Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[m42b32]

Finally all moved into the new garage and organized enough to be somewhat functional. Less space overall but the floor is level, the roof doesn't leak, and most importantly it's a lot cheaper. Finally turned my focus back to the car: I've been running Vogtland lowering springs and the rears were too soft and the front sat too high for my liking. Got my hands on a set of IE3's and started swapping them in over the weekend, rears are done and I should have the fronts in tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing the differences at the USAIR autocross next weekend

[B C]

When do the extra valves and cylinders start happening?

[m42b32]

Snap said:

When do the extra valves and cylinders start happening?

I'll start tearing things apart as soon as it gets put away for the year, probably in a few weeks. Its been too nice to take it off the road just yet! In the mean time I'm going to get started on cleaning things up so I don't have to do it later

[m42b32]

All the new springs are in! 

I'm not a huge fan of the springs being shorter than the fully extended length of the struts, but I figure as long as I don't drive like I'm in Dukes of Hazard it'll be fine. The front sits a little bit lower but it didn't come down enough to totally get rid of the reverse rake look, so I'm going to keep my eyes out for a set of stock spring camber plates that drop the car another 10-12mm. On the bright side, the ride is way stiffer so I'm really looking forward to testing these out this weekend!

I also got rid of the strut brace because it was rubbing on the intake pretty bad, it'll go back on once the m42 isn't in the way. It'll be interesting to see if the handling is affected at all, but it'll probably go unnoticed compared to the stiffer springs

[Jdesign]

m42b32 said:

The front sits a little bit lower but it didn't come down enough to totally get rid of the reverse rake look

You know... a larger engine would fix this 

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

You know... a larger engine would fix this 

This is true.... I'll probably wait till the new engine is in to do any camber plate swapping. The M54B30 should be minimally different with regards to total weight, but the CG should be farther forward over the axle so it may make the difference I'm looking for.

[Earl]

E90 drophats?

[B C]

The other thing about it is the rear wheel arches are cut lower on the late model e30, giving more of an illusion of reverse rake

[m42b32]

Earl said:

E90 drophats? 

I have a set of the steel aftermarket drop hats sitting on my shelf, unfortunately they don't fit with the fixed camber plates.

Snap said:

The other thing about it is the rear wheel arches are cut lower on the late model e30, giving more of an illusion of reverse rake

Yup, that's definitely part of it. I like the look of a little bit of rake (almost not visible, not looking for 70's muscle car...) on a late model since the rear arches are lower, so all it needs out of the front is another 10mm. I'm not trying to slam the car or anything, just get rid of most of the wheel gap at the front haha. It already handles really well, so if I can achieve that look without messing up anything else that would be ideal

[Jdesign]

I have the same issue with my arches. #foreverraked

[m42b32]

Had a blast over the weekend! Drove the car nearly 600 trouble-free miles for the wibimmers fall meet on Saturday and an FVSCC autocross at USAIR on Sunday. 

The car handled really well at the autocross despite slightly wet conditions, @straight6pwr got some great pictures (thanks Dan!):

Had a minor issue with my steering where it was getting really notchy and felt like it was binding up during slaloms and portions of the course that required fast steering inputs. Turns out I was way low on fluid, not sure where it went but Dan came to the rescue with some ATF, topping up the fluid solved the problem!

Also seen in the pictures: 

- Swapped back to the wheel stud conversion because I didn't trust the old lug bolts. They're 75mm bullet-nose studs so I can't run the RS center caps, but I'm starting to like the look without them. 

- Replaced the 'I' lip with the 'IS' lip I had sitting in the garage, looks way better. Maybe I'll paint it some day. 

- I made numbers/class letters for autocross out of magnetic sheet and some satin black vinyl. The slippery slope is real. 

- Not really seen, but I did some slight/careful rear quarter massaging with a dead-blow and finally eliminated the tire rub I was getting over big dips in the road. 

This past weekend was the end of my autocrossing season, so I'll just be driving the car to work a few more times and will be putting it away for the winter in the next week or so. Perfect timing too, the driver's front wheel bearing is sounding pretty awful after the last few runs on Sunday haha. Time to start the swap! 

General to-do list for this winter:

- M54B30 swap (And accompanying drive-train/exhaust upgrades)

- New wheel bearings all around

- Delete ABS pump completely by running new hard lines

- Install E32 750il brake master cylinder (larger bore to match larger calipers and reduce pedal travel)

- Oil temp, oil pressure, and water temp gauges in console

- E36 window switch upgrade

- Louder horns

[Earl]

m42b32 said:

- New wheel bearings all around

Just let me know when=)

[m42b32]

Earl said:

Just let me know when=)

Will do!

[Jdesign]

"Louder horns"

Priorities.

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

"Louder horns"

Priorities. 

Lol, it sounds like a stupid thing on the list, but I guess the car is small/low enough that people may not see me on the freeway, especially around the downtown area (maybe the color blends in with all the concrete?). I was run completely off the road by someone changing lanes into me yesterday, and I seem to have things like that happen significantly more often in this car than any other one I've owned or driven. I've got stock horns in there now and they really don't make much noise so it's possible people don't hear it....or they're just complete idiots, which is also possible.

[KaiserRolls]

This is the exact reason we have Brooke’s launch control set to cut spark @ 1° BTDC @4k rpm.

Ever stand next to a shotgun without ear protection? The concussion usually gets people to get their face out of their phone and poo in their seat

[patsbimmer1]

Don't drive in their blind spot?

[KaiserRolls]

patsbimmer1 said:

Don't drive in their blind spot?

Obviously

But

This isn’t always avoidable

I’m all for defensive driving (many years on a motorcycle) but it comes to a certain point when you need to remind a shitfuck that they are driving a 5,000lb death missile and have some form of responsibility to point it where it doesn’t run into someone.

That being said, shotgun blasts and big fireball is by far and away a better tool than a horn to keep these dipshits from running into you.

Is it a douche move? Probably.

But at least you’re not calling a towing company to come scoop your hopes and dreams up from the ditch because sally home maker merged without looking because she was pinning a new fucking casserole recipe.

[jc43089]

Speaking of terrible drivers I passed a giant crane, like the ones with 7 axles and the moron driving is playing on his phone and occasionally glancing up at the road.  How dumb can you possibly be???

[m42b32]

patsbimmer1 said:

Don't drive in their blind spot?

In that instance the guy was on the far right while I was in the far left, didn't look or signal and came flying across all 3 lanes in one move, not much I can do to avoid or predict a situation like that. Staying out of blind spots is nearly impossible in rush hour traffic headed in and out of downtown Milwaukee. 

I want a louder horn not to be annoying or scare people, just to ensure that they hear me when they're doing something stupid that could result in a collision. I'm not looking to blow out eardrums or make people shit their pants (even though they sometimes deserve it), I just want something that's guaranteed to be audible even to someone vlogging about their mcgriddle in a well sound-proofed/modern car. 

Think I can fit this behind the grille?