91 318is Field Rat

[mike.bmw]

I saw your car in the latest issue of Grassroots Motorsports Magazine. Very cool! :D

[captain awesome]

Very nice. Got a lot of love for classic Jap stuff.
Currently restoring a '94 Ducati 600ss, the desmo sound was just too good to resist.

Nice. A buddy has an older 860gt he restored. I was never a fan of them until I rode one. The handling for a 70s era bike was impressive.

[econti]

Very nice. Got a lot of love for classic Jap stuff.
Currently restoring a '94 Ducati 600ss, the desmo sound was just too good to resist.

[captain awesome]

What do you ride?

Currently it's a 80 kz440b1. I like cheap old twins and singles. I've only replaced service items for the most part on this one. The gas tank was too rusty, and the replacement I got is for an early kz400 so I have to weld on some mounts. This is just after putting some newer tires on, but other work has been done since.



Here's a handful I've put together over the years, but pulling them all from photobucket is a pain in the ass:

80 tt500



71 cl350



81 kz440ltd - sort of

Some piece of shit stole this one.



75 kz400



71 HD Ironhead

[econti]

What do you ride?

[captain awesome]

I was planning some suspension work setting up the new coilovers, but only had time to change the oil and work on a motorcycle project I've been putting off. I did manage to install the c pillar trim I got quite a while back. It almost makes me want to try and straighten the front valence, pull the driver side fender dent, and make it look shiny. Almost.

[captain awesome]

I decided to pause on the coilover stuff since my Aardvark Racing seat straps for my E21 Recaros came in today. The stock straps let loose 5 seconds after I installed them in the car, and my lumbar area is just not into it anymore. I also found some Porsche seat levers for super cheap on ebay as well.

Before:





The goods:



So much better. Unfortunately these seats are such a pain in the ass to install compared to the stock sports. I'm still on the fence about recovering these or recovering the sports. The Recaros are lighter, but I just don't know if I care anymore.

[captain awesome]

So I finally got around to installing the x-brace, strut tower brace, and IE street camber plates a little over week ago. In doing so I knew the drop hats were probably going to bind, so I put the stock hats back in. After everything settled, the car is now considerably higher than I would like. As for the braces, I think there is a difference, but I honestly have no way to measure. I'm of the mind it can't hurt a 26 year old car try to stay together.











So with all that in mind, I've decided to put together a budget style coilover set from ebay sleeves and pairing them with known proper spring rates. I am going to run rates slightly higher than the H&R race with 350lb 6" up front and 600lb 6" out back. Last night I started putting the front set together and drilling the top hats to fit the Bilsteins. This afternoon I'll start installing them, and the rear will be done when those springs show up next week. I'm curious how the linear front pairs with the progressive rear in the meantime. The H&R race springs, Rein strut bearings, and drop hats will all be up for sale soon to help recover some cost in the conversion.

[captain awesome]

Since the 92 chip hasn't sold off that quickly I decided to give it a shot with the 91 octane I have locally to see if it knocks at all.

Like butter. Smooth. Revs anywhere above 3k like it never has before. Redline to 7k is a nice touch as well.

I understand it may take some miles for it to really "learn" but so far it's much better. No pinging or knocking could be heard, but due to the lower temps it's hard to say how it will perform on a hot autocross day. I may just hold on to it and see how things pan out.

[captain awesome]

The current Mark D website shows 91 and 93 octane chips for the M42. Both have the same P#. Not sure if it's a typo, marketing etc. The M20 chips reflect a different P# for different octane, injectors etc.

1991 E30 318iS, M42 91 octane, 7100 rpm 0 261 200 175 E30-175.7K1
1991 E30 318iS, M42 93 octane, 7100 rpm 0 261 200 175 E30-175.7K1

It will have the octane rating listed after the k1 like this:



Or this:

[e30sh]

noob question:
how would i know what chip is in my car?? Should the octane rating on the chip be the gas you use?

The current Mark D website shows 91 and 93 octane chips for the M42. Both have the same P#. Not sure if it's a typo, marketing etc. The M20 chips reflect a different P# for different octane, injectors etc.

1991 E30 318iS, M42 91 octane, 7100 rpm 0 261 200 175 E30-175.7K1
1991 E30 318iS, M42 93 octane, 7100 rpm 0 261 200 175 E30-175.7K1

[cheffy30]

You will have to open the DME and look at the label. No all of them are marked the same, so it may take some research. I believe the m42 "requires" 91 from the factory.

I run the m20b25...
I do some hunting...


sent via flying pigs

[captain awesome]

noob question:
how would i know what chip is in my car?? Should the octane rating on the chip be the gas you use?
i typically run 92... every 3rd rank or so I'll use 89...

sent via flying pigs

You will have to open the DME and look at the label. No all of them are marked the same, so it may take some research. I believe the m42 "requires" 91 from the factory.

[cheffy30]

So I bought a used MarkD 93 octane chip. I figured I could find one or two local gas stations with 93 available. I so far spent an hour going from gas station to gas station in hopes to find some. As of right now, it's a no go. Looks like I'll have to sell this off and just get a 91 chip.

noob question:
how would i know what chip is in my car?? Should the octane rating on the chip be the gas you use?
i typically run 92... every 3rd rank or so I'll use 89...

sent via flying pigs

[captain awesome]

Even with this being 92 octane I just don’t want to have to constantly use octane booster to run it. Anyone looking for one hit me up, it’s officially for sale.