta motor. Sounds like someone put a cluster from an M20B25 (or M42) in. Check your DME to be sure you have the right electronics...you don't want to be revving that motor past 5000 RPM

[MeinBMW]

Yeah you have an eta motor. Sounds like someone put a cluster from an M20B25 (or M42) in. Check your DME to be sure you have the right electronics...you don't want to be revving that motor past 5000 RPM

What do I need to look for, or do I just need to look on the outside of it and see what it says ... and where is the DME haha :)

So revving past 4500 is bad then huh .. seems like it makes power all the way to 6k, but I don't really want to break anything either ... suppose I should take it easy on it

Are the B27 worth keeping, or should I just think about swapping to something else ... as I said I'd be happy with probably around 175 to the wheels

[HarryPotter]

I'm not positive on this but I think the tachs lying to you.

[MeinBMW]

I'm not positive on this but I think the tachs lying to you.

Guess the best way to figure it out is to toss it on a dyno ... gonna have to try and bring it over to my buddies shop ... where is a good place to pick up a tach signal?

[Strelok]

Sounds to me like your cluster was pulled from a 318. Does it say VDO on it?

[MeinBMW]

Sounds to me like your cluster was pulled from a 318. Does it say VDO on it?

Just went and snapped a pic ... says MotoMeter on it, so I'm guessing thats some aftermarket replacement ... I'd also assume then that the mileage on it is completely wrong and it probably has quite a bit more haha

[ck_taft325is]

What does it say on the inside of the driver's side door? If this has been covered, check the vin at Realoem.com, maybe?

[Strelok]

wrong coding plug maybe?

[Dermeister3]

nah thats a factory Cluster, just from a different car.

so theres really no way to tell how many miles. but just do the basic maintenance and youll have a fun car.

[MeinBMW]

What does it say on the inside of the driver's side door? If this has been covered, check the vin at Realoem.com, maybe?

Didn't even think about that durr .. it says 325e

wrong coding plug maybe?

/shrug no clue

[MeinBMW]

nah thats a factory Cluster, just from a different car.

so theres really no way to tell how many miles. but just do the basic maintenance and youll have a fun car.

that is the plan .. I do want a bit more power though .. is the B27 modable or do people usually start with the B25 or things like M50s and whatnot?

Thanks again for all the help everyone .. you guys have been great :)

[ck_taft325is]

Well, my third e30 was an '84 325e (m20b27 for sure) with an "I" tac that the PO put in so the gauges would light up (d'oh!). It would "pull" to 6,000 RPM but in actuality, it probably wasn't. It read as if it was, but from what I understand the DME still hits the limiter at the same time. I money shifted it and thankfully got the clutch in before any damage occured (sloppy shifters suuuuck). It reved all the way up to what seemed to be 6,100 on my tac but clipped out pretty hard and then died.

I'm not positive, hopefully someone more experienced chimes in but if he had an ETA coding plug in a I cluster, wouldn't it correctly read, you just couldn't take it to redline?

[ck_taft325is]

Didn't even think about that durr .. it says 325e

Got yourself an E ;) Enjoy the gas mileage. With the right diff. you can pull 30-33 mpg freeway.