E36 328i Touring. When it breaks, upgrade it...
Discussion
sc4589 said:
Been a busy old month. 
First up, saw these on eBay and (shamelessly copying vsonix), I had to have them... they've got different centre caps, but are ultimately the same wheels- Hartge Design Ds. Not an easy find, although since I bought them I have since found another set on eBay... typical.
Nice! Think yours are the ones made by Ronal, not OZ like mine though. What fitment? First up, saw these on eBay and (shamelessly copying vsonix), I had to have them... they've got different centre caps, but are ultimately the same wheels- Hartge Design Ds. Not an easy find, although since I bought them I have since found another set on eBay... typical.
vsonix said:
Nice! Think yours are the ones made by Ronal, not OZ like mine though. What fitment?
They are indeed the Ronal ones, could you tell by the odd centre cap? I also need massive spigot rings for the buggers! 82mm down to 72.6mm! They're ET46, 8.5J, 17" diameter. Absolutely adore them.Refined Detail said:
Coming along nicely! The 32's and the new Hartge wheels look great on it. Sits great on the new Bilstein's too. Have to be honest though, it looked far better with black trims imho (and I'm not usually a great fan of black plastics!)
Thanks! The 32s are gone for now but if I want them back, I'll be able to grab them. I think the problem with doing the car colour coded is that barely anyone's done it on the E36 scene, so it weirds people out a bit. I absolutely love it, and it looks great in the flesh. Time will tell. The fact it's a fairly uncommon front bumper (compared to, say, the ubiquitous M3 bumper) also seems to freak a few out. Some people love it, some people hate it. All I know is that I absolutely adore it. 
Cheers guys! I'm really happy with the progress made, I reckon all the proper groundwork will be done and dusted within a year of ownership. I have until October 4th, or something like that!
Also been thinking, she's not really bargain bucket any more... I've spent more on wheels than I have on the original cost of the car, although I have sold a few sets here and there!
I will do a cost spreadsheet at some point, but it's still a very reasonable price for what is a quick, comfortable, fun and great-sounding machine. The practicality is an added bonus.
However, I have gained a squeak... an annoying squeak from the rear after the suspension change... one is not amused!! Checked the shock's fitment, it's fine, as is the spring. Reckon it could be the RTAB bushes- lucky they're being changed soon. There's a surprise!
Also been thinking, she's not really bargain bucket any more... I've spent more on wheels than I have on the original cost of the car, although I have sold a few sets here and there!
I will do a cost spreadsheet at some point, but it's still a very reasonable price for what is a quick, comfortable, fun and great-sounding machine. The practicality is an added bonus.
However, I have gained a squeak... an annoying squeak from the rear after the suspension change... one is not amused!! Checked the shock's fitment, it's fine, as is the spring. Reckon it could be the RTAB bushes- lucky they're being changed soon. There's a surprise!
Been busy again.
First things first, a bit of a service checkup and fixup before Nurburgring- less than a month away now!! New NGK Iridium sparkies, full coolant flush, fixed the coolant leak that was doing my head in, topped up other vital fluids. No point doing oil as that was done at 169k (on 172k now), and the brakes will be changed shortly so all fluid will be refreshed.
This is my amazingly safe work ramp.
Dodgy coolant tie-ons. Replaced with two brand-spankers jubilee clips, and cut down so frayed pipe is now out of the equation.
Engine in bits. That manifold really does take up a lot of space...
One plug at a time...
Old Bosch Super 4s versus new NGK Iridiums. Car certainly seems keener with the NGKs in.
Then yesterday, finally applied the limitation of slippiness in differential format, and possibly the most obnoxious exhaust this side of a space shuttle.
The 'new' diff. From a 328i Sport- for a very limited time (95-96), BMW offered a proper LSD in the Sport model. Shortly after, they 'replaced' it with ASC (not really a great move, in my eyes). These aren't the easiest to find, and this one was in great nick. Applied some brand new Castrol diff oil (if anyone wants to know exactly what, it was the Syntrax Differential Synthetic oil (75W140), which comes recommended by Opie oils). You can tell the Sport LSDs by the little metal tag in the photo above- you can just about make out the 'S293' stamp, which means Sport 2.93 ratio. I wanted 2.93 to preserve some semblance of motorway cruising.
Fitting was actually fairly straightforward, just very heavy. 4 16mm propshaft bolts- undo with foot applied to spanner. 12 E12 driveshaft bolts (6 each side), 2 13mm bolts that hold the ARB in place need removing to access the 2 18mm diff carrier bolts at the back, then 1 massive 18mm bolt at the front. Crowbar, apply, lever, do NOT drop it on your chest... they hurt!! Refitting is the reverse of removal (snigger), and good luck with that.
Exhaust... well.
James models it well, it came in three sections. Manifold back, decat, very easy to fit together... once you've flushed your dignity down a drain. Snapped 2 manifold studs (on one branch, I might add), many grazed knuckles, but when we fired it up... worth every. Single. Bit. On the motorway and cruising along, it's not intrusive. When you boot it, it sounds... good.
Upshot is I have two things left to complete before the 'Ring- wishbones, for which I've bookmarked some 3.0 M3 units with the eccentric bushes, and the Brembos. I've ordered some ATE Super Blue Racing brake fluid, and will be ordering braided HEL lines sometime this week. She's getting there. Love the spec now. We've officially passed our 10,000 mile benchmark since purchase too.
Celebrated with a little photoshoot last night, too...
Enjoy.
First things first, a bit of a service checkup and fixup before Nurburgring- less than a month away now!! New NGK Iridium sparkies, full coolant flush, fixed the coolant leak that was doing my head in, topped up other vital fluids. No point doing oil as that was done at 169k (on 172k now), and the brakes will be changed shortly so all fluid will be refreshed.
This is my amazingly safe work ramp.
Dodgy coolant tie-ons. Replaced with two brand-spankers jubilee clips, and cut down so frayed pipe is now out of the equation.
Engine in bits. That manifold really does take up a lot of space...
One plug at a time...
Old Bosch Super 4s versus new NGK Iridiums. Car certainly seems keener with the NGKs in.
Then yesterday, finally applied the limitation of slippiness in differential format, and possibly the most obnoxious exhaust this side of a space shuttle.
The 'new' diff. From a 328i Sport- for a very limited time (95-96), BMW offered a proper LSD in the Sport model. Shortly after, they 'replaced' it with ASC (not really a great move, in my eyes). These aren't the easiest to find, and this one was in great nick. Applied some brand new Castrol diff oil (if anyone wants to know exactly what, it was the Syntrax Differential Synthetic oil (75W140), which comes recommended by Opie oils). You can tell the Sport LSDs by the little metal tag in the photo above- you can just about make out the 'S293' stamp, which means Sport 2.93 ratio. I wanted 2.93 to preserve some semblance of motorway cruising.
Fitting was actually fairly straightforward, just very heavy. 4 16mm propshaft bolts- undo with foot applied to spanner. 12 E12 driveshaft bolts (6 each side), 2 13mm bolts that hold the ARB in place need removing to access the 2 18mm diff carrier bolts at the back, then 1 massive 18mm bolt at the front. Crowbar, apply, lever, do NOT drop it on your chest... they hurt!! Refitting is the reverse of removal (snigger), and good luck with that.
Exhaust... well.
James models it well, it came in three sections. Manifold back, decat, very easy to fit together... once you've flushed your dignity down a drain. Snapped 2 manifold studs (on one branch, I might add), many grazed knuckles, but when we fired it up... worth every. Single. Bit. On the motorway and cruising along, it's not intrusive. When you boot it, it sounds... good.
Upshot is I have two things left to complete before the 'Ring- wishbones, for which I've bookmarked some 3.0 M3 units with the eccentric bushes, and the Brembos. I've ordered some ATE Super Blue Racing brake fluid, and will be ordering braided HEL lines sometime this week. She's getting there. Love the spec now. We've officially passed our 10,000 mile benchmark since purchase too.
Celebrated with a little photoshoot last night, too...
Enjoy.
OK, so a little bit before I go and trash the beautiful baby at the 'Ring.
Attempted the Porsche Brembos. It did not end well. Long story short- they fit under the wheels, but they're so freakin' wide that they would require the wheels to be offset by around 20mm at least before it fits nice and tidy.
So I binned off the idea, and fitted some braided HEL lines, bled through the system with some spanky ATE Super Blue Racing fluid (DOT4 but with excellent boiling points), and rebuilt the calipers with a funky Jewish touch.
Stops better. The sale of the Brembos paid for these...
Cadbury's Purple centres for my old BBSs. Got the barrels all polished up, and will be handpainting the bolts grey. Looks good. A bit loud and shouty, but they'll be for show/summer/a bit of tasteless fun!
Also attended a dyno day at JKM, just out of interest...
There was a lot of awesome metal there, but she was the loudest car there. Unsure if that's a good thing, but it was a great laugh. She didn't do bad at all, either:
Results so far: 233bhp, 224lb/ft. This is without a remap or the US-spec M3 cams, which I am planning on doing at some point. So over 20% gains from simple bolt-on mods I'm happy with.
All in all, pretty chuffed.
Attempted the Porsche Brembos. It did not end well. Long story short- they fit under the wheels, but they're so freakin' wide that they would require the wheels to be offset by around 20mm at least before it fits nice and tidy.
So I binned off the idea, and fitted some braided HEL lines, bled through the system with some spanky ATE Super Blue Racing fluid (DOT4 but with excellent boiling points), and rebuilt the calipers with a funky Jewish touch.
Stops better. The sale of the Brembos paid for these...
Cadbury's Purple centres for my old BBSs. Got the barrels all polished up, and will be handpainting the bolts grey. Looks good. A bit loud and shouty, but they'll be for show/summer/a bit of tasteless fun!
Also attended a dyno day at JKM, just out of interest...
There was a lot of awesome metal there, but she was the loudest car there. Unsure if that's a good thing, but it was a great laugh. She didn't do bad at all, either:
Results so far: 233bhp, 224lb/ft. This is without a remap or the US-spec M3 cams, which I am planning on doing at some point. So over 20% gains from simple bolt-on mods I'm happy with.
All in all, pretty chuffed.
getawayturtle said:
I need to stop reading your thread Sam, I'm getting fed up of your 28 being both faster and in better shape than mine
You must take a video of how the car is sounding now!
In all fairness, I spunk pretty much all my money on this car. You must take a video of how the car is sounding now!
I will do, but she keeps on breaking the microphones in cameras. I need some proper recording equipment to get the sound. Although... if you email me back (you cad), then I can provide a link of sorts..!
Nurburgring... done.
Set off on Thursday at 3:15am, returned home on Monday at 1:30am.
Average mpg for whole trip: 28.8, including three laps of the Ring and lots of hard & fast driving in between. Can't remember the exact miles, but it was a lot. Well into the 800s, I think... maybe even 900s.
I'll certainly be going again next year, loved every minute of it. The car never missed a beat, and felt better & better each time I took her out. Couldn't ask for more... apart from the rear exhaust manifold disintegrating on her last lap and suddenly becoming VERY loud.
One thing I didn't get about the Ring 'til I did it was the sheer amount of gradient change- over 1000ft in the whole thing. It was quite something to feel like I was going to faint heading down a particularly steep hill at the best part of 90mph, coming up to a corner with a Porsche GT3 next to me. Interesting.
Anyway, pics...
5:15am.
It was way too early...
Convoy ready for France...
One of the 135i monsters:
And the other!
Get out the way...
Ended up playing the Generation Game with a couple of silver E46 Tourings. The one at the back drove like an actual t
t.
Rolling shot!
Beasts at rest in Nurburg, post road trip and one lap of the Ring.
Badge of honour...
Carousel, baby!
Another crash...
Mini carousel!
Bye Porsche.
Also watched the DTM...
Set off on Thursday at 3:15am, returned home on Monday at 1:30am.
Average mpg for whole trip: 28.8, including three laps of the Ring and lots of hard & fast driving in between. Can't remember the exact miles, but it was a lot. Well into the 800s, I think... maybe even 900s.
I'll certainly be going again next year, loved every minute of it. The car never missed a beat, and felt better & better each time I took her out. Couldn't ask for more... apart from the rear exhaust manifold disintegrating on her last lap and suddenly becoming VERY loud.
One thing I didn't get about the Ring 'til I did it was the sheer amount of gradient change- over 1000ft in the whole thing. It was quite something to feel like I was going to faint heading down a particularly steep hill at the best part of 90mph, coming up to a corner with a Porsche GT3 next to me. Interesting.
Anyway, pics...
5:15am.
It was way too early...
Convoy ready for France...
One of the 135i monsters:
And the other!
Get out the way...
Ended up playing the Generation Game with a couple of silver E46 Tourings. The one at the back drove like an actual t
t.
Rolling shot!
Beasts at rest in Nurburg, post road trip and one lap of the Ring.
Badge of honour...
Carousel, baby!
Another crash...
Mini carousel!
Bye Porsche.
Also watched the DTM...
OK, so now she's going pretty well, it's time to concentrate on what makes her handle/stop properly.
A buddy of mine came over from Luxembourg with this...
AC Schnitzer original lightweight strut brace- came off his old '93 ACS E36. Has made quite the difference, and looks boss.
These have all rocked up too.
That is...
- rear beam - front bushes
- rear beam - rear bushes
- RTABs
- wishbone lollipop bushes
- front ARB bushes
- rear ARB bushes
- EBC Redstuffs all round
All lightly used on another mate's E36 for a month before his went bang, and he had to break it.
Oh, and Luxembourg buddy also brought over something a bit interesting...
A very, very rare vehicle indeed... one of 221 Alpina B8s ever made, and one of only 27 to come in Touring flavour. He uses it properly too- had 284,000km on it when he came over! Absolutely ballistic car, unhinged would be a good way to describe it.
Enjoy.
A buddy of mine came over from Luxembourg with this...
AC Schnitzer original lightweight strut brace- came off his old '93 ACS E36. Has made quite the difference, and looks boss.
These have all rocked up too.
That is...
- rear beam - front bushes
- rear beam - rear bushes
- RTABs
- wishbone lollipop bushes
- front ARB bushes
- rear ARB bushes
- EBC Redstuffs all round
All lightly used on another mate's E36 for a month before his went bang, and he had to break it.
Oh, and Luxembourg buddy also brought over something a bit interesting...
A very, very rare vehicle indeed... one of 221 Alpina B8s ever made, and one of only 27 to come in Touring flavour. He uses it properly too- had 284,000km on it when he came over! Absolutely ballistic car, unhinged would be a good way to describe it.
Enjoy.
Video or GTFO :POoooooh nice Alpina! Was it Auto though? They generally tend to be, which I think spoils the fun somewhat. How's the exhaust sounding these days? I've had mine about six months now and it's really matured nicely, less hollow and booming. However that's a recent thing! Mind you I've been putting less miles on the coupe since I got the 'vert.
A video will be taken Tom... when it stops breaking the microphones on cameras...
I'll get one of my willing minions to video it next time we're off to the pub or something, promise.
Sami- the B8 was only available as... a 6-speed manual!! Alpina got it so right with that car. More power than an M3 Evo, more torque than any 5-Series made at that time, 6 manual cogs, beautifully appointed... back when they were new, an M3 Evo would've set you back £38k. These were £65k.
On the exhaust side of things, it was used anyway so hasn't changed in tone too much. All I can say that, once a video is done, I'll let that do the talking. Most people seem to know when I'm coming though. Not in a chavvy way.
I'll get one of my willing minions to video it next time we're off to the pub or something, promise.
Sami- the B8 was only available as... a 6-speed manual!! Alpina got it so right with that car. More power than an M3 Evo, more torque than any 5-Series made at that time, 6 manual cogs, beautifully appointed... back when they were new, an M3 Evo would've set you back £38k. These were £65k.
On the exhaust side of things, it was used anyway so hasn't changed in tone too much. All I can say that, once a video is done, I'll let that do the talking. Most people seem to know when I'm coming though. Not in a chavvy way.
sc4589 said:
A video will be taken Tom... when it stops breaking the microphones on cameras...
I'll get one of my willing minions to video it next time we're off to the pub or something, promise.
Sami- the B8 was only available as... a 6-speed manual!! Alpina got it so right with that car. More power than an M3 Evo, more torque than any 5-Series made at that time, 6 manual cogs, beautifully appointed... back when they were new, an M3 Evo would've set you back £38k. These were £65k.
On the exhaust side of things, it was used anyway so hasn't changed in tone too much. All I can say that, once a video is done, I'll let that do the talking. Most people seem to know when I'm coming though. Not in a chavvy way.
if he ever wanted to sell it... :dream: I'll get one of my willing minions to video it next time we're off to the pub or something, promise.
Sami- the B8 was only available as... a 6-speed manual!! Alpina got it so right with that car. More power than an M3 Evo, more torque than any 5-Series made at that time, 6 manual cogs, beautifully appointed... back when they were new, an M3 Evo would've set you back £38k. These were £65k.
On the exhaust side of things, it was used anyway so hasn't changed in tone too much. All I can say that, once a video is done, I'll let that do the talking. Most people seem to know when I'm coming though. Not in a chavvy way.
Sorry Sami, already got first dibs on it. cheers Mouse, glad you like it, been a labour of love for sure!! Still not done either. Now looking to refresh the entire front end- steering racks are cheap and plentiful, so a quicker one will be installed along with new wishbones (in the storage area), all the Powerflex stuff, new tie-rod ends, uprated E46 328i brakes (they use a 300mm disc and slightly bigger caliper carriers) and a convertible x-brace, when I can get my mitts on one.
Apart from that, a slightly fatter rear ARB is tempting. Keeping my eyes peeled for either Eibach or AC Schnitzer ones, if anyone has any laying around...
cheers Mouse, glad you like it, been a labour of love for sure!! Still not done either. Now looking to refresh the entire front end- steering racks are cheap and plentiful, so a quicker one will be installed along with new wishbones (in the storage area), all the Powerflex stuff, new tie-rod ends, uprated E46 328i brakes (they use a 300mm disc and slightly bigger caliper carriers) and a convertible x-brace, when I can get my mitts on one.Apart from that, a slightly fatter rear ARB is tempting. Keeping my eyes peeled for either Eibach or AC Schnitzer ones, if anyone has any laying around...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lx3zKPxyW8
First Nürburgring lap, complete with how the car sounds... enjoy!
First Nürburgring lap, complete with how the car sounds... enjoy!
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