I'm new but i don't know what i bought ...

[brodee]

OMG -- if i ever spend that much on this car and get that result.. i'd be very disappointed..
u need to revisit your tuning or these parts that u have purchased are duds.... maybe the dyno is off calibration---?
is your car an 'i' motor ..?
on a dyno, figure m20 in excellent condition puts 170hp @ crank less 15% driveline loss puts u at 144whp. grant it ur motor is a bit older so u started at 155crankhp (example)..whp shl be 132. then after a chip & header & cam.. u only made 18-23 whp.. ? that doesn't add up--- maybe those figures are correct on a stock cam.. what kinda lift/duration specs?
-- i'd like to give that motor a bit more credit --

Well first of all I'm considering 18% driveline loss, that's what I've always been told and the dyno operator, Joel @ Bavarian HyperSport also told me the same thing. Yes my car is an "i" motor, you can see in my sig that it says 325is.

18-23hp is very close to what I should get with these mods. What makes you think you can get more?? That's what we have been trying to tell you about these motors. You can't add up all the claimed gains and expect that to be your final HP, doesn't work that way.

All we are trying do is help you avoid a disapointed outcome. Parts are expensive and don't yield the type of results you are used to in Hondas and other cars. Do the research, look for people who can provide dyno sheets on their cars. If you find anyone that can show more than 210 crank HP on an m20 that's not a stroker I'd be very suprised. And if they do it wasn't less than $4,000.

[Slick92GS-R]

..once again -- thanks for the concern ---


i guess u guys are telling me that e30 suck monkey balls, i guess u guys are jus gluttons for punishment ..lol.. well too late.. i'm in deep.. i am gonna make this work !!!... driving experience is not all about power -- i have faith in this chassis ..

[brodee]

i guess u guys are telling me that e30 suck monkey balls,

No, they are great for what they are intended for, they just have their limits.

driving experience is not all about power -- i have faith in this chassis ..

Exactly!! It's not all about straight line power, it's a total package. This car produces a wide torque band and handles better than most cars on the road. If you're looking for HP numbers sell it and go buy something else.

I'm sure you think we all don't know what we're talking about and YOU will be able to get unheard of power from your motor that we couldn't find. You're not the first to come on here with that same attitude. I wish you much luck, post your dyno numbers as you progress.

[Digitalwave]

I don't know why everybody is all about getting so much power anyways. I can't handle my car and all I have is a chip, 4.10 LSD, and lightweight flywheel. With a good suspension and nice tires, these cars are plenty of fast and with RWD you are going to have your hands full as it is. Learn the car before you drive for more power.

[Jand3rson]

I don't know why everybody is all about getting so much power anyways. I can't handle my car and all I have is a chip, 4.10 LSD, and lightweight flywheel. With a good suspension and nice tires, these cars are plenty of fast and with RWD you are going to have your hands full as it is. Learn the car before you drive for more power.

I wish more people could understand this line of reasoning.

[brodee]

I don't know why everybody is all about getting so much power anyways. I can't handle my car and all I have is a chip, 4.10 LSD, and lightweight flywheel. With a good suspension and nice tires, these cars are plenty of fast and with RWD you are going to have your hands full as it is. Learn the car before you drive for more power.

I wouldn't have done near this much to my car, I bought it with most of it already done.

I'm in 4th place right now out of 16 cars in my class and the next closest one to me in age is a '97. All of them have way more power than me, but the e30 is light and handles great.

[george graves]

This can only end poorly....

[M3 Ryan]

I wasn't meaning to call you a honda-guy as an insult. I have a friend who is totally into honda's and he recently bought a BMW. He had the same kind of thoughts about power gains and whatnot until I got him to listen to what I was saying.
Honda's have huge potential for gains from the mods you speak of. BMW do not.
And yes, it is just that simple. BMW engines are designed to get maximum performance from the factory. The ETA motors are weak. They were cheap to make/maintain and easy on fuel. Nothing more, nothing less.

I would like to hear you come back to me in 6 months with your power figures as high as you are shooting for. They are just not possible with the M20.

If you want a little background on myself, I am an ASE Master Technition, BMW Certified Technition, BMW Enthusiest through and through. I love BMW's more than any other car. I have a highly modified M3 that I have done all the work on. I am a car guy. I play with cars in my spare time, just ask my girlfriend and she will tell you I spend way too much time tinkering with my cars. I know what mods make power and which are a waste of time. I have owned a 325E before, I have had 2 E30 M3's, I have worked on many different BMW's and built several engines of different variations from Euro M30's to bored and stroked S14's to stock rebuilds on various M20/S14/M30 and others.

Now, if you think I what I said in my first post was an outlash of bullshit, tell me so.

[Slick92GS-R]

i guess i'm an unknown and i should know better than to be this brash & upfront about what i believe.. i'm certain that you all have more experience with your BMW's. .. i'm certainly not looking for a dyno queen or to boast about hp #'s.. for that there are many other choices -- i'm after a fantastic all around package and i've chosen the e30 and i know that i've made that clear -- apparently everyone seems to take exception to the ideas that i have ... lol.. thats cool .. beat up on the new guy till he leaves --- thats a great welcome ... :? --
- i never expected that

[RCWells]

It's not like that man. Opinions just get thrown around easily on the web, and it is without inflection or tone. Don't take offense. These guys have a lot of working knowledge about these cars. I had the same ideas as you when I got my first one, to make it run like no other. I came to realize after a while, that these cars are NOT gonna run like I had hoped. BUT they will put a smile on your face that won't quit. I know mine does that for me almost every time I drive it. And it keeps getting better. And I am not gonna stop modding now. I don't give a flip if the headers, injectors and whatever else I can find don't turn my car into a 12sec. car. That is not the point for me. I just want it to run to it's maximum potential and look good while doing it. You can dump a lot of money into mods for these cars, just know that the performance gains are only going to be nominal at best for a normally aspirated and otherwise stock motor.

[brodee]

i guess i'm an unknown and i should know better than to be this brash & upfront about what i believe.. i'm certain that you all have more experience with your BMW's. .. i'm certainly not looking for a dyno queen or to boast about hp #'s.. for that there are many other choices -- i'm after a fantastic all around package and i've chosen the e30 and i know that i've made that clear -- apparently everyone seems to take exception to the ideas that i have ... lol.. thats cool .. beat up on the new guy till he leaves --- thats a great welcome ... :? --
- i never expected that

Although there is a lot of bashing of the new guy on this forum, that's not the case here. The way I see it, it's the opposite.

You come on here as a new guy, ask your questions, they get answered by very knowlegable people with much BMW and e30 experience. You don't agree with the answers and come across like you have the magic fairy dust that will give you the results none of us can obtain.

How do you expect us to react at that point. Sit back do some reading, do some research and then develop a plan. Try to learn from those in the group that know what they are talking about like Ryan. We are not taking exception to your ideas, we are just telling you to be realistic based on our knowledge and experience of these cars.

Take a minute and re-read the posts in this thread, including yours, I think you'll get what I mean.

When it comes down to it, it's your car, do what you want. I've owned more than 25 cars in my life including at least 5 hondas, an M3, and multiple 1/4 mile chevy's. The e30 puts a smile on my face as big or bigger than any of the others. I hope yours does the same for you, that's what it's all about.

[Slick92GS-R]

You come on here as a new guy, ask your questions, they get answered by very knowlegable people with much BMW and e30 experience. You don't agree with the answers and come across like you have the magic fairy dust that will give you the results none of us can obtain.

well, .. disbelief can't be considered disagreeement and what made u think that i can get results that none of you all can get ?... u starting to make stuff up, brodee.. can we quit this b4 its gets ugly ... ?

[brodee]

can we quit this b4 its gets ugly ... ?

Like I said.. good luck. Have fun at the track. Sorry for our trying to help.

[M3 Ryan]

You come on here as a new guy, ask your questions, they get answered by very knowlegable people with much BMW and e30 experience. You don't agree with the answers and come across like you have the magic fairy dust that will give you the results none of us can obtain.

well, .. disbelief can't be considered disagreeement and what made u think that i can get results that none of you all can get ?... u starting to make stuff up, brodee.. can we quit this b4 its gets ugly ... ?

Good luck with your E30. Let me know if you find the magic secret to unleashing all kinds of power from an M20, because I have yet to see a reliable motor with under $10k invested that can break 200rwhp, even when punched out to 3.1 liters. The loss is in the 2-valve head that cannot flow enough to make huge power.
We are hear to help. I don't get off on harassing people on the internet like some of the other people out there. I fix cars for a living because I love it. I don't put people down for trying to improve on their cars or become educated on what they have.
I was providing you with the best information I could before you foolishly spent money on mods with high hopes and no real gains.

Read up on this site and others, there is a plethera of info out there to be soaked up.

[Digitalwave]

i guess i'm an unknown and i should know better than to be this brash & upfront about what i believe.. i'm certain that you all have more experience with your BMW's. .. i'm certainly not looking for a dyno queen or to boast about hp #'s.. for that there are many other choices -- i'm after a fantastic all around package and i've chosen the e30 and i know that i've made that clear -- apparently everyone seems to take exception to the ideas that i have ... lol.. thats cool .. beat up on the new guy till he leaves --- thats a great welcome ... :? --
- i never expected that

You sound like a school girl bitch.