Panici's '87 325is E30 - Boosted In Bronze

[DEV0 E30]

These serviceable driveshafts have caught my eye. Do you feel like it's a worthy upgrade?

[econti]

Nice shaft

These serviceable driveshafts have caught my eye. Do you feel like it's a worthy upgrade?

To replace staked in uni joints is very expensive, so for probably a similar price you get big bois that are circlipped in

[Panici]

These serviceable driveshafts have caught my eye. Do you feel like it's a worthy upgrade?

I replaced it as a maintenance item. Rear u-joint on my old shaft was quite notchy even though it was from a lower mileage vert 328i E36.
A new OEM shaft costs significantly more then this upgrade. It's just a bonus that this aftermarket one is stronger and serviceable.

Previously I paid a shop (that came recommended to me) to change a rear u-joint in the 325e shaft I used with the M20/G260 combo. Whatever they did, it wasn't correct as the u-joint snapped the first time I dumped the clutch on sticky tires.

[Northern]

The only direct replacement ujoint I ever found for the E30/E36 driveshaft looked much weaker, and the only person I heard of that used one had the same issue as you.

[Panici]

The E30 is ready for the 2023 season!
I still have a few small items to button up, but I can work on them as time allows.

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Finally got the back end together. Pleased with the fitment of the 3-piece Kamei rear valance.

Not in love with the exhaust tip, but it was quick and is functional. Would like to install a straight dual tip in the future.

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Big disappointment was the colourmatch on the rear trim. Obviously the shop sprayed the diving board trim and the rear valance separate from the rest of the car, because the colour is noticeably different.
The rear valance is low enough that you could get away with it, but the bumper trim is right next to the body paint and it's obviously lighter.

Not sure if they picked the wrong variation of Ipanema Brown, or made a mistake mixing.
I thought it was the different angles playing tricks on me, but up close with a single source of light and you can see the trim has more gold mixed in the paint. It's not the garage lights as you can see it in the daylight as well.

Front trim is also the wrong colour, but it's much harder to notice unless you look right at the fender-to-trim transition.

Thankfully I still have the old black diving board surrounds, so if this bothers me enough I will be switching back.
Will run it like this for 2023 and see if I can live with it.

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Some good news, I replaced the throttle cable with the E36 35411163228. It fits well except that I had to take up some slack with an aftermarket cable end. I routed the cable below the brake booster and it looks much cleaner now!

Also started installing the trim, but found that the new clips are different then the original style (that are discontinued). I could only get one style to work. I've ordered some more clips so I can finish up the driver's side and also install the passenger side trim.

Ordered two new washer squirters as well (one of mine is broken). $20 a piece from BMW for the regular (non heated) ones.

[Matt@EDC]

Looking great!!! Enjoy 2023

[Northern]

Car is looking super sharp these days

[e30m3s54turbo]

The Mtech I wing and rear valance looks great.
i agree with you on dual tip. On mine I did 2 dual 2.5” tips in stainless.

[Panici]

Looking great!!! Enjoy 2023

Car is looking super sharp these days

Thanks guys! It's fun to see the body panels finally come together.
I bought that Kamei rear valance/apron from Albie325 in 2019 and this is the first time it's been bolted to the car!

The Mtech I wing and rear valance looks great.
i agree with you on dual tip. On mine I did 2 dual 2.5” tips in stainless.

It's actually an E28 535is Pfeba spoiler.
Very similar to the Mtech I E30 unit, but it's a little wider (extends off the trunk), and has "ridges" at the trailing edge.

I'm having trouble finding a dual tip that will accept a single 3" as input. Maybe I'm not looking in the right spot?


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One more pic of the rear end. The colour difference doesn't stick out as much if you get the lighting just right.

[CubbyChowder]

Man, it's looking SO good! Definitely a bummer about the paint mismatch though. Such a cool E30.

[Panici]

We had about a week of unseasonably-warm weather, so I took the opportunity to get the E30 out of hiding!

Installed the side trim and new windshield washer squinters on Saturday, then filled it up with gas. As a side note the Shell 91 octane that was previously ethanol-free is now E10. Unfortunately that means I can no longer get ethanol-free gasoline locally. 🙁 I've started adding Stabil 360 Marine at every fill-up to neutralize some of the ethanol's effects.
May need to modify the tune for the new gas, we will see.

The new Morimoto XB AMP 5000k 50W HIDs look great in the lowbeams, this was the first time firing them up.

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Rinsed all the dust off the car on Sunday and went for a drive!
Car is running great, shifter feels epic now that I've modified it to fit my driving position!

I should note that it needs some throttle blips on a hot-restart to fire up. Will have to work on that portion of the tune. Also the passenger side mirror glass will not stay locked into the housing (clips are broken?)

Seems to be a little more mechanical noise coming into the cabin, noticeable especially at low speeds. Haven't tested it during highway cruising yet. Sounds like it's from the trans but it has to be from the rear diff/subframe/driveshaft because I didn't change from the OEM rubber trans mounts. Not a big deal but worth noting.

It's a great feeling to have the car fully-assembled for the first time since I was rear-ended.
Getting the car PPF coated ASAP as well.

I took some fantastic pictures with the DSLR which I will post soon. Meanwhile here are a couple cellphone shots!

[craz azn]

Looks sweet dude! This past week was awesome for us... now we're back in the typical cold grumpy wet weather, haha.

What page is your HID setup on? I need to go backwards and check that out. Also, related to lighting, have you given any time to another set of smoked taillights? I want to do a set for my 4dr E30, I would like to follow along on your progress the second time around and see if you have any tips to share after having done a set previously.

[Panici]

Looks sweet dude! This past week was awesome for us... now we're back in the typical cold grumpy wet weather, haha.

What page is your HID setup on? I need to go backwards and check that out. Also, related to lighting, have you given any time to another set of smoked taillights? I want to do a set for my 4dr E30, I would like to follow along on your progress the second time around and see if you have any tips to share after having done a set previously.

Just one picture of the Morimoto ballasts tucked away on Post 480. It's not a retrofit, just a drop-in bulb replacement.
It's an upgrade from the 35w eBay HIDs that I used previously, and a significant upgrade to the original sealed-beams.

I have gone back to traditional halogen high-beam bulbs for now, the cool-blue light of the Aukee 5000lm 6000k bulbs wasn't doing it for me anymore.
I might change my mind once I test them at night, as those LEDs were BRIGHT! Perhaps there is a similar offering in 5000k available now?


Haven't tried to make another set of startec reps yet.
Have been casually looking for a set of euro-spec (which have the reflector in the rear fog location) taillights with broken lenses to cannibalize.






Previous LED high-beams for reference:

[Panici]

Too cold to do much outside today, but I did take the E30 for a drive.
There is definitely more noise coming from the now-polybushed rear subframe and secondary diff mount. Going to be adding some Hushmat to the trunk and under the rear seat in the future to knock it back (OEM trunk floor asphalt is long gone).

Changed the wastegate reference line from the compressor housing to the intake manifold. (Stole the vacuum line from the BOV for now)

Previously it was making 4psi in the midrange and dropping down to ~3.6psi up top due to the intercooler restriction.
Now it makes just about 5psi from 3000rpm to redline!

Here is a log of 3rd gear. Cleaned up the low/mid-range fueling when I got back home, as it was about 0.75 AFR points lean on average. But we were still safe as my target is set conservatively at 11.1.

[Northern]

Man this thing just looks so good now, I can't get over it.

Someone in a local FB group posted sometime last fall/winter about our 91 becoming E10 and I'm still bummed about that. Mostly affects my generator/snow blower, but the bike and E30 won't enjoy it. Other cars hopefully just have a tiny hit to mileage.