B3 full war paint.

[anothere21323i]

True, a bit of trial and error and see how you go. It's not like swapping the diff over is a massive job either so it's no great hardship.

[Andyboy]

Ideal gearing for that would be 25mph/1000 in top.

[leeparkes]

Im running a 3.46 on the M52'd compact,not as much power as you but then again its probably 200KG lighter.
Its brilliant round town and wouldnt change it for the world but on the motorway it can be a bit tiresome. At 3k your doing just under 65mph and it feels like its screaming its head off at a ton.

Imo a 6 speed would work well with it.

[Simon13]

Ideal gearing for that would be 25mph/1000 in top.

how do you work that out then?

[DanThe]

Si I started out with the M3 3.25 diff, too short really and id found a 3.15 so that went on, no noticeable loss of acceleration at all and it pulls like fook anyway, I will be going 2.93 when I get round to it, I usually pull off in second unless im in a hurry.

You would need big tyres to make a 3.46 useable

My track car has a 3.38 with a 328i 5 speed box and its a serious pita on the road, it has 205/50/15 tyres though

[Jhonno]

Ideal gearing for that would be 25mph/1000 in top.

Which is a 3.25 diff..

[Simon13]

Sounds like 3.15 then really it will still have the go for sure.

with the 7200rpm limit its still quite long geared imo but probably about right.

40mph in 1st
67 in 2nd
101 in 3rd
138 in 4th
170 in 5th
205 in 6th

70mph in 6th is 2457rpm 80 is 2808rpm 90 is 3159rpm





With a 3.46 diff

36mph in 1st
61 in 2nd
92 in 3rd
125 in 4th
154 in 5th
186 in 6th

70 in 6th is 2699rpm 80 is 3085rpm 90 is 3470rpm

So it would be like an e30 325i on the m-way. And a fair bit brisker through the gears no doubt


2.93 give some serious legs in each gear!


43mph in 1st!
72 in 2nd
109 in 3rd
148 in 4th
182 in 5th
220 in 6th

70mph in 6th 2285mph 80 is 2612mph 90 is 2939rpm


Alpina offered the manuals with 3.15 or 2.93 i doubt with the 2.93 it would be a slouch

Makes interesting comparisons i think

[bss325i]

I'd just bolt up the 3.15 as its ready go and if you really must, build up a 3.46 at a later date.

[Andyboy]

Ideal gearing for that would be 25mph/1000 in top.

how do you work that out then?

Because it's the ideal gearing for for that car. 100 mph is 4000 rpm, so not buzzing it's tits off. 150 mph is 6000 rpm and close to the engine's peak power. Ideal gearing, then.

[Simon13]

Well the sun shone and look what happened!!




Heres a nice chap called Simon, hes obviously a good guy by his very name and choice of cars. He has a C2 and an e46 B3











Its an intense thing to do. To get all the stripes in the right place and straight takes some patience and a steady hand. Lots of measuring. Plus a few pictures of the Alpina press cars from in the day helps also. No 5 minute job and not really very fun if you were on your own. Lots of tape, ruler, scalpel and other school time items are the order of the day.







All done, a good 4-5 hours work. A massive thanks to Simon for doing this and the heat made things alot harder as the stripes get too sticky in the heat!



So when i got in i gave the wheels a rinse and got the bugs off the front to tidy it for some snaps.









Few shots in the usual spot. Looks quite lairy!







Kind of matches the interior as in colours and pin stripes. I think gold was the only way. Silver wouldn't of looked as good imo.

Epic. Bring on the 2 door in 10 years time

[spook]

That looks the tits mate, good work

[e301988325i]

Looks really good with the gold, I had a boston 4dr dirtysix, I liked the colour a lot as on this.

Our touring (silver) looked like this from the back (albeit 205's) just looked too high with so much tyre showing, like it needs a deeper rear apron, at the very least yours is worth the fake diffuser type insert in the rear bumber from an M3 or sport.

[Simon13]

i've raised the back a little as any load or people in the back and its rubbing.

[bss325i]

Bang on the money!

[appletree]

Looking sharp!

IIRC there was an upgrade kit for the M3 evo 6speed box somthing to do with a the stick being floppy in the middle and struggling to get reverse, i bought the upgrade kit when i fitted the 6speed box to my M42.

My 3rd post down or so in the below thread has some info on the bits but its a 5min job with the box out. I used a pillar drill as a press to prelode the springs while i fitted the circlip.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ight=speed

I also still have the tools i made to fit the bushes if you want to borrow them.

Matt

[DanThe]

Top job that, looks perfect

[leeparkes]

Finishes it off just perfect.

[pukar]

that simon is a genius with stripes

[anothere21323i]

That looks awesome!

[Duke137]

Very nice

[suchy]

You have yourself a damn fine daily there!!!

Very nice indeed Si

[Splondike]

Looks uber cool sir. Nice work

[Ziggy]

Looks spot on, that.

What's the deal with the softline wheels - were they a later option than the classic style?

Love gold stripes -I'll take a henna red C1 with em please.

[B7]

Oh yes!!!! The stripes maketh the car. Top man that mr Alcorn.

[goosiegander]

[csl]

The pina stripes have made that car. Properly

[glenn]

those stripes are mustard

i think they make it look more aggressive

[Simon13]

thanks guys finally actually got a car striped instead of talking about it like the e30 touring which has been with us over 4 years now!

Re the softline rims, i'm not really sure. I think they came out around the time the e39 alpinas apeared. Which was about the time the e36 was facelifted. But saying that there are pre facelift B8's and B3 3.2's about with the softline wheels and pre facelift front ends. Thats my guess anyhow.

I'm in need of a 3.0 M3 diff folks. Having trouble finding this 6 bolt input flange to get this manual show on the road!

[e301988325i]

i've raised the back a little as any load or people in the back and its rubbing.

Doesn't look jacked just normal, they just seem to show a lot of rear tyre, think that engine with a manual would be great in an E30!!!

[Simon13]

it would be animal in an E30. If anything really bad happened to the car it would have to be a thought eh?! Its pretty hairy chested in the fatter e36. Dan will confirm the potency now hes got the correct ECU map on his.

[ricey46]

Another job well done Si, looking good!

[old_skool]

Bufty!

[Morat]

I hope you've jetwashed the underside since you got back!
Eastern Europe spec ride height sounds ideal for our crappy roads

[Simon13]

i finally got hold of a 6 speed diff flange for the prop. So now i just need to fit it to one of my diffs. My decision has kind of been made for me. 2.93 as that diff is good. The LSD unit in the 3.15 one is knackered, you can turn each output shaft by hand in the opposite direction just like an open diff! I can't afford a rebuild although i did speak to Gareth about it.

I was going to use the 2.93 with the 5 speed anyhow so i'll just gain some nice motorway legs in 6th with it.

Just need to crack on but theres other sheds that need sorting first

[DanThe]

I think I need to change my diff to a 2.93 ratio TBH Si, make the first few gears last a bit longer, I doubt you would feel robbed of anything with that ratio

You got a 6 cog box now then?