Strict budget, slow restoration. *Now with moar budget*

[Reichart12]

That 0-60 tracker is pretty cool, what model is it?

[Wh33lhop]

Oh yeah, managed a bunch of low 1:45s at Laguna. So close to a 1:44 but I couldn't string it together when there was no traffic. :(



(sorry for vid quality)

[Wh33lhop]

Next, time for a track day. I have always left everything in the car for events including the spare and sub, but now I am starting to care about laptimes so I removed about 140lbs worth of stuff including the 65lb lukebox/amp and spare.



(Re)installing racecar stuff!


After taking some weight out I was able to manage a 5.7 0-60, not exactly fast but not bad considering you need 2 shifts.


I'd like to do a full 1/4 mile run but that's a little tougher to do on the street.

And a nice treat a friend had lying around that I got super cheap: an M3 cluster. You need an E28 M5 coding plug to make it work with a 6 cylinder motor, which is about $45 shipped.


Unfortunately you have to cut away the housing of your brand new coding plug as it won't fit in the E30 cluster. Just use the board.

Here's the final product. I don't really care about the M badging but it does add a nice touch to the car.

[Wh33lhop]

So now the G250 and the 3.23 diff are in, but the diff doesn't want to lock. It feels tired. So, out it comes.

My patented double-screwdriver method of cap removal. Much more effective pulling from both sides at once than going around and prying slowly with just one screwdriver.


I also gutted my 3- clutch 4.10 in case I needed parts. Messy oprtation.


Here's what I found inside the 3.23. A factory 4 clutch diff! Pretty cool, haven't seen one before.




The clutches don't look worn at all, plus they measure out to 2.0mm apiece.


Hard to tell from the pic but the 4 clutch top cap (on the right) is 1.5mm thinner than the 2 clutch top cap (left), to make some extra room:


Here's my shitty diff guts diagram.


So, if the clutches are in good shape, why isn't it locking? I notice two differences between this diff and the 3 clutch I built.
1. Belleville washers. These are basically circular springs inside the diff that provide preload. The 4 clutch 3.23 didn't have any in it, which will mean there's no preload.
2. The ramps. The ramps in the 4 clutch are asymmetric but are also quite tame, looking like 60 degrees or more.

Here are the normal 45 degree ramps in the 3 clutch that locks well:


And here are the grandma ramps in the 4 clutch that won't lock:


The weaker ramps are also asymmetric which means they could have been installed backwards making lockup even weaker.

So, I put the more aggressive 45 degree ramps in and replaced the 2.4mm spacer with a Belleville washer in the 4 clutch diff and put it back in. It locks fantastically now, but has a bit too much preload for my liking. I may take it out later to remove some of that preload as it makes the car push mid corner.

[Wh33lhop]

"someone"

Sorry, it should read: a special someone

And then a heart. <3

[2mAn]

yeah fuck that guy

[kronus]

yeah fuck that guy

[phreshkid]

"someone"

yeah, what an "a-hole".

[kronus]

"someone"

[Wh33lhop]

Hi r3v

some stuff has happened

First, my trans blew. Lost first and second gear. Someone donated a g250 to the cause and I had a 3.23LSD lying around so I decided to put those in.

The g250 (out of an early e36 318/325) is a notoriously weak transmission but the price was right and the gearing was also nice.



Please note that if you wish to use an e36 transmission with a single mass flywheel like I did you must also use a euro 323i TOB to take up the extra slack since the single mass flywheel is thinner. I had to pull the trans twice!

What's nice about the E36 transmission compared to the E30 transmission? The gear spacing. The G260 from the E30 has always struck me as having widely spaced ratios that can drop the engine out of the powerband. In layman's terms, E36 gearing means the RPMs drop less when you shift as it's more close ratio than the E30 trans.

It's subtle but it makes a noticeable difference in the character of the car.

Here's the gearing diagram of the g260/4.10. First and second gears are a bit too short to be truly usable.



Here's the gearing with the g250/3.23. All gears are a little bit taller but especially first and second. The car stays more in its powerband as a result of the closer gearing.



The cammed M50's powerband starts around 4500-5000rpm so the revs shouldn't drop below that when you shift at redline.

[Wh33lhop]

I don't think you offended anyone, just keep in mind the customer's decision is just as important as the shop's work. When I first spoke with Oliver before I even knew him, he told me Cirrus was a 2 stage and they can try and replicate something similar in a single stage to spray for cheap but it wouldn't look the same. Where I said no I'd rather do it right or not at all, this kid may not have.

Eric paid a lot more than $800. :p

[KIRIEIW]

I see, well sorry if I offend anyone. For the record if Eric did get his car painted at Oliver's, it came out awesome compared to this kids. I doubt they sand/primed the car before paint for $800 while I'm assuming Eric did, that's most likely the deal breaker in quality. Plus I'm also assuming Eric didn't go single stage with a clear coat mixed in.

[Wh33lhop]

I met someone the other day who went down to the Sunnyvale Macco and got there e30 painted, looked like complete crap to me. You could tell the clear and paint was mixed. Said he payed like $800 bucks, and your recommending a $500 job LOL! Not sure why everyone's so crazy about this Oliver guy (no offense intended).

OP, good job on spending wisely. That hood made a huge difference!

Oliver is a personal friend of ours and I think a lot of people can vouch that he personally does great work. However a $800 paintjob is an $800 paintjob and he can't work miracles, especially when he has others do it as he's running a shop and has to delegate. Cheap paint jobs are cheap for a reason.

To further address, I don't want to half ass a paintjob and would want to retain Cirrus which is 2 stage. When I asked Olver what it would take to fix the rust hole under the A pillar and spray in cirrus, well it wasn't such a budget job any more. I've got a lot on the list that I'd rather do before paint.

[2mAn]

Seriously, the car looks so much better now. I feel weird

[KIRIEIW]

Huh, guess this kid got screwed and didn't ask for Oliver. Either that or you guys used a different paint brand/ took different steps in application? Like I said this looked like the clear and paint where mixed together and sprayed on the car, possibly just one thick coat.