What irritates you the most about e30s?

[ZeKahr]

Seconded. Your baseline is way off the mark if you think E30s have a high rate of electrical issues for cars of the era. A couple types of connectors (the semicircle ones and such) are prone to disintegrating, the service interval board is iffy at best and the central locking is temperamental but that's really it. Mechanically and electrically E30s are definitely among the best '80s cars you can buy.

Wait until you see G20s in 30 years. Provided a single example is still running at that point.

This.

The deal with the E30 electronics is that they are not integrated enough to cause any major long term reliability issues and can very easily be removed without any adverse effects to the car if you find them to be a grievance.

The central locking and the SI board, at least on the early models, can both be easily bypassed while retaining critical vehicle functionality. As for the connectors, you can probably fabricate a much stouter design that will last much longer if you do choose.

You can literally turn an E30 into a bare bones car electronically and still have basic functionality that would otherwise be handled by electronics, which you can’t do with newer BMWs since the computers on those are so interconnected with one another that if one computer fails the whole car might stop working.

The lack of proprietary interfaces and buses as well as the more primitive engine management and other computer systems make the wiring diagrams for the E30 is very easy to decipher. I’ve read the functional descriptions for the G20 electronics, and do not want to go near one after reading that.

[roguetoaster]

Seconded. Your baseline is way off the mark if you think E30s have a high rate of electrical issues for cars of the era. A couple types of connectors (the semicircle ones and such) are prone to disintegrating, the service interval board is iffy at best and the central locking is temperamental but that's really it. Mechanically and electrically E30s are definitely among the best '80s cars you can buy.

Wait until you see G20s in 30 years. Provided a single example is still running at that point.

This has a great deal to do with why there are still so many E30s on the road today.

The 6 button OBC is still annoyingly slow to set unless it's midnight on the first of January.

[varg]

Seconded. Your baseline is way off the mark if you think E30s have a high rate of electrical issues for cars of the era. A couple types of connectors (the semicircle ones and such) are prone to disintegrating, the service interval board is iffy at best and the central locking is temperamental but that's really it. Mechanically and electrically E30s are definitely among the best '80s cars you can buy.

Wait until you see G20s in 30 years. Provided a single example is still running at that point.

[Andrew325is]

Price and availability of parts. $120 for a weather strip... really? I dont really have a choice if i want to make my vert waterproof... but wow. Some of the weird electrical decisions. BMW were absolute geniuses on mechanics... electrical...not so much.

Compared to what? You should see the electrics on a British vehicle. There's a reason why there are so many Lucas jokes.

[doctorx]

Price and availability of parts. $120 for a weather strip... really? I dont really have a choice if i want to make my vert waterproof... but wow. Some of the weird electrical decisions. BMW were absolute geniuses on mechanics... electrical...not so much.

[IceWhite]

R3V's new/recent update.

[Conrad311]

E30s are probably the most trouble-free BMWs, so this thread is kinda dumb IMO. There are a few things that bug me though. The power antenna that gets stuck, leaks in the trunk, lack of proper or correct maintenance by previous owners, poor availability of many new parts, ridiculous pricing of M3s and S14s.

If you had read the thread you would see that is literally the whole intention behind it, we are all on r3v presumably because we love them and choose to drive them, but just because they are great it doesn'’t make them perfect.

This thread is just to see what few things aggravate us or what we would like to be different. And many of the things you shared have been said by others, so clearly they are an annoying reality of e30s.

[Andrew325is]

E30s are probably the most trouble-free BMWs, so this thread is kinda dumb IMO. There are a few things that bug me though. The power antenna that gets stuck, leaks in the trunk, lack of proper or correct maintenance by previous owners, poor availability of many new parts, ridiculous pricing of M3s and S14s.

[Vincenze]

Technology will eventually fix that issue. Once large 3D printers capable of printing car shells become affordable enough, which will happen in the future, then you will be able to 3D print your own E30 shell (or any other classic car shell for that matter) for pennies on the dollar. You can even print out all the parts needed to build an entire car. We're still at least 2-3 decades before that reality however. In the meantime, the existing pool of clean E30 shells should be enough to last for another 2-3 decades.

Here's an Argentinian replica of the Bugatti 35 on Bat.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1927-bugatti-pur-sang-type-45/

And the company doesn't use any 3D printers to create parts.

[roguetoaster]

Cartridge style front strut housing, the e36 style strut assembly is much nicer to remove and install since no ball joint have to be separated

Positive this was posted before, so spammer?

[Conrad311]

All seasons = hammer time in RWD, and in winter you just have more fun.

This is absolutely true, but an iX with blizzaks on it gives you a much better chance of getting out of a snowbank when you have too much fun

[roguetoaster]

I see you are in Detroit so you know about snow + iX. I had an 89 iX sedan when I lived in MA, and even though it was an autotragic as soon as the snow hit it was hammer time. the other 3 seasons I questioned why I owned it.

All seasons = hammer time in RWD, and in winter you just have more fun.

[Conrad311]

I bought an iX, but its also the reason I love it.

I see you are in Detroit so you know about snow + iX. I had an 89 iX sedan when I lived in MA, and even though it was an autotragic as soon as the snow hit it was hammer time. the other 3 seasons I questioned why I owned it.

[IncogutheIII]

I bought an iX, but its also the reason I love it.

[e30finatic]

Mostly the guys trying to charge top dollar for rust boxes.