Are there any old school tuners on here?

e21 guy

New member
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61
Location
Ashford, Kent
Car
BMW e21 323i
I am starting a project and I need some help finding local or long distance suppliers of tunning parts for early bms. My car is the e21 323i. I am looking for brake upgrades, light weight flyweel, light weight prop shaft, and anybody who has a reliable machine shop for balancing and port enlarging as well as some mods of my own design. I would make my own parts but who has the money for the machinery? Anybody with old school knowledge of any kind would be welcome for a chat. I have alot to give and alot to learn.
 
Hi and a warm welcome to TorqueCars. Thats what we are all about - sharing the knowledge. Where abouts are you from?

We looked into carbon fibre prob shafts but they are pretty expensive so I think some of our Drag Racers went with aluminium instead.
 
Hi ya. I am from a little town called Albion in the great state of Maine. These days I am in Kent, England. I agree that aluminum would be the way to go for both the drive shaft and the fly wheel, however, the big problem is finding them. Thats why I'm here. It seems to me I will be looking for people (in any country) that have the tooling to make them. That is, of course, unless sombody knows a company that makes tuning parts for e21's.
 
Have a look at the weight reduction thread in drag racing, im sure some companies were mentioned in there not so long ago. Or send a PM to Old-Git or MrB and see if they can point you in the right direction.

You're just up the road from me then? I'm from Sunny Deal!
 
Old git might know someone

Thanks, Paul :)

BMWs are not really my scene, however, have a look at:

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/search_car/product.mhtml?car=bmw3e21

http://www.shopwiki.co.uk/search/BMW_E21_Spoilers?loose=t

http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk/search.asp

Be carful with regard to alloy flywheels. Your car isn't exactly a lightweight, so fitting too light a flywheel could make the car difficult to get off the line. The engine would be more responsive when not under heavy load but the reduction in stored energy could make the car a pain to drive. Lighter isn't always better. Take advice from tuners who have done this mod before going ahead.

I looked into carbon fibre propshafts and was quoted over £2k for one only 600mm long! I'm going with aluminium :)

Waynne must know of lots of good machine shops in your area :)

Good luck with the project.
 
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cheers for the advice. I see what your saying. I am doing some other mods as well that might just compensate for the lost kinetic energy. I am starting with opening up the cylinders and installing 10.5:1 forged pistons that should put it up to 2.8 liters and I am hoping to push that further by changing the crank out for the 320 deisel and if I have done the math right should bring me upto 3.0. The only known prob at this point is topping out. I will cure that with shaving the piston cups for more clearence and then having the whole lot ballanced. Do you still think that a lighter fly wheel would be a bad idea? As you say I have a weight problem to start with so all the weight I can shave off should help in my thinking.
 
WOW! Thanks steve those were some great sites. Very interested in the 10 pot brake conversion but 1500 is a bit steep. I am experimenting with the brakes off a vw or audi to see if I can find a match that will let me choose from some cheeper options.
 
another thought....I was going for triple webbers but what about triple throttle bodies? has anybody done that?

Triple Webers would look and sound great but can be a bitch to keep balanced.

Most flywheels can be lightened as manufacturers err on the heavy side in order to help normal drivers and to help keep the engine running smoothly even when neglected. The degree of lightening depends on the proposed use, the suitability of the existing flywheel to take lightening safely, your acceptance of a lumpy and uneven tickover, trickier standing starts and how much you want to spend.

On my Elan, I am still undecided on which way to go. My guru wants me to fit the heavier Cosworth 4x4 flywheel so that there is very little chance of stalling on the line. I am not so sure that this is necessary as the car will weigh less than 650Kg and have at least 520bhp.

10 pot stoppers seem a tad OTT and expensive. Have a chat with Jeff at HiSpec (based in Dartford):

www.hispecmotorsport.co.uk

01322 286850

When decking pistons, make sure there is enough meat left otherwise there is a risk of crown collapse, especially with increased CR.

If using a longer throw crank, check that the rods don't foul the bottom of the bores and the crank clears any sump baffles, pickups and that the reciprocating parts don't splash into the sump oil, etc.

Larger capacities don't always result in a better engine. Once you start to alter throw/rod and bore/stroke ratios all sorts of issues raise their heads. Torque and BHP curves can change dramtically and not always for the better. For example, a small change in the throw/rod radio can dramatically alter an engine's response to throttle imput. However, I know diddly squat about BMW engine charateristics so I suggest that you do a lot of research prior to splashing the cash.
unds like an interesting project. Keep us informed.
 
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You might try Griffin Motorsport in Swindon,

If they are still around.
The guy to talk to is David Illes. he did a lot of good work for me when I was a BMW owner.

For brake up-grades it's easier to get the 5-series brakes to fit I believe. just like the BMW factory did with the E30 M3's.
 
you should try giving Fritz's Bits a call, they worked on my E30 325 and also done the engine transplant on my brothers BMW 1602 (318is transplant) there website is:-
http://www.fritzsbits.co.uk/
they seriously know there stuff and only work on old skool beemers, last time i was there they had a E21 Alpina C2.7 which they had supercharged and was pushing 300+ BHP!
 
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