'88 325is M30 street car-->S54 -->S50 -->M54 Enduro Race car

[LJ851]

what size is that? 17x9" +30mm or 17x9.5" +35mm??

If they are the concave bbs rc's iirc they are 17x8.5 et15.

My wheels also showed up today, I've always loved these wheels and I'm really excited to get them mounted. They are concave, low offset RC's that have been milled to et30, perfect for running with adapters on an e30. I'm really hoping I can fit some 235/40's with these! Thanks to GK-E30M3 for the smooth transaction and fantastic wheels

[Jb325is]

Yeah they are RC's, ET12 with 18MM adapters. I'm not planning on running the slicks with adapters, but these Continentals (225/45/17) are about the same size as a Continental DW 245/40/17 street tire, which is the size I'm planning on running.

I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I really want to do sheetmetal flares, I work with a really talented metalworker and was talking to him today about what I want to do. We talked about a "blister" flare like this:



Or something like this



I like the look of this a lot better, but it doesn't address the clearance problems where the quarter meets the fender arch so I don't know if it'd be worth doing.

I am hesitant because the paint is still original and the car is pretty nice, but I really want to run 17's and wide tires from now on so I might as well do it now. I even considered doing MZ3 5 lug for the rear, which would be perfect, but I have no interest in doing e36 5 lug in the front so I'd have to spend the $$$$ on e30 m3 struts

[tinkerputzer]

If you are set on those wheels and 17's in general 5 lug is the way to go.

[Spectre]

This is just sex. Sub'd for ideas!

[JGood]

Fwiw, I'm running 235/40/17 on 17x9 et25's on my early model, with a 10mm spacer on the drivers side and an 8mm spacer on the passenger side (so et15 and et17). I had to roll the quarters flush, and do just barely rub the inner liner under full compression (rarely happens, usually only when it actually hooks in 1st gear, at the drag strip). I tried 2mm more on each side (et13 and et15), and they rubbed constantly.

[delamaize]

Just say no to blisters on E30s.....

[lambo]

You should graft early model rear fenders onto your car and tell me how much of a pita it is lol.

That's what I want to do, or maybe radius cut fenders... hmm

[Jb325is]

I think I'm going to try to cut the inner quarter and roll the hell out of the fenders. If that doesn't work, I'm just going to break down and buy the KaMotors flares and cut it all out.

I haven't done much with the car, it cranks up and runs but I haven't bled coolant yet and I'm still having that weird issue with the idle control valve. The car will idle and not respond to the throttle or it won't idle and revs freely. Not really worried about it, I figure it'll be an easy fix after I get the exhaust built and coolant bled so I can actually run the car for more than a few seconds. Unfortunately I'm working in Wisconsin for the week so I still won't make any progress.

[kamotors]

flares are goood;) look at all dat clearance with 245's.

[gills]

hit the track yet? ;)

[Jb325is]

Haven't update this in a while. I've been really busy with work. The car is running, driveshaft is in and I received all of my exhaust stuff finally. I decided to go with 3.5

IMG_0540 by jbraswell, on Flickr

photo1 (1) by jbraswell, on Flickr

I got the wheels and tires on, then decided I wasn't a big fan of the way it looked so I sold my adapters, trying to sell my wheels and I bought some e46 m3 brakes. I'm now planning on 5 lug and flares with bigger tires all around

[vitiokas95]

Sweet looking E30. It will be a beast on the track

[LJ851]

Can i see a close up of that fancy ass collector?

Also, that muffler looks loud. I expect a phone call when it's driveable but i may be able to hear you from my house anyway.

[Jb325is]

Sorry, forgot to take a pic of the collector for you. I'll snap one before it goes on the car, which is soon hopefully.

Tonight I started preparing the car to go to exhaust shop. I pressure washed the underside extensively and changed the fluids.

According to e46 m3 forums, using this oil instead of Castrol TWS10-60 is going to cause catastrophic failure. We'll see!

IMG_0548 by jbraswell, on Flickr

I also received some packages
DSCF4695 by jbraswell, on Flickr

e46 m3 calipers, cryo-treated factory e46 m3 rotors and 5 lug kit from "nasieg" on here. Quality on the 5 lug kit looks fantastic and I'm really excited about it. I also got e46 328i rear calipers and ordered flares from kamotors. I sold my RC's though so now I'm on the lookout for something new, with low offsets. I'm thinking M-systems, staggered.

Also took the car around the block for the first time. No exhaust so I didn't drive it hard, but the throttle response is amazing. It's actually so good that it's a problem a low RPM's and will definitely take a lot of getting used to. I took a video, but its kinda boring so I'll wait until I get it to the dyno or something before I post one

Sitting next to the next project:

IMG_0563 by jbraswell, on Flickr

[Julien]

awesome project! A shop I worked at in charlotte put liquimoly 10w60 in countless m-cars, never an issue.