e30! I'm sick of it. Sorry!

[rusty323]

In the past i've owned the following:

2 * 320i's
1 * 325i
1 * 316
1* 730i

The best one was the 730i!

These cars are reliable, 'BUT' they are no sports car. The Essex boys can put as many spoilers, induction kits, 2 tone metallic paint, fancy plugs, funny sticky bits, but the humble e30 is no performer. You might as well buy yourself a P reg Vauxhall Corsa 1.4i.

My mates got a Ford Focus ST170, no matter what I do to my 323i, it will d NEVER , NEVER, EVER compete.

I'm sick to death of the poor old 'e30', its seen better days, and should be laid to rest!

sorry.

[Demlotcrew]

Yes but the 323 was never fast, You need a good 325i.

Andrew

[M5pilot]

E30's arent the best performing cars aound but what they are is a good all round package if you have an example which is good.

They are not unreliable if maintained properly and yes they need lots of attention. Its no different to any other BMW (except E34) and in saying that any other car (except ones from far east).

They are great fun to drive and are alot of fun to drive.

E30 M3's rule.

[Moofles]

e30's are ancient tech that's the problem...

if you can find one that hasn't rusted to sh*t (yeah right!) they are good fun yeah....

another good thing about them is they are suited to DIY'ing. the bad things are the refinement, the rust, the bits always falling off (probably cos they are 15+ years old now), the engines are only "ok", rust, the number of steering turns, the crappy brakes, the rust...

i do like them really, for all the people that think i don't! lol!

[Ant]

cant see the prob, I spanner under 10 year old e36s and the like right up to new 05 plate cars, e30 is better built by far, sure there are rust traps etc etc but thats true of most of the later cars too.

E46 5 years old, new arches already! call me old skool but thats wrongness indeed !

how good will the later cars be @ 18+ years old I wonder ???

I think you need a break fromthe e30, get a good 24V E34 and enjoy, reliable as night follows day and have you ever seen a rotten one

[Kam320i_cab]

i think you need to get fast cars outa your system mate, iv come from a long line of fast cars, but my e30 has made me feel like im 19 again when i bought my 1st fast car

I felt the quality for weeks, iv only got a 320 but mate, you cant beat the noise of a straight 6 with a good exhaust, i just cruise these days as that wat my car is made for

Remember the saying 'You dont know what youv got till its gone' Its TRUE!!

Maybe sell up and get the top end models of the 3 series, or own a turbo car - I can recomend some but some people here dont like them cars!! and when it blows up come back to e30!

[low325icab]

e30,s rule! end of story! my car is 16 yrs old and there is no rust on it at all and absolutly solid underneath, i know of cars on l,m,p regs in worst condition!

[Moofles]

you got a good example ryan, i have seen it close up

did you go lakeside yesterday mate? sorry i didn't go i was a bit...hungover...lol

[E30Adam]

In the past i've owned the following:

2 * 320i's
1 * 325i
1 * 316
1* 730i

The best one was the 730i!

These cars are reliable, 'BUT' they are no sports car. The Essex boys can put as many spoilers, induction kits, 2 tone metallic paint, fancy plugs, funny sticky bits, but the humble e30 is no performer. You might as well buy yourself a P reg Vauxhall Corsa 1.4i.

My mates got a Ford Focus ST170, no matter what I do to my 323i, it will d NEVER , NEVER, EVER compete.

I'm sick to death of the poor old 'e30', its seen better days, and should be laid to rest!

sorry.

You should come for a drive in mone then, that'll put a smile back on your face and it'll also show the likes of a measly ST170 who's boss!

[Simon13]

i mullered one of these "st170's" the other day in a good as standard 325i. I think u need to hit your head and start thinking straight again!

[Karan]

hmmmmm i find this very interesting as i am always doing stuff to my car..... and am underneath it a lot of the time doing bits n bobs.... and i have to say e30s rule! everything is sooo solid on them... and like ant said..... id hate to see what some of todays cars turn into in the future,..... has anyone ever looked under neath and seen all the flimsy fittings/brackets on soething like a jag xk8/r

cos it is seriously sh1t!!!

e30s can be made into great cars.... as can any car.... and a stock 325 is no slouch!!!

mine will comfortably stay dead level with porsche boxsters from standstill too 140mph.... i bullsh1t u not..... e36 m3s also do NOT get away believe it or not...

choice mods are the way forward..... first things that need to go in the bin are the suspension and the brakes.... then make sure all bushes are tip top.......
oh and theyre great drift cars...

Karan

[glenn]

e30's aren't fast enough ??

give me six month's and i'll make you eat humble pie !!!

[Turbo-Brown]

Think the problem with the performance (certainly of my 325i) is that it falls into a gulf between things that are slower like yer average rep-mobile, and things which are much faster like Civic type-R's etc.

It was the same with my 205 1.9GTi, some things you could hammer, other things it didn't stand a chance against!

RE: ancient technology. 68.4bhp/litre isn't too shabby from a 2 valve per cyl engine!

[Richy325iTouring]

st170 aint that quick the hearse is all over them

[rusty323]

I'm really sorry fellas, i know your right. The e30 is a good solid motor, the problem is 'Which old beemer do you go for??' I have a choice now of another 325 (which might i add has little difference in performance to the 323) or a 735?? From my previous experience the fuel consumption on the 7 series was slightly better than the 3, I don't know why but it was!!!!

I know i'm speed obsessed, but:

As far as a 325 beating a brand spanking new ST170, I don't think so. Them things have a six speed box, my mates does about 135 in 4th, yes 4th, 4th, 4th!!

[Karan]

I'm really sorry fellas, i know your right. The e30 is a good solid motor, the problem is 'Which old beemer do you go for??' I have a choice now of another 325 (which might i add has little difference in performance to the 323) or a 735?? From my previous experience the fuel consumption on the 7 series was slightly better than the 3, I don't know why but it was!!!!

I know i'm speed obsessed, but:

As far as a 325 beating a brand spanking new ST170, I don't think so. Them things have a six speed box, my mates does about 135 in 4th, yes 4th, 4th, 4th!!

LOL

325 would waste a st170.... and 323s are slow.....

[Turbo-Brown]

Big deal, my old GT6 could do 50 in first and 70 in second, still had a 0-60 of about 11seconds.

Also,:

At its heart is a tuned version of the 130PS 2.0-litre Ford Focus Duratec engine, producing 170PS at 7000rpm and 195Nm of torque from 2500rpm. Transmitted through a Durashift six-speed manual gearbox, this is sufficient to allow the Ford Focus ST170 to achieve 0-62mph in 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 133mph.

A 325i can do the 0-60 dash in about 7.5 seconds.

[rusty323]

hhhmmmm! have you driven one????

I don't want to get into an argument about the 170, but 'NEVER'!

And i'm a beemer lover.

[nav786]

yeh but the look on his face when karans car goes past him with a 318 badge on the back would be worth a mil.

[6potWil6pot]

Im getting sick of my E30 but not cause of its performance, far from it, mine seems to be able to eat the majority of stuff that tries to take me on in a straight line.
Its the refinement im not keen on, noisy around town and noisy on the open road, good to drive but i dont to do enough recreational driving.

[rusty323]

Hey Turbo-brown,

Yeh, sorry mate. Your right, a 10 year old 325i engine is faster than a brand new 2.0 170bhp Ford engine. What??

Figures in car handbooks are never right, if they where my 6 cylinder 23166cc would have a top speed of 125mph, IT DOESN't!! Its about 1mph faster, ha, ha LOL

No arguing, just friendly banter!

[Moofles]

RE: ancient technology. 68.4bhp/litre isn't too shabby from a 2 valve per cyl engine!

that's true....the ancient tech bit refers to the fact it IS a single cam 2 valve per cylinder engine

[rusty323]

hee, hee!

I used to have a Porsche 944, you know, the old 2.5 4 cyliner. Now that was a guttless wonder!

Nice looking motor though! Anybody driven one of these things????

I don't think i'll get another one! lol

[astondg]

I was thinking about getting a 944, it would have to be one of the latter ones though and with the turbo (or the 3L but a 3L 4cylinder doesn't seem right).

I have a 323i and it is definately slow in a straight line, even with a 4.1 LSD and new ECU. But the E30 is more about handling than straight line speed. On a race track I have lapped faster than an S15 200SX.

I don't think it is that well engineered though. Looking at the wiring and some of the mechanical stuff it seems less well done than my 30 year old Mitsubishi Lancer. Some of the stuff on the E30 just seems overly complex and not so well thought out.

BUT I have thought about replacing it and for what they cost I can't really think of any car that would be better, even some cars that cost more. I want to go fast around a race track and like I said I have been quicker than an S15 200SX which cost a lot more.

Aston

[6potWil6pot]

When you add a few corners it depends on the driver as much as the machine on how fast u can go!

[Karan]

s15s rule!!!!
but e30s rule more!

[Andy325i]

hee, hee!

I used to have a Porsche 944, you know, the old 2.5 4 cyliner. Now that was a guttless wonder!

Nice looking motor though! Anybody driven one of these things????

I nearly bought one in my early days, nice shape. The guy wanted 1500 for the car with the box gone, was told it would cost as muct to do the box. Shame.

[andyp]

Yes but the 323 was never fast, You need a good 325i.

Andrew

Sorry here mate but i was driving a 323i which was 3 years old when you was in nappies if you was born then [even] and i can tell you there was not many cars on the road at this time which could have it, your talking about nowadays, im talking about 21 years ago

[Dom]

I don't understand the crack with the ST170's... I've beaten two now in my is. perhaps not convincingly by car lengths, but consistently pulling away. Won't comment on the distance left in the corners because that brings driver skill into the equation too much, he was taking some crap lines!

Although it could be because the is is lighter and doesn't spin from the lights... a problem I had with my starlet gt!

[jmc330i]

Although it could be because the is is lighter and doesn't spin from the lights... a problem I had with my starlet gt!

RWD is great for traction off the lights.

Ive beaten an ST170 and surprised a few other newer cars in my standard 325i sport. Mostly off the lights so the traction advantage helps, but once I got ahead of the ST170 he wasnt catching up at all.

[320Touring]

ST170's are kack!

they're fast in a straight line but need to have their cnut kicked to get any speed!

m20 6's are the way forward in terms of smooth, refined power delivery, and enough poke to move along at a fair clip.

The touring I have is my first e30, although I have driven them before,And I must say its one of the best built and engineered cars I have seen in a long time.

I cut my teeth on 80's-90's VW's and they're well built, but the BMW is in a different class.

My dad has a Toyota Avensis 2.0 auto with full leather, cruise etc, and actually prefers my car! Mine cost about 15% of what his did...

Also, when it comes to servicing the touring, It can be done on a fair budget and with a minimum need for specialist tools.

Furthermore, there is an extensive network of support and knowledge available to the e30 owner (of which the 'zone is a prime example)None of this is available to the ST170 owner.....

e30 is a way of life, not a car......

rusty323, just go a couple of weeks without driving it, then get back in it-you'll be surprised!!!!!!!!

[Jos]

Agreed on the engineering side of things, compared to other cars I have worked on BMWs are so much better built.

The one thing that impressed me most was the lack of nuts and bolts that sheared being undone for the 1st time in 20 years...compared to my 206 where the ARB-Link Rods had to be cut off after 15000 miles.. as the heads sheared..

In stripping the whole car, and removing the engine/diff from the 7 series, I have only had 1 nut shear on me, and that was an exhaust downpipe nut.. not really suprised by that, and that nut was 23years old!

Yes rust is a problem, but not compared to some other makes, considering the e30 is not galvanised I was shocked at how good the bodywork was. My mate has a 1994 300ZX TT and it was so rusty the floorpan needed replaced, as did the rear subframe, all the arches, mounts, sills.. just about everything. And thats a car 11 years younger, and no it wasn't an import.

Everything gets to us sometimes, just take a break from it, then when you feel ready, step back in and remember what it was you loved about them in the 1st place.

[Richy325iTouring]

3.91 diff helps.

apart from turbos the only car that has beaten me was a pug 306 si6

they are bloody quick. And he did litraly kill me

[M5pilot]

Look at another way, there are lots of e30's here which are 16 years old, they perform very well and still make 160 bhp even after 150k miles. Now thats quailty!

Rattles and squeaks can be taken care of easily if you take the interior apart and put it back togather again properly. After all after 16years of english roads things are going to come loose with all the vibration.

Rust is the biggest issue though and this is by far the biggest killer on these cars.

Engine wise, I hear alot of slagging off of the m20 but its a such a smooth engine! Its also very very torquey compared to alot of new engines. M20 engines are very very good and very reliable. Newer BMW's just dont make that noise.

Things going wrong: Well, buy a newer car and see how many things go wrong. Ant is the one person who can tell you what goes wrong more.......an e46 or an E30?

You have to be prepared to spend some money on the car otherwise its going to go wrong.

Best thing to do is what I done with my old C2. Just get it checked out, see the problems with it and fix them all in one go. yes its expensive but atleast the car is much more reliable and nicer to drive.

E30's are not a cheap way to get into BMW's. You should buy one, sort out the problems and enjoy it.

[frosted]

"Hey Turbo-brown,

Yeh, sorry mate. Your right, a 10 year old 325i engine is faster than a brand new 2.0 170bhp Ford engine. What??"


oh dear. me thinks you need to learn about performance.

exmaple. best mate - mark2 gti 8v, 1989 car, OLD CAR!, 2l bottom end. modified gear box, chip cams , and other engine shite.

kills st170, seat 1.8t, celcia gt4,and lots of other cars. easily.

now. if you looked at the specs. not possible. in a real road situation. the amount of torque his provides is immense. possible yes.

325i sport. lotsa torgue. excellent powerdelivery. could it keep up with a st170. fecking easy

and i might add i have driven both.

note- driving ability does also count in the speed of a car. not just manufacturers relesased figures.

the age of the car is illrelivent. its the state of the engine that counts.

and yes everyone im having a bad spelling day ;)

frosted