Discussion
Over the past few years I've been fortunate enough to buy and sell a few E30 M3 but have finally been able to get a keeper. I know it won't be to everyones taste, as it is slightly more track focussed than stock, but it's still compliant enough to be used on the road.
As far as I know it was UK registered till about 6 years ago, when it went to the Republic of Ireland. It also spent some time at the Nurburgring where it was maintained by Black Falcon. (sounds like a brand of condom)
The suspension has been uprated with H&R and includes new ARB's, poly bushes etc. Being a later 215bhp model it now has a DTM airbox, which sounds awesome, Alpha N, AFR and Nology leads. It only makes about 232bhp but still goes pretty well. Currently runs staggered 17'' BBS although I'm thinking of swapping to Compomotove TH. The grip with the Dunlop is really good and makes for some great B road fun. The bodywork is all Evo spec' and I've just added a few touches like the AC Schnitzer mirrors and Bonrath single wiper. I've also fitted my own Ridgard seats which I plan to have recovered in alcantara when I replace the carpet. The cage is a Safety Devices item.
I've put a few hundred miles on it over the past few weeks since I flew over to collect it and I'm going to do a fluids and plugs change in a day or two, before heading up to Wales for next weekend. A few people I know, who also have a thing for older Bavarian tin, are going to head down from Betws-y-Coed on the Saturday morning and aim for Sunday lunch at JFi Classics in Brecon. I'll try and get some photos and hopefully remember to take my GoPro for some footage of the other cars, which will include various 2002tii and an Alpina replica 2002 race car, that also runs an s14 engine.
Anyway, a few pictures. Please excuse the poor quality i-phone pics.
The white M3 on the right runs an e39 M5 V8 with close to 500bhp.
As far as I know it was UK registered till about 6 years ago, when it went to the Republic of Ireland. It also spent some time at the Nurburgring where it was maintained by Black Falcon. (sounds like a brand of condom)
The suspension has been uprated with H&R and includes new ARB's, poly bushes etc. Being a later 215bhp model it now has a DTM airbox, which sounds awesome, Alpha N, AFR and Nology leads. It only makes about 232bhp but still goes pretty well. Currently runs staggered 17'' BBS although I'm thinking of swapping to Compomotove TH. The grip with the Dunlop is really good and makes for some great B road fun. The bodywork is all Evo spec' and I've just added a few touches like the AC Schnitzer mirrors and Bonrath single wiper. I've also fitted my own Ridgard seats which I plan to have recovered in alcantara when I replace the carpet. The cage is a Safety Devices item.
I've put a few hundred miles on it over the past few weeks since I flew over to collect it and I'm going to do a fluids and plugs change in a day or two, before heading up to Wales for next weekend. A few people I know, who also have a thing for older Bavarian tin, are going to head down from Betws-y-Coed on the Saturday morning and aim for Sunday lunch at JFi Classics in Brecon. I'll try and get some photos and hopefully remember to take my GoPro for some footage of the other cars, which will include various 2002tii and an Alpina replica 2002 race car, that also runs an s14 engine.
Anyway, a few pictures. Please excuse the poor quality i-phone pics.
The white M3 on the right runs an e39 M5 V8 with close to 500bhp.
Congrats Mark, looks great and well worth the wait. How do you find the driveability of Alpha N? I run the same airbox etc on my 320is and I think it could really use a bit of a tweak on the map, my aim is to make it as driveable as my boggo M3 ?
Would be good to see the car next time your up at Joe's place.
Would be good to see the car next time your up at Joe's place.
Thanks - I am really happy with it and especially glad that it's a) good and solid and b) has been well looked after by previous owners. (I'm trying to locate Robert McKeon if anyone knows him?)
I've been pretty impressed with the Alpha N so far but am planning to get it looked at by Paul Sheppard up at Circuit Motors near Castle Combe. We've been chatting for a couple of years re my e21, but I know he's got a good reputation when it comes to s14. I need to get to grips with the AFR as it's all new to me and I'm not really sure what that digital display is telling me?!
I'll post a pic or two later but if anyone can offer some advice please feel free. I'd also like to get a dyno run sorted so that I can see exactly what's happening through the rev range, plus I have a sump baffle to go in before I do any track days.
I'll let you know next time I head over to Joe's although I'm not far away. I think it's about time he gave his some use! He told me it's 2 years since it last turned a wheel!
I've been pretty impressed with the Alpha N so far but am planning to get it looked at by Paul Sheppard up at Circuit Motors near Castle Combe. We've been chatting for a couple of years re my e21, but I know he's got a good reputation when it comes to s14. I need to get to grips with the AFR as it's all new to me and I'm not really sure what that digital display is telling me?!
I'll post a pic or two later but if anyone can offer some advice please feel free. I'd also like to get a dyno run sorted so that I can see exactly what's happening through the rev range, plus I have a sump baffle to go in before I do any track days. I'll let you know next time I head over to Joe's although I'm not far away. I think it's about time he gave his some use! He told me it's 2 years since it last turned a wheel!
e21Mark said:
Thanks - I am really happy with it and especially glad that it's a) good and solid and b) has been well looked after by previous owners. (I'm trying to locate Robert McKeon if anyone knows him?)
I've been pretty impressed with the Alpha N so far but am planning to get it looked at by Paul Sheppard up at Circuit Motors near Castle Combe. We've been chatting for a couple of years re my e21, but I know he's got a good reputation when it comes to s14. I need to get to grips with the AFR as it's all new to me and I'm not really sure what that digital display is telling me?! I'll post a pic or two later but if anyone can offer some advice please feel free. I'd also like to get a dyno run sorted so that I can see exactly what's happening through the rev range, plus I have a sump baffle to go in before I do any track days.
I'll let you know next time I head over to Joe's although I'm not far away. I think it's about time he gave his some use! He told me it's 2 years since it last turned a wheel!
Have a smooch around on s14power if you haven't already, there are some really knowledgable guys on there who have been messing with alpha N for years. I have been playing with mine on the laptop, only mild adjustments so that I can always put it back, but have had a good chat with Paul Sheppard who took the time to answer my many questions. Truth be told, now that I've sorted a more suitable daily I intend to get the 320is up to him and have him work his magic. As far as I can tell the car has been mapped beautifully for WOT and not a lot else !!! Not ideal for going to work.I've been pretty impressed with the Alpha N so far but am planning to get it looked at by Paul Sheppard up at Circuit Motors near Castle Combe. We've been chatting for a couple of years re my e21, but I know he's got a good reputation when it comes to s14. I need to get to grips with the AFR as it's all new to me and I'm not really sure what that digital display is telling me?!
I'll post a pic or two later but if anyone can offer some advice please feel free. I'd also like to get a dyno run sorted so that I can see exactly what's happening through the rev range, plus I have a sump baffle to go in before I do any track days. I'll let you know next time I head over to Joe's although I'm not far away. I think it's about time he gave his some use! He told me it's 2 years since it last turned a wheel!
As for Joe, we really need to get on to him, he tells me the same, that he hasn't had time for any of his own cars. I'm only twenty mins away or if your ever over Helston way and fancy a brew.
mark.c said:
e21Mark said:
Thanks - I am really happy with it and especially glad that it's a) good and solid and b) has been well looked after by previous owners. (I'm trying to locate Robert McKeon if anyone knows him?)
I've been pretty impressed with the Alpha N so far but am planning to get it looked at by Paul Sheppard up at Circuit Motors near Castle Combe. We've been chatting for a couple of years re my e21, but I know he's got a good reputation when it comes to s14. I need to get to grips with the AFR as it's all new to me and I'm not really sure what that digital display is telling me?! I'll post a pic or two later but if anyone can offer some advice please feel free. I'd also like to get a dyno run sorted so that I can see exactly what's happening through the rev range, plus I have a sump baffle to go in before I do any track days.
I'll let you know next time I head over to Joe's although I'm not far away. I think it's about time he gave his some use! He told me it's 2 years since it last turned a wheel!
Have a smooch around on s14power if you haven't already, there are some really knowledgable guys on there who have been messing with alpha N for years. I have been playing with mine on the laptop, only mild adjustments so that I can always put it back, but have had a good chat with Paul Sheppard who took the time to answer my many questions. Truth be told, now that I've sorted a more suitable daily I intend to get the 320is up to him and have him work his magic. As far as I can tell the car has been mapped beautifully for WOT and not a lot else !!! Not ideal for going to work.I've been pretty impressed with the Alpha N so far but am planning to get it looked at by Paul Sheppard up at Circuit Motors near Castle Combe. We've been chatting for a couple of years re my e21, but I know he's got a good reputation when it comes to s14. I need to get to grips with the AFR as it's all new to me and I'm not really sure what that digital display is telling me?!
I'll post a pic or two later but if anyone can offer some advice please feel free. I'd also like to get a dyno run sorted so that I can see exactly what's happening through the rev range, plus I have a sump baffle to go in before I do any track days. I'll let you know next time I head over to Joe's although I'm not far away. I think it's about time he gave his some use! He told me it's 2 years since it last turned a wheel!
As for Joe, we really need to get on to him, he tells me the same, that he hasn't had time for any of his own cars. I'm only twenty mins away or if your ever over Helston way and fancy a brew.
I think I've been pretty fortunate with the mapping that Black Falcon did. It's got a tiny flat spot at about 2.5k revs but nothing too bad really and from 5k on it really starts to pull strongly. I did mail Black Falcon to see if they still had any dyno sheets but they seem to be busy with Porsche now and the language barrier hasn't helped. I think I'll just wait till Paul can take a look for me.
This is the AFR gauge I mentioned earlier. I really know very little about them, so if you or anyone else can offer advice, I'm all ears.
This is where we head next weekend.
king tits 
AFR = Air Fuel Ratio.
14.7 to 1 is the optimum. A higher number than that is lean and lower number richer.
Keep an eye on it if you do any mountain passes as it may not have barometric compensation if it's running purely alpha n.
You don't want to go lean on that engine whilst thrashing it up the Stelvio!
14.7 to 1 is the optimum. A higher number than that is lean and lower number richer.
Keep an eye on it if you do any mountain passes as it may not have barometric compensation if it's running purely alpha n.
You don't want to go lean on that engine whilst thrashing it up the Stelvio!
chrisr29 said:
AFR = Air Fuel Ratio.
14.7 to 1 is the optimum. A higher number than that is lean and lower number richer.
Keep an eye on it if you do any mountain passes as it may not have barometric compensation if it's running purely alpha n.
You don't want to go lean on that engine whilst thrashing it up the Stelvio!
Thanks Chris. Do you know functions of the 2 buttons? 14.7 to 1 is the optimum. A higher number than that is lean and lower number richer.
Keep an eye on it if you do any mountain passes as it may not have barometric compensation if it's running purely alpha n.
You don't want to go lean on that engine whilst thrashing it up the Stelvio!
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