Andrew's Sterlingsilber 90 325iS -> 318iS

[Andrew325is]

Here's the adapter for the radio. BMW calls it a retrofit kit. It comes with new radio speaker wire connectors too. I'll have to use a couple of them to replace the two-in-one connector on the rear speakers adapter lead since that square one won't fit into the single round connectors on the adapter. The adapter comes with grounds connected to the speaker wire connectors, but of course I'll just be connecting the positive wires unless I were to separate the grounds at the amp connector too, but I'm leaving that alone. Now I can connect all kinds of different radios in the car if I wanted. For the new aftermarket HU I'm going to run RCA cables to a new amp and then just tap into the original amp connector with jumper wires for power, remote turn on, etc.

[Andrew325is]

Today I installed the new headlights. I tied the city lights in with the side markers. For the wiring I used the wire stripper to pull back some of the insulation and soldered the new wires wrapped around them. I did the same for the low and high beams. The low beams don't stay on when the high beams are turned on, but because the city lights stay on it doesn't trip the low beam warning lamp on the check control panel. So I don't think I'll bother jumping the relays to keep the low beams on. I installed Euro grills too. :)

This is with just the city lights on:

[Andrew325is]

I found out what was wrong with the SI board. The 2 middle screws for the cluster were too long and damaged it. It’s too bad I didn’t notice that on the old one before I put the other one in there. I transferred the batteries to the 3rd and last board I have and it seems to be working! :)

[mike.bmw]

I found out what was wrong with the SI board. The 2 middle screws for the cluster were too long and damaged it. It’s too bad I didn’t notice that on the old one before I put the other one in there. I transferred the batteries to the 3rd and last board I have and it seems to be working! :)

I've had my cluster and SI out a few times. I believe the longer screws go to a different part of the cluster. There's 2 sets of screws with similar thread/pitch, but different lengths, that go near the SI board. It's easy to get them confused. The longer ones are just long enough to damage the SI board when put in the wrong location.

Glad you figured it out!

[Jokester]

Sterling always looks amazing in photos. Keep up the good work.

[Andrew325is]

I've had my cluster and SI out a few times. I believe the longer screws go to a different part of the cluster. There's 2 sets of screws with similar thread/pitch, but different lengths, that go near the SI board. It's easy to get them confused. The longer ones are just long enough to damage the SI board when put in the wrong location.

Glad you figured it out!

Yeah, the outer ones are much longer, so I assumed the inner ones were the correct length. Someone must have replaced them at some point with ones that are still too long. I ground them down so this won't happen again.

[Andrew325is]

Sterling always looks amazing in photos. Keep up the good work.

Thanks

[Andrew325is]

I got the new sound system installed. It sounds really good! :pimp: I wanted to keep the original wiring intact though so it's still possible to put the old radio and amp back in. Since the speaker grounds are combined between the radio and amp I couldn’t remove the amp and use the speaker wires without re-wiring. So my solution was to install an aftermarket amp (Alpine KTP-445U) with RCA cables coming from the new head unit (Alpine CDE-HD149BT). Then I tapped into the original amp wiring for the power, ground, remote, and output to the speakers where I had previously restored the connector so I didn't have to make new cuts. It was quite a bit of work running the cables under the carpet. The new amp is small enough where it’ll fit in the same spot as the original. My roommate helped me make a bracket for it. I ran some RCA cables for a sub too I'll install later.

[Andrew325is]

I started the car and took it for a test drive today for the first time since I've done all the work. It did really well. It's so nice driving an E30 again!

[Andrew325is]

Here are some photos from the first photoshoot today. :)

[Andrew325is]

You know how everyone swaps out the boring airbag steering wheel. Well, I thought about that too. But I don't really like the idea of removing safety equipment, so I thought about how I can keep the air bag and be a little more stylish too. It's a shame the E30 steering wheel is so different from all the other BMW steering wheels so you couldn't modify one from another model to fit without some serious fab work. So I looked at different airbags and it looked like the Motorsport one from the E36 M3 and E34 M5 will fit on the E30 steering wheel (same shape and connector), so I tried it and it fits. :) So sometime I'll recover it with M stitching and add the thumb grips.

[Andrew325is]

Just in case anyone is curious about the performance of the Hella Bi-Focus headlights, here are some night shots. I'm really happy with the light output! They rival HIDs. Just regular halogen bulbs... Impressive right?

Low beams



High beams (currently wired without low beams on)

[Poorhouse]

Well, I thought about that too. But I don't really like the idea of removing safety equipment,

I've been debating this on the 318. I've read some things that indicate a 30 year old airbag isn't very safe. I'm beginning to think no airbag may be safer.

[Andrew325is]

I've been debating this on the 318. I've read some things that indicate a 30 year old airbag isn't very safe. I'm beginning to think no airbag may be safer.

I've read concerns like that too posted by people on the forums, but from the data I've been able to collect that appears to be an internet rumor only. In fact, old airbags may be safer than newer airbags. I read the newer 'advanced' airbags are correlated, statistically, with an increase of injury. Both the NHTSA and Australia's RACV agree old airbags are safe. Here is some of what I found:

"GM’s 1970s airbags were so durable that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported testing the airbags on old derelict Impalas decades later, and while the rest of the cars were falling apart, the airbags worked “perfectly.”"

https://jalopnik.com/here-are-some-weird-facts-about-airbags-1829793712

"At present, RACV is unaware of any evidence where older airbags have failed to protect occupants.

Eventually, degradation of the propellant charge means that older airbags will not inflate with the same pressure and speed as when they were new. This may compromise their ability to protect occupants, and result in more serious injuries. However at present, it is not clear how long after an airbag was placed in service this may happen.

The oldest airbags in the Australian fleet are approaching 20 years of age. RACV stresses that it has no evidence that any airbags of any age in the current Australian fleet have failed to protect occupants in a crash."

https://jalopnik.com/are-old-airbags-safe-5982903

When the E30 was made airbags were so new nobody knew how they would age so they recommended inspecting them after 10 years. Most car manufactures visually inspected them, but some like Mercedes replaced them after 15 years. "Mercedes research concluded that the airbags it produced after January 1, 1992 would last the life of the vehicle." So if you want an airbag newer than that the Motorsport one fits the bill (used on E36s and still available new). "Douglas Campbell...president of the Automotive Safety Council [says] airbags from 1990s vehicles are operating correctly in today's accidents."

https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/do-car-airbags-expire.html

[Jokester]

just needs be lower and you have a marvelous e30.

right now the car is only amazing, but with a drop ;D