Looking for a 325i

[northloop]

Hi there guys and gals.

Firstly let me say hello, Im Gary I help to run the northloop web-site which is a Nurburgring based web forum. Thats the boring bit out of the way.

Right, now down to the interesting bit.

On a bit of a whime i'm thinking about buying an E30 325i. As yet im not convinced what I want to do with the car. The likelyhood is that it will become a track car living in Germany.

I dont have a large budget to buy the car in the first place but would like the best spec I can. Bodywork isnt a big issue whereas strong mechanics is.

I know there are a few variants out there, what do I need? Which has the lsd as standard? which is most condusive to track work as standard and can be built upon for the future?

I have had a quick browse through the for sale section and there are a lot of cars around in varying specs. The slowlysideways car looks interesting for one.

What would you recommend for me and who is selling what i'm looking for?

Loads of questions for a first post, hope you guys can help.

thought I would use that smiley as i've not come upon it before


Cheers

Gary

ps .......... if you get bored and want to talk about the Nurburgring feel free to come and have a chat on northloop, your more than welcome

webby please remove that bit if its not permitted on here.

[Fushion_Julz]

All "sports" have LSD as standard, but any car could have it fitted as an option either from the factory or as after-market....

Sports are all 2-door and all have m-tech suspension. All Tourings also have the m-tech suspension and they (tourings) also have shorter diffs than the equivalent saloons..

Sports are also supposed to have close(r) ratio boxes...but they are still overdrive top standard H-pattern...

Engines are the same in all...

Earlier cars (pre facelift early 88 ) do without the Motronic fuelling/ignition so have a different ECU

Which is best? probably a late sport, but they are also the most sought after and dearest. It will be cheaper to buy a cheap shell and put the parts you want in it...Pretty much everything is available...

[Theo]

Hello and Welcome to the Zone Gary, I shall have a look at your site as im hoping to go there soon, if I pluck up the courage.

The above post is pretty good, it is worth noting that the earlier 325i had a higher compression, and produces a few more ponies.

[northloop]

Thanks for the comments chaps, I will be looking at one this weekend.

Cheers

Gary

[Fushion_Julz]

Theo is correct (technically)...but the earlier ECUs are not so easy to chip/map...

[Morat]

Dude, you're going to want one with good bodywork cos after a couple of laps you're going to realise that 18 year old suspension components are all mince and you'll be wondering how much you can justify spending on the shell. Don't worry - when they're sorted they're fantastic (as I keep remininding myself between "fantastic" periods!) but the good ones are good because someone has just replaced the shocks, ARBS, ARB links, dissy cap, plugs, clutch, diff (if whining), shock mounts, springs, ball joints, disks, pads, brake fluid, diff oil, radiator and coolant while wondering if the car is going to rust out before the components are run in ;)

[northloop]

Thanks I feel much better about the whole thing now

Dont worry i'm used to things going wrong on cars, I currently track a french car

[Fushion_Julz]

lol @ Morat

True, though....

Having said that, there can't be too many E30s that are still humming around on original shocks, clutches, plugs, etc (diffs and g/boxes, perhaps)...
And a car with decent bodywork is likely to also have decently maintained mechanicals.

Personally, if I were gonna want a car for endless tooling around a track like the 'ring, I'd choose the best possible shell and build it up from there. Mechanicals are easy to find and to replace whereas a rusty shell can be repaired, but the strength is always gonna be suspect and your life may, one day, depend on the strength of the metal around you...

[northloop]

I know plenty of experts on E30's at the ring. If and when I buy a car it will be left in good hands.