eta Mods?

[e30trooper]

i miss my eta.. Wasn't fast but wasn't slow. Id stay with the 325i guys in the mountains with ease (better power band for 2nd and 3rd going up hill) Very fun! My vert is much faster than my eta was but i miss that super low end tq. My eta put down 88WHP at 4900rpms and 118 foot lbs of tq at 2200 rpms, wasn't chipped and had plenty of intake leaks. Could easily pop the rear end out when needed.

[e30trooper]

325i w/ 3.73

325e with 2.93


^^ super eta cluster with eta coding chip if your wondering why it has a 5500 rpm redline.
dyno

[72ratcamaro]

so what your saying is my 4.10lsd is to much in my ETA?

[Albuquerque30]

i miss my eta.. Wasn't fast but wasn't slow. Id stay with the 325i guys in the mountains with ease (better power band for 2nd and 3rd going up hill) Very fun! My vert is much faster than my eta was but i miss that super low end tq. My eta put down 88WHP at 4900rpms and 118 foot lbs of tq at 2200 rpms, wasn't chipped and had plenty of intake leaks. Could easily pop the rear end out when needed.

That's exactly how I feel about mine. Wasn't a Ferrari, but definitely wasn't a Daewoo. Haha. The torque made the car fun for me.

[mikejungle]

Did any of the e30's come with 3.46 lsd's or are the 3.46 lsd mods from other cars?

and how is it that an ebay chip is ok when there's noticeable differences between other performance chips? I would understand if the ebay chips claim to be a knockoff of a particular brand, but i don't think they note that.

[Lee Harvey]

What noticeable difference between other performance chips? they are all rip offs that could be sold for $50 or less and still be HIGHLY profitable for the companies selling them. NONE of them are dyno tested or proven by the manufacturer with only limited, pointless third party evidence to show gains. They all do the exact same thing, some to varying degree, but within the same margin of safety, and therefor same margin of gains.

If you need help choosing an ebay chip just tell me your ecu number and i will find you what you need from ebay.

Conversely, you could swap over to motronic 1.3 harness, and crank trigger wheel/reference sensor, and get a $500 plug and play megasquirt unit, delete the afm, and pick up about as much power as possible from an m20 without changing internals or adding boost, but at that point you'd be looking at a head swap as well, or just swapping in an m20b25 to start with.

Just trust me, and save yourself $180 or whatever the difference is now, and get an ebay chip, they are the same chips that all do the exact same thing.

spend your money for mods elsewhere, don't go brand name on a stupid eprom chip that legitimately should not in any way cost more than $50 for a name brand company even.

And no, no e30 comes with 3.46 rear end. And don't make choosing a rear end a headache for yourself, get a 2.93ls or 3.25lsd. If you want shorter gear (stupid, and useless, but feels really powerful, even though you will actually be slower/less quick) 3.73lsd is the most common lsd to get ahold of as it came in the most cars.

It's like my friend with an m30 swapped e30 and the guy we know who also has one... my friends car technically should be making slightly less horsepower on older motronic than the other one, and it feels slower to ride in/drive, because the other guys has a shorter rear end. But side by side you line them up and the taller rear ended e30 walks away... just straight walks away steadily.

Honestly, my first e30 started life as an eta, and had the 2.93 rear end in still when I frist dropped in the m20b25, and even though it is much more violent feeling with a 3.73, it pulled better with the 2.93 probably, I enjoyed it a lot, the problem was as a daily driver, the gearing there is wayyyyy to tall for an m20b25 and you are well under the 4krpm crossover where the m20 really wants to pull hard, and it doesn't have the balls to move around like an eta at low rpm.

[e30trooper]

so what your saying is my 4.10lsd is to much in my ETA?

umm yes haha. You wanna be doing 80mph on the freeway @ 4000rpms? I seen a eta with a 410 at the track. Seriously it was like like 1,2,3rd gear in a few sec's and was still slow. Find a 3.25diff from a e28 535is.

[Stephen]

headswap

[Mercury[BKM]]

3.73 and a chip thats it.

then save for an m30 swap while doing suspension and other junk

least thats my eta plans in a nutshell

[igor2]

Really, I am just posting to have this thread bookmarked in my posts ...

I am inching to buy an 87 non-"e" ETA from a friend. Come January, I Will revive this thread to ask specific questions not yet answered .

Thus far it seems I am planning right:
1) belt + water pump
2) head screws and gasket
3) anything worn out (mounts, bushings, lines)
4) electrical gremlins (the car has a few)
5) shift linkages / short shifter
6) chip
7) lower-geared LSD (so it seems 3.92 is the sweet spot?)
8) brakes
9) paint (the car's paint is well oxidized)

I should be a happy man with this little eta.

Oh here is Charlie's glamor shot - it has been driven by my friend since 1994:

[iwantspeed]

I had a 325e 1987 before my 1989 325i
i had a chip in it and was on the hunt for a 325lsd from a 535i and just never had the chance to buy one.

i stripped power steering ac, trunk tar, and did basic maintenance and the car was pretty fun to drive around town.
a 3.73 would be too much. a 3.25 would be perfect.
i was upset that i sold the car before having the chance to do it.

[mikejungle]

oh...I have to get the 3.25 from a 535? Does that mean I have to get a different cover?

And Lee, I will hit you up with the ecu later. Thanks.

[iwantspeed]

oh...I have to get the 3.25 from a 535? Does that mean I have to get a different cover?

And Lee, I will hit you up with the ecu later. Thanks.

yes and the output shafts
basically buy a diff online or from a junkyard
reuse your cover and output shafts
you could also put in a new diff bushing and some redline fluid.

[long tall eta]

oh...I have to get the 3.25 from a 535? Does that mean I have to get a different cover?

And Lee, I will hit you up with the ecu later. Thanks.

the cover from the diff in the car now will bolt right on. just a remove and replace thing. do not get the 3.73. 1st gear will be ( for all practical purposes ) useless. get the 3.25 lsd you can find them around from the 535's and just swap the cover plate or you might get lucky and get 1 with the plats already changed like i did. check ebay, or the various bmw forums. they are not as plentyfull as the 373's but there out there. and oh yea, get the ebay chip and save yourself a hundred or 2

[mikejungle]

Hey guys...how do i tell which ecu I have?
It had 3 sets of numbers:
0 261 200 027
078
1 708 643.9