My S14 powered E30 320iS

[Jeroen]

Well for the front it's not just a hub conversion but requires changing struts, shocks, brakes and wheels if you want to retain 15". Can be done, but this kit fell in my lap at a fair price and is much less work as this bolts right on. Supposedly

Still, I need to see how this will work out, how this will work with the stock brake master and what it will do for brake balance. But that would be things to watch in case of any brake upgrades anyway.

More work I can think of, though. Felt the engine was running a bit rough last Sep so I want to do a compression test, and the original cams are showing wear after 200K km's (pitting) so these are up for replacement at some point as well. If the compression is fine I'll just exchange the cams (con rod bearings already done), but otherwise the engine may be up for some more work. To measure is to know more haha.

[uwbuurman]

Oh damn, a full overhaul is pretty time and money consuming. Hope you'll get it done with just the cams

[Jeroen]

Well an ///M engine that has been revving more than 200K km's, and perfectly on its original bearings, has already done an amazing job. Of course I hope it doesn't need major work, but I wouldn't be surprised if that time has come. Fingers crossed!

[gerrit323]

You can testdrive my brakes Jeroen .. I feel my current e30 has the best stopping power of all e30's I have driven before with that m3 conversion.

Curious about your measurements +/- 200k is known as the time to rebuild the engine but if the compression is still ok the conrod bearings are already done and its maintained properly during its life fitting new cams wil be ok for some more K

[Jeroen]

Any idea what brake setup your car has? Stock E30 M3 brakes are ok, better than stock E30 at least. The setup I bought now is said to be the best option if you want to stick to 15". I want to maintain some tire sidewall so I don't want to move to 16", otherwise there would be more options.

[gerrit323]

Stock m3 setup with steel braided lines .. with that setup you can still run 15inch but only 5 lug .. I think stopping power will be similar but like you said more work than the setup you will use

Tyre size with 16inch is 205/50/16 so not to low .. I guess you run 205/55/15

[Jeroen]

OK well the Porsche setup goes way beyond stock E30 M3 with its single piston. E21 Baur on Wilwoods already brakes better than E30 M3 (also on the decelleration tester). Worth a try even though I still need to see how good the stock brake master goes with this setup.

[gerrit323]

Ok .. then your baur brakes alot better than my previous hartge on that wilwood setup and e30 rear brake conversion .. it was way better than stock e21 but not even close to the 320is .. I have some experience with e30 and non off them came close .. maybe something extra is done to the "is" .. don't know what pads I am running at this moment and off course this brake setup (all new parts) is applied 5 years / 10K ago so everything is very fresh

Time for some more investigation ...

No doubt the 300mm porsche setup will be another impovement .. curious how easy this will fit .. and how the master cylinder copes

[Jeroen]

Time for more testing... after winter time!

[Jeroen]

Makes me curious though. Not sure on what pads the E30 M3 was we tested with a while ago, there could be a difference too of course. But the E21 really started to brake properly after moving to the Ferodo pads, the Wilwood pads were rubbish. After the change it also braked better than the E46 M3 that joined our brake test day a few years ago. Perhaps your E21 was still on Wilwood pads?

Stopping power on the E21 is wonderful, its just that it needs larger discs or some air ducts to keep the temperature under control when you're really pushing it. Another project for the future for me but ok this is the E30's topic.

[gerrit323]

I changed to the ferodo pads on the hartge after the first season of use because the wilwoods where rubbish like you said .. that improved stopping power but not like the 320is .. and I don't mean because of the heat .. the initial stopping power and bite was alot less ..

Sometimes it has to do with details I think .. my e36 318i with solid discs and drums braked better than my later e36 320i coupe with discs all around .. never found out why ..

Time will tell ..

[krijn98]

jeroen maybe you could use the hawk brake pads, the same ones they use in the DNRT E30 cup. They use them in combination with the stock rotors and stock calipers.
15.000 km with road purpose and about one / one-and-a-half race season. Maybe that is good enough for you?

Mvg, Krijn

[Jeroen]

No issues expected with this upgrade for the E30 so pretty much anything will go. Won't be much difference between Hawk and Ferodo and after decades of good experiences with Ferodo I might use those. Exchanging the Ferodo pads with Hawk (like HT-10) in stock setup won't make a difference.

[krijn98]

well in that case i haven't said anything.

Mvg, Krijn

[Jeroen]

Just found out the car is already with me for 15 years! Time flies!