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E30 winter driving

 
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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 3:12 am    Post subject: E30 winter driving Reply with quote

A member just PM'd me about driving his E30 cabrio in the winter rain of the Pacific NW, and I thought I'd share my answer with everyone.
I'm sure there are a bunch of people who would drive their E30 in the winter if they thought they could get around.
With an LSD differential, and snow tires, I've been able to go almost anyplace with an E30 in the snow, as long as I don't get high-centered.

====================================
The age of the tire can make a huge difference in the grip, if the tire has low miles but is 6 years old, it will suck in the rain. Too hard, especially when cold, same with high performance summer tires, not very good when getting really cool out.

Snap oversteer may be something bent in the back, or the bilsteins are too stiff for your springs.
I'm running stock springs, cut 1 coil in front to lose a bit of height there, and Boge turbo gas shocks, that could probably be replaced in the near future.

Another thing that can screw up the rear suspension, replace the trailing arm bushings, and tighten the bolts when the wheels are at full drop in stead of at normal ride height. That adds a lot of pre-load to the bushing, and makes the suspension extra stiff, and tail happy.

I've heard lots of people complain about the E30 being tail happy, but that hasn't really been my experience.

Tires I'm running are discontinued General UHP, 195/50/15s, a summer performance tire, but has done really well in the 40F temp in the drenching wet we've had recently in Seattle.

Here are some tires available for 15" wheels, out of these for a daily driver, I'd likely pick the Kuhmo tires.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=205%2F&ratio=50&diameter=15&x=55&y=8

I'm going to be switching to my winter snows soon, with their deep tread, they are fantastic in the wet as well as any snow or ice i'll hit.
Running Firestone Winterforce 185/65/14(?) on stock BBS rims.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Winterforce

Just say NO to Studs!! I actually bought these tires used from a friend, and spent a couple of evenings with a needle nose pliers pulling all the studs out by hand.
Why?
- they ruin the road since 90% of the time there is no ice or snow in the 4 month period they are legal.
- the new tire designs are 10x better then the old tires from the 60s and 70s when you had to have studs to get any traction.


Hope this helps
Dale
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m78



Joined: 14 Nov 2001
Posts: 2807
Location: In the great midwest

PostPosted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree 100% dale.

I have blizzaks all around and a lsd as well. Makes a tremendous difference.

Also driving defensively and judiciously also is important.

In addition, proper inflation and a few salt bags in the trunk don't hurt either.


.

.
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the info Dale...

Up here, I really don't take the car out in the crappy weather anymore. I have a set of studded tires still mounted on the bottlecap wheels just in case I HAVE to do some long driving, but I haven't used them in 10 years. The Michelins stay on all year.

Up here, studded tires are allowed all year long, and frankly, even with the LSD, the roads are bad enough here, especially in the early winter and late winter (when they're the most icy), that studded tires are almost mandatory. We get black ice all over the roads, and way too many hills and dips to drive without them. Most pickups use studded tires as well.

Personally, I don't like em much... they're very noisy!
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robert1700



Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 1398
Location: Seattle

PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dont think any e30 should be used in the winter anymore. Bumpers are becoming hard to find. lol
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idanity



Joined: 21 May 2005
Posts: 3097
Location: N.W.U.S.A.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sound advice Dale.

however, i for one, just drive my 88 toyota 4x4 Smile (cheaper then new tires)
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