Here we go again....

[T.Dot_E30]

Originally Posted by Axxe

Trev, are you in Toronto this week? Want to meet up sometime and take me for a spin?

Yea but I live out in Ajax now. I work downtown but usually don't drive.

[richie_s999]

I've heard nothing but great things about the TCkline coilovers. I'm strongly considering them over the PS9's I thought I wanted.

[Axxe]

Trev, I'm looking to keep it nice and civilized this time around. Just a nice daily driver, with the occasional track day. My brother and I are going to use my old e30 as the hardcore track beater.

[craz azn]

Originally Posted by Axxe

My brother and I are going to use my old e30 as the hardcore track beater.

AFTER you trade me the headlights on it for stockers

[Axxe]

Holy shit, didn't realize I haven't updated this in a while. Work has been hectic lately, 70 + hrs a week, but still chipping away when I have the chance to. Lots of little details that take longer than anticipated.

Big items:

- M3 front subframe, steering rack, control arms, bushings, brakes (uuc lines and rebuilt calipers), master cylinder and abs module
- Painstakingly cut off both sway bar mounts from the framerails, properly, and welded new oem parts back on (appears new items are thicker gauge than what I cut off)
- 18 button OBC retrofit
- auto-manual pedals, wiring, clutch line, etc
- heater core outlet with new o-rings (good luck finding them, I have a source so if anyone needs them I can get them)
- f1 racing flywheel, sprung hub OEM clutch disk, oem m3 pp, release and throwout
- welded oil pump nut, fresh seals (motor and tranny), gaskets (all but head gasket), maintenance parts (water pump, t-stat, plugs, belts, fluids)

Can't think of the rest now, but yeah, bigger project than anticipated. Was supposed to be head gasket job, kept auto, and just a nice daily cruiser. Shit happens.

Here are some pics:

Old rusted mount after removing:



New mount all done (don't mind the surface rust on the subframe, it was a mock up):



64k mile clean:



Oil pump nut all welded up:



Flywheel torqued down:



Sprung hub clutch disk:



For those wondering, the abundance of harvey's cups is due to a box of 1000 that I bought (freight claim). They are handy for storing hardware, drinking water, and disguising beer.

[cdmbmw]

Originally Posted by T.Dot_E30

235/40s all around, on 17x8s squared setup. No Strut bar. It could be how the coilovers are setup or the alignment, e36m3s are known to understeer, bf.c guys seem to suggest more camber up front.

+1 Just a slight bit of shimming and you will feel a great difference, I'm running a bit of negative camber on my stock suspension setup and am noticing a much better balance in the car.

[Dr. Flyview]

Originally Posted by dble Trouble

^^Trevor, it might be how you have your coilovers set up, a stock e36 understeers less than stock e30's. Also, do you have a staggered tire setup? That will definitely contribute to understeer, less rubber to the ground up front = less grip up front. Regardless of how BMW releases the car from the factory, I prefer the grip and handling of equal shoes all of the way around, with a 3 series regardless of hp. Do you have a strut tower brace? There's another fail which adds major understeer. If you do remove it for a few days, I guarantee you won't be putting it back on!

Seriously? Front strut bars are a nono?

Axxe, nice work. Could you explain the benefits of welding the oil pump nut?

[T.Dot_E30]

Originally Posted by Dr. Flyview

Could you explain the benefits of welding the oil pump nut?

They have been known to come loose, and cause engine failures.

[ZiMMie]

looks good polski..

[Axxe]

Finally dropped in.

[Blades]

very nice .. high five!

[Axxe]

It's alive! Thanks to Mike (Zimmie) for aligning my EWS. It's nice to hear it fire up after so many months of sitting

[Boots R]

congrats man!

[BigD]

So another year or so to put the front end back together?

j/k congrats comrade

[Axxe]

Originally Posted by BigD

So another year or so to put the front end back together?

j/k congrats comrade

At first I was like: what an asshole, but then I realized you're probably right. ****ing work is kicking my ass, not to mention school this term. Everytime I go to work on the car some catastrophic event needs attention.

Anyway, I need to get some tires as I don't have a complete set of rollers at this point. I might as well just wrap my style 5's up for the summer and not drive in the snow.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the cheap as shit tires that simply tire has (talon tr968 or zeetex hp102), as I am going to be using this car as a "work truck" for 4 months. This means going in an out of sites with nails, rocks, etc, and driving lots (10k +). So I don't want to buy the tires I would like (star specs or rt-615k) to have them punctured by rebar. I have a pair of used 225/40/18's that I was planning on putting on the back, but will this size work on the front as well? (paging jay). If so I'll rock the used ones on the front and get new cheapies for the back and rock them as my daily setup, and pickup some 17x9's to run sticky 255's on. FYI the cheapies are about $100 a tire installed for 225/40/18 and 215/35/18 (undersized I know, but will work up front for sure). Also tire noise isn't much of a concern, will likely be drowned out by WOT intake noise combined with 200w rms, with windows down. Gas card FTMFW