E30 buying advice

Hi,

I'm thinking of jumping ship from my golf GTi back to the BMW fold.

My target cars are either a 1. E30 235 sport, 2. 325 touring or 3. 325SE

any advice on buying these?

anyone want a 1996 Golf Gti?

cheers

Hello.

Having just bought a 325i se, i can say that i am very very happy with it( having come from a series 1 rst)

my only problem with it is that it is very tail happy in the dry but very scary in the wet. ive found out that this is due to it not having a limited slip diff.

nevermind. ill add it to the list!

On the other hand. i do feel like im in a luxury car with all those electric goodies.

so..what would you prefere?...more grip?...more comforts..?

oh..forget the touring bmw!

Get an M3, you know you want one...

One's mother has an 325iSE and having driven I didn't find it a particularly sporting drive (definitely a nice car though), if it's fun you're after it has to be the sport or an M3 I'm afraid.

Limited Slipp Diff means limited slip ie between the two wheels, both wheels recieve the same power as oppose to a normal diff where the wheel with the least grip spins up. 

If you where to go round a roundabout with a normal diff and hit the power the inside(right hand) wheel would spin and the other wouldn't,

however in a  car with an LSD, both rear wheels would spin causing the back to go out a lot easier than a car with a standard diff would.

What i've been told by various rear-drive veterans is that the LSD is only put on sporty models ie 325i Sports, Sapphire Cossies, Corrola GT-Twincams etc. It is what is required to do proper donuts an go sideways in most conditions.

With a non-lsd car when that inside wheel starts spinning you cannot propel the car round the corner any faster. With an LSD equpped car the outside wheel still drives the car round the corner allowing faster cornering "on the ragged edge" it is a finer line between cornering fast and sliding with an lsd therefore it is suited to sporty drivers that can handle it.

Basicly adding a "Slipper"(LSD) will be a more nerve racking drive as the margin of error is smaller. A friend of mine has a 325i Sport (with LSD) and it is much more tail happy than my (non-lsd) 325i.

Ritch,

I have just bought a 325i Sport and can personally say that the rear end tends to step out more.  I have driven Jags and alike without the LSD and they have behaved differently.

All i can say is that this car deserves alot of respect, but go for the LSD and as you improve the more you can exploit it.

Only yesterday whilst applying some power from a pub car park, I exited in a cloud of smoke at a 45 degree angle, cant do that in the golf!

But i do agree that a day on the skid pan would be benificial to the likes of me or anyone else getting to know their new car (on the limit).

Does anybody know of any airfield days coming up local to the midlands area? 

A limited slip diff reduces the occurances of "nuisance" power slides. However its real advantage is that it makes the resultant oversteer much more progressive and controllable - as such it can be the most important upgrade on an E30.

What many people also to do mention is that recovery is also easier. Due to the progressiveness, the chance of overcorrecting and fishtailing is reduced.

It is much, much safer as it takes a lot more power to break traction so it is less likely to step out - but when it does you can very easily control the extent of the slide with your right foot. With an open diff, breakaway is effected by traction at just one wheel - with the factors of bumps, suspension stiffness, roll angles, etc., playing havoc with the predictability of when it breaks way.

I have done this change over the summer on my 318is and would recommend it to anyone.

not managed to get the back end of my 325iS out yet (had it 4 weeks) but expect with the winter nights drawing in and all....

Anyone know of skid pad courses in the Manchester area?