BMW USED CARS

This is a list of things that are necessary to get real performance out of the M42 engine, mainly for street use, and the best part is - it will not burn a hole in your pocket. You may see items such as 4-throttle intakes, $3,000 stroker kits, and wild cams out there, but most of this stuff does not do much on a street motor (either that or it will cost too much), though they may give you some top-end on all out race motors. If you want your 318iS to really fly on the street, these are the things you need to do:

There used to be a rumor that the differential cover from the new M-Roadster/Coupe would bolt on to an E30 M3 differential housing. Jimmy Pettinato was the first enthusiast to actually go out and tackle the install. I have since followed suit, as have some other list members. This write-up is a combination of the experiences gained by Jimmy and I during our install procedures. You may be wondering; "Why the heck would I want all those fins hanging down under my rear end?" Well if you track your E30 then that limited-slip clutch pack will generate some serious heat. And the ultimate enemy of any clutch is heat. The fins on the M-coupe diff' cover reach down into the air flow underneath the car and should therefore help bring about lower operational diff' temperatures. Furthermore, since the diff' cover only costs about $140 and can be ordered right from the dealer, I cannot see any reason not to do it - this mod should be on every E30 owner's "to-do" list.

One of the easiest and best bang-for-the-buck suspension modifications to do on an E30 is a strut/stress bar install. There are many different companies that make strut bars such as BMP Design, Racing Dynamics, Ireland Engineering, Sparco, and many more. For our project car we chose to use the Sparco strut bar, which we purchased from Evosport. It's the simplest design out in the market and is constructed of steel, unlike most other strut bars which are made out of aluminum. Another thing that we liked about this particular bar is that it's a solid design that isn't hinged or adjustable design (such as BMP's bar). This gives the Sparco bar an advantage over the other bars by doing what its supposed to keep the strut towers stable. Testimony of users is that there is no bar better than the Spacro bar. It's the most popular bar in the E30 world, and it also fits the Ground-Control's front camber correction plates, which is the new favorite along with Ground-Control's coil-overs for E30 fans on tracks everywhere. Now that you know what we picked and why we picked it, lets see how the heck to put it on.

It seems to me that blacking out the chrome like trim around the windows of our beloved e30's has become the thing to do. Quite a few people, whom will go unnamed have been known to have carried out this mod without removing the trim. Sure this can be done this way, but for proper paint adhesion you really must thoroughly sand the surface of the trim, which is easier said then done with glass, and painted panels directly adjacent to said trim. My solution was to remove the trim altogether, which is no real surprise to anyone that is following my e30 project cars progress. Removal of the trim is not all that hard, but be warned it can and will be involving, mildly time consuming, and most of all... tedious.

If you're one of those guys who bought a 325 (or a two-door 325i) with the basic 6-button clock, then you're probably envious of all the other guys who are always bragging about knowing their average miles per gallon over a long trip, or knowing how much longer they can go without filling up. Well, now you too can be a bragger! Retrofitting an OBC onto your car is a pretty simple task, but it's just a little time consuming.

(For you 318i guys, I tested a 325e OBC with an M10 318i instrument cluster and all the readings seem accurate. If your car has an OBC relay and an ambient temperature sensor, then I believe this conversion will work for you.)

1. If it has been determined that your 325/325e needs a new thermostat, you're in for an easy and quick job.

2. To remove the housing, you'll first need to remove the hose exiting the thermostat housing and going to the lower part of the radiator. Have the shallow tray below the car to catch any spilled coolant. Move the hose to the side.

All of you have seen a picture of an E30 with tail lights that have a red turn signal section instead of the stock amber color. Many people agree that this gives the rear of an E30 more of a clean, European-type style. All-red E30 tail lights (these include red reverse light sections) are available for purchase at around US$300, and while the upgrade looks very nice, most people can't justify spending $300 on such a subtle modification. Luckily, there is a do-it-yourself solution to this dilemma. Most people opt to painting the amber turn signal with red model paint, and this article will explain the process of doing this.

Sport seats are the most desirable factory seating for the E30 chassis. They provide great lumbar support, hold you in place on those delightful twisties, and just look plain good. They came standard in the M3, 325iS, and 318iS. I believe they were available as a option on other E30's after 1987. The seat stitching on the M3 seats was horizontal, and is seen as more eye pleasing then the 'iS version of the seat, which is otherwise identical aside from the vertical stitching.