Best e30 forum?

That's pretty much it, what's the best BMW e30 forum for general repair and autocross/track day-oriented modification?

Thanks,

Joe

This one

aussiesmg wrote: This one

Agreed. The signal to noise ratio on r3vlimited and e30tech is terrible. I credit time spent on r3vlimited as the reason I sold my E30

yup, pretty much!

I concur.

As do I.

GRM>E30tech>R3vlimited

yep.

After all, E30 comprises 1/3 of the GRM trinity. I think that puts us up there with the best of them.

We also have the largest knowledge-base on random image hotlinking.

ditchdigger wrote: Agreed. The signal to noise ratio on r3vlimited and e30tech is terrible. I credit time spent on r3vlimited as the reason I sold my E30

QFT.

Entertaining forum, but nearly useless for technical information. E30tech is only marginally better. Of course, according to r3v members, it's the best forum EVAR!

Honestly, since buying my car I'm amazed at the lack of online support for these cars. You can practically rebuild a MINI or VW TDI from info available online. The E30 is practically a black-hole for useful information.

ditchdigger wrote: Agreed. The signal to noise ratio on r3vlimited and e30tech is terrible. I credit time spent on r3vlimited as the reason I sold my E30

I think probetalk is one of the reasons I sold my 96' GT. One can only stomach so much stupid nonsense. LS1Tech has a lot of singlemindedness but I just use it for the classifieds now.

Spec E30 forum has useful tech depending on what you're after. I also browse Bimmerforums (the racing forum being superior to the childish E30 forum).

And to those of you who said you sold your car because of a forum? That's just laughable to the point of being sad. Who cares if there are some 'tards on a particular forum? Do like most other adults do, ignore them.

Ian F wrote: The E30 is practically a black-hole for useful information.

I would think the ONLY reason someone could say that is because they are illiterate.

There are multliple companies that support plug-and-play swap parts. Numerous suppliers for new and aftermarket parts, HUGE aftermarket for performance parts considering they youngest are 20 years old.

There are DIYs for everything from changing a timing chain tensioner, how to drop a rear subframe, process for swapping M/S5x engines, budget brake upgrades, 5 lug swaps, etc.

There is a TON of information available on these cars. R3V has always been the M/S5x (I found complete parts shopping lists and all other info on that site, but you do have to use the search function before you ask something easy) info place and E30Tech is the turbo forum.

Nitroracer wrote:

ditchdigger wrote: Agreed. The signal to noise ratio on r3vlimited and e30tech is terrible. I credit time spent on r3vlimited as the reason I sold my E30

I think probetalk is one of the reasons I sold my 96' GT. One can only stomach so much stupid nonsense. LS1Tech has a lot of singlemindedness but I just use it for the classifieds now.

LOL ProbeTalk cracks me up. It's the classic example of a few (count them on one hand) knowing their E36 M3, and are happy to help, followed by the other 98% of active members being complete mouthbreathers.

I find MX6.com much easier to stomach, and luckily, it's the same exact car.

ProbeTalk vs. MX6.com, FEOA vs. ClubProtege, CelicaTech vs. Celispeed. (A wash in that last example, i wouldn't touch either with a 10 foot pole)

r3v is only good for a laugh, I like going to the politics forum - it makes me feel better about not being stupid. I'm actually fairly fond of e30tech. Maybe it's because I never tried to mingle but every time I tried posting a technical question, I got no static and got good information. I think it's the place to go for E30 DIY, turbocharging and standalone info (stock or 24v swapped). For track info, you're probably better off on a track forum, like specE30 or just any scca/nasa forum.

R3vlimited.com has been a huge source for my build. Spend 10 minutes with the "Advanced Search" feature before asking questions. You'll learn more than you ever wanted and noone will hassle you. There is a wealth of knowledge there.

You can sometimes find a nugget of that kind of information on bimmerforums.com in their E30 section, but most of it is for general maintenance, etc.

z31maniac wrote: And to those of you who said you sold your car because of a forum? That's just laughable to the point of being sad. Who cares if there are some 'tards on a particular forum? Do like most other adults do, ignore them.

No... most of it has to do with the fact that I just don't like the car very much... but sometimes I can get past that if the people around the car are fun to hang out with. For me, the MINI is like that. I enjoy having a MINI more so than I enjoy driving it - just because the groups are fun.

I know you like r3v... but at the same time, you also like to be one of the e-bullies there... so forgive me if I take your comments with a grain of salt...

And my god - never post a question on r3v without searching first... screw it... just never post there period... if the search function doesn't turn up what I'm looking for, I forge ahead anyway.

And compared to the other cars I'm used to, useful info about the E30 sucks. I'll stand by that.

I'll reitterate, it's a fun site to visit, not so much to participate on.

bimmerforums is one of the better forums that has been around for ages

going to one of the many bmw-come-lately forums is usually a waste of time since the brain trust is on the old forums

I change my decorum to match the settings. E30Tech is full of people who make the internetz srs bdnz.

People get hammered on R3V for asking questions like, "Can you swap to 5 lug?" "What does it take to swap in an M50" and other stuff that has been answered numerous times.

There are HUNDREDS of "How do I swap M50" threads, when if you just read the FAQ, all the info is right there.

I'll check out bimmerforums, one reason I ask is because there is a really quantity/quality gap on a lot of forums. It's easy to see if there are lots of FAQ's and DIY threads, but hard to tell if they are accurate and complete for an unfamiliar car.

Why I asked: I'm looking at adding the E30 to my ongoing AW11 MR2 / NA Miata search. I'm looking for a three season DD / AutoX car to compliment my '89 4Runner, but I'm going back to school so I don't have a large budget or a lot of time for repairs. The fuel mileage and revvy nature of the M42 318i appeal to me, but this profile gasket thing sounds like a pain. Thoughts?

ShadowSix wrote: Thoughts?

I bought my E30 as a w/e fun and auto-x toy. I should have bought a Miata... especially if the goal is fun/$ with minimal effort.

z31maniac wrote: I change my decorum to match the settings. E30Tech is full of people who make the internetz srs bdnz. People get hammered on R3V for asking questions like, "Can you swap to 5 lug?" "What does it take to swap in an M50" and other stuff that has been answered numerous times. There are HUNDREDS of "How do I swap M50" threads, when if you just read the FAQ, all the info is right there.

This.

R3V actually has fairly good information, you just have to ask a real question. They hate it if you don't search.

^Yep, I see no problem with not hand-holding people who are too lazy to do the easiest and most basic "research" to do a swap, if you can even call it research.

ShadowSix wrote: I'll check out bimmerforums, one reason I ask is because there is a really quantity/quality gap on a lot of forums. It's easy to see if there are lots of FAQ's and DIY threads, but hard to tell if they are accurate and complete for an unfamiliar car. Why I asked: I'm looking at adding the E30 to my ongoing AW11 MR2 / NA Miata search. I'm looking for a three season DD / AutoX car to compliment my '89 4Runner, but I'm going back to school so I don't have a large budget or a lot of time for repairs. The fuel mileage and revvy nature of the M42 318i appeal to me, but this profile gasket thing sounds like a pain. Thoughts?

Almost all of them have been replaced by now.

The original profile gasket had a thing for failing, but usually after 40-60k miles. So all the cars still running today, you shouldn't have to worry about.

But if you can do a headgasket, profile gasket get's done while you do a headgasket, IIRC.

Tom Suddard wrote: R3V actually has fairly good information, you just have to ask a real question.

Not sure I agree... so far, I've seen a number of folks ask real questions and get completely ignored. I'll often get curious and do a search on the question on my own but not find anything useful.

They hate it if you don't search.

This is true...

Basically, after spending the last nine months on e30tech and r3v, I'll never make fun of the Vortex again.