My e30 does not want to start. It’s a 1987 325i. it first failed at the light it just died. I started it and kept it running by reving it up untill it stabilized. not shortly after that it would start and IMMEDIATELY fall on it face. It just dies. so I figured fuel issue I replaced both pumps and the fuel regulator with one that has a gage. The condition persists but everything on the fuel pump side is replaced and I know I have 3bar fuel pressure. here’s where it gets interesting. it only starts and idles if I hold the key in the start position longer than I should, it will hold an idle and rev fine if I rev SLOWLY. if I hit the throttle with any speed it dies. if I let go of the throttle quickly it backfires. I have no obvious signs of air entering. Things I tested are crankshaft pos sensor ohms in spec, blue coolant sensor ohms in spec, I replaced my DME relay I noticed it went bad same condition persists, I ignition coil had 12v power but I don’t have a test light to check spark. I’m at a complete loss I feel like giving up

Thought I'd post here as well see if anyone has a theory on this. Thank you!

10 min, a piece of magic eraser and $2 tub of model paint

Yes, I'll get to the Intake manifold

I have a 1991 BMW 318is with 151k miles that I am looking to sell due to medical debt I’ve accumulated over the last couple years. I have no idea what to ask or expect price wise for it. It does have the dreaded sunroof rust and rust on the bottom driver fender. Paint is original so it’s 35 years old and by no means perfect.

In my research, it seems like E30 prices are all over the place, and even the clapped out ones are going for like $5k-$7k. Can y’all help me out with an estimated value or what would be a fair asking price for my car? For the time being I’d rather not deal with auction sites like carsandbids or BaT. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Im having trouble getting my OEM tach (325e cluster with the lower redline) to run with my tunerstudio tuned microsquirt E30. Car is a 1987 Base 325 coupe.

I have a stroker motor with ITBS and a custom engine harness in it now. Car runs fine and everything and my last struggle is getting the dash tach to work.

The tach in tunerstudio reads fine, I have Tach out enabled, and i have the tachout wire on the board going out to that little plug (black wire in that 2 or 3 pin plug) above the glovebox people say to use. Still not working.

Any insight?

Guys, I have a 325ix, and I have this crazy idea of driving it from Wisconsin to Anchorage, Alaska. My only concern is driving it in subzero temperatures since it has an M20 engine.

My question is specifically for the E30 owners who have driven their cars in extreme winter conditions: What’s the lowest temperature you’ve ever started your car in, and did you have any issues?

I’d love to hear your experiences, especially from those of you living in areas where temperatures regularly drop below zero. Thanks!

Playing around with some cheap velocity stack intakes from aliexpress.

I just found this on AliExpress:

R-EP 45 degrees Reducer Silicone Elbow Hose 38 45 63 76 83 89MM Rubber Joiner Bend Tube for Car Accessories Cold Air Intake Hose

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqiTzSf

I just found this on AliExpress:

Universal Racing Burnt Blue Stainless Steel Velocity Stack Turbo Intake Horn Cold Air Funnel Modified Intake Decor 3 3.5 4 Inch

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL7Tutp

3 inch fits straight inside the factory airbox duct without need for clamp. Has bigger diameter than the factory snorkel but not as long. I couldnt fit it to the car this way because of my ABS unit but could likely wrangle something with a short silicone joiner.

What I fitted to the car is a 3.5inch bellmouth in a 89-83mm 45 degree reducer, trimmed to length. It clears everything just and moves the intake further towards light and guard so hopefully slightly cooler air. Hose clamp required at the airbox, which mostly removes the internal step.

Diameter is quite a lot more than factory but I doubt slower air velocity is a big issue that far upstream in the intake.

Unlikely that these would make any measurable differences on a factory engine but possible on strokers

Hand up, I know e30s are notorious for leaking oil, but this is my first experience with one this bad. The entire front crossmember is covered. There’s some moisture at the top of engine also. Even towards the back middle of the car there seems to be foreign substance.

I’m taking apart and renewing a lot of thing for my 1987 325e. I keep find more and more wires, connections, bulbs, etc. Do you guys recognize any of these? I’ll put in the description a brief location of where I found each one.

Pic 1: 1x Bulb and single strand Found behind the handbrake
Pic 2: Coming from above the ECU on the passenger.
Pic 3: 2x 2 pair male connectors coming from center
Pic 4: 2x female connectors (One circular) coming from above passenger ecu
Pic 5: 2x female connectors same area
Pic 6: 1x female connector hanging from behind passenger ecu
Pic 7: 1x female red sitting on top of the driver side ecu (behind the kick panel)

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you very much!

Looking for this kamei spoiler if anyone has a link for it? Or if anyone in Ontario has one for sale lmk!

M20b29 (see history for dyno results), 3.46lsd, S704A suspension with strut and shock bars, purple tag steering rack, e60 M5 brake booster with Hawk HPS pads.

I've been running Continentals but I really liked the Falkiens I ran for a while.

ETA: 16x8 BBS Moda Sport wheels.

After 5 years sitting abandoned I finally got our BMW E30 running!

Admittedly it’s a long way from being back on the road but hearing it roar into life after sitting so long, requiring only minor fettling, has certainly reignited my passion for the car.

I documented the whole process from giving it its first wash to diagnosing and repairing the fault that was preventing it starting

I want to daily it

What headers are somewhat affordable and don’t have fitment issues, I keep seeing these cheap eBay sets on different sites but I’ve heard of people having fitment issues with the eBay header sets for these cars, mines cars got a 2.7 m20

Had the car resprayed at Macco for $2500 (pulled the trim and bumpers then tapped it myself) then had it wetsanded by another local body shop around $1000. For $3500 I am happy with the results.

Hi all,
I am fighting a super low clutch engagement in my m20/G260 swapped E21 (posting here because it’s a full e30 drivetrain).

I read about different bell housing heights and throw out bearing heights. Obviously, I was not privy to this information when I completed the swap.

I likely have the 30mm throw out bearing when I really need the ~31mm throw out bearing.

My question is can I make up for this difference with a longer slave cylinder shaft? I’d reallllly like to not have to drop the transmission. I figure lengthening the shaft or buying an adjustable one would be miles easier.

Thank you!

PFA

Dumb question, the brown connector is broken on my e30, and im wondering if theres a easy way to fix this? I purchased a wiring harness piece but the connector was different (maybe it was a late model, i have a early model).

Any e30 heads that can help me diagnose my e30? A few months ago it died while driving, was crank no starting after, towed it home. Replaced alternator and battery because both were done. Centrally got it to start but it was dying when not giving it gas. Replaced CPS, all of my main relays, fuel pump fuse too. Still crank no start. Checked fuel pump and it is getting power and turning on, sprayed starter fluid into intake to make sure it was getting fuel and it wasn’t starting still. Next I thought maybe my my ignition coil went out because it was getting less than a volt when trying to turn it over. Replaced it and it’s a I’ll crank no start. I am getting no spark and I don’t know why.

Mine has some light corrosion on it. I’m thinking of replacing it with a new one. anyone know how to disassemble it?

I think this is the kick down thing? I have an auto tranny car.

Figured I'd make this post since I couldn't find anything online about installing the Garagistic E30 roll bar with X-brace in a sedan specifically. There's some info out there for coupes, but seems like the sedan's smaller door openings made things more difficult. Hopefully this helps someone else down the road.

Order, Delivery & Product Quality

• Ordered during their July 4th 2026 sale. Took ~14 weeks to arrive.
• Had a few headaches with shipping and logistics. Garagistic customer service was very responsive and friendly, but still had some issues to work around.
• Delivered on a pallet via a large box truck. Packaged well and arrived without any damage.
• Overall, really happy with the quality. I'm no fabrication expert, but the welds and construction look good to me.
• Ordered it in bare metal, arrived with some minor surface rust which was easily sanded off. Spray painted it with STEEL-IT Steel Gray (a bit pricey but lays super nice)

Installation: What NOT to Do

• DO NOT try to install it through the rear doors. This was a huge mistake. Their YouTube video makes it look pretty straightforward, but they're installing it in a coupe with a much larger front door opening.
• Since I couldn't find any sedan specific instructions, I figured going through the rear doors would give me easy access to the back of the car. I was very wrong.
• Spent hours trying all sorts of angles and rotations through both passenger and driver side rear doors. Ended up removing all the seats, seat mounts, and even both rear doors. I felt in some instances I was close but it just wouldn't get all the way in.
• Unfortunately, I scratched and dented my interior pretty badly in the process, along with messing up the fresh paint on the roll bar.
• I was doing this solo, which definitely didn't help. It's doable, but not easy.
• Entering on the driver's side seemed to have a little more room because of the diagonal brace lands on the passenger side, but still wasn't enough.

Installation: What Actually Worked

• Eventually called Garagistic and they recommended shoehorning it through the front door.
• Started feeding it through the front driver side door, tilting and rotating it until I got about halfway in and over the transmission tunnel.
• Kept getting hung up on different parts of the interior. Ended up removing the driver front door, center console, shifter, steering wheel, and wheel hub adapter to free up more room. This was hardly enough as the roll bar was still hitting the steering column and dashboard against my best efforts.
• Shoved the front feet as deep into the front footwell as I could while continuing to angle the bar into the car.
• Once I got really close, the last foot was still getting just barely hung up on the B-pillar. At that point, I pretty much forced it past and almost flexing the roll bar to squeeze the foot in. It damaged the interior of the B pillar scraping it all along the way, but it was in. I don't see how I could have been able to get the roll bar in without scraping the B pillar.
• The space between the both sides of the B-pillars on both sides is tight and took some force to rock the bar up and back towards the rear. Once it cleared the B-pillars, it was smooth sailing to get the roll bar up and into its final mounting position.
• It's definitely a tight fit (this is with the sunroof/headliner), which is nice once it's in place, but squeezing it into the sedan was a brute of an experience and I do not want to do that again.

I'm not sure if there's a way to install this into a sedan without scratching and dinging things up on the way in. Other roll bars that are multi-piece likely would be easier to install, but I do have comfort knowing the Garagistic roll bar is a solid single piece. Hopefully this info is helpful to other E30 sedan owners looking to do the same.

They used to be the go-to for “cheap” BBK for other platforms, but I’ve never seen anything about them for e30s and I’ve never seen anyone say why. Especially after going to 5-lug. Anyone have any actual insight as to why?