Introducing myself :)

[Dino]

Hi all,

I have just signed up to this forum and thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm 32, married (no kids yet!) and work as a mortgage advisor in North London.

I currently own a 306 S16 as my daily car and a 205 GTi as track toy/weekend car that has a 16v Richard Longman tuned engine amongst other mods that makes 181bhp. I have owned 205 GTis since 1993 and toyed with a MkII Golf GTi 16v briefly before returning to Pug ownership with my current 205 in '03. (Golf = boring, Pug = exciting!)

My car: http://www.205gtidrivers.com/cars.php?user=dino

I've been to a fair few trackdays in my 205 in the last couple of years and even visited the Nurburgring twice this year where this happened after overtaking a Ferrari355 in the wet:



I've been lusting after an E30 M3 for as long as I can remember and I am now considering selling both Pugs and finding myself a late E30 M3 (if I can find one!!!!!) One of the boys on the 205gtidrivers forum recommended this as the place for E30 info so here I am!

I'm looking at finding out some more info on the E30 M3 primarily what to look out for, what can go wrong and how to squeeze more power out of the engine I haven't had a good look around the forum yet but any info on the above would be appreciated or even pointing me in the right direction of any relavent threads/posts would be nice

Cheers

Dino

[Zayyan]

Ah the 205 GTi, the only French car I'd ever own.

Nice numberplate too

Welcome to the Zone

[Dino]

Thanks Zayyan

Yeah I love this car so much and it will pain me to sell it but RWD beckons!!!!

[M5pilot]

Welcome dude!

You need to drive a good example of an E30 M3 to see if you like it.

I'll ket the S14 gurus tell you what goes wrong with them and what to look out for but general E30 advice - look for rust! Your probably well aware of the metal cancer having owned Pugs.

[Nelly]

Welcome Dino, if i remember rightly - Simon (moderator) mentioned about selling his White M3?? maybe a quick pm to find out mate.

Hope you enjoy it here on the 'Zone'

Neil.

[Dino]

Welcome dude!

You need to drive a good example of an E30 M3 to see if you like it.

I'll ket the S14 gurus tell you what goes wrong with them and what to look out for but general E30 advice - look for rust! Your probably well aware of the metal cancer having owned Pugs.

Believe it or not Pug 205s dont actually rust as from '87 on they were all galvanised

I'll look forward to some S14 advice then....by the way I have no idea what S14 is!!

Nelly - Thanks for the advice - I'll send him a pm now

[m3ben05]

Welcome to the zone mate -

Im after a 205 track toy, so let me know when your selling!

The s14 is the engine code of the e30 M3.

Look for the standard things like service history, excessive engine noise (although they are noisy!), blue smoke and a high idle.

Dont worry too much about the milage, the s14 can go on and on providing its been well looked after, so go over the history with a microscope!

Good luck!

[Dino]

I've already got a buyer for the 205 who is willing to pay top top money for it (he owns about 30 or so and is a bit obsseive about them!)

Whats the going rate for an EVO II or III or shall I go and get my coat?

Welcome to the zone mate -

Im after a 205 track toy, so let me know when your selling!

The s14 is the engine code of the e30 M3.

Look for the standard things like service history, excessive engine noise (although they are noisy!), blue smoke and a high idle.

Dont worry too much about the milage, the s14 can go on and on providing its been well looked after, so go over the history with a microscope!

Good luck!

[m3ben05]

If you want a track car dont bother with an evo 2 or 3, get a decent standard car and spend the extra on bits

A decent evo 2 would be around 7-8k and an good evo 3 well over 13k

[Dino]

That sounds like good advice cheers

Well my Pug was standard when I bought and I have spent Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£ modifying it. But hey it keeps up with E36 M3s and the like so I cant complain!

This is what worries me about buying an E30. It has to be as quick if not quicker than my Pug.

What are the best and most cost effective mods to do? I'll do brakes and suspension first and then move onto the engine

[m3ben05]

What is your 205 putting out power wise?

Most engine mods are expensive for the M3 but id go for a carbon airbox/alpha n management system (google it), decent exhaust, uprated cams and a good air filter.

Body wise, H&R coils, big brakes (brembo, ap, godspeed, hi-spec etc), strut braces and a cage should be all you could ever need

Expensive, but you would beat nearly anything on a track

[Simon]

Hi mate, welcome to the forum!

As has been said, don't bother with the evo models for a track car, as they usually command a premium over the standard models.

Have a look at this to understand all the models that were available..

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=8

As for the M3 being quicker than the pug, then I think with the right mods to the M3, you will be happy, M3 really takes to some suspension modifications.
As for engine tuning, well..the S14 is quite a highly strung unit from the factory, but figures of 300bhp are within reach, but I've seen figures of 10k+ to reach this sort of power!

Rust is the one to watch, rear number plate lights, rear valence (behind the bumper) and the scuttle panel around the windscreen are the worst places on the E30.
Hope this helps!

Oh and Sal..who told you pug's rust!!? They never rust they just rattle bang and fall apart!

[Dino]

What is your 205 putting out power wise?

My Pug is putting out 181bhp at 6950rpm (when it hits the limiter) As you can imagine with that kind of power and a kerb weight of 850kgs it doesnt hang about!!!

Hi mate, welcome to the forum!

Oh and Sal..who told you pug's rust!!? They never rust they just rattle bang and fall apart!

Thanks for the welcome So Simon are you selling your M3 then?

Yip true they do rattle and fall apart!!!!! One of the flimsiest interiors of any car I think!

[m3ben05]

I would doubt you would see much of an improvement over your pug TBH, you may be better looking at an mi16 engine for it instead??

A standard M3 puts out around 215 (late model) and like simon said, 300bhp is achievable, JUST!

Realistically,i would think you would be looking at 270 max, even after spending around 5k on mods. This is just a guess, im willing to be proved wrong....

[Simon]

Thanks for the welcome So Simon are you selling your M3 then?

Yip true they do rattle and fall apart!!!!!

I've got a 309 (not a GTi sadly )I use as an ashcart, cheap and nasty!

I assume you've been reading through the forum, that I'm sadly selling the M3 then? Or just a lucky guess!?

[c76jon]

If you want a track car dont bother with an evo 2 or 3, get a decent standard car and spend the extra on bits

A decent evo 2 would be around 7-8k and an good evo 3 well over 13k

please form an orderly queue of DECENT evo 2s outside my house for 7-8 grand and the cash is waiting for each and every one

john

[Dino]

I would doubt you would see much of an improvement over your pug TBH, you may be better looking at an mi16 engine for it instead??

A standard M3 puts out around 215 (late model) and like simon said, 300bhp is achievable, JUST!

Realistically,i would think you would be looking at 270 max, even after spending around 5k on mods. This is just a guess, im willing to be proved wrong....

My Pug already has an Mi16 engine mate

I dont think I would go to massive extremes as far as engine mods go as Im not looking at having an M3 for longer than a year or so. I've always wanted one and need a good handling car to learn the ways of RWD

[Simon]

If you want a track car dont bother with an evo 2 or 3, get a decent standard car and spend the extra on bits

A decent evo 2 would be around 7-8k and an good evo 3 well over 13k

please form an orderly queue of DECENT evo 2s outside my house for 7-8 grand and the cash is waiting for each and every one

john

And sport evo's for 13k for that matter

[c76jon]

yes you are right simon

bring on the decent evo sports for 13k ill have all them too!!!

oh and any NICE hartge h36s aswell!!! lol


john

[m3ben05]

Just going by experience, my cecotto was 7.5k and it was very decent. And i said way over 13k for an evo sport

[c76jon]

Just going by experience, my cecotto was 7.5k and it was very decent. And i said way over 13k for an evo sport

accepted but cecottos are not evo2s there is still quite a lot of difference in the two cars

john

[m3ben05]

Really? My mistake, i thought they were basically the same car. You learn something every day

[c76jon]

evo 2
220 hp
11.1 compression ratio
different diff
lightened flywheel
different exhaust manifold
one of cams is different
runs 46mm inlets with special porting on head

just a few i can think of

to look at they wre the same almost except for interiors and wheels

john

[Dino]

what do you guys think of this?

There is an '88 E30 M3 on Autotrader for Ԛ£5995

The owner says the car had a full respray inside and out and its an E36 colour. Its not really my taste but he has stacks of history and has spent a fair bit over the last 3 years he has owned it. Whilst it was being resrayed the engine was out and had the timing chain changed. It looks to be good value but I dont know if I could put up with that colour!

Would this car have trouble with resale when I came to sell due to colour do you think?

EDIT: deleted the url as it was far to long!

[m3ben05]

I think its quite cool myself, you wont have any trouble as long as the price reflects the fact that it has been resprayed. Keep this in mind when agreeing a price.

[Dino]

The owner has had it for 3 years as a 2nd car and mentioned things like the long range fuel tank, BBS lightweight rims, timing chain etc. Apparently has the german service history and all the invoices from over here with plenty of Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£ spent whilst he has had it.

Im up that way on Thursday so Im gonna have a look He also mentioned the price was negotiable so when someone says that I KNOW there is some haggling to be done If I like it and it drives well Ill offer him a cheeky Ԛ£4500 and hope he doesnt get too insulted

[m3ben05]

Worth a try, i reckon 5250 would be a good price. Ask what else was done when the engine was out. When mine was done i had a full rebuild at the same time. If he did the same then it would be a great buy!

Good luck mate

[Dino]

Yeah I already asked that and it hasnt had a full rebuild unfortunately.

I have found a 1990 2.5 in Germany for EUR14900 which according to the ad has been 'lovingly' maintained and serviced, accident free and the best bit is it only has 86000kms on it.

I found a one way flight to Germany for approx Ԛ£30 - is this fate?

http://eng.autoscout24.com/home/index/d ... 15000&zip=