RHD E30 M3

[k130]

Hi

Ok does anyone know if its possible to convert an E30 M3 into RHD? or are thare fundamental things like the engine alignment that will stop you?

[paulj]

you can do it but it reduces the value by quite a bit, also i think im correct in thinking that you would need to use a steering column from a 325 which is not as responsive as the M3. or somthing like that

[pacerpete]

Can be done but a big job to do PROPERLY, i.e wiper linkage, carpet, door wiring,mirrors etc etc. Apart from modifying the exhaust manifold mostly bolt on stuff. Best bet is to buy a rhd donor car, i.e Ԛ£100 320 or similar because otherwise it will cost you a fortune buying the bits seperately. To be honest unless it has to be rhd i.e if you are in aus etc leave it alone as the car will never be the same and its value will not be enhanced by Ԛ£1 . Driving a lhd car is not an issue , after a week it will be second nature and you will wonder why anyone would want to spend Ԛ£2500 ruining their car.

[Hyperion]

i think they made a few proper RHD M3's but they are rare. I personal dont like driving a LHD car in a RHD country it sucks balls. its hard to overtake on rural roads, you got to take the whole car into the oncoming lane before you can see if it is clear... and when you want to park in a pay parking area, you got to, get out of the car, walk around it to get the parking ticket ....so if i had the money i with get a original RHD M3 or if that cant happen convert the LHD to RHD...if i had the money that is.

[Geeman]

A small price to pay for having such a great car. If you're really worried about not being able to get your food at McDonalds or car parking tickets, then you don't really want one in my opinion...

You alter your driving technique to suit the LHD experience. You actually have to drive better and plan ahead a lot more becasue of the impaired vision. Makes you a better driver.

[dsio]

There are a large number of them in Australia now that have been imported from japan. Japan has that rule where the older a car is, the more it costs to register and run over there, so at this stage an E30 M3 costs more than its worth every year to drive.

As Australia is the closest wealthy RHD country to Japan, we get them for peanuts. They go for around the same money as a high milage thrashed '95 E36 M3.

All have been very well converted however, and some of them look simply breathtaking.

[dsio]

Here is an example of E30 M3 RHDs for sale in AUS right now:

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales ... istance=25

A bloke down on the gold coast that sold my mate his Audi S4 owns 20 of them at the moment, standards, EVOs, EVO 2, Sport EVOs, convertibles, all right hand drive in japan, being imported to AUS about 3 a month.

They used to go for 100K each, now they're worthless. A motorsport cab or mint 325IS goes for more money than a standard E30 M3.

[Fushion_Julz]

i think they made a few proper RHD M3's but they are rare. I personal dont like driving a LHD car in a RHD country it sucks balls. its hard to overtake on rural roads, you got to take the whole car into the oncoming lane before you can see if it is clear... and when you want to park in a pay parking area, you got to, get out of the car, walk around it to get the parking ticket ....so if i had the money i with get a original RHD M3 or if that cant happen convert the LHD to RHD...if i had the money that is.

They made TWO official RHD M3s...actually, they were converted by BMW UK before sale...

One got written off in UK and the other was last heard of in Australia...

There have been a few home-brewed conversions....One BMWCC chap, who can be found on the BMWCC forum, has one...has a rusty scuttle, a custom modified front inner right side wing (to allow clearance for exhaust and the modified steering rack)....

It will be a challange if you want to build one...One of the reasons the factory decided not to do it was that there just isn't enough clearance to allow the standard M3 parts to fit. That would have meant tooling up for a limited production run of RHD cars which would have made them prohibitively expensive....
Since the whole idea of the M3 was to homologate the parts and engine for Group A (and subsequently Group N also) racing/rallying, and given that most racing drivers/teams prefer LHD in any case, coupled to the fact that the 5000 needed to homologate were sold almost the moment they were announced in Europe, it wasn't an issue for BMW to not produce a RHD variant.

If you want RHD, stick with a 325i...Take it from me, a decent 325 M20 motor is 95% as fast as a stock 2.3l S14....The M20 has a little less power, but a fair bit more torque which, in real world, day-2-day driving, makes the M20 easier to drive fast....

If you want an M3, forget about RHD unless you want to track down the only remaining official conversion, as it will be worth less and suffer compared to LHD versions...
An M3 is designed for, and should be considered, a track car where it hardly makes a lot of difference if it is LHD or RHD....In fact, in UK where most circuits run clockwise, LHD can be an advantage in placing the car in the bends and, if you are right-handed, you will be changing gear with the correct hand!

[Hyperion]

yeah i agree with most of you guys, the M3 never came to SA, so running one over here would be a bit hard..... hmmm maybe a RHD australian one...hmm....or a 325is hmmmm....one day some day boys

[pacerpete]

There were NO factory rhd M3s , all the official rhd cars were converted by Birds (hartge) and sold through official BMW dealers , i believe about 50 were done .
A standard lhd manifold WILL clear the steering coupling on a RHD car if you use a 10mm washer on the o/s engine mount, i know because i've done it
All 'proper' conversions had a reworked manifold where the steering coupling went through the manifold primary tubes. The car i was involved in (a misano red M3 cab now in aus) was converted by someone else because my quote was considered too high. It then came to me to sort out all the stuff 'mr cheapy' hadn't thought about. The conversion and the car were very sad but it did look a million dollars when finished.
That is the main problem with buying a converted car, who done it ? and to what standard ?
My biggest issue with converted cars apart from the obvious as above is that you lose the brilliant steering feel of the m3 and end up with vague 4 tuns lock to lock standard e30 wrongness. Nowadays there are e36 rack conversions etc but it all seems like a sad thing to do to a proper chariot.
We think we have it tough here in england but we get off very lightly compared to our aussie friends when it comes to cars, speeding, modifying etc, but they do get half price petrol !

[AndyTouring]

One of the guys in our club has a RHD M3 which uses a std 325 rack. He didn't do the conversion though.

I would have thought it would be easier to fit M3 suspension/running gear to a 325 than swap over the steering & dash on an M3.

[Simon]

There are a large number of them in Australia now that have been imported from japan. Japan has that rule where the older a car is, the more it costs to register and run over there, so at this stage an E30 M3 costs more than its worth every year to drive.

As Australia is the closest wealthy RHD country to Japan, we get them for peanuts. They go for around the same money as a high milage thrashed '95 E36 M3.

All have been very well converted however, and some of them look simply breathtaking.

I didn't think it was law to have them converted to RHD for Japan?

I've seen a couple of imported E30 M3's from Japan, and they've both been original LHD.

[astondg]

If I was doing this I would be using an E36 steering rack, and not the normal RHD E30 system of operating the brakes either. I would try an AP pedal box or something but I wouldn't want the brake pedal to be like my RHD E30.

Aston

[Demlotcrew]

M20 95% of the power of a 2.3l S14

Andrew

[Jhonno]

80%...

[Demlotcrew]

80%...

[Jhonno]

No really it is - i did the math...

170/215*100..

[Simon13]

where did u get 215 from? original M3 had 195 mate.and then with different models we had 215

So being left handed and driving a RHD car is correct from a racing view as i change gear with my left? i have to day driving a LHD car does not appeal as it feels "right" in my hands driving RHD get me?!

[Geeman]

You been drinking...?

[Simon13]

i have actually!

[dsio]

where did u get 215 from? original M3 had 195 mate.and then with different models we had 215

So being left handed and driving a RHD car is correct from a racing view as i change gear with my left? i have to day driving a LHD car does not appeal as it feels "right" in my hands driving RHD get me?!

Do you really need to shift with your more preferred hand though? If I was downshifting through a chicane, I would like to have my better hand on the steering wheel for control, as shifting is an automatic action more than something you have to try to do.

Also going around any corner, while changing down and causing engine braking, in the wet, in a car that likes to step its back end out whenever it can around wet corners, I would like my better hand (right hand for me) on the steering wheel so I could make corrections.

With my right I can make a full turn of the steering wheel (moving down, then reverseing my hand and continuing full circle) so I could make a one handed lock to lock turn if I had to, but my left does not have the dexterity to do that.

Its an interesting choice however.

[Lizzie]

I've driven a couple of LHD and I don't have a problem with them at all. To overtake I would steer my car close to the left hand side kerb as most drivers seem to drive in the middle of the lane. You can easily see if there are any cars coming towards you. If there weren't any cars in the distant future, I'd slip down a gear and pull out - simple really.

The only problem is when you have park in a car park and have to take a ticket as you drive in, or have to put your paid ticket into the machine as to leave the car park. However, all you have to do is get out of your car and walk round to the machine, or lean over to the passenger seat and get ticket.

I think that most M3 owners have put the negatives aside to drive such a wonderful responsive car.

[karlp]

dsio

That is your problem - you should not change gear in the corner or the chicane. The basic rule of fast driving is get the speed correct and the gear correct before the corner and accelerate out of it. Also brake before the turn i.e. when the car is straight then there are no sideways forces to make the car unstable.

Karl

[dsio]

It isnt just changing though, I rest my hand there for the most part as well. I guess it is a matter of preference. I have a 318i, so I dont go fast in any case, but it certainly feels more natural doing it that way.

[Demlotcrew]

dsio

That is your problem - you should not change gear in the corner or the chicane. The basic rule of fast driving is get the speed correct and the gear correct before the corner and accelerate out of it. Also brake before the turn i.e. when the car is straight then there are no sideways forces to make the car unstable.

Karl

Exactly, but since he drive a 318i, i can see why he would get away with doing that.

Andrew

[Geeman]

I drove a Ferrari 355 round a circuit not so long ago and that was LHD. You don't even have to think about changing gear, it just happens.. and like Karl says, you should be in the correct gear at the right speed before you hit the corner so both hands are on the steering wheel...

There's no real problem with LHD out on the road either. I had a LHD 320iS and it actually made me a better driver. You have to plan ahead a lot sooner to make your manouveures and are more conscious of what lies ahead.

No point in changing from LHD to RHD unless you absolutely have to...

Giles.

[Nic325i]

They made TWO official RHD M3s...actually, they were converted by BMW UK before sale...

One got written off in UK and the other was last heard of in Australia...

Apparently, the story is as follows:

Around the time the first M3 was introduced (1986) people were clamouring for RHD. BMW's GB, Japan and Australia managed to persuade BMW to do one car as a demonstrator to be shown at key dealerships - started in UK, progressed through other markets until it ended up in New Zealand. People had been laying down deposits everywhere, and production looked fairly likely.

Then the stockmarket crashed in 1987, and the money disappeared. The car sat around in Dunedin (south New Zealand) for a while, before someone contacted BMW Motorsport and asked what to do with it - they didn't want to know, and so suggested it be sold. Was sold in Dunedin and lived there for a time, before eventually being bought by a person at the top of the NZ BMW car club (who relayed the story to me).

He owned it for a number of years, before being contacted by Jerry Clayton's (a large BMW dealer here) who eventually "persuaded" him to sell it to them, to add to their collection, where it remains today.

Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger. I too was skeptical but it seemed to unusual to make up, especially from someone with nothing to prove.

My biggest issue with converted cars apart from the obvious as above is that you lose the brilliant steering feel of the m3 and end up with vague 4 tuns lock to lock standard e30 wrongness. Nowadays there are e36 rack conversions etc but it all seems like a sad thing to do to a proper chariot.

Apparently there is a guy down here who pulled apart his LHD rack, had certain parts machined as a mirror image and then built them into a standard RHD case. I was told it was reasonably cheap, but only if you have the original M3 rack (you need to use the original rack I think, and machine a new pinion).