1990 325i sport - what mods for £1000 - please advis

[stenni]

Hi Guys (and Gals?)

I bought a Dolphin Grey Sport in 2004 and although she's fairly quick I think these days I'm struggling to keep up with newer cars - is the e30 underpowered now? Or is there something wrong with my car?

Anyhoo, I'm gonna blow my paltry bonus on a decent service + bodywork touch-up. Afterwards I'll have a grand to give my car more 'go'.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

[Simon13]

hmmm, no it's probably not slow, it's just 325's aren't king of the road anymore!

depends. maybe a cam, some shocks and springs. And a bit on the brakes.

A cam will give a genuine 10bhp.

But u don't want to do the engine and leave everything else, as the extra speed will show this up.

Me? i went the other route suspension and brakes, now i'm doing the engine to go faster

[Grantley]

I know this sounds boring but I'd spend it on keeping the car as up together and original as I could, it'll be worth it in the long run. As for performance frankly I dont 325's are considered fast anymore and I dont think a grand would change that, IMO the money would be better spent keeping the car's condition as good as possible. They arent getting any newer and I'd rather have a minter than a slightly faster than normal one ! Good luck whatever you do though

[Adammcf]

For a grand I'd spend it on a full suspension kit, some decent brakes, a Z3 short shifter, a decent exhaust, larger throttle body and a zone chip.
THen spend the rest on servicing everything on the engine and new bushes.

[Motorhole]

You could probably get the M20 running on motorbike throttle bodies and Megasquirt programmable fuel injection for a grand if your willing to get your hands dirty! Plus from there, you can add things to it slowly and adjust the map accordingly...wilder cam, bigger injectors, get the head ported etc etc.

But the shortcomings in your suspension and brakes will be quickly shown up! Which means more spending...

[jaistanley]

I would personally spend that on some E30M3 running gear and wheels, replacing anuthing that looks worn.

This would improve your handling, braking and provide loads more driver feedback. Excellent mods for the money, wil lmake the car a lot faster than the equivalent engine mods.

Jai

[orangecurry]

if your car has done less than say 100k miles, I'm with Grantley

original sports are rocketing in price - messed-about with ones will drop in value and as noted above once you start it'll just eat up funds

IMHO of course

do a 'national' search on autotrader for 325 sports in the keywords - if low miles and original, people are asking 4k plus; there's one for 5250

[OllieB]

I'd spend your money on making sure there is no rust lurking under your kit, if there is then it makes spending money on anything else a complete slap in the bollocks.....

[M5pilot]

Before you modify anything, as mentioned above, make sure the car is structurally sound.

Then:

Get your self a good strut brace - this really helps stiffen up the front of the car. The turrets over the years move closer together - tBrace will help and you'll feel it. No hinged ones though.

Make sure the suspension is all good, mtec stuff is not bad and handles ok if in good condition but no where near as good as something like some of the suspension kits guys have on here. Make sure all the bushes are good, ball joints ok.

Then check your brakes.

Only then should you be considering getting any more power.

Power upgrades which work:

ITG induction kit
Big Bore throttle Body
Good 6 branch Manifold - some give over 10bhp on standard 325i's
Maybe an exhaust
Remap/Zone chip.

Oh and make sure the engine is in good running order aswell before you attempt this.

All of the above are bolt on mods so you can always reverse this to keep the originality of the car.

[DieselMeister]

I'm with Sal on this. As soon as I'm not working every hour on the clock I'll be paying the zone shop a little visit methinks.

Still not cured the Sport's "cough" either. But then I'm only doing an average of 20 miles a week - I have that little time to drive the damn thing. I need somewhere I can leave it and pick it when its done....

[Motorhole]

Other options could be taking the load off the engine by doing an electric fan conversion and electric power steering conversion...and fit E36 M3 rack while your at it!

[GuyM]

ok this might sound reeeealllly boring but Ԛ£150 on a track day (you get free instructor driver training on most of them) would be money well spent if you want to keep up with others.

Most drivers can't drive "fast" and "well" at the same time.....they can usually either do one or the other. an instructor will help you find the limits of your own car (essential) show you correct lines for fast cornering and show you how late you really can brake before a corner and get the power down quick on the way out. An E30 is not a quick car nowdays, so driver skill is gonna help massively

i had a blinding track day in a tvr i used to own...it showed me just what a cr*p driver I really was (and probably still am!) but you learn loads plus you have a laugh.

Insurance - you can get cover. (alternatively if you total it on the track just get someone to drag you off the track onto the public road and push it into a ditch, then call up your insurance company....it has been known to be done before!!!!)

[Motorhole]

I second the driver tuition (3 rounds of Michelin Renault Scholarship got me off the starting block!), but I wouldn't condone taking the car to racetrack braking/cornering limits on the road, anywhere, ever! With the exception of moorland b-roads where you can see the corners span out for miles ahead, but they are rare.

However, some good tuition will teach you how far you CAN push the car on the road safely, and that is normally enough to give you the edge over most other drivers, regardless of what they are in.

[stenni]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I've heard chipping your motor reduces longevity
Does the 325i sport slow down on 17" rims - cos I'm thinking of blowing Ԛ£500 - Ԛ£1000 on some wheels?

It's good to know that you guys know your stuff. All I need now is a good mechanic to turn my sport into a real monster!

[OllieB]

I wouldn't expect it to become a 'real monster' unless you are gonna throw some serious wodge at it. Guys on here have spent five figures and the biggest power output of a NA M20 is still well shy of 300bhp IIRC. You could get that if you bought a decent 2.0 litre turbo jap thingie and threw a chip and an exhaust at it. Don't mean to piss on your fireworks geez but try not to get your hopes up too much. You are better off spending your money on getting the handling sorted as I reckon that is where the real amusement is to be had with E30's. Would be a shame to spend all that money on the engine and still be getting blown away by spotty little pricks in saxo VTS's and AX GT's wouldn't it?

[Motorhole]

Could always drop that chippable jap lump into your car! Get a good CA18DET engine for about Ԛ£250-Ԛ£300, its just all the work required to get it to fit the E30 drivetrain.

Anything larger than 16" on an E30, without serious work to the suspension moutning points etc, will ruin the handling. Stick with 15" and go wide!

[stenni]

OH POO!

I just bought some 17" wheels! with 205/40/17 tyres

How badly will they affect handling?

My suspension setup is standard btw
The chap who sold them to me convinced me they'd be alright but then told me how his cousin crashed his 325i sport on 17s

I guess I'll have to alter my 'driving style'

[Motorhole]

Wouldn't have thought the 17"'s would have caused him to crash, don't worry about that!

My guess would be the steering response would be the most affected. The wheels might give your more grip, but the car won't feel as "chuckable".

Just give it a go and see what happens!

[bullitt]

Get a good CA18DET engine for about Ԛ£250-Ԛ£300

Don't bother with a s13 200sx motor.. Yeah i can hear the Big Ends knocking already...