what do you guys think? e30 5-lug swap

[enzo90]

would this be worth it?

http://lukasmotors.com/m_roadster_5_lug_swap.htm
(many other helpful articles on that site)

i like the idea of more wheel choices and bigger brakes but i can see it becoming rather expensive and a lot of work very quickly.

i also read somewhere that with the e36 brakes the smallest wheel i can run would be a 17". does that sound completely accurate?

 

[Doughnut]

In my honest opinion I see nearly no reason why you would upgrade to 5 lug, unless you wanted the bigger brakes for racing, or to put up a serious amount of horsepower (ie: engine swap) etc.

Think about it this way,
The time, money and effort you put into converting your e30 to 5 lug and THEN purchasing the wheels to fit - you could have just got some wheels custom made in 4x100 and called it a day.

Thats my opinion anyway.

 

[enzo90]

im looking at the bigger brakes for auto crossing and the occasional road race and i figure if i can find a junkyard car i might be able to get all the parts pretty cheap

 

[Big Daddy]

I ran autocrosses and High Performance Driving Schools, plus numerous rallys in my 91 318is, I used ATE slotted discs on front and solids on the back with Mintex pads. Never had a brake fad issue, plenty of brake for that little monster. I think it is overkill, but that is only my opinion.

 

[E30m42cab]

Personally, I would never do the swap. Waste of my time for very little difference in anything, other than wheel choices. You can still do big brake kits with larger rims with 4 bolts.

 

[echothreezero]

Alot of guys have done it for various reasons.

You can also use e36 316ti components for the rear as they are the same as e30 but 5-stud. I'd say they'd be cheaper than Z3 m parts although that is what a guy I know in Auckland has put on his e30.

Also, you can substitute some of the M stuff on the front with a bit of a hobbling together of e36 and other parts. Do some research - plenty of info out there.

Pics below are from the e30 I mentioned which is owned by a guy I know in Auckland. Its an ongoing project which involves an s52b32 swap (cool aye?!)

The suspension is Wilwood SL-6 (6 pot) calipers and rotors, Eibach / Koni and ground control setup, M-Coupe rear trailing arms / diff, adjustible camber / castor top plates.

Auckland e30 suspension pics:

 

[enzo90]

what originally got me looking at this is that i also have a slightly bent rear hub that makes my car shake a bit above 40mph

so i figured if i was going to fix that i might as well upgrade while I've got everything apart