Topic: Common e30 problems?
For those of you with e30's, what are some of the problems you've had with them? Thanks.
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → Common e30 problems?
For those of you with e30's, what are some of the problems you've had with them? Thanks.
Crappy drivers
Animosity?
common e-30 problem ... thinking they are crappy enough to bring to a Lemons race!
Oh yea and hitting me!!
Ooh! You got the video! Please share.
Yeah, drivers.
E30s are a little below average reliable in Lemons, until they've had the bugs worked out in a few races. Parts aren't particularly hard to find, but the E30 usually takes a while to fix when something goes wrong. Electrical-system/ECM problems are the most common E30 failure, so it's a good idea to buy all the junkyard ECMs you can find before the race. Also bring a bunch of extra Bosch relays. Wheel hubs and bearings like to fail as well. We see a lot of E30 fuel-system problems, especially leaks, so go through everything fuel-system-related before the race.
The M20 engine is pretty solid, not quite as LeMons-tough as the Mazda B or Ford Modular 4.6, but I'd say that most of them survive race weekend. M20 blown head gaskets and thrown rods happen at every race, of course, but you expect that when every race has at least a half-dozen E30s.
Just say'n...
BECAUSE by dougkirchberg, on Flickr
We've only had one race. Blew a water pump, fried a right front brake rotor, had the rear differential start slipping quite badly and suffered fuel starvation after 90 minutes even though we had a half a tank of fuel left in the stock tank. Car made it the whole weekend AND we didn't hit anyone or spin one time.. total success.
But, to show a bit more Lemony good will...
Electrical... no real tips here, but as judge phil offers... bring relays and a rocket scientist
Guibo gear/flex disc... they have two states: bad and going bad. check for cracks/tears
Wheel bearings... see previous item. I believe you need a press to change these out, so check/replace before you race or you're done for the weekend
Water pump / timing belt - if you end up doing any top end work you might as well replace them. Be sure the tensioner has Z127 stamped on it.
Check yer compression:
Minimum: 10-11 bar (142-156 psi)
Maximum difference between cylinders: .5 bar (7 psi)
Distributor/rotor: they crack, check it and replace if necessary
Motor mounts: replace 'em with hockey pucks
Head gasket: if there's any question, replace it; i've been told run of the mill Felpro's work very well against the rigors of overheating
There are other things depending on which engine you have... e/i.
Good luck.
I'd say Integra drivers are more crashy than E30 drivers, but we have more E30s (and Integras are more fragile, so they take longer to fix between crashes and thus can't hit as many cars).
Every race has a half-dozen "problem teams" that make very, very frequent penalty box visits, and a couple of those are always Integras. Or Preludes, which I consider big Integras.
E30s are a little below average reliable in Lemons, until they've had the bugs worked out in a few races. Parts aren't particularly hard to find, but the E30 usually takes a while to fix when something goes wrong. Electrical-system/ECM problems are the most common E30 failure, so it's a good idea to buy all the junkyard ECMs you can find before the race. Also bring a bunch of extra Bosch relays. Wheel hubs and bearings like to fail as well. We see a lot of E30 fuel-system problems, especially leaks, so go through everything fuel-system-related before the race.
This is spot on. Our ECM needed a hard reboot every couple of hours and our fuel pump relay wasn't giving full voltage.
For those of you with e30's, what are some of the problems you've had with them? Thanks.
Timing chain
Cooling system
Manual trans
Clutch and clutch hydraulics
wheel bearings, rears are a PITA at the track even with the right tools
Anything and everything electrical
E30s are a little below average reliable in Lemons, until they've had the bugs worked out in a few races. Parts aren't particularly hard to find, but the E30 usually takes a while to fix when something goes wrong. Electrical-system/ECM problems are the most common E30 failure, so it's a good idea to buy all the junkyard ECMs you can find before the race. Also bring a bunch of extra Bosch relays. Wheel hubs and bearings like to fail as well. We see a lot of E30 fuel-system problems, especially leaks, so go through everything fuel-system-related before the race.
The M20 engine is pretty solid, not quite as LeMons-tough as the Mazda B or Ford Modular 4.6, but I'd say that most of them survive race weekend. M20 blown head gaskets and thrown rods happen at every race, of course, but you expect that when every race has at least a half-dozen E30s.
Phil I remember you had a writeup on the most and least reliable Lemons engines, but for my life I can't search it up. Got a link?
Thanks, appreciate the responses. I've seen on a few websites subframe reinforcement kits, front being only like ~$35. Worth it or not a problem area?
I may be overstating the obvious here but if your goal is to build a bullet-proof race car you may be looking to compete in the wrong race series.
If you have an E30 then put a good theme on it then come out and have some fun. If it blows up or breaks you will know what to fix. If you want it to last longer with less wrenching drive it so it will last.
Backing off a notch and enjoying the entire weekend on the track is far cheaper than making it bullet-proof. It will likely lead you to fewer black flags too.
Not trying to make it bullet-proof, just trying to fix/address any glaring issues now vs. race day. We found this car with a blown headgasket on Craigslist for $500, and bought it without realizing e30's are not liked by many. Oh well, too far into it now... Sounds like electrical problems are the most prevalent- I think we have a solution for that.
Not trying to make it bullet-proof, just trying to fix/address any glaring issues now vs. race day. We found this car with a blown headgasket on Craigslist for $500, and bought it without realizing e30's are not liked by many. Oh well, too far into it now... Sounds like electrical problems are the most prevalent- I think we have a solution for that.
One of the major electrical problems you'll face (ECM munching) is mainly due to running high duty cycles on the transistors. The heat dissipation design of the ECM is not sufficient for continuous high RPM duty. If you want to run over 5k RPM reliably you could consider designing a water-cooling setup for the ECM. That would be a the kind of totally ridiculous solution to a problem that is in the spirit of the event. Putting a megasquirt in there and trying to hide somewhere would not be in the spirit of the event.
Also remember if you are applying for a race that fills up you may not get in with an E30 vs something else. You aren't guaranteed a spot by just applying. This is where a great theme and the right attitude helps.
Good information, thanks everyone.
We've had lots of issues with our E30 instrument panel. At our last race (Sears Pointless, which was VERY wet) it did not function at all. The (stock) fuel tank has enough to last ~2.25 hours or so of track driving and the last ~20 minutes of my shift were distracting as I had no idea when I'd run dry. I bailed into the pits on a yellow (though Sears Pointless was run ~60% under Yellow anyway) with zero idea how much gas I had left - turns out I would have run out within a lap or two so I count myself lucky. A few hours later the instruments all worked again! Go figure.
Beyond that, rear wheel bearings have been our most worrying issue. Not an easy race-day repair.
And of course the Judges assuming we have a cheater car. In a way they are right (as otherwise it has been very good to us), but we're all such terrifically mediocre drivers - our penalty laps are all unearned. The lap leaders have nothing whatsoever to fear from the Clowntown Roadshow!
biggest problem with E30's is they make you drive like an idiot
case and point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_6Xa4P4D0
You could do that with our eta and be fine, then you could rev it about another 500 RPM and have to shift. It's a viscious cyle of bog bog bog bog POWER, shift, repeat.
Pulp Friction Oh Yeah! NSFW probably
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SysMwxoD … re=related
E30's usually come off as the loser in pretty much any crash. So bring crash parts; steering racks, control arms, stuff like that. Oh, and as Racing Nemo found out to their chagrin do not hit a T Bird from behind.
Just say'n...
BECAUSE by dougkirchberg, on Flickr
We are 2 for 2 (2 races, 2 accidents) on damage to our tbird by E30 drivers. As cheaty as they are, Miatas have never hit us.
Considering how cheap tbird parts are though, I was more annoyed with the track time lost borrowing a MAP torch, sledge, and beating out our UCA than the actual cost of replacement materials.
-g
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