Tagged: 318is

spaced out

I finally got around to ordering longer studs so I could replace the 10mm rear spacers with 20mm. The fitment now matches the front nicely and the car sits pretty good. I am eventually going to switch out the entire suspension setup for something a little stiffer and better for going low without bottoming out.

wheel

wheel3

wheel4

got lip

I’ve been wanting an “IS” lip for the E30 for some time. The only real reason why I didn’t get one yet is because it would only be good for shows and events. It would not survive my driveway or daily driving in my area. I decided to pull the trigger on one, and as I suspected it looks great. I will go back to the “I” lip for daily use, but when you see my car from now on at events it will be rocking the new look.

it worked

I spent a good portion of yesterday wrenching away on project E30. I did a full suspension overhaul, and I also got the car set up for a lower wider offset wheel with fender rolling and pulling. This car is going to be clean and classy but have race car inspiration from Japan and Europe once things are all done. I’ll be getting some more pics up soon.

15×8

The wheels and tires are in for project E30, and I’m very happy with how they look. The gun metallic color has so many shades in it depending on the light which is a plus. They are 15×8 +4 with a 205/50/15 Dunlop Direzza DZ101 mounted nicely on them. I test fitted them on the E30. I had to angle the car into the driveway to get the wheel to tuck up since I don’t have the suspension on it yet to get an idea of how it’ll look. As you can see they fit pretty nicely. I’ll need a slight roll to allow them to breathe a little. Then I can start throwing the car around with them on.


E30 update

The E30 project is coming along. The parts have been coming together little by little. I am pretty set on getting an “IS” lip to replace the OEM 318is lip that was missing. I decided on the standard “I” front lip for the time behind because it is dirt cheap, and I will not have to worry about it getting ripped off. As you can see even something so small really changes the look of the front end of the car. It’s really annoying to me that all the late model E30’s are missing their front lips. At $30 bucks shipped it’s a must have.


Finally the suspension is complete. I found some H&R race springs (best E30 springs made) on the R3V forums. After some research I went with some KYB’s for the rear designed for a late model Camaro. They come out to be real nice and firm on a way lighter E30. The fronts are just going to be standard new E30 KYB’s which from what I read are decent enough. I got tired of trying to find some cheap used front Bilsteins that I was just going to have to eventually rebuild for higher spring rates anyways. Once I add drop hats to the front and play with the spring pads it should be a really nice drop that will handle good also. It’ll be nice for a daily too.

project E30

Well the project has officially begun. I drove my girlfriend and her E30 from Sacramento to Los Angeles over the weekend. The car is going to be our little project together. I’m excited to make this thing a little more fun to look at and drive. I’ll be posting stuff up as the project goes along. Hopefully it will not take a lifetime, but I am in no hurry with this one. It’s about doing it right the first time.