Seasons Greetings to All

There seem to be several sites and Forums for our M3's but to date this appears more relevant to us in the UK.

I am caught up in the roller coaster fun of good intentions vrs FUN on a Track, as I only ever intended to actually own one (1) E30 M3 and have it as a standard, solid road car......BUT......the bug bit me.....

My idea is still to have a FAST Road Car, which I have in my Hennarot M3, and have recently spent almost twice the purchase price in 'enhancements', including a rather special engine and a lot of other goodies. Purely for road use, of course.

Then I came across a 2nd M3 for possible Track use due to some 'rot' in the rear wheel panels, just in front of the rear wheels.

Then I came across a 3rd M3 which is one of the BMW UK conversions to R.H.D., with A/C which suits my intention of shipping it to Australia where road laws require all cars under 30 years old to be RHD. So I am in the process of 'refreshing' and slightly upgrading it from engine back.

A little Greedy????? -- maybe, but they are great fun, while I can afford the 'hobby'.

By the way, my everyday driver is an E34 M5 Tourer, 1995 model, 3.8ltr 6-speed etc, etc, and as a rariety it is R.H.D., another special car whith interesting History and a Magazine Feature in 2000.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all who have looked.

 

Hi there and welcome

Great to hear about your M's.
I'd like to think that our site is relevant to all the UK folk and just as relevant to all others around the globe. Hehehe......we're an open sort of bunch with lots of different folk participating from all sorts of spots on the planet

Tell us more about your cars :bmw:

 

Hi Oscar,

As I mentioned, although I am currently living and working out of the UK, I will most likely settle back on the 'Mainland' ............
(that's an Australian/New Zealand Joke for the rest of you),
so have been looking for some time for one of the 'converted' E30 M3's so I'll save myself a lot of costs, and can bring it in to Australia as my personal import -- one a year is allowed currently.
I have pulled the engine and it is being attended to for a full rebuild with some minor upgrades to be a strong, reliable engine for many years to come, also the brakes will be upgraded, and all other moving mechanicals , seals, bushes etc will be replaced while in the UK and parts are readily available.

Ideally, a year apart, the E34 M5 Tourer --RHD re-built, not a conversion, -- will also end up in Australia.

Still toying with sending my Hennarot and trailering it around to events.
I have spent close to 10,000 pounds this year on 'enhancements'....... and it does give More Smiles per Miles....

That would leave the Black M3 with minor 'rot' issues, but has full history and is basically sound, to pour money into and leave it in the UK.
Maybe do the usual mods and prep work for Track Days as the mechanicals are solid for a 1987 M3.

cheers,

 

Greetings!

Sounds like you're doing what most of us are doing - having fun (and being poor in the process!)

I guess we all see the E30 M3 as a collectable. Kind of like when we used to collect football cards, or star wars figures, or in my case those Garbage Pail Kids stickers (if you're of my era!). We don't know why we want more in our collection, we just do.

 

sometimes I wish I would have never touched it and left it stock. But it usually only takes one or two laps on track and everything seems to make perfect sense....

 

And how many times a year do the majority of these M3s see track use?

I've lost count of the amount of people (family, friends and people I don't even know!) that have told me that the M3 is a terrible waste of money and that I should sell it.

But then those same people usually drive Fords or Peugeots and clearly should not be listened to at all

 

I figured a 'stock' production engine was good and reliable, however it was designed to cope easily with almost double the BHP in full factory racing form, normally aspirated........
There was a freshly re-built Schnitzer prepared 'endurance' engine complete with the big winged sump, Pro-Drive AlphaN and BMW Motorsport electronics under my nose at the right price at the right time so I really could not pass up the opportunity for 285 -300BHP all ready fo me........... even though I had no intention (at the time) of 'tracking' the M3.
So, new engine with C/F airbox too, and I have a set of DTM 4-1 headers to fit later, now that I have found the adaptor section to marry it to the stainless steel exhaust system I have on the M3.
Then there was the diff ratio which is now 4.4:1 or close to it, with rebuilt LSD pack, so that allows for better use of the rev range 5000 - 8500 with POWER all the way///.
Competition Clutch, new Alternator, H&R springs & Bilstein Sports shocks for suspension freshen up, braided brake lines, grooved discs up front and high temp fluid too.
Maybe next year (like next week) an upgrade to 4 pot calipers as I want to retain 16" wheels, as I have a few different sets of 16" wheels for my M3's....... just cant resist a nice looking wheel set.or 2 or 3 or 4.
Radiator replaced and all new hoses and vacumme lines just to make sure.
So now there might have to be a Roll Cage on the shopping list........
It is a fun car to drive on the Motoeways and selected back roads, conditions permitting of course, as we are more responsible and mature after '50'.
cheers to all.

 

A 4.4 final drive? That must give you about 100mph top speed? 8o I guess with a 8500rpm limit, that'll go up to about 115 or so...

 

Hello Ultimate M.

Sound like you have a serious case of M3itus, hear its very contagious, but one of the nicer 'diseases' to suffer from.

Cures...... yet to be found...... :m: ;smilie[78]

Prosperous new year to all.

 

ditto - CF airbox & snorkel & installation kit - then 6 pot front brakes and disks - 17" wheels and tyres to fit around the brakes - New ARB's - new headlights - repair to rear wing and front bumber .............and that was just december - I keep saying they were xmas presents makes me feel better

 

cruising on the motorway at 120 kmh (75 mph) with my 4.10 diff
put me around 4500 rpm IIRC. That is your speed limit over in the
UK right? With a 4.45 diff, at 4500 rpm that would be 115 kmh
or ca. 70 mph.

at 8500 rpm with a 4.45 youd be going 218 km = 135 mph.

for these calculations I assumed for the tires a rolling radius of
1903 mm (R compound tire 235/624 17" wheel), the stock
rolling radius is 1845 mm I believe. so if on stock tires, the speeds
above will be reduced by about 3%.

With street tires and with my engine, I found the 4.10 to be
overkill. I had very little traction in 1st gear. Also, if I nailed
it in 5th gear at 75 mph it would hit 143 mph just 15 or so
seconds later and that was back when it had full weight.
Great for out dragging a Porsche, but you cant go down the
autobahn with your engine pegged at 8500 rpm for an hour
straight

Ultimate M is definately driving a weapon in disguise on the street.

happy new year.

PS: this is an international board. We have members from
(in no particular order): New Zealand, Australia, Phillipines, Seychelles,
Carribean, UK, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Russia, Finnland,
Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, USA, Canada, Venezuela, Brazil.
Im sure there are more.

John

 

Hi John,

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you too, and ALL the others out there in this Forum.

You are precise with your calculatons, and I have the M3 geared for FUN, not for economy !!

FUN in my particular case, with my M3, is the sheer power available at 5000rpm and above !! PLUS ...the addictive intake NOISE...

And I can have this without exceeding the speed limits (well............. you know how it is.......) only occasionally when all the conditions are right, and it is safe to do so.

We all know that I am well bitten by M3'isis, and will eventually just be Track Day enthused.

Cheers to All

Malcolm