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Thread: My E30 Drift Machine Project

  1. #1
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    My E30 Drift Machine Project

    ok, ive come to the conclusion that i want to make my '89 325is into a drift machine. The only luxuries i plan to keep are the backseats, carpet, doorpanels, and perhaps the aircon. The only mods i have so far are a Z3 shortshifter, K&N cone, ebay chip, and in the mail is an Ansa exhaust. I plan on removing the sound system, obc, and any other stupid electronics.
    My last car ($1100 87 325is) was a beater that i would "drift" in the rain and on gravel roads all the time...so ive had experience driving an E30 sideways, but i want my '89 to have a more serious setup than the rusty $100 Eibachs and old original shocks on my 200k mile (im guessing since the odometer was broken) '87.
    I know that i want to concentrate on making the rear end stiff and making the front end grip. I dont have too deep of a budget so heres my short-term plan:

    -upgrade rear shocks
    -upgrade rear shock mounts
    -lowering springs front and rear
    -rear shock tower brace
    -upgrade fuel injectors
    -upgrade spark plugs, wires

    so does anyone have any advice or suggestions regarding which specific parts to get or where to get them

  2. #2
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    pics of the '87
    Attached Images Attached Images

  3. #3
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    cool drifts, but uhhh on public roads?

    not really all that smart...
    Weekly Quote -

    Dick

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMW325
    ok, ive come to the conclusion that i want to make my '89 325is into a drift machine. The only luxuries i plan to keep are the backseats, carpet, doorpanels, and perhaps the aircon.

    My last car ($1100 87 325is) was a beater that i would "drift" in the rain and on gravel roads all the time...so ive had experience driving an E30 sideways, but i want my '89 to have a more serious setup

    I know that i want to concentrate on making the rear end stiff and making the front end grip. I dont have too deep of a budget so heres my short-term plan:

    -upgrade rear shocks
    -upgrade rear shock mounts
    -lowering springs front and rear
    -rear shock tower brace
    -upgrade fuel injectors
    -upgrade spark plugs, wires

    so does anyone have any advice or suggestions regarding which specific parts to get or where to get them

    Yes. I Suggest you learn what makes a car drift. Like an LSD perhaps. otherwise all those mods worth nothing.
    Not even a car with 400bhp can drift whithout an LSD.

    A 325 with a LSD doesn't need gravel or rain. It does it on tarmac.

    But I don't think you'd like to make your road car a drift car, because drifting will demand too much from it, causing too much costs for a car you need to be running all the time.

    Were you really serious, or just kidding with us?
    Last edited by McReis; 10-25-2004 at 07:06 AM.
    Money can't buy you friends, but you do get a better class of enemy.

  5. #5
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    And no stereo?! Are you mad?! You must be mad. I didn't have a stereo in my mini for a while, I was perpetually irritated and short tempered. Just can't not have music. Can't do it. ...Am I alone with this?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by pimento
    And no stereo?! Are you mad?! You must be mad. I didn't have a stereo in my mini for a while, I was perpetually irritated and short tempered. Just can't not have music. Can't do it. ...Am I alone with this?
    yes, the sound of the engine is enough

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by pimento
    And no stereo?! Are you mad?! You must be mad. I didn't have a stereo in my mini for a while, I was perpetually irritated and short tempered. Just can't not have music. Can't do it. ...Am I alone with this?

    That's because you don't have a BMW straight six, otherwise you'd find yourself with the stereo off al
    l the time.
    Last edited by McReis; 10-25-2004 at 07:10 AM.
    Money can't buy you friends, but you do get a better class of enemy.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by McReis
    Yes. I Suggest you learn what makes a car drift. Like an LSD perhaps. otherwise all those mods worth nothing.
    Not even a car with 400bhp can drift whithout an LSD.

    A 325 with a LSD doesn't need gravel or rain. It does it on tarmac.

    But I don't think you'd like to make your road car a drift car, because drifting will demand too much from it, causing too much costs for a car you need to be running all the time.

    Were you really serious, or just kidding with us?

    well my car actually does have a 3.73 LSD since is the "is" model. I know that the right chasis doesnt need much power to get sideways...thats why i want to concentrate on making the frame stiff and getting the suspension setup right. Ill admit that while i know what makes a car oversteer, i dont exactly know what make a car drift well.

    and yes i was quite serious; while i dont want something thats undriveable, i do want something that i can throw around when i feel like it...i know its gonna be hard to get that balance

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by pimento
    And no stereo?! Are you mad?! You must be mad. I didn't have a stereo in my mini for a while, I was perpetually irritated and short tempered. Just can't not have music. Can't do it. ...Am I alone with this?
    hah, well i have a CD player that i bought from a friend a few months ago, but i never got around to installing it ( it woulda cost me $150 to have a shop do it because i have the 'premium' stock system that would require everything to be re-wired) so im used to no music already

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteballz
    cool drifts, but uhhh on public roads?

    not really all that smart...
    well those dusty roads that you see were in areas where a bunch of new houses were being built, so there was no traffic

  11. #11
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    H&R coilovers. Wide tires. I'm thinking 16x9. Lots of camber. Have fun.
    [O o)O=\x/=O(o O]

    The things we do for girls who won't sleep with us.

    Patrick says:
    dads is too long so it wont fit
    so i took hers out
    and put mine in

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Quiggs
    H&R coilovers. Wide tires. I'm thinking 16x9. Lots of camber. Have fun.
    The wider the wheels, the less you drift.

    Leave the car it is. It drifts enough with that LSD.
    A few years from now you'll be thinking: "Why the hell have I done that to my car? And now I wish I had a perfect one and can't find them anymore..."
    Money can't buy you friends, but you do get a better class of enemy.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by McReis
    The wider the wheels, the less you drift.

    Leave the car it is. It drifts enough with that LSD.
    A few years from now you'll be thinking: "Why the hell have I done that to my car? And now I wish I had a perfect one and can't find them anymore..."
    perhaps...see the thing is that ive had this car only since the summer but i keep finding things wrong with it, so i figure that rather than sinking money into keeping it a 'nice' car, i might as well make it a stripped-down machine

    but i know what you're sayin

  14. #14
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    i found this chart...

    http://bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/da...087&Section=05

    Gereral setup for more oversteer:
    Front tire pressure: Higher
    Rear tire pressure: Lower
    Front tire section: Larger
    Rear tire section: Smaller
    Front wheel width: Wider
    Rear wheel width: Narrower
    Front wheel camber: More negative
    Rear wheel camber: More positive
    Front springs: Softer
    Rear springs: Stiffer
    Front sway bar: Thinner/softer
    Rear sway bar: Thicker/stiffer
    Weight distribution: More rearward
    Front aerodynamics: Less downforce
    Rear aerodynamics: More downforce

    now while some/most of those are good for a drift car, im sure that not all are...because i dont want to just have a tail-happy beast that cant be controlled

  15. #15
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    http://www.driftsession.com/index2.htm

    this site seeems helpfull
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