First Impressions

#1

Well, I’ve got a couple days in the car now and have noticed a few things that I’ll need advice on. I’m trying to take it slow as this point.

First thing is the water temp, tach, and fuel gauge are all acting crazy or not working. I have deduced that it might be the SI board. Should I just buy one of the $99 ones off Ebay, or could it be something else.

Second thing is the shifter. Completely worn out. It wobbles about 4-5 inches even when in gear. Is there a preferable replacement, or just buy new bushings.

The front shocks are gone. You about bust your teeth out when you hit a bump. I’m going to have this thing on the street/HPDE for while. Should I just go back with stock shocks (or a set somone is discarding?:wink: ) or go ahead with the HD Bilsteins? I didn’t know if they would be totaly unsuitable for street use. I am going ahead with the lowering springs.

I’m going to take Steve’s advice on the rest, change the fluids, plugs, and regular maintenance stuff and start driving it.

John

#2

Don’t buy stuff twice if you plan to track, you’ll kick yourself later when you want to head to another event or buy more brake pads. If you are planning on racing or tracking the car you might as well get the class legal stuff. HD shocks wouldn’t make sense in that case as the sports have the same valving and are legal for the class.

Shifter, Rebuild is a good option. I personally like the stock shifters just fine and run one happily. You can shorten the throw pretty cheaply on an E30 too with a Z3 lever.

I’d find a spare working cluster from somewhere and toss it in first and see if you have a cluster or sensor issue. If the tach is screwy and the other functions as well Si board is the best bet it’s super common.

#3

John Haynie wrote:

[quote]Second thing is the shifter. Completely worn out. It wobbles about 4-5 inches even when in gear. Is there a preferable replacement, or just buy new bushings.
John[/quote]
Agree with everything Rob said, and to add, on the shifter, we had a real sloppy shifter on my son’s car and upon disassembly, the transmission shift knuckle was mismatched with the shift rod. (Perpetrated by a P.O.) They made these parts in two different specifications. So, you can definitely buy a Z3 or other short-shift, but plan on doing some inspection as you disassemble the old linkage to make sure you know exactly what is causing the worst of your slop…You might find a few extra bits are required to set it right.

#4

Regarding the suspension, the SE30 suspension setup is easily streetable (Bilstein Sports, HR Race springs). Don’t let the HR "Race" name fool you… They are quite comfortable in fact. It’s no Silver Shadow, but it does fine downtown ATL over rough roads. Check the bushings all around too "while you’re in there." The rear subframe bushings… They might not even be there. Kinda like mine. Try to avoid overlapping labor… You may not care now, but you will later…

#5

John buy the Spec e30 stuff right from the jump. As the others have said it’s compliant enough to drive on the street with no problem and soft enough to drive the car to any event. Plus I will help you put all on.

#6

I’ll take you up on that Damion. You remember we only live about 4 miles from each other.

What do you guys think about the E30 kit from Carr Engineering. Has almost all suspension parts, and some other popular stuff for $2500. I’m always skeptical of "package deals". I feel like there is a bunch of cheap parts made in China to keep the total price down. On the surface it looks like the way to go.

#7

Carr is a good vendor. I’ve bought a few things from them. The struts and springs are, of course, German made. The two allowable sway bars are both quality items. The only open thing is the bushings. Anything the name-brand vendors like Carr are selling I wouldn’t be afraid of. Ebay mystery parts I wouldn’t go with (though those tow eyes are very tempting to try).