Best e30 is?

[wolkersdorfer2]

Hello, I am Josh.
I am searching for an e30 to buy, and am doing some research on which year/model is best for me.
I have been searching, asking around and getting lots of opinions.

What am I getting the car for? A replacement for my 1988 Toyota MR2. I autoX the car, but I also use it as a DD whenever I feel like it and the weather is nice. So I'm not building an all out track car, but the car will be raced. I am getting sick of how slow my mr2 is in the straights, even though it handles so well. Just not impressive when you get your doors blown off by a base model 1990 Nissan sentra. You feel me?

Before I pour roughly $5000 into a good turbo build on my mr2, I wanted to look into this option as an alternative. I've always wanted one, why not?

The kind of information I am hoping for is like what a friend of mine who worked for a BMW racing team told me, he warned me of getting a pre 88 or so e30, they're prone to wiring harness issues, etc. he told me to get a 2 door 89 325is. Is it worth it to hold out till I find that exact model?
Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[lambo]

I've never heard of any wiring harness issues on early models... anyone want to chime in on that?

[e30rida]

'89 325is or M3 are the most desirable E30 models. But I would say that pretty much all E30's are good cars even the early 318's and the Eta's.

[Court M3]

Haven't heard of any pre 88 wiring issues. Ask your friend what particular issues he is talking about.

[Ether-D]

I also have not heard of any wiring problems with pre-88s.
In 89 the bumpers got prettier AND they had the ellipsoid headlights. That's why that year is desirable to some (myself included). Any post 88 will have nice bumpers (except the cabrio, it got nice bumpers for 92-93) and can have the ellips dropped in easily.

[blunttech]

If it were me Id buy someones swap car project that was done well. Then go in and tweak or correct little things to bring it up to your standards. Its always cheaper to buy something done than do it yourself. As long as it was done well. Then youll have a car with some power. I wouldnt care so much about year or model. Rather the quality of the car.... 5k should get you a decent car to start with.... You are in the e30 capital also

[ELVA164]

If it were me Id buy someones swap car project that was done well. Then go in and tweak or correct little things to bring it up to your standards. Its always cheaper to buy something done than do it yourself. As long as it was done well. Then youll have a car with some power. I wouldnt care so much about year or model. Rather the quality of the car.... 5k should get you a decent car to start with.... You are in the e30 capital also

I agree that this makes the most sense. A stock E30 won't be much of a change from the performance of the MR2, and the two easiest and most popular ways to make power are forced induction and motor swaps (or both). You'll spend just as much doing this to your new E30 as you would putting a turbo on the MR2, so finding one that's done well saves time and potentially a little money.

[steve68]

Early cars had harness problems where the sensors would short on the flywheel, from what I understand the weights would come off the flywheel short the sensors and that in turn would cause the wiring harness to burn into the fuel lines, instant ignition,

this happened to my 85 "e" and I've heard it happening to 528e's

but this info also came 20+ years ago, so someone might have a more documented reason for this,

[ST1G]

Bronzit eta FTW.

[markseven]

Bronzit eta FTW.

The E30 equivalent of a V6 auto Mustang vert.

[ST1G]

The E30 equivalent of a Foxbody V6 auto Mustang vert.

Fixed.

[Emre]

The closest thing to your MR2 will be the '91 318is. It's one of the lightest E30s and comes with a twin-cam four cylinder with timing chain, sodium-filled valves, modern distributorless ignition, etc. Its a very cool package, but it's not going to be much faster than your old car.

If you want more speed, look for a 325is coupe or sedan. Most of us love later plastic-bumper cars, especially ones fitted with the optional (and expensive) M-Tech II body kit. The M20 engine is much less sophisticated in design: SOHC, timing belt, old-school cap&rotor ignition, etc. It's a much less sophisticated drivetrain, but it's grunty enough to make it substantially faster pulling out of corners.

If you want real speed, take pretty much any E30 and swap in a 24-valve M50, M52, S50, or S52 engine. That'll be a huge leap forward in terms of lap times.

[nando]

I dont think an 89 is the only desireable year. The main difference is the ellipsoids, and 24 year old lights are going to be pitted to hell and the reflectors oxidised.

Id look for the best condition car you can find. Also, a 325is is not faster than a 325i, the main differences are pretty much cosmetic. Things like lip spoilers are a couple hundred bucks. 20+ year old suspension will need replaced anyway, and an old worn out lsd wont do you much good either (plus, these cars being as old as they are, the chances of it being swapped out are high)

Basically, if you are building a track car, any 325i or 325is, 2 door or 4, will do just fine. Condition is what matters most.

Also, there were no E30 coupes! ;)

[word is bond]

You're asking two different questions. Best E30 is different from best E30 for the track. Excluding M3s and FI/swapped cars, no E30 is going to be much faster than your MR2.
So it's not an all-out track car, but how stock are you going to keep it? Is it more stock street car that will go to the track on occasion, or track car that will occasional be driven on the street? Full interior? Race seats? Cage?

[nando]

Dont stock mr2s have like 90hp? The ones ive been in were pretty damn slow