Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[freeride53]

If you're looking for a Mtexh 2 wheel in Europe anyway, check out Ebay kleinanzeigen (Germany) or leboncoin (France)
There are a couple for sale on there.

And they’re SO cheap relative to here. I bought mine off of (who is now a friend) near Stuttgart. He sold it to me 4 years ago for 20€.

I regularly buy parts from Leboncoin for my Peugeot.

[D.Martijn]

And they’re SO cheap relative to here. I bought mine off of (who is now a friend) near Stuttgart. He sold it to me 4 years ago for 20€.

I regularly buy parts from Leboncoin for my Peugeot.

I mean, you wont find them for 20€ anymore but 250-300€ is pretty common here.

[mike.bmw]

I'll check out some of the other sites you guys recommended, but I'm a little hesitant to go the craigslist route as there's no recourse if you are sent a hunk of junk. Perhaps PayPal goods and services payments give some protection though.

Due to rain in the forecast tomorrow the DMC has been postponed until the 19th. I'm a bit bummed about that as I would've brought the e30 on my current road trip, but chose to leave it home to stay clean for the show. Oh well, its only a couple weeks away. Plenty of time for more driving and a final cleanup before the show!

[mike.bmw]

36th Deutsche Marque Concours d'Elegance, Vienna, VA

Today was the big day! I arrived when the field opened at 8:30AM. There were already a few cars there. I spent the next hour giving the car a final wipe down before the judging began.





For those not familiar with the format, the cars are judged/pointed on a number of categories to include engine bay, interior, trunk, and exterior.

I spent most of the day meeting and talking to new folks about one of my favorite things... old BMWs. The weather was a bit on the hot side. No clouds in the sky and 90+ degrees. My wife and kids dropped by for lunch and we had a picnic. They were decked out in their E30 gear to surprise me.



The big news is that I won first place in the 80s BMW class! I actually couldn't believe it. There were a lot of great cars out there today.



HUGE thanks to BMW CCA NCC and all the organizers/volunteers that made today possible. This is only my second time, but I really enjoy the event and look forward to the coming years!

Here's a sample of some other cars that came today:

[agent]

Congrats, that's awesome!

[ATL_E30]

Alpine White 1991 318is

Congrats Mike! We missed you at The Vintage, but it looks like you got to see some pretty sweet cars yourself!


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[mike.bmw]

Congrats, that's awesome!

Thanks!

Congrats Mike! We missed you at The Vintage, but it looks like you got to see some pretty sweet cars yourself!

Thanks! It was a really fun event today and BMW CCA NCC does a great job of putting it on.

I have been following The Vintage FB group all week and I really wish I could have been there this year. However, I am planning on coming next year! Hopefully I'll be able to put some faces to R3V usernames then. #VintagePrep2020 begins as soon as I knock out a few track days this summer and fall.

[jeenyus]

The kids surprising you with E30 gear?! That's simply amazing! Congrats on the win!

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[Zeemz]

Congratulations Mike! That is awesome!

[M42Technik]

Congrats on your win sir. I'll have to see it soon at Katie's and see whats new.

[mike.bmw]

The kids surprising you with E30 gear?! That's simply amazing! Congrats on the win!

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Haham yep! I'm wearing mine today. Always puts a smile on my face when my wife supports my hobby.

Congratulations Mike! That is awesome!

Congrats on your win sir. I'll have to see it soon at Katie's and see whats new.

Thanks, guys!

[mike.bmw]

Ride Height Adjustment

I'm running the H&R OE Sport Springs (50404.55) on my car. I was fairly happy with the ride height, but thought it could be a bit more level. When I replaced my suspension, I opted for new 7.5mm rear spring pads. After everything settled, I wanted to raise the rear of the car by about half an inch.

Due to the rear suspension geometry, the spring pad height increase should be multiplied by 1.7 to get the true total ride height increase. It turns out that 14.5mm E46 spring pads are a direct fit for our E30s (part #33531094754).
The 7mm increase (7.5 to 14.5mm) would result in raising the rear about half an inch. Perfect!

I had some help in the garage today:



Ride height before, measured wheel center to fender:



7.5mm left vs 14.5mm right:



Installation was a breeze (because I had help). After moving the trunk lining out of the way, I unbolted the rear shocks from the top. Then I removed the lower shock bolt. I also unbolted the rear sway bar links. Make sure you have the car in neutral and the parking brake off so the suspension will droop all the way. I removed the springs by hand, swapped the pads, and put the springs back in. Here's one installed:



Here's the measurement after everything is back together:



I'll get out for better photos sometime soon, but here's a quick one in the garage:



My helper requested a photo:



My helper wanted to take a photo of me. I usually don't like posting photos of myself on the forums, but I made an exception in this case:



Random thoughts on the matter:
- Yes, there are adjustable spring pad kits out there for about the same cost as these BMW rear spring pads. I like the OEM fitment of these to include the rubber nub that centers the spring nicely.
- These, along with adjustable spring pad kits, can be used to better corner weight cars without coil overs. Pads come in sizes of 5, 7.5, 10, and 14.5mm (and possibly others I'm not aware of).
- These pads can be run on either the top or bottom.

In other news, we recently took the wagon on a family road trip. I took some cell phone shots along the way, but I liked this one:



In the next few weeks I'll be replacing the engine mounts, trans mounts, and drive belts.

[D.Martijn]

Nice job! I love to do small things like this, doesn't take a lot of time but has instant results.

When you say that these pads will fit both on the bottom and the top?
Isn't the top one different, I'm pretty sure it has a bumpstop?

[mike.bmw]

Nice job! I love to do small things like this, doesn't take a lot of time but has instant results.

When you say that these pads will fit both on the bottom and the top?
Isn't the top one different, I'm pretty sure it has a bumpstop?

Thanks! The top pad is different and has what looks like an integrated bump stop, though I'm not sure if it's there as a bump stop or for locating the spring. I've read a number of internet threads where folks have stated the bottom pads can also be used on the top (the internet is NEVER wrong :) ). The aftermarket adjustable spring pads also state they can be used on the bottom or top (without the bump-stop-thing). So, in summary, I have no idea, but others have confirmed it's an option. I plan to continue to run the stock upper spring pad.

[e30sh]

Thanks! The top pad is different and has what looks like an integrated bump stop, though I'm not sure if it's there as a bump stop or for locating the spring. I've read a number of internet threads where folks have stated the bottom pads can also be used on the top (the internet is NEVER wrong :) ). The aftermarket adjustable spring pads also state they can be used on the bottom or top (without the bump-stop-thing). So, in summary, I have no idea, but others have confirmed it's an option. I plan to continue to run the stock upper spring pad.

The top spring pad on the e30 M3 has a shorter hump. With it's lower ride height, I vote that it is an actual bump stop.