Corey's JDM-Tech 2

[Albie325]

The car looks great, the story is interesting, and it looks like you have a great plan for some really tasteful upgrades. Keep it coming!

[Simple_Smith]

Had a busy last few weekends, drove to Canada to unveil my e30 to my friends from the Great White North then down to North Carolina for The Vintage the following weekend. My friends across the border were supposed to be surprised by this car in 2020 when we all usually take a week trip to Tail of the Dragon, but thanks to Covid, that never happened and I had another year to attempt to keep this car a secret and build up its capabilities. They were quite surprised when I showed up in this opposed to my recent purchase I hadn't kept from them but was also very excited about; a 2010 E90 335d





Yes, my friends have much much cooler cars than I do.



After getting caught in a torrential downpour on the way home from Canada, I must say I was incredibly pleased with the wet performance of the Direzza ZIIIs, no hydroplaning to speak of, granted I wasn't going through any twisties, but with near zero visibility in the rain I never felt anything but planted. An 8 hour round trip was a good shakedown run for next weekend's 24hrs of driving I had planned.

Loaded up with camping gear and a passenger for the trip, my girlfriend and I set out on our long weekend. Thirty minutes on Michigan highways made it apparent I hadn't rolled the quarters enough to clear with the car loaded down and a full tank of gas. Luckily once we were out of Michigan and the roads transformed from the moonlike wasteland that we call an expressway to something that resembled a driving surface. Other than the increased rubbing over bridge/overpass dips, the trip was just very long and uneventful. The next morning we departed Knoxville on the way to the Dragon. Meeting up with a local friend, I persuaded the right quarter with a prybar and leather belt protecting the wheel (don't panic, this was the quarter with existing damage that needs paint work still) and we headed out to U.S.129.



Shortly after we passed the overlook, we ran up on an 18 wheeler whose GPS had mistakenly sent them this way. I assume the driver also can't read because there are multiple "NO TRUCKS LONGER THAN 30FT PAST THIS SIGN" signs to keep this from happening. Using a pull-off, we waited what we though was long enough then proceeded to get a couple minutes of driving in before we caught up to the parade of cars held up by the semi. Unfortunately we didn't get a clean run, which is in itself a rarity, but we still had 4 hours of driving ahead of us to get to Ashville via a slight detour to Franklin, NC. The backwoods fender rolling certainly helped me to be more confident carrying more speed into corners, but it definitely needed to be improved upon once getting it home. Heading down 28 to Franklin we slowed the pace a bit but pressed on towards lunch at a surprisingly good French restaurant attached to a gas station, yeah, I wasn't expecting that either. Once we made it to the Clarion in Ashville we parked and perused the lot slowly filling with e30s, 2002s, and other classics.

After hanging out for the afternoon, we headed up to the Hot Springs campground and set up for the night.




The next day was the formal show at Hot Springs Resort and I managed to take almost no pictures due to getting to speak with a ton of really great people. So many unique cars down there, it really is a great show. Weather was a bit hot but none of the predicted rain showed up until around 8pm.

[Simple_Smith]

No trip to the South is complete without stopping for some decent barbeque, so on the Sunday drive back to Michigan we stopped in Lexington, KY for some brisket and continued on our 10 hour return trip. Had to stop for a good midwest sunset just before getting home for a pic.



Really happy with how the car is turning out and love driving it. Not sure what exactly is next on the list besides a more aggressive roll in the rear; it still has a ways to go before having any visual effect from the exterior lines. It handled both trips really well and drives the way I want it to although I do definitely have a few ideas bouncing around.

[Albie325]

Was actually parked next to you for a bit at the Clarion when I first arrived, wish I had recognized your car from this thread. Definitely a fun weekend with some awesome cars, yours included!

[Simple_Smith]

Was actually parked next to you for a bit at the Clarion when I first arrived, wish I had recognized your car from this thread. Definitely a fun weekend with some awesome cars, yours included!

Oh man I wish I would've realized that was you! Your car is incredibly well done.

[2mAn]

Cool build. Fun story. I like the ignorance of flying and driving. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it hits the fan.

[Simple_Smith]

Cool build. Fun story. I like the ignorance of flying and driving. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it hits the fan.

Rolled the dice again on the 335d I recently picked up; purchased in Sacramento, drove up the coast to Portland then to Yellowstone and back to Michigan. Had to patch a nail in Wyoming, but other than that it was an awesome trip.

[2mAn]

Yea the more modern cars are relatively painless. Ive done two fly & drives with ~50 year old cars. Thats always fun.

[AWDBOB]

Stoked you updated this!! I really like the wheel choice, BTW- it's unique but fits the MT2 vibe.

[e30davie]

yer the wheels are very cool. That action shot above in front of the blue evo is awesome.

[s-thetikz]

those wheels look incredible on it. well done

and that cosmos... super rare pokemon

[Simple_Smith]

Thanks for the kind words guys! The GTR and the Cosmo are on completely different ends of the spectrum but both incredibly cool. The GTR begs to be driven faster and the Cosmo is content at cruising at whatever speed you want while feeling like you're driving a 7mpg couch. The e30 is in storage for the winter but winter plans include a front splitter, exhaust system, and some paint work. We'll see how far I get on that since the e90 tuning bug has hit me so I'll be giving that a good cleaning along with an intercooler, dying the headliner, and possibly wheels if the budget allows.

[Simple_Smith]

Well I was a bit too ambitious over the winter and wasn't able to check everything off the to-do list for both cars. The e30 splitter project was completed but the e90 took up the rest of my time getting a full paint correction, black dyed headliner, Logic 7 audio retrofit, M3 control arms, rear shocks, and a set of 19" Style 351 wheels.



The e30 splitter worked out quite well for being as minimally invasive as possible. I started out using a piece of 1/4" plywood to make a template that would be traced to final splitter material. I used a sheet of dibond for the splitter material, drilled holes into the bottom side of the valance and ran a piece of aluminum angle stock along the inside contour of the valance. 1/4-20 allen head bolts and large washers attach the splitter to the threaded aluminum piece essentially sandwiching the valance to prevent flex. For the middle supports I noticed a threaded hole in the frame and matched up the bolt size and ordered up a couple lengths of threaded rod to be used as stanchions. The rear splitter mounts used a riv-nut mounted in the holes in the front subframe. I'm hoping to eventually extend the splitter into a full undertray but for now the front section will have to do. I also had a company in Germany 3D print brake duct adapters going from the MT2 valance to standard 3" DIA hose. As of right now they're not routed to any hose, so that will be a later addition as well. I'm not sure whether to box in the splitter by putting an additional piece of dibond along the frame rail to block off the engine bay more or if it needs the wheel wells open to pull heat out of the bay.


Without proper software, its really a shot in the dark with a lot of aero stuff it seems like. Pipe dream would be to snag another MT2 spoiler and add a multi-position gurney flap but that would be a big undertaking to get it to a level I'd be happy with. In addition to the splitter I want to fabricate side skirt extensions, full smooth underbody, and a rear diffuser in the same style. That likely won't be happening until I decide on exhaust components to use to dial in the sound I want in the space available in order to make the underbody panels as efficient as possible given the build constraints.

After the splitter project was completed (well, at least 80% complete and good enough to drive with), I cruised down to The Vintage with a couple buddies and was able to get a bit of driving done on some mountain roads. Really liking the way the car feels, but I think I'm going to dial out a bit of negative camber before the next trip down. I'm not getting much wear on the outer edge of the rear tires so I'll take out half a degree and see how it feels and how much I complain about the adjustment process. Besides the camber, the car really needs more power. Its fun at higher RPM but the lack of bottom end was especially evident after taking the 335d and its gobs of torque down to the Tail of the Dragon in July.




Unfortunately on my drive back from The Vintage this spring I got a tire puncture and it took about 6 weeks to get a replacement. Luckily no damage to the wheel when I got the flat. Unluckily, the factory widowmaker jack slipped off the pinchweld in the rear and crunched the rocker panel. Thankfully MT2 skirts and pods popped out when it crunched and popped back in once the jack was out and I didn't get hurt in the process. Another thing to add to the list.. It needs some paint work anyways.

Another issue that the car is having is that the power comes on weird at like 4000rpm. During WOT it climbs smoothly, starts to get into powerband around 4000, flattens out, and then keeps climbing after 5000rpm. My current guess is a restrictive exhaust (stock 320i B20) and factory cats. If anyone has additional insight, it would be appreciated. I'm not going after any crazy power with this car but I want a really stout power curve.

[2mAn]

Have you seen what the M3 has to “flatten” the rear area around the spare ? I was going to direct you to the e30 aerodynamics thread in the race sub forum but it looks like you were posting there years ago when I was too...

[Simple_Smith]

Have you seen what the M3 has to “flatten” the rear area around the spare ? I was going to direct you to the e30 aerodynamics thread in the race sub forum but it looks like you were posting there years ago when I was too...

Yeah, I'd like to do something emulating the M3 rear setup but extending a bit more towards the wheel wells and out around the perimeter. I'll be mimicking the front splitter design that sandwiched the valance between the splitter and aluminum angle stock. The e30 was clearly not designed for full underbody aero and I'm hoping once I figure out the plan and placement for the exhaust, I'll have a better idea of what I can do with the underbody panels. Again, I'm trying to make this as minimally invasive as possible while still maximizing performance gain so it can be quite a balancing act. I got pretty lucky with the front splitter mounting points but the floor and rear apron will be a bit more challenging.