M52 Swapped E30 Build - SPANNER RASH

[zoona]

My 316i came with a 4.27. I would be surprised if you had a 3.46, which I think was the sporting diff.

I took a risk with my m52b28 swap and bought a 3.15 Torsen LSD because I wanted a freeway flyer. I was willing to give up some acceleration at lower speeds. I don't think I have given up very much at all. With the lightened flywheel it is very revvy and pulls strong and linear up to 6000. I don't think I would want to accelerate any faster since my shifts would be faster than the G260 is good for, and because 1st would be useless. Your mileage will certainly vary.

4000 rpm 1st:23 2nd:40 3rd:62 4th:87 5th:108. 80mph all day at 3000 rpm and 25 mpg.

Have some fun playing around with the gearing calculator. https://e30goodies.com/gearing-calculator/

This is a medium case, so definitely not original. I will wait until my chip is here, and look at the revs. But i have spun the diff/wheels and counted. It is just under 3.5. Closest ratio is 3.46.

But we are hijacking Spannerrash's thread...

[SPANNER RASH]

This is a medium case, so definitely not original. I will wait until my chip is here, and look at the revs. But i have spun the diff/wheels and counted. It is just under 3.5. Closest ratio is 3.46.

But we are hijacking Spannerrash's thread...

Medium case 3.46 sounds like a good compromise for a 24v swapped car. I think I am after a 3.64 personally as it is a weekend car. Get that 6-cyl plug swapped ASAP and it will all make more sense.

[SPANNER RASH]

Big news, the M52 E30 is now officially street-legal!

I ran out of excuses not to have another shot at the MOT, on the build up to it I installed a fresh PAS pump on the M52 engine, to remedy the horrible grinding noises the original one made, plus I played around with the headlamp aim using some shims to compensate for the stuck adjusters.

Finally, I fitted some nice coilover covers which should protect my new suspension from the elements nicely.

All said and done, the car ended up passing the MOT test, and to celebrate we took it out for its first proper rip.

And boy, does it not disappoint. This 24v swapped E30 is far more savage than I anticipated. It's very responsive, much faster than I anticipated and the M52 really does sing. It's quite remarkable how much it's exceeded my expectations.

It is however very harsh and "busy" in the handling department on our terrible UK roads zoona I now understand your complaint properly. I'm sure softer spring rates will sort this though.

It's also obnoxiously loud and people turn to look what the noise is, even when I am just cruising which is kinda awkward. Absolutely epic fun when you are giving it a thrash, but possibly a bit too much the rest of the time. I think with a few tweaks to tone some things back it will be perfect. Cheers!

[Panici]

That first proper drive feeling is always amazing! Nice work.

M52B28 feels just right in an E30. With a tune and M50 inlet you're right at 200whp which is "enough" in a car weighing ~2700lbs.
It's also not enough power that you have to get crazy with suspension and bushings to keep it under control. Can be managed with a softer and more streetable setup.

[zoona]

That first proper drive feeling is always amazing! Nice work.

M52B28 feels just right in an E30. With a tune and M50 inlet you're right at 200whp which is "enough" in a car weighing ~2700lbs.
It's also not enough power that you have to get crazy with suspension and bushings to keep it under control. Can be managed with a softer and more streetable setup.

I agree... i had all sorts of plans for increasing poswer, but as it is NA and I am used to turbo cars this just feels so much faster. It's just the right amount.

[SPANNER RASH]

That first proper drive feeling is always amazing! Nice work.

M52B28 feels just right in an E30. With a tune and M50 inlet you're right at 200whp which is "enough" in a car weighing ~2700lbs.
It's also not enough power that you have to get crazy with suspension and bushings to keep it under control. Can be managed with a softer and more streetable setup.

Couldn't agree more, I'm really pleased with the performance so far, the car really feels alive.

[SPANNER RASH]

Having put around 200 miles on the E30 so far, I can report it hasn't really skipped a beat, I've been really enjoying driving it. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty more to do on the project to make it more me. I think there are a couple of things that need toning down to be Frank, but I will go into more detail on that in the near future. I'm planning to make a video discussing how the car drives, what I like and what I don't so far, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I decided to tear myself from the cockpit and take the opportunity to lock in my hard work on the underside by application of a Lanolin Oil underbody protection.

I did an awful lot of work getting the underside of the E30 to where it is, and while I'm very happy with my Dinitrol underseal, I'm still paranoid about the unrelenting march of corrosion we face here in the UK.

I opted for the great value Buzzweld Chassis Guard product over the more heavily marketed Lanoguard stuff. I imagine the products are very similar, both being Lanolin based, but Buzzweld are very well respected by car restorers and their product is a lot cheaper, so I decided to take a punt on it. So far I am extremely happy with it, it went on really easily and judging by how stubborn its been to remove from my garage floor, I would bet on it lasting a long time too.

Instead of spraying this stuff directly to rust, which is the most common usecase for it, I am using it as more of a sacrificial layer of protection to add extra resistance to the E30's underside.

I will no doubt follow up with an update about how its held up in 3-6 months time, but so far I can highly recommend it. As always, you can find links to stuff I used in the video description on YouTube.