An Introduction To Redlining With Professor BMW 325i (E30)

 

In case you didn't know, the E30 is also a wicked track weapon!

It was an exceptionally warm summer's day. It's 2015 and I'm working at my first job as a classic car salesman at a store called "Petit LeMans". My friend Vadim, who I’d known only for a week at that time, would drive me home in his 1990 325i E30 coupe. With around 170 hp, I wasn't expecting to be impressed. And man, was I in for a surprise. Vadim fires up the 2.5 lt single cam six cylinder and the metallic rumble begins. The beast has awakened. The car came with the factory Recaro seats, headers, an exhaust and a strut brace. However, the stock suspension and the open-diff were still present. We go out on the four-lane road and the M20B25 starts screaming. The eargasmic, aggressive sound is echoing on the passing cars, taking hold of my soul. "How can this simple, boxy, understated car be so wonderful?" I asked myself. I instantly fell in love with this automobile and with more regular, amazing ones too. Now, four years later, the same 325 is back for my initiation in BMs, six pots and redlining. Spoiler alert: it was as awesome as I had ever imagined.

The heart of the beast

  I'm guessing, my dear reader, that, in case you're human, you've probably been attracted to another human least once in your life. You've thought and dreamt about them for countless days and nights, dying to go out with them. Well, from the day I was introduced to the E30, especially the 325, I have been raving about it for longer than any other car, watching countless videos on YouTube, reading reviews, books, seeing them in the outside world. I just adore this car. Of course, the number one priority was to drive it which was also, unsurprisingly, my main recurring dream. So, on a warm, February (bizarrely) night with clear skies, Vadim came to pick me up with the 325. Now it was lowered on Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, along with an LSD and a 3.90 final gear. It still had the retro Recaro seats which are quite comfy and supportive. I got inside and, while I was searching for my seatbelt, Vadim darted-off like a missile with the Bimmer's six-pot climbing lazily to its redline. Better buckle up fast, bro... and lower the window for extra, aural deliciousness.

Vadim was driving the E30 like he stole it along with the Mona Lisa. The car smells of clutch and brakes but it doesn't seem as if it'll stop now. This is an automobile that accepts hard braking and banging off the limiter. It swallows up the pain and the struggle like a runner, soldiering on while enjoying the control he has over his well-earned tiredness. By the way, this is a 330,000 km BM that Vad had bought for less than four grand. Find me another ride for that money that gives you so much driving pleasure and reliability.  I trust Vadim in his skills and take pleasure in the car accelerating and decelerating at decent speed, taking corners like it's no big deal. He gives it a hard push on the one-one and a half kilometre part of the wide, four lane chaussée from a roll. We're passing the few, law-abiding citizens at easily double the speed they're going. The speedo hasn't worked for at least six months but the butt-perception speedo guessed 150-160 kph down that straight. Zero-fucks-given 101! After a little bit more hooning and a couple butt clenching drift attempts, I had to ask the question. I had already received a negative answer before but I felt the moment was right to give it another try. "Can I drive the BM Vadim? Don't worry; I won't drive quickly, only in a calm, laid back manner." I asked, waiting to receive "No" as my very probable answer. His response transformed my day from “Wonderful” to "Fucken Amazing, Son!" in a second: "Ok, but only in this neighborhood". Perfect.

  

O.Z. rims suit the E30 well

  At last, the moment I've dreamt about for countless times for the past years was finally here. I sit in the driver’s seat and put my hands on the lovely, eightieslicious M-Tech steering wheel. First gear and off I go as if my grandma is behind the wheel. I would’ve been quite satisfied cruising around, not going over 3,000 rpm… buuuuut Vadim rightfully decided to spice things up. “Floor it! Floor it! You might as well enjoy since you’re getting to drive it!” he said. Aye Aye Captain and Bye Bye Grandma shifting. Second gear and the 325 is banging off the limiter and I’m grinning from ear to ear. My first 15 seconds behind the wheel of a fantastic BM couldn’t have been better. Thankfully, since the neighborhood we were in is one of the sleepiest ones in Belgium. The wide, brick-lined roads are basically empty at night, which was extremely convenient for our mischievous activities. Down the straights, it was a case of rippin’ through second and third before slowing down for the next

The Corner Gobbler set-up

intersection. When this old-school straight six passed maybe 6,200 rpm, it produced a note that created loads of euphoria in my brain, like Jimi Hendrix playing his solo on Voodoo Chile. However, compared to a song, you want to hit the magic note again and again ‘till the wheels fall off. Everything in the world that bothered me and the fear of flooring such a raw and quick machine couldn’t be heard over the Bwaaaaaaah-Uuuuuuuh-Bwaaaaah of the M20B25. Just out of curiosity, I quickly checked the non-working speedo for its reading: 0 kph. Great! I’m within the speed limit! Not as if it would’ve changed much anyways. Compared to much newer cars, the E30 seemed intuitive with the feedback you receive from the steering, the power delivery, the braking and its cornering abilities. I would be on a right-hand corner and I’d feel the car gripping or approaching its limits. That’s how well it communicates with you. Of course, no drifting was in the program for that night but you can kick the ass out without even thinking about it in the 325. Plus, the Bimmer was planted and predictable with the LSD and the sportier suspension: a must if you want to unlock the potential of the chassis.   The simplicity and the weight of each control makes you one with the car, not as if you’re riding a horse which is the impression I got with automobiles far worse than the BM. To put it simply, the car drove almost exactly as I expected because it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.

Vadim and the machine

  In conclusion, the E30 is a driver’s car and there’s no doubt about it. Especially the 325 which packs a punch and is accepting towards modifications. With probably a quarter of the money of the overhyped, E30 M3 (which doesn’t change the fact that I love that too so if you have one and you’re feeling generous, hit me up and I’ll be a happy TurboRocket), you can get a decent 325 and add a few simple mods that’ll run head to head with it and plenty of other sportscars. Also, because of its size and drivability, the 325 offers you more confidence to drive it like a hooligan and it feels more rewarding too. Get a new M3 I bet you it’ll be much bigger of a handful because of its power, numbness and weight. I haven’t driven a new M3 but if you’re getting full torque from only 1,800 rpm, it’s surely not as linear and as controllable as you having to work for the power. I enjoyed every single rpm that the 325 required to climb slowly to its 6,800 rpm redline. Today, the number of cars that are coupes, manuals, weigh barely over a ton, have a sound to die for and a reliability that’ll probably outlast you come down to zero. There’s nothing on the market like this and many other excellent ideas of the past. Of course, there’s no safety in it but who cares when you have such fishbowl like visibility? Simply don’t crash the damn thing. Today’s cars are much safer also because they’re plagued with a zillion more distractions and they require less effort to drive. People who are smart enough to check their e-mails while rolling at 70 kph down the road have all the airbags they need for their fuckups.  But, time travelling back to the 80s, all you want is a sensational driver’s car and tape to slap in your tape deck. The rest is accessory. 

Many thanks to Vadim for introducing me the E30 and all its charms. The drive totally exceeded my expectations for the best! 

Photo Credits: Vadim Faucon