Fiat? When did I miss that one? And it runs 10.44? Wow! I've only see one do that on one of the old ones with the engine in the rear, but it had a VW motor in it.
Is this with the Fiat motor? Time to go burn some rice!

I would go with the 540i with the 6 speed. When my old man had his, I was very impressed by the power. Now he has a 740IL with that same motor and it seems to push that car real well also. You just cant go wrong with a BMW in my eyes.

The 1/4 time is a joke actually. Jason posted about it on here somewhere.

-Ben

Uglystick. perhaps i can provide some insight. I don't know the BMW build codes (ie e30, e36) but is it was the engine from the latest M3 (252kw/340hp engine) the answer is simple. the car CANNOT be wheel dyno'd. BMW has set up a system so that it is impossible to test the car's power output short of removing the engine and doing an engine dyno test that way. I'm not sure how the system works but i am fairly sure it is built into the DSC and you are unable to deactivate it. I think the way it works is that i senses when the wheels are spinning too freely and as you know dyno testing allows the wheels to spin with less restriction than normal driving or even peeling out so. when this happens the engine cuts all power i think. either that or it activates the brakes, I can't remeber. All i know is that there is a Team in Australia who are working overtime trying the eliminate it. the poor bastards bought the car ($150,000 AU or $118500US) and hoped to make it a drag car however the car is so powerful that the wheels spin so quick that this system kicks in and they can't run a time on it.

BMW M3 $150,000
Big budget modifactions $100,000
not beeingable to use the damn thing; priceless.

nope, it's an s50 i think, not the s51. this is an e36 engine. now i have to call the guy to figure out what he was explaining with the front wheel sensor/etc.

jason

Hey Ben,
Looks like like I took it hook line and sinker!

Mister2age,
The system can be deactivated, you hold the DSC button down for at least 3 seconds with the engine running at will cancel the DSC but not the ABS, which you dont need ABS for drag racing anyway. Worse comes to worse just disconnect the module.
Here in the states the cars are smogged on dyno's so the system hast to be able to be deactivated and they also wanted the driver to be able to do it for more "spirited" driving.
When the system see more wheel speed at the rear than the front is when it kicks in and begins to work, it is actually quite simple.
Have your friend try holding the button down for three or more seconds, it should definitly work.
The engine you have, if the latest, is a S54 rated at 333hp, what car have you put it in?

dang, after reading this, and lookin at some pics, im really liking the E30!!!!!! add that to my list of "rwd" cars to look into! hahaah

Those BMW's are on my fav car for the week list now haha :-p. what are some more motor specs on the E30?

2.5 liter six cylinder, can be stroked up to a 2.8l six i believe. rubber band timed (belt not chain), single overhead cam. two flavors of head/efi: one is a little more hp oriented (325i) the other is a little more torque (325e). bmw also made a 524td turbodiesel whose crank strokes the m20 baby six engine. if you buy a 325e engine, a 325i engine and get a 524td crank, you can build a frankenstein stroker motor with super high comp and oversized ports.

unfortunately it's still got the crank and cam strapped together with a rubber band. but they're good motors, just replace the rubber band as the factory reccomdends or clackity-clackity-interference-bent-valve-city.

the e30 also came with a few other shithead motors (both four bangers): a twin cam four valve S18 (i think?) engine (M3, high revving, good power but a frankenstined m20 is better, the m3 mill is a bitch, right ls4?). also had a four valve twin cam 1.8 liter later years motor that was good unless this one gasket got replaced. if it didn't, the engine was toast if it broke, which it was prone to doing.

personally i'm a 5er fan. 4 doors are better than 2 usually and the 5 series m30 engines are built strong like bull. early models came with a twin roller timing chain and everything.

jason

'87 E30, M20 motor and a stick shift, great combo! Also the two door ix's (all wheel drive) were a blast to drive. You could get a E30 and drop the big six in or go really exotic and drop in a M6 motor. The M20 2.5i produced about 184hp vs the 2.7e at 120hp.
If you are a real player I have a friend that would sell their '87 E30 M3 (S14-200hp 4cyl), first year with the one year only return of Henna Red paint, rare color. It only has 96,000 on it and well maintained.

"the e30 also came with a few other shithead motors (both four bangers): a twin cam four valve S18 (i think?) engine (M3, high revving, good power but a frankenstined m20 is better, the m3 mill is a bitch, right ls4?). also had a four valve twin cam 1.8 liter later years motor that was good unless this one gasket got replaced. if it didn't, the engine was toast if it broke, which it was prone to doing"

Wow Jason, your on it, care to change professions?
The M3 S-14 wasn't too bad, valve adjustment is a bitch since it uses shims but they dont wear too much, just makes it a pain for the do-it-yourselfer. The motors had a funny humm to them like a 320i, made the interior buzz at certain RPM's, but the fun factor made it all better. The later 1.8 ('91 on) had a rubber gasket that would blow out causing the coolant to leave very quickly, that gasket was improved and now we hardly see them, damn engineers!

yeah from what i've been told, if your engine has more than 20k on it and it still runs, your gasket either a) wasn't bad or b) didn't need to be replaced.

so was i way off on the explanation of e30 powerplants or decently on target?

we just got back from the machine shop taking a look at my dad's saab engine. it looks insane. the oversized valves are well....OVERSIZED. o ringed block, ross pistons, total seal rings, main cap girdles, a lot of other little mods. very cool.

also, my coupe is down to bare metal in the garage. we should start painting soon, then onto the structural work inside the chassis/etc. last but not least - engine.

should be fun. will share photos in a new thread tomorrow.

jason

We just had one in today, the rubber seal basically disintigrates for the cooling system were it seals against the head, the head gasket is actually a seperate piece.
Your descriptions were good, I've heard the same thing about the 2.5i with using the 2.7e crank and rods, it is supposed to be a nice combination.

so teh base model E30 cars were the 6 cylinder right? i gotta find a chart of all their car models with engines and options through those years.

And u say theres that rubber o ring problem with teh 91+ models? so what would i have to look out for in the E30 models? im a BMW Noob but im real intrested in Euro Tuning now .

and im just curious, how much would ur friends m3 sell for? from ur description im sure its way outa my range hehe.

the gasket/seal issue is on a 1.8 liter dohc non-///M engine that was in the latest model e30's. most e30's are a six cylinder, explained above.

the 5 series e28 is just as much fun and cheaper. plus far more stout valvetrain & timing setup.

jason