91 318is Field Rat

[captain awesome]

Another micro update:

My fuel gauge now works. I got a used sender from a forum member and it works great! I tested it outside of the tank to see if it reads all levels, as well as the low fuel light. It's nice to know I won't be running out of gas again.

Also the turbo, manifold, and wideband are all sold off. The money left over should get me a Sssquid chip and maybe some tires.

[wazzu70]

The steeper diff ratio makes the car much more fun. Limited slip is obviously awesome too. My car has a zf320 and I run a S3.73 medium case which is roughly the same final drive. Definitely adds some pep!

[captain awesome]

Would you consider the VEMS a worthwhile investment? I like the idea of a stand alone but think a chip from a known tuner would be my best option.

[wazzu70]

Overall it comes down to how interested you are in learning to tune. If you are planning on paying someone to do your tuning then it can get expensive and it may be hard to find someone else to take over if the tuner gets out of the business or moves, ect.

Personally learning to tune was the most interesting part for me, so it was a no brainer to go standalone. I learmed a ton and now I am an OEM calibrator so it actually led to a career (bonus!)

If you are planning on staying atmospheric and you dont want to piddle around with tuning, a chip can do an OK job and you are up an running instantly. The downside is the OBD1 ECU algorithms are really ghetto so there is only so much you can do within the limits of the existing code.

If you are going turbo, supercharger or a more in depth performance build your car is just going to run so much better on a newer technology system. The factory AFM sucks and is pretty lethargic, I ran with just the TB open to air. Throttle response was amazing and so was the sound. Of course I need to fab up an air inlet pipe to keep sand/rocks out of the intake but its still going to be very raw sounding and drive smooth!

To get any kind of performance from the M42 you need cams, and with that you need custom tuning. The OEM ECU seems to be able to cope but it will have to be a real custom tune and not some off the shelf BS.

I bought VEMS because back in 09 when I bought it the market was really limited and it was by far the best hobby ECU available. Today there are a lot of options. VEMS is still a decent platform but a legit MS3 is comparable and there is a lot more support available in the US

Don't skimp on your ECU if you go standalone, its what keeps the engine alive!

[captain awesome]

I'm going to pass on FI. ITB's are one of the future mods I'm considering, so cams would be the next logical step. Thanks for the info.

[wazzu70]

With ITBs I would consider the standalone essential. Otherwise you are switching to ITB and leaving a ton of response and power potential on the table!

[paynemw]

Another micro update:

My fuel gauge now works. I got a used sender from a forum member and it works great! I tested it outside of the tank to see if it reads all levels, as well as the low fuel light. It's nice to know I won't be running out of gas again

I actually had the same thing, well I think the sender unit was the issue. Where did you get the ohm ranges?

[captain awesome]

I actually had the same thing, well I think the sender unit was the issue. Where did you get the ohm ranges?

I never tested it. I just figured it sat in varnish and rust for 11 years, so it made sense to just pick up another one.

[captain awesome]

I've finally got a fully functional cluster. After some tinkering and internetting I found out why my speedo stopped working immediately after installing the 318ti diff. The diff I purchased didn't have a cover or sensor, so I just bolted my original one to it. Apparently the sensor from the ti is different as well as the chopper wheel. I ordered up a new ti sensor, and after bolting it in, the speedo was working again.

After that, I tweaked the speedo to read the proper range, installed new odometer gears, and last but not least installed the gauge trim rings. Not a fan of the rings as much as I thought I would be, but oh well.

Also, I got a set of 205 55 15 Yokohama S Drives due to some rebates. I'm still planning a spare set of rims and tires for autocross, but for now these will do good for daily driving.

Another round of parts should be here Monday. Garagistic X-brace, strut brace, and a poly diff bushing to install. The rubber stock one I installed is already showing signs of fatigue cracking, so I might as well beef it up. I'll try and get those and the camber plates installed this week so I can get a proper alignment done. Lots more in the works.

[captain awesome]

The new S Drives are SO much better than the old 400 treadwear Kuhmos I had. Bump steer is almost eliminated, handling, grip, etc. are on a whole different level now. Unfortunately I'll have to probably wait until March to see how much it improves my times in autocross, but I'm cool with that. Still getting some entry understeer, so I may reconnect the rear sway and see if it clears up any. One of these days I'll take some nicer pics.







Fully functional dash is also blowing my mind. The trim rings are growing on me now.



Today was also an early Christmas for myself. Garagistic ran some good Black Friday deals, so I took advantage by buying a front strut brace, x brace, antenna delete plug, and poly diff bushing. I really wanted to spend the cash on an SSSquid chip to complement my 4 pintle injectors I picked up, but these were just too good a deal to pass on.

I'm also looking into the poly subframe risers from either Condor or Gargistic to restore some roll center in the rear. Once I get some solid numbers from my alignment I'll know if adjustable hardware in the rear is needed as well.





Still looking for some inexpensive door seals. My driver side is slowly crumbling away.

[econti]

Do the cross braces actually do that much?

[captain awesome]

Do the cross braces actually do that much?

Probably not as much as people are willing to believe. For a 26 year old car I'm guessing it will help hold the thing together in the high load cornering. What convinced me to get one was a few versions of e36 left the factory with one installed. If I had or knew of a way to test and compare data I would though.

[mike.bmw]

I bought a reproduction door seal from here: https://vintageautobahn.wordpress.com/e30-parts/ . It was around $100, which may seem expensive, but compared to $400+ from BMW it's cheap. It's a very nice reproduction part and I didn't have any issues with fitment or function.

[captain awesome]

I bought a reproduction door seal from here: https://vintageautobahn.wordpress.com/e30-parts/ . It was around $100, which may seem expensive, but compared to $400+ from BMW it's cheap. It's a very nice reproduction part and I didn't have any issues with fitment or function.

Unfortunately they haven't had any for over a year. I've been waiting for them to pop back up, but at the moment used or $360+ seals are the only options I have found. Hell, I'd buy some Uro reproductions at this point.

[mike.bmw]

Unfortunately they haven't had any for over a year. I've been waiting for them to pop back up, but at the moment used or $360+ seals are the only options I have found. Hell, I'd buy some Uro reproductions at this point.

Doh! Didn't realize. Hopefully they'll stock them again soon. Have you contacted them and asked when they'll do another production run? I've seen a few other folks looking for door seals, so if there's enough interest they might order another batch.