'88 Cirrus M30B35 sedan

[lukeADE335i]

Beautiful winter's day today (actually a bit too good - seems we could be heading into a full on drought here).

My new front lip and clips turned up from the Fatherland, so I sorted my e30's toothy grin (the old white clips with the lip knocked off looked like teeth!). Amazing how much more grab the new clips have vs. old dead ones.



At work lately I've been parking next to an F30, I'm always amazed at how big they are vs. our cars! Still... contemplating an F31 touring as a new daily.

[Anthony B]

The car is looking great Luke, I need to pull my finger out & get more motor work done on my new m30 build. But at the same time spending money on other things for the car... suspension part, cage, new seats, new exhaust the list goes on it’s worse than a drug habit

[lukeADE335i]

Thanks Anthony. Yes indeed - the list is never ending. Looking forward to seeing your new engine come together!

I've dented one of my wheels through hitting a bad pot hole recently, so will have to sort that sometime. I'll either get it repaired, or rock my 14 inch style 5s for a while for the ultimate sleeper look. Doesn't effect the car too much as I switched the wheel to the back, but it is quite clearly out of round if you look at the inside of the wheel.

[lukeADE335i]

I bought a new daily yesterday, and the e30 will be going on Historic registration, so $90 a year! Pick it up Monday. Will be weird after driving the e30 every day for a decade.

2013 e92 320d sport plus edition (basically an M-sport with a few extra options / specific trim at the end of the model run). Has an extensive service record and 5 years free dealer service, so hopefully will serve me well. Is the last revision of the N47 so hopefully the timing chain survives.

Outside:



Inside: Leather with blue stitching + Anthracite bamboo trim



Old and new



No, it's clearly not as quick as the e30, but 5.6L/100km economy is hard to beat, there's still plenty of mid-range for overtaking on the highway and the manual keeps the fun factor up :)

[lukeADE335i]

Some glorious spring weather down here, time to give the cars a bath :)



Took the e30 for a drive to keep everything ticking over nicely - still puts a smile on my face every time I drive, but the new one is admittedly a lot more comfortable on the daily grind.

The e92 has racked up 800km so far on its first tank of fuel, and there's still just under a 1/4 tank left! I'd have filled the e30 twice in that time (and they both have 62L tanks).

[jeenyus]

Awesome build. I have never understood why the M30 wraps the intake back over the head and exhaust manifold.

[wworm]

^ not a whole lotta room on the other side with the all the accessories in the way. Putting all the accessories over on the exhaust side could've also resulted in more heat problems but idfk anything

It is kinda weird though

[lukeADE335i]

Awesome build. I have never understood why the M30 wraps the intake back over the head and exhaust manifold.

Thanks Jeenyus. I'd say it's just for room as wworm suggested. On the M30B35 in the e30 it helps, as the oil filter points up like an M50 at the front of the engine. With the inlet set up on the inlet side in the e30 the space would be very tight. I'd imagine in an e34 it's less of an issue though.

There's a nice factory heat shield on the inlet to protect it from the exhaust.

[lukeADE335i]

Summer has decided to come on with vengeance all of a sudden down here. The up shot of that is hot days bring awesome sunsets :)



Having not driven the e30 for a few weeks, I got it out from under its cover and switched out my Alpina reps for my old style 5s as I'm thinking about getting the them refurbished.



The 14s look comically small after running the 16s for a few years, and the offset is nowhere near as aggressive as the Alpinas - the handling is not as tight as with the 16s either that's for sure, although the ancient Goodyears probably aren't helping that vs. the sticky Yokohamas I normally run.

I guess the car has returned from being OEM+ to full sleeper now :D I gave the car a decent run, and it's running very well - although I have to admit, I'm not missing the lack of AC in the hot weather (which is a bit too good in the e92).

[lukeADE335i]

Set a record for January heat down here today - have to admit I was glad not to be driving my e30 that's for sure!



The e92 AC works remarkably well considering, and the car didn't miss a beat sitting in traffic at those ambient temps. I should take the e30 out for a quick run to see whether the cooling system can actually be over powered (it never has thus far and I've driven it in 42 - 43C plenty of times), although I might cook!

[2mAn]

I wish we could get more diesel options here

[stonea]

I wish we could get more diesel options here

+1

I would love a E91 335d 6 speed

[wworm]

^All I want is an e46t 330d...or just more m57s in junkyards

[lukeADE335i]

Have to admit I'm a complete diesel convert now - the power available vs. the economy the car has is quite remarkable.

A N47 manual e30 swap would be great. Who knows, if the e92 ever happens to be written off maybe it could be on the cards :)

[325e '87]

Diesel is really something to consider and I enjoy your comments. Far from being a nice driver, my F350 with a 6.7l Diesel has over 400hp and 800lb/ft of torque. The dang truck weighs 9000lbs but man, that diesel Powah really feels good. Slow off the line but at 2000rpmwot it’s mucho grin worthy.

I wish smaller diesels and cars were more common up here.