Best things to modify on e30 for performance and handling

[SiyonKart]

i have a 91’ 318i and i was curious how i show go about making it faster. i do not want to directly modify the engine, bc idk if it’s capable of handling anything. what are the best options when it comes to engine swaps and turbos? i know the M50 and the M52 are very common swaps, but is it worth it? i also heard the S50 and S52 were great as well. if anyone knows the best way to enhance the performance on my e30 please let me know! also, what are the best setups for making an e30 handle at its finest? i heard bilstein and hk springs are a good setup but not too sure. any info would be helpful!

thanks yall!192.168.0.1 routerlogin 192.168.l.l

[Contours]

Alternatively, you could put in a good stereo, relax and enjoy the scenery and let the M40 engine decide its own pace which it is good at.

[martauto]

Alternatively, you could put in a good stereo, relax and enjoy the scenery and let the M40 engine decide its own pace which it is good at.

Wind down the windows and enjoy

Mart.

[twright]

i have a 91’ 318i and i was curious how i show go about making it faster. i do not want to directly modify the engine, bc idk if it’s capable of handling anything. what are the best options when it comes to engine swaps and turbos? i know the M50 and the M52 are very common swaps, but is it worth it? i also heard the S50 and S52 were great as well. if anyone knows the best way to enhance the performance on my e30 please let me know! also, what are the best setups for making an e30 handle at its finest? i heard bilstein and hk springs are a good setup but not too sure. any info would be helpful!

thanks yall!

I have found that the best place to start on an E30 is to replace every rubber suspension part: control arm bushings, top shock mounts on the rear, sway bar bushings front and rear, sway bar links, subframe bushings, differential bushing, etc.

All those rubber parts are pretty cheap and are easily done by DIY.

You'll be amazed how well E30's handle with just good stock parts.

[Armanib666]

i have a 91’ 318i and i was curious how i show go about making it faster. i do not want to directly modify the engine, bc idk if it’s capable of handling anything. what are the best options when it comes to engine swaps and turbos? i know the M50 and the M52 are very common swaps, but is it worth it? i also heard the S50 and S52 were great as well. if anyone knows the best way to enhance the performance on my e30 please let me know! also, what are the best setups for making an e30 handle at its finest? i heard bilstein and hk springs are a good setup but not too sure. any info would be helpful!

thanks yall!

I have found that the best place to start on an E30 is to replace every rubber suspension part: control arm bushings, top shock mounts on the rear, sway bar bushings front and rear, sway bar links, subframe bushings, differential bushing, etc.

All those rubber parts are pretty cheap and are easily done by DIY.

You'll be amazed how well E30's handle with just good stock parts.

+1

[rix313]

You're asking broad questions with varying degress of complexity and also cost. What is your budget and what sort of mechanical experience do you have? I always start customer fast road and track car projects with getting the handling and brakes up to standard then going from there. IMHO going around a corner quickly in a well balanced car is much more fun than just driivng fast in a straight line. As the old saying goes, straights are for fast cars, corners are for fast drivers.

[flybynite]

You're asking broad questions with varying degrees of complexity and also cost.

Absolutely. There is no such thing as the 'best' setup. Depends on were and how it is going to be driven. I think the first question is what is the car going to be used for and where it is going to be used.

IMHO putting an S50/52/54 will destroy the balance of an E30, I drove one of those for 10 years in an E36 and it did nothing for the balance of that either.

As the old saying goes, straights are for fast cars, corners are for fast drivers.

I think he is over the pond, they don't have as many bendy roads as we do here