Long Time Dream Fulfillment: E30 Street and Track Car Combo

[CubbyChowder]

Happy to report another successful track day! The car held up great and gave me no issues at all, however I did have a problem with my new chassis mounted shifter setup, it would not let me downshift from 3rd to 2nd on track. There is only one turn at Buttonwillow where I need to downshift into 2nd and it is during some heavy braking before a sharp right turn (Off Ramp for those familiar). There are a few culprits which could be causing this issue, but for now I am going to switch back to a carrier mounted shifter setup and save this chassis mount for when I go 24v. Otherwise the shifter felt awesome out on track.

Managed to run my fastest lap yet at 2:11.92, almost a 2 second improvement over my previous fastest lap of 2:13.71 - Here is a video of that lap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQBVksZpgpw

Maiden voyage with the new trailer was a success.




After watching the video a few times, I'm kind of surprised that that was my best lap as I'm realizing my line was pretty sloppy in some areas like Cotton Corners, Sweeper and Sunset. I felt I was hitting those turns better in other laps. Here's a track map for reference:



I'll be back out there this Sunday (Oct 9th) chasing 2:10 - Loving all this seat time

[CubbyChowder]

Splurged and bought a photo from the track day. I really liked this one. Everything I love about E30's in one photo: they are so aesthetically pleasing to me and so much fun to drive. I love these cars.



Also I had NO idea how severely worn my tires were by the end of the day! Totally thought I had another track day left in them until I pulled them off and saw the cording. Gotta figure something out for this Sunday. This is after 4 track days.

[CubbyChowder]

So my 24v swap journey has begun!

The M20B25 that I put in this E30 is actually destined for my 1973 2002 project, so my plan all along has been to run the M20 while I just enjoy the car and get some track days and daily duties in for a while, and prep a 24v swap on the side until it's all ready to install in one go. So this is the start of that process. I had a chance to drive my buddy Jimmy's S50 swapped E30 recently and that totally sealed the deal for me.

I spotted a local E34 525i on FB Marketplace and got it for $400. It had a blown head gasket so the guy took the head off and gave up, but it has a plethora of parts that I'll need like all the oil pan stuff (which goes for $400-500 alone now), harness, ecu, accessories, and possibly the block/head (details below). Then I will sell some parts off it to recoup some funds and sell/scrap it. Is there anything else that I might be missing that would be useful for my swap?



I separated the auto trans and pulled the block out:




Check out these bitchin welds on the cat:



Ok, so what now? Well, I have a couple options and could use some opinions. I've always wanted to rebuild an engine. I've been reading up on the M50B30 stroker route using M54 internals in an M50 block/head and that is really appealing to me for a few reasons. As of right now this is my top choice.

My second option is to buy an S50 short block (off my friend Jimmy), however that motor had been hydrolocked and bent rod #1, plus the cams have a bit of scoring on them, so it would definitely be a project. I'm leaning towards passing on the S50 but open minded.

Anyone have any experience with the M50B30 strokers? They seem to work well from what I can gather.

[econti]

Just use the sump, dipstick and engine arms off that donor and put in a whole M54. B30 stroker is mostly a waste of time when a M54 has a far better head and you don't have to rebuild it.

[CubbyChowder]

I've been dreaming about satin charcoal Ronal Turbo's for years now, finally took the plunge and made it happen. Ordered a set:



While it might seem silly to take brand new wheels straight to the powder coater, I'm just not a fan of the polished aluminum look and had a vision of what I wanted. Beyond happy with how they turned out, it's exactly what I was going for:






Tires are new as well. Hankook Ventus V2 Concept2 205/50r15 for anyone curious.

[lambo]

that's hot

[Reichart12]

Wow taking them to the powder coater was the right move. That looks fantastic.

[mjweimer]

Yep - good move. That is a great look.

[moatilliatta]

Ronals look great! What alignment are you running?

[CubbyChowder]

Thanks guys! This car currently has me grinning every time I walk up to it.

moatilliatta - The front camber is right around -2 degrees at my "street setting" (which is what it's at in the pics above) but on my last track day I max'd out the camber plates and I'm pretty sure it landed me right around -3 to -3.2 degrees.

[808ETA]

Love the new wheels!

[QuiqueUy]

loved the whole thread and loved the wheels and where you going !

as far as the 24v swap , from what i have read everywhere i would go m54 or m52 with vanos and m50 manifold , s52 cams etc.

after i had some issues with a "fault" on my vanos and having noticed how the car feels with or without vanos , i highly recommend to have it .. but if you starting with that m50 block , maybe your best bet is to make an m50b30 with the m54 intake cam.
i Wouldn't stay with the m50b25 by any means.

keep the updates coming! big fan

[CubbyChowder]

Track day Uncategorized Groups under my belt! Buttonwillow on December 18th, it was a fantastic day. Definitely a bit cold, around 40 in the early sessions and up to 48 towards the end of the day. Kind of a nice change of pace though as all my previous track days out there exceeded 100 degrees every time.

CW13 configuration, was hoping to break into 2:10's with a previous PB of 2:11.92 - managed a 2:09.31 which I was stoked about. Here are my two fast laps of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLccXXBZVJI

The main difference was a fresh set of 225/45R15 Hankook Ventus RS4's on some 15x8 TRM C1's:






Had a solid day out there, with about 2 hours of track time total. On the bonus session I got to bring my dad out as a passenger and we had a blast. That was my first time taking him out on track and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

I know I say this pretty much every time, but I am so happy with how this car has been performing and holding up.

I scored a $165 track day at Laguna Seca on January 2nd, so that will be a killer way to kick off the new year. I am really excited about that.

Also, I picked up a new project:

[Mkcustoms88]

Absolutely love your build , it’s winter up here in Canada and have to wait to get started on my own build . What are you using to clean all your parts?

[CubbyChowder]

Absolutely love your build , it’s winter up here in Canada and have to wait to get started on my own build . What are you using to clean all your parts?

Thanks man! I usually just use a purple degreaser concentrate from Home Depot (I think it's called Zep?) and various brushes/scrubbers and a cheap Harbor Freight pressure washer.