91 318is Field Rat

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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Just got back in from a trip to Disney and Universal Studios. I'm wiped, but found my cheap Uro i model bumper lip and clips waiting for me. Before I took the trip I spent a few minutes pulling and pushing the bent valance somewhat back into shape in preparation, and it actually looks decent. Popped the new lip on and snapped a few pics.





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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Originally posted by rzerob
    Thanks. I was hoping for leather. I have done upholstery work before and have all the equipment. But finding a good seat replacement upholstery is another thing.
    They do leather ones for e30 sports, so I think you can convince them to make a leather set for the e21 Recaros.

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  • rzerob
    replied
    Thanks. I was hoping for leather. I have done upholstery work before and have all the equipment. But finding a good seat replacement upholstery is another thing.

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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Originally posted by rzerob
    How much did you pay for the seat upholstery. I have been considering reupholstering my E21 Recaro's and I would not mind a price point if you don't mind sharing.
    There is a few that are on ebay all sold by the same place. The set that I got was the most expensive since I got the embossed version. Including shipping it was $624.99. Recovering them took a little time, and if not for the seat back seam they would already be in the car. Also you will want to replace the lower elastic straps so the base doesn't sag anymore.

    Here's a few links to the different options they have:

    The least expensive option doesn't use German vinyl:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/RECARO-SEAT...JSnuKa&vxp=mtr

    The next step up with German vinyl:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/RECARO-SEAT...lX~p51&vxp=mtr

    And finally German vinyl with the embossed centers:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/RECARO-SEAT...9Y6W~b&vxp=mtr

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  • rzerob
    replied
    How much did you pay for the seat upholstery. I have been considering reupholstering my E21 Recaro's and I would not mind a price point if you don't mind sharing.

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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Not a great weekend. I spent a few minutes maxing out my camber plates Friday and twiddled my thumbs waiting to race Sunday. I've never ran with this club before, but I've heard good things. For whatever silly reason they canceled the event at 2pm the DAY BEFORE THE ACTUAL EVENT for POSSIBLE rain. We didn't get a drop of water on the ground until after 6pm that day. It was a little chilly in the morning, but by noon it was a perfect day. Needless to say a ton of people that were planning to go to the event were pissed. I'm out of town the next two events, so no autocross until April for me now. Yay!

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  • zwill23
    replied
    For sure, those were my thoughts as well.

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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Originally posted by zwill23
    Yeah, I agree with wworm. The steering feel is heavy enough with a smaller wheel and P/S that I think it's pretty nice.

    I was in a similar situation as you in the past, my plan was to go all out racecar with mine so I removed the AC and other non-crucial components only to realize that I was really enjoying daily driving it. With student loans weighing heavy, I decided to back peddle and reinstall the AC, radio, and all those bits I previously removed so that I could sell my daily at the time (Subaru legacy w/CVT, ugh).

    No regrets, and I've come to terms that the E30 is just going to be a fun daily that can handle some motorsport!

    AC and powersteering are nice ;)

    Those seat brackets came out great by the way.
    I've been contemplating getting a different daily, but the small amount of money it will take to just update the a/c and install the power steering is considerably less overall.

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  • zwill23
    replied
    Yeah, I agree with wworm. The steering feel is heavy enough with a smaller wheel and P/S that I think it's pretty nice.

    I was in a similar situation as you in the past, my plan was to go all out racecar with mine so I removed the AC and other non-crucial components only to realize that I was really enjoying daily driving it. With student loans weighing heavy, I decided to back peddle and reinstall the AC, radio, and all those bits I previously removed so that I could sell my daily at the time (Subaru legacy w/CVT, ugh).

    No regrets, and I've come to terms that the E30 is just going to be a fun daily that can handle some motorsport!

    AC and powersteering are nice ;)

    Those seat brackets came out great by the way.

    Leave a comment:


  • captain awesome
    replied
    Originally posted by wworm
    I daily with an m20 with a (dying) ps system and a 350mm wheel. I'd keep the wheel and run ps. It's nice to have when you need it and running a smaller aftermarket wheel just feels too good to switch it out.
    It does seem like a good size. If I drive the e30 for a couple weeks, the steering seems normal. As soon as I switch back to my Elantra I wish the e30 had assisted steering. I know the comparison isn't exactly fair, but it is nice to spend less effort trying to turn the wheel. If I'm thinking about it, then it's worth switching back.

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  • wworm
    replied
    I daily with an m20 with a (dying) ps system and a 350mm wheel. I'd keep the wheel and run ps. It's nice to have when you need it and running a smaller aftermarket wheel just feels too good to switch it out.

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  • captain awesome
    replied
    So I gave up figuring out how to attach the vinyl where the upper seat panel meets the lower. I'll be dropping it by the local upholstery shop to finish that and hopefully have it back in a few days.

    This Sunday is the first local autocross. Weather isn't looking great, but I think we will still run, and luckily the S Drives seem to do really well in the wet. I'm really curious to see how much difference the tires and camber plates make overall. A while back I reconnected the rear sway bar to see if it made any positive difference in handling with the new tires. Pure crap. I gave it every opportunity, in every type of driving possible, but it just feels so much more planted with it disconnected.

    This next few weeks I'm going to attempt to reinstall the power steering pump and new A/C components. If this thing is going to stay my daily driver, I need the A/C. I know the racecar thing to do is keep the rack manual, but honestly I'd like to get assisted steering input. Maybe my steering wheel is just too small at 350mm?

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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Yesterday I was planning to install poly riser subframe bushings, stainless brake lines, poly diff mount, and the coilover kit I've been putting together. Instead I decided to spend the day inside installing the Recaro seat covers.

    Disassembly was super easy. Almost everything is held together with wires that clip under metal tabs with the occasional hog ring here or there. I wanted to do a full write up, but only took pictures of the seats before disassembly for reference. I had to patch a few spots on the driver side lower bolster, so I cut a few chunks out from one of the old seat backs and glued them in place. Otherwise everything went together rather easily. All in all I have about 4-5 hours total with some time spent researching sprinkled in there. The only thing left to do is trim the seat lever holes, bracket holes, and fasten the seam on the upper front to back area. The stock covers had a plastic locking trim sewn into them, but these don't. I think some nice looking screws should do the trick.



    I promised a pic of the embossed perforation vinyl.



    This is the area I'll need the figure out the seam fastening. It should be easy, I just don't want to rush whatever solution I choose and ruin all the previous work.





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  • captain awesome
    replied
    So after removing the e21 Recaros again I decided it was time to consider some new mounts before starting to recover. Massive does some nice brackets that should do the trick but I can't bring myself to pay that kinda cash when I know they can be made in my garage. I bought some 2" angle iron, cut some here, drilled some there, and viola, I have some brackets. I still need to make the driver side, but that shouldn't take long now that I've figured out where everything goes. The cutout for the lever arm I am only doing on the inside seat brackets, the outside will remain solid.

    I also managed to weigh my cloth and leather sports to compare weight to the Recaros. It's about a 3 lb. difference with the sports being heavier. Between the leather and cloth, the difference on scale wasn't noticeable, but it is a cheap bathroom dial scale.

    As for the difference in how comfortable they are vs. Recaro, that's something I'm now changing my opinion on. The Recaros hold you better and the bolstering seems more substantial than I thought. I think because the seat pad is narrower on the Recaro than the stock sports? Also I just found the Recaro position to be better for pedal feel with it being a 1/2" lower than the stock location. It could be because I have just gotten used to them, but I can now say after a week of leather sports, the Recaros win. I can't wait to finish up and have them back in the car.

    Here's way more pics than probably necessary.



















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  • captain awesome
    replied
    Originally posted by Gkwan
    Seat covers look good! I didn’t know that the perforated material was an option. Any close up pictures of the material?
    I'll try to snap some this weekend. Hoping to get started on the passenger side Saturday.

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