Is my car just plain ugly?

In Car Entertainment - NO SELLING OF I.C.E. PLEASE

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Flozman
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:47 am

Well i cleaned the car again yesterday (6 hours) im extremly anal when it come to cleaning and polishing.

But it just still looks crappy, ive taken the alloys off too for a once over.

I was just wondering ifyou guys have any suggestions as to how give it back some mojo or should it just reshell it with a nice 318?

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Jon_Bmw
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:54 am

Its the colour, its not very inspiring really is it. No offence meant of course. :)

Some 15" BBS would look very period on that and it would be 100 times nicer in my opinion. Maybe some M tec suspension to give it a small drop as well.

I wouldn't class it as ugly, just need some better wheels I reckon. The alloys you have are too modern a design for a chrome bumper, even a plastic bumper would struggle to pull those off. And steelies, well they always look shite! :)
SK360
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:01 am

Couldn't have said it better myself, BBS's and A 40mm drop maybe?
Flozman
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:07 am

I would like some crosspokes but every monkey and his dog wants a fortune for them which i cant understand as there must be more wheels then cars left. Mind you i have one 14inch BBS so i only need another three really.

But i agree with you veiw's mate
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SK360
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:10 am

You should be able to get your hands on A decent enough set of 15" with rubber for about £100, put something up in the wanted section, I honestly think you'll be much happier with them :)
Jon_Bmw
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:13 am

They are an investment, you won't lose anything on them. Sell your alloys on ebay and buy some BBS. You really want the 15's though, they are a fair bit nicer asthetically than 14's.
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toby
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:23 am

Well said Jon. The car is fine. It would benefit visually with BBS 15", a 30-40mm suspension drop, a new aerial, colour coded wing mirrors (to match the rather cool colour coded front valence) and some chrome tailpipe sleeves (from the BMW dealer). There, we've just vicariously spent a good few hundred quid for you there.
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Flozman
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:56 am

(to match the rather cool colour coded front valence)
There is a slight air of discontent in your words toby, but i do agree. I just had a look and the wheels dont seem that expensive i must have seen a few overpriced examples prior to making my asumption so that looks like my next purchase.

I was wondering would a Tech 1 kit be wrong for this car?
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harry_p
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:57 am

i don't think the colourcoding helps tbh, i think it would look cooler if the bottom of the front bumper and the boot spoiler were black. at the moment it looks like it's trying too hard to look more modern than it is. retro is cool!

a decent replacement aerial would be a small touch that would make a nice improvement too.
cheers,

harry
Flozman
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:39 am

The spoiler came like that from the factory mate :D one of the wierd options like electric sunroof but windy windows. But i have resprayed the mirrors black as they have faded grey and the lip had a coat when i resealed the valance with anti stone chip primer. But i find it funny how you can say that someone appears trying to hard by spraying 2% of the car the original colour 8O did you study art? :D

"Yes in this exibit, i think the artist is trying to express his emotional emptyness and how upset he feels about the oil crisis"
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riklusby
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:53 am

Looks like a nice clean example to me, it is quite amazing what a small suspension drop and a new set of wheels can do to a car though and for some reason it always seems to lead to more subtle mods :twisted:
Ziggy
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:15 pm

Got a set of BBS here - not a million miles away either :)

Tech-1 kit would look great on that car.
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Alex
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:16 pm

Ziggy wrote:Got a set of BBS here - not a million miles away either :)

Tech-1 kit would look great on that car.
+1
E30BeemerLad
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:30 pm

A nice early chromer like that looks nice with a drop and some BBS as mentioned.

Don't give up on it. A tech 1 kit would look nice in that colour. A full tech 1 kit can be had for about £150.

So - 15" BBS - £100ish
40mm drop - springs about £75+ (depending on brand)
tech 1 kit £150.00 + paint.
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:44 pm

They are right! Its NEEDS dropping, i personally think 60/40 give's us a nice stance. some 16's fill in the arches nicely without having to have balloon tyres on them. infact i might even stick with the wheels you have got but get some hubcentric spacers to push the wheels out into the arches a touch more.
Colour code the mirrors for sure that always looks smart and possibly think about getting some colour coded SE side skirts. they look great for factory standard parts and wont cost the earth, they also do a good job or slightly modernising that age-ing sill profile (about the only part of the E30 that is suffering from age, the rest only gets better with age)


Well.... thats my opinion on what you should do. im sure it will get torn apart by the purists but whatever.

and for the record. i kind of like the colour!
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ric325i
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:09 pm

i dont agree with teh 60/40 drop! not on a chromie. :nono: the rear arch on a chromie sit much higher on the shell so it looks higher. if you drop the front by 60 the car will look way to noise heavy. 60 all round would be ace but imo its too low.

personally -40 all round is key :D

bbs are nice and cheap and you can spend days refurbing them.

like we all have said those wheels might look nice on a face lift but not a chromie. your chomie lokks like a really good example if you get it slightly lower and more suited wheels on it.

for tyres you really want 205/50/15 (stay away from the 14's if you can, the 15's are a million times better!!!)

i like the silver valance and spoiler though.

i bet you will notice the differnce if you do it :D
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Flozman
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Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:33 pm

Thanks guys all advice is noted,

Hence today after adjusting the tappets, i fitted a new chrome ariel and found some tailpipe trim although i have just balanced them on for the photo.

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I'll defently be looking for a set of Crosspokes, Does anyone want a set of BBS wheels without centre caps ET18 7.5 x 16???

How much you want for yours ziggy?
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toby
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Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:48 pm

Nice work!

Just a small thing but the aerial would be better with the mast pointing straight up, rather than leaning over but I'm just being fussy.

And I do genuinely like the front valence in body colour.
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Flozman
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Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:56 pm

Yeah your right, ill nip out and adjust it...I just thought i could have a motorway fencing duel with with a Datsun or something. Be right back.
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Speedtouch
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Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:04 pm

A bit anal perhaps, but the rear numberplate looks like it could do with moving up an inch or so, to get it on the level with the back lights if possible.

Agreed on adjusting the aerial so it's straight up also.
///M aurice
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Flozman
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Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:08 pm

Remind me not to come to any meets :surrender:
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Jon_Bmw
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Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:51 pm

You'll be fine fella, we'll all be taking the piss out of my iS!
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BMJG
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Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:09 pm

You will be fine at meets with my cab in the garage still, any meets i do will be in the e36 coupe daily driver. Pic's look like round the back of my old flat in tidworth (Auckinleck House) :) . Had a red and a black 325 e30 when i lived there.
Alex
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Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:13 pm

exhaust trim looks cool although ariel looks HUGE
Flozman
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Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:57 am

Yeah Alex, i know its HUGE mate but i can pick u every radio station in the Britsh Isles now capaired to last week when i all i could get was BBC Radio Berkshire :o: .
Last edited by Flozman on Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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zaust
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Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:46 am

Alex wrote:
Ziggy wrote:Got a set of BBS here - not a million miles away either :)

Tech-1 kit would look great on that car.
+1
+ 1 more.
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Alex
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Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:27 pm

Flozman wrote:Yeah Alex, i know its HUGE mate but i can pick u every radio station in the Britsh Isles now capaired to last week when i all i could get it BBC Radio Berkshire :o: .
yer i had a huge one on my 316 chromie and you could get loads of stations i had never heard of :mad:
oakey
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Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:00 pm

All it needs is slight lowering on 15"bbs. Tech1 kit would look great, but it would be "prettier" without. Also I would remove the rear spoiler.
IMO the main thing that changes the overall look of a car is the "stance".
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hongkongfuey
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Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:54 pm

what colour is it??? is it lachs silver???

i would drop it no more than 40mm , maybe a pair of se sideskirts. swap the wheels if you want but it doesn't need anything else
if there wern't people like me,
with cars like mine,
who would you put down to make yourself feel better?
Gibson
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Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:04 pm

Gotta be a 40 drop and some SE skirts...
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pnd
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Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:10 pm

This looks a nice car, all it needs is a 35mm drop and some 15"bbs. Don't go too far from stock as it will ruin the looks and value of what is a lovely and now very rare early 325.
Simon13
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Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:14 pm

no tech 1 kit! as said bbs and a drop lovely
Flozman
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Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:25 pm

I have just ordered some springs from Race dynamics, I was thinking about a 60/60 drop but i think the rear camber might be an issue.

I'm thinking about getting some bottle tops, not everyone faves but they are what the car would have come form the factory with in those days.
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Flozman
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Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:39 pm

what colour is it??? is it lachs silver???
No its Polaris Silver Met, there have two shades but this is the rarest originally used on the E21, one shade is more Is more platinum, but this shade has a touch of blue (less than a gram per litre)

I know this because i had to watch both colours getting made to find out which one it was! i read somewhere this is the rarest of e30 coulour only 60 made, i dont know if its true though.
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toby
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Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:29 pm

Flozman, you are well into this and that's great. If you drop more than 40mm you need shorter shock absorbers too.
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