eta Mods?

[mikejungle]

Hello ya'll...I think I'm slowly getting to the point where my car isn't in need of the "oh crap, if i don't replace this, it's gonna blow", type of work.

So I was wondering what the best route was.

I've heard, "just chip it and throw on an lsd and you'll have tons of fun".
I've also heard, "blow the engine and to hell and throw something new in".

Can I please get suggestions and detailed reasons why?

My car is already sitting lower than stock height, but I don't know what's on it. I plan on getting her new shocks, springs, and shoes, but I feel that's a bit more straightforward than trying to figure out which way to go with "engine" mods.

Thanks...and I'm a noob.

[davem]

what exactly is your question? lol

[Albuquerque30]

Chip is the easiest way to improve. My old eta was chipped and it was a day and night difference.

I was on Eibachs, stock wheels, e36m shifter, MarkD knockoff chip (got ripped off :() and had an assortment of shift knobs to mess around with. But it was a great combination for the car.

If you want to get more involved, look into i top end swaps, strokers, etc.

[JasonC]

It's y'all. not ya'll.

noob.....:p

[BoxDriver86]

http://www.strictlyeta.net/

There are also several articles on the different stroker motor options on this very site.
Believe it or not, there are folks out there like me who enjoy the eta.

[MrNatural]

3.25 LSD makes a big difference

[long tall eta]

http://www.strictlyeta.net/
There are also several articles on the different stroker motor options on this very site.
Believe it or not, there are folks out there like me who enjoy the eta.

I also luv my eta. eBay chip and a 325 LSD and what fun to drive. U will in no way, shape, or form be the fastest car out there but u will however not be the slowest car either. U will have all the handling characteristics and get approx 32 mpg highway on level road. I believe if u start nosing the engine with head swaps, striker mods, etc ur mpg will drop by 10 mpg

[Conki]

I have 3.73 LSD under mine, and I also put in a Z3 short shifter. I don't know if I have a chip, the only other eta I drove was my friend's, and it was slow as shit compared to mine with a 2.93 open diff.
A diff swap can change the car's character completely. I'd imagine a chip helps too.
If you don't mind having revs between 3000-3500 on the highway, a 3.73 LSD can be loads of fun. I like not having to downshift when overtaking someone on the highway in 5th gear:D

[mikejungle]

Sweet, thanks y'all (corrected) for the input.

how do i choose 3.73 VS 3.25 or other ratios?

and is the general consensus a markd chip over conforti or dinan?

and can anyone prime me or point me in the right direction for stroker mods? I'm not familiar with them and I don't understand which mod will help in what way...i'm still learning about cars. I've only done simple work on my car like suspension replacement and replacement of interior parts.

-edit-
btw, what's involved in throwing in the chip? Is it more than just unsoldering the old and soldering in the new? From what I've read so far, I plan on throwing in a MarkD.

[ohthejosh]

and can anyone prime me or point me in the right direction for stroker mods?

http://www.strictlyeta.net/
There are also several articles on the different stroker motor options on this very site.
Believe it or not, there are folks out there like me who enjoy the eta.

[Varinn]

I've got an '84 eta that I've been driving a few months now. It started out bone stock, first things first I threw in a set of H&R/Bilstein sports and a 15x7 wheel setup. I rocked this at a couple autocross days with fairly good results.

Next step was a conversion to the later style 027 DME with a MarkD chip. Increased power, usable revs, and the eliminated "pulse" of the stock was a huge benefit. Very satisfied with the difference this chip made.

I've driven the car with the stock 2.79, followed by a 2.96lsd and just last weekend I grabbed a 3.25lsd. The car is much faster now off the line and second gear does pretty good, higher rpm's on the highway are negligable considering the performance gains. I would not run a taller diff than the 3.25, shifting is a huge acceleration killer and even metric mechanic recommends this one as the perfect medium between gear length and acceleration.

I'm looking into possible air flow upgrades for the engine now, maybe an i exhaust/intake. The stroker builds are nice but it's hard to justify the cost and work invloved for a proper setup (at least in my situation, as this car is also my daily beater).

[Jand3rson]

A chip and a 3.25 or 3.73 are seriously the best eta mods you can do. You can also swap in a 325i intake manifold and throttle body are good for airflow gains, albeit at the sacrifice of a small amount of low-end, which you won't even notice, especially if chipped.

If you're ambitious, pull the head and port-match the intake ports on the head to match the new manifold. Just flare them out to match, if you go too far into the metal, you'll cut into the water jackets, and then you're proper fucked.

For even more, you can ditch the whole AC system (if you don't use it), taking some of the parasitic drain off the engine by spinning the compressor, as well as ditch the stock engine clutch fan and going with an electric. People will try to contest the validity of these claims, but removing parasitic drag from the engine will free up power.

[Albuquerque30]

A chip and a 3.25 or 3.73 are seriously the best eta mods you can do. You can also swap in a 325i intake manifold and throttle body are good for airflow gains, albeit at the sacrifice of a small amount of low-end, which you won't even notice, especially if chipped.

If you're ambitious, pull the head and port-match the intake ports on the head to match the new manifold. Just flare them out to match, if you go too far into the metal, you'll cut into the water jackets, and then you're proper fucked.

For even more, you can ditch the whole AC system (if you don't use it), taking some of the parasitic drain off the engine by spinning the compressor, as well as ditch the stock engine clutch fan and going with an electric. People will try to contest the validity of these claims, but removing parasitic drag from the engine will free up power.

Bam! That's pretty much it when it comes to an eta. Chips are easy to swap, no soldering, and if you search for strokers, top end swaps, et cetera you'll find an abundance of knowledge and experience to guide you.

[long tall eta]

chipping is a piece of cake. remove top of glove bos, remove ecu, take ecu top off, locate and pop out old chip and reinstalation is reverse. let car idle for a couple minutes to learn new fuel mapping. and keep the ecu grounded. u dont want any static electricity frieing your board.

[Lee Harvey]

Dont get any name brand chip, just an eBay chip is fine. The chips are mostly rip offs anyways with almost no actually tuning done, and simply bump ignition timing for power gains, so even the legit non knock offs are still ripoffs in their own right. Actual eBay chips work fine. The problem is people don't know what an eprom chip is, search chips on eBay, and buy a $0.05 resistor that isn't a chip and claim +30/50/10000000 horsepower and 50+mpg on regular gas! Those aren't chips.

A chip is a night and day difference. Downsides... Gotta run 91oct gas, but given the price variance from regular to premium to super is a static 15 cent cost from each tier, and gas prices now hover above the $3/gallon+ range, and that if you drive it normal economy is the same or marginally improve even, it doesn't matter.

A diff swap is a night and day difference. A 3.73 is too much on an eta and costs you actuall acceleration, as well as top speed, for the feeling of more axle torque in each gear, but a net loss in acceleration, and driven side by side or back to back with identical setups, a taller geared eta will win every time. A 3.25 is a solid compromise for the feeling of way more violent pesky power but a 2.93lsd is honestly the best rear end for most peoples uses, and also keeps economy up.

Removing the a/c, spare weight, parasitic drag, will all reduce losses therefore slightly increasing output, but not enough to be noticed, and will diminish the value of the car.

If you're asking what mods to do, you don't need to attempt a head or engine swap.

If you haven't adjusted your valves, do so immediately, and measure lash at the cam end of the rocker, not the valve end, for maximum accuracy and best results.

If you haven't done a timing belt and water pump, do those first. If your motor mounts aren't solid, do them next. A busted mount can allow the accessor driver belts (power steering) to buzzsaw through the lower radiator hose and spoil your fun fast.

Your car is old and needs these key maintenance items and not much else to be rock solid. Add a large ground cable from the valve cover to the strut tower on the passenger side, and replace the battery ground in the trunk, as well as the one on the oil pan to the frame rail. This strengthens the electrical system immensely. The early e30s are missing the valve cover ground I say to add, late models come factory with it, albeit much smaller gauge than the $5 double eye end battery ground cable you can pick up at a local parts store.

After all that, suspension and steering refresh/mods and you will have a killer car that is as fast as you probably need to take performance wise for a while, is up to snuff on maintenance besides oil changes for 10k+ miles, and a blast to drive.

As for wheels, sportmaxx has some fantastic offerings that despite sone peoples opinions, are fantastic wheels, cheap, and have pretty great fitment for the look most people like nowadays. I recommend a 16/17" wheel in good fitment whatever you do get though, because 15"s have horrible tire selection for affordable sporty tires, summer tires, and simply don't exist even in most top tier performance/summer tires either.