SNAFU; high performance 318is build that lives up to the name, Turbo M42 ➞ Turbo M20

[wworm]

I love this car. That volvo turbo badge is so rad haha. Is the "cool" badge below it also from a volvo? Also what are your tire specs?

[2mAn]

They must be running out of good candidates for car of the month, because as you may have noticed my car is this month's pick

Here are a few more photos from the shoot I did for the COTM feature.

Thanks, 2mAn :up:

NOT true!!

My goal for the Car of the Month is to feature cars that the owners have built for themselves. Its not about the fancy paint, fancy wheels, stance-scene. This car checks all the right boxes and there will be some shiny paint cars thrown in too, but at this point the youngest E30 is still 25 years old so its hard to find those survivors and really, these cars should be enjoyed, not packed away in some climate controlled garage.

[varg]

They must be running out of good candidates for car of the month, because as you may have noticed my car is this month's pick

Here are a few more photos from the shoot I did for the COTM feature.









Thanks, 2mAn :up:

[2mAn]

Good stuff! PM sent

[zwill23]

Car is looking great, glad to see it with some meat again.

I aspire to reach your level of performance / daily drivability, I always enjoy your thread!

[wworm]

looks damn good too. Really looking forward to the eventual 302 swap for this beast haha. If that ever happens....

[varg]

New tires. Now I'm riding on some beefy 225/50/16 Continental Extremecontact Sports. So glad to have traction again, can't wait to feel safe and secure on a wet road.





I opted for these instead of star specs because I hardly ever had the chance to use them at the autocross and these were ~$200 cheaper. They rub on the fender liners and I'm going to have to roll the lips of the front fenders as a precaution. I raised the front suspension by 1/2" when I put these on to make up for the 1/2" of extra radius.

[varg]

I've downgraded to some mismatched all seasons on stock 14" wheels for the time being, this will get me through my upcoming trip and into winter break or early next year when I plan to get some new tires on my 16s.



I have no traction now. Especially on a wet road where I can't get into boost at all without spinning the tires until 3rd gear. Also, normal everyday cornering speeds with the star specs cause the rear end to feel loose with these.

that oil problem makes we want to rethink my oil supply using a sandwich plate

You probably should. I'm going to try to figure out a way to use the stock oil cooler for this purpose, maybe I'll bypass the cooler, maybe hang it somewhere there is no airflow just so I can use the center bolt. Plan was to rig up a cooler for future track use that would either be behind the valance with a fan or external and removable for street driving.

[downforce22]

that oil problem makes we want to rethink my oil supply using a sandwich plate

[ForcedFirebird]

I have a bunch of those factory oil adapter banjo bolts. I was going to drill/tap them for this very reason (and oil pressure senders).

[potatomash]

Yeah its a hollow bolt, just drilled and tapped then AN adapter, so its easy to put on and remove

[varg]

That's fancy. Did you just drill/tap or is that something you bought? I'd do it but my oil cooler is in a box somewhere. Simply no place to put it with my massive IC and AC system, or nowhere with air flow anyway. Eventually I'll get some hoses made and put a cooler somewhere, but it's not a priority since the car is solely street driven.

[potatomash]

You could change your feed to here, it's straight out of the filter

[varg]

Fun times. Some crap in the oil system (turbo feed is from an unfiltered oil gallery whether you use a sandwich plate) clogged the factory installed oil feed filter, so the turbo is trashed. Haven't taken it apart yet but I'm hoping the turbine side seal didn't wreck the center housing.




Luckily I didn't sell my spare 60 trim T3/T4 like I was planning to this summer, so I had a spare. Also, one of my front tires is showing cord on the inside edge, so it's time for new tire$$$. I probably won't be buying ZIIs or ZIIIs this time around, but a cheaper tire with a higher tread wear rating. It's not that my tires didn't last long, they lasted over two years and I put a lot of miles on this car, I just don't do autocross often enough to justify it and can't afford to do track days.

[varg]

Went to the second Spectoberfest at Sebring this past weekend, pretty good E30 turnout but mine was the only turbo E30 present this year.



The car next to mine in this picture is another M20 swapped 318is, but it's a slicktop and a completely stripped out track car. I also finally weighed my car. It weighed 2,864lbs with my tools, skateboards and camera gear in it, and that stuff weighs about 130lbs, so my car weighs 2,734lbs unloaded with a little more than a half tank of gas. Add 32lbs for the missing 5 gallons of gas for wet weight of 2,766lbs. I don't think that's half bad for a fully equipped Turbo E30.