RE: BMW 323i (E21): Spotted

[SSF1]

[SSF1]

Anyone else got any more pics or stories???

[SSF1]

s m said:

I'd imagine the T-reg Hartge probably reached the end of its life perhaps.

It had a hard existence

Was just looking at some of the pics of the hartge tuned one, where the m sport decals put on the car afterwards or were they standard?

[s m]

SSF1 said:

Was just looking at some of the pics of the hartge tuned one, where the m sport decals put on the car afterwards or were they standard?

They were put on after chap - not done as part of the Hartge upgrades

[SSF1]

s m said:

SSF1 said:

Was just looking at some of the pics of the hartge tuned one, where the m sport decals put on the car afterwards or were they standard?

They were put on after chap - not done as part of the Hartge upgrades

Ok cool, I'm thinking of doing some decals on mine aswell, something unsual like the ones u lot had on

[161BMW]

Hi I would like to know what the steering rack ratio is for E21 323i and E30 325i ?
Which has a shorter tighter steering rack ?

I remember reading E21 323i was banned from Sweden. What a legend! Was it banned from any other countries ?

Why does the E21 323i have more tail happy handling than say E30 325i :-) ?

[SSF1]

The 323i had a torquey engine and most of them ran on 13 inch wheels which made the rear end come once the right foot was planted down lol, and things like an LSD was fitted on mostly by people afterwards as the standard diff wasn't very helpful in the wet lol but that was half the fun!

[s m]

161BMW said:

Hi I would like to know what the steering rack ratio is for E21 323i and E30 325i ?
Which has a shorter tighter steering rack ?

I remember reading E21 323i was banned from Sweden. What a legend! Was it banned from any other countries ?

Why does the E21 323i have more tail happy handling than say E30 325i :-) ?

They were both around 20.5:1 ( about 4 turns l2l )
You used to be able to get high ratio racks/kits from places like Griffin in Swindon but they were quite pricey

This was before the age of the Z3//E36

Kiley-Clinton does them now I believe

http://www.steering-racks.co.uk/bmw-e21-manual-hig...

E21s had a 6 degree ( approx) more STRA angle than the E30 ( 15° ) which meant more toe/camber change on suspension compression/droop - hence 'different' behaviour when pushed hard

Edited by s m on Sunday 29th March 12:51

[SSF1]

s m said:

They were both around 20.5:1 ( about 4 turns l2l )
You used to be able to get high ratio racks/kits from places like Griffin in Swindon but they were quite pricey

This was before the age of the Z3//E36

Kiley-Clinton does them now I believe

http://www.steering-racks.co.uk/bmw-e21-manual-hig...

E21s had a 6 degree ( approx) more STRA angle than the E30 which meant more toe/camber change on suspension compression/droop - hence 'different' behaviour when pushed hard

S m , what was the t reg 4 speed like at high speeds, how was it on the motorway?

[SSF1]

I can't remember if my t reger was a 4 speed all I can remember is that it used to go all the was and what was done to the engine

[s m]

SSF1 said:

S m , what was the t reg 4 speed like at high speeds, how was it on the motorway?

Can't remember it being any worse than anything else of those times to be honest - probably have a different opinion compared to more modern stuff now though!!!

[SSF1]

s m said:

Can't remember it being any worse than anything else of those times to be honest - probably have a different opinion compared to more modern stuff now though!!!

Yh true, I can remember the 5 speed overdrive box being rubbish as it was designed for good fuel economy lol

[exgtt]

Dad had one of these, best memmory was banging my head on the back window when he got it sideways and the car found grip....

Worst memory was everyone at school taking the piss coz it looked so dated, the E30 was such a modern design in comparison.


First car i ever "fixed" mum was complaining about it stalling all the time when dad was away and i saw him adjust something on the inlet manifold, got a 2p out and twisted it to raise the idle speed, fixed! 7YO mechanic! God i loved that car, sold for £150. DUB 18Y i miss you!

Edited by exgtt on Sunday 29th March 13:04

[161BMW]

s m said:

161BMW said:

Hi I would like to know what the steering rack ratio is for E21 323i and E30 325i ?
Which has a shorter tighter steering rack ?

I remember reading E21 323i was banned from Sweden. What a legend! Was it banned from any other countries ?

Why does the E21 323i have more tail happy handling than say E30 325i :-) ?

They were both around 20.5:1 ( about 4 turns l2l )
You used to be able to get high ratio racks/kits from places like Griffin in Swindon but they were quite pricey

This was before the age of the Z3//E36

Kiley-Clinton does them now I believe

http://www.steering-racks.co.uk/bmw-e21-manual-hig...

E21s had a 6 degree ( approx) more STRA angle than the E30 ( 15° ) which meant more toe/camber change on suspension compression/droop - hence 'different' behaviour when pushed hard

Edited by s m on Sunday 29th March 12:51

Cheers
I remember reading post by E21 mark that reason why a lot of E21s spun was because steering rack was too long so made catching the back end more tricky ? I get what he is saying however e30 has similar ratio and is fine but you do have to respect it.

Would love E21 323i Manual. I think u can get BMW LSD fitted or Quaife. Is there a big jump in skill needed to drive E21 323i (from E30 325i) in the dry / wet :-) ?

[SSF1]

161BMW said:

Cheers
I remember reading post by E21 mark that reason why a lot of E21s spun was because steering rack was too long so made catching the back end more tricky ? I get what he is saying however e30 has similar ratio and is fine but you do have to respect it.

Would love E21 323i Manual. I think u can get BMW LSD fitted or Quaife. Is there a big jump in skill needed to drive E21 323i (from E30 325i) in the dry / wet :-) ?

Not really you just have to have a quick reaction to correct back straight towards the road lol

[SSF1]

Here's my current one

[SSF1]

[s m]

161BMW said:

Cheers
I remember reading post by E21 mark that reason why a lot of E21s spun was because steering rack was too long so made catching the back end more tricky ? I get what he is saying however e30 has similar ratio and is fine but you do have to respect it.

Would love E21 323i Manual. I think u can get BMW LSD fitted or Quaife. Is there a big jump in skill needed to drive E21 323i (from E30 325i) in the dry / wet :-) ?

I always thought the racks gave good feel but you had to give them large inputs - a lot of cars were like that back then though. I tended to put a quick rack on most cars I had where I could but that is just personal preference

You can get E21 LSDs - these cars used to be so cheap but I think bits like that are in demand and pricey now.

One thing I'd say is that it 'might' be cheaper to source an E21 LSD/parts from US ebay now.

A friend got an E30 318is LSD from the states and even with shipping it was substantially cheaper than people wanted over here. E21s were quite popular in the U.S.

[SSF1]

s m said:

I always thought the racks gave good feel but you had to give them large inputs - a lot of cars were like that back then though. I tended to put a quick rack on most cars I had where I could but that is just personal preference

You can get E21 LSDs - these cars used to be so cheap but I think bits like that are in demand and pricey now.

One thing I'd say is that it 'might' be cheaper to source an E21 LSD/parts from US ebay now.

A friend got an E30 318is LSD from the states and even with shipping it was substantially cheaper than people wanted over here. E21s were quite popular in the U.S.

E21 LSD are expensive now, BIRDS who formally used to be called HARTGE sell one for about £800 or something like that

[161BMW]

SSF1 said:

Looks beautiful mate!

Any E21 323i owners in London in here would love a passenger ride :-) ?