drifting an e30?

vishpish

vishpish

Member
Hey

Just looking to hear from anyone who has done the above or any opinions.

I've got a 325i m sport coupe that was saved from the scrappy but needs quite a bit of work (brakes all round, sensors/switchs and rust). Its got the m kit on it and a 2-way diff and seems to have been lowered.

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The e30 owners really don't like seeing these drifted because they are getting pretty rare (which is a fair point). Just wondering if anyone can encourage/dissuade us a little! Are they easy to slide? I'm coming from mr2 ownership so guess anythings better lol
 
They are awesome, the e30 owners you are mentioning are a bunch of pricks. Its not exactly a £1,000,000 1 of 4 made cars therefore its not really rare.

Give it a service and check out the cooling system, so ensure the viscous is working well, its got fresh coolant, put a additional electric fan on the rad with a switch and your good to go.

Brilliant car, lots of grunt easy to slide. Lots of upgrades as you progress through driving too.

How bad is the rust?
 
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Cheers for the replies - yeah lsd! At first we thought it was a welder but it's far too 'nice' lol.

Phill i have seen your car about - really like it man! Thank fuck somebody else thinks that of the e30 guys. I posted up on e30zone mentioning drifting and got shot down. Ended up posting a vid of us doing a burnout in the garage to try and piss them off and they wished cancer upon us etc... I'm sure there's some good guys in there but they don't like to see e30's being abused lol.

Well that has made me feel a bit more up for it.

Done a coolant swap and the viscous is good Phill but the temp dial is reading off the scale on hot so think the rad sensor is gone.

There's a hole in the rear arch which is repairable and a bit of damage on the sill and front windscreen cowl - I'll get pics.

Do you run a bucket in yours btw? If so which one and which rails? I want to get one badly!!
 
if you go sidemount bucket seat you can abuse the stock e30 rail(well unbolt the seat from it) and it gives you holes you can bolt sidemounts to ;)
love e30's, 2.5 skid good, hell i loved e30 is until i sold it on and even now its still in the family getting skidded.
change the bush in the diff backplate to a z3m item makes a noticeable difference to the sloppy bush that will be there and maybe poly the rear subframe in time.
sell the lsd and chuck an welded 320 (i think) diff in there for a little better acceleration.
 
vishpish said:
Cheers for the replies - yeah lsd! At first we thought it was a welder but it's far too 'nice' lol.

Phill i have seen your car about - really like it man! Thank fuck somebody else thinks that of the e30 guys. I posted up on e30zone mentioning drifting and got shot down. Ended up posting a vid of us doing a burnout in the garage to try and piss them off and they wished cancer upon us etc... I'm sure there's some good guys in there but they don't like to see e30's being abused lol.

Well that has made me feel a bit more up for it.

Done a coolant swap and the viscous is good Phill but the temp dial is reading off the scale on hot so think the rad sensor is gone.

There's a hole in the rear arch which is repairable and a bit of damage on the sill and front windscreen cowl - I'll get pics.

Do you run a bucket in yours btw? If so which one and which rails? I want to get one badly!!
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Been on the e30 zone for years - Unfortunately the place is full of flat cap wearing tossers, however the same long term out spoken users who hate low / drift / scene e30's are also very knowledgeable and can be helpful (annoyingly).


If the car was in a scrap yard I'm guessing it will be more than just the rear arch that is rusty, check the jacking points, bulkhead (where the cabin harness joins the fuse box) , sunroof tray and scuttle.

The temp gauge should really sit bang in the centre - Also is there any mayo in the coolant as the old m20 loves eating head gaskets / cracking heads.

It might be worth looking at the condition of the rad - my 325i used to overheat after about 5 laps on circuit - this was solved with a new rad.
 
vishpish said:
I posted up on e30zone mentioning drifting and got shot down. Ended up posting a vid of us doing a burnout in the garage to try and piss them off and they wished cancer upon us etc... I'm sure there's some good guys in there but they don't like to see e30's being abused lol.

Well that has made me feel a bit more up for it.
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e30 zone is FULL of utter cocks that think their 318 is a classic. leave them be. idiots.
 
vishpish said:
Cheers for the replies - yeah lsd! At first we thought it was a welder but it's far too 'nice' lol.

Phill i have seen your car about - really like it man! Thank fuck somebody else thinks that of the e30 guys. I posted up on e30zone mentioning drifting and got shot down. Ended up posting a vid of us doing a burnout in the garage to try and piss them off and they wished cancer upon us etc... I'm sure there's some good guys in there but they don't like to see e30's being abused lol.

Well that has made me feel a bit more up for it.

Done a coolant swap and the viscous is good Phill but the temp dial is reading off the scale on hot so think the rad sensor is gone.

There's a hole in the rear arch which is repairable and a bit of damage on the sill and front windscreen cowl - I'll get pics.

Do you run a bucket in yours btw? If so which one and which rails? I want to get one badly!!
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Ah so it was you that got all their blood pressures raised. Unfortunately most of the on the E30zone members think that anything non stock is 'chavved' apart from their bloody Alpina wheels, eyebrows and 60/40 lowering springs.

As bell and oldroyds have said they are pricks, but theres a few whos knowledge is invaluable and will really genuinely help out, I like putting photos of my car on there as I know it irritates the living piss out of the 40 year olds.

Id still stick another fan on the front of the rad too as the M20s hate going slow with abuse, nearly every drift day I go to I see one spilling its guts due to over heating! Check everything as oldroyds has said

I run a bucket seat in mine however its a side mount directly to the floor as im tall I find mounted on the subframe is a bit to high for me. Something that is worth doing if your running a bucket seat is to lower the steering column, done by spacers/washers on the column bolts, gives a much better driving position if using a non stock seat.

I sound like im making it out to be a fragile old car but they really arent, itll go for years and years just so long as it doesnt overheat!
Enjoy it you will!
 
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Here is a hint, a photo of past MJG's BMW's always gets them going....

They will go ape shit on anything from the used and abused topic
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i love my e30, but on the other hand if thats a genuine sport then there's probably some GOOD money in fixing and selling on - then buy a normal cheap 325 and pocket the difference.....
 
Normal E30s, sure skid it, but a genuine 325 sport? Good ones for for ££££ nowerdays and they are getting rare regardless of what other people say, I'd fix it up, sell it on, use the proceeds to buy a normal E30 with cash to spare. Plus those 2-ways are pretty fragile and aren't very aggressive, you'd rather have a welder and it'd be a waste to weld up a 2-way so it'd be best to get another diff and if you're getting another diff you may as well just use a more basic E30 as a base. The nice kit wouldn't last long either.
 
Gooly said:
Normal E30s, sure skid it, but a genuine 325 sport? Good ones for for ££££ nowerdays and they are getting rare regardless of what other people say, I'd fix it up, sell it on, use the proceeds to buy a normal E30 with cash to spare. Plus those 2-ways are pretty fragile and aren't very aggressive, you'd rather have a welder and it'd be a waste to weld up a 2-way so it'd be best to get another diff and if you're getting another diff you may as well just use a more basic E30 as a base. The nice kit wouldn't last long either.
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Yeah - see that's why I'm in two minds - you make a good point.

The problem is the car has no history at all and is pretty rough. And i just hate trying to sell a car - never done it and you just end up with some faggot moaning about little things. So that's why I'm edging towards keeping it and drifting it.

Personally I still want a kouki 180sx one day tho...

MJG's e30 looks epic! just love em slammed with dishy wheels (and the sport kit does finish it off nicely).

Guys cheers also for the advice RE buckets - makes me feel a bit better that you guys have done it because I could find nobody on the e30 forum that had!

Think either way I'm going to fix the car up and MOT it....what to do from there depends if it's a nicer driver than my old 180. Either way defo need something FR and fun this summer!
 
id love to say price dependant id have it from you, but theres a fair few miles with a trailer involved and the fact i cant afford shit at the moment.
another way round it is just drift it end of the day its not an e30 m3/ evo so as said by phil its not like its one of 4 crack on with it man and enjoy it
 
charlieog1243 said:
im on e30zone i mentioned about welding my diff on my old e30 and i got a hale storm of abuse lol
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Maybe cause driving on the road legally insured with a welded diff in near impossible.

If someone's built a drift car and built it properly, then I'm sure it'd be more then welcomed by the members on e30zone but if you own a rust bucket POS with a welded diff, cheap coilovers and just post "Cheapest way to slam my car and drift it" topics then maybe you get what you deserve.
If someone came up to me when I was by my E30 and said "Mate I got one of them I use for drifting, totally stripped it with buckets and a welded diff but it makes good for a daily giving it some around thr roundabouts" i'd think they're a complete tool.

They're a sound bunch over there, even if they are all flat caps and pipes.
 
Grilled said:
Maybe cause driving on the road legally insured with a welded diff in near impossible.

If someone's built a drift car and built it properly, then I'm sure it'd be more then welcomed by the members on e30zone but if you own a rust bucket POS with a welded diff, cheap coilovers and just post "Cheapest way to slam my car and drift it" topics then maybe you get what you deserve.
If someone came up to me when I was by my E30 and said "Mate I got one of them I use for drifting, totally stripped it with buckets and a welded diff but it makes good for a daily giving it some around thr roundabouts" i'd think they're a complete tool.

They're a sound bunch over there, even if they are all flat caps and pipes.
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im fully insured with a welded diff.
the zone used to be a nice place years ago. i met a load of great guys (although a bit scary looking lol) used to go to meets every month or so. then something happened it went real clicky and lost the fun.
 
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