E30 Zone

Evening all! i have just been to my local bmw dealer and they have managed to find some history about my car! the car was bought at sytner's , they printed me out the spec sheet...



its had a recall for the fuel pump?? and it has an outstanding one for something to do with the steering... its going in on the 5th of may! and wont cost me a penny... result.

now a couple of questions..
what are the best spark plugs to buy for the e36??

what is the best oil to use?? i.e offers the most protection for the engine components.. i used 10/40 gtx magnatec in the e30... just wondering if the same goes for the e36.

i have posted this on e36 coupe and have had no constructive replys.... the zone is my last port of call!!





Aachen FTW..... still.....

trator

Any old shit will do in an e36

spark plugs not sure what model but NGK are good, also 10w-40 semi synth will be fine or use 5w-40 semi

i think mike is pretty happy with your 320i sounds like you maintained it to a high standard

Alex wrote:trator

Any old shit will do in an e36

spark plugs not sure what model but NGK are good, also 10w-40 semi synth will be fine or use 5w-40 semi

i think mike is pretty happy with your 320i sounds like you maintained it to a high standard

shes gone... but by no means forgotten... allot was spent on her and she lived a lavish lifestyle... i bought her when she had 97,800 on the clock on the 18/06/2005... she left with 124,000 on the clock.
the dirty six is booked into herring and palmer on monday at 8am... they will run the diagnostics... and make her better... also give it a @ucking good going over... if there is a slight bit of surface rust on her.... I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT! anyone got a m50b25 inlet manifold and throttle body they want to part with for sensible money??

I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT!

the dirty 6

10W40 magnatec is fine.

Alex wrote:

I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT!

the dirty 6

lol yeah shes far from dirty though! i polished her twice last week with the autoglym(she needs massive u.v protection being red and all)
i ordered a BMW MOTORSPORT sticker for the boot spoiler... when it arrived it was the ///m one for spoilers that dont have the break light... so back she went... bmw gb should get back to them next week and in turn they will call me.

bss325i wrote:10W40 magnatec is fine.

nice one barry... good to chat earlier.. i hope i didnt bore you too much with talk of the dirty six!

e30bmlover wrote:

Alex wrote:

I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT!

the dirty 6

lol yeah shes far from dirty though! i polished her twice last week with the autoglym(she needs massive u.v protection being red and all)
i ordered a BMW MOTORSPORT sticker for the boot spoiler... when it arrived it was the ///m one for spoilers that dont have the break light... so back she went... bmw gb should get back to them next week and in turn they will call me.

any acs morsels going on this

Alex wrote:

e30bmlover wrote:

Alex wrote: the dirty 6

lol yeah shes far from dirty though! i polished her twice last week with the autoglym(she needs massive u.v protection being red and all)
i ordered a BMW MOTORSPORT sticker for the boot spoiler... when it arrived it was the ///m one for spoilers that dont have the break light... so back she went... bmw gb should get back to them next week and in turn they will call me.

any acs morsels going on this

i might be tempted with some type 3's.... one will never know!! cosmeticly the car is going to be untouched... apart for the front bumper... im going to get it re painted or blown in because a bit of paint has come off about the size of a 10p... was like it when i got it. nothing major though.

all the best with it

cheers!!

In the 85K I've done in my E36 I've always used 10/40 Magnatec and it still runs superbly (it had 30K when I got it and the oil is changed every 6k).

The steering recall should have been done about 10 years ago and I'd be slightly concerned why it hasn't been done - did it leave dealership servicing early in its life? It only took Lind/Cooper a couple of hours when they done mine.

There used to be a guy on E36coupe who sold all the bits for the conversion - can't remember he username though! If you add these always combine it with a rechip as this will help it no end.

Most E36 rust is easily visible but get the boot seal up as most eventually start to rot there when the seal fails - cheap and easy to replace.

e30 = bosch e36 = ngk 10/40 semi mobil or castrol.

genuine plugs dont cost the earth use them

thanks for the comments fellas... and town325i... i only use genuine parts.. you should know that by now!!

im thinking about having an alarm fitted... the car has ews... but for a killed theif how hard would it be for him/her to take it??
bmw said its activated when the doors lock... at the moment its parked on my drive with the missus car parked behind it.

Most cars with EWS are stolen by the thief breaking into your house to steal the keys first. Personally, I wouldn't bother with an alarm.

darkchild wrote:Most cars with EWS are stolen by the thief breaking into your house to steal the keys first. Personally, I wouldn't bother with an alarm.

ah well thats ok... the key is always on me. cheers.

just keep an eye on the temp, as some of the M50B28 had a plastic water pump that failed, no leaks but high temp as the impellor was not circulating the water.

as you already note the 2.5 inlet and TB are the best mod, but you will also need to swap the ECU chip to get any real gains, and worth it as it releases as much as 20hp (BM put the small inlet on to keep this engine under 200hp for insurance/emissions reasons IIRC)

my mates 328 cab, looks good with the 18inch E38 7 series M alloys on it, bit pricey on tyres mind!!


Hey just noticed you are using my modified sig pic

nice motor lee!
im working 12hr nights this week so i had to cancel herring and palmer!!
but.... she is booked in for a level 1 diagnostic at clives on friday @ 2pm.... she WILL be going on the dyno too on friday after he has located the problem and fixed it(he may keep the car until saturday depending on what he finds... i.e cam sensor or something).... so lets see what power she is making?!?!
she has a scorpion so im going in for 185bhp.... no @uck it... shes going to make 193! bang on the money!

mrLEE30 wrote:as you already note the 2.5 inlet and TB are the best mod, but you will also need to swap the ECU chip to get any real gains, and worth it as it releases as much as 20hp (BM put the small inlet on to keep this engine under 200hp for insurance/emissions reasons IIRC)

thats not the case.
simply fitting the manifold (with or without the bbtb) produces excellent results as lots of e36 owners will testify, the engines feel much more free and rev a lot harder.

a remap will make a difference, but its more icing onm the cake and is not necessary to make the manifold work.
oh and its a remap not a chip swap.

hth

well the car has been to clives for a diagnostic... the throttle body was filthy! so that was cleaned.. it would appear the compression is down on cylinders three and four... this was a static compression test.. this is proberbly due to sticky valves as the others were very good indeed(the air filter was as black as the ace of spades too).. so i have bought some wynns injector cleaner and a K+N panel filter + a good used air box(the other was drilled to @uck lol), the next tank of fuel will be shells higher octane fuel(whatever it is) to give her a good clean out!
the next thing im going to do is take the restrictor out of the air box so the k+n can breathe more easily!
the car currently has champion spark plugs(WTF??) so im getting the ngk's in asap and at the same time im going to buy new coils as the ones on the car look original and are showing signs of deteriation...
oh and i have just been to cooper to pick up the new plates... they are on.. other than that im happy as a pig in shit.

Good stuff Tim!

Loos that colour coded rear valence!

bss325i wrote:Good stuff Tim!

Loos that colour coded rear valence!

i did enquire at cooper for one.. its £100 dead... might get one and another front lip... need a genuine hellrot boot spoiler too with the ''BMW MOTORSPORT'' on the light... keep your eyes open for me barry!!!

K+N + MAF = FUBAR MAF

dont do it Tim !!!!!!

the oil from the filter will contaminate the hotwire, and thats all there is to say on that

as for the rear val, take it off and paint it black , no need for a "new" one dude.

Dumping the chumpion ( no typo) plugs is a VERY good idea.

Dont forget the adaptation values need to be reset to stock for any gains to be had on these.

Ant wrote:K+N + MAF = FUBAR MAF

dont do it Tim !!!!!!

the oil from the filter will contaminate the hotwire, and thats all there is to say on that

as for the rear val, take it off and paint it black , no need for a "new" one dude.

Dumping the chumpion ( no typo) plugs is a VERY good idea.

Dont forget the adaptation values need to be reset to stock for any gains to be had on these.

thanks for the heads up ant.. she will be removed tomorrow! but the restrictor will be coming out too... how do you reset the adaptation values??

iv just been out and removed it mate... while i was at it i removed the restrictor too... 10 min job! so how do you reset the adaptation values??

right... iv been looking on the ngk site for plugs... as i have to get the chumpions out a.s.a.f.p im between a rock and a hard place... do i go for the Iridium IX plugs(BKR6EIX) or the Laser Platinum(BKR6EQUP)??????????????????????
obviously i want the best for the engine before the re-worked m52 manifold is put on... what are my fellow zoners opinions on the matter??

I attempted to use Denso Iridium spark plugs in my M50 in my old 525iX.

The car was running perfectly on Bosch (OEM spec) plugs...I swapped them out and it developed a persistant misfire throughout the rev range.

Replaced the Iridium plugs with new Bosch and the misfire disappeared.

I've still got them and not tried them in my 328 M52, yet...However, I'm told that the coilpacks don't like Iridium plugs that much, especially if they (the coilpacks, that is) aren't in perfect condition as it will accentuate any issues.

I've not tried the NGK Iridiums, though...

thanks for the insight mate.. i will just get the standard ones in that case.