E30 Zone

Hello guys.........

Right, now since moving into the E30 and BMW scene I love the rear wheel action at the right time and place of course, but recently I have had a few encounters where i could not rectify the back end and on 2 occasions where I nearly totaled my beloved E30 touring. She's only the 93' 318i touring so i suspect there's no LSD between the back wheels as the spin freely when jacked up at the rear, and compared to a couple of other E30's i have driven, the back end seemed to be more sturdy and could handle better on these cars, I understand the touring could be a lot heavier on the back axle but is there any way of getting a better diff for the 318i engined E30 or is it no good. "any ideas on how to make it handle a wee bit better"

cheers

an lsd will help and a direct swap i think. if your not used to rwd it takes some getting used to.when the back kicks out your first reaction is to lift of the gas but that unsettles the balance aiding your spin.keep the gas down but lift off smoothly and slightly whilst steering into the spin. the touring is a well balanced car and will correct itself back into line.alternatively you could slow down a bit but that doesnt look as cool as a controlled slide i have had a little bit of sideways action if its even slightly damp and the back end kicks out if i put my foot down when doing 70 in 3rd even of a straight road.just takes practise, preferably in a large deserted car park with no kerbs

An lsd is expensive £300, practice (SOMEWHERE LEGAL!!! or off road atleast) drifting or learning car control.

maxfield wrote:An lsd is expensive £300, practice (SOMEWHERE LEGAL!!! or off road atleast) drifting or learning car control.

ideally a deserted car park in an industrial estate at night so there are no witnesses to laugh at you if you make a c**t of it

There are places now that offer lessons in drifting - try them

You won't get any real value out of using your car on a drift day unless (or until) it has both more power and an LSD.

Industrial estate type car park great if you can find one with no houses about and no CCTV ... depends where you live I suppose. Another option is quiet, wet roundabout. 1st 2nd gear should see you sliding nicely - that's not a recommendation but it is an option - you can asses the risks for yourself - just engage your brain in gear before your car.

For what its worth, I found my 318 touring to be more of a handful than my 325 touring. Apparently they have the same suspension but I'd imagine that the 318 touring has the most rear weight bias of the whole range. Are you on bottletops or BBS? I found that the BBS made a huge difference even when both sets of tyres were budget to say the least. Having said that, I just reversed my 325 touring into a pole after a half spin so it always pays to keep your mind on the road

Theblossman,

I dont know whether this will help much, but i posted a thread which got a huge no. of replies with regards to the same issue you're having.

Have a look at this:

Click Here

Regards

Saboor

when i had my 320i i practiced a bit but it was my first RWD car and i ended up bumping the old girl a few times (mainly the back end bouncing up a few kerbs )

then i got a 325i which was my pride and joy and i learnt to drift it much better! the extra power was amazing! but i was too precious and kept getting scared.

then the 318i with a 4:1 ratio diff and bottle tops gave me no grip, little power and i hated the engine (loose cam) and no care for the tryes i screamed them as much as possible! over inflated the rear tyres and every corner i was sideways!

little hero slides! they look cool and give a great reward!

then i put the 15inch bbs on the front and kept the bottle tops at the back. ........until and speed above 50mph especially under braking or a down shift without some 'heal and toe'

cars off the road as the water pump went and the conversion is taking place


the 318i has been my practice car for a while and i loved it, its taught me loads so start trying some small slides off round abouts and then when it happens 'accidentally' you will have had more practice and will be able to correct it.......i hope?

we all lose the back end sometimes

check your shocks though as mine were dead at first in my 325i and that made the back end just step out for no reason!

/\ that was a bit of an essay - sorry.

but do check your rear shocks, if they are not rebounding correctly the spring bounces on its own and the wheel doesnt make full contact with the road - it bounces

bouncing = no grip = uncontrollable spin = crash.

but it could be your a bit excited on the power?