JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[jackbenny]

i'm back....sorta

So, I've been off the grid for a bit. Kinda had to go have a kid born and all. They say it will change your life and while you hear it and agree, you really have no idea how much it will change your life. Sleep is a luxury now and I almost feel like I am back in college, where I can sleep on command and for very little time. But, the fact is that he is a great little boy.



Labor was pretty intense. He was 2 weeks late when we had him induced. We went in on a Sunday afternoon and he was born on a Tuesday at 11:00 at night. My wife did half that time without an epidural. She's a tough lady and he was a very stubborn child. I guess combining mom and dad's stubborn genes would make this a certainty.



I was pretty tired here and annoyed at the camera. Levent, it wasn't the first shirt he saw when he emerged but it was certainly the one he spent the most time with at the hospital! We were fortunate to have a grandmother spend the week with us and get comfortable with the new addition. Some days are good and some are bad but usually a smile from the lil man is all it takes to make a bad day good.

It goes without saying that updates will be sporadic. Time doesn't seem to be available like it was. I've got Levent and GutenParts tracking down an interior piece for me. Likewise, got my electric fans. I had the opportunity to rearrange the mess in the garage in the hopes I can fit the wife's car back in. I'm still not there though.



Back in its new home. I have to say that the suspension is settling nicely.

In closing, I thought I would leave another picture....



It's sitting a little uneven because just the RH side wheels are on but with some low, I see some great potential here.



245's on an e21 are so obnoxious....but they fit...sort of.

[ajm-e30]

ive just read all 36 pages of this build thread.........IMMENSE is an understatement!

puts many cars in the uk to shame too! and now im searching for a set of those wheels too

[s_ribs]

Josh- I'm sending you a link for exhaust info. Should be right up your alley!

[Spiff325iS]

Wow.

I just went through this entire thread, and read everything.

Outstanding. So much has been said, where would I begin?

Let me just say what a huge inspiration this is. And it's threads like these that make day-dreaming more fun AND difficult because now there is soo much more detail that I would want to address on my dream-E30.

Well done sir!

And congrats on the baby!

Dan

[jackbenny]

Props to your wife for making you stick with a cat!! It isn't worth the theoretical 1-2 hp gain to increase emissions in my mind.

The XR-1 should be good as a mid muffler. There's another guy on the forum that is a huge fan of the Vibrant Racing resonator. ~$100 iirc for it and is a nice SS unit.

The size of your rear muffler will have a major impact on volume. If you want quieter, find one that's 18" long instead of the 14" standard length. I did and very glad with a straight-through style. Don't worry, they aren't too quiet. It'll still let people know you're around!

I'm leaning towards the 16" XR1. I may have to pull the trigger this weekend so I can have a pile of parts to stare at when my infant son starts crying....assuming he shows up this weekend! <fingers crossed> ;)
I'm taking two weeks off so I might be able to take it to a shop and get it done.

It might be mentioned somewhere in the thread, but what kind of steering wheel is that?

Nardi Deep Corn. It's the same wheel JAnderson has on his car but instead of leather on the rim, it's alcantera. If i were to do it again, I would probably choose leather because the alcantera will wear more. But it matches the rest of the interior quite nicely.

[CincinnatiKid]

It might be mentioned somewhere in the thread, but what kind of steering wheel is that?

[s_ribs]

Props to your wife for making you stick with a cat!! It isn't worth the theoretical 1-2 hp gain to increase emissions in my mind.

The XR-1 should be good as a mid muffler. There's another guy on the forum that is a huge fan of the Vibrant Racing resonator. ~$100 iirc for it and is a nice SS unit.

The size of your rear muffler will have a major impact on volume. If you want quieter, find one that's 18" long instead of the 14" standard length. I did and very glad with a straight-through style. Don't worry, they aren't too quiet. It'll still let people know you're around!

[jackbenny]

The reason for most of the rasp you hear on any setup is the lack of a cat. So since you're running one I wouldn't be worried!

I run the ebay headers with a cat and have absolutely no rasp. The cat acts as a silencer as well as a emissions device!


-Cam

I run one of those Magnaflow hi flows on my turbo m42. 3" version... definitely took out a lot of the rasp, and being a 4 pot I had a lot of it. Should take almost, if not all of the rasp on your engine.

PS: Still doing excellent work, can't wait to have extra funds for the project car I have outside. You have created a great piece of machinery and I hope mine comes out half as good.

Bonus! rasp elimination is a good thing. Now I need to pick the middle muffler. I wonder if the XR1 would be too loud?

[Schnitzer318is]

I run one of those Magnaflow hi flows on my turbo m42. 3" version... definitely took out a lot of the rasp, and being a 4 pot I had a lot of it. Should take almost, if not all of the rasp on your engine.

PS: Still doing excellent work, can't wait to have extra funds for the project car I have outside. You have created a great piece of machinery and I hope mine comes out half as good.

[Spaz]

I've started to try and figure out the exhaust system today. So far, the only know quantities are the JVT Headers (ebay special) that are wrapped in the hopes in might dampen the rasp and a 2.5" vibrant in the back. I still need a y-pipe, catalytic converter and an intermediate muffler.

Before I get the "you don't need a cat" speech, the cat is non-negotiable with the wife. I promised her I would get one. Piping is 2.5" all the way back. I started looking at the intermediate muffler and know I want to run a Borla. Sadly, I've narrowed it down to 3 choices.

Borla XR1 40942 - 16" case
Borla XR1 40941 - 12" case
Borla ProXS 40364 - 14" case.

My setup is similar to E30Polak's so I have been using his car as my baseline in terms of sound. I know BenM used an XR1 and liked it as well but I haven't been able to hear a sound clip yet. I am open to opinions on the intermediate muffler setup but I have my heart set on a Borla....

Likewise I am open to opinions on a cat as well. I would prefer something summit racing sells as there are a few items i need to get there anyway...save on shipping and they're quick to arrive.

thoughts anyone?

The reason for most of the rasp you hear on any setup is the lack of a cat. So since you're running one I wouldn't be worried!

I run the ebay headers with a cat and have absolutely no rasp. The cat acts as a silencer as well as a emissions device!


-Cam

[jackbenny]

The wife won't know if you run a "Hollow" cat.

This is a true statement... except for the fact that she has this thread bookmarked and reads it time to time. Besides, cats are pretty free flowing now and aren't too obscenely priced. I've been looking at the magnaflows. <edit> I'm curious about the 53006. I can find statements in the 24V forum saying they use a magnaflow cat but no part number was given.

Yea you're going to pay about 100 more, but the quality is really there and it can be re-built.... I bet if you call up and order the muffler and y-pipe from them they will cut you a bit of a deal.

I may actually be able to get a discount through work since we've bought so many u-bends from them. Want me to check it out? Probably still wont be as cheap as the borla :(

Probably true. don't get me wrong, they look awesome and are Jordan approved but my slush fund isn't quite what it used to be. And truth be told, I like Polak's sound on his car. I'll have to search for some sound clips.

[JoeyBones]

Yea you're going to pay about 100 more, but the quality is really there and it can be re-built.... I bet if you call up and order the muffler and y-pipe from them they will cut you a bit of a deal.

I may actually be able to get a discount through work since we've bought so many u-bends from them. Want me to check it out? Probably still wont be as cheap as the borla :(

[Farbin Kaiber]

The wife won't know if you run a "Hollow" cat.

[jackbenny]

intermediate muffler.... Burns Stainless all the way. They are rebuildable, straight through, and have a TON of sizes.

I cannot dispute Burns Stainless build quality and products, they are very nice but unfortunately, out of my price range I'm afraid.

[JoeyBones]

intermediate muffler.... Burns Stainless all the way. They are rebuildable, straight through, and have a TON of sizes.