12 months of E30 ownership....

[tomstickland]

12 months with E30s and I'm still loving it. I ran a ropey 320 for 2 months, and then bought a 318iS.
The 318iS is still entertaining me; I've been moving up the learning curve in a steady manner,but there's loads more to come yet. A most excellent car, even if I say so myself.

I have been considering what I'll do in a few years time. I might defect to the dark side of E36 ownership. Sad though; no E36 looks as good as the E30.

[Jhonno]

Glad to hear your still enjoying it Tom, great cars imo, handling is excellent and very well built

[ad318i]

well done, i know how ya feel inoticed on my log book i had my 2 years of ownership a few weeks ago!!

[Simon13]

glad your enjoying my old car! it was good a fun car for me when i had it a few years back, must be over 2 years since i sold it

[tomstickland]

Yeah, I'm considering sorting some cosmetics. I've been doing the basic maintenance - new rear discs and pads last week etc.

You can't beat RWD. Love it.

[Adammcf]

Yeah I forgot how good they were until I got mine back on the road this week. Nothing Ive drove in the last 6 months including many old and NEW cars come close. Everything is just in the right place and it just feels so right on the road.

[tomstickland]

Oh yes, I'm an driving enthusiast foremost and the E30 just ticks so many boxes. A work colleage borrowed his wife's E30 318 and told me that it felt better than any of the newish pool cars from work. I tend to agree. The RWD thing is obviously so much better than any FWD option. Oh yes, hooked.

[Bob_S]

I bought a 318is last week, after 9 months of 316i ownership and omg it flies!!! I havnt even got a stereo in I'm listening to the soundtrack it supplies as standard it certainly ticks all the boxes and definately money well spent, it needs a little bit of work but at this point in time I'm not concerned I just love driving it shame I'm too skint to put petrol in! :O

[tomstickland]

They're funny - in some situations you'll have your foot to the floor and be thinking "this is too slow" and yet other times you'll have it at 4500rpm in 3rd and be drifting around a corner thinking "this car is mental". It's great, once you get one flowing properly then it can cover ground really quickly.

Still not bored.

[SwirlyE30]

3rd gear IS drifting? maybe yours is twice as powerfull as mine lol.


Their cool cars, although im seriously wanting more power, cant wait to get my camaro up and running, engine rebuilt i should be pumping an easy 400bhp, then it will be time to say bye to the old beemer i think, unless i stick the V8 lump in it lol

[bottlecapE30]

They're funny - in some situations you'll have your foot to the floor and be thinking "this is too slow" and yet other times you'll have it at 4500rpm in 3rd and be drifting around a corner thinking "this car is mental". It's great, once you get one flowing properly then it can cover ground really quickly.

Still not bored.

A men.... i don't know what i will do with out an e30 i guess i will just drive them forever as i can't see any car replacing it

[Bob_S]

my 316i would drift in 3rd in some places with a rear arb

[tomstickland]

Yes, it will drift in 3rd gear, I'm not talking about a "looking out of the side windows, smoke coming off the tyres" situation. You can feel the back coming round and you have to unwind some lock to keep it pointing in the correct direction. This is on tight B roads. A lot depends on the tyres - I've got Goodyear F1s which are very progressive and provide a noticeable amount of controllable drift. Smitten.

[SwirlyE30]

You guys talking about in the dry? Not calling you a lier or anything, but i cant see any standard IS losing it in 3rd. In the wet, ok, but still you either need a hell of a lot of clutch kicking , or to be going propper quick, but that aint really controllable drifting if you have to plunge into a corner at 100mph.


Im just talking from expeirence, and i know that i drive mine pretty hard, with a LSD and 2nd isnt even amazing, (in terms of continuous drifting)


Fairplay tho

[Bob_S]

the back end will kick in the dry and drift in the wet it's down to my nanslangs they're gay and useless

[Adammcf]

You can drift any car with any tires if you go into a corner at the right speed and in the right manner.

[Cotty]

Glad your liking E30 ownership, I have had E30's for 13 years and love them top motors

[hoshy]

can't wait to get mine back. I've done jsut over a year of ownership now also and I can't see me having anything but an e30 for a while.

[Simon13]

kick the clutch all E30s drift then

[hoshy]

Was driving my mates e36 iS and neither of us could get the back out! it was awful. just kept on being pushed in to understeer. not a bad car though to be fair. just not an e30

[Lordschleife]

You guys talking about in the dry? Not calling you a lier or anything, but i cant see any standard IS losing it in 3rd. In the wet, ok, but still you either need a hell of a lot of clutch kicking , or to be going propper quick, but that aint really controllable drifting if you have to plunge into a corner at 100mph.


Im just talking from expeirence, and i know that i drive mine pretty hard, with a LSD and 2nd isnt even amazing, (in terms of continuous drifting)


Fairplay tho

Theres a sweeping bend near me, if I keep my foot to the floor in 3rd, guess at around 70-80? in the power band whatever, then the back def. slides out in the dry every time
Thats with an open diff.

[SwirlyE30]

Drifting is all about controls guys, anyone can get the arse out if they rape the clutch, but there is no way an IS can 'drift' in 3rd on normal roads.

All the people that drift a lot will tell you, in the dry it takes a lot of effort to keep the power down, ok you can kick the clutch in and try differnt angles, but in 3rd 99% youll just regain power again.


Im not trying to argue guys! Just saying, that with 'legal' tires, on normal roads in the dry, i dont see any IS drifting in 3rd. You either need to cain it into a corner which unless youve got an awesome setup with like hoshy says induce understeer, or be in ice or have the rear tires at like 60 psi and bald, they just dont have the power mid range to keep the tires spiining in 3rd.

[SwirlyE30]

Drifting is all about controls guys, anyone can get the arse out if they rape the clutch, but there is no way an IS can 'drift' in 3rd on normal roads.

All the people that drift a lot will tell you, in the dry it takes a lot of effort to keep the power down, ok you can kick the clutch in and try differnt angles, but in 3rd 99% youll just regain power again.


Im not trying to argue guys! Just saying, that with 'legal' tires, on normal roads in the dry, i dont see any IS drifting in 3rd. You either need to cain it into a corner which unless youve got an awesome setup with like hoshy says induce understeer, or be in ice or have the rear tires at like 60 psi and bald, they just dont have the power mid range to keep the tires spiining in 3rd.

[bottlecapE30]

I agree my old stock is would never drift in 3rd but my 2.7l will kick out the rear in the dry and drift

[tomstickland]

When I said drifting I was implying that the rear tyres were adopting some sort of slip angle, not doing a "UK drifting championship" maneovre. There are several sharp B road bends I know of where the throttle can be used to steer the car in the dry. That's what I meant by drifting and it's definitely something that can't be done in the same manner in a FWD car