My turbo 24v alpine coupe

[mitchlevy7]

been a while since I have updated. Not much going on with the car, just getting more little things taken care of. Been driving it alot on the weekends because there really has been nothing to do because of COVID and gas is HELLA cheap down here (Paid $1.65/gal for the 93 thats still in the tank)

Before today I:
Gave it its first oil change
installed the condor delrin steering guibo thing, that was a pain in the butt drilling out the factory one to install it.
ceramic coated the futuras
installed shorter studs (58mm i think) so the center caps will fit over the studs. Originally had some crappy 54mm, then went to 78mm bullet nose, and back to 58 bullet nose.
got dissapointed because the mishimoto catch can sucks. It was halfway full and started getting all of its contents back into my filter.

today I:
I noticed a puddle of coolant under the car yesterday so I started investigating it. There was a hose leaking from the heater core and another leak in the front of the car, still trying to figure out the front one.
I installed a new fuel filter, old one was full of rust, should have changed it when i did the fuel system/tank
cleaned up some of the wiring under the intake manifold
installed a new crank sensor as the water pump pulley had eaten through the wiring cover on the old one like a year ago. I taped up the wire with plans to replace it and finally replaced it today.
Figured out why the dash starts smoking when i turn on the blower fan

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

i have a new resistor pack but I didn't want to buy the new blower motor until I knew it was bad, should have just done it. I have a new one coming from FCP euro (whatever the OEM brand was for like $150, not about to pay $600 for a blower motor)

heres a good pic of the car for good measure with my coworkers saleen mustang

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

Likely going to sell the 1552 Formula TR's soon, if anybody might want them. I kinda bought them on an impulse and now I realize that i don't really need "daily" wheels for a car that will never be dailied. Thinking about replacing those with a set of something lightweight. Been eyeing the 15x10 dekagrams or maybe the avanti s1. something light with good brake clearance and maybe a 8.5 or 8 inch wide in the front so I am not constantly rubbing.

[mitchlevy7]

rear overfenders came in from Cliq tuning.... looks like their "fits all e30 coupes" isnt very accurate because, well its impossible because early quarters and late model quarters are different. Fitment around the taillight is telling me it was designed around an early model coupe. Looks like these would be WAY to much work to modify and make it look good.

back to the drawing board.

[TeXJ]

looks like a great time!

[mitchlevy7]

E30 Oktoberfest was a blast!
Made the ~500 mile round trip without a hitch! For sure an accomplishment!

Learned a few things about this car, some just confirming things I already knew:
-The bias valve for the brakes needs adjustment. The rear rotors look untouched after 500 miles. Especially with manual brakes, I need to use all the brakes I have.
-Springs need to be stiffer
-I need to learn how to drive better********
-my tires are too tall
-it sounds like a 2jz, in a good way
-not bad vehicle for camping, although the fiesta would have been way better
-running a shorter diff like a 3.15 might allow a better 2nd gear autocross run. In autocross I kept alternating between 1st and 2nd for runs. 1st was too short and too much tire spin, 2nd was a little lazy, especially with this turbo.

Overall, NCe30 did a kickass job putting the event on. For 60 bucks you got unlimited skidpad access, 1 lunch, 2 dinners (cooked on an e30 trailer grill), good beer, event beer glass, camping pass, koozie, sticker, raffle tickets and alot of fun.

Autocross run (click to play)
GH010485 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

About to go, they allowed a few non-e30's to have some fun too.

GOPR0483 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

they brought us all onto the track for a group pic

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

New addition to my e30 wall in my apt (check them out, Turtle labs https://turtlelaboratories.com/)

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

turbo 5.0 e30, s52 e30, and me

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

Super Clean, bagged, s52 swapped, mtech 1 car

GOPR0475 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

GOPR0477 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

[mitchlevy7]

E30 OKTOBERFEST IS TOMORROW!

Did some prep last night. I have been loosing sleep on the fact that I dont have a grommet in the firewall for the ECU wiring. I dont know where my factory grommet is either. I did it the old school way and cut some vacuum line down the center and made it fit the hole. Now I can sleep!

I REALLY want to run the Futura's for this event, however, its a 3.5 hr drive each way and the temps are supposed to go into the 30's and 40's during the weekend. It's just not r888 weather. Plus the firehawks are ALOT quieter.

I am sure ill be posting pics from the weekend.

[mitchlevy7]

BMW CCA Oktoberfest was cool.

GOPR0461 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

GOPR0462 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

and an orange M3

GOPR0464 by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

They had some badass cars there I didnt take pics of. M2 competitions, an M1, some m3's and m4's, Alpina E30's. It was a good time except for the rain.

[mitchlevy7]

you could space the fender out at the rear mounting points to get a bit more clearance

my issue is more the tire hitting the inside of the wheel well rather then the fender itself (not running fender liners either) Appreciate it though. I just picked too tall of a tire. Stock height is 23.88, the r888 in front are 23.97 but these are 24.86. Shoulda went 225/45/16 =/

[wworm]

you could space the fender out at the rear mounting points to get a bit more clearance

[mitchlevy7]

had to raise the fronts to as high as they would go so that the new wheels could get even close to full lock. Remember i have shortened housings and ix struts so "as high as it will go" really isnt that high.

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr


Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

doesnt it look like I have way too much caster?

nonetheless, its alot easier to deal with manual steering with these wheels. I forgot to do a comparison of the 225/50/16 Firehawks vs the 225/45/16 r888 but the r888 are 1/2" to a 1" wider. I really didnt think about the fact that going to a 50 series sidewall on a 16 made the overall tire height so big, I am having issues with the tire hitting the inner fender well on turning....

In super exciting news, my new v-band clamp came because i broke the turbo to downpipe one. I got a stainless one from ticon industries... their stuff comes so clean out of the box.

[mitchlevy7]

Which kit is it? Every aluminum flywheel kit I've worked on has that steel spacer. You could probably order a replacement from any of the vendors that sell them. As I understand, the aluminum is too soft to torque those bolts against. I don't have the engineering technical terms, but basically you're applying a very high pressure in a very small area to a very soft material. It won't stay tight. Hence the steel spacer which spreads the load from all bolts over a much larger area, the steel is also much harder than the aluminum so it won't marr when you torque the bolts.

Edit: there's actually a BMW OE pn for this washer: 11221262827 and as far as the bolts go, you can order the correct length grade 10.9 metric bolt and torque appropriately with loctite

oh, don't get me wrong, I agree with you whole heartedly. Thanks for the part number.

My real question is: Did I forget to torque the bolts originally, or did they loosen up for that reason? I guess I will find out in a few thousand miles if they loosen up again. I for sure can see this being overlooked on this clutch kit, being that it is a ebay, cheapo clutch. I want to make the switch to the DKM because 1. Steel flywheel. 2. More torque capacity for when I go with e85. 3. Higher quality. 4. Pedal feel and engagement.

Anyways, been on the hustle getting things done after work on this car. Switched the last set of wheel studs to the bullet nose longer MH studs and installed 20mm spacers all around.

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

my big gripe is that the OZ's dont allow me to put the centercaps on the wheels with these studs (on the rear at least) because the stud is too long. I can't use a spacer because I am already 16x10 et -2 and it sticks out like crazy.

Also installed new parking brake pads and hardware last night. I am a little worried I am going to run into the same issue with the spring bolts popping out of the parking brake shoes because the backing plate of the rotor is a little rusty. I think I am going to replace them when I do the secondary caliper.

Today's agenda is to remove the downpipe and rewrap it in actual DEI titanium wrap and fix the lip a little bit as a few of the bolts ate through the plastic when i hit the lip on the ground. The car will be on display at the BMW CCA octoberfest next weekend. Its a good excuse to tie up all these loose ends.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

that makes sense. The clutch and flywheel kit didnt come with it and the pics of it on the web dont have it. I am a little bit weary of running this clutch in the long term anyways. I dont think the bolts that the clutch come with would be long enough for a spacer anyways. I plan on getting the DKM twin disk eventually, but I might as well get some more use out of this before i send it.

Which kit is it? Every aluminum flywheel kit I've worked on has that steel spacer. You could probably order a replacement from any of the vendors that sell them. As I understand, the aluminum is too soft to torque those bolts against. I don't have the engineering technical terms, but basically you're applying a very high pressure in a very small area to a very soft material. It won't stay tight. Hence the steel spacer which spreads the load from all bolts over a much larger area, the steel is also much harder than the aluminum so it won't marr when you torque the bolts.

Edit: there's actually a BMW OE pn for this washer: 11221262827 and as far as the bolts go, you can order the correct length grade 10.9 metric bolt and torque appropriately with loctite

[mitchlevy7]

I think there's supposed to be a steel washer/ring that sandwiches between the bolts and aluminum flywheel.

Otherwise, this is an awesome build. Going back now to read from the beginning :D

that makes sense. The clutch and flywheel kit didnt come with it and the pics of it on the web dont have it. I am a little bit weary of running this clutch in the long term anyways. I dont think the bolts that the clutch come with would be long enough for a spacer anyways. I plan on getting the DKM twin disk eventually, but I might as well get some more use out of this before i send it.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

So this is what I saw when I took off the clutch

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

(I think the pilot bearing was pulled out by the input shaft). All the flywheel bolts were finger tight, minus the one that was almost completely out. There was loctite on them. The only thing I can think of is I put them in hand tight but spaced out and didnt torque them. I also replaced the rear main seal (leaking) with a new oem complete housing, and put it all back together (with loctite of course) and fired her up and the transmission noise is gone. She sounds AWESOME with an open downpipe.

I think there's supposed to be a steel washer/ring that sandwiches between the bolts and aluminum flywheel.

Otherwise, this is an awesome build. Going back now to read from the beginning :D

[mitchlevy7]

Nothing like fixing something and finding a new issue.

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

installed new centric blank rotors and hawk HPS pads in the rear. Found that my ebrake hardware on the pass side was broken and getting stuck and getting tossed around there. There has always been a griding coming from the passenger rear but I just thought it was the normal brake. Ordered all new ebrake pads and hardware, should be here later this week.

[mitchlevy7]

So this is what I saw when I took off the clutch

Untitled by mitchlevy7, on Flickr

(I think the pilot bearing was pulled out by the input shaft). All the flywheel bolts were finger tight, minus the one that was almost completely out. There was loctite on them. The only thing I can think of is I put them in hand tight but spaced out and didnt torque them. I also replaced the rear main seal (leaking) with a new oem complete housing, and put it all back together (with loctite of course) and fired her up and the transmission noise is gone. She sounds AWESOME with an open downpipe.

Also found a few pinhole leaks in my exhaust. Going to fix them at lunch today and maybe do the rear brakes after work.