Project Chronicle

Nothing crazy to note here. Putting the car away for the winter in a week or so here - Whenever we get our first snow fall is usually the appropriate time. I also took an oil sample to send off to Black Stone Labs. Its a pretty cheap service, and I think it would be really cool to see what they say about my 272,000 mile engine. This was a great time to do it, because this oil was in the car all summer, and definitely saw some hard drives. Replaced the OEM Mann filter and added 4.5Qts of Valvoline 10W-40 Full Synthetic.

Really not that important, but I realized I did something backwards with my seasonal oil changes. Next time, I will keep the 10W-40 for my Spring time oil change, and then use the 5W-40 for my fall/winter oil change...Just helps a little with cold start oil flow. Cheers!

272,606 Miles at time of change 

Well, unfortunately my first maintenance log for the 2023 season comes on a negative note. Usually, changing your oil is a fun and therapeutic activity to engage in with your vehicle, and gives you a nice sense of pride when done. Sadly, when I went to change the oil after getting it out of storage, my drain bolt spun freely, and after fooling around with it a bit and not having any luck, I realized the reality of this situation would be replacing the oil pan unit all together. 

This is not a huge deal usually, but in my case, It was a little bit of a process. I was able to locally source a used but good condition oil pan for $100, and my local shop Revenant Motorsports (big shoutout to Jarrett!) was more than up to the task. Unfortunately he had to drop the lower cross member, and labor hours add up...Its definitely a bummer, especially considering up until this point (besides modifications) the car has not needed any unexpected maintenance items. 

All in all, here are the entries for this maintenance log:

- 5W-40 Mobil 1 Full Synthetic (European Car Formula) (5QRTS)

- W719/15 Mann Oil Filter (1x)

-OEM Replacement M20B25 Oil Pan (1x)

-Fresh Drain Bolt + Washer(1x)

Trying to keep the status on my 88iS mostly OEM+....I really like the factory 14" basketweave that came on the U.S. iS E30s, but sadly another thing the US market didn't get from BMW, the 15" 'Euroweave'. The European spec sport wheel/basketweave was superior to ours, and though its subtle only being 1" bigger...It also has a deeper lip, and its extra size allows a lot more tire options. 

Knowing this, I started the hunt and eventually found a very friendly fellow E30 Enthusiast from the UK. From him I purchased a freshly refinished/painted set of 15" Euroweaves. These really help fill in the wheel arches and give it a more aggressive look. 

For tires, I decided to go with the Continental Extreme Contact Sports in all four corners. Up from 195/55/R14 to 205/50/R15, the new tires really dialed the car in and reduced a lot of roll. The grip from the summer tire vs. All season compound truly makes it a completely different experience!

Now this last part may make me sound crazy, but I swear I have noticed the steering has gotten a little heavier due to the extra weight of bigger wheels...Trade off is worth it though!

P.S. 

Anyone have a lead on Euro caps? They are harder to find than the wheels! 

For me and most of us enthusiasts, hearing the car is an extremely obvious and exciting way to enhance the driving experience. But, like I said in my previous post, I want the car to remain relatively OEM+ without doing anything too crazy and obnoxious. After a lot of research and hours on YouTube finding sound clips, I decided to go with the Strömung E30 325i specific catback exhaust. I read some good things on the R3V forums, but quickly realized the posts were years old. I reached out to the company and the owner, Scott, was extremely receptive and personally interacted with me. Though they didn't currently produce them at the time I bought mine, he got the BPs and made one for me anyways. The quality is second to none, finished in a super nicely crafted polished stainless steel construction, resonated exhaust tips, and some of the better welds I have seen on an exhaust system.

Quite honestly, its not as loud as I wish it was, and sometimes I feel dumb spending the $ to make it just a little louder...But, it looks much better, and is probably the equivalent of a modern day factory optioned 'M Sport Exhaust'. Again, OEM+ was my goal!

This is my new pick-up, and first drivers car in four years. Feels so good to be back in a manual car with real driving characteristics. I will do another write up post to explain my story on how I picked this car up, and found it, but for now, let me just give you some basic information on her.

Its a 1988 BMW 325iS. If you are an E30 expert, you may be wondering why this 1988 has plastic bumpers. Technically, this is an early model, as the metal diving boards were swapped out in favor of 89-93 MY plastic bumpers by the previous owner. Okay, theres definitely a trade off we should talk about. I think plastics look better objectively, but the metal diving boards definitely add some character, and make the car look much, much older, and a little more vintage. Diving board bumpers SCREAM I am A Classic 80s Sports Car. 

This car is a 3-owner, I am the fourth, and spent its entire life in the dry, moisture free climate of Idaho. Luckily it has no accidents reported, and PO claims it was never resprayed. I dont see any run off, or paint inconsistency, so I do think its original paint. HOWEVER, (again, this is trivia for our expert BMW guys) it does have the front air dam painted in the wrong color. Early Model E30s (84-88) had a different shade of Alpine-Weiss compared to the 89-93 cars. The front air dam was resprayed Alpein-Weiss2, which doesnt look bad, but definitely a brighter shade of white. Not too big of a concern though.

Everything works - AC, Gauges, ODO, OBC, Power windows/sunroof, even the antenna motor still works, though she sounds very, very tired, and I cringe everytime I hear it struggle to come out of its shell. Oh well. 

 Alpine White Paint shows nicely, has its flaws, but still cleans up very well.

Cardinal Red Sport Interior, with matching door cards, carpets, seats, rear seats, etc. Drivers side does have a tear in the left bolster. I want to get it re-upholstered, but the entire interior color has faded so well over the last 34 years, its almost cranberry colored now. I dont want it to look out of place. I am 6'4" 210lbs, and when I get out of the car that left hand side bolster definitely takes a beating. Should I feel guilty about that? No, its my car. Do I feel guilty about that? Yes. Terribly guilty. 

The highlight of this E30 is its driving characteristics. Fresh set of OEM Bilsteins, and SLIGHTLY lowered on H&R Sport Springs. Sits perfectly. It also has a Z3 steering rack - So the entire range of steering angle is cut down by 30%. 4.0 Turns Lock To Lock Standard, Z3 Rack brings it down to 2.7 LTL. I recently drove a Shelby GT350 with Pilot Sport Cup Tires, and Magnetic Ride Suspension. This E30 has better turn in. Yes, better. Granted its 900lbs lighter. The car is so dialed, and it really is on absolute rails. Body roll shows its face, but not negatively, you just need to work with it. Once the steering is loaded up, this car is one very, very sticky piggy. Limiting factor is the tire. 

This car, though it has 260k on a working ODO, the transmission was swapped out with a low mileage refreshed unit, and the head was subsequently rebuilt under the previous owners care. I will say however, the trans can pop out of first gear when its cold. Could be a shift linkage that will cost a couple hundred bucks and an afternoon. Could be the engagement teeth that will cost a trip to the shop for a new tranny. Hoping its the former. 

This car was driven a couple times a month before my purchase. I hopped in it, and drove it home 2700 miles sitting at 80-85MPH at 3-3.5K RPMS. The car runs like a top. Fresh valve adjustment too, engine does not tick at all...I thought all M20s ticked. Guess my last one needed a tune up. 

Overall, excited for the future with this thing - It is sublime to be behind the wheel on a twisty backroad