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Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

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    Originally posted by Zeemz View Post
    Had a blast Mike! Looking forward to next season and more fun times already.
    Same here! Don't forget all the fun stuff over the winter. ;D

    NCC BMW CCA Event at BMW of Sterling

    This past weekend I went to a NCC BMW CCA cars and coffee / member reception / DIY hosted by BMW of Sterling. It was a fun event and I've enjoyed going to these the last few years.

    Cars and Coffee:





    DIY (BMW of Sterling lets BMW CCA members use lifts, tools, and expertise for the day. Really awesome to watch and help fellow members in such an awesome facility!)







    This coming week I'm taking a day off work to install a bunch of new goodies on the 318is. I'm sure I'll have detailed photos and a write-up by the end of the week. :)

    Comment


      Good seeing you Mike. The 318is looked minty as always.

      Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
      '91 318i (Alpine) - daily
      '88 325ix (Zinno) - drive here and there!

      Comment


        Originally posted by fresh_TD View Post
        Good seeing you Mike. The 318is looked minty as always.

        Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
        Thanks! Great seeing you as well. Your ix is looking mighty nice!

        Comment


          Suspension Overhaul

          Today I took off work to overhaul my suspension. Big thanks to a friend that came by to lend a hand which was fun. It only took about 3 hours to swap everything over. Everything came apart very quickly and easily. No drama or issues.

          I went with the following setup:
          - H&R OE Sport Springs (50404.55)
          - Bilstein B4 Touring shocks
          - New Sachs mounts front and rear
          - ECS rear shock mount supports
          - New bellows
          - New bump stops
          - New spring pads
          - New dust seals
          - New hardware throughout

          Parts List:
          Part - Part # - Quantity
          Washer - 07119901766 - 2
          B4 Shocks & Struts Kit - 21030505KT - 1
          Threaded Ring M48X1.5 - 31321117376 - 2
          Dust Sealing Gasket - 31331110196 - 2
          Upper Spring Plate -31331128524 - 2
          Front Flat Washer - 31336776760 - 2
          Shock Plate - 33521091427 - 2
          Complete Rear Upper Shock Mounting Kit - 33521092362 - 1
          Joint Plate - 33521117677 - 2
          Shock Skirt - 33521129263 - 2
          Rear Upper Spring Pad - 33531128610 - 2
          BMW Coil Spring Shim Front Upper - 31331128523 - 2
          BMW Strut Mount - Sachs 31331139452 - 2
          BMW Coil Spring Shim Rear - Genuine BMW 33531136386 - 2
          BMW Coil Spring Shim Front Lower - Lemforder 31331124322 - 2
          BMW Shock Bump Stop (E30 E36) - Genuine BMW 33521125078 - 2
          Strut Bellow - KYB SB105 - 2
          H&R Springs 50404.55 - 1

          Parts Photo:



          Up on stands:



          Out with the old:



          In with the new:



          Previously installed front Stagg spring, H&R OE Sport, and stock:



          Apart:



          Together:



          Previously installed rear Stagg spring, H&R OE Sport, and stock:



          New rear mounts:



          Rears completed:



          The old stuff:



          Completed!







          Once everything settles I'll get more photos.

          After driving around 15 miles I am very impressed. The spring rates are firmer than the previous setup, but the ride is amazing. It's very confidence inspiring. The car feels very planted.

          Brake Bleeding

          While the E30 was up on stands I decided to bleed the brakes again. The fluid had a full track weekend on it. The pedal feels MUCH better after bleeding.
          Last edited by mike.bmw; 04-29-2019, 05:12 PM.

          Comment


            Great work!

            Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

            Comment


              Nice! I'll be tackling this in the coming weeks as well once everything arrives and I can find some time to do it!

              Comment


                Great update, Mike! Installing new parts is always fun :)
                Ride height looks great too, although it will probably still settle a bit.

                On my VW Golf mk1 I also fitted Bilstein B4s when I restored it. However after maybe 6000-7000km one of them started leaking already.. Luckily I was able to get them send in again under warranty.. I hope you won't encounter this.
                1990 325iX Touring - November 2018 R3V Car Of The Month

                1980 Volkswagen Golf mk1 1.1
                1974 BMW 2002 Touring

                Instagram

                Comment


                  Originally posted by jeenyus View Post
                  Great work!

                  Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
                  Thanks!

                  Originally posted by ATL_E30 View Post
                  Nice! I'll be tackling this in the coming weeks as well once everything arrives and I can find some time to do it!
                  Thanks! Hopefully it all comes apart easily for you!

                  Originally posted by D.Martijn View Post
                  Great update, Mike! Installing new parts is always fun :)
                  Ride height looks great too, although it will probably still settle a bit.

                  On my VW Golf mk1 I also fitted Bilstein B4s when I restored it. However after maybe 6000-7000km one of them started leaking already.. Luckily I was able to get them send in again under warranty.. I hope you won't encounter this.
                  Indeed! Yeah, I'm expecting it to settle some. I'll give it a few weeks and then I'll take it to RRT (local specialist shop) for an alignment. I'll keep an eye out for leaking shocks, thanks.

                  After I told my daughter I stayed home and worked on the car, she was quite disappointed she didn't get to help. So today we re-torqued a number of bolts to include the strut house to control arm, tie rod ends, sway bar links, and rear shock to trailing arm bolts.



                  Another great thing about the new ride height is that my jack has clearance to reach the front cross member. Previously I had to drive the car on ramps, then use the floor jack, then place the car on jack stands. Ramps no longer needed. :)

                  Comment


                    I just wanted to say, beautiful car. I just closed a deal on it's twin brother and will be using your build as inspiration. Progress will be slow as winter will force car into storage until spring.
                    1991 318is
                    2004 330ci
                    2011 335d

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by dmanb2b View Post
                      I just wanted to say, beautiful car. I just closed a deal on it's twin brother and will be using your build as inspiration. Progress will be slow as winter will force car into storage until spring.
                      Thanks! Looking forward to seeing your build thread!

                      Comment


                        Wheel Shopping

                        The last few months I’ve been casually shopping for some new wheels. A little before Thanksgiving Zeemz made me aware of some BBS RS001s for sale and were located only a couple hours away. These were in original condition, with 2 bent barrels, a cracked/welded barrel, and had some other flaws. They were priced accordingly. The seller was very forthcoming and honest. He sent photos of everything I requested.

                        I went back and forth with the seller for a couple weeks trying to schedule a time to look at them. It seemed he was on the fence about selling the wheels and he ultimately decided to keep them. Unfortunately this made me miss out on the Ronal LS sale from Performance Alloys, a wheel distributor in the U.K.

                        Road Trip!

                        A few weeks passed and the seller of the BBS RS001s contacted me and said he has decided to sell them again. I took a day off work and took the trip in the e30. A friend came along for the road trip (owner of the manual Chevy SS from the NJ BMW CCA track event I posted about earlier this year). We met up with the seller and I looked at the wheels for a solid 20 minutes. Ultimately, I passed due to other issues I discovered looking at the wheels in person and a number of unknowns in refinishing costs. I don’t hold anything against the seller as I knew it was a gamble making the trip.

                        The trip wasn’t a total failure though. My friend and I grabbed lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings in Newark DE. As usual he ordered the hottest wings. They asked him if he wanted to do the “wing challenge”. He said sure, signed the waiver, and crushed their wings in half the allotted time without eating or drinking anything during that time. Apparently he’s only the third person to do it at that location. He was awarded some swag and we left for the trip home. We hit some traffic both on the way there and on the way home, but the E30 was great. In total there was about 6 hours of travel time. Here was the route:



                        Enter Ronal LS

                        A little bummed about the RS001s, I reached out to Performance Alloys and got a great price on a set of Ronal LS wheels. Richard from Performance Alloys was great to work with and I highly recommend them.

                        It took less than a week for the Ronals to arrive. They came in excellent condition and included new lug bolts.



                        Tire Choices

                        Regarding tires, I went back and forth on size for a bit. 205/50/15 vs 205/55/15. The 205/50s provide more options and are cheaper. However, they are almost an inch shorter than the 205/55s. I went for the Yokohama S Drives in 205/55/15 to match the stock rolling diameter.



                        Mount and Balance

                        To have the tires mounted and balanced I went Mach V Motorsports (today). I've been a big fan of this shop for a long time and they always exceed expectations. While I was there the owner took me back into the shop to show me an S14 swapped BMW 2002 they were working on.



                        For transport, the wheels in their boxes fit in the trunk and the tires fit in the rear seat (kids’ car seats out of course).





                        I was excited to get these installed, so I put them on the car tonight. Here are some shots in the garage. I will get out for a proper photo shoot this weekend.







                        I’m happy with the results. The Ronals aren’t exactly light weight wheels, but they aren’t heavy either. With tires they are about 4 pounds heavier per corner. I like the style, fitment, and price. If I come across a good deal on a decent set of RS001s or RS003s, I may offer these up for sale at some point, but for now I’m going to enjoy them and focus on some other areas of the car.
                        Last edited by mike.bmw; 12-28-2018, 04:00 AM.

                        Comment


                          Loving the look on the Ronals. Also, the photos are making me want to switch my 205/50 S-Drives up a size like yours!

                          1991 BMW 318i (Old Shell RIP, Now Being Re-shelled & Reborn)
                          1983 Peugeot 505 STI
                          1992 Volvo 240 Wagon
                          2009 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Sport 4WD

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by freeride53 View Post
                            Loving the look on the Ronals. Also, the photos are making me want to switch my 205/50 S-Drives up a size like yours!
                            Thanks! I like the OE style of the Ronals, though I may actually prefer the euroweaves like yours. I couldn't pass on the Ronals for the price though. With my recent suspension upgrades and these new wheels/tires, I'm excited for a few HPDEs this coming year.

                            I think your 205/50s look great! My ride height is close to stock so I wanted to get a stock-sized tire to fill out the wheel well.

                            Comment


                              Great wheel and tire choice, which seems to be growing in popularity.

                              I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what percentage window tint do you have?

                              Your car is really looking outstanding!

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by connorb850 View Post
                                Great wheel and tire choice, which seems to be growing in popularity.

                                I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what percentage window tint do you have?

                                Your car is really looking outstanding!
                                Thanks! Yeah, I know of at least 3 others that have put together this same wheel/tire package in the last few months. They have good taste. ;D

                                The tint is 50% front and 35% rear. It was all 35% at one point (previous owner), but I had the front replaced to meet VA state law.

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