e30mclow's e30 #14 - Now 1.5jz + 6 Speed

[e30mclow]

Picked up some recaros this morning, after a lot of driving.

In case anyone thinks I'm being JDM tacky, this is as close as I'll ever get to the feel of the Holy Grail - the e30 M3 Sport Evolution





Managed to make it home from Virginia with enough time to install the Garagistic rear sway bar.



The install ran into darkness, so I'll post photos tomorrow as I install the front bar.
Brackets for the seats should be here on the 5th or so.

[e30mclow]

Has anyone had any updates on the Garagistic F&R ARB pre-order?

I just realized that I had ordered mine back on Nov 27th and haven’t seen any updates.

Garagistic got back to me yesterday, so my order from Nov 27th should ship out on Monday.
I suspect it was just the Black Friday mayhem that overwhelmed their order system and mine fell off the pile.


Going to install new inner tie rod boots this weekend and get my suspension dialed in.


Man, am I ever unhappy with my renown wheel. That thing flexes quite a bit, even with my hands just gripping the 10 & 2 positions. If it weren't a Christmas gift I'd send it back.

In other news, I'm hunting for an LS & T56 for this thing, as after driving a Stage III s4 for the last 2 years, an m20 just doesn't cut it lol

[e30mclow]

Has anyone had any updates on the Garagistic F&R ARB pre-order?

I just realized that I had ordered mine back on Nov 27th and haven’t seen any updates.

[e30mclow]

The steering wheel arrived today, just waiting on the momo hub and it'll make a huge difference.


Did a ton of work today on it:
- Aligned the rear swing arms, now that things have settled in
- Torqued up the tie rods
- Fixed the fan resistor, so I now have heat
- Took apart the MAF, all the way this time (opened up the board) and cleaned all of the contacts
- Set the preload on the rear shocks and got the hardness settings in a semi-hard setup that works for me
- The rear subframe retaining nuts (the 22mm nuts on the pins that drop through the floor) were very loose, so I tightened them up
- Bled the coolant system at the head
- Got the power aerial working which is a first for any e30 I've owned, they've always been FUBAR
- Fitted the new clips and put the iS lip on properly, which improves the looks greatly
- Best of all, I found that I was only getting about 80% wide open throttle as the cables needed adjusting. This should make a big difference





Yup, she's got a good and a bad side

[325isman]

E30

Great work.....the car is Sweet......look forward to seeing more pictures

[e30mclow]

What spring rates did you go with for your BC coilovers?

Nothing custom, just their standard offering as I needed them quickly.

[KyleDriver]

What spring rates did you go with for your BC coilovers?

[e30mclow]

I've actually been running with the hole open and no boot. Haven't noticed anything negative yet other than some cold feet when I drove it in late fall.

PS - where in Canada were you? What brought you here?

I just took it to the store and my feet are frozen lol.

I was in Calgary from June 2010 to December 2015. Long story short - went to Canada with a buddy from college after we got sick of our jobs. The plan was to work and travel, starting in Calgary. The ole workaholic mentality took over and I stayed there for 5 years.

Moved to the US (Outer Banks, NC) in Jan 2016 for “2 years”, which has now turned into a permanent move. I will get back to Canada eventually as I loved it.

Just did a Z3 steering rack on my airbag car. I was able to refit the grommet after clearancing the firewall. It rubs on the steering shaft a bit and you can hear it. You can also make a new bracket for the grommet to sit on fairly easily.

On your airbag column, does the steering shaft move freely even with the nut tightened? I only ask because I tightened the steering nut on the column but it did not secure the steering shaft. Has me a bit concerned but I assume it'll be fine since it's secured in the steering rack from overextending and popping out.

It slid freely in my case - not worried by it. I don’t think anything can pop off.

[AWDBOB]

Just did a Z3 steering rack on my airbag car. I was able to refit the grommet after clearancing the firewall. It rubs on the steering shaft a bit and you can hear it. You can also make a new bracket for the grommet to sit on fairly easily.

On your airbag column, does the steering shaft move freely even with the nut tightened? I only ask because I tightened the steering nut on the column but it did not secure the steering shaft. Has me a bit concerned but I assume it'll be fine since it's secured in the steering rack from overextending and popping out.

[Powling]

What has everyone else done to block off the hole where the column passes through the fire wall? With the column being over that far, the original boot isn't an option.

I've actually been running with the hole open and no boot. Haven't noticed anything negative yet other than some cold feet when I drove it in late fall.

PS - where in Canada were you? What brought you here?

[e30mclow]

I had a couple of hours free yesterday morning and decided to install the replacement rack.


Overall, it went without issue this time. Purple Tag rack, and I seem to be counting 2.7-2.8 turns lock to lock - I had always thought they were 3?


Regardless, it is a huge improvement.


What has everyone else done to block off the hole where the column passes through the fire wall? With the column being over that far, the original boot isn't an option.

[e30mclow]

My replacement rack came in last night.


Purple Tag 678 Rack, vs the Yellow Tag 710 I had tried installing initially.
Fingers crossed that she'll be on the road this weekend, as the thermostat decided to let go on the s4 earlier this week....which isn't a simple job.

[spiDmang]

that escalated quickly...

awesome work!

[Echo30V]

Nice

[e30mclow]

Thanks folks!


I went with an e46 ZHP rack.
I'm going to try and keep this one simple.


As we're all into German cars, here are some of my previous ones (I've lived in Ireland, Canada and the US - hence the variety).


325iS (Canadian Car - while in Canada)



m3 (Euro version - while I was in Ireland)



m5 (Euro version - while I was in Canada)



Imola S4 (Canadian)