NOR-CAL General Chat.

[CarsonE30]

No problem!

Depending on how many miles you drive and your tolerance for road noise, the Z2s can be a great DD tire (I DDd for years on Z1s). Things that will accelerate wear dramatically more than anything are tracking on stock-ish suspension/alignment (ask Nate about his E46 with PSS at laguna...) and excessive instagram kiddo lowering.

The tires last very well, with the caveat that if they're not wearing evenly across the face of the tire (see earlier statement) then they won't last as long.

If you drive many many miles per year, and don't have the budget to replace Z2s every few months, probably best to have separate track + street sets of rubbery things.

Alrighty perfect. I drive about 8-11k per year so nothing major. My shit-tastic coilovers are getting replaced with the proper B8/H&RSS set up and I'll replace whatever else comes up while I'm under there, bushings all around I'm assuming at the very least. I may still keep the weaves for daily duty, I don't think they're really worth selling so they'd be nice through winter/offseason

[DaWildBeast]

Hey Guys so about that car im going to look at what should i look into when im looking at it in person and do e30s have the plug to wipe error codes and stuff so i can check it for errors like more modern cars?

[Danny]

First you're gonna want to make sure it has wheels and tires. Next, check for a steering wheel. Finally, be sure it runs.

[oliver.r]

Hey Guys so about that car im going to look at what should i look into when im looking at it in person and do e30s have the plug to wipe error codes and stuff so i can check it for errors like more modern cars?

e30s are obd1 so no.

[2mAn]

E30s dont have any On Board Diagnostics...

[BlackbirdM3]

Tire question - I'll still keep my basketweaves and their current tires for daily use if I need to but for summer/autox/track days, what would be the best tire for the buck? It seems to be a toss up between the Direzza Z2's, Toyo R888's and the Toyo RA1's. What do the track guys, ahem Nate, Will and David, say?

I have to say, I'm not all that impressed with the Dunlops. I've had the Star Specs on the M3 for a year and they don't have the grip I had with the Hankook RS3s. Toyo R888s apparently are very alignment specific. On some cars they work really well, others not so much. The RA1s are very good tires. I'd like to find a set of 225/50/14s for my Datsun. The R888 and RA1 are not the best autoX tire as they take too long to warm up. (They won't warm up at Marina) On the track, the RA1s are great. They also stick till they cord. Very hard to heat cycle them out. The R888s may have been redesigned to be less alignment sensitive.

On an e30, I'd try and stick with 15 inch wheels. 16s and 17s are a good way to make the car slower and not handle as well.

Will

[2mAn]

I havent had a chance to really push my Dunlops, but short of the R1R I think these are supposedly the best tire in the correct size for 16s. If I wasnt totally attached to my 16s, I would also have 15s.

[kronus]

e30s are obd1 so no.

no

E30s dont have any On Board Diagnostics...

no


dammit guys lol

if it's a late model e30 (Motronic 1.1, 1.3), it will have a CEL and you can do a stomp test to pull codes from the ECU.

[kronus]

I have to say, I'm not all that impressed with the Dunlops. I've had the Star Specs on the M3 for a year and they don't have the grip I had with the Hankook RS3s. Toyo R888s apparently are very alignment specific. On some cars they work really well, others not so much. The RA1s are very good tires. I'd like to find a set of 225/50/14s for my Datsun. The R888 and RA1 are not the best autoX tire as they take too long to warm up. (They won't warm up at Marina) On the track, the RA1s are great. They also stick till they cord. Very hard to heat cycle them out. The R888s may have been redesigned to be less alignment sensitive.

On an e30, I'd try and stick with 15 inch wheels. 16s and 17s are a good way to make the car slower and not handle as well.

Will

I've been very happy with star spec Z2s in Lemons. RS3s are grippier and probably more sensible as an autox tire, but Z2s don't get greasy and fall off like RS3s do. They are also cheaper.

[Bimmerman325i]

Will, that makes sense. The RS3 has always had higher grip than the Dunlop, and definitely encourages a different type of driving style to obtain and stay at max grip.

I'd recommend anyone looking for a good sticky street tire to read the last couple grassroots motorsports tire comparos. They're on a Miata, which is at least closer to an E30 in driving style/weight than an E36, with as good a consistency and controlled test as can be hoped for.

The usual suspects all make appearances--
Yoko AD08, BFG Rival, Dunlop Z2, Hankook RS3, Bridgestone RE-71R, Toyo R1R, etc. Pretty good test, with a mix of relatively quantitative and qualitative impressions on each tire, same day, same car.

Annoyingly the RE71R is backordered until June for the 255/40 size, so Z2 star specs it is.

I agree with Dmitriy, the Z2 is a damn good tire. I was very impressed with how well it did on the Lemons car.

[kronus]

I agree with you agreeing with me.


unrelated, anyone here extensively familiar with e30 sunroofs and willing to talk me through unfucking mine? or am I stuck going to a PNP and destroying sunroofs until I understand?

[Bimmerman325i]

Melty melty + silicone caulking?

[2mAn]

no. no. dammit guys lol

if it's a late model e30 (Motronic 1.1, 1.3), it will have a CEL and you can do a stomp test to pull codes from the ECU.

I was trying to refer to OBD1...

[kronus]

Melty melty + silicone caulking?

no way

i bought a crank handle and i'm gonna use it!

[CarsonE30]

So I was set on the Direzza Z2's but they don't make them in a 15. I'd like to stick with the 15" wheel but I also really wanna run the Direzza's. Halp. Halp. Halp.