BMW advice
Moderator: crzyone
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Re: BMW advice
IIRC the 0-60 of the 2wd auto was 8.4 seconds. The manual dropped it into the mid 7s. Anything under 10 is fine in traffic, and yes the E46 is a great chassis and fun to drive, the 2wd is more fun IMO, but the 4wd will save your ass when it gets wet out.
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Re: BMW advice
And should post this in this thread as well:

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Re: BMW advice
M-Parallels...
fap fap fap
fap fap fap
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Re: BMW advice
Drive stock BMW till it dies.
Spend money on finishing Fiero.
Win!
Spend money on finishing Fiero.
Win!
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Re: BMW advice
I'd go 745i setup, its not like a $600 cast log is going to make a lot more power than the factory cast log and $1,200 for a tubular one... you could do the whole build for $1200 lol.
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Re: BMW advice
Stock BMW's don't die. Win!crzyone wrote:Drive stock BMW till it dies.
Spend money on finishing Fiero.
Win!
I don't think I could do it *well* for that cheap... Heck, the Miller Performance WAR chip (emulator enabling real-time tuning) and 3.5" MAF conversion is over $600.CincinnatiFiero wrote:I'd go 745i setup, its not like a $600 cast log is going to make a lot more power than the factory cast log and $1,200 for a tubular one... you could do the whole build for $1200 lol.
However, I totally agree regarding the log. The only reason I don't have it already is that he's charging $120 for shipping. I asked him about whether that's a typo or not and have not received a reply (for over a week). If you read the guy's other auctions, you'll see he's a dick. Not sure I want to do business with him.
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Re: BMW advice
I would imagine the build would be hard on $1,200, but when the manifold alone is $1,200 you'd better be putting a nice fucking turbo on top of it, followed by a nice wastegate, followed by a nice intercooler and with those comes big power and with that comes a full motor build. So now we've spent a hypothetical $10,000 a year of our lives and the car makes the same enh power all turbo M20s make, yeah its cool, but the M5 motor would have cost not a ton more and been way cooler and less common.
530i turbo on the cheap, E34 with E39 M5 swap on the expensive.
My $.02
530i turbo on the cheap, E34 with E39 M5 swap on the expensive.
My $.02
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Re: BMW advice
Def not going max effort build... that's why I'm looking at log manifolds
The m30 turbos seem to handle 15 psi and 400 whp pretty easily and push tremendous torque. There was a thread by a guy with a car identical to mine (even green!) who cracked 10's with a turbo setup, clutch and DR's. The rest of Bimmerforums may not be worth much, but there seems to be some intelligence in the forced induction forum.

The m30 turbos seem to handle 15 psi and 400 whp pretty easily and push tremendous torque. There was a thread by a guy with a car identical to mine (even green!) who cracked 10's with a turbo setup, clutch and DR's. The rest of Bimmerforums may not be worth much, but there seems to be some intelligence in the forced induction forum.
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Re: BMW advice
Looked at your ebay guy, I lol'ed
$2,400 for a 30 year old turbo kit? that strikes me as exactly what it is worth
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-JCW- ... 1c191056a9
Sounds like Indy Fiero Owners / Diesel Mercedes Wagon Owners /Miata owners.Note: 745i turbo owners: If you posses these parts or cars let's come together put a stop to giving them away for nothing.
Ask only what is truely fair for the rare items that are left.
in other words after this sale(giveaway) I will be asking extremely ridiculous high cost for any 745i turbo part or car. I as a fellow e23 745i turbo addict i would ask the same of you. Only then will we obtain a fair price for our extremely understated treasure. (The e23 745i turbo)
$2,400 for a 30 year old turbo kit? that strikes me as exactly what it is worth
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-JCW- ... 1c191056a9
In the tiny cell phone picture I can see the wheel is raped all over, I don't understand how something *might* be curbed, either it is, or isn't.note: wheel may have curb rash- abbrations
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Re: BMW advice
Is there some sarcasm I missed hereCincinnatiFiero wrote:So now we've spent a hypothetical $10,000 a year of our lives and the car makes the same enh power all turbo M20s make,

For a max effort build of an inline 6, I'd start with an S38 for good head flow and 4 digit power potential, as well as the uber secksie throttle per cylinder intake.
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Re: BMW advice
Sort of sarcasm, my point was there are a LOT better paths than the M20.
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Re: BMW advice
Note to self:
BMW diff and limited slip information: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=44635
BMW diff and limited slip information: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=44635
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Re: BMW advice
My girlfriend is looking into getting an E34 for her school commute. She wants one with a manual. I'm thinking to stay away from the V8s due to poor reliability, bad gas mileage, extra cost, and the rarity of manual transmissions... So we're looking at an '89 to '93 535i or a '91 to '95 525i. Hoping to keep the total cost (including any initial repairs) under $5k. Any advice?
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Re: BMW advice
Buy Aaron's car?
Stay away from the M30 and M20 if you want good mileage. They both have compression 9:1 or less. My 535i/5 gives me 23 mpg on pure highway driving. It turns 3K at 80 mph, so chopping the diff from 3.46 down to 2.81 would help significantly.
Go with a M50 if you want mileage.
However, the M30 is an extremely reliable, tough and long lived powerplant that's inexpensive to maintain.
The 540 cars supposedly get really good mileage with the 420G six speed. The guy I talked to about the M60/E30 also has a E34 540/6 and claims to get 28 on the highway. Also said he drives like a wus, so YMMW.
Tough to keep initial investment and initial maintenance under $5K on a 540, however.

Stay away from the M30 and M20 if you want good mileage. They both have compression 9:1 or less. My 535i/5 gives me 23 mpg on pure highway driving. It turns 3K at 80 mph, so chopping the diff from 3.46 down to 2.81 would help significantly.
Go with a M50 if you want mileage.
However, the M30 is an extremely reliable, tough and long lived powerplant that's inexpensive to maintain.
The 540 cars supposedly get really good mileage with the 420G six speed. The guy I talked to about the M60/E30 also has a E34 540/6 and claims to get 28 on the highway. Also said he drives like a wus, so YMMW.
Tough to keep initial investment and initial maintenance under $5K on a 540, however.
Re: BMW advice
Honestly I think the 525i is perfect. Although 80mph is at about 3300rpm, it still gets 30 on the highway, and about 22 in the city. My average right now is floating between 26-27. Not to mention the car has 246,000 miles on the original engine and trans, and still feels like it makes every bit for the 180 or 190hp it came with. Mine may be a piece of shit, but over all, they are great cars. Has she considered a 3 series though? I think I would prefer one to the E34.
88GT 3.4 DOHC Turbo
Gooch wrote:Way to go douche. You are like a one-man, fiero-destroying machine.
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Re: BMW advice
Yeah it sounds like the 525i wouldn't be too bad, especially with an M50. We get like 25% more HP than you here since we're at sea level tooAaron wrote:Honestly I think the 525i is perfect. Although 80mph is at about 3300rpm, it still gets 30 on the highway, and about 22 in the city. My average right now is floating between 26-27. Not to mention the car has 246,000 miles on the original engine and trans, and still feels like it makes every bit for the 180 or 190hp it came with. Mine may be a peice of shit, but over all, they are great cars. Has she considered a 3 series though? I think I would prefer one to the E34.

I could try talking her into getting an E36. She doesn't like the E30 so much.
She actually has a nice E90 328i 6-spd right now, but she can't afford to keep it while doing school full time.
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Re: BMW advice
Test drove a 525i down the street. It had newer 7-series (I think) 18s on it. Tires were pretty old. It was repainted, though with not the best quality paint. It did look good though. Needed new tint; it was purple and peeling. A few clanks in the suspension (or maybe exhaust). Little issues like the sunroof not sliding back, though it would pop up. They wanted $5k for it -- way too much. Also, it was an auto. Blech. Going over to SFV to test drive a '97 328i 5-spd sedan in a couple hours. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/ct ... 27775.html