'94 530iT Project

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by Shipman

Damn.

I have to tell myself every day that I won't give up on her. It'll be worth it....I think.

I did snag this to make life a bit easier.

[Spawne32]

commendable job on the rust repair my friend, id be very concerned about as to why its rusting in those locations though, thats not your typical road salt rust spots IMO. Ive never seen the spring seat on a frame rust away that badly before.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by Spawne32

commendable job on the rust repair my friend, id be very concerned about as to why its rusting in those locations though, thats not your typical road salt rust spots IMO. Ive never seen the spring seat on a frame rust away that badly before.

I had the same thoughts, especially considering how much worse the passenger side is from the drivers side. I think there was a rust hole up top that opened up (and was never taken care of) and salt worked its way down, slowly taking all of it out. I have about four more holes that I'll be patching up (on the same side), and I hope that takes care of it.

I checked all of the window seals, weatherstripping, etc, and they all seem to be keeping water out just fine.

BMW also thought it would be a great idea to route the sunroof vents down to the floor pan and it takes out the front floor section on a ton of E30s.

[blue91lx]

I bought cool stuff today!

[blue91lx]

A little update/request for you fellers.

Coilovers are here. Picked up a Ground Control set (IX specific) of adjuster plates with the front strut housings already welded (pictured above). Got my rear adjustable Konis and GC upper strut mounts, too. Springs will be 500F/700R, but I still have to order them.

Basically when dropping the IX in the front, due to the fact that it has very little suspension travel to begin with, you need to shorten the strut housings to retain proper suspension travel when going low. When shortening the strut housings, you need to (obviously) shorten the strut as well. With Koni being the only company to make a sport strut for the IX, it really limits your strut options. However, I found a set of front race struts from Koni that will work and are exactly 2" shorter, which is the exact amount I need to shorten the housings. With the valving still being conducive to the springs I'm running, they seem like a perfect fit. P/N is 8610-1436race and the specs are here: http://www.koniracing.com/8611.cfm for anyone reading this.

Now, the issue is wheels. The IX track width seems to be about 8mm wider than that of a 325i. My ideal wheel size is 16x8, with an ideal offset being in the +30 range, but there doesn't seem to be anything of the sort. So, the plan for now is to run a 16x8 +25. By my estimations, this should put me flush with the flare, so if I trim the flare underneath and roll the fenders it should line up alright, but there's literally 0 people on the interwebz that have tried this and shared it. I'm thinking silver w/polished lip, with my second option being bronze. A dark bronze can look REALLY good against a nice cady-ish red, but I'm nervous to try it out, since it's pretty universally known that silver w/polished lip looks like tits on a Zinno E30.

Silver:



Bronze:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuykendall/5418826693/


A meaty tire would be ideal, but I can't seem to come up with what 'the right' size will be. First thought is a 245/45R16, but I would like to squeeze a little more width on the 16x8 if possible while still keeping my sidewall somewhat low. The final drop won't be crazy because of my AWD-ness, so the idea is to have a phat tire fill the remaining gap.

I welcome any thoughts you may have on any of this jumble.



In other news, I'm slowly working on rust repair, and just sent my fender flares, side skirts, and bumpers off for paint, and scored a Thule roof rack fo' free!

[yellow2000S/R]

Meaty tire = running a higher offset otherwise you're tires are going to eat the fenders.

My brother just got some 16x8 +25 from eBay. MRR FF3. He got them as pictured below. They come in silver, white, or black face. When he ordered his they accidentally sent him 2 that were black centers with gunmetal lips instead of as pictured below. They come in +25 and +20




Fronts, no spacers

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...psc534a2e9.jpg


Rears, 12mm spacer

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...psc150f2c7.jpg

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by yellow2000S/R

Meaty tire = running a higher offset otherwise you're tires are going to eat the fenders.

My brother just got some 16x8 +25 from eBay. MRR FF3. He got them as pictured below. They come in silver, white, or black face. When he ordered his they accidentally sent him 2 that were black centers with gunmetal lips instead of as pictured below. They come in +25 and +20




Fronts, no spacers

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...psc534a2e9.jpg


Rears, 12mm spacer

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...psc150f2c7.jpg

Oh, I know. That's why the low offset was an issue for me, especially on the IX. They don't make anything in higher offsets than +25 on a 16x8.

Good look on the +25s! I couldn't find any until I just ebay'd them.

What tire is your brother running?

[yellow2000S/R]

Build thread: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=180373

205/50/16 Falken FK512 front tires
205/50/16 Nitto NT NeoGen VR rear tires

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by yellow2000S/R

Build thread: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=180373

205/50/16 Falken FK512 front tires
205/50/16 Nitto NT NeoGen VR rear tires

Thanks. Just checked it out, it looks good!

[mcperson2k]

Looks good! How reliable are these older ix's? vs the RWD?

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by mcperson2k

Looks good! How reliable are these older ix's? vs the RWD?

Thanks, man.

They're pretty reliable for what it's worth. Both the i an the iX have the 2.5L M20, which last forever. Both cars, however, use a similar version of an HP22 trans (auto), and they like to wear down the metal seals on the input shaft and leak into the first sets of clutches, wiping out everything but reverse.

The MTs are pretty stout though, as well as the transfer cases. The viscous coupling in the tcases wear over time, but you will only slowly lose the AWD-ness, they don't blow up or anything. Diffs and axles are pretty stout, but when you're low, it's a must to keep an eye on the CV boots. Front diff is really tiny, so it's definitely a weak point if you turbo the car.

Overall, they're awesome cars. You see i's everywhere, so it's a nice twist to have an iX, despite the fact that modification is a bit more difficult with less parts choices, etc.

[slow_euro]

eye nvr seent anyting lyke dem bak spingz b4 gud werk fixn dem

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by slow_euro

eye nvr seent anyting lyke dem bak spingz b4 gud werk fixn dem

yea bro i juss fit summ audi custom purches in da back and hit it wit da tig n welded sum **** the whole car be like an audi now rockin two JZs

[blue91lx]

Fellow TSTers, I am in need of some help in diagnostics.

Preface:

I have been experiencing some odd wiring issues since I purchased the car. The radio and tachometer will only work with the lights on. I figured this is just something with the way the power was wired in, but never looked into it.

The problem:

I was driving home the other night, and the radio started to blink like crazy, and eventually shut off and wouldn't power back on. In making the next right turn, I noticed my turn signals blinking ridiculously fast (not burnt out bulb fast). Following that, the lights began to dim, etc, so naturally I tested to see if the car was charging, and it was not. I replaced the alternator only to find out that the car was still not charging afterwords.

I then found out about the 'battery warning bulb' going out, and how if that happens, the charging circuit is not complete, and thus will not allow the alternator to do its job. I proceeded to pull the cluster and test the bulb; it wasn't bad.

Now, I'm stumped. New alternator (tested good), good battery light, car won't charge.

Radio/tach is back to normal after I put the battery on the charger, as in it only works with the lights.

One thing I noticed was that the car was missing a low-beam light in the cluster, and I'm wondering if that could have something to do with the odd 'lights on radio/tach on' deal.

However, I'm more concerned at the moment about why the car won't charge, and quite frankly, I'm out of ideas.

Thanks in advanced.

[blue91lx]

Got the aforementioned issue figured out. The new alternator wouldn't ground properly on the brackets like the OEM piece. Thus not completing the circuit, leaving the battery light off and the car not charging. Jumper ground wire fixed all of my issues.


I got some work done today!

SSSquid Chip
-Stage 2 (Bimmerheads Cam coming shortly)
-93 Octane
-17lb Injectors (M50)

I can't give enough thanks to Jesse (SSSquid). Great guy, super easy to work with, with an incredible product to boot. The startup/first drive was on 87 octane, as that's what I had in my tank at the time, and even with the 87 in there the chip made the car feel so much more responsive and run far smoother than it ever did. I have high hopes for when the cam comes in.

Parts:




These things were disgusting:

[blue91lx]

I'm reconsidering the lowering in exchange for a lift kit and steel bumpers.

Why, you may ask?

[Shipman]

??????

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by Shipman

??????

I had a run-in with a ditch that wasn't too friendly. Below freezing temps + sleet + shiesty turn + new chip that threw me into lightspeed + summer tires = bad combination.

[Shipman]

Damn dude that sucks

[Got Insulin?]

Needs more 4G63....


Cool project though, and decent resto candidate, too. Don't see many of the AWDs running around.


Bronze wheels on the Red/ thread.